Namco Brings Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch to North America

Video game publisher Namco Bandai has announced that it is working to bring Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, an innovative role playing game that was only launched in Japan until now, on the PlayStation 3 from Sony in North America.

The game was created by Level-5, a company that is well known for the work it has done on such hits as Dragon Quest VIII and IX and on the long running Professor Layton series of puzzle games.

The characters and animations in Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch were created by Studio Ghibli, the team that worked on anime titles like Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.

The soundtrack was handled by Joe Hisaishi, who has long been associated with Studio Ghibli and has scored more than 100 movies.

The game tells the story of a boy called Oliver, who is aiming to bring his mother back from the dead by becoming a master magician.

Gamers will be able to meet a number of characters that will guide them on their journey and help them explore the big game universe.

Akihiro Hino, who is the president and Chief Executive Officer at Level-5 Inc, stated, “We are very honored to be working with the talented Studio Ghibli and Hisaishi-san on this game. It is very exciting for us to bring the best of Japanese anime and video game cultures together, and also to bring it to players in Europe and America. We hope you will enjoy it.”

Carlson Choi, the vice president of Marketing working at Namco Bandai Games America, added, “With such a dream team of development talent, beautiful hand-drawn anime and an amazing fantasy universe, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be one of our premier titles for 2012. At once epic and enchanting, this is a story that will drag you in and hold you transfixed from start to finish.”