The most colorful game any of us are playing this busy video game season is Yo-kai Watch, the creature-collecting Japanese 3DS phenomenon that has finally made it way to America. Whatās so good about it? I talked it through with the most youthful member of our staff:
Stephen Totilo: Mike, I hadnāt realized you were also playing Yo-kai Watch. Nintendo sent me a copy. Whatās your excuse?
Mike Fahey: Well Stephen, itās simple. I am a 12-year-old boy.
Stephen: Pretty good beard-growing for a 12-year-old! Iāve been curious about the game since our guys in Japan started covering it and its sequel. These games are huge over there, and I love trying out really popular games just to see what the fuss is about. I was expecting something PokĆ©mon-esque. But what I hadnāt realized was how squarely this game would be targeted at kids. And I also hadnāt realized how cool the battle system would be.
Like, this is a game that begins with you helping your parents stop fighting. And you later rush some papers to your dadās office so that he can have a successful business meeting, and he buys you a bike as a reward. The whole game is Little Kid Fantasy
Mike: For me it was a combination of Kotaku Eastās coverage and the commercials that have been airing on Cartoon Network, currently the only channel my children will watch. That and the last time Japan was so crazy over a thing it was PokĆ©mon, and PokĆ©mon has done me right.
Stephen: Yeah. Why am I so hungry? Spirit creature. Why canāt I make a decision? Spirit creature. I hope there is a Yo-kai who can explain why my foot has hurt me since July.
Mike: There probably is. Itās shaped like a giant metal boot with eyes. The creatures in this game sure are strange. Oooo, or a bear trap.
Stephen: I am totally charmed by them. I like the character design a lot, and the presentation is lively. PokƩmon look stiff by comparison.
I sense that the game is shallower than PokƩmon games are these days, but I actually like being on the ground floor of a new monster series. I feel like I can wrap my hand around all the variables.
Mike: PokĆ©mon has been kind of stiff for a long time. Visual improvements notwithstanding, not all that much has changed. What Yo-kai Watch has done is take the PokĆ©mon formula and streamlined it. Itās almost PokĆ©mon for casuals. Random battles only occur in certain places and can be avoided. Standard moves are all handled by AIāone figures Pikachu knows when to Quick Attack by now and doesnāt need Ash telling him what to do.
Stephen: Not quite random battlesā¦ you can always see the enemies on the map, but yeah.
Mike: These little guys are fighting for usāweāre just there to inspire and maintain, maybe direct their fury.
Stephen: Yeah, and putting them on a wheel is so inspired. I love that. Six Yo-kai on that wheel, three active and auto-attacking at any given time during a battle, but you have full control to rotate the other three in. I really like that and am now only worried that the game isnāt tough enough. I really like the juggle of rotating wounded enemies out, healing them or purifying them. And I like how there are buffs if you put similar Yokai near each other. But other than that one pig boss, the game is a cinch. Iām talking about that pig who stole the old manās underwear, of course. What a quest.
Mike: In the gameās defense, itās a Yo-kai disguised as an old man, so touching his underwear is okay. The pig battle thoughāitās the one place where things really started to spiralācircle?āout of control. I love the wheel, but one creature dies, do you spin the wheel to replace it and then revive him, orā¦oh no, theyāve all been dispirited (debuffed), should I fix them orā¦oh, weāre all dead now.
Stephen: Yeah, and the game checkpoints weirdly. You have to re-do a little too much. I took that battle as the game telling me I needed to grind. Though I think I also wasnāt using the targeting system correctly. Once I realized you could target possible weak spots, that helped.
Did you evolve any Yo-kai? I evolved one and he went from having an amazing super attack to now just speeding his buddies up.
Mike: That involved going to the guy in the Shrine? Who has time for that? Iāve got the main mission and about 20 side missions to complete before I can worry about transforming one of my Yo-kai FRIENDS (itās in all caps in the game menu) into a new critter.
Stephen: No, no. Youāre talking about fusion, and Iām stalled on that quest because they want me to defeat a certain Mochismo or whatever itās called. But the area where they say one will be isnāt showing one. But some Yo-kai can evolve into new forms at level 20 or higher.
Speaking of quests. I am playing this game and Witcher 3 and have never had more unfinished quests at one moment in my gaming life than now.
I just checked. I have 23 open sidequests in Yo-kai Watch right now! I need to find a lost girl. I need to help a kid find a lost missile. Lost toy missile, mind you.
Mike: Sorry, I was involved in a battle with some Yo-kai. I probably shouldnāt be playing while we are talking. You seem like you are way ahead of me. Then again, considering Iāve been playing Call of Duty and several other games since last week, I shouldnāt be anywhere in this game at all. And yet here we are.
Stephen: Hey man, we canāt all have Level B Yo-kai Watches. Iām sure your Level D watch can detect all sorts of cute Yokai creatures.
Mike: Thatās just mean. You never tease a boy about his Yo-kai Watch size.
Stephen: Hereās a sidequest youād like: āJust Say NO ā A young man doesnāt know how to say no to the girl he likes, but she seems to want more of a manly man. Take Noway to help the boy!ā (Noway is a Yo-kai who I guess helps you say no).
Mike: Thatās so far beyond friends stealing each otherās comic books.
Stephen: Thereās also one about a reporter who is āflusteredā because her poll about the best ramen has turned up inconclusive results. āWe need a Yo-kai to help her make the call.ā!! Mike, next time youāre not sure what to write, Iām sending a Yo-kai to your house.
Mike: Fudgie, the Yo-kai of Fudging Poll Results!
Stephen: Who is your best Yo-Kai?
Mike: My house is already filled with Yo-kai. I dread seeing the toys in stores. My best Yokai? Letās fire up the old incredibly made-up word bookā¦ Ah yes, itās Puppy. The purple nightmare eater. Not only is he adorable, he also pretends to be me so I can sneak out at night and sucks away my need to sleep like a normal human being.
Stephen: Oh, you renamed yours!
Mike: He had a regular name, but I renamed him. Puppy. Just the one!
Stephen: Thatās Baku, I think. Lots of teeth?
Mike: Yes! Baku. Sucks on the characterās face, all the teeth.
Stephen: Well let me put in a good word for Tattletell, the old lady in my crew. She heals the Yo-kai adjacent to her. Her regular attack is a Slap. Her āSoultimate Moveā is āLoving Slapā. She also smartly auto-heals anyone in the active part of the wheel.
Mike: Ah yes! I have her, but sheās lower level compared to the rest. She was just killed. It was messy. And sad.
Stephen: Sheās tough to level up, but you can feed the characters XP orbs and have them read books to improve their attitudes!
Are you going to play more? I think Iām going to stick with it, because I enjoy meeting these characters. But I could see myself bailing if they require more and more backtracking and more and more waiting to do quests at certain times of day.
Mike: Oh Iām seeing this game through to the end. Iām hoping an easier way to change night and day pops up somewhere down the line, but thereās a little kid inside me whoās feeling totally empowered right now. I like it.
Stephen: Yeah, plus, I mean, itād be shameful to only have a Level D watch.
Mike: Whatever, old man.
Stephen: Ha ha. Iām glad to have a new 3DS game to sink my teeth into. I havenāt used the system for new games all that much this year, and Iām still really bummed about how underwhelming Codename STEAM was. The 3DS generally has been my favorite gaming system each year but outside of Box Boy I havenāt been that impressed with its 2015 lineup. This helps. Canāt go wrong with a game that includes Manjimutt!
