Yo-kai Watch (video game)

is a role-playing game and the first in the Yo-kai Watch video game series developed for the Nintendo 3DS by Level-5. It was released on July 11, 2013 in Japan, November 6, 2015 ,in North America, December 5, 2015, in Australia, April 29, 2016, in Europe and November 26, 2015, in South Korea.

During LEVEL-5 Vision 2016, it was announced that Yo-kai Watch would be released for Android and iOS devices as. On October 26, 2016, Akihiro Hino revealed that the game is delayed until 2017 and 2018 to feature high-end graphics, and that it’ll be easily playable ona smartphone with new controls and network compatibility.

Blurb
Weird and wonderful Yo-kai are everywhere!

Befriend over 200 different Yo-kai, all with their own unique personalities!

Use your Yo-Kai Watch to find Yo-kai troublemakers around town.

Strategize your attacks wisely...

To unleash powerful Soultimate Moves!

Download items via the Internet and challenge friends to local wireless battles!

Snap pics of Yo-kai hiding out in the real world with your in-game Yo-kai Cam!

Demo release
The game has an official demo in the that can be downloaded as of July 3, 2013, in Japan. When the game was localized in the west, the demo was released on October 22, 2015, in North America. The demo was released in Australia and New Zealand on November 27, 2015. On March 4, 2016, the demo was released in Europe after the Nintendo Direct presentation.

Demo plot
The game starts when Whisper tells Nathan to go outside and find some Yo-kai's. Once outside, a young girl comes to Nathan and asks him for his help. After negotiating with Whisper, Nathan agrees to help the young girl out. She tells Nathan that three Yo-kai's were causing trouble and revealed were the two are, but tells Nathan that he has to discover on his own were the third one is. After finding all three Yo-kai's, it is revealed that the young girl is in fact Dismarelda, which shocked both Nathan and Whisper. Nathan challenges Dismarelda, but loses, revealing that Nathan has to befriend many Yo-kai's. After that, the demo ends.

Battle system
Yo-kai Watch has an unique battle system were the Yo-kai fight on their own by using four strategies in battle, which those strategies are Attack, Technique, Guard, and Inspirit. Sometimes the Yo-kai may Loaf around, which if that happens, the player must be patient. If the player wants to help out their respective Yo-kai, they can unleash the Yo-kai Soultimate move. The player has to follow the instructions to fill up their Yo-kai's Soul Meter and unleash their Soultimate Move on the enemy Yo-kai. The player can also pin an Yo-kai, which makes the players Yo-kai focus everyone's attack on one enemy. If the pin hits the enemy, the player Yo-kai friends will target the pinned enemy. Some Yo-kai will Inspirit the player's Yo-kai, which will give them a hard time. Once the Yo-kai is inspirited, they are not able to fight as usual. If the player's Yo-kai is inspirited, they have to turn the Yo-kai Wheel to take out of battle, then the payer has to press Purify, to Purify the inspirited Yo-kai at the right times. If the player succeeds to purify the Yo-kai, they will return to normal and will receive experience points. If the player's Yo-kai HP is low, they can go to Item and feed them to recover HP. If the player will give the enemy Yo-kai food, they may end up becoming their friends. However, all Yo-kai have specific likes and dislikes. The player can only give one item to each enemy Yo-kai. The player can also make use of the Yo-kai Wheel, which they have to turn the wheel to change which Yo-kai will fight. The player has to check their enemy and their allies to choose the three best Yo-kai. If the player places Yo-kai of the same tribe, they will form an unity to take advantages in battle. Through Inspiriting, the player can affect other Yo-kai as well, which the Yo-kai can get good effects or bad effects. Know that every Yo-kai has a special skill, which some can reflect attacks and others can heal, they can also make usage of elemental techniques which the Yo-kai can be strong against some elements and weak against others.

Crank-a-kai
When the player receives Crank-a-kai coins or using Nintendo 3DS Play Coins, they can free a Yo-kai from the Crank-a-kai machine located at Mt. Wildwood. However, the player can make use of it for only three times each day. The player can receive those coins from Yo-kai Cam rewards or from treasure chests. The player can use the QR code at Piggleston Bank to get coins. If lucky, the player might receive a super-rare Yo-kai that can only be freed from the Crank-a-kai machine.

Yo-criminals
Yo-criminals are Yo-kai who have committed a crime. The player has to catch suspicious Yo-kai when they see them. If the player manages to catch them three times, they will receive one letter of a secret password. However, the player has to pay attention to see is the letter is capitalised or not. The player can also share notes with their friends to complete the passwords. Once receiving the passwords, the player can go to the second post office window in Uptown Springdale. The player has to ask Detective Holdit about the deadline for catching specific crimals.

Yo-kai Cam
With the Yo-kai Cam, the player can use the camera to detect Yo-kai. The player has to select Yo-kai Cam from the title menu in order to use it. They should take a photo of their frieds or family to see which Yo-kai Inspirits them. The player will receive rewards for snapping Yo-kai pictures and completing daily challenges.

