Level-5 News Articles
Friday11th Jul 2014
News Yokai Watch "In Consideration in a Big Way" For Release in the West
Level 5's Akihiro Hino outlines the formula for success
Yokai Watch — or Yo-kai Watch as the Western trademark has it — has become a major success on 3DS in Japan, giving Level 5 a timely franchise success as other brands (such as Professor Layton) take a back seat. The company's Akihiro Hino has recently spoken to Weekly Famitsu — via Kotaku...
Friday4th Jul 2014
Nintendo Direct Yokai Watch 2 Gets Its Own Broadcast in Japan
Play the 'figure out what's happening' game
Although it's said to be on the way to the West, we're yet to receive firm release details on Yokai Watch, the 3DS title from Level-5 that's enjoying continued success in Japan. That success has certainly been assisted by the accompanying anime series, with the brand as a whole capturing the imagination in...
Tuesday10th Jun 2014
E3 2014 Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney to Finally Have Its Day in North America
Slated for a 29th August release
One of our time's greatest mysteries has finally been solved: When in the blue-suited, top-hatted blazes will Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney finally make it to North America!? The answer, dear friends, came following the Nintendo Digital Event. North American puzzle-lovers can look forward to...
E3 2014 Fantasy Life for 3DS Gets a North American Release Date
Another excuse to escape real life
Nintendo announced earlier today that life role-playing game Fantasy Life for 3DS will be arriving in North America this coming October. Developed by Level-5 in collaboration with Nintendo subsidiary 1-UP Studios, the game tasks players with choosing a profession and making a name for themselves within the game's...
Wednesday14th May 2014
News Yo-kai Watch and 3DS Continue to Lead the Way in Japan
Sales remain low overall, however
While Nintendo can take heart from its continued lead in the Japanese charts, overall trends in the market remain a concern. The latest Media Create figures are in, and continue recent form of low sales in software and flat levels in hardware. To begin with software, Level-5's Yo-kai Watch continues to impress,...
Wednesday23rd Apr 2014
News Level-5's 3DS RPG Youkai Watch Has Now Sold One Million Copies In Japan
Sales have doubled in the last two months alone
New reports suggest that Level-5's 3DS title Youkai Watch has shipped one million units in Japan. The game launched in July last year, but it wasn't until the transmission of the related anime TV show in January that sales began to spike; in February, Level-5 confirmed that it had delivered 500,000...
Tuesday15th Apr 2014
Video Yo-kai Watch 2 Promotional Trailer And TV Commerical Hit Japan
Double trouble?
We've brought you details on Level-5's Yo-kai Watch 2 just a few days ago, but now we're able to show you some brief footage of the game(s) in action. The first video below is the most useful one, featuring just over a minute of story and battle footage that really shows off the excellent (or mad, depending on your point of view)...
Friday11th Apr 2014
News Yo-kai Watch 2 Coming to 3DS in Japan with Two Different Versions
Hunting down demon spirits, now in two new flavours
Level-5 has announced this week it will be releasing Yo-kai Watch 2 on 10th July for the 3DS in Japan. A sequel to last year's popular monster-watching title Yo-kai Watch, Yo-kai Watch 2 will hit stores with two different versions — Yo-kai Watch 2: Ganso (Founder), and Yo-kai Watch 2: Honke...
Tuesday8th Apr 2014
News Inazuma Eleven GO Shadow & Light Kick Off in Europe on 13th June
The second trilogy begins
It's not often that Europe is well ahead of North America with localisations, but that's the case with Inazuma Eleven. European gamers have enjoyed the original 'main' portable series trilogy already; only the original Inazuma Eleven has arrived in North America as an eShop-only game. Japan rules all with the Level-5...
Monday31st Mar 2014
News Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Makes Top 20 Début in UK
Top 10 in single format
Professor Layton's adventures may be over, though the Layton brand will live on in some form, but last week brought a cross-over to Europe to give us all a little more of the puzzle-solving gentleman. He's joined by Capcom's favourite legal professional in Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and it's had a solid...
Wednesday19th Mar 2014
News Level-5 Has No Plans To Launch The eShop Version Of Inazuma Eleven In The UK
"Established" nature of the franchise to blame
The recent release of Inazuma Eleven on the North American 3DS eShop got many UK gamers wondering if they'd also get to see an updated edition of the Nintendo DS classic on their machines. However, Level-5 has issued a statement explaining why this new [EDIT: English language] version of the game will...
Sunday16th Mar 2014
"We wanted to offer two intelligent characters"
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy has now arrived in stores around the world, bringing a close to the prequel trilogy and, it seems, the adventures of the iconic Professor Hershel Layton. It was a fantastic finale that was also tinged with sadness, as it closed the door on the top hat wearing...
Wednesday19th Feb 2014
News Level-5 Wants to Know Whether You Want Yo-kai Watch in the West
Looking for some Likes
Not so long ago we reported that Level-5 had filed a trademark in the U.S. for Yo-kai Watch, prompting speculation that the 3DS title is on its way to the West. The company seems to be gearing up to make that a reality, as it's now posted a message on its Facebook page to gauge interest: Between the strong sales of the game...
Friday14th Feb 2014
News Weapon Shop de Omasse to Complete Guild 01 Collection, Massive eShop Discounts Available Now
Level-5 offers the whole series at a discount
In early January a rating suggested that the fourth and final Guild01 download title was on the way to the West, and now Weapon Shop de Omasse has been confirmed for the 3DS eShop in Europe and North America; it arrives on 20th February and will cost $7.99 in North America, with no price yet given for...
