Level-5 News Articles
Monday30th May 2016
News The CEO of Level-5 Had a Hand in Dragon Quest IX Appearing on the DS
Who would've thought?
The Professor Layton series made its grand entrance on the Nintendo DS and quickly made a name for itself as one of the great franchises on the portable. Of course, the widespread sales success of the DS likely had a hand in propelling the series to popularity, so there was something of a mutually beneficial relationship...
Monday16th May 2016
News Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls Arrive in North America on 30th September
More toys and TV episodes also on the way
Level 5's bid for global domination with the Yo-kai Watch brand is going to continue later this year, with Nintendo of America confirming that the second entry in the series is heading to North America on 30th September. It is, as is all the rage at the moment, a dual release - Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits...
Tuesday12th Apr 2016
News Yo-kai Watch 3 Coming To Nintendo 3DS In Two Fishy Flavours
Sushi or Tempura, anyone?
The latest issue of Japanese magazine CoroCoro has revealed that 3DS title Yo-Kai Watch 3 will come in two different versions: Sushi and Tempura. Both launch on July 16th in Japan. At retail, each version will come with an exclusive medal. The Sushi editon has the KK Brothers (the US version of Komasan and Komajiro) while...
Wednesday6th Apr 2016
News Yo-kai Brand Power Strikes Again in Japan as Pokkén Tournament Passes Sales Landmark
Wii U hardware sales continue to toil, however
It's the middle of the week, which means it's time to look over what's hot and what's not in Japan with the Media Create charts. Level-5 will be rolling around in bundles of cash once again, while there are both positives and negatives for Nintendo. Kicking off with software, Yo-kai Sangokushi on 3DS...
Wednesday16th Mar 2016
News Akira Tago Passes Away at Age 90
The Professor Layton series' "Puzzle Master"
The Professor Layton games form a popular portable series that's spanned across the DS and 3DS, famous for their puzzle-based gameplay. Though fans still await the coming of the mysterious 'Layton 7', the series recently lost a great contributor on its development side. It was recently reported that...
Thursday3rd Mar 2016
Video Satoru Shibata Celebrates Yo-Kai Watch European Release News With Some Killer Dance Moves
Arriving in April, demo available on the 3DS eShop now
Yo-Kai Watch is coming to Europe on April 29th, and to mark that news, Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata has performed a dance which is sure to generate a near-endless stream of gifs over the next few months. The game has taken Japan by a storm and launched in North America not that...
Tuesday23rd Feb 2016
News Yo-kai Watch Begins Its European Quest on 29th April
About time
Though the majority of major Nintendo releases have aligned releases globally, or at least in the West, the recent glut of 3DS releases have been somewhat scattered between North America and Europe. One example is Yo-kai Watch, which was marketed as a major Holiday 2015 release Stateside but is only now dated for the EU. It's arriving on...
Monday21st Dec 2015
Higher ticket sales, but lower takings
The world may be gripped by Star Wars fever at the moment but in Japan, the most-seen movie didn't feature lightsabers or X-Wings, but mischievous ghosts and magical timepieces. More tickets were sold for Yo-Kai Watch the Movie 2: King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! than Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but due to...
Wednesday2nd Dec 2015
News The Yo-Kai Watch Franchise Has Now Shipped Over 10 Million Copies
Will it take off outside Japan?
Yo-Kai Watch from Level-5 is a series that, despite having its own identity and style, undoubted has its eyes fixed on Pokémon. A hit that originally took off when the anime series gained viewership - game sales spiked once the TV show got into its stride in Japan - it's been relentlessly expanded. In Japan there are...
Tuesday1st Dec 2015
News We'll Be Seeing More Of Level-5's 3DS Title The Snack World This Month
Anime will debut alongside Yo-Kai Watch the Movie 2 in Japan
At its media event this year, Level-5 lifted the lid on its latest cross-media extravaganza, The Snack World. The property is hitting a wide range of sectors - including smartphones, TV, comics and toys - but Nintendo fans will be interested to learn that it's coming to the 3DS as well...
Wednesday25th Nov 2015
News Level-5 CEO Talks About Bringing the Company's Games to Wii U and NX
Perhaps a home console Yo-Kai Watch is on the horizon?
