Level 5 vs. the World 2011 Xtreme Edition: Part II

This feature
is continuing from yesterday’s
coverage of Level 5 World 2011, wherein half of the games Level 5 presented
to the world were covered.

 

To continue the
theory of what the name “Level 5 World 2011” means from the last entry: maybe
it does refer to Level 5 presenting
all of their titles to the world. Their American subsidiary, Level 5
International America, has been tweeting
about the games present at the show so English speakers can see what their
parent company is offering. Of course, they could
be teasing games that will never see the light of day outside of Japan, which
is pretty cruel. Hopefully that’s not the intention.

 

Anyway, the some
of the games in this part are reintroduced titles that have been in hibernation
since last year’s Level 5 Vision conference.

 

You know
what, forget Ni no Kuni for a
minute. Cinderella Life: Girls RPG
for 3DS is surely the game most people tuning in were looking forward to
seeing! Cinderella Life is somewhat of a hostess sim/RPG that will star your
in-game avatar coming from the countryside to Castle, a place where you and the
other girls will offer a good time to incoming customers. Please note that the
phrase “good time” is not implying anything sexually suggestive, but simply
means ensuring that customers enjoy their time at Castle while generating a
profit for the business. That happens by making conversation and getting the
visitors, which include idols, company CEOs, politicians, and other VIPs, to order
meals from a particularly high-priced menu. Some of the clients are also guest
characters from various anime and manga franchises.

 

Speaking of
sexually suggestive material, Level 5 has been working to remove any
implications of that from the game. It’s only “somewhat of a hostess sim/RPG”
now because Level 5 realized the hostess profession is often a rather seedy
business, something they didn’t want to portray in a game with such a cute art
style.

 

The purpose
Level 5’s presentation this year was to introduce two new guest characters:
Masumi Hayami from Glass Mask and Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon — the former of which
required a link because the
first volume sold so poorly in America that Sentai Filmworks isn’t bothering
with the rest. This game is part of the lineup of 3DS software aimed at
girls (along with the upcoming pink 3DS), and is due for release in February
2012.

 

Remember
Mystery Room? It was a DS game
involving two detectives, Poccho and Sly, solving crimes based on evidence they
received. The detectives used the room to try and recreate the crime scene. The
game resurfaced at this year’s Level 5 event, albeit in a very different form.

 

For one, the
game has been rebranded as Layton
Brothers: Mystery Room, which stars Professor Hershel Layton’s son,
Alphendi Layton, a genius investigator at Scotland Yard. He is assisted by a
neophyte investigator named Lucy Creila. Also, the game has been moved from DS
to iOS. Though the protagonists and overall art style have changed, the concept
remains the same. It has no release date.

 

Fantasy Life, the Brownie
Brown-developed title moved from DS to 3DS, reappeared this year. The purpose
of last year’s presentation was to show how its art style and aesthetic was
being kept despite making the leap from 2D sprites to 3D polygons. This year
the intention was to show how feature rich the game will be.

 

The game’s
concept actually has a few things in common with Dragon Quest IX‘s original one (some of the towns even look
similar), but it’s still being referred to as a life simulation RPG title. The
trailer this year showed character venturing into dungeons and fighting
monsters within them. Your player character will be a customizable one of your
own choosing, but don’t expect the character creation system won’t be as robust
as one from a western RPG. It’s due for a release in 2012.

 

Time Travelers was the second most
anticipated game people wanted to see from this event, and Level 5 fortunately
delivered the goods. It’s a sci-fi adventure game set in 2031-era Tokyo, a
rebuilt city existing eighteen years after a mysterious void called the “Lost
Hole” caused an enormous explosion that ruptured the central part of the city
and many lives along with it. Now it’s a technologically rich city adorned with
holographic signs and a building known as the “Space Elevator,” which serves as
the city’s power source. Precisely how
it generates this power is a mystery. It is forecasted that another event will
occur on April 28th, 2031, one that could change the world’s fate. The game’s
script is being written by Jiro Ishii, whose previous game was 428. See the call back there?

