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Level-5 released the Switch 2 version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and at the same time confirmed camera adjustments based on player are on the way. There’s a new trailer showing the gameplay changes for the latest release, as well as some screenshots showing the changes to the view after players requested changes.

Ahead of the Switch 2 debut of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, Level-5 shared brief videos highlighting the frame rate and graphics updates. This latest video offers a more extensive look at gameplay. It began by showing peeks at how the graphics are improved in this version. Then, it offers examples of the frame rate updates when fighting, gathering, and crafting. The loading times come up after that to show how quickly it is to transition between time periods. 

As for the camera changes in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, there will be better angles and greater visibility. The two images shared by Level-5 seem to be taken from Ginormosia. In each, the field of vision is far longer. The patch adding them will show up on all platforms in mid-June 2025.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available on the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC worldwide. 

The post Fantasy Life i Switch 2 Version Arrives Ahead of Camera Update appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 released a trailer that goes over the 15 characters we can choose from when building the South Cirrus Eleven team in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. While there are 15 though, only five can be picked. These include some of the more unexpected casting choices, with folks like Hikakin and both Hololive and Nijisanji Vtubers showing up. The official page updated as well.

The video begins by noting how the selection process goes. It brings up how there are a number of possibilities at South Cirrus Junior High characters who are willing to play soccer and be on your team in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. At the outset, we see some of the people who will absolutely be there. These are Destin Billows, Alix La Fontaine, Briar Bloomhurst, Cade Shelby, Cedric Freud, Raika Shinohara, and Thierry Reyes. After that, the focus turns to the selectable characters by showing their official art, introducing their voice actor, and letting us hear the person voicing them perform a line.

This starts with Hikakin’s Winsor Compete. He’s followed by Charis Benzaie, who is played by Michaela Wako Sato. QuizKnock’s Takushi Izawa plays Maine Alsop, who shows up after that. Nijisanji Vtuber Rai Inami comes up after that, and he plays Dario Highton. Hololive’s Ichijou Ririka continues the Vtuber introductions, as she plays Amelia Rainwalker. =Love singer Maika Sasaki appears as Marisol Cavallo at this point. Once that introduction is done, we see VSPO Vtuber Lisa Hanabusa as Meridia Althoff and Nijisanji Vtuber Sango Suo as Tai Richter. Once those two finish up, Fischer’s YouTuber member Masai shows up as Davin Bullock. After that, Kis-My-Ft2 member Toshiya Miyata comes up as Lycus Foxworth, we see voice actor Daichu Mizushima as Florent Shorleigh, voice actress Fumiko Orikasa shows as Antonia Felicier, and voice actress comes up as Kelvin Steelborne. The trailer then closes out by highlighting Yuki Tai as Lemmy Stretchen and Ayahi Takagaki as Starla Thorn. 

Here’s the full Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road “Selectable Character Showcase” that highlights the optional South Cirrus Eleven characters.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 21, 2025. 

The post Meet Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road South Cirrus Eleven Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

At the end of May 2025, Level-5 confirmed that the Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time upgrade update would be available for the Switch 2 at launch and teased its changes. It noted it would look and run better, basically. Now the company further explained the difference with two more detailed videos that compare Switch and Switch 2 gameplay.

In each case, there are split-screen videos on YouTube that directly compare the same instances in the Switch 2 version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time to show the changes between the two. Each one is rather brief and designed to give a quick glimpse of the changes in action. The shorter of the two is the Graphics Showcase. That only lists 15 seconds. In both, a player’s avatar is using the Woodcutter role to chop down one of the bosses for that job in the field. In the case of the Switch 2 version, the textures for the environment are clearer and we can more clearly see the character’s facial features and clothing. 

The one comparing the load times in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time on both Nintendo platforms is a bit longer. That comes in at 40 seconds. This is because it is showing the time it takes to start the game from the main menu and to go between the Guild Hall in the Present to Ginormosia. It takes 6:19 seconds to load the game on the Switch 2 after starting and 12:12 to do so on the Switch. In the case of heading to Ginormosia with the teleportation gate, it takes 9:39 seconds on the Switch 2 and 17:06 seconds on the Switch. So in each case, the time is almost double on the older console. 

