Level-5

[pinkbubblegum]

I was doing some drawing practice when my MP3 player decided to play the Norune Village theme from Dark Cloud. I got a sudden burst of nostalgia and found myself wondering if anyone else in this forum loved Level-5 games? o u o

As much as I like their Professor Layton series of games, I still find myself gravitating more towards their RPGs. But that might just be person bias on my part, haha. Level-5's just a game company that's pretty dear to my heart. They make really fun games with solid stories (Not to mention that I love their music).

C-Clearly my favorite game of theirs is Dark Cloud, but I'm pretty biased since it was one of my first PS2 games xD

I think though out of all their recent RPGs, Ni no Kuni's the best they've made so far. I really suggest it if you haven't played it yet.

Embarrassingly, I've only played until the second Layton game... I lost my DS sometime when the third game came out and never bothered to get a new one. Because of that, Diabolical Box is my favorite Layton game, storywise [spoiler=Endgame Spoiler]Minus the whole hallucigenic gas plot twist, that is... The love story was really nice though. It honestly made me cry.

But I'm planning to catch up and buy all the games I missed now that I have a 3DS!

How about you though? What's your favorite Level-5 game? c:

[Jedi]

My favorite was Dark Cloud as well, my Dad and I had many a fun runthrough of it, building the towns in odd ways yet fuilling requests at the same time. I liked the random dungeon every time you entered it aspect. Also I wish there were more duels! I loved em.

2 of my favorite themes from the game

[FrostyFireMage]

If you haven't played Ni No Kuni yet for the PS3, I highly recommend that you should. The gameplay isn't that great, but it has massive amounts of charm.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Frosty Fire Mage

[Knight]

I've only played the new Professor Layton, Miracle Mask, and I liked what I saw, and I want to get more when possible. Unfortunately, I don't play a lot of JRPGs, so I probably didn't play any of their other games.

[pinkbubblegum]

Aw! Wise Owl Forest! In all honesty, I think Wise Owl Forest was my favorite dungeon out of all of the ones you could do. It had cool mechanics unique to itself, like using dew to access the special room areas and the confrontation with the snake where you needed to upgrade your sword xD

And yeah, the soundtrack for it was pretty nifty!

I know what you mean about the Atla system! It was quite fulfilling once you got the town layout just the way everyone wanted it. I was a bit disappointed that Dark Cloud 2 didn't have it actually...

If you haven't played Ni No Kuni yet for the PS3, I highly recommend that you should. The gameplay isn't that great, but it has massive amounts of charm.

I think this pretty much applies for most Level-5 games haha. The gameplay usually isn't anything amazing or new/ innovative but it's not at all detrimental to their games. They're fun without having to be flashy c:

I've only played the new Professor Layton, Miracle Mask, and I liked what I saw, and I want to get more when possible. Unfortunately, I don't play a lot of JRPGs, so I probably didn't play any of their other games.

Aw, that's a shame. There are a number of really good JRPGs out there!

[Inactive Account404]

I love the professor layton series! I have played all the games, and watched the movie. It's hard to choose a favorite, but I thought Miracle Mask was really good.

I would love to try Ni No Kuni, but I don't have a PS3.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Silver Pegasus

[FrostyFireMage]

I've also played this downloadable game called Crimson Shroud that Level-5 designed on my 3DS. I haven't played it in some time due to it being too text-heavy and for having boring gameplay, but it's high quality and creative all the same.

[Tangerine]

I own like, every Level 5 game, lol. Even the ones I don't like/play, just because I like to support them. DC/Layton/NNK are all pretty frequently played when I actually have time to play those systems.

[Kon]

I've only been able to get my hands on the Professor Layton games, but they're all fantastic so I can't complain. My favorite entry in the Layton series is definitely Unwound Future~

I really need to check out their other games, haha~

[Iridium]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHs_98HZnVY

that is all

I used to have massive love for Level-5, but that's sort of died out since they've left so many games unlocalized. I wanna play Fantasy Life or Time Travelers or Inazuma Eleven or Layton vs. Wright or something. ;-;

also

unwound future > miracle mask > diabolical box > curious village > last specter

last specter is okay and has fun characters but the plot is bad

curious village is very atmospheric but some of the puzzles are just stupid

diabolical box is a wonderful game if you ignore the plot twist

miracle mask has like 500 puzzles and only two of them are sliding block puzzles hell yes

unwound future has DEM FEELS

Edited July 7, 2013 by Iridium

[Knight]

Aw, that's a shame. There are a number of really good JRPGs out there!

I'm sure there are, but JRPGs are very time consuming, and I don't usually get around to finishing them. That's mostly why I don't play that many, it's not that I don't like them, it's just too much of a test of patience.