Yo-Kai Watch has been out for a couple weeks now and has fared pretty well in the West, though it certainly doesn't seem to be the massive success that it was in Japan. Nonetheless, the franchise has established itself now and we'll likely be seeing the various sequels and spinoffs that the...
Saturday21st Nov 2015
Video Watch What Happens When Reggie and Bill Speak Their Minds
Those mischievous Yo-Kai!
For those of you that watched the Nintendo Direct, you probably remember the humourous short that advertised Yo-Kai Watch. Bill Trinen arrived to a meeting early, where he was soon influenced by Hungramps and subsequently stuffed his face with donuts. If nothing else, it was an amusing skit and it did a great job of showing...
Friday6th Nov 2015
News Akihiro Hino Explains Why Yo-Kai Watch Has Been So Successful and What Sets It Apart
It's kind of a big deal
As many of you are likely aware, Yo-Kai Watch is now out in North America. A massive hit in Japan, the fascinating Yo-kai adventure game has drawn many parallels to Pokémon and other similar monster catching series. Nonetheless, Level-5 is hoping that it'll achieve similar success in the West, and is launching a full...
Wednesday4th Nov 2015
The Yo-Kai basics, again
Yo-Kai Watch is just a few days away from its release in North America, as Nintendo and series developer Level 5 aim to turn it into the next major success story for the 3DS. The IP is hugely successful in Japan, but the question remains as to whether it can replicate that performance in the West. Based on the launch...
Monday2nd Nov 2015
Video Toadette Takes to the Court in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash as Yo-Kai Watch Focuses on Weirdness
Net play won't be a strength of Toad and Toadette
It can be interesting to see how Nintendo's marketing varies across different titles, with concepts - or lack of concept as the case may be - drawn up to play to a game's strengths. On that score Nintendo's clearly got very different ideas of how to tempt players to pick up Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash...
Friday30th Oct 2015
News Yo-Kai Watch Will Be The Next Pokémon, Claims Viz Media
"We are certainly bigger than Pokémon in Japan"
Viz Media - the firm which is handling the release of the Yo-Kai Watch comic and TV show in Europe and America - has confidently claimed that the series will be "the next Pokémon". Waell Oueslati, EMEA associate brand manager at Viz Media, is clearly bullish about the chances of the franchise in the...
Monday26th Oct 2015
Video Nintendo Goes for the Zany Approach in North American Yo-Kai Watch Marketing
No, this isn't a Japanese commercial
Yo-Kai Watch is out in North America soon, and Level-5 will be hoping that it makes them enough money for a second swimming pool of cash - we're assuming there's already one in the company's HQ from sales of the IP in Japan. We're not quite sure whether the RPG is enjoying the buzz it'd hope for, however, at...
Monday19th Oct 2015
News Yo-Kai Watch 2DS Bundle Coming To North America On November 6th
Comes with the game pre-installed for $99.99
Nintendo is releasing a new 2DS hardware bundle to mark the launch of Yo-Kai Watch in North America. The console - which comes with the game pre-installed - will launch on November 6th for $99.99, alongside the game's full retail release. Yo-Kai Watch is the first in a series which has taken Japan by a...
Friday16th Oct 2015
Music Fantasy Grooves Is The Chill-Out Fantasy Life Soundtrack You've Been Waiting For
DJ Cutman does it again
We're big fans of DJ Cutman here at Nintendo Life - the famed chiptune artist has kindly allowed us to use his work on some of our YouTube videos - and we have a feeling his latest project will turn many others into firm followers as well. Fantasy Grooves is billed as the sequel to his 2012 album Wii U Grooves, a laid-back...
Monday12th Oct 2015
News Yo-Kai Watch Busters Is Getting A Third Variant In Japan
Say hello to Moon Rabbit Team
As the west prepares itself for the onslaught of Yo-Kai Watch, our Japanese friends have been enjoying the franchise for some time - as well as its spin-off releases, such as Yo-Kai Watch Busters. Released this year in two flavours - Red Cat Team and White Dog Squad - Busters takes inspiration from the Hollywood series...