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available now on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Switch 2 version and upgrade update file will launch on June 5, 2025. 

The post See the Fantasy Life i Switch 2 Changes appeared first on Siliconera.

Anyone else ever worry when a game gets delayed, then delayed again, then delayed even further? I do. It completely shakes my confidence. Especially when the developer behind it hasn’t launched a lot of titles recently and talks ing AI when making things. Simply put, Fantasy Life ended up being one of my absolute favorite 3DS games, and I was terrified about Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time after the delays and the disaster that was Fantasy Life Online. 

I didn’t need to be. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is amazing. My only concern is perhaps maybe that Level-5 tries to do too much with it, but even then it is easy to just… ignore the elements you don’t care for as much and focus on the ones you do. There are like three games worth of games in Fantasy Life i, and all of them are good.

When I say there’s so much to Fantasy Life i, that applies to the story too. Our avatar is an archeologist working alongside Edward to investigate a mysterious dragon skeleton that led their crew to an island spot. Except upon reaching an unusual place, it means the fossil awakens to become Skelegon. So in the past, we’re investigating Mysteria in the past, our home base hub on the outskirts of depths with a mysterious gear somewhere inside in the present, and an additional major landmass known as Ginormosia. Each place has its own mysteries, not to mention gameplay elements, and they all feed into each other.

The Mysteria past location in Fantasy Life i feels most like a traditional action-RPG and Fantasy Life game. Here’s where you’ll pick up the 14 lives. Four of them are classic RPG class roles, which are Hunter (archer), Magician, Mercenary, and Paladin. These are used for the action-RPG combat segments. The gathering jobs are Angler, Farmer, Miner, and Woodcutter, which are tied to fishing, getting crops, mining rocks and ore, and getting wood. Those directly feed into the crafting lives, which are the Alchemist, Artist, Blacksmith, Carpenter, and Tailor. The alchemist can make potions, some accessories, and mounts, the artist works on home decorations, the blacksmith makes weapons and equipment, the carpenter makes furniture, and the tailor makes some decorations and clothing. And since the best way to get equipment for your combat classes is via the Alchemist, Blacksmith, and Tailor roles, all that feeds into each other again. Artist and Farmer are the new roles this time around and, as such, need to be unlocked by actually going through the campaign quests. 

When going through the campaign, tied mostly to the Mysteria part in the past and our hub in the present, it means following storylines that send you to different locations. In the past, you’ll work alongside Rem to go to different islands in Mysteria from the main hub of Eternia, which is your base in the present. There aren’t really traditional dungeons here, as instead you’ll go through woods, caves, fields, and other locations. These will be filled with gathering points for those types of jobs, enemies to fight, and even “bosses” for the combat and gathering roles. For example, a “boss” for a miner might be a major elemental crystal or for a woodcutter would be a tree with angel wings. Aside from having more health than usual, these “foes” will change their weak point, forcing you to search for the “sweet spot” to deal damage when “attacking” to gather. Naturally, there will be enemy bosses as well, which could be a real boss or a bigger and more adept version of lesser foes around you. 

However, interestingly enough, our base in the present time in Fantasy Life i involves Animal Crossing types of elements. There’s terraforming, to determine how it all looks. We have villagers of sorts, in the restored Strangelings from Ginormosia and the main campaign. We get a home that we can customize. It is based on 24-hour, real world time for flower, crop, and resource gathering. There’s even relationship-building with these allies, which unlocks additional traits and bonuses for when they you while adventuring in the world or crafting. Yes, if you’re not playing with folks online, you can have up to three in your party for adventures at any time. They’ll help when you fight enemies! When you’re gathering, they’ll offer buffs for you, debuffs on the target, or even in if they share that job. Whenever you craft, you can add folks who share that role to the task to boost your skill level and get a possible bonus. 