[Keiya]

My favorite out of their games is absolutely Ni no Kuni. I like White Knight Chronicles too, for the concept, even if the practice was flawed.

What I loved best about Ni no Kuni was that it's so traditionalist that it was so refreshing. All the other JRPG's on the next-gen consoles all tried to deviate so much from the original formulas that it felt like a New Coke situation. What Ni no Kuni shows is that not only can you make a JRPG with world maps, encounters, sidequests, and whatever on a next-gen console, but you could also make it be both commercially and critically successful. For a guy like me, whose been an avid JRPG player since the PS1 (Legaia, Wild Arms, and Suikoden were some of my first titles), having a game that is pretty much a well-written love letter to my childhood was so endearing.

[pinkbubblegum]

I've also played this downloadable game called Crimson Shroud that Level-5 designed on my 3DS. I haven't played it in some time due to it being too text-heavy and for having boring gameplay, but it's high quality and creative all the same.

I'm pretty interested in Crimson Shroud, actually. I saw screenshots of it a while back and it looked strange at first but then I learned that Matsuno Yasumi (who was a key person in the development of Vagrant Story, FF:Tactics and Tactics Ogre) worked on it so I kind of want to get it...

The style choices for the game look rather... unique...? But it seems like it'd be a pretty good game o:

I really need to check out their other games, haha~

You really should! If you have a PS3, give Ni no Kuni a try! It's a really nice game.

What I loved best about Ni no Kuni was that it's so traditionalist that it was so refreshing. All the other JRPG's on the next-gen consoles all tried to deviate so much from the original formulas that it felt like a New Coke situation. What Ni no Kuni shows is that not only can you make a JRPG with world maps, encounters, sidequests, and whatever on a next-gen console, but you could also make it be both commercially and critically successful. For a guy like me, whose been an avid JRPG player since the PS1 (Legaia, Wild Arms, and Suikoden were some of my first titles), having a game that is pretty much a well-written love letter to my childhood was so endearing.

Yes! This is the vibe I get as well, not only from Ni no Kuni, but from a lot of Level-5's games. They focus more on finding what makes a game great and building around that core instead of focusing on the bells and whistles. And if you happen to like it, then that's great. But their games aren't meant to be there to impress you or anything.

It's like the complete opposite of what SquareEnix tries to do nowadays. Because of this, I think recent Squeenix games have a tendency to be really convoluted in what they want to convey. But that might just be me... ;;

[Keiya]

It's part of how Square Enix sells the Final Fantasy games (and let's be honest, it's just the Final Fantasy games, and maybe Kingdom Hearts. Deus Ex and Tomb Raider weren't really given that treatment). They're really good at putting up buzz words and setting up the mood and feel of their games, and this unfortunately really bleeds onto the rest of their products. Of course, this is opposed to Level-5's non-existent marketing campaigns, which are usually summarized as "Hey, guys! Look at this game we're making! Isn't it fun?"

Speaking of Level-5, I'm thinking there are 3 groups of Level-5 fans:

- The ones who know them from their PS2 and PS3 games (i.e. me). Take note that Level-5 was initially a developer that worked almost exclusively for Sony since they didn't have their own publishing cash.

- The ones who know them for their DS games, when they have got enough money to self-publish their games (i.e. Layton fans).

- The ones who have played all their works and own all consoles.

In spite of their self-published games, Level-5 still maintains a good relationship with Sony, and I'm hoping to see a lot more good things from them in the future, whether it's the Layton series, their Guild series of minigames, or some big, sweeping RPG on the consoles.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Keiya

[Siruppercut]

My favorite Dragon Quest VIII. Loved the cell-shading visuals and the symphonic music. Most of the games I prefer subs if available but one of the few games I actually liked the dubbing.

[Rapier]

I've only played Professor Layton (which I didn't like that much) and Rogue Galaxy, which is one of the best RPGs I've ever played judging from difficulty, graphics, music and story.

[Shengar]

So far I've only played Jeanne d'Arc and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Both have really solid gameplay and really fun to play. The thing is both have the same exact problem: the story. While Jeanne d'Arc so far put me off because its terrible directing, Ni No Kuni whole premises is what killed the game for me. I thought that Ni No Kuni would work perfectly if they don't opt for "The Choosen One" route, and instead go with "Adventure and Travel". Not too mention the flaw in Ni No Kuni by brought up the "All Defense/Offense" command pretty late to the game.

They're not really under my radar until I head about Jeanne d'Arc. All I could say is that they should develop really solid RPG title on their. Ni No Kuni gameplay style with better world and writing could make a perfect game for me.

