Bandai Namco confirmed this week that Bloomwalker is officially a new entry in the Ni no Kuni series, and it’s launching PS5-first. If you’re on PC and hoped a PC port was in the announcement, it wasn’t. That leaves the two existing Ni no Kuni games on Steam as the whole shelf, and neither is quite what long-time fans want next.
So we rounded up Ni no Kuni alternatives that ship on Steam and actually run today. Seven JRPGs, all on Windows, ranked for how well they cover the specific things Ni no Kuni does, watercolor-flavored art, a fully voiced fairy-tale plot, and a fight system that lets you tag between party members.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Combat | Rating | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tales of Arise | Real-time anime combat with party swap | Real-time action | Very Positive | $59.99 |
| Eiyuden Chronicle | Suikoden-style recruit-108-heroes fantasy | Turn-based | Mostly Positive | $49.99 |
| Sea of Stars | Chrono Trigger for people who missed Chrono Trigger | Turn-based | Overwhelmingly Positive | $34.99 |
| Dragon Quest XI S | The gold standard everyone else is chasing | Turn-based | Overwhelmingly Positive | $39.99 |
| Octopath Traveler II | HD-2D and eight overlapping stories | Turn-based | Very Positive | $59.99 |
| Trials of Mana | Ni no Kuni II’s closest cousin | Real-time action | Very Positive | $49.99 |
| Chained Echoes | 16-bit SNES nostalgia done properly | Turn-based | Overwhelmingly Positive | $24.99 |
Why Ni no Kuni fans are hunting for alternatives
The main pain, based on posts across r/JRPG and the Steam forums, is that both PC entries are old. Ni no Kuni II shipped in 2018 and the Remastered original in 2019. The gap between then and Bloomwalker (which is exclusive) means everyone with a Windows machine has been waiting seven years.
The second issue is aesthetic. Ni no Kuni looks like a Studio Ghibli film because Studio Ghibli actually animated the cutscenes. Nothing on Steam replicates that exactly, but several games get close through different art choices: hand-painted 2D, HD-2D pixel work, or full anime cel-shading.
The third issue is combat philosophy. Ni no Kuni II leaned action-RPG with familiar-summoning and free party switching mid-fight. Fans who liked that don’t want a menu-driven turn-based system. Fans who liked the original’s higgledy tactics may prefer turn-based. This list covers both.
Tales of Arise, best for real-time anime combat
Tales of Arise is the closest thing on Steam to Ni no Kuni II’s action-flavored party combat. You control one of six characters live and swap between them mid-fight, and the linear-motion combat rewards perfect dodges rather than menu navigation. The story leans on the older anime-fantasy tropes (oppressed people rise up, chosen one, elemental crystals) but the character writing carries it.
Where it falls short: The pacing dips halfway through when the party splits up. Post-game content is thin compared to Xenoblade-scale JRPGs.
Pricing: $59.99 base, and the Beyond the Dawn DLC adds a 20-hour epilogue for $34.99.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Turn on Manual mode from the start. Auto-combat exists but the combos are the whole point.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Best pick if what you liked about Ni no Kuni was the fights, not the fairy tale.
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, best for Suikoden fans
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is the spiritual successor to Suikoden from the same creator, Yoshitaka Murayama, who died before its release. You recruit 120 characters, run a growing home base, and fight three battle types: standard turn-based combat, one-on-one duels, and army-scale strategy. The scope is exactly what Ni no Kuni II’s kingdom-building tried and didn’t quite land.
Where it falls short: The turn-based combat encounters are slow, and the pacing drags around the mid-game castle expansion. Voice acting is partial, not full.
Pricing: $49.99 base, and Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (the prequel spinoff) is a separate $14.99.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Play Hundred Heroes first, Rising second. Rising is a lighter action RPG that also introduces some of the Hundred Heroes cast.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this if Ni no Kuni II’s Evermore kingdom-building was your favorite part.
Sea of Stars, best for pure retro comfort
Sea of Stars is what a modern Chrono Trigger looks like. The pixel art is hand-drawn at a fidelity nothing on SNES could produce, the timed-hits combat rewards a rhythm players learn in an hour, and the story runs 25 to 30 hours without any padding. It won Best Indie at The Game Awards for a reason.
Where it falls short: No voice acting, which will bother some Ni no Kuni fans. The dungeon puzzles get repetitive by the fourth act.
Pricing: $34.99 base. The Dawn of Equinox update added a co-op mode and combat overhaul for free.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Play it on Steam Deck if you have one, it’s Verified and looks stunning on the OLED.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Best short JRPG on Steam right now if you want to finish something in under a month.
