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Seoul Robotics' autonomous 'Control Tower' remotely manages self-driving vehicle fleets
Seoul Robotics has developed a mesh network that reportedly imparts Level 5 autonomy to vehicle fleets, if only for the last mile.
'Ni No Kuni 2' comes to Nintendo Switch on September 17th
The Ghibli-like action RPG 'Ni No Kuni 2' will arrive on the Nintendo Switch on September 17th.
‘Ni No Kuni’ mobile MMO looks utterly gorgeous
'Ni No Kuni' games have a history of being heartbreakingly beautiful, and in that regard, the upcoming MMO for mobile won’t disappoint.
A 'Layton' game is coming to Switch on November 8th
To date, playing a Layton game in English has meant playing on either a Nintendo handheld or your phone. Soon, though, you'll have the chance to solve puzzles on your TV at home. Level-5 and Nintendo have announced that the Deluxe Edition of Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy will be available on the Switch in North America and Europe on November 8th. It's much-improved visually over the 3DS version, of course, but the sheer amount of extra gameplay may be the real draw.
'Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom' delayed until January 2018
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch brought the unique beauty of a Studio Ghibli movie to North American PS3s in 2012. The gorgeous RPG was slated to get a sequel, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, this coming November, but it looks as if we'll have to wait a bit longer. In a video message on publisher Bandai Namco's Twitter feed, Akihiro Hino, CEO and President of developer LEVEL-5, explained the delay and apologized deeply to fans. It's not a huge wait, though, as the new launch date is set for January 19th of next year.
Level-5's 3DS puzzle series is back with 'Lady Layton'
It's been awhile since Professor Layton has graced the 3DS with a puzzle-filled adventure, but the famous detective is finally back. Sort of. Level-5 has announced that the next game in its long-running puzzle series will star not Hershel Layton himself, but Catriel Layton -- the original character's daughter. That tweak aside, Lady Layton: The Conspiracy of King Millionaire Ariadne looks like a direct sequel to the original series.
Nintendo's 'Yo-Kai Watch' is a love letter to urban life
I was sitting on an eight hour flight back from London, my 3DS the only thing illuminating my little corner of the plane. My boyfriend, bored in the middle seat next to me, had leaned over to look at what I was doing. "That looks like Pokémon." His tone was surprised, and maybe even a little disgusted. Because at first glance, it did look like another entry in Nintendo's kid-friendly RPG franchise. There was the typical tween-aged protagonist, strolling along a disturbingly empty street, followed everywhere by a small unearthly creature. In fact, I had six more creatures at my disposal, all with their own distinct abilities and affiliations. They fought other creatures and, sometimes at the end of a fight, the vanquished would even ask to join my team.
Two popular 3DS games get sequels on smartphones and tablets
New games in two acclaimed 3DS franchises, Professor Layton and Fantasy Life, are heading exclusively to iOS and Android. During an event today, Japanese developer Level-5 announced it will bring Professor Layton and Fantasy Life to smartphones and tablets in Japan only (for now). Siliconera reports the next Professor Layton game is called Layton 7 and it seems to be a departure from the series' puzzle-solving roots, offering a card game with fortune-telling aspects where players attempt to figure out who the "Vampire" is. The new Fantasy Life game, Fantasy Life 2: Two Moons and the Village of God, sticks closely to the franchise's role-playing script but offers more city-building options, Siliconera says.
Best of the Rest: Danny's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Fantasy Life Sometimes, you just wanna sidequest. For those times, there's Fantasy Life. Fantasy Life is fun in the way that checking off items on a checklist is fun. There's a solid action-RPG here from Professor Layton series creator Level-5, sure, but much of my time in Fantasy Life was spent completing sidequests, crafting equipment, and hunting down component items so that I could craft more equipment and complete more sidequests. You don't even have to kill anything to complete the game - you can smith, cook, sew, and alchemize your way to victory if that's the way you want to play it. Fantasy Life is an endless grind that remains compelling even after I've completed hundreds of its quests. If you don't fit into its niche, you'll be bored immediately. If you're a specific breed of completionist, Fantasy Life is impossible to put down. In either case, beware.