There’s also open-world style exploring. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, heading to Ginormosia means finding towers that unlock new views of the map, conquering shrines with different sorts of challenges to get Strangelings that can be restored into villagers for your hub, more gathering opportunities, enemies to challenge, and even villages to save, as well as additional insights into the overarching story and major characters you’ll encounter in them. And you can jump into this area at any time! It’s even encouraged, since fast traveling back and forth can reset resources in certain areas or make it easier to find certain foes for tasks. However, I noticed that facing enemies in these spots seemed to trigger bugs where suddenly foes will be temporarily invincible, due to being outside their range or getting stuck on different “levels” or “elements” of the environment. That usually rectifies itself after a few seconds. 

The funny thing about Fantasy Life i is, while this is a game that absolutely involves grinding, it never feels like a grind. It respects your time in so many ways. Do you need resources? Once you can bring in NPC allies or work together with other players, it takes far less time to get the materials you need and ends up being more fun. Worried about that crafting minigame? Get enough experience and you can automatically skip it by unlocking certain abilities in the skill tree and adding allies. Need money? There are folks in the past who will offer sidequests with helpful rewards. Getting a lot of Celestia flowers? You can put those toward items in a shop in the present. Ginormosia is getting too easy? Rank things up at a tower. Don’t like how you look? You can change it at any time in the present and “buy” new catalogs to add additional cosmetic options. Just want access to the new jobs without the tutorial quests? You can skip them. Happen upon a gathering spot, group of enemies, or crafting table that needs a job you don’t have equipped? It automatically swaps to the one you need at a push of a button. Want to forge some equipment when you’re in a restaurant with cooking equipment? Any workbench offers access to all crafting Lives’ actions. By finding other people to play with, unlocking Strangeling allies from Ginormosia, and unlocking certain nodes in the skill trees for each job, you can basically customize elements of the experience to your liking. 

There’s also a sense of freedom that comes from reaching certain points in the Fantasy Life i story. Once I got access to Ginormosia, I immediately unlocked all the towers, found all the shrines, and made sure I restored a Strangeling from each crafting and gathering class. After I got the Farmer role unlocked, I spent a lot of time leveling Lives, finishing sidequests, and starting to work on my own little town. It’s like open-world games in that way, as you get this sense of freedom to do what you want and prioritize the elements you enjoy. Yes, you unlock more recipes, Lives, and locations if you follow the campaign. But if you take your time, you’ll find just as much to do without advancing things.

The only real issue I noticed is that Fantasy Life i has a real issue on handheld gaming PCs. This is a problem not only I noticed, but someone else I consulted with as well. It plays amazingly well on high settings! …Until you enter a cutscene. Then everything slows to a crawl. The only way I managed to solve it was to drop down to medium settings, then play around with all of the other features like shadows, anti-aliasing, and such until I found a combination that worked. Once you do go through that, I found it works perfectly and still looks fantastic, so it’s more of a potentially temporary annoyance than anything. 

Again, minor hiccups aside, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is amazing. There's so much to it, and it is easy to prioritize the elements you like best. There’s an endless wealth of content and options, and you could probably spend months enjoying every element. The original Fantasy Life is one of the best 3DS games, and now Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is one of the best titles we’ll see on the Switch and PC. Since Level-5 also confirmed there will be DLC, I also wonder if we’ll see it get even better.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and it will also come to the Switch 2. 

The post Review: Fantasy Life i Turned Out Incredible appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 announced that the promised update for the Switch version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time that adds Switch 2 adjustments, as well as the new version of the game for Nintendo’s latest console, will debut on June 5, 2025. This makes the JRPG yet another launch title for the Switch 2. 

The Switch 2 version of the game will be slightly more expensive. The game is only available digitally. It’s $59.99 for the Switch version on the eShop. If someone buys the JRPG for the Switch 2 directly from Nintendo’s storefront, it will be $62.58. If someone had it for the original Switch, it will cost $2.59 for the upgrade.

There’s no video showing the difference between the two versions of the Switch releases yet. However, Level-5 did note three differences. One is that the frame rate will be improved on the Switch 2. It will also load more quickly. Finally, there will be improved graphics, and the publisher did share two side-by-side images comparing those changes.

You can see those comparison screenshots below. Level-5 highlighted specific points to show the differences.

This is just one new addition for the game. Level-5 also promised free DLC would be released for Fantasy Life i after it ed 500,000 copies sold. That sounds like it might involve some endgame or post-game content.

