Thursday, February 7, 2013

Ni No Kuni

I've been sucked into a beautiful world. An electronic, fictional, Japanese world called Ni No Kuni. It's a video game I bought for Lynette on her birthday (even though I showed interest in playing it before she did). It falls into the genre of JRPG, Japanese Role Playing Game. Typical JRPG's tend to be quite fantastical and very technical (aka difficult). But what makes this one so special is the animation/art direction which was created by the artists at Studio Ghibli; hence, Lynette's interest. Studio Ghibli are the people responsible for the wonderful films Spirited Away, Ponyo, and Howl's Moving Castle. (I highly recommend you watch these artistic masterpieces.)

So now I'm spending my limited free time on Ni No Kuni while my banjo and half-built Lego Space Shuttle collect dust. Which got me to thinkin'... What is a 40 year old man doing with these seemingly childish hobbies? I won't lie, part of me wonders if I should be doing more grown-up things like changing the oil on the car, or building a deck, or bow-hunting for deer, or anything else we see those guys doing in the Viagra commercials.

(For the record, I do like to fish, and have been known to catch a few good sized Northern Pike in northern Minnesota.)

I don't own a table saw. I don't drink Bud Light. I don't drive a pick up truck. I know these are trivialities, but I'm a little worried about not teaching James some of the things I was taught as a youngster. Or the things I think a child should learn. When my age was still in single digits, I liked to hunt for frogs and toads after a rainstorm. What is James going to hunt for?

Anyway, Ni No Kuni is a great game. In front of the TV playing it is where you'll find me this weekend.

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