Launch day DLC coming to Fantasy Life, Hyrule Warriors
Among Nintendo's swath of announcements this morning is word that both Legend of Zelda-themed musou brawler Hyrule Warriors and open-world fantasy adventure Fantasy Life will receive downloadable additions at launch. According to Nintendo, once players fire up Hyrule Warriors they will find an eShop download that adds a new weapon, new gameplay mode and the option to select your own background music to the Omega Force-developed Hylian melee. Fantasy Life, on the other hand, will receive new geography. Specifically, a place called "Origin Island," which is described as "a new area that is home to an ancient culture and powerful enemies, additional story content, new ranks to achieve in Life Classes, access to even more powerful equipment and two new varieties of pets to adopt: birds and dragons." While the Hyrule Warriors DLC will be available at no cost to players, pricing details on Fantasy Life's Origin Island are currently lacking. Nintendo states that the DLC will be "available for purchase" at the time of the game's launch, but makes no mention of how much it might cost. [Image: Nintendo/Koei Tecmo]
Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright review: Hold it, this reminds me of a puzzle
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is less a crossover of gameplay styles than it is two of them sat side by side, occasionally exchanging a polite smile. Imagine an Ace Attorney game, but instead of wandering around interrogating and finding clues, you were doing the Professor Layton thing of solving puzzles to move along the narrative. Congratulations, you have just imagined Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. Oddly, the game exposes the weaknesses of both series. By routinely switching between the two styles, the 3DS crossover avoids the monotonous repetition that hurt later Layton games while simultaneously focusing on the most fun part of Ace Attorney: the courtroom battles. That makes it a breeze to play through, even if it all feels a little dumbed down. In contrast, the story sours the fun by being a bloated mess that twists and turns so much that it needs a killer conclusion. In the end, the finale is more an assault on your patience, though not a fatal one thanks to the Ace Attorney's inimitable brand of courtroom chaos.
Level 5's Fantasy Life becomes reality in Europe next month
Finally, Fantasy Life is confirmed for Europe with a regional release date of September 24. Don't let the proximity of finally to fantasy in that opening sentence mislead you, the 3DS RPG is a Level-5 joint, even if it does feature music by Nobuo Uematsu. It's taken a while for Fantasy Life to head West after it charmed Japan back in 2012 with its mix of action-RPG combat and Animal Crossing-like vocational fun. According to Nintendo of Europe's press release, the game features a Link Mode tool that lets you chat online with other players while you adventure, a separate feature to the local and online co-op (for up to three players.) That suggests the new version includes the Link expansion released in Japan, which also added new areas, quests and items as well as the chat functionality. As Nintendo revealed at E3, Fantasy Life is also coming to North America on October 24. Below the break you'll find a new trailer showcasing the game's various features, including the ability to buy a faithful doggie pet. Truly, that is the Fantasy Life.
Ni No Kuni shipments pass 1.1 million, series clears 1.7 million
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Level-5's monster-training RPG, has surpassed 1.1 million shipped copies to retailers. Combined with the original version for the DS that was never released in North America, that puts the series at 1.7 million shipped copies. Sounds like protagonist Oliver has found plenty of help in his multidimensional quest to save his mother! Spike's VGX 2013 Awards acknowledged Ni No Kuni as its best RPG of last year, beating out Fire Emblem: Awakening and Pokemon X/Y. Sadly, VGX 2013 did not include a "Best Attempt To Derail An Awards Show" category, which Joel McHale surely would have won. [Image: Level-5]
Weapon Shop de Omasse review: Dull Blades, Sharp Jokes
Where would Cloud Strife be without his Buster Sword? Sora without the Keyblade? Link without his shield and Master Sword? Stuck on Level 1, that's where. Thank goodness there are talented weapon smiths to forge these legendary weapons of power for our RPG heroes. In Weapon Shop de Omasse for 3DS, you can be the helping hand that pushes such heroes to greatness. No, you are not the special snowflake destined to save the world. Instead, you are Yuhan, apprentice to master blacksmith Oyaji. Your shop has taken on a new business model, renting weapons rather than selling them outright, and it's your job to make sure that every customer's needs are met – those needs usually being some variation on "come back alive from the Orc fortress." Omasse is a collaborative effort between Japanese comedian Yoshiyuki Hirai and Level 5, the studio behind Ni No Kuni and the Professor Layton series, though it's Hirai's pedigree that shows more in the execution.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy review: Such Sweet Sorrow
Professor Layton games have always been all-consuming, everything-else-on-hold affairs. I vividly remember playing The Curious Village, the first Layton, as I was drudging through a dank November London. It was essentially a collection of puzzles tied together by a story, but on that day, that all-consumed day, the DS game was an umbrella made out of gentlemanly mantras and a scarf woven out of quaint mystery. I was lost to it, to its winking puzzles and the twists and turns of its narrative, and when the dots connected so elegantly at the end, it was like I'd awoken in the hand-drawn sunshine of its European streets. The series has stuck to its groove five games on, and the puzzles still pop up almost rhythmically in the zigzagging country path of the narrative. That said, another day spent with the professor can only feel a bit samey, less sunny by now. The well of puzzles is all but dry in Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, the twists that impressed me years ago feel predictable now, and even a relatively major shift to the formula doesn't fully wow me. It's a testament, then, to the series' sweet, warm personality that throughout my time with Azran Legacy, that little smile that Layton sports matches a little smile on my face. There's enough left here, just about, for one last day in the sun.