 

The
particulars of the event aren’t being elaborated upon at the moment, but Level
5 introduced more of the game’s central characters. The new trailer showed Yuri
Fukase, a childhood friend of the game’s protagonist, Mikoto. The screen shot
above with the two of them may suggest they’re more than just “friends.” As for
the others: We have Hina Fushimi, a television station announcer aspiring to
become a famous journalist. Second, there’s Soma Kamiya, a cop whose wife and
child are being held hostage (who himself bears a striking resemblance to Hotel Dusk‘s Kyle Hyde). Third, we have
Shindo Hyugo, a man once said to be a genius but actually makes a living by
conning people out of their money by saying he’s building a time machine.
Finally, there’s Ressentiment, a real life hero who patrols while cosplaying.
The biggest mystery is Mikoto herself, who’s simply described as a girl who
knows the future.

 

The other
big news is the game is no longer a 3DS exclusive, and is now headed for
Playstation Vita and PSP as well. It’s due for release in 2012, and if there’s
any justice, it will release in English as well.

 

The last two
were new title announcements. The first of these is Guild 01, a package that will consist of four games spanning four
different genres from four different creators for 3DS. The first of these is Kaihou Shoujo, a side-scrolling shooter
from SUDA51 (Killer7, No More Heroes) and Grasshopper
Manufacture starring a high school student named Shoko. She pilots a mech named
“Kaihoki Kamui” to fight enemies. It will feature anime cut scenes from Studio
Bones.

 

The second
game is Air Porter from Yoot Saito (Seaman, Odama), an airport luggage management sim. It’s a game where you’ll
have to manage people’s luggage well to keep and generate business at the
airport. Sounds like a bizarre concept for a game, but that’s Yoot Saito for
you.

 

The third
game is Rental Bukiya de Omasse, an
RPG from a comedian (no, really) named Yoshiyuki Hirai. This game involves
playing as a father and son who run a weapon shop similar to ones you find in
other RPGs. The decisions in which weapons you give to your clients will have
an outcome on their adventures. This sounds slightly reminiscent of Torneko’s quest
in Dragon Quest IV.

 

The final
game of the package is Crimson Shroud
from Yasumi Matsuno (The Ogre
series, Vagrant Story). Matsuno
explained that it’s a tabletop adventure RPG-style game, but really didn’t get
into the details. It’s unfortunately the only title whose gameplay wasn’t shown
in the trailer. The
game also features art design from Hideo Minaba, and music from Hitoshi
Sakimoto. It’s definitely the title Matsuno described to Famitsu when he formally
announced that he landed at Level 5 back in July.

 

Hopefully we
learn more about this soon, but Level 5 games have a habit of going into
hibernation for lengthy periods of time. This package has no release date.

 

The final
title Level 5 had to reveal was Youkai
Watch. It stars a boy named Keita, who uses creatures known as “Youkai” and
summons them into battle against others. He also has a friendly ghost named
Whisper. The word “title” was used earlier because this is going to be Level
5’s next multimedia franchise with game, anime and manga adaptations —
alongside Inazuma Eleven and The Little Battler eXperience. There
aren’t many details for it yet, and the release date and platforms for the game
are TBA. The trailer shows a brief snippet of gameplay (go to 1:14), which looks nice enough
for people to think it might be a PS3 or Vita game. That could just be concept footage, which means it shouldn’t be judged
by its looks. Also, don’t be surprised if you don’t see it again until Level 5
World 2012.

 

Whether you
love them or don’t, you have to admire how Level 5 has grown from a smaller
publisher that handled projects for other publishers (mainly Sony) to one of
the biggest and most popular in Japan. Hopefully the company can make a good
presence outside of that country within the next few years, beyond one that’s
being handled by other publishers with games like the Professor Layton titles and Ni
no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

Time Travelers pic courtesy of Famitsu.