Ni No Kuni II As Told By Plato
But this isn’t a review. Rather, it's an exploration of some of the themes and elements in it which, from my perspective, harmonize with Plato’s philosophical writings. For that reason, I won’t be delving further into specifics than what is required to illustrate that said harmony. This being the case, however, let it be known that this game is 60+ hours of endless, wistful fun, and I highly recommend checking it out. I’ve never come across a Level-5 game I didn’t like, but this one still stands out among the rest. With hundreds of thoughtfully-written side-quests, unique and witty characters, and thoroughly satisfying gameplay, it is an altogether downright whimsical experience.
So what does a JRPG about cat-boy-turned-cat-king have to do with the average Platonic dialogue?
Plato’s works use Socrates as a mouthpiece for Plato himself. Thus, Socrates is often a key player in Plato's stories, while Plato is almost never mentioned. Similarly, in Ni no Kuni II, unlike in many western RPGs, the player doesn't have a hand in telling the main character's story. While Evan is the central character of the game, as the player I never necessarily felt like I was Evan in the sense that RPGs often attempt to evoke. For example, it doesn't feel like being the Dragonborn in Skyrim or the leader of an underwater revolution in Bioshock. For the most part, it feels like you are watching an interactive Ghibli movie (which the world could really use more of). Stay with me now as I tie this back into ancient philosophy.
What's important to note about the above distinction is that it is this very sense of distance from the main character that allows the player to be a more objective observer. If you already imagine Plato as an ageless and inspiring Japanese media creator, then you're a step ahead of where I'm going with this. Plato, by speaking through Socrates and not simply telling us what he thinks, is akin to the game designer—he is our Akihiro Hino of ancient Greek storytelling. Socrates, then, is one of his main storytelling devices. He asks the questions and fuels the discussions that move the story forward and prompt it in the right direction.
We have our Plato, but who will be our Socrates? We have already established that the player cannot be Socrates by nature of our status as an observer. And Evan, savior of the five kingdoms he may be, is still a fairly naïve child and thus, unable to fill Socrates' shoes. Since somebody has got to be Socrates (for the sake of my own argument), it's got to be someone other than we the players, cat-people, and secondary characters.
It's this guy!
While this game is essentially about Evan and his accomplishments, it's Roland—the mysterious, universe-hopping, American president—who steals his own respective stage light. For those of you who have experienced the game, Roland might often feel like a secondary character for the most part (unless you prefer him in combat and exploration, then you're just Roland 80% of the time). But if you imagine that this is a game about a man living in the shadow of his past who is swept away to a magical universe where he must cast aside his personal dilemmas to help a scared boy find his purpose, you start to see the brilliance of Ni No Kuni II.
Roland makes an excellent Socrates. As Evan’s mentor and adviser, Roland doesn’t reveal his own preferences and prefers to let others reach conclusions of their own. Even when there is a clear sense of disagreement between his liege and himself, he aptly deploys the Socratic method, offering morsels of wisdom to Evan in the form of questions or, when Evan's naiveté can't be calmly dismantled, he meekly follows along with him on fool’s errands, knowing that it’s best for some lessons to be learned through one’s own experience.
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