Development
The game was first announced in the Japanese magazine which Level-5 revealed the game was in development.

On October 14, 2011, Level-5 announced a new game at their Level 5 Vision conference in Tokyo, and the title was revealed as Yo-kai Watch. Level-5 didn't reveal on which platform the game shall be released, as they revealed that it would be a multimedia project same as other franchises developed by Level-5. They did released a trailer showing a character with the ability to see and interact with ghosts. He can also use his ghost to battle against other ghosts as well.

On October 14, 2011, screenshots of the game has been revealed as well the screenshots of the anime of the series. October 13, 2012, Level-5 revealed that the game would be released for the Nintendo 3DS in a issue of the Japanese magazine CoroCoro.

Level-5 revealed the character as an 11-year old boy named Nathan Adams, which is also the main character of the game. Whisper and Jibanyan join Nathan and his watch helps him to find Yo-kai when he looks around town. It has revealed that some Yo-kai are friendly, while others are causing a ruckus in town and it's up to Nathan to defeat them with a party of three Yo-kai. They then revealed that the game takes place in a regular town named Springdale, and also revealed three other characters that are as well in the game. Katie, Eddie and Bear are all three of Nathan's friends as well as his classmates.

They revealed that Whisper is a ghost-like Yo-kai butler, Tattletell is mostly seen stuck on a human's face and Walkappa is a Yo-kai that loves water.

Western Localisation
In April 2015, Level-5 announced that would handle the localization of the game in the west. At the of 2015, Nintendo revealed the game by showing a segment of the dubbed anime with a release for the Fall season of that year.

Music
The Yo-kai Watch Original Soundtrack was composed by and it includes four discs. The first disc contains 40 tracks in total, which the second disc contains 44 tracks in total, which the third disc contains 48 tracks in total and the fourth disc is a bonus which includes three songs from the animation series.

Pre-order & Bundles
GameStop will give away a free Jibanyan medal if players in America pre-ordering the game at the store in which the medal work may vary. Nintendo of America revealed that there will be a Nintendo 2DS bundle containing the game with the cost of only $99,99. In Australia and New Zealand, the games will be bundled with the Nintendo 2DS on its release on December 5th with a cost of $169.95.

Promotion
When the game was released in North America, there was a launch party at the at the in the Rockefeller Center from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. People that attended the event met Akihiro Hino, the president of Level-5, as well getting an autograph from him from 1:00pm to 2:00pm.

Reception
Famitsu gave Yo-kai Watch a score of 36 of 40. Japanese reviewer Reona Ebihara wrote "The game gradually expands its feature set as you go, opening up this very unique world that's easy to melt into." as well "The 3D visuals work great, serving especially well to put you right there as you're searching for spirits in the grass. The battles proceed automatically but let you change formations and offer support in realtime, keeping things both simple and deeply strategic." Japanese writer Urara Honma added "The game balances collection, battle, and monster-raising in a really expert manner." as well "The battles use the touchscreen deftly to boost their strategic aspects; it feels really great to control. You won't run into much frustration playing this game, and while it does feel like one big fetch quest at times, the charms of the story more than make up for that."

Yo-kai Watch sold a total of 1.33 million copies in Japan. Since its release in North America and Europe, the game sold a total of 1.58 million copies.

Trivia

 * It took at least two years and four months that the game was released in North America and South Korea after its initial release in Japan. For Australia and New Zealand, it took at least two years and five months after its initial release in Japan. However, in Europe, it took at least three years and four months after its initial release in Japan.
 * The cover art differs from the original cover art. The one closest to the original cover art is that of North America, South Korea and Australia, while Europe has a very different cover art compared to the four.
 * The English version of Yo-kai Watch includes an opening video and a drawing of Jibanyan in the end credits which the Japanese version lacks due to the Japanese version being released first.

Legacy
After the release of the game in Japan, the franchise became a massive success among Japanese children, teenagers and even adults. The game sold in Japan a total of 1.33 million copies.

A year after the original release of Yo-kai Watch, the franchise released Yo-kai Watch 2 as well several releases of side games for the, and Nintendo 3DS. After the release of the initial Yo-kai Watch 2 game, a small follow-up known as Yo-kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters has released either digitally and physically for the Nintendo 3DS. The franchise is known to collaborate with different game companies, such as and.

After the mass popularity of Yo-kai Watch 2 in Japan, Level-5 became more serious to bring the series to the west. Yo-kai Watch was released in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea in 2015, while Europe had a release window in 2016. In Europe, 700,000 copies of Yo-kai Watch were sold, mostly in France. Despite the minor success it had in America, Yo-kai Watch 2 came out in North America in September 30, 2016, in a hope that the success of the franchise in Japan will also happen in North America.

The sequel to Yo-kai Watch 2, Yo-kai Watch 3 was announced by Level-5 and released on July 16, 2016, in Japan.