Like NIS and a few other typically niche Japanese studios, Level-5 has ups and downs. The absolute explosion of the Yo-Kai Watch franchise roughly five years ago was a definitive "up!" I was there in Japan to see its influence on location: ...

Level-5 has been a beloved institution in my household since the year 2000. Dark Cloud absolutely mesmerized me in a way that many games before it never could. Ever since then the company has been on my radar, and I've truly kept up with t...

Megaton Musashi was announced so long ago, it was originally only revealed to be coming to Nintendo 3DS. For reasons only developer Level-5 knows, it kept getting pushed back and now is set to arrive on Switch and PlayStation 4. Since ...

There's a brand new Ni no Kuni game in the works, and it puts an interesting spin on the acclaimed anime RPG series. Titled Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, this is an MMORPG. And it's releasing on mobile devices. And it's only in Japan. Hey...

I've  been covering Megaton Musashi (which is definitely not a Brave Fencer Musashi sequel) for around...four years now. In typical bombastic Level-5 fashion the IP was originally supposed to be this huge toy and media line spearheaded...

Level-5 CEO AkihiroHino has announced that there's going to be yet another Yo-Kai Watch game, and based on the current slow timetable, it might be Japan-only for quite some time (or forever). The title is Yo-Kai Academy Y, an...

For years we've heard about Level-5's ambitious new cross-media project Snack World, which spans an anime, toy line, and video game series. But unlike Yo-Kai Watch it kind of just stayed over in Japan, until this fateful week when Nintendo ...

Professor Layton has solved hundreds of riddles and dozens of mysteries since he first debuted on the Nintendo DS back in 2007. From a curious village in the English countryside to the mythical town of Labyrinthia, there wasn't a case he co...

Level-5 revealed Megaton Musashi several years ago, and it just kind of sat since. The publisher is busy putting out games every few months, sure, but it would be nice to know what happened to this promising new franchise. As it turns ...

Level-5 has shared what's next for Yo-Kai Watch: an expansion for the fourth game! Due out on December 5, the content is called Yo-Kai Watch 4++, and will include "Fun elements such as new areas and new monsters in multiplayer." The ex...

In case you haven't heard, Level-5 isn't giving up on Yo-Kai Watch. The fourth game arrived on Switch in Japan earlier this year, and the publisher is re-releasing the original on the same platform very soon. A new Switch landing page for t...

The Yo-kai Watch series has been Level-5's bread and butter for the past few years, securing solid releases on mobile and the Nintendo 3DS. While it was huge in Japan for quite some time, it never caught on in the west, even if Yo-kai ...

Level-5 has been biding its time with Snack World. Announced all the way back in 2015, the publisher envisioned the series like a Yo-Kai Watch of sorts, spanning media from toys, to games, to TV, to manga. It's done fairly well over in Japa...

Just a few weeks ago the original Yo-Kai Watch was announced for Switch by way of a strange YouTube cartoon promotion; but now everything is officially official, complete with a website and release date and everything. Level-5 is bringing 2...

Amid less-than-stellar sales (compared to their past conquests), Level-5 is looking to re-invent the Yo-Kai Watch series. The 3DS, which the franchise has predominantly hitched its wagon to, is on its way out, and the Switch is the new...

[Update: Oh, Level-5 confirmed it's actually coming west today at Anime Expo! Literally no info is available on timing or much at all really, outside of the fact that it will have an English dub, and bits and pieces will require context fro...

Late last year, Level-5 announced that it would be porting the second Layton game, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, to mobile phones in Japan. Much like how the first title made its way west, Diabolical Box is now available in...

Rounding out the trio of Bandai Namco E3 2019 leaks, we have Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered – coming to PC and PS4 – and a separate Nintendo Switch version, all due out this fall. Level-5's whimsical action-RPG ...

The gaming industry is no stranger to acquisitions and mergers. Whether it's Activision and Blizzard joining forces to become the biggest company in the industry or Microsoft buying up the very best AA developers, ownership of companies cha...

What was once due before the madness of E3, is now set to arrive after. The highly anticipated Yo-Kai Watch 4 was set to launch in Japan on June 6, but has now been quickly pushed to June 20 just weeks before release. This is one of se...

You probably haven't heard of Snack World yet unless you follow the Japanese game industry closely, but given how hard Level-5 pushes their wares, you will, if it comes west. All signs point to it being a go, but it still hasn't happened si...

Yo-Kai Watch went into a different direction a few years ago and it didn't quite work out. Naturally, Level-5 is going back to their roots. The intro to the Switch-exclusive Yo-Kai Watch 4 is basically a greatest hits of the serie...

Yo-Kai Watch 4 was going through some growing pains last year, but after a seasonal delay it seems like the game is back on track. Box art is locked in, it's still a Switch exclusive, and it's set for a June 6 release, just in time for E3 e...

I've talked at length recently about how important Yo-Kai Watch 4 is for the franchise, and this week during their annual Yo-Kai Watch event, Level-5 seemed to stress the same thing while sharing plans for where the series is goin...

There's a lot riding on Yo-Kai Watch 4. As I explained in my lengthy takedown of the series, Level-5 has witnessed the appeal of the series wane over time and is now throwing a Hail Mary at the Nintendo Switch. Still due sometime this ...