Lighting torches and placing bridges to cross to new areas seemed like just the beginning. However, the first few dungeon-like areas of the game make you think that NNK is going to play out like many other RPGs, filled with dungeons with puzzles and spells you learn that you use to overcome said puzzles.
Full of magical and enchanting locations like the Golden Grove, The Glittering Grotto, Old Smoky, Ding Dong Dell, and the Fairygrounds, there's a lot to see and do as you follow Oliver's story. Ni No Kuni is a wide-open world, begging to be explored. If capturing creatures is going to be important again in Revenant Kingdom - and hopefully it will be! - there needs to be a better system to actually snare the familiars you want. In a game that is so based around collecting and training monsters, it's almost downright mean how hard and infuriating the capture mechanic. It would be about the same as if Pokemon decided to get rid of Pokeballs and instead the game randomly decided when you are allowed to try to catch monsters. It's a credit to the game that it had familiars I was really drawn to capture, but also annoying when it was such an affair to actually go out and do it.
The problem is that the creatures decide when they want to join your party before you can attempt to catch them, and it's such a slim chance you'll waste hours just trying to get the familiar you want. It's central to the game, and collecting the colorful cast of creatures is an important part of both the story and the game's battle system. The problem is that about sums up Ni no Kuni's capture mechanic. That creature only has a five percent chance of joining your party. Imagine the cutest and cuddliest one you can. Imagine a world filled with cute and cuddly creatures.