Regarding the Level-5 Vision and Holy Horror Mansion.

It's been quite a stuffed month of anime and video game announcements as well as releases. Though last week, the Sony State of Play and Sonic Central took up the lion's share of attention; one other oft-delayed presentation finally got livestreamed- the Level-5 Vision. This naturally resulted in a myriad of announcements for delays; and one new direction (or concept as they call it) for a franchise now over a decade old that didn't exactly get the reaction they were going for. So, let's get to it.

Though an animated avatar of Akihiro Hino tries to suggest otherwise, I will respectfully decline the use of the "To The World's Children" branding. In my case, it's less a singular inner child and more like a group of them representing different aspects of my personality (think the emotions from the Inside Out 'verse, with Anxiety becoming my spirit animal for this year).

First is that Fantasy Life I: The Girl Who Steals Time has been delayed from October 10 of this year till April of next year. This is actually one delay I can respect; as while this October may not be as stacked as last year's was; it still has more than a few games that are highly anticipated (with my primary target being Sonic X Shadow Generations). Regrettably, this will be the first of many delays announced; not counting Professor Layton and the New World of Steam as that already got bumped to 2025.

DecaPOLICE, the game that arguably has the most potential out of all of these; has now been bumped to 2026 on all its intended platforms (Steam, Switch, PS4, and PS5). The growing length of developmental cycles aside; the delays are already causing concerns in the fandom and I'm not even halfway through this presentation. At least the new events in Megaton Musashi Wired are coming out on time and are well-received.

Now, it's time for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, once again. I did try the open beta earlier in the year; and despite openly admitting to not being a fan of the anime or franchisee as a whole, I did my best to keep my feedback respectful. That said, even though it was first announced in 2016 for release in 2018, it is being delayed yet again for June 2025. I've mentioned the previous delays before, so there's a couple major ways of looking at this. If it gets pushed back again, I won't be surprised. If it does keep its release date, it will have June mostly to itself; but it's not likely to stay that way. As for this remake of the first game (which I haven't played and don’t plan to)- we shall see how that goes in 2026. For every one like Resident Evil 2 or FFVII Remake; we get scores of ones like Warcraft III Reforged or the 2020 version of XIII.

Here is the title that arguably had the most eyes on it; and the most scrutiny as well- the latest concept for Yo-Kai Watch. Originally under the working title "Ghost Craft," it is now known as Holy Horror Mansion. The "Ghost Craft" is now how crafting will work in-game.

The aim to be their largest project ever is making me and many others uneasy. I'm noticing many longtime fans of the developers in particular souring on their obsession with multimedia IP and just want them to make interesting games again. I'm having flashbacks to the Dark Universe reading that byline myself. Also like to be blunt that my party pop music I'm fashionably late to is less PIKOTARO and more Post Malone.

Though not without potential, one element in particular cast a dark raincloud over the reveal trailer- the usage of generative AI art. 

I thought there was something off about the cookware in this kitchen.

While it's still early, meaning it can change from here; it definitely seems like an unforced error, and those who are against the idea of AI in games likely are not onboard by design. There's also a sizable chunk of the existing fan base that isn't invested in the new concept at all. In theory, a new direction should have been just the thing to jolt the games. In practice, the first impression on the new game has been decidedly mixed.

Scene depicting a cake in Holy Horror Mansion.

Scene depicting Peach's Cake in Mario Party (1999).

However, this still leaves arguably the greatest risk- once again attempting to appeal to Western markets at the expense of their core audience. As someone who hasn't played every game that Level-5 has made, I'm arguably one of the people they’re trying to reach. Yet, despite other people online attempting to tell me otherwise, trying to nearly jettison the previous audience for a new one has never gone well. It's one thing if existing fans don't take to Holy Horror Mansion; but if the more general audiences they're aiming at don't respond to the game; it's curtains.

Not quite "When it's done," but it's close.

Though the concept admittedly isn't the worst (everything from Luigi's Mansion to Resident Evil to even Fatal Frame have made use out of exploring haunted locales); I do not plan to cover Holy Horror Mansion beyond this point unless Level-5 removes the AI art, real or perceived from the final game. I have much more to talk about in October; including more satisfying topics. That will be all for now, take care.