Level-5 News, Level-5 Features - Page 2 of 3

Possible, but strange

The Inazuma Eleven series is still relatively unknown outside of Japan. The first two DS titles have arrived in Europe, though only after a fair bit of waiting, while the third for the system, the series debut on 3DS and two Wii spin-offs are yet to arrive outside of Nintendo's homeland. We can safely assume, due to the volume...

Magic book blamed

Level-5 and Studio Ghibli collaboration Ni No Kuni is getting an English release on PS3 in 2013, but its DS counterpart won't be leaving Japan. Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino explained to Famitsu (via Andriasang) some of the difficulties preventing the portable adventure reaching the West. The DS game comes with a large Magic Master...

A game of two halves

Football RPG Inazuma Eleven must have done reasonably well for itself across Europe as Nintendo has announced the sequel is on the way in 2012. The tentatively titled Inazuma Eleven 2 is to be split into two games, currently subtitled Firestorm and Blizzard, as it was in Japan upon its initial release back in 2009. If you're not...

Mystery solved

Nintendo of Europe has announced Professor Layton on 3DS will release across the continent in 2012. Known in Japan as Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle — currently called Professor Layton 5 in Europe — was released with 3DS in the Land of the Rising Sun. Layton and Luke arrive in the town of Montdol to investigate the...

Worth investigating

After a successful première at New York Comic Con, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is set for a DVD release in just a few days. VIZ Media has announced the film will see release North America on 8th November, with a recommended retail price of $19.97 U.S. or $19.98 CAN, though you can buy it direct for $14.99. It'll be...

Also contains giant dragon

Level-5 and Brownie Brown collaboration Fantasy Life is shaping up to be pretty special, if the super-cute video below is anything to go by. Revealed this past weekend at Level-5's regular press event, the video shows off some of the game's anime-styled cut scenes as well as in-game footage of the fantasy world itself. As you'd expect from a collaboration between..

A dream team of talent

Level-5 is extremely busy on 3DS these days: we know a little more about Fantasy Life but the company also just announced a new project called Guild 01, a collaboration between some of Japan's best designers. Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen director Yasumi Matsuno and Seaman creator...

No, not Nintendo Life reviewer

Japanese developers Level-5 and Brownie Brown — creators of Professor Layton and Mother 3 respectively — are teaming to make Fantasy Life for 3DS, an RPG about keeping your job at the end of the world. Famitsu (via Siliconera) reports that the game will feature 20 jobs including chef, lumberjack, scholar, street entertainer, postman, magician, soldier, treasure..

All together now...

Two of the DS's greatest heroes are combining in one 3DS adventure. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is real, and it looks like this. The first thing worth noting is the 3D polygon models of Layton and Phoenix are remarkably faithful to their original two-dimensional selves, with the familiar sight of Wright's brow dripping...

Another mystery to investigate

The thought of seeing two of gaming's greatest minds face-off in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is the reason we get out of bed in the morning, but when it was revealed that Ace Attorney Investigations 2 wouldn't come Westward some were worried that future mental mastery wouldn't make it out of Japan either. Now...

DS owners rejoice

There is some good news for Professor Layton fans in the EU with confirmation that the series prequel, Professor Layton and the Last Specter, now has a confirmed release date of 25th November in UK and Europe. It will launch with the alternate title Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call. The game will have been out in Japan for just shy of two years when it arrives, so good..

Update: bonus game denied

Update: Nintendo of Europe has now backtracked on its original statement and told us that London Life isn't coming to Europe. Original story follows: Nintendo of America's Professor Layton and the Last Specter press release yesterday caused some concern for European DS owners as it seemed to imply that the title's bonus...

London Life mode revealed

There's something inexplicably thrilling about getting a new game, but how about getting two new games in one? We bet you're giddy already. The next announcement might just tip you over the edge: Professor Layton and the Last Specter is coming to North America on 17th October and contains a bonus game. Layton's had bonus games before of course, but nothing on this scale..

Staff members talk Wii U

This week's issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu features a section where game developers and producers talk about Nintendo's next home console the Wii U, and among those that took part were Level-5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino and Jiro Ishii, who's working on the upcoming 3DS title Time Travelers. As reported by...

About time

In January, Nintendo did something unusual: it accidentally released a video game. A small number of copies of DS football RPG Inazuma Eleven from Level-5 deftly dodged the tackles of Nintendo's distribution system and scored a few goals with customers before Nintendo blew the half-time whistle and the error was corrected. Now the game of two halves is properly coming to the UK, with a..

Just the right kind of experience

This week's issue of Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu contains an interview with Yasumi Matsuno, a former staff member at Square Enix who now finds himself under the employment of Professor Layton studio Level-5. As translated by Andriasang, the video game designer with acclaimed titles such as Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Final Fantasy:..

Stock released "in error"

Our British copy of Inazuma Eleven arrived recently, flying in the face of general wisdom that the game isn't yet available in the UK. Since then we've been in contact with Nintendo UK, who have been able to clarify the situation. Robert Saunders, Nintendo's head of communications, confirmed that the game has not officially launched in the UK, but that a small number of..

Update: Nintendo speaks!

The Inazuma Eleven saga continues. Launched in Europe on January 28th, the game's been absent from the vast majority of retailers, causing many sites to speculate the game isn't available. In fact, a Nintendo customer service representative told N-Europe: Unfortunately, this game has been delayed slightly within the UK. We should have further information available about..

Level-5 really is outdoing itself

Fans of the Professor Layton series should by now be familiar with Level-5's commitment to providing post-release content in the form of new puzzles, and the upcoming 3DS instalment isn't about to break that habit. Previous games in the franchise have provided new puzzles which could be downloaded on a weekly basis,...