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The Next Level – An Ode To Level 5 Games

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To understand my hopes for the future of gaming, I’d like to tell you about my personal favorite games company.
The game publisher Level 5 is an independently run company that employs 280 workers in its headquarters in Fukuoka, Japan. As of the time of this article, They are one of the ten largest game companies located in Japan in terms of their market share. For what seems like a relatively modest amount of workers; They have consistently managed to produce games that have been enjoying both critical and commercial success over the course of fifteen years. An aspect of each of their productions that is notable is the uncanny ability they have to challenge conventional genre staples in terms of production quality. Level 5 are largely regarded for breeding fresh perspectives on the role playing genre. In addition, they are arguably a catalyst for the rise in the popularity of puzzle-themed gaming in recent years.
Professor_Layton_and_the_Curious_Village_NA_BoxartThe question to ask is what sets them apart from other publishers. How exactly do they innovate? From my personal perspective, the answer is more simple than you might believe.
Level 5 have a house team of developers who frequently stretch limitations that are present in traditional gaming in favor of ever expanding content in each new release. The amount of features present in their games over the years is directly equatable to the rise in their status among gamers. With the experience that they have gained over time in the field of development came their notoriety, due to the simple nature of striving for genuine improvement in each new release.
Level 5 innovate because they have a willingness to innovate.
It is the mentality of the people working for the company that keeps it running. The works of which they are most famously known for are undoubtedly the Professor Layton series for portable Nintendo consoles and the more recent handheld hit, Fantasy Life.
As with any publisher, back in their infancy, They had a difficult start with their first high profile production back in early 2000’s. Their game titled Dark Cloud was developed under the watchful eye of Sony Computer Entertainment. An eager investor in what they perceived to be their own version of Zelda for the freshly launched PlayStation 2. Whilst Dark Cloud generated a lot of revenue for both companies, It had mixed reactions among critics. It was largely labelled an Ocarina of Time clone upon release with certain scathing criticisms in the direction of its admittedly monotonous dungeon crawling segments. However, This is not to say that it was devoid of innovation. Incorporated into the base Zelda-esque gameplay was a city buildingdark_chronicle_profilelarge simulator mechanic that split up the excessive amounts of combat with relaxing world building activities. In addition, Level 5’s trademark “folksy” music style in the adventure added a distinctive flair that pleased gamers to a degree that there was a high demand for the release of its soundtrack at the time.
The monetary success dictated the future of Dark Cloud and a sequel was indeed made. It was known in North America as Dark Cloud 2 and Dark Chronicle for the European release. The bang for your buck in this follow up was:
-The increased scale of the world
-The improvement of the combat
-The visual update in game graphics
-The reduction of tedium in terms of a shortened length of the dungeons
-The addition of a plethora of side games to indulge
-The expanded features for the city building
-The more fleshed out realized story
In every conceivable way that a sequel can improve on its predecessor, Dark Cloud 2 did it. It did not make as much money as the original, but that was perhaps a fault in the games lack of advertisement.
Level 5’s priority as a games company (based on their track record) seems to lend credence to the notion that they want to get better each time. Dark Cloud 2 may be the strongest example i can muster, but to lesser extents, each follow up game they have made improves on the last. Features are not removed in favor of streamlining production. An unfortunate habit of modern day game sequels is a “slap dash” approach of copy and pasting previous incarnations with a new gloss of paint over the visuals. Glorified lazy remakes can typically hinder your experience with an overwhelming sensation of déja-vu. Gamers don’t ask for a reinvention of the wheel. Basic requirements for a sequel should be building on what you already have and then adding fresh content coupled with an interesting new mechanic. Companies that lack this passion to change up each title for more enjoyable experience often receive quite warranted, lazy reputations.
To name just a handful: Ubisoft with its Assassin’s Creed franchise, Activision with its Call of Duty franchise, Electronic Arts with its Sims/various sports franchises, and perhaps most noticeably Square Enix with its excessive shelling of its jaded (rooted in relying purely on graphical merit) Final Fantasy franchise.
Greed begets the industry into a slump. Complacency leads to disillusioned consumers. Eventually, The never ending slog of stagnation gives backlash to the publishers on the basis of them not pulling their finger out of their arse. Level 5 has been an example of how i feel game publishers should be operating. Each time, Professor Layton returns with a new well thought out story, a new mechanic to liven it up and a step up in graphic quality. That is the very essence of what a sequel should be.
18l2tmydg9rvkjpgExamine the strength of your game. Remember why people enjoy it. Listen to the qualms of the public about the original and fix them. If you feel ambitious, brainstorm a NEW idea to incorporate into the next title, so that we know that haven’t just purchased the same product. A worrisome trend is growing where mechanics are being stripped instead of added. Stripping popular mechanics away from previous incarnations is the quickest way to admit that you do not care about stepping forward. Relentless rehashing just spins the industry in circles. The bottom line is to have pride in what you put out.
Progress is good. Level 5 progress each year, as does Atlus, among other publishers that i could list. Its up to us as consumers to encourage this mantra to developers. Consider your gaming choices for the future. Avoid getting that new Assassin’s Creed sequel until they actually change it. If we say no to a sequel that is essentially just a new map, Maybe we can convince publishers out there that laziness should not be tolerated. Its about time we
acknowledge that we need to advance to the next level.

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