I’ve heard a myriad of people liken Level-5’s latest RPG, Yo-kai Watch, to the ever-popular Pokémon franchise. And looking at superficially, I suppose I could see what they mean. The game begins with a pre-teen hero in a small town (whose gender you can select at the start). And yes, there are over 200 “monsters,” or rather Yo-Kai, available to do battle in your stead during the fighting sequences. But if you look even the slightest bit deeper, you’ll find a journey that stands tall on its own merits.
The plot of Yo-Kai Watch is far more light-hearted than most that I’ve come across this year (especially as far as RPG’s go). Your hero, we learn, has a love of bug-catching (and a bout of laziness) and after one particular outing near the local mountain shrine, comes across a rusty old gachapon machine (the ones where you insert some currency and out pops a totally Pokeball-looking capsule) begging you to “feed it.” Being the curious young person that you are, the hero inserts a coin and, in return, is rewarded with the self-proclaimed “Yo-Kai butler,” Whisper. The cartoony ghost creature then gifts them with the Yo-Kai Watch, a device that allows the hero to see and befriend wandering Yo-Kai.
The soundtrack is also charming, if somewhat forgettable. The only melody I can summon from memory is the catchy battle theme. The other issue is the lack of musical variety in the game. I was, however, thoroughly impressed with how many soundbites there were for the Yo-Kai during battle. When using techniques and special moves or even just switching them into the field, I was frequently treated with a phrase from the user.
The locales in the game, for the most part, have a Japanese aesthetic as one would expect given that the game seemingly takes place in Japan. I particularly liked that every house has a genkan next to the front door to leave your shoes. It is little touches like that show how much love was put into this title. I loved how Level-5 chose to make the locations more welcoming; no spooky, blood-stained walls or creepy dolls here.
Like many role-playing games, you have access to a only a small area towards the start of the game and your world expands as the story progresses. And while Yo-Kai Watch‘s map may seem smaller than other titles out there, I didn’t mind. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore in every section of the town that I found myself spending hours in one neighborhood, simply exploring.
The main mechanics of Yo-Kai Watch center around finding and befriending Yo-Kai. You may encounter Yo-Kai in a story-related event, during a side quest, or simply from looking in hiding places like under cars and vending machines or in rivers and trees. They may even be found out in the open in certain areas. Engaging a Yo-Kai involves holding the cursor, or lens, over the hiding creature until the Yo-Kai Watch’s meter fills up. This may sound easy enough but later in the game, those Yo-Kai move quickly and sporadically and, if the Yo-Kai evades the cursor long enough, the meter will drop and eventually reset. I found that stylus worked best later on but you can get by using the analog nub to control the cursor for at least the first few hours.
The battle system is a fun mix of smart AI-influenced teammates and special actions, usually involving the stylus. Those actions could initiate your yo-kai’s special “Soultimate” ability by tapping bouncing orbs, tracing shapes, or spinning a circle. Similar activities are involved in “purifying” your Yo-Kai of status ailments. If you want to sit back and let the AI take over, but you don’t want the fight to drag on, a simple press of the “X” button puts the battle in fast forward (this function can be used even if you intended to use the stylus as well).
Battles also serve as a means to recruit Yo-Kai. Making friends with them post-battle can be influenced by gifting them their favorite foods during the fight. Certain Yo-Kai skills also increase the likelihood of a successful recruitment. This feature added another layer of strategy because figuring out what type of food to give them was at times puzzling. Sure, it stood to reason that kappa prefer vegetables like cucumber, but figuring out many Yo-Kai’s preferences were based solely on trial and error.
Yo-Kai Watch is one meaty game, chock-full of side quests and NPC requests. Taking on these extra challenges will earn you experience points, money, items, and occasionally a new Yo-Kai companion. The menus for keeping track of tasks is similar to one of Level-5’s other RPGs, Fantasy Life, with tabs for each quest/request which display a quest summary and your progress towards your goal.
The one aspect that I didn’t particularly like was Terror Time. It’s a random nighttime event that send the hero into an alternate world, filled with a giant Oni and their smaller lackeys. You’re forced into a stressful round of hide and seek as you make your way to the zone’s exit. Good luck getting those treasure chests hidden in the area. I have only managed to collect two and both times, I was later caught by the boss and beaten. Thankfully, this does not lead to a game over but rather starts you back at your bedroom. It is more an annoyance than anything else.
To sum up, I give Yo-Kai Watch for the Nintendo 3DS my seal of approval. Weak music selection and Terror Time aggravation aside, the title is one that I have enjoyed playing more than 90 percent of the other releases this year. I’ve recently switched it to be “My Favorite Game” on my 3DS profile on My Nintendo, so if that doesn’t speak of the quality of content, I don’t know what does!
Yo-Kai Watch scores a cool 4.5/5! Will you be picking it up? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!