Yo-Kai Watch

[Seacliff]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT5YWlGikdE

This massive hit in Japan finally came out in America a bit over a week ago, two years after it's Japanese release. Not to mention arguably one of Pokemons best rivals to date. I downloaded it on the western launch day and been hooked ever since.

 

I'm not going to beat around the bush here, this franchise has a lot in common with Pokemon. You collect monsters, train them through battles, and they can even evolve. But unlike most Pokemon clones, it does enough different to stand on it's own two feet while still appealing to a similar audience. Some of these changes are for the better: with things like fusions, better writing, a new battle system, open world exploration, and touch encounters within dungeons. While others not so much: recruiting yo-kais are a bit random and you have an annoying stamina meter for running. Anyways, the game isn't perfect, but I still find it fun. Think of Fallout mixed with Kancolle (however that works). I say if you like monster collect games of any kind, you'll enjoy this.

 

To make things clear on how popular this series is in Japan, the games themselves have sold over 7 million copies (including spinoffs), Yokai Watch 2 outsold Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Saphire in Japan, and the first Movie based on the animated series became the highest grossing film in Japan since 2000. Altogether, in a bit over it's first year the franchise grossed over a billion. And since Nintendo is handling the localization, I wouldn't be surprised if this gets somewhere in the west as well.

 

So does anyone else here know about the franchise? There's a demo on the eshop (though I recommend you not base your opinion on the demo alone... it does not really does the game justice).

 

That's all I wanted to get off my chest. Feel free to post your thoughts on the franchise here.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Guest

[Ryuji]

I've looked into this before...and to be honest, I don't see why it outsold Pokemon. The designs of the Yo-kai I've seen aren't that great. I might try the demo just to get a feel for it.

[Seacliff]

I'll be honest, the yokai designs are hit-or-miss. Some I like, while others can just be as bad as Klefki from pokemon.

No offense for those who like Klefki.

[Ryuji]

I'll be honest, the yokai designs are hit-or-miss. Some I like, while others can just be as bad as Klefki from pokemon.

No offense for those who like Klefki.

 

Yeah....not counting Zygarde's other forms, I like all 720 Pokemon designs.......out of the several Yokai designs I've seen, I've liked very few of them. I do plan on giving it a fair chance though...since it did outsell Pokemon in Japan...I still can't believe that even though I read the article myself xP