Yo-kai Watch (video game)

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Yo-kai Watch (video game)

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Protagonist(s): Nate Adams
Katie Forester
Genre(s): Role-playing
Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo Switch
Release Date: Nintendo 3DS:
JP: July 11, 2013
NA: November 6, 2015
AU: December 5, 2015
EU: April 29, 2016
Nintendo Switch:
JP: October 10, 2019
Android, iOS:
JP: July 10, 2021
Developer(s): Level-5
Publisher(s): JP: Level-5
WW: Nintendo
Country: Japan
Series: Yo-kai Watch
Successor: Yo-kai Watch 2


Yo-kai Watch is a role-playing developed and published by Level-5, with Nintendo acting as the publisher outside of Japan, for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Japan on July 11, 2013, and then throughout 2015/2016 outside of Japan, It is the first game in the Yo-kai Watch series and the first piece of the franchise's media ever.

An enhanced remake was released on Nintendo Switch on October 10, 2019 and on Mobile on July 21, 2021, but only in Japan.

Why It Deserves a Yo-kai Medal

  1. The concept of children who use a special watch that can detect Yōkai (Japanese spirits) is interesting and is reminiscent of the Pokémon and Digimon franchises.
  2. The story is easy to follow and not the main focus, mainly so that the game can give you some freedom to do side quests (many of which tie into the main story), befriend more Yo-kai, and discover secrets.
  3. Many likable characters, including, but not limited to:
    • Nate Adams and Katie Forester are well-written protagonists who are always willing to help the human and Yo-kai worlds.
    • Whisper is Nate/Katie's Yo-kai Butler who helps them whenever they need it.
    • Jibanyan is an impulsive cat Yo-kai who wishes to avenge his death by punching trucks as they pass.
    • Komasan and Komajiro are Komainu brothers who are always exploring new places.
    • The main antagonist, Chairman McKracken, is a corrupt Yo-kai politician who wishes to enslave humans to serve Yo-kai. Despite his simple motives, he is still very memorable.
  4. The Yo-kai themselves have a lot of charm and are fun to collect. Many of their designs are creative, ranging from cute (Shmoopie, the Noko family, etc.) to epic (Kyubi/Frostail and Venoct/Shadow Venoct).
    • Several of them are based on yōkai from Shinto mythology, including Nekomata (Jibanyan), Tengu, Komainu (Komasan and Komajiro), etc.
    • There are over 200 Yo-kai to collect in this game, and many more will be introduced in future ones.
    • Some Yo-kai can be fused with other Yo-kai or special items to evolve and become even stronger.
  5. Once you collect a specific set of Yo-kai, you unlock a Legendary Yo-kai who is stronger than your average S-Rank Yo-kai.
    • In this game, there are five of these to collect (Shogunyan, Komashura, Gilgaros, Elder Bloom, and Dandoodle), and many more will be added in future games. All but Gilgaros can be obtained rather easily (see BQ #3.1).
  6. Nice graphics, art style, and background designs for 3DS standards.
  7. Fantastic soundtrack composed by Kenichiro Saigo that captures the game's atmosphere well.
  8. The voice acting during battles and cutscenes is good.
  9. Unique gameplay that is a different take on the typical "'Mons" genre of RPGs: in battles, the Yo-kai choose to do what they want when fighting, while the player must de-spirit them, choose their target, heal them and activate their Soultimate Moves.
    • Additionally, giving food to an enemy Yo-kai will increase your chances of befriending them (especially if it's their favorite food) and get even higher based on the quality of the food, thus making the task of befriending more challenging.
      • Besides battles, one can also befriend Yo-kai via the Crank-a-Kai, provided they have Crank-a-Kai Coins to use; however, it can only be used the times a day.
  10. Once you unlock the Shoten Temple, you can Fuse Yo-kai and/or items to make higher-grade items or, as before stated, make some Yo-kai evolve.
  11. There are a wide variety of side quests to do in the game, and when you finish them, you are treated to an animated cutscene.
    • Also, once you finish the main story, there is an epilogue where you can explore the Infinite Inferno to face off against stronger versions of the bosses you fought in the main story, ending with a fight against Wobblewok.
  12. Great boss fights, including Slimamander, SV Snaggerjag, Dr. Maddiman, Wobblewok, and of course, McKracken himself.
    • Each boss has a weak spot that must be exposed, which keeps the player on their toes throughout the fight.
  13. The game has online battles, which have their ranking system.
  14. You can scan QR codes from the Yo-kai Medal toys released by Bandai (JP)/Hasbro (WW) to get items and/or Crank-a-Kai Coins.

