Good, but no cigar!!!
Having bought game, my opinion has changed a little but its still a good(ish) game. I say good(ish) because for all the glorious graphics and the mildly amusing Welsh accents (I'm Welsh and dreading being called Drippy for the rest of my days), the story is wafer thin. There is nothing in it that hasn't already been done in a dozen other RPG's.
Level-5 seemed to have spent the budget (once again, like other game studio's) on graphics and sound, rather than creating an engrossing story first.
The other problem I have with it is the battle system. Think Pokemon meets FFXIII. It's very similar to a game I played on the 360 (BOO) called Blue Dragon. Quick time battles with characters from the main characters called Familiars (what ever happened to the old turn based ATB system (come back, PLEASE!)). Now, I'm the kind of person that wants to get to know the main characters strenghths and weaknesses, not their version of Psyduck.
You can still play as the main characters, but they are slightly underpowered for my liking and have individual abilities that are far from breathtaking. That plus the fact that the main characters and the Familiars share the same health gauge, so when your Familiar dies, so does your main character.
Not taking anything away from Ni No Kuni, its still holding my interest, where other RPG's havent; but I would have liked a but more thought in the battle system and the storyline.
Remember this only what I think.