The Yo-kai Watch Games - YW2 Coming to US Sep. 30th

[pppp]

 

After making the topic for the anime, it only makes sense that I also made the topic for the games. For those that don't know what Yo-kai Watch is, take a look at the anime's topic where I describe what it's about since they share the same overall plot and characterization and the exact same music tracks:

 

 

So how is the game? It's a turn based RPG like Pokemon, but with a battle system more focused on using the touch screen rather than menu navigating. Jed from Destructoid describes here the basics of battling:

 

 

 

From what I've read from people that played the game already, while the main campaign is easy on difficulty, there's alot of harder stuff to do in side quests like catching particularly tough yo-kai.

 

Like with other Level-5 3DS games, the story is divided in chapters where in each you can either keep going in the main campaign or explore to find side quests and yo-kai that are hidden everywhere:

 

 

 

The first game is coming to the US in 2016, but Europe might get it this year still judging from previous localizations of Level-5 games.

 

So yeah, interested in trying out the Pokémon of this new generation of kids?

[MegasonicZX]

Can't wait to try the game out, it looks like it could be a lot of fun (though 2016 is going to be a long wait). 

[pppp]

So it's coming Holiday 2015, as announced by Nintendo today.

 

[MegasonicZX]

I liked whispers english VA in that trailer, can't really judge much on anybody else though.

[Dantemustdie00]

It's about time this game series came over here

[pppp]

Here's the treehouse showing of the game:

 

 

I love it. The open nature of how you can just go around finding Yo-Kai at random is really cool and the visuals look fantastic for 3DS.

[pppp]

More footage, this time with the president of Level-5 and creator of all their IPs himself Akihiro Hino present(It starts at 11:06):

 

[Kevin]

Here's some footage of direct feed from a demo of the game:

 

 

The main question is "Will this franchise be successful outside of Japan?" One of the reasons why it's so popular in Japan is because of the many references to Japanese culture in the series and not all of it is going to translate well over here. However, I don't think it's impossible for the franchise outside of Japan given that it has a universal appeal to it and if it can marketed right, that could help it as well.

 

I'm personally looking forward to playing this game since it looks like a lot of fun and I'm hoping to see Yokai Watch be successful over here as well.

[Phos]

I find these character designs pretty bad, actually, something about the line work and proportions just never added up.

But the actual point to this post: apparently this franchise has been and gone in Japan, either they milked it too hard or it didn't have the staying power in the first place, but it dried up. Heard about it on the 8-4 podcast.

[pppp]

The main question is "Will this franchise be successful outside of Japan?" One of the reasons why it's so popular in Japan is because of the many references to Japanese culture in the series and not all of it is going to translate well over here. However, I don't think it's impossible for the franchise outside of Japan given that it has a universal appeal to it and if it can marketed right, that could help it as well.

 

Meh, Everyone I showed the anime so far find it pretty awesome, Yes Yo-Kai Watch is very japanese, but most of the humor is character driven, so it works universally, they even have lost of western references like this:

 

 

Any fan of Apple will get this xD

 

Not to mention the trademark lovable characterization and heartfelt storytelling of Level-5 is appealing to anyone regardless of culture.

[Salamander]

But the actual point to this post: apparently this franchise has been and gone in Japan, either they milked it too hard or it didn't have the staying power in the first place, but it dried up. Heard about it on the 8-4 podcast.

 

So they waited too long, huh?  I guess they did need to sync up lots of TV networks and merchandising companies to push the full product range out as a unified front (contrast Sonic Boom), but perhaps they pushed Japan too hard in the meantime.

[Phos]

Not exactly, just that I suspect that once whatever already exists in Japan has been localized I have my doubts that anything else will be made.

I don't think it's success in Japan was really that dependent on its cultural relevance, it didn't do much for Okami.

Also, I wouldn't be expecting this to be another "all ages" game in the vien of a Pokemon, I'm not familiar with the game but how I heard the 8-4 podcast talking about it didn't make it sound like the sort of game with age group bridging appeal. I don't have that much to go on, so I could be mistaken yet, but that's the impression I have.

[pppp]

Not exactly, just that I suspect that once whatever already exists in Japan has been localized I have my doubts that anything else will be made.

I don't think it's success in Japan was really that dependent on its cultural relevance, it didn't do much for Okami.

Also, I wouldn't be expecting this to be another "all ages" game in the vien of a Pokemon, I'm not familiar with the game but how I heard the 8-4 podcast talking about it didn't make it sound like the sort of game with age group bridging appeal. I don't have that much to go on, so I could be mistaken yet, but that's the impression I have.

 

The anime has a wide appeal. I get the feeling that podcast you talk about is either biased or is full of shit.

[pppp]

We have the US Cover:

 

Definitely better than the original japanese one, since it only had Jibanyan in.

[pppp]

OK so the game will release November 6th in America.

Hopefully Europe will also get it earlier than expected.

 

https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/j1m0iAajJd-khn-rPcQfGY5iu_YnV_Nm

[pppp]

Nintendo updated the game's page with lots of info about the story and characters. Now if only Europe could get a release date

http://yo-kai.nintendo.com/

I really like the punny names, Level-5's signature humor is remained intact.

Edited September 22, 2015 by pppp

[pppp]

OK good news for anyone here living in Australia or New Zealand:

Since AUS/NZ is part of the PAL region I'm guessing us EUR guys will also get it around this time. If not I'll just import

[pppp]

OK so you guys from the USA get to try out an Eshop demo of the game next week, so try it out

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/l8kpLNL1V78vjK00SoKnv6r9JBgDee-L

[Thrippa]

Ooh, I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

[Milo]

For $99, you can get a Nintendo 2DS with Yo-Kai Watch pre-installed on the handheld. The bundle is available November 6th.

Pretty great deal if you ask me.

[pppp]

So GameXplain shows us the first 10 minutes of it, and the actors are just as good here as in the anime:

[pppp]

So reviews are in and they're pretty positive, it's got a 77 on Metacritic. Here's GameXplain's review, one of the few review sites that did more than just repeat "Oh so it's like Pokemon" over and over:

 

[Salamander]

I saw the launch trailer to this recently, and was impressed.  A lot of the areas where it parallels Pokemon appear to be executed somewhat better.  I might have to get this.  ...When it comes out in Europe, next year.

[Kevin]

I picked up this game over the weekend and let me tell you this game is a lot of fun to play with a greasy soundtrack to go with it. There's a lot of stuff to do as well, so even when you finish the main story, there's lots of side quests you can do with additional post-game content as well. Some of the Yo-Kai designs are pretty cool while some others are obvious palette swaps. But overall, I highly recommend this game!

[pppp]

So Level-5's CEO and Yo-Kai Watch creator Akihiro Hino gave an interview about the brand, and here's the end of the interview:

"GamesBeat: Finally, it took around two years for Yo-Kai Watch to come from Japan to the West. Will it take just as long to get Yo-Kai Watch 2 overseas?

Hino: It shouldn’t take that long. [Laughs]"

So it seems the second game's localization is already in the works. This is great, since word from Japan says the second game improves the gameplay alot and brings in the style of humor from the anime that made the franchise a hit, coupled with a more plot driven narrative (Those who saw the movie know what I'm talking about).