Bad Qualities

  1. Many Yo-kai are reskinned of others, but with different color schemes and higher ranks, attributes, and Soultimate. A prime example of this is the Infinite Inferno, where all of the bosses are just reskinned versions of ones you fought in the main story (except for Tarantutor and McKracken's first stage, which do not have any, and Wobblewok, which is an original boss).
  2. Some Yo-kai are very hard to find and befriend, especially if they are A or S-Rank. While giving them food will increase your chances of befriending them (with stronger ones having higher percentages), you can still fail to befriend them, or worse, another one will try to befriend you instead.
    • The worst offender has to be Gilgaros: because he is a Legendary Yo-kai, you can only obtain him by befriending eight specific Yo-kai (those being Cruncha, Frostail, Goldenyan, Damona, Auntie Heart, Count Cavity, Eterna and Shadow Venoct). While this doesn't sound too difficult, the problem is that all of these are exclusive to the Crank-a-Kai, meaning obtaining him is purely by luck rather than skill.
  3. Because the bosses have weak points, it can be confusing to know exactly where to hit them, especially if you are a first-time player.
    • The hardest bosses of all are Gargaros, Ogralus, and Orcanos (the three Terror Time Oni bosses), as they can defeat Level 99, S-Rank Yo-kai in a single blow, making them a nasty difficulty spike compared to McKracken or Wobblewok. Fortunately, they can be beaten with strategy and persistence.
  4. The English and Japanese QR codes are region-locked, thus preventing you from scanning Japanese medals into a US/UK copy and vice-versa. Due to this, various Yo-kai such as the Gemnyans weren't obtainable outside of Japan until Hasbro distributed their QR codes online in 2016.
    • Unlike future games, there is no online trading and only one minigame.
  5. The North American version sets Springdale in the United States despite the clear Japanese influences, such as Shinto shrines, Japanese cuisine (such as rice balls, sushi, tempura), etc.
    • This almost came back to haunt the localization team in Yo-kai Watch 3 when the Adams family moved to the US in the Japanese version; the North American version circumvents this, thankfully, by moving them to a southern state.
  6. Whenever you mess with the 3DS system clock, Gargaros will give you a lecture about what is unavailable when you do so (such as the Crank-a-Kai daily events and the Yo-kai Cam; some report that the likelihood of Terror Time may also increase); this can be frightening for younger players.
  7. Due to Level-5's American branch shutting down, the Switch remake and Mobile port were never released outside of Japan.

Reception

Yo-kai Watch received positive reviews from critics and gamers alike, with a 76/100 critic score and 8/10 user score on Metacritic. Critics praised the concept, Yo-kai characteristics, and story, but criticized the tedious amounts of side quests.

The 3DS version sold over 2.78 million copies until September 2020, becoming the 25th best-selling 3DS game of all time. The Switch version sold more than 9,000 copies, making it the third game on the Japanese charts.

Trivia

  • In Japan, the franchise is more popular than Pokémon.
  • As this game was released before the anime, there are several differences compared to future games:
    • Whisper is far more serious in this game and is treated more like a genuine mentor to Nate/Katie rather than a punching bag.
    • Jibanyan's favorite food is seafood (specifically Choice Tuna) rather than chocobars.
    • The Japanese version does not have an intro song of any sort, instead showing a video of Nate using the Crank-a-Kai. Outside of Japan, it does at least feature "Yo-kai Watch ft. Swampy Marsh" after this.
    • Much of the humor is more reserved compared to later games' more off-the-wall humor.
    • McKracken doesn't seem to have any sort of motivation for his actions beyond enslaving humans, unlike Dame Dedtime and The Ghoulfather.
    • Until Yo-kai Watch 4 broke the tradition, this is the only game (international versions of Yo-kai Watch 3 notwithstanding) to not have multiple Pokémon-style versions.

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