[pinkbubblegum]

It's part of how Square Enix sells the Final Fantasy games (and let's be honest, it's just the Final Fantasy games, and maybe Kingdom Hearts. Deus Ex and Tomb Raider weren't really given that treatment). They're really good at putting up buzz words and setting up the mood and feel of their games, and this unfortunately really bleeds onto the rest of their products.

Really...? I don't know, for me ever KH suffers from it too. I really liked the first game and even CoM (I played the GBA one though) but then the second game came along and it sort of went downhill from there. Out of nowhere they included things that, I felt, weren't at all foreshadowed in the first game such as Nobodies and the Organization. And suddenly battles have a cutscene-esque finishing move that activates just by pressing one button xD;

I'm kind of scared to get KH3 right now because I feel like I'd be so lost with the direction the game's going in (Considering I skipped out on the numerous handheld releases of the games. I'm only basing this on my experience with KH2 though, and that was already with me having have played the inbetween game, CoM!)

But I guess that's more due to SquareEnix's bad habit of milking a good game by forcing it to make sequels than anything else.

What I'm trying to say is that with Level-5 games, they have a clear goal of what they want you to experience with their games, and more than anything it's usually something along the lines of having a grand adventure in a fantasy world.

With SquareEnix games, I sometimes can't tell. I mean, they're pretty good and fun in their own right, but it's like... "I thought I was on a journey to save my sister? WHAT'S ALL THESE THINGS HAPPENING ALL OF A SUDDEN?! orz" (As with FFXIII. But I think even KH can fall under that. Just replace sister with love interest/ friend.)

Edit: Oh... I had misread what you meant o:

From what I know though, Deus Ex and Tomb Raider were only published, not developed, by SquareEnix. I had meant more of the games they themselves made. And yeah, like you said the two games that fall greatly into that category for me, are Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games xD

Rogue Galaxy, which is one of the best RPGs I've ever played judging from difficulty, graphics, music and story.

Yeah! Rogue Galaxy's also a really great RPG by them. I enjoyed it immensely. The bug arena's a pretty silly but rather enjoyable minigame haha.

Edited July 9, 2013 by pinkbubblegum

[Esau of Isaac]

I think the majority of games that have been released under the moniker of Square Enix have been overly commercialized or pandering. I'll freely admit that my favorites in the series took a large stride towards a more mainstream appeal, but I always felt they were tempered and evenly paced, with a captivating gameplay. Final Fantasy XIII was basically the poster boy for what's wrong with the series. I hope they return to earlier roots with XV but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyways, on the topic of Level-5, I've played most of their games. As some have said here, I tend to like the CONCEPTS they come up with, if not the execution. I liked the idea of putting together my own town and exploring a dungeon in Dark Cloud, but I hated much of actually playing it --although oddly enough I still remember it quite well. I bought Ni No Kuni some time ago but have only played an hour or two of it. My backlog is swamped with dozens and dozens of games.

[Keiya]

Speaking of Level 5, I'm looking forward to the 2013 Tokyo Game Show, and what they've got up their sleeve. Level-5 is the kind of company that switches IP's whenever they switch consoles, and I'm wondering what kind of IP they'll be working on for the PS4. Of course, let's not rule out any Wii U games. As for the handhelds, I'm fairly confidence that they'll work on another Little Battlers for both Vita and 3DS, as well as Yokai Watch and the Guild projects for the 3DS.

I wonder if any of their cancelled projects such as Ushiro will ever make it to realization, but as of the moment, their next big project points to either a Ni no Kuni sequel, or a new IP altogether.

As for Square Enix, what I'll say is they'll never be able to completely please their Unpleasable Fanbase; they can give them $100 bills with every copy of the game they ship out, you'll get blokes who will complain that their bills weren't folded properly. The fact is that Final Fantasy, especially since FFVII, is the result of various directors and producers each having their own chance to work on new concepts for each of the series' installments. The result is a very diverse series with different mood, feel and style per installment, but also one that is heavily divisive. Compare to other long-running RPG series like the Tales series, which is worked on and developed by the same team since the first installment (Legendia being a unique subversion).

That being said, yes, both FFXIII and FFXIV were pretty bad, because of terrible design, executive and production choices that the company have endured under the previous top brass. Hopefully, with a new President, and with a new staff composed of fan favorites directing both FFXV and Kingdom Hearts 3, we'll get some step in the right direction.

As for a series like Kingdom Hearts... it's incredibly difficult to understand the story unless you play almost every game in the series... a problem that the KH staff is trying to remedy with the KH 1.5 and KH 2.5 releases on PS3.