Level-5 News, Level-5 Features

Currently observing "how technology advances"

Level-5, the Japanese developer behind titles such as Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Inazuma Eleven, the Guild01 and 02 collections and a whole heap more, is celebrating its 15th anniversary later this year. The time has certainly flown by and in an interview with Famitsu - helpfully translated...

Could they be Guild 03 related?

Level-5's Guild 02 titles are already out in Japan and are on their way to the West. The Starship Damrey will be released first - 16th May in North America - and will be followed by Bugs vs. Tanks! and Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale. There's been no official news on any development of a Guild 03 series...

Only his 3DS debut performed worse in week one

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies is likely to already be on the wishlists of a number of puzzle fans in the West, arriving in Japan as the sixth main-series title starring the tea-drinking and fashionable hat-wearing academic. It'll bring a conclusion to the prequel trilogy and, if Level-5 sticks...

"We've concluded that there is no patent violation"

Japanese developer Level-5 has responded to SEGA's recent legal campaign to have the company remove its Inzauma Eleven series from sale due to an alleged patent infringement. SEGA is claiming that Level-5's soccer RPG features a touch-driven interface which violates two of its patents. The...

Inazuma Eleven to blame?

In one of the strangest turn of events we've witnessed for a while, Japanese publisher SEGA is suing Professor Layton studio Level-5 over the use of touch control patents on the Nintendo DS handheld. Japanese news site Yomiuri Online broke the news, revealing that SEGA was taking action to protect two patents it had...

More puzzling gameplay details solved

Capcom and Level-5 have revealed more details about the gameplay in the latest trailer for upcoming crossover title Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. The game will feature a combination of elements from both series, switching between Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright. Layton’s segments will see the player...

Maybe some new titles on the way too?

As you're no doubt already aware, Guild 01 is an interesting compilation of games spanning from four unique developers. Liberation Maiden has already graced our 3DS consoles, with Aero Porter and Crimson Shroud making their way to the west in the not-too-distant future. One title that hasn't been mentioned for...

Taking a well deserved - but not permanent - break

It has been announced that Yatsumi Matsuno has left Level-5, the developers behind the Professor Layton series. Matsuno tweeted to his followers that he was retiring from the company due to personal reasons which he didn't state. Matsuno had only joined Level-5 in June last year and had been...

There's no objection from us

Siliconera has reported that Level-5 is planning to release a director's cut in downloadable content form for its upcoming puzzle adventure crossover, Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. The DLC, which will be available some time after the game releases in Japan on 29th November, features an unedited script of the...

"Every (downloadable) puzzle has an answer"

With only a few weeks until its Western release, Level-5 and Nintendo have released a brand new trailer for Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, which shows off a handful of new features. Taking full advantage of the 3DS hardware, Layton's latest adventure is fully rendered in 3D, and comes jam-packed...

Yet another Level-5 trailer

Today Level-5 has most definitely been leading the pack at Tokyo Game Show, showing off all its upcoming 3DS titles and wowing the crowds with gorgeous new trailers. Earlier today we reported the newly released trailers of Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney and Fantasy Life, and now we bring you the brand new trailer for...

It's all kinds of cute

Level-5 is keeping itself very busy at the moment, with the development of the upcoming Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, as well as possibly the cutest RPG you will ever come across, Fantasy Life. The new trailer from Tokyo Game Show shows off the customisation features, some of the 20 playable jobs (such as a fisherman,...

Showing both styles of gameplay

If you were ever concerned that one of the two franchises in Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney would overshadow the other, then fear not, as this brand new trailer hot from Tokyo Game Show should put all your worries at bay. The trailer demonstrates not only the integration of the two art styles, but also the...

A puzzle yet to be solved

Thanks to its unique control interface and dual-screens, the DS generation has paved the way for some of the most diverse games ever committed to cartridge, perhaps none more so than the Professor Layton series. Ask a number of people ten years ago whether they would be interested in playing a game that tasks you with...

Taking investigations beyond Nintendo

The Professor Layton series has become rather popular on Nintendo DS and 3DS, with the first of the latest handheld's entries arriving outside of Japan in late October. It's much-loved in Japan, especially, with manga, novels and a movie — Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva — all being released, the...

Join up

Have you been looking forward to Level-5's Guild01, the 3DS collection that gathers together four games from renowned developers? You might be in luck, as some trademarks have been uncovered that suggests it could be on the way to North America. Siliconera has been doing some digging around and discovered trademarks listed for Crimson...

What a life

The official website for Level-5 / Brownie Brown RPG Fantasy Life has finally burst into existence. The website can be found here. It's all in Japanese, but if you pop over there you can at least see some new screens and artwork that show off the town and avatar system. Much of the information was also published in Japanese magazine...

Why so serious?

Level-5 has been very cryptic so far with information about its upcoming release of Time Travelers in Japan this week, and things aren't about to get any clearer with these two latest trailers. Even with only three days before its launch on Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita, and ten days until Time Travelers releases on PSP, Level-5 are...

It sure would

Level-5 top dog Akihiro Hino has told Famitsu (via Andriasang) a 3D Professor Layton game on Wii U would be 'interesting'. So far the popular puzzle series has only appeared on portable formats, but with the Wii U's touch screen GamePad and wealth of inputs it might be able to do the tricky teasers justice. Hino says a game where you...