This Week in Games - Level-5 CEO's Stands by Generative AI, and a Preview of Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea
Welcome back, folks! I've taken to playing Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver lately. Having only ever seen a longplay of the first two games way back in the early 2010s (I eventually beat Legacy of Kain: Defiance in 2016), it's fascinating to actually get a chance to play it myself. I confess that Raziel has always been a bit of a woobie for me, but I appreciate how the game establishes both his ironclad determination for revenge as well as his actual vulnerability; even the Sluagh can do a number on him. But also: the Drowned Abbey sucks, so hard. You'll be begging for Ocarina of Time's Wat
Sega Announces More Adaptations
Sega's been keeping busy with its marketing machine. The Golden Axe cartoon finally showed some signs of life and was released on Paramount+ this past Wednesday. Meanwhile, Sega just announced its next slate of upcoming media. And it's not all what you expect.
For starters, there's a Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon coming. There's a bit of contention, since it's been made clear that this new series is aimed at children. I'm not exactly sure why that surprises folks, since Sonic has always been aimed at kids. A lot of folks bristle at some of the directions Sonic has taken over the years, but part of Sonic's enduring appeal (as a character) is that he's constantly reinvented for newer, younger kids. Yeah, of course he's cracking wise and being self-deprecating—that was the humor for kids in the 2010s. Let's not pretend Sonic fighting an evil empire with the power of his non-canon siblings, magic medallions, and rock-and-roll is above a cartoon aimed at today's younger kids. We should be better than that.
It's the other adaptations that raise some eyebrows. First is Crazy Taxi, which is getting a film from the minds behind the 2025 Naked Gun. So there's talent behind the production... but much like with some of the other choices for Sega's franchises (like the Outrun movie announced this past April), Crazy Taxi is a weird pick for a feature-length film. Sure, it's got memorable characters. But the likes of Axel, B.D. Joe, and Gina aren't exactly Sonic, Tails, and Amy. Maybe if you made an early-2000s-style comedy about a team of lovable slackers against the "professional" cab drivers (or, for a more modern take: an evil ride-sharing corporation), you could pull something off. But much like The Offspring itself, that's not a vibe you get in movies anymore. I could see a world where we got a Crazy Taxi movie with Sean William Scott as Axel, Eddie Griffin as B.D., and Eliza Dushku as Gina. (Or Charlie's Angels-era Drew Barrymore; she's such a dead-ringer for Gina.) Go for frosted tips, leopard-print shirts, maybe a sneaky Method Man and Redman cameo. It could've been a hit at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards. Who knows, if they can make a Naked Gun reboot work, maybe they can make Crazy Taxi work. Best of luck getting that cuh-raaaaazy money.
The other one is Stranger Than Heaven, RGG Studio's prequel for the Yakuza games. Notably: Stranger Than Heaven doesn't even come out until this upcoming January 27, 2027. We don't even know how this game will fare with audiences. Planning a film adaptation of a game before it's even out sounds like some desperate pushing of your luck. Would it really be that hard to make an Afterburner movie? Not to mention, RGG Studios' games are already incredibly in-depth when it comes to their stories. I'm not sure what folks are supposed to get out of a movie that's a truncated version of a story told over 60 hours of interactivity. Part of what makes a Yakuza story work is because the setting becomes second nature to you; those become your streets as you prowl around, busting heads and playing baseball and feeding stray dogs.
These game adaptations are certainly piling up, but who knows; it'll still be ages before any of them actually air.
Level-5 CEO Takes Global Criticism for Generative AI
We touched on Level-5 some last week; while we didn't cover the specifics of Level-5's own showcase, we did touch upon their major announcements—specifically, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam and the upcoming Yo-Kai Watch 2 remake. What we didn't talk about was what Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino underlined during the showcase: the renewed vigor and confirmation that more and more of their upcoming titles will be developed using Generative AI. So much so that the previews for both Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch 2 were made with generative AI. And the response has been pretty negative, on a global level. Not just from fans in the Americas, not just the fans in the Americas and Europe—this includes fans from Japan, too.
