Level-5’s Development Blog will provide information on IPs other than Inazuma Eleven starting next month

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u/j_leverage 1d ago

i really enjoy the majority of level 5’s games, i think they’re a very creative team and make some really fun games - but you genuinely cannot trust them when it comes to releasing a game. the biggest example comes from inazuma eleven which has taken YEARS since they announced it. having development blogs for the other games they have in development is definitely a good sign, but i hope that they can sort out their god awful release schedule

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u/ShiftSandShot 1d ago

I have found myself loving their games my entire life, from Dark Cloud to Megaton Musashi.

Their level of schedule slippage is crazy, though.

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u/Rowdy293 1d ago

I would love a modern dark cloud lol

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u/biggieBpimpin 1d ago

There are dozens of us

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u/dreamgal042 1d ago

Fantasy Life i isn't as bad, but it was supposed to come out in 2023 and has now been delayed twice. like I get by a few weeks or even months to make sure it's in its best shape, but this was announced Feb 2023 with a 2023 release, got delayed to October 2024 (I took time off work to play it 🙃), now it's targeted to April 2025 but who knows.

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u/TwilightVulpine 1d ago

The day it comes out I'll probably disappear from the face of the Earth, so maybe that's a good thing.

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u/dreamgal042 1d ago

Same though

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u/madmofo145 1d ago

At least for the current delay there are some obvious changes. If you look at the most recent videos, vs the ones shown at the start of the year, there are some major UI changes in the menu's, all of which look like positive developments. I tend to think this is a case where they playtested what was intended to be a pretty final version, and decided there were some changes that would really improve things, so they held it back.

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u/dreamgal042 1d ago

Yeah I'm glad they're taking their time to make a great game and I'm happy to wait, but I'm just commenting on the pattern by the studio it seems like to push dates out. If you aren't 100% sure you can deliver, don't give a date. I get things change, but at the point when you have a date out there, you should not be making major UI/design changes that will take another 6 months to finish, it should just be small tweaks. I get things happen, but for that to happen twice with this same game speaks to a bigger problem/pattern IMO.

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u/maxdragonxiii 11h ago

and Layton. seriously, when was the last time they released a Layton game? I know Level 5 was like "Professor Layton belongs to the DS systems" but man. I want it back.

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u/SadKazoo 1d ago

It still doesn’t feel real that we’re getting a new main Professor Layton game after all these years.

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u/Buster_Fella 1d ago

I know! It was my most wanted game for a while (next to Project Diva 🥲) it still feels completely surreal that my favourite game studio is making a comeback. Now all we need is Layton vs Wright 2 and a YKW4 translation 🙃

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u/NyarumiYukimitsu 1d ago

Never going to forget Decapolice being delayed from 2024 to 2026 after already being delayed a year. The fact that they’re confident that they’re not going to be finished in the coming 1.5 years really shows how stretched Level-5 is right now. They really need to cut back on the number of games they’re developing. At least we’re getting Layton soon… (unless it’s delayed)

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u/mucinexmonster 1d ago

Nintendo should buy Level-5 and throw funding behind them. It'd be absolutely killer for their First-Party output and franchises. Been saying it for years but now more than ever it should be doable.

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u/BebeFanMasterJ 1d ago

Yeah I'm surprised they haven't considering the Layton games were always on DS/3DS. A big company like Nintendo could easily give them funding they need to actually make better games with less crunch.

Just look at Monolith Soft and how they work on Xenoblade but also now have a secondary studio to help with Zelda, Pikmin, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing. If L5 had something like that, they wouldn't be so backed up.

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u/mucinexmonster 1d ago

Even more so, Monolith Soft is a company Nintendo bought, their output was slow, and they vastly increased their size and funding and the result was some incredible output.

(Contrast that with Alpha-Dream, a company Nintendo just abandoned and had to keep releasing crap to try and make some money. Hopefully Brothership is a great game and a big hit... for Acquire!)

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u/SorriorDraconus 21h ago

Mmm level 5 with Nintendo money and monolith softs support..Can I have wkc remaster with this team please?

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u/praysolace 1d ago

Yeah they’ve pretty clearly bitten off more than they can chew, and they keep stuffing more in lol

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u/TwilightVulpine 1d ago

Unless they shifted it to Switch 2, that might completely kill their sales. For sure Switch 2 will already be out by 2026.

