The Ni no Kuni Wizard’s Edition Has Arrived!

As you may remember, I recently attempted my very first auction on eBay in an effort to purchase the Ni no Kuni Wizard’s Edition at an affordable price.  Long story short, I lost the auction, but ended up getting a similar item for about the same price.  The only difference is I got the European version (more specifically, the German version) instead of the North American one, so I missed out on a few extra goodies.  Fortunately, nothing of any real importance is missing, and now that it has finally arrived, it’s about time I talked about it.

First off, I’d like to say that I’ve been immensely pleased with the sellers on eBay the…two times I’ve used the site.  Both times, they’ve been quick to ship items and have packaged them with utmost care.  The sheer amount of bubble wrap employed by these sellers is astounding and very much appreciated.  It had to have taken me 15 minutes just to slice my way through all that bubble wrap.  Though, the lengthy span of time spent on said bubble wrap was probably attributed to the fact that I was attempting to remove it as carefully as possible because we’re currently living in a rental, and I save bubble wrap, boxes, and any other packing material for the possibility of moving into a house one day.  We’ve moved a lot over the years, and I have been hoarding packing supplies for nearly 15 years now.

But I digress.

Once I finally arrived at the bubble wrap’s juicy center, ahem, the Wizard’s Edition, I discovered that the German packaging is really an outer sleeve that covers up the English box (pictured above) that houses all the goodness.  (Is it just me, or is there something almost…spooky about opening a package that’s been sealed for seven years?)  First off, you’ve got the German version of the game.  I don’t need the game itself because I already have the Greatest Hits edition that I’m playing right now, but it’s kind of cool to have a copy where the whole back of the case is written in a foreign language.

The front of the German box

And the box’s backside

There’s also a cute and very plump plushie of the Lord High Lord of the Fairies himself, Mr. Drippy, who serves as a companion to the game’s main protagonist Oliver, complete with the lantern hanging from his nose.  Tidy!

A flippin’ tidy collection of items, en’t it?

Last of all, and my biggest reason for wishing to procure this special edition, is the Wizard’s Companion.  I can now safely confirm that yes, the book is written in English despite the game and the outer box being written in German.  It’s a very nice looking tome indeed, complete with a gem in the cover.  Apparently, if my reflection in the gem appears upside down, it means I can use magic.  Ha, I wish…

“The Wizard’s Companion” is written in Nazcaan on the cover

According to the Wizard’s Pledge, I solemnly swear to always put my right shoe on before my left

Just a small peek at the chapter on Alchemy

All of this arrived with very good timing because I’m still in the middle of replaying the game, and now whenever I need information from the Wizard’s Companion, I can browse through the physical version of the book rather than having to read it on a TV screen!  Not to mention I probably plan on reading the whole thing just for the fun of it.  Twelve Tales of Wonder, time for you to divulge your…um, wonder!

The fact that it is possible to obtain a physical copy of the book found in the game is really cool, I must say.  And so, if you’re like me and you’d really like your own Wizard’s Companion, but are having trouble finding it at a good price, just look for one of the European editions.  It doesn’t matter which language the Wizard’s Edition is in because the book will still be in English, and you’ll save a few hundred dollars!  Now there’s thrifty!

Side Note: I mean, you can always just buy the book separately, but it can be surprisingly expensive considering you’re only getting the book, so I found it to be a bit of a better deal just to get the whole thing.  Just don’t forget that the Japanese version is much cheaper than the English version.  Which is great if you know Japanese, and not so helpful if you don’t….