[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Level_5_logo_001_4396.jpg]]

Once there was this game developing company called Riverhillsoft, who began with the AdventureGame ''J.B. Harold Murder Club'' and went on to produce such timeless classics like... uh... ''VideoGame/OverBlood''...? Anyway, in 1998, two years before Riverhillsoft disbanded, one of its members, Akihiro Hino, left to produce his own game developing company, being particularly supported by Creator/SonyComputerEntertainment, and went to produce some respectably good sellers for the then-newborn Platform/PlayStation2, especially the ''VideoGame/DarkCloud'' series. That company's name is [[https://level5.co.jp Level-5 Inc.]] 『株式会社レベルファイブ』 , and they only got bigger.

A few years later the company would get its two next big-titles, the first being unexpectedly ordered by Creator/SquareEnix: ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', which also sold like crazy, and solidified their relationship (Level 5 would be later hired to produce ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''). The other title was an action-RPG ordered by Sony again, ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy''. In just four short years, Level-5 went from small startup studio to one of the premier RPG developers in Japan, and have enjoyed immense critical and commercial success. Soon it started publishing its own titles in Japan (like ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' series), while still being chums with Sony (''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'', ''VideoGame/WhiteKnightChronicles''), and working with Nintendo too (''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton''). In Mid-2017 Level-5 acquired Comcept, the developer formed by Creator/KeijiInafune for the purpose of creating ''VideoGame/MightyNo9''. Inafune had previously worked with Level-5 on the ''Guild 02'' installment ''VideoGame/BugsVsTanks''.

The company seems to have a working relationship with Creator/OLMIncorporated, as they're responsible for the cutscenes and anime adaptations of their recent works (''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'', ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'', ''VideoGame/LBXLittleBattlersExperience'', ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'', ''VideoGame/MegatonMusashi'').