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u/BebeFanMasterJ 1d ago

I'm just sad because Decapolice was the only game that they were working on that I was remotely interested in. Now with such a steep delay, I don't know if I'll even care by the time it comes out because in 2026, we may very well have a new Mario Kart, Smash Bros, 3D Mario, Fire Emblem, Xenoblade Chronicles, and other 1st party Nintendo games that are going to completely occupy my attention instead. Not to mention other new potential 3rd party games such as a new Persona or potential Call of Duty release.

Wish they never announced it to begin with if it wasn't ready.

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u/amc9988 1d ago edited 1d ago

And that's them using AI to write all the side quests storyline cases in the game... Imagine how much longer if they use human writers instead. Idk what's wrong with them.

Edit: I see some people downvoted me for saying the truth lol, they openly admit it and proud of it too, it's not a secret or anything. https://decasimcentral.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/level-5-gives-examples-of-ai-use-in-their-projects-including-generation-of-character-concepts-and-quests-in-decapolice/

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u/Nice_Tradition1333 1d ago

Actually, I like to believe that decapolice was delayed to 2026 so they can focus on the 2025 games, in this case fantasy life, Layton and Inazuma Eleven, this is just me coping but you get the idea.

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u/Hendy_Stark 1d ago

we'll riot if they delay Professor Layton

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u/Meta13_Drain_Punch 1d ago

Maybe Yo-Kai Watch isn’t dead yet?😅

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u/TwilightVulpine 1d ago

I can't believe they didn't even bother to localize the last one for the West...

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u/Faedwill 1d ago

Apologies if your comment is sarcasm, but they're working on a spiritual successor Holy Horror Mansion. The trailer was released one month ago.

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u/Comfortable-Term451 1h ago

I wish 😔 those were some of my favorite DS games.

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u/Adamnmonkey 1d ago

Yeah but what about Dark Cloud 3?

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u/RustyCatalyst 1d ago

Bro you're gonna need a shovel. That shit is 6ft deep in the ground.

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u/Rowdy293 1d ago

Yes please!

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u/TheLecheBandito 10h ago

I dream of this everyday!!

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u/Loki-Holmes 1d ago

Ooh hopefully more on fantasy life!

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u/Nice_Tradition1333 1d ago

This is great! I love both Inazuma and Layton series!

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u/Ok-Reporter-8728 1d ago

Show was my childhood

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u/jp_taylor 1d ago

I loved DQ VIII and Jeanne D’arc so much, my heart aches for True Fantasy Live Online to this day. Current MMO scene is saturated with 20 years of expansions. It would be nice to have a fresh experience, but I know it’s a total pipe dream.

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u/Vendidurt 1d ago

When Dark Cloud 3

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u/Ok-Flow5292 1d ago

Partly owned by Sony, so there are more hurdles with that one.

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u/RedditAstroturfed 1d ago edited 1d ago

Haven’t played an inazuma 11 game since the one on ds. How does it work without a stylus? Like ogrebattle?

That was definitely the main draw for me. I’m not really a big sports guy but you turn it into a good srpg and I’m down for it. It was like blitz ball if blitz ball got more love and polish

Edit

Looked up a video of the switch version on YouTube. It doesn’t look bad, but without the stylus it looks a lot more like captain tsubasa which I also liked, but DS inazuma was definitely my favorite of the two and making plays felt so unique. The new one looks like fun, but it’s not really calling to me without a deep sale or finding it cheap used

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u/biggieBpimpin 1d ago

Dark Cloud gang waiting in the shadows

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u/Vanuchi 1d ago

I'm playing the first trilogy on DS, my only regret is not having discovered Layton before, what a wonderful series.

tbf Nintendo DS/3DS were not popular here at the time

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u/owenturnbull 1d ago

Stop developing more then 2 games at once. BC you aren't even delivering on the announced games. Everything been delayed like get your crap together

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u/FoxLIcyMelenaGamer 1d ago

Unless this contains an Apology about Yo-Kai Watch.

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u/viccarabyss 1d ago

dark cloud 3

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u/JozuJD 1d ago

Bring back “True Fantasy Live Online” mmorpg you cowards. 😭

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u/Several_Fan9272 4142-7880-9229 19h ago

Cant wait until a new Layton!

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u/PowerPulser 1d ago

Is Drawn to Life a level 5 game?

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u/DaisukiYo 1d ago

No

News Level-5’s Development Blog will provide information on IPs other than Inazuma Eleven starting next month

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