Level-5 News Articles
Wednesday27th Jun 2018
News Yo-Kai Watch Comes To Smartphones To Challenge Pokémon GO's Dominance
Spooky stuff
Level-5 and GungHo Online Entertainment have just launched a Yo-Kai Watch game for iOS and Android smartphones in Japan. Yo-Kai Watch World is a location-based title not entirely unlike Pokémon GO, where famous Yo-Kai characters appear "in
Sunday24th Jun 2018
Video Yo-Kai Watch 4 Teaser Trailer Reconfirms 2018 Release Date For Japan
Western audiences still waiting for the third game
During the month of April, it was announced the next installment in Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch video game franchise would be released on the Nintendo Switch. Simply known as Yo-Kai Watch 4, the game was scheduled for Japan later this year. CoroCoro - a monthly Japanese manga magazine - has now...
Monday23rd Apr 2018
Rumour The Brawling Action Of Yo-Kai Watch Busters Could Be Headed To The West
Is a new 3DS localisation on the horizon?
It was way back in 2015 that we got news that the Yo-Kai Watch franchise was getting another spin-off in the form of Yo-Kai Watch Busters, but sadly the open-world brawler never made its way out of Japan. Well, if a tidbit of information is anything to go by, this 3DS gem could finally be getting localised...
Tuesday10th Apr 2018
News Yo-Kai Watch 4 Coming To The Nintendo Switch This Year In Japan
Super high-grade power up
In what should come as a surprise to basically no-one, the next instalment in the Yo-Kai Watch series, simply known as Yo-Kai Watch 4 for the time being, will be coming to the Switch rather than the 3DS. This will be welcome news to many Nintendo gamers who only want to play games on the latest and greatest hardware. This...
Monday12th Mar 2018
News Inazuma Eleven: Balance Of Ares Gameplay Footage Sprints Onto The Pitch
He shoots, he scores
Level 5 has released new gameplay footage of its forthcoming Inazuma Eleven sequel, subtitled Balance of Ares. The franchise began life on the Nintendo DS before leaping over to the 3DS. Balance of Ares is coming to Switch, PlayStation 4 and smart devices this year in Japan, and will be accompanied by an anime series - the...
Friday9th Feb 2018
News The Snack World Trejarers Gold Will Scoff Its Way Onto Nintendo Switch On 12th April
It's just for Japan, though
We've known for a little while that a port of The Snack World - a Japan-only RPG that's evolved into a multimedia hit brand with its own film and a line of super popular toys - will be getting a Nintendo Switch port, but now we finally have a date. Developer Level 5 has confirmed the game - called The Snack World...
Thursday11th Jan 2018
News The Food-Obsessed RPG The Snack World: Trejarers To Cook Up A Storm On Switch
The cross-media hit makes the leap from 3DS to Switch
When it comes to zany, oddball ideas, Japan's gaming industry has the market sewn up. Take The Snack World: Trejarers, a cutesy RPG boasting an unhealthy obsession with foodstuffs and smartphones, which has just been announced for Nintendo Switch in Japan. Swapping out a traditional fantasy...
Monday11th Sep 2017
News Yo-Kai Watch Busters 2 Will Come In Two Flavours Later This Year
Yum!
It has been revealed that Yo-Kai Watch spin-off Yo-Kai Watch Busters 2: Hihou Densetsu Banbarayaa will be released in two versions this December. The October issue of Japanese publication CoroCoro has stated that Hihou Densetsu Banbarayaa will come in "Sword" and "Magnum" versions. Little information exists regarding exactly how...
Thursday17th Aug 2017
News Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy Hits Europe on 6th October
Nintendo to publish in EU, daily puzzles to be added
Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy is a welcome return for the classic series formula, albeit we have a new protagonist and a focus on light-hearted storytelling and a push to keep the focus on puzzles. Already confirmed for the Fall season in North America,...