It also means there will be two JRPG games for the Switch 2 at launch, with both being existing titles. In addition to Fantasy Life i, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster will arrive on launch day. 

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available now on the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Switch 2 version and upgrade update file will launch on June 5, 2025. 

The post Fantasy Life i Switch 2 Version a Launch JRPG for the Console appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 announced that there will be free Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Update the World DLC released worldwide. The CEO Akihiro Hino brought it up on social media, and the official website updated soon after. The statements noted it is due to how many people bought it on various platforms and ed the game. There’s no release window for it yet, though the site noted the goal is for it to appear “as soon as possible.”

There are no exact details about what we can expect from this add-on yet. However, it seems like some of the Fantasy Life i free DLC will involve endgame or post-game additions. Part of the Update the World additions specifically mention activities that will involve using “high-rarity weapons” and different types of later gear to complete them. 

The other part of it sounds like it could mean more gear, furniture, or food items. Level-5 confirmed more recipes will be a part of the update. These are needed for every one of the game’s crafting Lives to create new equipment, furniture, food, potions, mounts, and cosmetic items.

While we wait for the free DLC, Level-5 is sharing free content for Fantasy Life i in other ways. There is a Gift section in the in-game menu, and entering codes there allows us to get free items. These are things we can craft, find, or buy in-game normally. So far, two codes appeared the week the game launched. Note that if you’re on the Switch, you need Nintendo Switch Online to redeem them. 

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available now worldwide for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and it will also come to the Switch 2. There's no release window yet for the eventual free DLC.

The post Level-5 Will Make Fantasy Life i Free Update the World DLC  appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 announced it will release a Switch 2 version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, complete with an upgrade option for Switch owners, in the future. The official site announcement noted it is in the works, but it won’t be out on May 21, 2025 alongside the other versions and the release date “will be announced at a later date.” The US reveal didn’t include a price, but the Japanese social media post said it will be 300円 (~$2).

So far, only two upgrades came up when Level-5 explained what will be different between the Switch and Switch 2 versions of Fantasy Life i. The company noted it will feature a high resolution. It didn’t explain what that resolution will be, though. It also noted there will be high framerate ed with that version. Again, that wasn’t specified. It will still need Nintendo Switch Online to play with others online. Also, cross-save is confirmed, so long as you make and to your Epic Games .

As a reminder, Level-5 already said people who get the Fantasy Life i Digital Deluxe Edition version on one console would need to also own that version of the game on another one to access the extra content via cross-save. It didn’t note if this will apply to the Switch and Switch 2 versions, or if the 300円 (~$2) upgrade cost would cover that.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time will come to the Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on May 21, 2025, and the Switch 2 version is confirmed.

The post Fantasy Life i Switch 2 Version and Upgrade Announced appeared first on Siliconera.

After a shift in development and many delays, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road has a real and set 2025 release date. The game will debut on August 21, 2025. The reveals during Level-5’s showcase confirmed it is now a console and computer-only experience and only appear digitally as well.

The new platforms for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road are now the  Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Every system will get it at the same time, and both cross-play and cross-save will be ed. The Switch 2 and Xbox Series X is new. So is the confirmation it will appear in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. However, it seems mobile for Android and iOS devices is gone.

We will only see the game available digitally. However, standard and deluxe editions will appear. The price for the base game on all platforms, Switch 2 excluded, is $69.99/£57.99/€69.99. The deluxe version is $79.99/£65.99/€79.99, or someone with the base version can that. If someone gets that edition, they get immediate access to Fei Rune, Football Clubroom and Rai Rai Noodles for Bond Town, the Promise Pendant experience booster accessory, and a Victory Jump goal celebration emote. If someone plays on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, or PC, then they also get early access. The announcement said this happens on August 19, 2025 JST, so that should be August 18, 2025 in other regions.

There will be a pre-order bonus for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road on every platform. If we buy early, we get a Dark Emperors Kit to wear, a Bracelet of Victory accessory that boosts earned experience, and a Character Training set. The set gives people a collection of beans to affect stats. So someone gets five each of the Acuity, Finesse, Intellect, Kick, Steadfast, Toughness, and Velocity Beans, for a total of 35 Beans.

