Yo-Kai Watch Reviews
For a pocket-sized RPG that will provide hours of gameplay, it's certainly worth a look.
Yo-Kai Watch is a kid-oriented, lighthearted game packed with quirky characters, secret areas to explore, and bizarre Yo-Kai to befriend. The unwieldy process of recruiting Yo-Kai to your team and an incredibly unhelpful map bog the side content down a bit, but the battling system is unique and fun and there's always more to discover.
Yo-Kai Watch is no Pokémon clone but rather its own unique game that gives the player a sturdy combat system with some great Japanese RPG elements thrown into the mix. It's also a well-designed game that really allows you to explore this colourful world as you solve quests and discover new Yo-Kai for your collection.
While not a revolutionary game, Yo-Kai Watch is testament to Level 5's ability to breathe new life into familiar concepts. More than any game in recent memory, Yo-Kai Watch as a whole is an experience that I enjoyed more the longer I played it. While combat was initially off-putting, taking the time to acclimatise revealed a far more complex set of systems than were initially apparent. With delightful characters, beautiful scenery, and missions both intriguing and bizarre, I can see why Japan has fallen in love with Yo-Kai Watch.
Full of charm but not engaging enough
I know I came in saying that Yo-kai Watch doesn't play like Pokemon, and yet I spent a few points comparing the two. It's impossible to draw comparisons in games that both center around catching monsters and using them for battle.
Yo-Kai Watch's decidedly foreign lore doesn't trample an accessible series of lessons for children worldwide.
I'm interested to see if Nintendo will continue this series in America. There's definitely a lot of groundwork made in this game, but it's so unrefined that I really can't recommend buying this game. But keep an eye out for a sequel, because if the combat system was fixed, this game could have been a home run.
Overall, Yo-Kai Watch can't quite overcome the Pokémon juggernaut due to its various problems, but it's a good introduction for what could potentially be a financially viable series for Nintendo.
With its own cast of wacky and memorable monsters, Yo-Kai Watch sets itself apart from other RPGs with a unique battle system and captivating world.
Yo-Kai Watch might not be Pokémon, but it doesn't have to be. Level-5 and Nintendo have delivered a world filled with enough humor and charm that it stands more than well enough on its own. The game has some minor issues, but nothing is ever significant enough to trump what Yo-Kai Watch does so well. RPG veterans won't find the journey all that difficult, but younger fans and the young at heart will find plenty to love.
While a lot of missions boil down to a lot of fetching and running around, the charm behind the story and strategy-driven battling system create a fun world to explore and master. It's a fresh take on the genre that can pull in more than just Pokémon fans waiting on the next game. Yo-kai Watch is a surprising hit that builds on itself the more you play, demanding more thought and focus than its cheery exterior suggests.
So, while Yo-Kai Watch is pitched firmly at children, I found it to be utterly delightful, absorbing, and lengthy. I'm about 60 hours in, at the end of the main quest, but still have enough side quests to keep me going for a while. I can't see it resonating quite so powerfully in the west, and certainly Pokemon's extreme depth and competitive scene isn't going to be threatened by the gameplay on offer here. At the same time, there is a much stronger emphasis on the human characters, narrative, and setting in this adventure, and on that side of things, I haven't seen a game better suited for children (but one the adults can still enjoy) for quite some time.
Yo-Kai Watch is an amazing first game of a hopefully long series and you'll want to pick it up immediately and hop on the Yo-Kai Watch hype train.
Yo-kai Watch is definitely an all-ages RPG. Everything from the dialogue to the battle system feels very light-hearted, and that's definitely not a bad thing. With a huge amount of media related to it out there, being accessible to anyone who might want to play through it is a major strength. Despite its kid-friendly appearance, there's a lot to like here, either for fans of the animated series, or just for someone looking to pick up a low-stress RPG. With hugely appealing characters and highly addictive gameplay, Yo-kai Watch has really set itself up for long-lasting success as a franchise.
Yo-Kai Watch is a game that is probably going to be considered a Pokémon clone by many, but for me, it does things so much better. It’s visually stunning, with a deeper story than you might expect, as well as a much fresher take on the monster-collecting role-playing games that Pokémon made popular. If you’re on the fence about picking up this title, then I implore you to take the plunge and give it a go, you may just be pleasantly surprised. Yo-Kai Watch was an eye-opener for me and I’m glad that I got the chance to play this fantastic game. Fingers crossed we’ll be getting its sequels sometime soon!
Yo-kai Watch revels in the mischievous world that it inhabits, in equal parts charming as it is kooky.
Yo-Kai Watch is a remarkably refreshing, original, and charming take on not only the catch-em-all format, but RPGs in general.
Don't let Yo-Kai Watch's kiddie appeal fool you: It might not be as deep as your average, adult-style RPG, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Level-5's gradual evolution of their "house style" has amounted to a true successor to Pokemon—one entirely free of its predecessor's 8-bit baggage.