Friday2nd Oct 2015
News Yo-kai Watch Release Date Moves Up to 5th December in Australia and New Zealand
Christmas comes early this year
It's no secret that the Yo-Kai Watch franchise has been a huge hit in Japan and it won't be long now until the West gets a chance to see what all the hype's about. Level-5's going all-in with its Pokémon-like series with an anime and toy line set to complement the release of the game in order to garner as much...
Tuesday22nd Sep 2015
News The Yo-Kai Watch Anime Starts In North America on 5th October
Premiering on the Disney Big Grin channel
Level-5 will try to take over the Western world, and give Pokémon a black eye, when it releases Yo-Kai Watch in North America in November. The battle of slightly confusing RPG franchises with never-ending collectible and money-making concepts will truly begin in earnest. Before the game arrives North...
Wednesday19th Aug 2015
Disney, Hasbro and VIZ Media all involved
Throughout 2015 we've had snippets of information on how Level-5 would team up with partners to try and make Yo-kai Watch as big a hit in the West as it already is in Japan. It was also confirmed that the game would arrive in North America in 2015 (PAL territories in 2016), and now a firm release date has...
Tuesday18th Aug 2015
Video Get A Feel For Little Battlers eXperience In This Mech-Filled Overview Trailer
Handheld havoc
Level 5's mech-building title Little Battlers eXperience launches very soon, but Nintendo is giving the game very little in the way of promotion or hype. What should be a tent-pole release in the 3DS calendar has received precious little attention, although to its credit Nintendo UK has recently released a fresh overview trailer which...
Tuesday11th Aug 2015
News CoroCoro Reveals Yo-Kai Watch Dance: Just Dance Special Version For Wii U
A Level-5 & Ubisoft collaboration
After selling millions and becoming a cultural phenomenon in Japan, it has been revealed the popular Yo-Kai Watch series will receive a Just Dance spin-off. The latest issue of Japan’s CoroCoro Magazine explains Yo-Kai Watch Dance: Just Dance Special Version is on the way to the Wii U courtesy of a surprising...
Friday7th Aug 2015
Video These Yo-Kai Watch Busters Commercials Focus On The Ghostbusters Vibe
Bustin' makes me feel good
Yo-Kai Watch Busters is doing pretty brisk business in Japan, as is to be expected when you consider how massive the Yo-Kai Watch series is in its native homeland. The title launched last month and a series of fresh commercials have been aired to maintain sales momentum, and they really push the whole...
Tuesday4th Aug 2015
Weirdness Keep Your French Fries Toasty Hot With These Yo-Kai Watch Holsters
Only in Japan, of course
Yo-Kai Watch is massive in Japan, and that means there are plenty of opportunities for all kinds of cross-promotional activity. However, few ideas are as zany as these McDonald's French Fry holsters, which allow you to slot in your pack of chopped potatoes and keep them warm during your quests to locate naughty spirits...
Wednesday22nd Jul 2015
News Yoshi's Woolly World Has Limited Impact in Japan as Yo-Kai Watch Busters Dominates
3DS retains overall hardware lead despite PS4 boost
The latest chart results have been released out of Japan and bring a mix of good and middling news for Nintendo. To begin with software, the results bring us the début of Yoshi's Woolly World on Wii U, and its impact has been fairly underwhelming; the title sold 31,158 units in its first week...
Friday26th Jun 2015
News Reggie Talks Yo-Kai Watch And The Importance Of Keeping The Series Nintendo Exclusive
"The partnership is very strong with Level 5"
This year sees the Western launch of Level 5's Yo-Kai Watch, a game which has already proven itself to be a smash-hit in its native Japan. Nintendo is publishing the game in the West and there are hopes that it will turn into the kind of cash-cow that Pokémon has been for the firm. Speaking to
Friday22nd May 2015
News Inazuma Eleven GO: Light & Shadow Kicks Off In Australia And New Zealand July 18th
Better late than never
Level 5’s Inazuma Eleven game series has shipped more than 7 million copies worldwide since kick-off in 2008. Last year the latest localised entry in the series arrived on the 3DS in Europe as a dual release part of the second trilogy. With football steadily on the rise in the land of the Socceroos and All Whites, it’s...