Here is the full showcase, which includes additional details about platform-specific character boosts, gameplay features, and other details. Guest voice actors also ended up being confirmed at about the 30 minute mark, with figures like Hikakin voicing Winsor Compete and Hololive Vtuber Ichijou Ririka being pulled in to play Amelia Rainwalker.  

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will come to the Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the release date is August 21, 2025.

The post Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road 2025 Release Date is Real appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 announced a new Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road presentation that suggests we’ll finally get a release date and final details about the soccer game. That will air during the Inazuma Eleven V Heroes Showcase 2025 at 5am PT/8am ET/2pm CET on April 11, 2025. It will appear on YouTube. That’s also about when the Beta Test Demo for this Inazuma Eleven game will disappear.

There will actually be two different versions of the stream. However, the content will be identical in each one. Level-5 is just sharing it in every game in which the game will be released. So there’s one for people who want the details in Japanese, and the other features subtitles in English or Traditional Chinese.

A few details did come up about it. The stream will last for around 30 minutes. It will cover the release date. It will also discuss some last details about the title.

Here’s the placeholder video:

This comes after multiple delays. Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road first basically started as Inazuma Eleven: Balance of Ares, which eventually only ended up being an anime. Instead, Level-5 restarted development, which led to this entry. At first that was going to be Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes, before it became the title we should hopefully see in the near future. 

As for that Beta Test Demo, it is about to be gone. Level-5 already removed it from the Switch eShop. However, it will be taken off the PlayStation Store and Steam on April 11, 2025.

As for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, its release date continually got pushed back. At first, it had a 2023 release window. That slipped to 2024, which is when a Beta Test Demo ended up appearing. Its current release window is June 2025. 

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will debut on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, PC via Steam, and mobile devices, and we’ll learn the release date during the Inazuma Eleven V Heroes Showcase 2025 at 5am PT/8am ET/2pm CET on April 11, 2025.

The post Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Finally Getting a Release Date appeared first on Siliconera.

April Fools’ Day is here once again. April 1, 2025 marks the day in which game companies make some intriguing, funny, and sometimes questionable jokes that shouldn’t be taken seriously at all. Here are all of the best game April Fools’ Day jokes regarding English games in 2025 you should know about.

Zenless Zone Zero Xbox Tease 4q54c

Zenless Zone Zero went for the tongue in cheek “joke” this year that appears to also be seemingly true in a way. The announcement of a new Bangboo arrives in the fake in-game event “An Outstanding Partner.” This Bangboo’s name is XBOO and it certainly carries the classic Xbox logo and green aesthetic.

While XBOO is fake, this joke might actually be hinting at an official Xbox release someday down the line. This is one to certainly keep an eyes on at least.

Fantasy Life i and Life Crossing: Fantasy Horizons 5p5e27

Level-5 is hard at work on the release of Fantasy Life i, but the developer took the time to both market the game and jest at another game in the process. A really well done trailer showcases the supposed announcement to Animal Crossing: New Horizons known as Life Crossing: Fantasy Horizons. While fake, it honestly looks great with the different animal creatures and the like, but, thankfully, we’ll get Fantasy Life i in the near future.

FFVII Ever Crisis Academy 2fe4d

This announcement appears to be a joke, though it arguably shouldn’t be. The mobile game FFVII Ever Crisis teased a supposed Academy event. This reimagines the cast of the beloved JRPG as high schoolers at academies. You get Cloud looking like a baseball star, Barret as a teacher, and Aerith and Tifa looking great. Plus, there is a rival Shinra school with Sephiroth and others.

Unfortunately, this is most likely just a joke given its announcement window. It is a shame, though, since it has a lot of stunning art associated with it for the characters.

Palworld: More Than Just Pals 5g6r28

Palworld is celebrating April Fools’ Day with a game joke you might be familiar with. Once again, PocketPair is showing off More Than Just Pals. This is the same visual novel from 2024’s joke where you get to romance humanoid versions of the Pals. It is even more elaborate this time with a Steam page for the spin-off game. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but this once joke may actually turn out to be real down the line, which would be spectacular.