Three Inazuma Eleven episodes available for free on 3DS eShop
Need to know a little more about soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven beyond its surprise reveal-and-release for North America in this week's Nintendo Direct? The first three episodes of the Inazuma Eleven anime are viewable for free on the 3DS eShop. You can find them in the Videos section of Inazuma Eleven's game listing. Each episode runs just under 23 minutes, offering a glimpse at goalkeeper Mark Evans' efforts to develop a soccer club for his school. In the initial episodes, Mark meets Axel Blaze, a student specializing in playing soccer's forward position. Axel's skills inspire Mark's ragtag soccer club to train seriously and strive to be better soccer players. In the game itself, players recruit teammates from over 1,000 different candidates and direct the team through matches using the 3DS touchscreen. If the anime episodes win you over, Inazuma Eleven is available for $19.99 on the 3DS eShop. [Image: Level-5]
3DS 'Weapon Shop de Omasse' opens on Feb. 20
Weapon Shop de Omasse, the final title in Level-5's Guild 01 series, will reach the 3DS North American eShop on February 20, Nintendo announced today. Omasse's comical, light-hearted plot is the result of a collaboration between Level-5 and comedian Yoshiyuki Hirai. In Omasse, Oyaji and his apprentice Yuuhan manage an item shop that equips heroes with the weapons they need to take on valiant quests. Players forge weapons by hammering weapons on the 3DS' lower screen. Players tap out rhythms immediately after hearing them, achieving a higher level of craftsmanship according to their accuracy. A content rating for Omasse from the Australian Classification Board popped up earlier this year. [Image: Nintendo]
Soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven launching on 3DS eShop today
Inazuma Eleven will launch today on the 3DS eShop for $19.99, Nintendo announced during its Nintendo Direct livestream. The eShop-exclusive has players directing players on a soccer field with tactical RPG elements. The game appeared and then disappeared from Nintendo's North American release calendar in January. [Image: Level-5]
Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright presents its box art to the court
While North America's gearing up for Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy on February 28, Europe's looking ahead to March 28 and the Prof's court date with the Ace Attorney. No news yet beyond 2014 for when the 3DS sleuthing crossover will hit American shelves.
Level-5 registers US trademark for 3DS game 'Yo-kai Watch'
Youkai Watch, Level-5's tale of a magical watch that lets its user see spiritual beings, released in Japan last July for the 3DS. Localizing software isn't exactly free though, so we've resigned to just imagining what it's ... wait, Level-5 recently filed a trademark for "Yo-kai Watch" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office? Huh. You can't print out and play trademarks in the 3DS' cartridge slot though, so take this as a potential hint instead of an outright confirmation of a planned Western release. This isn't the only hint that we've seen recently for localized Level-5 projects - soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven popped up (and has since disappeared) on Nintendo's release calendar for the 3DS earlier this month. The weapons shopkeep simulator Rental Bukiya de Omasse also received a content rating from the Australian Classification Board. Hopefully the next Nintendo Direct brings a slew of Level-5 announcements, similar to the October reveal of plans to localize the Guild 01 series. You can check out the trademark for yourself by searching for "Yo-kai Watch" with the USPTO's Basic Word Mark Search.