Oh no Level-5 is DEFINATELY using Gen AI to "update" Professor Layton. Especially when you compare the original backgrounds to the new. So many weird details and inconsistencies were added. https://t.co/AjVNfgetkk pic.twitter.com/0tRQ9vKn03
— AmericanYoshi (@AmericanYoshi) September 10, 2026
The concerns from fans in the Americas are what you'd expect: the ethical uses of generative AI, the claims of plagiarism, the environmental concerns... and the simple matter that Level-5 was able to make world-class games without generative AI in the first place. Yo-Kai Watch was a huge hit on the back of Level-5's artistry (CEO Hino even self-inserted himself as a Yo-Kai, "Hinoshin"/"Hinozall," whose description boasts of his creativity). European fans have criticisms along the same lines. Japanese fans are a bit more pragmatic in their concerns; one user points out that since generative AI's works are the result of data scraped from established companies like Pixar, creatives who work from scratch would be "at a disadvantage." Another user claims that it's not about which things were made using generative AI, but simply its use to begin with—which sets a bad precedent for the game itself. A final reader criticized Hino's response to criticism, scoffing that the idea that depending on AI-generated results that look so heavily based on other works "frees up time to focus on the essence of creativity" (according to machine translation).
And then Spain's KFC branch got in on it. (Yes, they eat KFC in Spain.)
Nos podrán intentar colar remakes hechos con lA,
nos podrán intentar robar el formato físico...
PERO NO LO CONSEGUIRÁN
QUE LOS MEMES NO PAREN🗣️🗣️🗣️
ESTO ACABA DE EMPEZAR pic.twitter.com/vDWKp00Dfa— KFC España (@KFC_ES) September 14, 2026
Their result was a meme (kudos to them for using a screenshot of an arcade from Yakuza), wherein a buyer of a prospective video game refuses it once it's revealed it's AI-generated (there's a pixelated blob that looks suspiciously like Jinbanyan on the cover), and settles to play video games with their new friend, a rotisserie chicken. Translated from Spanish, the tweet declares, "They can try to trick us with AI-powered remakes, they can try to steal physical formats, but they won't get away with it! Don't stop the memes, we're only getting started!" (As a side note: the little kitten jumping for joy at the prospect of playing through a pile of games with his buddy, a whole rotisserie chicken, genuinely tugs at my heartstrings. Play games with your friends, folks.)
Oh, speaking of memes: one user took advantage of that goofy deep-frying meme going around to make a video where he deep-fried Hino's animated mascot. The meme was struck with a DMCA claim the next day. Meanwhile, even a picture of Level-5's Tokyo Game Show booth was found to have been generated by AI. Sure, the booth hadn't been constructed yet, but it's a booth—you couldn't get folks excited by drawing up sketches of it?
The response from Hino has been to apologize to fans for their disappointment, and urge that their games aren't generated with AI... which, as underlined by a previous user, isn't a very trustworthy claim considering how much else they're making with generative AI. Hino also stresses that this is an attempt at shortening development time, hopefully condensing a five-year development cycle to a two-year cycle. That DECAPOLICE has been delayed once again from a 2026 release to a 2027 release window also makes that claim rather dubious. (The upcoming Yo-Kai Watch follow-up, Holy Horror Mansion, has also been delayed to 2027 after being announced in 2024.)
I posted about this earlier this past weekend, but Level-5 fans deserve better than this. The beloved games of Level-5 were made with care and with love for art and creativity. An argument can be made for how mercenary Level-5 is (in hindsight, the decision for Ni no Kuni to feature Studio Ghibli art feels less like a desire to collaborate with a renowned studio and more like an attempt at marketing on Ghibli's name). But people loved their stuff regardless. And we can still look at titles like Inazuma Eleven or even Yo-Kai Watch with appreciation for what those games tried. This definitely feels like a turning point for Level-5, and for studios in general. I can't pretend I know what made people lose their patience this time... but weirdly, I think it was Yo-Kai Watch itself. There's a tragedy in having made a franchise that people are still so attached to that they have a heart to break when they learn you're phoning it in.
