| LEVEL-5 Inc. |
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 | | Type | Private |
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| Founded | October 1998 |
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| Headquarters | Fukuoka, Japan |
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| Key people | Akihiro Hino, President and CEO
Yasuhiro Akasaka, Lead Director |
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| Industry | Video Game Industry |
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| Products | White Knight Chronicles
Professor Layton Series
Rogue Galaxy
Dark Cloud series
Jeanne d'Arc |
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| Employees | 150 (as of Oct. 2007) |
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| Website | http://www.level5.co.jp/ |
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Level-5 Inc. (レベルファイブ, Level-5 Inc.?) is an independent video game developer and publisher based out of Fukuoka, Japan. The company, which currently employs about 150 individuals, was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from the now defunct Japanese developer Riverhillsoft. Hino designs, plans and produces all of Level-5’s games, as well as serving as both President and CEO of the company. Since its inception, Level-5 has enjoyed a very close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with most of their titles funded by and produced in conjunction with the publisher. Since the release of Professor Layton and the Curious Village in early 2007 however the company has begun diversifying its product portfolio and focusing more on self-funding and self-publishing its titles in Japan.
HistoryLevel-5's first full scale production was the action RPG Dark Cloud, developed under contract by Sony Computer Entertainment originally for the Japanese launch of the PlayStation 2 in March of 2000. The title however was delayed just prior to the PS2 launch to allow for further development, and eventually released in Japan on December 14 2000, and elsewhere in 2001. The game was an immediate success for the company, selling just under a million units worldwide. Work immediately began on a pseudo-sequel entitled Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2 in North America), that while not quite as successful as the first title, still enjoyed immense critical acclaim and sold over half a million units worldwide. Midway through 2002 the company enjoyed a substantial boost in recognition as they began development on three very high profile titles: - True Fantasy Live Online for Microsoft, an MMORPG which was to become one of the premier titles for the Xbox and Xbox Live service in Japan before it was abruptly canceled in 2004.
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for Enix (later Square Enix), who had handpicked Level-5 to develop the title under the supervision of famed designer Yuji Horii and his team at Armor Project.
- Rogue Galaxy, the studio’s third RPG for Sony Computer Entertainment, with a larger budget and more creative freedom than their previous productions with the publisher.
In just four short years, Level-5 went from small startup studio to one of the premier RPG developers in Japan, and have since enjoyed immense critical and commercial success. In early 2007, the company released their first fully self-funded and self-published title in Japan, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which has since enjoyed incredible commercial success, shipping more than 500,000 copies to retail, and has officially transitioned Level-5 into both a developer and publisher of interactive video game entertainment in Japan.
Current DevelopmentsLevel-5 currently have at least five titles in development, four for the Nintendo DS and one for Sony's PlayStation 3. They are hard at work at the two remaining entries in the Professor Layton trilogy, the second of which, Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, was released in Japan at the end of 2007. They also continue to collaborate with Square Enix on Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito, the first mainline entry the venerable series has seen exclusively on a handheld. And recently announced at the 2007 Toyko Game Show is the peculiar soccer RPG entitled Inazuma Eleven, which combines unique stylus driven soccer action with the RPG pedigree Level-5 is known for. In May 2008, Akihiro Hino also announced Level 5's first self-published console game, Inazuma Eleven Break!, currently in development for an undisclosed system. The bulk of the staff however, including the chief designers, artists and Lead Director Yasuhiro Akasaka, are currently working on the company's PlayStation 3 RPG effort, White Knight Chronicles.
Games
PlayStation 3- White Knight Chronicles (2008) (in development)
PlayStation 2- Dark Cloud (2000)
- Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2) (2002)
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004)
- Rogue Galaxy (2005)
- Rogue Galaxy: Director's Cut (2007)
PlayStation Portable
Nintendo DS- Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2007)
- Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (2007)
- Inazuma Eleven (2008) (in development)
- Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito (2008) (in development)
- Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel (2008) (in development)
Critical ReceptionDark Cloud - Famitsū - 8 / 8 / 8 / 7
- EGM - 8.5, 8.5, 8.0
- Gamespot - 8.1
- IGN - 8.4
- Edge Magazine - 7/10
Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2) - Famitsū - 10 / 9 / 8 / 8
- EGM - 9.5, 8.0, 8.0
- Gamespot - 9.0
- IGN - 9.0
- Edge Magazine - 6/10
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King - Famitsū - 10 / 10 / 10 / 9
- EGM - 9.0, 9.0, 8.0
- Gamespot - 9.0
- IGN - 9.0
- Edge Magazine - 8/10
Rogue Galaxy - Famitsū - 10 / 9 / 9 / 8
- EGM - 8.0, 7.5, 7.0
- Gamespot - 8.0
- IGN - 8.7
- Edge Magazine - 6/10
Jeanne d'Arc - Famitsū - 10 / 8 / 8 / 7
- EGM - 8.0, 7.0, 8.0
- Extreme Gamer - 8.5
- Gamespot - 8.0
- IGN - 9.0
Professor Layton and the Curious Village - Famitsū - 8 / 8 / 8 / 9
- Edge Magazine - 7/10
- IGN - 8.0
See also- Level-5 stadium in Fukuoka city
External links- Level-5’s official website
- Level-5 profile on GameSpot
- Level-5 profile on MobyGames
- Level-5 profile on IGN
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