Level-5's DS Ni no Kuni detailed

Renowned Japanese game-maker Level-5 has today properly unveiled the DS version of role-playing adventure Ni no Kuni, which is also on the PS3.

Kuni has attracted a lot of eyes for being designed by Studio Ghibli, the film house responsible for stylised animations Ponyo and Spirited Away.

Ni no Kuni DS will be sold with a magic book, reported Andriasang live from a Level-5 press conference. And it's this you'll consult on your travels to a Dream World. You see, the on-screen map will try to trick you with things that aren't real, so you'll need to compare what you see with the magic book to decipher the puzzles.

Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino also detailed the game's Imagine support cast. These you'll raise and name, and their strength will improve as they grow. A battle between two DS Ni no Kuni owners was demonstrated on stage.

Conflicts are strategical and require Imagine characters be positioned correctly. Or you can mess about and lose, you loser.

There are over 350 Imagine monster-things in the game.

DS Ni no Kuni also features Travelling Egg, a Tag Mode/System Pass game. You put a message in an egg and exchange them with other players via Tag mode. Why? Because traded eggs can contain items and rare Imagine monster-things.

Upon receiving an egg you'll be given the choice of sending it off on a journey or breaking it. If you opt for the former, whatever is inside the egg will grow.

What's more, Ni no Kuni on DS will have ridable vehicles such as ships, plus Level-5 has a slate of DLC planned for a year after release.

There's no mention of that release date, though.