Dave the Diver Remastered 4f5f1t

As you might expect, a remarkable indie title released in 2023 certainly doesn’t need a remaster. Rather than joke about the seemingly endless collaborations it has, Dave the Diver joked for April Fool’s Day about a remastered version. This supposed version is coming out for the YS7 and Ybox Series X/L. You’ll have to wait a while for this fake remaster, though, as it is set to arrive in 2049.

The post Here’s the Best English Game April Fools’ Day Jokes 2025 appeared first on Siliconera.

Best 3D Turn-based JRPGs on Switch

The Switch is well-known for its excellent selection of JRPGs, and traditionally these feature turn-based combat. However, in recent years, favor has turned to action RPGs and turn-based games have been pushed to the side; even Pokémon’s next game has real-time combat. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t excellent 3D turn-based JRPGs. On the contrary there are many excellent games on the Switch from the genre. Here are our 10 favorite 3D turn-based JRPGs available on Nintendo Switch. 

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk 6t5a1c

As we excitedly wait for the next entry in the series, Atelier Yumia, we had to add one of these games to the list. While the more recent entries in the Atelier series are all action combat, the series is best known for its turn-based roots. Most games from the series are available on Switch, but we’ve chosen Atelier Ayesha as the representative for this list, as the beginning of the glorious Dusk Trilogy.

As the name suggests, the series is about people working in ateliers, and there is a strong emphasis on collecting resources out in the world in order to craft items and potions that you can use in battle. This means that the strategic layer to the game is evident both in and out of combat. One of the best things about Atelier Ayesha is that once you’re finished there are plenty of other games in the series to enjoy.

Super Mario RPG 5r6939

Everyone talks about Paper Mario – in particular The Thousand-Year Door – but the game that the series was built from hardly gets mentioned. Super Mario RPG originally launched on the SNES, when very few games were made with 3D graphics. It was a risk in many ways. There was not only the question of whether people would be interested in a turn-based Super Mario game, but the game also went against many long-standing RPG traditions.

Timing is crucial in Super Mario RPG, not only when you attack but when you defend as well. It adds an extra level of strategy to the game, and is something that few RPGs do. Separating it further from other RPGs is just how much damage is dealt and taken. Attacks often deal single-digit numbers, far from other bombastic RPGs that could see people hit for thousands. Super Mario RPG is not only one of the best turn-based JRPGs but the Switch version gives it several modern updates that fans love. The perfect place to start in your Mario RPG journey.

Persona 5 Royal 5d441v

For many people Persona 5 is the pinnacle of the always excellent Persona series, and Persona 5 Royal improves on the already excellent game. Persona 5 returns to the dungeon crawling formula of the original Persona games, with carefully crafted dungeons rather than the seemingly never-ending procedural abysses of the modern Persona series, namely Persona 3 and Persona 4. This is one of the main reasons that Persona 5 has risen above the pack.

Persona 5 tells a beautiful, complex, and exceptionally long story about the power of friendship overcoming the status quo. Royal not only adds a new protagonist, but new social links, and additional scenes giving fans of the game even more to sink their teeth into. It runs flawlessly on the Switch, and its length means that the home to handheld feature of the console makes it the perfect way to play. Become part of the Phantom Thieves, and change society’s hearts.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus 2b1d8

All mainline Pokémon games on the Switch are 3D turn-based JRPGs, and most of them are great, but we chose to highlight Pokémon Legends: Arceus as a completely fresh take on Pokémon’s formula. Instead of battling your way through a series of Gym Leaders before reaching the Elite Four and becoming the champion, you will be roaming around semi-open areas, catching Pokémon and studying them for the Pokédex.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus not only changes the focus to catching, but also changes Pokémon’s standard battle system. Battles are still turn-based, but they have an active system with Strong- and Agile-style moves. While the Pokémon and their movesets are the same as other games, what each move does is completely different in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. If you’ve tried out the mainline Pokémon games, and want something a little different, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the way to go.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses u4t3y

Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo’s flagship series, and Three Houses is one of the series’ best. It has all of the turn-based strategic battles that the series is known for, as well as the ability to bond with your teammates to level them up, but as the name suggests, Three Houses has three different paths you can follow, adding to its replayability.

