Level-5 set up shop during the PS2 era when they put their first game out in Japan in 2000, Dark Cloud. The West would not see it until 2001 and thus began their legacy as another great RPG company from Japan. The first Dark Cloud was a hit too on the PS2 which struggled initially to provide some RPG goodness.
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Over the years, Level-5 branched away from RPGs to create franchises like Professor Layton which is a series of logic-based light novel detective games. Professor Layton aside, these are Level-5’s greatest RPG achievements from the PS2 era and beyond. It will be exciting to see what surprises Level-5 will showcase next.
8 Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
Metacritic Score: N/A
- Release Date: August 30, 2012
- Developer: Level-5
- Platforms: PlayStation Portable
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE came in two flavors when it launched for the PSP in Japan. There were the Universal Accel and the Cosmic Drive editions kind of like how the Pokemon series typically launches with two colors.
Both games are set in a new Gundam universe wherein players follow different sides of the war. No matter the version, the gameplay is the same as they are action-based RPGs. While the game never left Japan, there has been some effort from fans to translate the games although nothing is 100% complete yet.
7 Fantasy Life
Metacritic Score: 73
Fantasy Life
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 3DS
- Released
- October 24, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Level-5
- Genre(s)
- RPG , Life Simulation
Fantasy Life was a lighthearted 3DS action RPG with simulation elements wherein players could tackle the story through many random classes. There were battle-heavy classes like the Paladin which involved typical RPG quests. Then there were more obscure classes like the Tailor which involved making clothing. Crafting, overall, played a huge role in the game as it was a way to get better gear for the protagonist. Also, crafting was needed to complete quests for NPCs in town. The story was a backdrop to an otherwise gameplay-focused experience that was rewarding if not a little repetitive.
6 Rogue Galaxy
Metacritic Score: 83
Rogue Galaxy, despite the name, is not a roguelike followup to a classic like Rogue Legacy 2. It’s another action RPG from Level-5 starring a bunch of good-hearted pirates and adventurers exploring the galaxy. Players will tackle all sorts of planets and dungeon types in the campaign from dusty sand ruins to tropical jungles filled with robots.
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Unlike a few of the earlier Level-5 games, this one directly gave players a party to command who followed the hero, Faster, from behind. It was still a brutally difficult game if players didn’t keep up with the grind but it was made easier with the assistance of a RPG party. This game can be played easily today thanks to a PS4 digital port.
5 Yo-kai Watch
Metacritic Score: 76
- Release Date: November 6, 2015
- Developer: Level-5
- Platforms: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS devices
Yo-kai Watch was Level-5’s solution to a Pokemon clone on the 3DS, to be a bit blunt. Players began as a young schoolboy, Nathan, who found a special watch in the forest. The titular Yo-kai Watch allowed Nathan to both see and capture ghosts he could then use in standard turn-based battles.
All of the creatures were based on classic Japanese ghosts and demons like the Kappa which is a water demon. That name wasn’t changed but there were a lot of clever puns from the English localization like Snotsolong and Tattletell. Even though the game was aimed at kids, it was still fun for adults too as was the anime adaptation that was closely tied in.
4 Jeanne d'Arc
Metacritic Score: 87
Jeanne d'Arc was a PSP-exclusive tactical RPG that still remains trapped on the system as far as consoles go. The game is loosely based on historical events through the guise of a fantasy setting. For example, the main character, Jeanne, is based on Joan of Arc, the legendary hero who led the armies of France against England during the Hundred Years’ War. The big change here was the inclusion of monsters along with anthropomorphic animal people like lions. It was a typical tactical RPG that led players along a grid-based system through ever-increasingly difficult maps.
3 Dark Cloud 2
Metacritic Score: 87
Dark Cloud 2 was a follow-up to the first game in name alone but it did have similar features. The game’s story followed Max, a young inventor, who ran into a warrior princess, Monica, who could leap through time. Together they went through different eras to put them back together as the villain was trying to deconstruct the world.
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In dungeons, players could find pieces they could then use to rebuild towns and place NPCs in them as well. The town-building simulation aspects were a big part of the game but so was the action gameplay. Max had the assistance of a robot in battle while Monica could turn into monsters she copied.
2 Ni no Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
Metacritic Score: 85
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS3 , Switch , PC , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- January 22, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Level 5
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is another game from Level-5 that could be considered to be a Pokemon clone. This one starred a young boy, Oliver, who lost his mother. One night upon crying, his doll, Mr. Drippy, comes to life and leads Oliver to another world where he promises Oliver can find his mother.
Level-5 received assistance from Studio Ghibli in the art department so it’s the closest thing fans will get to playing a Ghibli movie anytime soon. The combat was turn-based and every character in battle could summon forth Familiars to do their actions for them. However, unlike the Pokemon games, human heroes could act as well and do things like cast magic.
1 Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies
Metacritic Score: 87
- Release Date: July 11, 2010
- Developer: Level-5
- Platforms: Nintendo DS
Level-5 teamed up with Square Enix to make two games in this franchise. Their first adventure was on the PS2 via Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King which is often referred to as one of the best in the series. Slightly above that is the DS-exclusive, Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. What made this game so great was the multiplayer as players, for the first time in the main series, could team up with three others in turn-based battles.
There was an online shop and map-sharing mechanic that felt like an early iteration of the 3DS StreetPass system. It was the type of RPG that kept getting better the more updates went on and it was a constant among convention goers at the time. These features were great, but so were the core mechanics like the class system.
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