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September2017

  • Review Yo-kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters (3DS)

    The Boos are Back in Town

    Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch drew plenty of comparisons to Pokémon when it first came West, thanks to its monster-gathering mechanics and playground appeal, but it really started to resemble Nintendo’s Pocket Monster powerhouse with the split release of its 2016 sequel: Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy...

October2016

  • Review Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls (3DS)

    Yo-kai to the past

    When Yo-kai Watch arrived in the West (initially North America) in November 2015, it charmed us with its dense and detailed world, frantic touchscreen battle system and off-kilter personality. Although the similarities to Pokemon were overt, Yo-kai Watch still managed to carve out a unique identity and take us on a surprisingly...

November2015

  • Review Yo-Kai Watch (3DS)

    Gotta friend 'em all

    There's no point beating around the bush: Yo-Kai Watch is a lot like Pokémon. But instead of straight up emulating one of Nintendo's biggest franchises, developer Level-5 has aspired to create something a bit stranger and fresher than Pokémon has done in years. The result is a welcoming RPG that has some highs and some lows,...

August2015

  • Review LBX: Little Battlers eXperience (3DS)

    Battle-ready or rusting in a corner?

    If your first thought when looking at LBX: Little Battlers eXperience was that it's aimed for children you'd be right on the money. From top to toe this is clearly aimed at the older child/young teenager market with its colourful aesthetic, 'kid-friendly' violence and badass robots. The core of the game however...

September2014

  • Review Fantasy Life (3DS)

    It’s a wonderful Life

    Fantasy Life, Level-5 and Brownie Brown’s life sim and action RPG, is a game with a long and storied history. Originally announced in Japan for the Nintendo DS/DSi generation of consoles back in 2009, it spent three years in development, seeing a platform upgrade to the Nintendo 3DS, finally releasing in Japan-only on 27th...

June2014

  • Review Inazuma Eleven GO: Light & Shadow (3DS)

    Shiny new kit

    In Japan, Level-5 is one of the masters at maximising franchises through games — typically on portable systems — and TV shows or films, continually keeping the storyline going and producing regular content. Yo-kai Watch is the current craze, while Professor Layton had some film content to accompany six main-series games and more...

March2014

  • Review Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)

    A puzzling crossover to be solved

    It's no surprise that the announcement of Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney back in 2012 in Japan caused quite a buzz among keen Nintendo portable gamers. The two franchises typify much of what made the DS a phenomenal success — even if Ace Attorney had its beginnings on Game Boy Advance — by...

  • Review Inazuma Eleven (3DS eShop)

    A Beautiful Game

    In Japan Inazuma Eleven is an institution — a multi-modal soccer sensation spanning several sequels and spin-offs, a wildly successful anime adaptation, and even a collectable card game; it's also enjoyed a number of releases in Europe. It's captured hearts from Kyoto to Cádiz, and now Level-5 is aiming to complete that...

  • Review Weapon Shop De Omasse (3DS eShop)

    Well-crafted

    Remember the Guild01 series from all the way back in late 2012? Of course you do. It’s the little eShop series that could. Defying all expectations, the Guild games jumped the pond from Japan and landed securely on the Western 3DS eShop stores, providing three indie games that span a variety of genres. The success of the original...

February2014

  • Review Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks (3DS)

    Extra time

    We're no strangers to dual releases in the Inazuma Eleven series, as it apes the money-spinning convention best seen in the Pokémon franchise; yet Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks adds a third variation at a later release date. For fans of Inazuma Eleven 3 in either of its first two forms this is potentially more of a rather good...

October2013

  • Review Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (3DS)

    A final puzzle to savour

    The arrival of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is an occasion both exciting and tinged with sadness. For dedicated fans of the franchise across DS and 3DS there's the promise of hundreds of puzzles and a generous dosage of gentlemanly charm, offset by the knowledge that — for now at least — this is the last...

September2013

  • Review Inazuma Eleven 3 (3DS)

    Hat-trick hero?

    The Inazuma Eleven football / soccer RPG franchise is a major success in Japan, so much so that spin-offs and new releases are — at a minimum — arriving on an annual basis. Localisation to Europe has been a slower burn, and unfortunately non-existent in North America, so the arrival of Inazuma Eleven 3, the third title in the...

July2013

  • Review Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (3DS eShop)

    Pacific Rim meets The Goonies

    Level-5 saved the best for last in its final Guild02 release with Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale. Designed by Kaz Ayabe, this is a short, very sweet interactive story about a little boy who lives in a small town where mysterious monsters appear on Friday afternoons. The game takes place in rural Tokyo in...

  • Review BUGS vs. TANKS! (3DS eShop)

    Repellant

    The Guild01 series brought 3DS owners three completely different, off-the-wall, and well-received games. The second iteration of this series, appropriately named Guild02, is already off to another fantastic start with the recent release of The Starship Damrey, a story-heavy science fiction adventure. Now, we’re lucky enough to experience...

May2013

  • Review The Starship Damrey (3DS eShop)

    A short story adventure

    There's a reason that some gamers get excited at the news of Guild01 and Guild02 localisations in the West, as Level-5's collections gather some of the Japanese development community's finest names to produce small titles of, well, whatever genre they feel like trying out. The Starship Damrey is the first of the second...

December2012

  • Review Crimson Shroud (3DS eShop)

    The red coat is coming

    All magic in the world stems from gifts delivered directly to mankind from the gods. That much, as far as Crimson Shroud is concerned, is fact. Or is it? As you lead your party through a treacherous dungeon in search of the original gift — the titular and mysterious Crimson Shroud — other possibilities present themselves...

November2012

  • Review Aero Porter (3DS eShop)

    A game with a lot of baggage

    We at Nintendo Life absolutely loved Airport Mania: First Flight. Its appeal was rooted largely in the simplicity of its tasks, and the larger effects they all seemed to have. Airport Mania took the entire, massive scope of airport management and narrowed it to a tiny focus: directing and maintaining planes. There was,...