Preview: Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea
Yes, Virginia: they're still making Harvest Moon games! Fans of farm sims will know of the complicated relationship between Marvelous and Natsume; the games we now know as Story of Seasons used to be localized by Natsume as Harvest Moon, up until Marvelous decided to handle all of their localization efforts in-house. But Natsume was able to keep the Harvest Moon name and brand, and has continued to make original games in that series while Marvelous has both made new games and remade old ones with the Story of Seasons branding. And Natsume's early attempts at original Harvest Moon games were not the best! I even previewed their latest game, Harvest Moon: Winds of Anthos, back in 2021. And bless their hearts, the folks at Natsume were proud of what they did; I remember one of the representatives mentioning that they wouldn't break their 25-year tradition of packing in a little plushie of an in-game animal as a pre-order bonus for Anthos. But here's the thing: Story of Seasons isn't the only farm sim around anymore. There's Fields of Mistria, Farmagia, Harvestella, the upcoming Village in the Shade, and the inescapable Stardew Valley. So Story of Seasons has had to change a lot. And I think Natsume wants to follow suit in updating itself.
So here we have Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea, due out this October 15. Here, you play a farmer who's helping restore the Harvest Goddess' power by working the Earth and trying to bring joy to the people around them. Curiously, farming isn't the only option: you also do this by helping local Guardians in each of four themed villages (a rural town, a tropical island, a snowy tundra, and a walkable city). Each of these Guardians needs something from you, and only your farming abilities can achieve it! There are also the requisite suitors you can romance: five male and five female. So far, so good.
Animal husbandry is back as a major mechanic, not that it ever left. You can tame just about anything you can get your hands on—literally, since you tame animals by petting them. This includes not only your typical farm animals like cows, sheep, and horses but other more exotic animals like camels and reindeer. A variety of animals is a good thing to have, since certain animals have unique abilities. During the preview, I was told that animals like camels or reindeer would have an easier time navigating their specific climates, while your basic pets (a dog and a cat) are useful for things like making taming wild animals easier or letting you restore a bit of stamina. And while they couldn't confirm or deny the existence of "mythical animals like dinosaurs or Sasquatch," they at least mentioned a wide variety of them.
Having mentioned stamina, like any other decent farm sim, your farmer has limited stamina for each day, which is expended doing their regular tasks: watering plants, pulling weeds, harvesting crops, brushing your animals, feeding them, taming new animals, and so on. While there isn't any combat in Echoes of Teradea, you still have to manage a limited amount of stamina. The good news is that there are upgrades that can be found around the world that expand your abilities. The bad news is, you still have to find them. Fret not; knowing that the world is pretty big, the maps also have specific campsites your farmer can stay at to restore stamina. These camp sites can also have merchants that can sell you unique wares. Natsume's reps explained that their desire is to make Echoes of Teradea "as robust as possible." They even mentioned a one-year roadmap of story DLC.
Character customization is a feature; you can change your farmer's skin tone, eye color, hairstyle, and outfit. You can even craft some outfits of your own. You'll need that variety of outfits for the regions you're going to, so there's more to customization than just style. Sadly, some hairstyles will be gender-locked. But you can completely customize the layout of your farmhouse and your stable for your animals. You'll also be able to craft items for your home.
I didn't get a chance to play the game myself, only see it played. And at the very least, it looks to be working fine. It's really easy to be cynical over the state of Harvest Moon. At best, all I have are second-hand accounts from folks who I know play way more farm games than me that Winds of Anthos was pretty good. And at the very least, Echoes of Teradea seems to be doing a good job of keeping up with its farming peers. But we won't really know for sure until it releases this October 15. As far as pre-order bonuses go: Steam and Switch players get a Moo-berry cow (it's a pink cow that makes strawberry milk), while PlayStation and Xbox players can pre-order to get a Moo-nana cow instead (a yellow cow that makes—wait for it—banana milk).
Let's wrap up with some quick tidbits:
That'll do it for this week. As I type, Tokyo Game Show is up and running in Japan. There will no doubt be plenty of reveals this weekend to round out our summer. I look forward to the treadmill of announcements ending, if only because it's nice to focus on games that are actually out and get to enjoy them. Remember the cat and their rotisserie chicken friend: spend some time with your buddies, if you can. Enjoy your games together. It's a good life. Be good to each other. I'll see you in seven.
This Week In Games! is written from idyllic Portland by Jean-Karlo Lemus. When not collaborating with Anime News Network, Jean-Karlo can be found playing Japanese RPGs, eating popcorn, watching VTuber content, and watching tokusatsu. You can keep up with him at @ventcard.bsky.social. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors. discuss this in the forum |
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