Yo-kai Watch is a role-playing game where you collect and train monster-like creatures called Yo-Kai, to fight other Yo-Kai. I know, it really sounds like Pokémon although this game is totally different.
In Yo-Kai Watch you play as Nate, a boy who came cross a mysterious capsule machine while he was bug hunting. Upon opening one of the capsules, it brought forth the Yo-Kai Whisper, who gives Nate a special device known as the Yo-Kai Watch. With this watch, Nate is now able to see Yo-Kai who are invisible to humans. From that moment Nate and his new friend,Whisper, start their adventure where they befriend all sorts of Yo-Kai, which Nate can summon to battle against more ill-intentioned Yo-Kai who are haunting people and causing mischief in his hometown Springdale.
Gameplay:
Yo-Kai Watch is an adventurous role-playing game with various missions where you help the people from Springdale and befriend new Yo-kai who help you in battles against other Yo-Kai. Players befriend Yo-Kai by giving them food during battles, after defeating the Yo-Kai it approaches the player character and gives them its Yo-kai Medal, allowing it to be summoned at will. Some Yo-Kai are needed to complete further missions in the game. For example,there is a Yo-Kai who is able to transform in you so he can pretend he is asleep so you can sneak out at night without your parents getting suspicious.
The battle system makes Yo-Kai Watch so unique. You fight with three Yo-Kai at a time while you rotate from a roster of 6 Yo-Kai. The Yo-Kai Attack on their own, your job is to heal them by giving them food and rotate them so you get a strong team on the front side.
Every Yo-Kai got a soultimate, this is a powerful special attack that is unique for the Yo-Kai. The soultimate is charge by playing a mini game on the 3DS touchscreen. It takes some time to get used to the battle system but once you got the hang of it, it is a fresh new approach RPG battling. However when you fight against weaker Yo-Kai you are able to let your Yo-Kai fight without rotating them and win the battle easy; nevertheless when you fight strong Yo-Kai, battles can get quite intense.
The missions in this game are pretty versatile and most of them got a good and funny story. During the missions you help people with everyday problems like lost underwear, forgetting important papers… but most of the time these problems are caused by a Yo-Kai who you have to battle. Once you defeat them they could befriend you and help you accomplish your goal. Besides the story missions, there are a lot of side quests and favors you can do for the people. completing the quests will give you items to make your Yo-Kai stronger and help you with your adventure. The missions in this game are not that hard but they are so versatile and there are so much missions and side missions that the make up for them to be quite easy.
Springdale is a big town with a lot to discover, areas to explore, thinks to see and Yo-Kai to discover. Everything looks so amazing and every neighborhood feels different. The people all look different and the character design is fantastic. One downside to such a big world is that during missions you have to walk quite some distance sometimes. Luckily for you, after helping your dad out he gives you a brand new bike to get around town.
Verdict:
I really loved playing this game. It is so much fun to explore the big open world and befriend new Yo-Kai, the story is very good and gets you hooked after a few missions. Although on first sight it looks a lot like Pokémon it is very different in numerous ways and gives a different feel to the RPG genre with its unique battle system, funny story and amazing Yo-Kai.
