The Level-5 Vision 2024 showcase will certainly be one to watch.
Level-5 has announced a special Vision 2024 showcase to provide updates for its latest games. Here, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time will get a much-desired release window update, following its indefinite delay. Professor Layton and the New World of Steam will also get a new update, hopefully providing a firmer release window.
Additionally, there will be new looks at Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road and Decapolice – but the bigger news is that Level-5 lists two mystery games amongst its Featured Titles for Vision 2024. As noted by Gematsu, there was previously just one game set to be announced, and the English flavour text for the event still refers to “a” title being announced, as singular.
While that makes Level-5’s plans a tad unclear, it doesn’t make Vision 2024 any less worth tuning in for. In past events, Level-5 has revealed ample glimpses at its biggest upcoming titles, providing a slew of updates for its global audience. The potential reveal of two new games also presents some tantalising mysteries.
Level-5 has a range of excellent, fan-favourite franchises under its belt, and sequels or spin-offs for any of them would be most appreciated. The team could be working on something new – Level-5 has always experimented well with new adventures – but should something like a Yo-kai Watch or a Ni No Kuni pop up, there’s no doubt there would be a raucous response.
In mid-2023, Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino actually confirmed the next Yo-kai Watch was in active development, and while it was too early for a formal announcement at the time of this statement, it has been more than a year since then. Should that be enough time for significant developments, we could be seeing something of Yo-kai Watch, even if it’s just a teaser.
All that said, it would be a bittersweet moment for Yo-kai Watch fans in the West – particularly given this region has missed out on several generations of new Yo-kai Watch games since the launch of Yo-kai Watch 3. Yo-kai Watch Busters 2, Yo-kai Watch 4, and Yo-kai Watch for Nintendo Switch are just some of the games that have released exclusively in Japan over the last few years. That’s not to mention various mobile games which also missed the jump.
Should a new game be announced, and as part of Level-5’s strategy to release more games in the West, there would be plenty of catching up for Western audiences to do. Whether a new release would mean we finally get to see Yo-kai Watch 4 and/or its spin-offs remains to be seen, but there is slim hope, at least.
Of course, the games set to be announced could also be something else entirely – so it’s best to keep expectations in check ahead of the upcoming showcase. As announced, the Level-5 Vision 2024 presentation takes place on 24 September 2024 at 9:00 pm JST. Stay tuned for the latest news and announcements from the event.
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By Leah J. Williams 6 September 2024
