In spite of featuring a quirky and weird battle system and overly relying on fetch quests, Yo-Kai Watch is a fascinating world that developer Level 5 opened for gamers to explore.
The plot of the title story is quite straightforward: a boy named Nate or a girl named Katie (depending how you choose your main protagonist) releases a Yo-Kai butler (Whisper) while taking a walk in the outback. This causes Nate to gain possession of a watch that makes him able to communicate with different Yo-Kai. The game's purpose is to ensure that the player "collects" all the Yo-Kai from the realm.
The Yo-Kai is a Japanese mythical creature, somewhat of a cross between gremlins and spirits.
By comparison with games where the main character catches sidekicks and forces them into tiny balls, this title focuses on "friendship tokens" that give the ability to instantly summon the little creatures to aid you. It is endearing to see them go about their own lives in Springdale (a toned down, but recognizable version of Japan), just to come to the rescue the moment you need it.
"Where I got most of my enjoyment out of Yo-Kai Watch however is exploration," Chris Carter, Reviews Director at Destructoid, points out.
He noted that roaming through the beautifully designed urban landscape hunting for Yo-Kai was a great experience. The search is eased by the developers, who implemented a "cold or hot" type of radar to aid the player into finding new characters.
The TV show and the game's voices are coming from the same actors, making for a better experience. The whole world is masterfully crafted and highly immersive, exploration being one of the high points of the game. Another plus is that it remains honest when tackling dark ideas and treats its players like adults, in spite of the overflow of colors and catchy soundtrack.
"Yo-Kai Watch's combat is a weird but interesting hybrid of real-time and turn-based elements," Kallie Plagge from IGN affirms.
Combat happens in real-time, yet the Yo-Kai attack autonomously. Players have control in managing the items, targeting enemies and activating special powers. The mechanic is simple, but when you throw in the ingredient of party management, things get a tad more complex.
You have a maximum number of six Yo-Kai in your party, though only three of them can engage in combat simultaneously. This means that you must cycle through the hexa-team for the entire combat to get the most effective combination of powers, special abilities and unique status effects. Synchronization and timing are essential for a battle to end successfully.
As far as multiplayer battles go, they are far from memorable. Level 5's game is not the most competitive-focused title out there, and the local wireless-only capacity underlines this limitation. Playing with friends can be fun, but identical conditions from the regular battles apply.
From the RPG point of view, Yo-Kai Watch makes the battle system feel distant and passive. As an exploration game, however, it shines. The fact that it is a low difficulty game helps the gaming experience, as it assists the player to find the next character or idea.
It may not be the next Pokemon, but the lighthearted and fun way in which your sidekicks evolve is more inspiring to many than the Shaolin-level of commitment Pokemon asks of you.
"Yo-Kai Watch doesn't take itself seriously, and that sense of humor sets it apart from just another creature battler," a Polygon review points out. The review goes on to mention that the Nintendo 3DS title is not a game-changer in the area of monster-collecting RPGs, yet it provides numerous reasons to be purchased and enjoyed.
It seems that the general opinion over the game is a positive one and, in spite of small issues, gamers have a reason to try it out.
"The writing is delightful, combat is unique and entertaining, and [...] it's fun to follow along with the story looking for the paranormal," Alexa Ray Corriea from Gamespot underlines.
