Level-5 News Articles
Thursday19th Jun 2025
News Fantasy Life i Free DLC Will Steal More Time In Huge Roguelike Open World Mode
That really is updating the world
Just under a month ago, Level-5 revealed that it would be releasing free DLC for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which has been a huge success for the Japanese developer. The game has sold over 1 million copies across all platforms, and the Switch 2 version in particular is absolutely fantastic. Now, the...
News Fantasy Life i Scores Another Switch 1 & 2 Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Bringing things in line with other systems
Hot off the back of last week's update, Level-5 has released another patch for the Switch 1 and Switch 2 versions of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, bumping the games up to ver 1.3.3 and bringing them in line with the PlayStation, Xbox and Steam versions (feature-wise). You might recall that the...
Thursday12th Jun 2025
Japanese Charts Switch 2 Crushes PS2 To Become Fastest-Selling Console Ever
Nearly 1 million consoles sold!
The latest Japanese boxed charts are here, courtesy of Famitsu, and golly gosh, would you believe it, Mario Kart World has stormed to the top with a total of 782,566 copies sold. That's simply incredible. The next in line is the Switch 1 version of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma with 45,703 copies sold. Truth be...
News New Fantasy Life i Update Lands On Switch 1 & 2, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Improved visuals on the new console
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time proved an unexpected hit to round out the Switch generation last month, with a Switch 2 version arriving just in time for the console's launch. Today, Level-5 has released an update with improvements for both consoles to keep things in tip-top condition. The ver. 1.3.0...
Friday30th May 2025
News New Videos Show How Fantasy Life i Has Been Beefed Up On Switch 2
Stronger visuals and faster load times
Level-5 has released two new videos via its YouTube channel to showcase exactly how Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has been improved on the Switch 2 (thanks, Nintendo Everything). It's pretty self-explanatory stuff here, really. The first video focuses on graphics and performance, showing how Switch...
Thursday29th May 2025
Japanese Charts Fantasy Life i Caps Off The Switch 1 With A Big Win
This is the life
Famitsu has published the latest boxed charts for Japan, and it's a huge win for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Okay, we say "huge", these figures don't exactly look great compared to what we might have seen a few years back, but hey, it's a solid start. The Switch version is the king here, of course, but PS5 has also...
Tuesday27th May 2025
News Fantasy Life i Gets Switch 2 Release Date With Paid Upgrade Path For Switch 1 Players
And it's coming launch day
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time's Switch 2 release date has been shared by Level-5 — and it's very, very soon. As in, the new console's launch day of 5th June 2025. Now, a bunch of you may already be playing the game on Switch — it only just launched on 21st May, after all. But fear not, you'll be able to...
Sunday25th May 2025
Round Up The Reviews Are In For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
Here's how this "slow-life RPG" has been received so far...
Level-5's new game Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time made its debut earlier this week and was generally well-received by fans. Now, in an update, the first reviews are beginning to surface online for the Switch version of the game and other platforms. IGN's review "in progress"...
News Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Detailed
Fixes for Switch version delayed
[Sun 18th May, 2025 02:55 BST]: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time arrives on the Switch next week and ahead of release Level-5 is rolling out an early access update on select platforms, bumping the game up to Version 1.1.1. This will be slightly different on the Switch front - with Version 1.1.0 apparently...
Saturday24th May 2025
News Fantasy Life's New Entry Has Already Hit Its First Major Sales Milestone
Anything but a slow start to life
Level-5's new release Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time made its official debut on the Switch and multiple other platforms this week and it's already hit its first major sales milestone. Following a mostly positive reception from players so far, the game has now shifted over 500,000 copies. Apart from...
Thursday22nd May 2025
Video Here's How Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Runs On Switch
But does it steal frames?
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is finally out on Switch. After what feels like a lifetime since the 3DS game — look, it came out in 2014 in North America and Europe, that's a long time ago — we're delighted to see that Level-5 seemingly hasn't lost the magic. But with some fans concerned about Fantasy Life...
Tuesday20th May 2025
Round Up The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In
Here's what players are saying
After a long wait and some delays, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is finally out this week. It's already in early access on select platforms and we've now got the first player impressions rolling in. This includes the game's reception on Valve's PC platform Steam. Right now, the reviews are currently "very...
Wednesday14th May 2025
News The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In
A fantasy score?
Level-5's long-awaited new Fantasy Life game, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, is just over a week away, and the first review for the upcoming game has just dropped. Japanese publication Famitsu has scored the "slow-life RPG" an impressive 9/9/9/9, totalling 36/40, and according to the reviewers, it will take between 30-40...
Friday9th May 2025
News Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Has Been Confirmed For Switch 2
Enjoy improved resolution and frame rate
Level-5 has confirmed that Fantasy Life: The Girl Who Steals Time will be making its way to the Switch 2 (thanks, Gematsu). It's yet another 'Nintendo Switch 2 Edition' to add to the growing list, with Level-5 promising impr
Sunday4th May 2025
News Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Estimated File Size Revealed
Make some space
Later this month, Level-5 is finally releasing Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time on the Switch after multiple delays. Nintendo's eShop is now displaying the estimated file size as 6GB. It's also noted on the Nintendo website this new entry will be 6GB to download on the Nintendo Switch 2. Keep in mind file sizes are subject...