Level-5: making something for everybody.
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!!Level-5 produced the following games and franchises:
[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/DarkCloud''
** ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' (''Dark Cloud 2'' [[MarketBasedTitle in North America]]).
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII''
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''
* ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy''
* ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc''
* The ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' series
* The ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' series
* ''VideoGame/WhiteKnightChronicles''
** ''White Knight Chronicles II''
* ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni''
** ''VideoGame/NiNoKuniIIRevenantKingdom''
** ''VideoGame/NiNoKuniCrossWorlds''[[note]]Published by Level-5, but is developed by [=NetMarble=].[[/note]]
* The ''VideoGame/LBXLittleBattlersExperience'' series
* ''Girls RPG: Cinderelife''
* ''[=Guild01=]''
** ''VideoGame/CrimsonShroud''
** ''VideoGame/LiberationMaiden''
** ''Aero Porter''
** ''Weapon Shop de Omasse''
* ''VideoGame/TimeTravelers''
* ''VideoGame/FantasyLife''
* ''[=Guild02=]''
** ''VideoGame/AttackOfTheFridayMonstersATokyoTale''
** ''VideoGame/TheStarshipDamrey''
** ''VideoGame/BugsVsTanks''
* The ''Franchise/YokaiWatch'' series
* ''VideoGame/TheSnackWorld''
* ''VideoGame/MegatonMusashi''
* ''VideoGame/DecaPolice''
[[/index]]
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!!Tropes associated with Level-5:
* BadExportForYou: The Global version of ''VideoGame/NiNoKuniCrossWorlds'' which is done in partnership with [=NetMarble=] has NFT and Cryptocurrency integration. This angers gamers whose lives had been made a living hell by "cryptobros" who singlehandedly bought up large chunks of [=GPUs=] and [=CPUs=] in the market to fuel their ethereum/bitcoin farm. Not helping are the COVID-19 pandemic and scalpers who cryptobros has no issues with buying from, but gamers do due to them inflating the prices of [=GPUs=] and [=CPUs=] exponentially that many cards became unaffordable to gamers. This is also reflected in ''Cross Worlds'' -- where the price of everything is so high you better have been mining bitcoins if you want to buy anything.
* BreakthroughHit: ''Dark Cloud'' was where the company started making a name for themselves, but the ''Professor Layton'' series was what really put them on the map.
* CelShading: ''VideoGame/DarkChronicle'' is considered one of the pioneers in the use of cel-shading in video games, and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' was widely praised for being one of the most gorgeous cel-shaded titles on the Platform/PlayStation2. The trailer for the [=PS3=] version of ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' shows that they haven't lost their touch when it comes to this.
* CrossOver: Level-5 seems to be getting rather fond of this these days. First there was ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVSAceAttorney'', then ''Anime/InazumaElevenGoVsLBXLittleBattlersExperienceW'' and the many TV commercials featuring the protagonists from those two series. ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'', ''VideoGame/LBXLittleBattlersExperience'', and ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'' characters have featured as secret characters in the ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' series, and a puzzle from ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheAzranLegacy'' features the characters of ''[[VideoGame/InazumaEleven Inazuma Eleven GO]]''.
** On the company side of this, it did crossover with Creator/StudioGhibli for ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni''. (Ghibil provided the art and animations.) ''Megaton Musashi'' ups the ante by adding in ''Anime/MazingerZ'', ''Anime/GetterRobo'', ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', ''Anime/CombattlerV'', ''Anime/VoltesV'' and even ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}''.
* DarkerAndEdgier: While ''Professor Layton'', ''Inazuma Eleven'' and ''LBX'' tread the fine line between typical kid-centric elements and darker undertones, ''VideoGame/TimeTravelers'' is the first of which Level-5 [[MaturityIsSeriousBusiness thrown any pretense of being "family-friendly" out of the window]], what's with the semi-realistic darker tone and [[AnyoneCanDie increasing amount of violence and deaths that came with it]]. And then ''[[BloodierAndGorier Megaton Musashi]]'' came along...
* LateExportForYou: Their recent games are getting pretty bad about this, in regards to Western releasing. ''VideoGame/WhiteKnightChronicles'' took 14 months to be released in the US, while ''VideoGame/FantasyLife'' took 21 and ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'' took 22. ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' takes the cake, though - it was released in Europe in January 2011, two and a half years after its Japanese release, and the US ''three more'' years after that.
** There's also ''VideoGame/LBXLittleBattlersExperience'', which wouldn't be released in America or Europe for four years, after which the game had already gotten an UpdatedRerelease and a port to another console.
** Generally speaking, their European department has now become more prolific than their North American department; ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVSPhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' had a six month gap between Europe and North America, with the latter receiving nothing but a barely modified version of the European build complete with its alternate voice actors -- thus making the schedule slip look almost entirely unnecessary. The ''Inazuma Eleven'' series, despite having five games released (with the sixth and last seemingly in the works) in Europe, had its first game released in America when Europe was on its fourth, and the North American branch has been giving infamously mixed signals about whether the others are on a very ''long'' schedule slip or if it [[NoExportForYou has no chance]] because its Twitter and Facebook keeps reporting on its release...in Europe only.
** Despite being Level-5's most successful franchise to date and having been constantly promoted by the company with the intent to expand internationally, the first ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'' game wouldn't leave its home country for over two years, by which time in Japan the game had already gotten a sequel, the sequel's UpdatedRerelease, the announcement for a third game, and a spinoff game.
* NoExportForYou: They have made a bunch of cellphone games that never saw the light of day outside of Japan. To give an idea of what the rest of the world is missing, they have a VideoGame/PokemonGo clone called ''Franchise/YoKaiWatch World'' and a Yo-Kai Watch themed VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents clone called ''[=GeroPo=] Rhythm'' that offers music from all their game franchises, two ''Ni No Kuni'' spinoffs (one being a prequel to the first game). Meanwhile, the only games available to the rest of the world are several VideoGame/ProfessorLayton spinoffs, with all but two have been retired from sale, HD Remakes of the VideoGame/ProfessorLayton Platform/Nintendo3DS games [[note]]probably produced in response to seeing how well Capcom were doing with their VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney mobile ports[[/note]], as well as ''VideoGame/LiberationMaiden'' which is still on sale but cannot be purchased on [=iOS11=] devices because it has not been updated with a 64-bit build, though it's still available on the 3DS. However, this is averted with ''Ni no Kuni Cross Worlds'', which will be the first Level-5 mobile title to be released outside of Japan.
** The Nintendo DS release of VideoGame/NiNoKuni (''Dominion of the Dark Djinn'') is this, largely because one of the gameplay elements requires the player to thumb through a physical copy of the ''Wizard's Companion'' that is included with the game[[note]]to wit, it requires the player to look up the spell, then draw it on the lower screen using the DS stylus[[/note]], which Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment, the publishing partner for the worldwide release of the game, thinks it would be loss-running and were unwilling to risk it. This ended up being moot since ''Wrath of the White Witch'' contained the entirety of ''Dominion of the Dark Djinn'''s plot, drastically simplified the spellcasting element[[note]]No drawing is now required[[/note]] and the Wizard's Companion now exists as a digital e-book accessible in-game.
** Now there are also [[https://youtu.be/yd0I60ucFyE Yo-Kai Watch arcade machines]], but yeah, given how arcades are viewed in the US, they’re not going to appear stateside anytime soon.
** It was announced back in October 2020 that [[https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-10-09-level-5-has-virtually-halted-operations-in-north-america Level-5 has practically halted operations in North America]], leaving the fate of a number of their recent and upcoming titles outside of Japan (including ''Yo-Kai Watch 4'') uncertain.
*** However, ''VideoGame/NiNoKuniCrossWorlds'' has been confirmed for a world-wide release for 2022. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4k-ALAtRY The Japanese version even has an English dub ready!]]
*** In 2023, Level-5 seems to have turned around their outlook on the western market, as in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMdUSVSEp7U February 2023 Nintendo Direct]], they announced a whopping ''three'' games for international release (''VideoGame/DecaPolice'', ''[[VideoGame/FantasyLife Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ProfessorLayton Professor Layton and the New World of Steam]]'').
* RefugeInAudacity: This seems to be their modus operandi for their more recent games to the point where it seems the company is constantly trying to one-up itself on how ridiculous it can make the plot. A town that looks like a normal town with normal people but [[spoiler:is actually nothing but robots]]? Aliens [[spoiler:(both real and fake)]] determining the fate of a planet via soccer? A presidential assassination carried out with a kids' toy robot? A [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komainu komainu]], completely undisguised, getting a number of job promotions through a company and almost becoming company president entirely through a series of lucky coincidences? Why ''not''?
* SeriousBusiness: Puzzles, soccer/football, and model kit are taken to new levels in their games.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Back in 2008 they announced a game for the PSP called Ushiro, it was going to be a Horror RPG of all things which had quite a creepy atmosphere and an interesting Premise (Trailer for it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrpsg2KDGh4 here]]). And it was, like ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'', a collaboration with Studio Ghibli, a game very different than what either company has worked on. Sadly it was canceled though. Three Light Novels and a Manga for it has been released, and ten years later it was announced that it will be [[https://gematsu.com/2018/10/ushiro-revival-teased-for-switch brought back for the Switch]] due to fan demand
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