We hadn’t heard much news about Ninokuni as of late and now we know why. The collaborative project of developer Level 5 and acclaimed animation company Studio Ghibli has been delayed into the spring of next year, according to Siliconera. To refresh our memories, Ninokuni is an adventure game slated for the Nintendo DS and an as-of-yet unannounced console. The story follows the journey of a young boy named Oliver who is given the “Magic Master” spell book as he travels into a fantastic parallel world to resurrect his late mother. Along with a copy of the game, players will also receive and get to use their very own spell book identical to the one Oliver has in the game, making Ninokuni potentially one of the more innovative titles to date.

The news of the game’s move into spring 2010 is a bit of a disappointment, but looking at the track record for both parties — Dragon Quest VIII, IX and the Professor Layton series from Level 5; Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle from Studio Ghibli — we think they know what they’re doing. It would be uncharacteristic for either entity to produce work that hasn’t been taken care of with meticulous detail. We’re hoping the longer wait will payoff with a better quality of the game.