Friday11th Apr 2025
News Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Finally Has Release Date, Out On Switch 2 Day One
It's all kicking off
Level-5 has finally shared the release date for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, along with a few surprises, including a Nintendo Switch 2 version. The long-awaited soccer game, which has been in development since at least 2016, will be landing on Switch and Switch 2 on 21st August 2025 as a digital-only game. On Switch, it'll be
Tuesday1st Apr 2025
Random Fantasy Life's Animal Crossing Parody Starring 'Tim Crook' Is A Good Laugh
"He's looking more like a hero than a debt collector"
Our favourite day of the year has arrived here on Nintendo Life and developers around the globe are already sharing all sorts of funny jokes... To be fair, Level-5 has published a decent video - transforming the Fantasy Life series into a knock-off version of Animal Crossing called Life...
Monday3rd Mar 2025
News Fantasy Life i Development Was Restructured In 2024 As Keiji Inafune Left Company
"We had to reassess and restructure the project"
Note: This article previously incorrectly stated that Keiji Inafune designed Mega Man. We have corrected the error and apologise for the mistake. A brand new blog post from Level-5 has revealed some of the development woes its upcoming title Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Namely, the...
Tuesday25th Feb 2025
News 'Fantasy Life i' Commercials Showcase Comfortingly Familiar Gameplay
Sequel is finally launching later this year
It's been a bloomin' long time coming, but Level-5's Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is finally making its way to the Switch on 22nd May 2025 following multiple delays. To really drive the message that this date is likely final, two new commercials have been released (thanks, Go Nintendo) that...
Saturday15th Feb 2025
News Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Physical Release Confirmed (Japan)
Including English language support
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has just locked in a May release date and although the West is reportedly not getting a physical version, Fantasy Life fans aren't completely out of luck. As highlighted by Gematsu, a physical edition of the game for Switch and PS5 will be made available in Japan and it...
Friday14th Feb 2025
News Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Finally Lands New May Release Date
Let's hope it can stick this one
After a handful of delays, Level-5 has today announced the new new release date for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which we can now expect to put down roots on Switch on 21st May 2025. This highly anticipated life-sim has felt like a long time coming. Initially announced in the 2023 February Direct
Monday10th Feb 2025
News Level-5 CEO Reveals Fresh 'Fantasy Life i' Screenshots, Teases More Info Coming Soon
Stealing more time
After a handful of delays, we are slowly creeping up on the April 2025 release window for Level-5's much-anticipated Fantasy Life follow-up, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. With the countdown officially on (assuming it isn't pushed again, of course), Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino has taken to Twitter to share a fresh
Tuesday28th Jan 2025
News Level-5's Long-Awaited Fantasy Life Sequel Seems To No Longer Be A Switch Exclusive
The more the merrier
After ongoing delays, we've got another update about the long-awaited Switch release Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and it might not be what you expect... As highlighted by Gematsu, it seems the sequel may no longer be a Nintendo-only release, with a listing popping up on the PlayStation Store overnight for PS4 and...
Friday29th Nov 2024
Video Latest Professor Layton Trailer Upload Shows Off English In-Game Text
See what the locals of Steam Bison have to say
Remember the new Professor Layton and the New World of Steam trailer that was shared in August? Well, Nintendo UK has now shared a slightly different one. While it's the same footage and gameplay, and the voice work and voiceovers are still in Japanese, the in-game text is now displayed in English. So...
Friday22nd Nov 2024
News Level-5's Mech RPG 'Megaton Musashi W: Wired' Lands Online PvP Mode In Upcoming Update
Here's everything included
Level-5 returned to the West in a big way earlier this year with the release of Megaton Musashi W: Wired. Eight months on, the mech battler is landing a beefy new patch, with the 'Megarobo Batroseum' update scheduled to come to Switch on 26th November. As detailed in the new trailer (above) the headline addition of this...
Wednesday30th Oct 2024
News Level-5 CEO Reconfirms Three Switch Game Releases For 2025
"Three new titles next year"
Japanese developer Level-5 celebrated its 26th anniversary earlier this week and as part of this, its CEO Akihiro Hino shared a message to fans about the company's game schedule for next year. Hino reconfirmed how the plan is to release "three new titles" in 2025. In case you missed the original announcements, this...
Wednesday2nd Oct 2024
News Level-5 CEO Implies Nintendo Is To Thank For Professor Layton's Comeback
All thanks to "Company N"
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam was one of the biggest surprise announcements of 2023. While the return of Level-5's polite professor might have felt like a no-brainer to some, it appears that the studio was initially hesitant about a comeback. That is until certain big names in the industry started pushing for...
Thursday26th Sep 2024
News Level-5's New Yo-Kai Watch 'Holy Horror Mansion' Teaser Supposedly Features AI Artwork
The Japanese dev has been experimenting with generative AI
Earlier this week, Level-5 lifted the lid on its brand-new Yo-Kai Watch concept 'Holy Horror Mansion' and while this "cross-media project" including a "Ghost Craft RPG" looks quite promising at a glance, it's believed something may be going on behind the scenes. Some fans of the Japanese...
Tuesday24th Sep 2024
News Professor Layton And The New World Of Steam Trailer Shows Off 3D Gameplay
Still slated for 2025
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam was arguably the big announcement of Level-5's return when it was revealed during a Nintendo Direct last year. And while we still have to wait a bit for the game to launch, we have got a brand new trailer to tide us by. Shown off during today's Level-5 Vision Showcase, we got a look...
News Stunning-Looking RPG 'DECAPOLICE' Will Now Launch In 2026
Arrested development
We were hoping to see DECAPOLICE, the upcoming detective RPG from Level-5, at today's To The World's Children showcase. However, what we weren't expecting was a pretty big delay. Originally due out in 2023, then delayed to 2024, Decapolice has now been pushed all the way back to 2026. Woof. That's a long wait — but we're...
