Ni No Kuni coming to Switch this September, remastered version coming to PC and PS4

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Switch is getting the original version, not the remaster

Another E3 2019 leak proven true: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is coming to Nintendo Switch. Bandai Namco confirmed the news earlier today with a new trailer which locked in a September 20 release date. Not only that, the publisher announced Ni No Kuni Remastered for PS4 and PC, also bound for September. To be clear: Switch is getting the original version of Ni No Kuni, while only PS4 and PC are getting the Remastered version, presumably for technical reasons. 

It's been over six years since the original release of Ni No Kuni. If you missed it, it's a sterling JRPG by Level 5 featuring writing and animation from none other than Studio Ghibli. It is achingly beautiful, so I can't imagine how stunning a remaster will be. It's a great fantasy story, too, and a bit darker and more mature than the equally delightful Ni No Kuni 2. You play as Oliver, a young boy on a quest to bring back his mother. Warning: prepare tissues.

If you're coming from the sequel, the biggest difference you'll notice is the lack of a kingdom manager. That's strictly a Ni No Kuni 2 thing; instead, the original game has a Pokemon-adjacent creature-leveling system. You can collect and strengthen allied familiars as you progress, and they really help liven up the game's combat. That's another big difference: where Ni No Kuni 2 goes for pure real-time action combat, the original does the real-time, turn-based hybrid thing where you choose formations and attacks from menus while moving around in real-time. It plays a bit like Kingdom Hearts 3, but it's got some tricks up it sleeve. In any case, Ni No Kuni is a fabulous game, so it's nice to see it coming to more platforms. 

Head here for all the latest E3 2019 games. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.