Ni no Kuni : Shikkoku no Madoushi

Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi is a fantasy role-playing game for Nintendo DS, developed and published by Level-5 in Japan on December 9, 2010. Commonly rendered in English as Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn, it is the first game in the Ni no Kuni series and a distinct handheld version of the story rather than a port of the later PlayStation 3 release. The Japanese release combines Level-5's RPG design with animated scenes produced by Studio Ghibli and music by Joe Hisaishi. Its original package also includes the substantial Magic Master guidebook, an essential part of the adventure rather than a simple bonus.

The story follows thirteen-year-old Oliver, a boy from the automobile town of Hotroit. After losing his mother, he encounters Shizuku, a fairy who emerges from a doll, and learns of a parallel realm called Ni no Kuni. Shizuku believes Oliver may be able to oppose the dark wizard Jabou, who has brought suffering to that world. The prospect that a journey there could help his mother gives Oliver a reason to leave home. His travels connect the ordinary world, called Ichi no Kuni, with the magical other world, whose people and problems can be linked to counterparts across the divide.

Exploration takes Oliver through towns, dungeons, wilderness, and a world map as the party pursues the main quest and optional requests. A recurring concern is helping people whose hearts have been damaged or taken away. Oliver can collect pieces of positive emotion from willing people and restore them to those in need, tying smaller acts of assistance into the wider journey. Quests also include tasks such as finding items or defeating monsters, and their rewards can contribute to useful upgrades. The premise keeps the adventure focused on both saving Ni no Kuni and Oliver's growth as he confronts loss.

Battles use turn-based commands and a three-character formation grid. Magic, techniques, elemental considerations, and careful placement all matter: allies can be moved to reduce the danger from particular attacks or arranged so a tougher character shields others. The party can also recruit Imajinn, magical creatures that fight alongside the human cast. These companions can be raised, evolved, equipped through their own item-link system, and tailored to different roles. The DS release supports collecting more than 350 Imajinn and includes local wireless options for exchanging creatures and battling other players, while the main adventure is built for one player.

The Magic Master makes this Nintendo DS RPG especially unusual. Players consult its illustrated pages for spell symbols, lore, creature information, clues, and a fictional language, then use the stylus to draw required runes on the touch screen. Some event magic and puzzles deliberately require looking up the correct information in the physical book, making the printed object part of the game’s progression. Once a spell has been learned, it can also serve Oliver in the usual RPG systems, but the book’s research-and-drawing interactions give exploration a tactile, tabletop-like dimension.

Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi was a Level-5 tenth-anniversary project and arrived only in Japan for Nintendo DS. It shares its central characters and setting with the separately developed PlayStation 3 game Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joō, known internationally as Wrath of the White Witch, but the two versions differ in presentation and design. For the DS original, Studio Ghibli animation, orchestral music, touchscreen rune drawing, and the physical Magic Master work together to make a singular early entry in the series.