October2015
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...
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...
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...
September2015
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...
August2015
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
July2015
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...
June2015
First Impressions Getting Into The Spirit With Yo-Kai Watch
An Inspiriting Invasion
Yo-Kai Watch's Western début has been a long time coming - two 3DS games, several anime and manga series, and a mountain of merchandise have already conquered the imagination of young Japanese players, and now the first portable RPG in the series is making its way to the rest of the world courtesy of Nintendo and Level 5...
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
May2015
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...
April2015
News Akihiro Hino on Why Fantasy Life 2 is Not Coming to the 3DS
Excuses, excuses...
A few days ago, Level-5 announced they had made the decision to publish Fantasy Life 2 on smartphones, bypassing the 3DS (and all dedicated gaming consoles, for that matter) entirely. It seemed a strange choice given that its prequel was not a smartphone game, though an argument could be made that the smartphone market offers a...
The mystery continues
Nearly two years ago, Level-5 announced Layton 7, a curious departure for the series that would be coming to iOS, Android, and 3DS. Since then, next to nothing has come out about the project, but that all changed at Level-5's Vision event this year. There's been a change in the design of the title, with it now being...
Game expected to arrive in 2016
We already knew that Yo-Kai Watch was coming to the west thanks to Hasbro's deal to create toys for the popular Japanese cross-over franchise, but it wasn't until today - and Level-5's Japanese Vision 2015 conference - that a publisher (Nintendo) and solid release window (2016) came to light. Nintend
News The Snack World Is Level-5's Next Cross-Media Project, And It's Coming To Nintendo 3DS
Toys use NFC to interact with the game
As if announcing three new Yo-Kai Watch titles wasn't enough, Level-5 has today revealed its next big "cross-media" venture, The Snack World. A multimedia effort which will see Level-5 collaborate with Takara Tomy, TV Tokyo and CoroCoro Comics, The Snack World will cover movies, manga, toys and video games...
News Level-5 Announces Yo-Kai Watch 3 For Nintendo 3DS, Action Takes Place In USA
Third time's a charm
Level-5 has just revealed the third entry in its best-selling Yo-Kai Watch series, due to launch on the Nintendo 3DS. Yo-Kai Watch 3 will take place in North America, in keeping with the storyline of the ongoing anime series. A new character is introduced called Inaho Misora, who has her own Yo-kai named USApyon. Level-5 has...
News Level-5 Confirms Yo-kai Watch Crossover With Koei Tecmo's Three Kingdoms
Platforms still unclear
In an eye-raising development from the Level-5 Vision 2015 event in Japan, the company has confirmed yet another spin-off release for the Yo-kai Watch series, in addition to the 3DS-bound Yo-kai Watch Busters. Yo-kai Watch: Three Kingdoms has been announced as a collaboration with Koei Tecmo. Three Kingdoms is a series...
News Yo-Kai Watch Busters Hitting 3DS This Year, Main Franchise Coming To The West In 2016
Busting makes me feel good
Level-5's Vision 2015 event is happening right now, and the company's CEO Akihiro Hino has just announced a new entry in its popular Yo-Kai Watch franchise. Yo-Kai Watch Busters is an 3DS action title based on a mini-game featured in Yo-Kai Watch 2. The title will come in two versions - Red Cat Troupe and White Dog Unit -...
News Fantasy Life 2 Is Skipping 3DS In Favour Of Smartphones
Phone home
Level-5 has just revealed that the sequel to the 3DS title Fantasy Life is coming to smartphones, ignoring Nintendo's handheld entirely. Fantasy Life 2: Two Moons And The Village of God will contain all the usual character-building RPG goodness - with a focus on exploring different "lives" or jobs - but the catch this time around is that...
February2015
News Hasbro To Bring Yo-Kai Watch Toy Range to the West, in 2016
Details for games and TV shows remain unconfirmed
Yo-kai Watch is a phenomenon in Japan, with millions of games sold along with significant success for toys and the TV show. It's a franchise that has been a huge asset for Level-5, and there's naturally the expectation that it'll make a big impact in the West. Level-5 has already confirmed that...
January2015
News Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stones Ready to Kick Off on 3DS in Europe
Available in Thunderflash and Wildfire variations
The Inazuma series from Level 5 is rather popular in Japan, and based on the increasing number of localised titles it's also a relative hit in Europe. Though there's always an element of playing catch-up in the EU, the titles continue to arrive, with Inazuma Eleven GO: Light & Shadow being the...
News New 3DS and Nintendo-Exclusive Games Stay On Top in Japanese Charts
Wii U hardware dips back into four figures, however
Though the start of 2015 has been eventful in terms of announcements from Nintendo, it's been typically quiet on the game release front. That's certainly reflected in the latest Media Create charts in Japan, though the status-quo happens to suit Nintendo's 3DS systems rather well. In terms of...
News Yokai Watch Yo-Kai Pad Sells Out in a Blink in Japan
You don't even know what it is, but now you want one
So that Yokai Watch game, right? It's gargantuan in Japan and slowly working its way westward, even bringing its anime along with it. It's enough to make any '90s kid relapse into the Pokéjitters waiting for this franchise to arrive--just what is so amazing about it?! Well, it'll still be a...