Dragon Quest XI S, best for the genre standard
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition is the JRPG most Ni no Kuni fans should probably play first. Akira Toriyama’s character designs share DNA with Ni no Kuni’s watercolor style, the story is a straightforward hero’s-journey epic that runs 80 hours without wearing out its welcome, and the Definitive Edition adds a 16-bit alternate mode that’s a genuine second campaign.
Where it falls short: The first ten hours are the slowest in modern JRPG history. Push through, the payoff is real.
Pricing: $39.99 base. Regular Steam sales bring it to $10.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Turn on the orchestral soundtrack from the settings menu day one, the MIDI default sounds bad.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Best value on this list. If you’ve never played it, this is the one.
Octopath Traveler II, best for HD-2D and story branching
Octopath Traveler II is Square Enix’s HD-2D style at its polished peak, sprites over 3D environments with a lighting engine that makes torches and reflections feel real. Eight protagonists carry eight overlapping stories, and the day-night cycle changes which side quests unlock.
Where it falls short: The eight stories don’t converge as much as fans hoped. The final chapter fixes some of that but arrives late.
Pricing: $59.99 base. The Master Edition bundles the digital soundtrack.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Start with Osvald (dark scholar) or Throné (thief) for the strongest opening chapters. Save Ochette for after you’ve gotten the combat rhythm down.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Best JRPG on this list for players who prefer pixel art over 3D character models.
Trials of Mana, best Ni no Kuni II cousin
Trials of Mana is the closest tonal match on Steam. It’s the 1995 SNES game rebuilt in 3D with real-time action combat, six main characters (you pick three), and a bright fairy-tale palette that could pass for a Ni no Kuni sibling. The party-swap-mid-fight system is nearly identical.
Where it falls short: The 3D remake shows its budget in places. Some environments look flat next to Ni no Kuni II’s painted vistas.
Pricing: $49.99 base. Frequent sales to $15.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Pick Kevin, Charlotte, or Riesz as your leader, their story routes are the strongest. Do a New Game Plus for the true final boss.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: If Ni no Kuni II is your favorite in the series and you want something structurally similar, start here.
Chained Echoes, best indie surprise
Chained Echoes is a one-developer 16-bit-style JRPG that outperforms most AAA JRPGs from the last decade. The overdrive combat system rewards you for keeping combat pace in a middle zone (not too fast, not too slow), and mech battles break up the on-foot loop. Twenty to thirty hours long.
Where it falls short: Only one solo developer means occasional rough edges in dialogue localization. Some sidequests dead-end without cluing you in.
Pricing: $24.99 base. Never on deep sale, the dev keeps it steady.
Migrating from Ni no Kuni: Play blind. The systems reveal themselves through play, and looking up guides ahead of time spoils the discovery loop.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The best indie JRPG on Steam. Buy it once, it’s cheaper than a movie ticket.
How to pick
Pick Tales of Arise if you loved Ni no Kuni II’s action combat. Pick Trials of Mana if you loved everything about Ni no Kuni II. Pick Dragon Quest XI S if you’ve never played a modern JRPG and want the genre’s high-water mark. Pick Sea of Stars or Chained Echoes if pixel art is fine with you and you want to finish a game in under a month. Pick Octopath Traveler II if you like short-story anthology structure. Stay on Ni no Kuni II itself if you haven’t finished the Prince’s Edition DLC, the Adventure Pack and Lair of the Lost Lord expansions round out the base game.
FAQ
Is Ni no Kuni II better than Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch?
Depends on preference. II has real-time action combat and better pacing. The original has the Ghibli-animated cutscenes and a stronger central emotional arc. Both are on Steam.
What is the cheapest JRPG that feels like Ni no Kuni?
Chained Echoes at $24.99 is the cheapest full-length option. Sea of Stars at $34.99 is close and adds voiced characters, kind of, through musical cues rather than dialogue.
Are any of these on Steam Deck?
All seven are Steam Deck Verified or Playable. Sea of Stars, Chained Echoes, and Octopath Traveler II look particularly good on the OLED screen.
Will Bloomwalker come to PC?
Bandai Namco announced it as a PS5 exclusive for launch, with no PC timing mentioned. Most Bandai Namco JRPGs port to PC eventually, but “eventually” for Level-5 titles has meant 12 to 18 months.
Is Dragon Quest XI S worth playing over the original XI?
Yes. The S adds new party member episodes, orchestral music, and a full 16-bit alternate mode. It replaced the base XI on Steam entirely.
