Level- 5 announced the sequel to Fantasy Life and Professor Layton 7 during its Vision 2015 event. Fantasy Life 2: Two Moons and the Village of God and Professor Layton 7 will release, not for the 3DS, but for iPhone and Android!
The developer of titles such as Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Yo-Kai Watch, and White Knight Chronicles; Level- 5 decided to develop these two anticipated titles for the smartphone market this time around.
Opting to focus on a city building aspect, the game will still keep the "12 lives," where each life gives you different skills. The graphics, while having a noticeable downgrade, aren't particularly different, especially considering the 3DS's hardware. Players will still be able to form parties and venture out to kill monsters and beasts. While this is just speculation, there will likely be micro-transactions in the form of in-game currency players will purchase, evidenced by the diamonds in the upper right hand corner and the + button. The game is set for a summer release in Japan, with a western release still to be dated.
Layton 7, meanwhile, will abandon its previous formula of clue finding and puzzle solving for a multiplayer tabletop trading card game. Whether or not this is a spin off remains to be clarified, but the title, particularly being numbered, likely means yes. The game involves a hidden vampire, fortune telling, and of course playing cards. Players will have to deduce who the vampire really is. More information, including the release dates in either Japan or the west, will arrive later this year.
Last month, Nintendo announced its partnership with mobile publisher DeNA to create games on the mobile platforms. Nintendo announced that any of their high value intellectual properties were fair game for use on mobile development.
What do you think of Level- 5 opting to move these two series (for now at least) from the 3DS to the mobile space? Does this mean we will be seeing more mobile games in the future? Would you want to see any games move to mobile? Or do you think this spells doom for certain franchises? Let us know in the comments below!
