Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is the story of Evan, a young boy usurped from his impending throne. A coup led by the King’s adviser, Mausinger, left the king dead and the boy without a kingdom. Or that’s what every bit of marketing would have you believe. Upon closer examination, Evan’s troubles are simply a canvas for Roland’s story, something that becomes increasingly clear before the game’s credits roll. Though Ni no Kuni II isn’t a direct sequel to the first game, there are some parallels that can be drawn to Oliver’s journey that really highlight Roland’s growth and importance to the story.
Spoiler Warning: It’s impossible to talk fully about Roland’s role within Ni No Kuni II without getting into the game’s conclusion. From here on out, there are spoilers for both Ni no Kuni and Ni no Kuni II’s endings.
From the outset, I took a particular liking to Roland. He’s the only character who is with Evan from the very beginning. In fact, players actually find themselves in control of the mysterious outsider before they ever gain control of Evan. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom opens with a grey-haired and stoic looking Roland, president of a world that appears to be our own, in the back of a limo as a nuclear missile flies by overhead. The screen goes white and a younger, quite confused Roland stands in Ding Dong Dell just in time to save Evan from the coup that killed his father.
The story in...