Yasumi Matsuno is a Japanese video game designer and writer. Matsuno was first introduced to video games in arcades while waiting for the train, and first played Space Invaders and Xevious there. He attended Hosei University for foreign policy but dropped out, and after working for a time as an economic reporter, he joined Quest Corporation.
Akihiro Hino is a Japanese video game designer and businessman. Starting his career as a programmer in the 1990s, he later took on roles in writing, design, directing and producing. He founded Level-5 in 1998, where he remains its president and CEO.
Professor Layton is a puzzle adventure video game series and transmedia franchise developed by Level-5. The property consists primarily of seven main video games, a mobile spin-off, an animated theatrical film, and an anime television series, while additionally incorporating an array of secondary titles and media, including a crossover game with Capcom's Ace Attorney series.
Ni no Kuni is a series of role-playing video games developed and published in Japan by Level-5; Bandai Namco publishes the games outside Japan. The first games in the series chiefly follow the young Oliver, and his journey to another world to save his mother and stop the beckoning evil. The sequel follows Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, a boy king who is usurped from his castle, and sets out to reclaim his kingdom. The games utilize several magic elements, allowing players to use magical abilities during gameplay, and follow groups of characters travelling the fantasy world to put an end to its threats.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is a puzzle adventure video game developed by Level-5. It is the fifth game in the Professor Layton series, the second in the prequel trilogy of games, and the first in the series to be developed for the Nintendo 3DS. Miracle Mask was released as a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in February 2011, becoming the best-selling game on the day of the system's launch. The game was later released worldwide in October 2012. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Plus, an enhanced edition featuring new puzzles and added cutscenes, was released on the Nintendo eShop in Japan in February 2013.
The Guild series is a compilation of video games produced by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS in cooperation with various game designers. The first compilation, Guild01, consists of four games and was released at retail in Japan on May 31, 2012. Three of the titles have been announced for individual release on the Nintendo eShop in Western territories during Fall 2012. All four of them were released individually on the Japanese eShop not long after. A second compilation, Guild02, which features three games designed by Keiji Inafune, Kazuya Asano, Takemaru Abiko and Kaz Ayabe, was released on the Nintendo eShop in Japan during March 2013 and began releasing in Western territories in May 2013.
Level-5 Comcept, formerly known as Comcept Inc., is a Japanese video game developer company based in Osaka, founded on December 1, 2010 by Keiji Inafune, formerly of Capcom.
Yo-kai Watch is a Japanese media franchise created and developed by Level-5. The franchise's main work is the role-playing video game series of the same name, the first of which was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. Three main sequels and several spinoffs, on both Nintendo and mobile platforms, have been released. In December 2019, the franchise expanded to PlayStation with the release of Yo-kai Watch 4++. An associated toy line is produced by Bandai for the Japanese market, while Hasbro formerly sold the toys under license in the Americas and Europe.
There are three mobile games in the Ni no Kuni series published by Level-5. The first two were developed by Level-5 in partnership with mobile distribution companies, and were released around the original games in the main series, Dominion of the Dark Djinn and Wrath of the White Witch. The first, Ni no Kuni: Hotroit Stories, is a role-playing game set before the events of the main entries. It follows the story of Oliver and his friend Mark, and their attempts to construct a car. The first chapter was released in December 2010 through Level-5's Roid service. The second game, Ni no Kuni: Daibouken Monsters, is a social card role-playing game in which players collect cards and use them in battles, and use the abilities of characters who have been trapped in the cards. It was released in a partnership with the GREE mobile service in May 2012. The third game, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, is a role-playing game developed by Netmarble, following a beta tester in a fictional virtual reality game. It was released in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan in June 2021, and worldwide in May 2022.
Yo-kai Watch is a role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS and the first game in the Yo-kai Watch franchise. Originally released in Japan on July 11, 2013, the game is based on the Yōkai of Japanese folklore, who are said to be ghosts and apparitions that cause mischief in daily life. In Yo-kai Watch, player character Nathan "Nate" Adams or Katie Forester, depending on who the player chooses, is given the titular watch, which gives him or her the ability to see Yo-kai, after stumbling across and befriending the butler Yo-kai Whisper. Players assume the role of Nate or Katie, as he or she travels around town searching for and befriending peaceful Yo-kai, battling hostile Yo-kai, and solving problems caused by mischievous Yo-kai.
Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls are a pair of 2014 role-playing video games developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS. The games are a sequel to 2013's Yo-kai Watch, and were released in July 2014 in Japan, in North America and Australia in late 2016, and Europe in 2017. Much like their predecessor, the games put players in an open world, befriending and battling various Yo-kai, which are ghosts and apparitions originating in Japanese folklore, that cause mischief in daily life. In the beginning of the story, the memories of the protagonists Nathan "Nate" Adams and Katie Forester are erased when their Yo-kai Watch is stolen, leaving them with no recollection of their past adventures. However, they soon stumble across their Yo-kai butler Whisper once again, and their adventures resume.
Wonder Flick was a role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5, which was released for iOS and Android devices. Versions for the Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were planned, but these were eventually cancelled upon the shutdown of the mobile version in 2015.
Snack World is a Japanese multimedia franchise created and developed by Level-5. Its consists video games, manga adaptations, a CGI anime series, and a toy line by Takara Tomy.
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is an upcoming sports role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5, planned for release for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS in 2024.
Yo-kai Watch 4 is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo Switch. As indicated by the name, it is the fourth game of the main series of Yo-kai Watch video games; unlike the preceding Yo-kai Watch 3, 4 was initially released only as a single version in Japan in June 2019. An enhanced version titled Yo-kai Watch 4++ was released for the Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2019. Its full name is "Yo-kai Watch 4: We're Looking Up At The Same Sky", translated from "妖怪ウォッチ4: ぼくらは同じ空を見上げている".
Yo-kai Watch 3 is a role-playing video game developed by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS which is the third game of the main series of Yo-kai Watch video games. It was initially released in two versions, Sushi and Tempura, in Japan in July 2016. A third version of the game, branded Sukiyaki, was released in Japan in December 2016, adding minor enhancements upon the original versions of the game. An English version based on Sukiyaki published by Nintendo was released in PAL regions in December 2018, and in North America two months later. Yo-kai Watch 3 is the first mainline Yo-kai Watch game not to be localized in Korean.
Yo-kai Sangokushi is a turn-based tactical role-playing game developed by Koei Tecmo and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016 exclusively in Japan. The game is a collaboration between Koei Tecmo's video game series Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Level-5's multi-media franchise Yo-kai Watch and sees the player controlling military commanders who aim to unify the world.
Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu, also known as Y School Heroes: Bustlin' School Life, is a 2020 role-playing game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. A spin-off installment in the Yo-kai Watch series, Yo-kai Watch Jam focuses on Jinpei Jiba, a student at the fictitious Y Academy, who investigates mysteries occurring in the academy and surrounding areas. He is also joined by his friends, who are among the playable characters.
