Few storytellers capture the imagination quite like Hayao Miyazaki and his animation studio, Studio Ghibli. The art style and themes of Studio Ghibli movies like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind have inspired other media since that film debuted in 1984, so, intentionally or not, many video games contain more than echoes of that influence.
Level-5 RPG Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is the most direct adaptation of the Ghibli style to gaming, featuring character designs and anime cutscenes produced by the studio itself. The game received high praise after its 2013 PlayStation 3 release, due to its suitably gorgeous visuals, interesting world, charming characters, and unique battle system. Level-5 later produced a sequel, Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, with a similar art style but no direct Studio Ghibli involvement.
But besides Ni no Kuni, plenty of other video games follow the style, themes, and tone of Studio Ghibli movies. Here are some of the best games for those who like Miyazaki's work - after a few honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions - Games Like Studio Ghibli's Movies
Aegis Defenders
Nausicaä-like character designs add a Ghibli flavor to this 2D, pixel-art, tower defense platformer.
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale
This cozy depiction of a 1970s Japanese town instills a sense of place reminiscent of My Neighbor Totoro and From Up on Poppy Hill.
Dark Cloud 2
Vibes of Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle In The Sky touch this content-rich dungeon crawler, though many elements of the game stray from those aesthetics.
Pokémon HeartGold
Pokémon's Johto region is its most deeply steeped in Japanese culture. Coupled with the early games' general nostalgic feel, the monster-filled world of HeartGold (and, to a slightly lesser extent, SoulSilver) brings Ghibli movies like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away to mind.
Terranigma - Surreal, 16-Bit Nausicaä
Although it's rather obscure due to its Japan- and Europe-only release, Terranigma is regarded by some as the best action-RPG on the SNES. Besides its aesthetic - a Nausicaä-like mix of medieval European, futuristic, and vaguely indigenous - Terranigma channels Ghibli movies like Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke via its world and themes. The story explores the destruction of nature at humanity's expense, and extended, sweeping views of nature (impressively beautiful for a 16-bit game) instill a sense of wonder like those movies' wide shots of fungi and forests.
Forgotton Anne - Studio Ghibli Still Life, Made Literal
Studio Ghibli's movies seem to have a deep appreciation for everyday objects, rendering them in a level of detail that almost makes them feel fantastical. There's a reason why Studio Ghibli's delicious-looking meals are a meme, after all. Forgotton Anne takes that fascination with the inanimate and makes it the focus of its clearly Ghibli-inspired world. An adventure game with light puzzle platforming, Forgotton Anne takes players on a hand-drawn journey through a world where forgotten and abandoned objects come to life.
Jade Cocoon - Mononoke Monster-Capture
PlayStation 1 RPG Jade Cocoon's visual style screams Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - albeit in a much lower fidelity. Grotesque, bug-like monsters roam its dense forests, which are populated by tribes of humans designed by Katsuya Kondō, who previously worked on Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service. Gameplay consists of a mix of Pokémon-style monster capturing, with a deeper breeding element to allow players to customize their creatures. The real attractions, though, are its style and atmosphere.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild - Open-World Ghibli Beauty
The soft edges and watercolor-like cell shading of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Hyrule make it as close to exploring the worlds of Princess Mononoke or Howl's Moving Castle as video games have ever offered. Perhaps the most apt comparison, though, is to Castle in the Sky: Like that titular castle, Laputa, Breath of the Wild's overgrown, ruined world gives off simultaneous feelings of tranquility, melancholy, and danger. Its world is a character in itself - the game's strongest, by far - and that's perhaps what makes Breath of the Wild feel so distinctly "Ghibli."
The Night Of The Rabbit - Spirited Away To Wonderland
An Alice in Wonderland-style, point-and-click adventure game, The Night of the Rabbit may not share Studio Ghibli's anime look, but it has strong similarities to Spirited Away. It's that same kind of "out of your depth" story, where the main character is forced to navigate a strange, magical world they don't understand. It helps that its backgrounds are drawn with a Ghibli-like attention to detail, showing a love for clutter worthy of The Secret World of Arrietty.