I’ve made no secret of being a Yo-kai Watch fan, and as you’d expect, the game is already downloaded to my American 3DS. I’ve played halfway through the Japanese version a year ago, but it’s nice to see the full story now. Because, it being a Level-5 game, it makes for a nice storyline and overall feeling to the game. The characters and graphics remind me a bit of the Professor Layton games, although the gameplay is totally different of course. Instead of Pokémon, you collect Yokai, which are a sort of ghosts out of Japanese folklore. These Yokai each have a very distinct personality which adds to the charming story. You’ll find some more of my thoughts about the game here in this article.
Some people have expressed their doubts about the battle system, wondering if it’s entertaining enough. It’s not turn based, and the Yokai seem to be able to fend for themselves. You can add to their efforts by feeding them, picking their next target and sliding the wheel to bring one Yokai to the forefront and give another some rest. But there’s much more to it then that, as this article on Siliconera clearly explains. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
(Article “Battles have unexpected depth in Yo-Kai Watch on Siliconera)
First, characters appearing in battle all belong to different classes, with each class specializing in certain things. The Charming class has swift attackers like Cadin and Jibanyan, two of the first Yo-Kai players will recruit. Eerie characters like Dismerelda and Coughkoff, two other Yo-Kai that will be among the first recruits, rely heavily on inflicting status effects. The other classes include Tough, Brave, Shady, Heartful, Mysterious, and Slippery. If you’re going into a boss fight, having a Tough Yo-Kai like Robonyan can help, since his Soultimate attack boosts defense and makes enemies target him. Setting up the right team is important and going with whoever you get first won’t help much in the end-game. Read the rest of the article
This looks interesting. I like having wacky characters in games. It seems to be a good twist on the Pokémon concept. This is one that I will keep a watch out for.
It’s a nice game, with the strangest of characters!
It was made by level 5 so it’s no surprise it reminds you of Lyaton
True, and Fantasy Life too for a bit!
I recently played this game. It’s a fun and charming game, that’s for sure. Though I’m getting sick of the Pokemon comparisons. Guys, games about monster/yo-kai/what-have-you collecting have been around for a long while, calm down a bit. Anyways, on notes other than Pokemon, I found the dialogue humorous and the combat fun. Level 5 nailed it with this game, so I’m excited to see the next two games possibly make it to the west.
I hope so, that the next ones will make it West. I haven’t played them myself, but I’ve read that they are much more folklore based, even more then this one. But I think that once the media machine goes all out with toys and such, there will be no turning back for Level 5.
I have yet to start in on my copy, but I thought the demo was incredibly adorable and one of the most “Japanese” games I’ve played in a while.
And Jibanyan is ADORABLE.