The upcoming Ni No Kuni II has been delayed until March 23rd, 2018, Bandai Namco confirms. It was previously expected to launch on January 19th, and before that this past November. It launches on both PlayStation 4 and PC worldwide this March.
Developer Level-5’s CEO Akihiro Hino says the delay was motivated by “delivering the highest levels of design and quality” in the studio’s games, Ni No Kuni II included. “More development time is required in order to deliver the full Ni no Kuni II experience to our fans,” he elaborates. “…with innovation and new ideas come the need to ensure everything works together in a fun and cohesive package. This means we’ll need a bit more time to make sure the entire Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom experience meets Level-5 and Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.’s high quality standards.”
Ni No Kuni II was originally announced at the December 2015 PlayStation Experience to great fanfare. Like the first game, which launched westward in early 2013, it remains an RPG but with some crucial differences to the original. For one, Studio Ghibli was not involved in the production, where they provided animated cut scenes and the character designs. The other major difference is a change in game structure, as this sequel now boasts real time battles and strategy gameplay.