Tuesday1st Aug 2017
News Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters Launches on 29th September
Check out the new trailer, too
The 3DS just keeps right on chugging along with new releases such as the Metroid: Samus Returns, Monster Hunter Stories, and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to look forward to in the coming months. That last one, of course, has competition with
Thursday13th Jul 2017
News Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters Haunts Europe This Autumn
12 new quests and over 300 playable Yo-Kai
Nintendo has confirmed that it is bringing Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters to Europe this Autumn, bringing it in line with North America. The game is the third version of Yo-Kai Watch 2, following on from Bony Spirits
Thursday22nd Jun 2017
That's one puzzle solved
It's been too long since we last had a Professor Layton game, and though that era in the series has passed we do have Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy to look forward to. The good news is that it's not too far away, with Nintendo of America confirming that it'll arrive in the region...
Thursday15th Jun 2017
News The Hybrid Nature Of Switch Is Causing Level-5 Headaches With Its Next Layton Adventure
Better Layton than never?
When you say the name "Level-5" a whole host of games might spring to mind, but for many people the studio will forever be associated with the best-selling Professor Layton series, which began life on the Nintendo DS. The franchise has been exclusive to portable devices ever since, and the latest entry - Layton's Mystery...
News Mighty No. 9 Dev Comcept Acquired By Level-5, 3DS Version Is Still Coming
"The possibilities are limitless here"
Mighty No. 9 studio Comcept has been acquired by Level-5 - custodians of the Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch franchises - to create a new company named Level-5 Comcept. This will be an entirely new studio built upon the foundations of Comcept’s existing staff, which currently consists of about 15...
Friday9th Jun 2017
News Yo-Kai Watch Season 2 Will Be Streamed On YouTube Kids In The UK
Spooky
VIZ Media Europe has confirmed that 26 episodes of Yo-Kai Watch season 2 will be made available for streaming via YouTube Kids in the UK. Each week during June a playlist of seven new episodes will go live, with the first going up on June 9th. Pascal J. Bonnet, Executive Director, VIZ Media Europe commented: We are very glad to partner up...
Thursday8th Jun 2017
News Go On A Mystery Journey To Find The Layton Café At E3 This Year
Grab a selfie with Hershel and Katrielle
If you are lucky enough to be attending E3 next week in Los Angeles, then why not take part in a Professor Layton themed mystery adventure, which the lovely folks at LEVEL-5 have prepared in order to celebrate the arrival of Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy later this...
Tuesday23rd May 2017
News Level-5 Is Working On At Least One Nintendo Switch Game
Yokai Watch? Layton? Ni no Kuni?
With E3 right round the corner it's fair to speculate about what new titles we'll see at the show, and Level-5 has set chins wagging by confirming that it has at least one Switch game in development. The studio - best known for Ni no Kuni, Professor Layton and the Yo-kai Watch series -...
Tuesday28th Mar 2017
News Yo-Kai Watch Wibble Wobble Getting European Release Ahead of IP's 3DS Sequel
Get out the tablet
Due to the perils of localisation Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls is only now approaching its EU release, due in the region on 7th April. Level 5 - and to a degree Nintendo - plan to give the sequel and IP an extra push with a mobile release the week before. Yo-Kai Watch Wibble Wobble is heading to European phones...
Thursday2nd Feb 2017
News Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls Finally Get a European Release Date
And keep the weird names
Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls arrived in North America last Fall / Autumn, but have taken a little longer to make their way to Europe. Their arrival is now nailed down, however, as the dual release will hit stores in the region on 7th April. Intriguingly, Europe was highlighted as a successful territory...
Thursday15th Dec 2016
Video Embrace the Weirdness of Snack World, Level-5's Next Big Thing
Deliciously strange
Level-5 has been a successful company for quite some time, but the viral success of Yo-kai Watch in Japan took it to another level. Though the company had previously dabbled with 'cross-media' franchises with the likes of Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven, the idea's been exploited to the full with the Pokémon challenger. The...