Fire Emblem is well known for its brutal permadeath system, where if your characters die in battle, they die in real life too. However, Three Houses included a Casual Mode where nobody can be gone for good. You can still have the traditional experience, but if like many people the permadeath turned you off from the series, this is the perfect entry point.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak 1846z

The Legend of Heroes series is one of the longest running, beginning in the ‘80s, and many of them are available on the Switch. We have chosen Trails Through Daybreak to represent the series in this list, not just because it is one of the best, but because it is a great place to start as it begins a separate arc. Interestingly, Trails Through Daybreak is the only game on this list, which allows the player to choose between real-time combat similar to Nihon Falcom’s other major JRPG series Ys, or the turn-based combat the series is known for.

The series is known for its excellent characters and strategic combat, and Trails Through Daybreak exemplifies both of these. If you haven’t played the series before, you won’t understand every reference, but the developers have tried to make it one of the most accessible in the series in of the story and combat. It won’t take 30 years of video game knowledge to understand how good the intricate and complex writing is.

Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII Remastered 2137n

If you’re reading this list, you probably don’t need to be told how good Final Fantasy VII or even Final Fantasy VIII are. We’ll be holding our breaths a long time if we’re hoping for the excellent Final Fantasy VII Remake to come to Switch, but this console is one of the best places you can experience the original FF7. It can be purchased in a double pack with FF8, which is the game long-time fans of the series often point to as the best.

Both games have very different turn-based systems, which can create devastating synergies in different ways. FF7’s combat system is easier to use and more difficult to master. Creating devastating combinations requires good knowledge of Materia, Enemy Skills, and equipment that can link them in a way that stack. Conversely, FF8 is based on the Junction system, one that is difficult to grasp, but once you do, building up major damage is much simpler. Both can be purchased together at such a low cost, that it’s worth trying them out.

Monark 5l6z2l

Monark received middling reviews when it was released, and that’s because people found the battles too difficult. However, the battles are actually one of Monark’s greatest strengths, and where it fails is in explaining its systems properly. Once you understand how it works, and how your characters best synergize, it is one of the most satisfying turn-based strategy systems out there. The protagonist of Monark can Resonate with the other party sharing buffs across all characters, leading to extremely devastating damage.

Similar to the Persona series, Monark focuses on the character’s personal stories. Each character is based on one of the seven deadly sins, and each has a dark past. Despite this, they all band together to take on the forces that are keeping the students trapped in school and sucking the life out of them. Created by former Shin Megami Tensei developers, this one is perfect for those who enjoy diving deeply into combat systems.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch 146v2l

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is what happens when legendary anime maker Studio Ghibli teams up with the studio that created the epic turn-based JRPG Jeanne D’arc. Both Wrath of the White Witch and Revenant Kingdom are available on Switch, but we picked the first in the series as the best place to start. Ni No Kuni has an interesting battle system unlike the others on this list, it’s not just because it mixes turn-based and action combat.

Ni No Kuni’s combat features beastly familiars, and magical characters; think about it like if Pokémon let the trainers in the scrap. If you like the taming and training aspect of beastly battlers then this is another one you should try. Above all Ni No Kuni overwhelms players with its charm, and is a must play turn-based title.

The Caligula Effect: Overdose 1w3c4o

Written by Tadashi Satomi, best known for working on the original Persona series, The Caligula Effect: Overdose follows a group of people who have realized that they are living in the Matrix. Despite knowing that the world they inhabit is fake, there is no way to escape. First, they must take down the Ostinato Musicians, a group of people who want to keep the idyllic world alive.

Overdose adds a lot to the story beyond the original The Caligula Effect, including new party and chapters that you can play from the point of view of the Musicians. You grow closer to your teammates, and learn more about their lives both inside and outside of the world you can currently see. The Caligula Effect: Overdose has an active turn-based system where timing and sequencing play a major role in your success or failure. It can be difficult, but once you master it, it’s very satisfying.

Let us know what your favorite turn-based JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch are in the comments below!

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Level-5 will hold a special Heroes Showcase stream for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, which will also be when it announces the game’s release date. The stream will take place on April 11, 2025, and will also include information on the game’s system requirements and specs.

