Yo-kai Watch review: Charming ‘ghost’-bustin’

SINGAPORE — After the Yo-kai Watch Nintendo 3DS video game franchise took Japan by storm last year — outselling the hugely popular Pokemon series at one point — Japanese game developers Level-5 now have their sights set on the Western market with the upcoming Yo-kai Watch 3 (Japan only, Summer 2016). 

The first iteration of the game (and subject of our review), however, has just graced US shores, a full two years after it was released in Japan. 

Question is: How will Yo-kai Watch hold up in the Western market, given its niche appeal? For one, Yo-kai Watch, is a series that revolves heavily around collecting “yo-kais”/”youkais” which basically means supernatural spirits in Japanese folklore. Given this very Japanese premise, it isn’t quite as accessible as Pokemon. Also, do we really need another “gotta-catch-’em-all” game?

To aid in its quest to the West, Yo-kai Watch has capitalised on a proven formula, and yet retains a whimsical charm that differentiates itself from other games. If you are familiar with and adore past Level-5 works — Ni No Kuni, Fantasy Life and the hugely popular Professor Layton series, to name a few — you will definitely find plenty of the same to like, from its storybook-inspired graphics down to its quirky and relatable storyline, regardless of whether you are a Japanophile or not.

In Yo-kai Watch, you take control of a young boy or girl stumbling into a strange world while catching bugs for a school assignment. Once you get to know Whisper —  your cheeky “spiritual” guide —  and he bequeaths you the titular Yo-kai Watch, you are coerced into capturing/recruiting the paranormal imps and spirits (the aforementioned yo-kais) that secretly populate your hometown. Collecting bugs, catching spirits, same difference, right?

As if. When they aren’t busy hiding in dustbins or under cars, the mischievous beings brainwash and harass townsfolk, some of whom include your closest pals and family. Your Yo-kai Watch serves as a radar, pinging red or purple when a spirit is lurking nearby. You have to locate, scan, battle whatever shows up and save the day like a good Samaritan. And if you are lucky, you will walk away with yo-kais who are willing to lend a helping hand and fight under your command.

Combat in Yo-kai Watch is a non-standard affair, especially if you are used to turn-based systems where it gets repetitive, simply because you end up churning out the same formula of commands over and over again. Level-5 has kept it fresh by mixing it up a little, keeping battles interactive via a hybrid of real-time combat and touchscreen-based minigames.

For the most part, your party members’ battle moves are automated in real-time; however, the rest — item management, target choice, unleashing ultimate moves, debuffing ailments — are up to you and how fast you can operate your stylus. For example, unleashing ultimate moves (or "soultimates") requires you to manually trace patterns, tap balls or spin till an onscreen gauge fills up completely, and sometimes quickly.

While you have ready access to six yo-kais in your active team, only three can fight at a time; a wheel on the bottom screen of your 3DS allows you to easily rotate between them according to their strengths and weaknesses. In a nutshell, you manage your riffraff group of Yo-kai fighters, as opposed to playing as them — and while it may seem deceptively simple on the surface, it can pose a challenge to the not-quite-so-dexterous players.

Be aware that there is no grandiose-traversing-across-the universe-to-beat-gym-leaders-and-collect-badges schtick in Yo-kai Watch; rather, you find yourself mostly confined to your hometown, its adjunct towns and underground tunnels. This might sound less daunting in comparison to Pokemon, but as the popular saying goes, it's all is in the details, and this is where the game truly shines.

Level-5 has done a tremendous job of giving life to every nook and cranny in Yo-kai Watch’s atmospheric world, so much so that you feel like you are exploring an actual living and breathing Japanese town — albeit jarringly Americanised to be called Springdale — and not one simply made out of pixels on your 3DS. (Your character actually leaves his/her shoes at the door of every building he/she enters, how cool is that?!)

And the same goes for its ghostly inhabitants — part of the big draw of the game is the yo-kais themselves, each fleshed out with their individual quirks, special abilities and memorable storylines. There are plenty of opportunities to get to know your hometown and the yo-kais, introduced through the game’s side quests.

Yo-kai Watch is sort of the game equivalent of a laidback summer flick —  the kind you reminisce about and find yourself returning to every once in awhile, even if it isn't exactly revolutionary.

Rating: 4/5

Yo-kai Watch is available exclusively on Nintendo 3DS (S$69.90), with prices varying depending on existing retailer promotions.