In 1998, Akihiro Hino and Goichi Suda started production studios Level-5 and Grasshopper Manufacture respectively. To celebrate their 25th anniversary, both creators met again in an interesting interview that led to the spilling of deep-sitting desires.
In the interview published on Denfaminicogamer on April 20, 2024, Hino and Suda were joined by Koichi Hamamura as a moderator. Hamamura had previously held the position of editor-in-chief of Weekly Famitsu.
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During the interview, Hino revealed that he started Level-5 with “nine people registered”. Two persons later joined the company to make it 11 employees. However, the number of employees at the company has grown since then to over 100.
Level-5 is the studio behind highly popular IPs like Yo-Kai Watch, Inazuma Eleven, and Professor Layton. All these games are highly palatable and family-friendly. However, Hino said that he would love to explore a different genre when the time is right.
When asked about his motivation to establish his own game company, Hino said, “I didn’t want to be told what to make by superiors, I wanted to make what I want, especially the kind of RPGs I love”, as translated by Automaton. He expressed admiration for Suda’s work saying, “Creators who can release such edgy titles into the world are amazing”.
“If I were to put it in extreme terms, I would go as far as to say that I want to make things like erotic games and 18+ games with violence,” Hino said with laughter. However, he noted that his current situation doesn’t allow him to do whatever he wants since he was in charge of continuing ongoing series and creating new ones with his collaborators. Suda poked to know what he had “on Stock” in his head.
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“I do, there’s an ‘abnormal world’ inside of me, but I’m trying not to go there, only making things from the righteous part of my mind instead,” said the Level-5 CEO. “However, deep down, I really want to visit that abnormal world.”
“I want to go that dark, abnormal world, and I think I will definitely end up doing so,” he said. “Once I feel that Level-5 is stable, and I have the room to make what I want, I will do it.”
Level-5 is currently working on other projects including Professor Layton and the New World of Steam which has been given a 2025 release window.
