According to just about all the marketing I’ve seen for this game, Yo-Kai Watch is huge in Japan. The evidence is certainly there, with an anime, manga, and even plush toys for sale. It’s certainly getting a similar marketing push to the one Pokémon received 20 years ago, but does it even come close to succeeding the monster catching throne?
While the formula for Pokémon revolves around becoming the champion, Yo-Kai Watch has no such drive toward victory. Instead the main character discovers a mysterious capsule machine in the woods while searching for bugs for his summer project. Upon opening the capsule, a Yo-Kai – which is Japanese for a ghost, spirit, or phantom – named Whisper is freed, beginning the protagonist’s occult adventure.
As you progress through the story, the aim is to uncover the appearances of mischievous Yo-Kai that are disturbing the peaceful town of Springdale, while at the same time helping civilians in need. Some quests do veer into interesting territory, but given the kid friendly nature of the game it never quite crosses the threshold.
Even by today’s standards, Yo-Kai Watch oozes character and charm, which is true of so many Level 5 games. It’s visually appealing, with a great use of 3D visuals in battles to give characters depth. Perhaps the one slight downside is that the interface could do with a few more options to make navigating a little easier; more on that later.
Battles are generally three on three affairs where Yo-Kai attack autonomously, depending on their behaviour, but you dictate who is in the fight by rotating the wheel on the touchscreen and shifting Yo-Kai in or out on the fly. It’s certainly useful in case you need to heal one using items or purify them of any status element effects. While the automated nature of the battles may irk some, you’re not doing nothing.
Aside from using items and setting specific targets for your Yo-Kai, each Yo-Kai has a special move that requires a full Soul meter to use, as well as a short mini-game to initiate. You also have the ability to purify monsters who are not actively fighting by completing a quick mini-game. While certainly involved, there is a chance that it could distract you from keeping an eye on your Yo-Kai’s health on the top screen, but this is a balancing act that isn’t too hard to adapt to.
The similarities between Yo-Kai Watch and the Pokémon franchise are actually minimal. Yes, catching Yo-Kai and training them to evolve into more powerful forms is a familiar concept, but there are key differences. Befriending monsters usually requires you to feed the Yo-Kai with a particular foodstuff. However, this is nowhere near as elegant or simple as using a Pokéball, mostly because you only get one shot per Yo-Kai to assist in the ‘catching’.
Throughout the town there are a lot of facilities to discover, occasionally requiring you to find them without being prompted. One such example is that the temple which houses the ability to fuse two Yo-Kai, one Yo-Kai and an item, or two items together. The requirements for this type of evolution are nice and easy to use, with the game only highlighting things that are compatible.
Occasionally, Yo-Kai Watch will set a barrier or two to your progression that feels somewhat arbitrary. The Rank doors are among the worst offenders, requiring the player to undertake to hunt certain monster in hard-to-reach locations. You’ll also occasionally be asked to hunt for certain bugs or fish.
This all leads to perhaps the biggest gripe I have with Yo-Kai Watch. While the story missions have an arrow pointing to the objective, you can’t say the same for the side quests. A flag telling you of a point of interest does help, but you don’t have access to a full map to examine in order to locate where to go next, which can be frustrating because of the rabbit warren nature of Springdale. As such, a lot of time would be spent aimlessly wandering around trying to find the next flag for your current quest.
That said, the game does have a fair amount of side quests, fleshing out the world with the problems of residents being controlled by Yo-Kai. Sometimes a particular Yo-Kai is required to solve a quest, but these are generally easy to obtain Yo-Kai friends. There are also points where it turns into a stealth game at random, but this is often an opportunity to pick up rare items. Yo-Kai Watch will certainly keep you busy, but the busywork is needless at times and can harm the pacing of the game.
What’s Good:
- Has an interesting variant on monster catching.
- Lots to do and discover.
- Great use of 3D and visual style.
What’s Bad:
- Some really bad pacing and padding issues.
- Map is almost useless for finding out where to go for sub-quests.
- Some missed opportunities for the narrative.
While it does not usurp the Pokémon franchise in any way, shape, or form, Yo-Kai Watch is a viable alternative for those who can get past some of the inconsistent design choices. It’s easy to understand why kids in Japan have been drawn to the franchise and while the game feels like it’s on autopilot a lot of the time, there is enough complexity here to keep you from getting bored. Younger gamers in particular are likely to find the most enjoyment in Yo-Kai Watch.