Infinity Nikki is a new RPG released on December 5th and hitting 20 million downloads within the first week. Many are enjoying the games and any complaints are quickly attended to by Infold Games; however, there is one complaint that has been ignored: the gacha system.
Gacha Games, like Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, and of course, Infinity Nikki, are games where rare items can only be achieved through gambling. Characters, or in Infinity Nikki’s case, outfits, can only be won through spending “wishing materials” gathered throughout the game which have a chance of giving you a “five star”. A five star is a rare material that will improve your standing in the game.
The main complaint with Infinity Nikki’s gacha system is one many gacha games face, which is that it’s impossible to get every rare item without buying wishing materials for real money. However, Infinity Nikki is more fair than most.
From my experience finishing all content currently in Infinity Nikki, I have gathered around 480 “wishes”. As an entire five star outfit is guaranteed every 200, but more often comes around 170-180, I would be capable of getting two guaranteed five stars.
With a new five star coming out every month, this seems like an unreasonable amount, even with the new content (and new wishing materials) released every few days. But compared to some of the most popular gachas, it is fair for the genre.
For one, Infinity Nikki’s gacha is not necessary for enjoyment. The five star outfits in Infinity Nikki are used in “Styling Battles”, where the rarity and level of your outfits gives you points to beat an opponent. However, as someone who only has one five star outfit, five star outfits are typically not necessary. Besides the limited event challenges that come out with the release of new outfits, most challenges are either achievable without five star outfits or through the five stars that are given to you in the game.
Even the act of getting the five star outfit is more fair. Genshin Impact is one of the cruelest gacha systems, but has set the standard for what gacha games are capable of pulling off.
In Genshin Impact, a five star character is guaranteed after 80 wishes, ignoring that you have a chance of getting the wrong five star (an aspect Infinity Nikki doesn’t have). But the highest upgrade of a character is guaranteed after 1040 wishes (with character and weapon). Infinity Nikki on the other hand reaches its usefulness at 200 wishes, and its cosmetic upgrades at most cost 400.
Screenshot from Infinity Nikki by Infold Games, depicting the current five star banner “Lingering Finale”
The gambling aspect of Infinity Nikki may deter some players who are unaccustomed to gacha systems in games, but it doesn’t detract from how amazing the game really is. The time spent exploring, meeting interesting characters, and partaking in fun events each month is much more enjoyable without the competitiveness of an unachievable gacha looming over you. Infinity Nikkis is a fun playthrough even for those distrustful of the gacha genre.
