Yo-Kai Watch (3DS) Review

All we’ve heard about Yo-Kai Watch for years is the fact that it’s sold a lot in Japan. Yo-Kai Watch only released in Japan in 2013 and since then there’s been multiple games, an anime series, manga, toys and god knows what else. Until now, all this has been contained within Japan, but Nintendo is finally bringing the first Level-5 developed title to the west. But the big question remains: Yo-Kai Watch may be popular, but is it actually any good?

Yo-Kai Watch is, at its base, a monster-collecting role playing game. Yo-Kai are monsters that inhabit the same world as us but can’t be seen without a Yo-kai Watch. To get you going, Whipser, a Yo-kai ‘butler’, sets you on your adventure around town. These wild Yo-kai might not be able to be seen, but their effects can interfere with humans and their emotions. Each monster has a different ‘effect’ on people, such a memory loss or anger, and it’s up to you to bring them into line.

To fight off other Yo-Kai you’ll need to command your own. The watch you’re given will help you track them down, but you’ll have to seek out battles – random encounters aren’t a feature in this RPG. When you’re not busy fighting Yo-kai, you’re helping them, and once you either defeat or help them they’ll give you their medal and their friendship. You can store these medals in your encyclopaedia and carry six to use at any time during battle. Yo-kai can also level up and evolve given enough time. There are Yo-Kai of different natures and you can build your team how you see fit, but don’t stress about your team choices – these natures to be didn’t feel really involved in a big way, so I just picked Yo-kai I liked instead.

If this is all sounding very familiar, then you’re not wrong – there are a lot of elements here that feel like Pokémon – but aside from the core ‘idea’, the game is decidedly different, and this is most apparent in the games combat style.

The battle system in Yo-kai is remarkably simple. For the most part you don’t actually really do anything. You guide the action more using the bottom screen and a giant spinning wheel. This changes when you get the games bosses, where there’s a little more thought that needs to be put into what you actually do. But, for the most part, combat feels like you’re on cruise control.

You’ll have to pay attention to the touch screen in battles. When the Soultimate gauge fills up as the battle rages on, there will be a random mini game to complete. If you do this successfully, you’ll unleash a special attack. This is the part of the battling system that sucks the most, because you’re focused on the bottom screen you don’t get to see what your Yo-Kai can pull off. Every Yo-Kai has a unique special move, but unfortunately the mini games are pulled from the same selection. These games harken back to early DS titles that required you to trace an outline, spin a circle, or pop bubbles. They’re just lazy design and draw you away from the battle.

The other lazy part of the game is the fetch quests that are required to be completed before you can finish a chapter – there’s even one for the final boss in the game. To finish the chapters you’ll be sent out somewhere to find an item, but just feels pointless in order to stretch out the main story.

Outside of the main story, which will take you some time to complete, there are a ton of side quests around Springdale. While games like Pokémon might take place in a whole region, Yo-kai Watch takes place in just one town. These side quests do allow you to completely explore the entire town and come across things you might not have seen if you were just focusing on the story.

If we’re going to talk Pokémon, then there’s one part of this game that absolutely blows current Pokémon games out of the water – the presentation and design. The world is supremely detained and feels like a modern game, whereas Pokémon games still feel like they did 15 years ago – limited by convention and all these bizarre constraints. The game is interspersed with anime clips as well, something that works really well especially as there is voice acting outside of the cut scenes.

It’s amazingly refreshing to play through a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The translation on this is first class and, although the game and series is aimed at children, there are references to events that might go over their head. Nothing crude of course, but none the less it feels like a game written for everyone.