News Inazuma Eleven Shoots And Scores On The North American 3DS eShop
Also available in Europe, but strangely not the UK
Level 5's popular soccer-based RPG Inazuma Eleven has finally made its way to North American shores. Kick-off took place immediately after the end of the North American Nintendo Direct presentation, with the game now being available to download for $19.99. The game is also available in Europe...
Wednesday5th Feb 2014
Check out the new teaser trailer inside
The Professor Layton and Ace Attorney franchises are two of the most iconic Nintendo handheld series of recent times, so it's no surprise that there's a fair amount of anticipation for the Western release of Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney on the 3DS. The combined work of Level-5 and Capcom...
Thursday23rd Jan 2014
News Level-5 Trademarks Yo-kai Watch in the US
Watch for monsters
You know youkai? Those strange creatures of Japanese folklore that sometimes masquerade as "raccoons" or "turtles" in certain localized games? Level-5 might be giving these monsters more of their due outside of Japan, if recent trademarks are any indication. According to Siliconera, Level-5 has trademarked "Yo-Kai Watch" in the...
Thursday9th Jan 2014
News Missing Guild 01 Game Weapon Shop De Omasse Is Finally Getting Localised
Better late than never
It's nothing new when a popular Japanese game doesn't get a western release, but every so often some manage to make it overseas. Guild 01 for the 3DS was one such release; technically a compilation of four titles back in Japan, it has been slowly released in the west as individual games over the past few years. We've already...
Video You'll Get A Kick Out Of These Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks Trailers
They think it's all over
Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks is due to hit Europe next month, and to drum up interest Nintendo has released two new trailers for the game. An expansion of Inazuma Eleven 3 — which launched last year on the 3DS — Team Ogre Attacks uses the same game engine but boasts an entirely new storyline. The actual release...
Tuesday7th Jan 2014
News Level 5 Is Hard At Work On A New Game That Will "Surprise" Us
CEO hoping to move the gaming industry along
Level 5 is a thoughtful company, and not only because it is the developer behind the brain-bending goodness of Professor Layton. The studio is careful and considered in its evaluation of the current gaming industry, and is interested in how ''technology advances'' and is always striving to defy...
Sunday5th Jan 2014
News Inazuma Eleven Is Finding The Back Of The Net On North American 3DS Consoles This Year
Popular soccer RPG coming in Q1
Level-5's Inazuma Eleven series has become something of a hit in its native Japan, spawning an anime series, comic adaptation and countless other items of merchandise. The games have also been released in Europe, but thus far they have ignored North America — possibly down to soccer's relatively lowly status when...
Sunday8th Dec 2013
No objection to this development
Way back in August we finally had confirmation that Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney was being localised for an early 2014 release in both Europe and North America. Updates since then have been non-existent, however, so it's reassuring that the title has now been rated by the Australian Classification Board, which...
Wednesday13th Nov 2013
News Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy Finally Dated for North America
Mark out 28th February in your diaries
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy arrived in Europe recently, bringing a close to the series in its current form. Unfortunately North American gamers only had a vague 2014 release window, but during today's Nintendo Direct festivities it was confirmed that the 3DS title will finally arrive in the region on...
Monday11th Nov 2013
News WonderFlick Hits iOS and Android This Month, Cross-Platform Saves Should Support Wii U in 2014
In Japan, naturally
Earlier this year we told you about WonderFlick, a new RPG from Level-5 that will be coming to a host of platforms, including smartphones and the Wii U. The unique selling point of this title is an effort to directly correlate and connect progress on smartphones and consoles, with the developer aiming to go "beyond the...
Tuesday22nd Oct 2013
News The Mystery of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy's File Size is Solved
Every puzzle has an answer!
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is the final iteration in the current trilogy and is due to arrive on 8th November in Europe, while North America will get puzzling next year. The 3DS title will of course be available in the eShop and will be a fair sized download. You'll need to have 7,309 blocks available in order...
Thursday17th Oct 2013
News Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy Heading Down Under in November
Will arrive a day later than Europe
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is scheduled to arrive on next month in Europe, while North America will be able to embark on the adventure at some point in 2014. Being a PAL region, it was never really in doubt gamers in Australia and New Zealand would receive the highly anticipated puzzler at around the...
Tuesday8th Oct 2013
News Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy Minigame Details Are Revealed
GAME to offer a leather card wallet with pre-orders
While North America unfortunately has to wait until 2014, Europe has around a month to wait for Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, which is set to be the final main adventure starring the puzzle solving gentleman. It's the sixth entry, and long term fans are sure to be left with a little...
Wednesday25th Sep 2013
Video Level-5's Wii U RPG Wonder Flick Gets A Gameplay-Laden Trailer
Next-gen role playing with old school sensibilities
We revealed recently that Level-5's next big project is an RPG for the Wii U, PS3, PS4, Xbox One and PS Vita. Wonder Flick is due in Japan next year and will feature connectivity with a mobile application for smartphones and tablets. Level-5's Akihiro Hino insists that this link "goes beyond the...
Tuesday17th Sep 2013
News Youkai Watch Receiving A New Game in Japan Already
Will it be a sequel or an enhanced version?
Level-5 released Youkai Watch in the Summer in Japan and it looks like the region is set to receive another iteration of the series as CoroCoro magazine has stated a new title is in the works. The 3DS title centres around around a young boy who comes into possession of a special wristwatch that enables...
Monday26th Aug 2013
News Professor Layton Franchise Sales Hit 15 Million, Guild Downloads Reach 400,000
Ni No Kuni performed well on DS
Today seems to be Level-5 day, courtesy of its Vision press conference in Japan. From a Nintendo gamer's perspective the big news is that the peculiar-looking Layton 7 is confirmed for the 3DS, while new RPG Wonder Flick is coming to the Wii U in Japan and, hopefully, West in the future. Alongside new game reveals,...
