At one point, he needs Roland to lay out the definition of corruption. Still, his lack of experience threatens to hold him back. Several characters doubt him at first, only to be won over by his steadfast determination.
![no ni kuni 2 no ni kuni 2](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rgwBl7C9UG4/maxresdefault.jpg)
Without the military security provided by friendly sky pirates or the engineers from Broadleaf, I never could have built the defenses my budding nation needed.Īnd all of these alliances are built on the explicit acknowledgment that the king is just a child. Evan and Roland trekked across several nations, forming unions and imploring allies to help realize their vision. Though I was given complete control of the nation’s development, the game never shied away from the idea that every employee I recruited was essential. Every new outpost needs proper maintenance, and you’re encouraged to check back frequently to track upgrades, personnel changes, and potential problems. Between main missions, you must recruit cooks, carpenters, and citizens to build new facilities. To succeed in this story, you need to make sure Evermore functions properly. Here you can choose exactly what developments to prioritize and with whom to staff them. Ni No Kuni 2 has several deep, interwoven systems - including a comprehensive kingdom manager. He comes to learn that’s easier said than done.Įvan’s ambitions are challenged in their execution, as both he and the player must reflect on what it takes for a strong leader to deliver on the promises they make to their followers. The king’s vision is of a place where everyone is happy all the time. With the help of refugees from across the continent, Evan establishes a throne and breaks ground on his idyllic settlement. Įvan, the kid-made-king of this colorful land, and Roland the ex-president set out after escaping a coup and vowed to build a new kingdom. Most of them had their lives upended for more than a month: unable to buy groceries, living without essential medication, and nearly losing their homes, all in service of a government that couldn’t give a damn about their well-being.Īnd as I read their stories, I began to build my own country in Ni No Kuni 2. They were the security guards, they were the custodians, they were the caretakers. Those who the shutdown hurt the most were low-wage earners. Air traffic controller union leaders warned of airports becoming inoperable - and the elite listened. In my mind, the end of this ugly shutdown would only come when Democratic leaders, for all their outspoken opposition to the president, caved and agreed to partially fund his xenophobic monument.Īt it turned out, resolution was found only when the people who had suffered the most organized and threatened to make things worse for the people who possessed the power to reopen the federal government. For a grand total of 35 days, more than 800,000 people were asked to offer their labor freely in service of ongoing arguments over a border wall few people even supported. In the real world, things got worse as I progressed through the game. Specifically, Ni No Kuni 2 directly opposes the notion that one good person can lead a nation to prosperity. The last thing I was expecting after that introduction was salient political commentary - but to my surprise, the game has a great deal to say about how we hold our leaders accountable for their actions. At the same time, the latter world’s King is poisoned by his most trusted adviser (who happens to be an anthropomorphic rat). Less than three minutes into the story, a city that looks suspiciously like New York is decimated by a nuclear missile and the world’s president is magically transported to the anime-inspired fantasy land of Ding Dong Dell. Ni No Kuni 2 opens with one of the most absurd cutscenes I have ever witnessed. But I quickly realized the game was more relevant than I had considered. But I was aware of the thousands of federal employees living and working with no pay and angry at the lack of direct action from elected representatives.Īt first, the idea of a cartoony fantasy kingdom seemed comforting in the face of constant squabbling between political figures over clashing ideologies. The shuttered government didn’t affect me personally, outside of making going through security for my flight home for the holidays take longer. More than that, the game looked like a great distraction from the frustrating, hard-to-ignore political news of the federal government shutdown.
![no ni kuni 2 no ni kuni 2](https://cdn03.nintendo-europe.com/media/images/06_screenshots/games_5/nintendo_switch_6/nswitch_ninokuniiirevenantkingdomtheprincesedition/NSwitch_NiNoKuniIIRevenantKingdomThePrincesEdition_03.jpg)
I decided to make the sequel the first game I picked up in the new year - a lengthy, colorful fairy tale I could escape to as the weather in Brooklyn grew frigid.
![no ni kuni 2 no ni kuni 2](https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/589360/ss_9adc43335d664146e59aedfdeacb0a4b7cc16788.1920x1080.jpg)
But despite having never played Wrath of the White Witch, Revenant Kingdom grabbed my curiosity. In my mind, the first Ni No Kuni came and went - even if a Studio Ghibli JRPG would have been right up my alley, I didn’t own a PlayStation 3 at the time. I started playing Ni No Kuni 2 in the middle of the longest government shutdown in US history.