You’ll be able to watch the Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Heroes Showcase on the official Level-5 YouTube channel. The link to the stream will appear at a later date. This stream will contain the finalized information for the game’s systems and mechanics, so there shouldn’t be any additions to it later on. This also means that, barring extenuating circumstances, there shouldn’t be any more delays to the game.

In a blog post, Level-5 CEO, Akihiro Hino, stated that he decided to hold a showcase to introduce all the features that’ll be in Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. This is because it has so many features that a promotional video can’t possibly introduce them all. Currently, the website for the game lists the release window as June 2025. However, Hino hinted that the game may come out a little later than that due to the studio’s work on Fantasy Life i. However, he wants to assure players that the final date will be one “that players can look forward to,” which likely means it’ll be sometime in the near future.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will come out for the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

The post Inazuma Eleven Victory Road Heroes Showcase Will Reveal Game News appeared first on Siliconera.

Level-5 CEO and Founder Akihiro Hino shared an update on its game Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and in it he confirmed Keiji Inafune is no longer part of the company or project. As a result, Hino replaced him as producer on the title. He explained that is one of the reasons the JRPG and life sim experienced so many delays. He also promised it is the largest entry in the series so far.

Keiji Inafune ed Level-5 back in June 2017. That was when Level-5 acquired the developer and made the studio Level-5 Comcept. He worked on Dragon & Colonies there. That shut down in February 2020. One of his other projects in recent years was Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, which never came to fruition in part due to a failed crowdfunding campaign.

As a reminder, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time was revealed in February 2023, and Keiji Inafune was confirmed as producer for the Level-5 game at that time. It got pushed out of 2023 into 2024. It was supposed to launch in Summer 2024 at one point. Inafune was still a part of the project at that time. It was then delayed out of October 2024, then out of April 2025. It is now finally expected to launch on May 21, 2025. 

It seems like things could be more stable. Hino noted, “All game data has been completed, and we are currently making the final balance adjustments.” He cited the delays allowed someone to update the UI and implement cross-play and cross-save compatibility. 

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time will come to the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC on May 21, 2025.

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Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, a new entry in the life sim RPG, will appear for the PS4, PS5, and PC in addition to the Switch. This comes after Gematsu and other folks noticed a PlayStation Store page briefly appeared for the game on January 2025. This is accompanied by another delay. Instead of showing up in April 2025, Level-5 announced it will now be out on May 21, 2025.

As in past entries, the primary goal in Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is to live a life. You choose one of 14 different roles, called lives, to accomplish quests and progress. These aren’t necessarily combat-focused, as some are dedicated to crafting like the Cook or Tailor. There is also an overall story to go through, with this one involving some time travel.

A new trailer went over all of the Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time features, as well as brought up the PS4, PS5, and PC versions.

There have been multiple delays when it comes to Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. It was first announced for the Switch back in February 2023, and it was supposed to release on the system that year. In November 2023, it was delayed into 2024. For a while it had a Summer 2024 launch window, and Keiji Inafune even committed to that release expectation. For a while it had an October 10, 2024 launch date, before being indefinitely delayed again. An April 2025 launch window came up in September 2024. 

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time will come to the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC on May 21, 2025.

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Akihiro Hino, in an interview with 4Gamer, stated that 2025 will be a year of progress for Level-5. This means a worldwide release of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

In his comment, Hino states that all three titles are chock-full of what makes Level-5 games “Level-5,” while still providing new experiences for the player. He hopes to create works that’ll make people say, “I was waiting for something like this.” As well, Hino mentions the Inazuma Eleven movie that came out in Japan on December 27, 2024. Part of the movie is a compilation of the Football Frontier matches (season 1), while the other one is The Prologue to New Heroes which focuses on new protagonists Unmei and Haru.

While Level-5 announced Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam rather recently, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road has been in development since 2016. Back then, it was supposed to be Inazuma Eleven Ares, and the Ares no Tenbin show started airing in 2018 to tie into it. After several delays and name changes, a beta version finally came out in 2024.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will come out in 2025 for the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile devices. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time will come out in April 2025 for the Nintendo Switch. Finally, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam will come out for the Switch in 2025.

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