Wednesday23rd Nov 2016
News Level-5 is Running a Black Friday Sale on the North American 3DS eShop
Up to sixty percent off
'Tis the season yet again for ravenous shoppers of all kinds to brave the hordes in search of great deals on random stuff. Black Friday is just a few days away, and every day the temptations grow stronger as more companies show their hand for the shopping holiday. Granted, there's nothing wrong with staying at home and...
Monday31st Oct 2016
News Level-5 Planning To Support Nintendo Switch But Won't Have Any Games At Launch
"We'll work with it as soon as we figure out how to take advantage of it"
Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino has confirmed that the studio plans to make games for the Nintendo Switch, but admits that he's still not sure how to make the most of the console's unique setup. Level-5 has been a staunch supporter of Nintendo systems in the past, creating the...
Friday14th Oct 2016
News Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki Confirmed for Japan
Another souped up release
Yo-kai Watch 3: Sushi / Tempura arrived in Japan during the Summer, and though the latest dual release fell short of the launch sales of its predecessor, it was nevertheless another success for Level-5. The developer and publisher isn't planning to slow down with the series, either. Copying the strategy from Yo-kai Watch...
Thursday1st Sep 2016
News Demo Of Yo-Kai Watch 2 Arrives On The North American eShop Soon
Try before you buy
If you live in North America and were a fan of the original Yo-Kai Watch game on the 3DS, you'll probably already be aware the dual release sequel launches later this month on the 30th September. In the latest Nintendo Direct it was also revealed a free demo for Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls will arrive on the...
Wednesday17th Aug 2016
News Level-5 CEO on Producing Successful Cross-Media Projects
Yo-Kai Watch wasn't just a fluke
Level-5 is a company that has become increasingly more relevant and prolific over the years, as it's procedurally added more and more successful franchises to its portfolio. If you notice, most of the company's current projects exist in multiple forms, with cartoons, games, toys, and more all contributing to the...
Tuesday16th Aug 2016
News Yo-Kai Watch 2 Won't Be Spooking Europe Until Next Year
Delays for the deceased
Yo-Kai Watch 2 comes out in North America and Australia this October, but it has now been revealed that European players will have to wait until Spring 2017 to get their hands on the game. The news was confirmed today by the official Yo-Kai Watch Twitter account: Europe had to endure a delay for the first
Wednesday27th Jul 2016
News Level-5 Confirms New Inazuma Eleven Outing And NFC "Eleven Band" Accessory
Could be NX-bound
During Level-5 Vision 2016 the esteemed Japanese studio showed the trailer for the anime pilot episode of Inazuma Eleven Ares, the next entry in the popular soccer-based RPG franchise. The title takes place after the events of the very first Inazuma Eleven game. Three main protagonists are included this time around - Ryouhei...
News Yo-kai Watch 3 and New 3DS Continue to Lead the Way in Japan
Tasty results
It's Japanese Media Create charts time, as we see what's hot and what's not in Nintendo's homeland. It's another good week for Level-5 and the 3DS, with a handful of new releases on Sony hardware arriving in the top 20. Dual release Yo-kai Watch 3: Sushi / Tempura comfortably retains top spot, albeit not quite living up to the sales...
News Level-5 Shows More of The Snack World and Unveils Cross-Media Strategy
Heading to 3DS in Japan in July 2017
With Yo-kai Watch established as a major cross-media money-spinner for Level-5 - with its TV show, toys, video games and assorted merchandise - the company is plotting its next major project that'll employ a similar strategy. We've known about The Snack World for a little while, but the recent Level-5 Vision 2016...
News Megaton Musashi Boasts Giant Morphing Mechs And Cunning Cross-Media Marketing
Pacific Rim for kids?
Level-5 has lifted the lid on its next "cross media" property, Megaton Musashi. Set in a universe where aliens have decimated 90 percent of the human population, this new venture will take the same approach as Level-5's other multimedia projects. There will be a 3DS game, smartphone title, anime show and plenty of merchandise,...
