Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Best Role-Playing Game 2013
Platform: PS3
Publisher: Namco-Bandai
Developer: Level 5, Studio Ghibli
The classic RPG genre may have dried up in the last generation and been eclipsed by open-world Western RPGs, but that doesn't mean the genre is dead. In fact, all of our nominees are Japanese titles and four of them are for the Nintendo 3DS, which just goes to show how successful the handheld has been. Pokémon X/Y falls right in line with its predecessors, Shin Megami Tensei IV is a far more approachable SMT title, Animal Crossing received perfect marks from us this year, and Fire Emblem reigns as the best RPG on the 3DS on many official lists.
But Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch hopefully marks the return of classic JRPGs on stand-up consoles. Though it didn't garner Namco Bandai that much in sales, just about the million mark for both the console and handheld versions of the game, we should expect Ni No Kuni to have a sequel. It featured the journey of a boy wizard—a rarity in games—and the gorgeous, one-of-a-kind Studio Ghibli graphics. Ni No Kuni is the best console RPG I've played in the last five years.
Runners Up:
