BBQ USA

Yo-Kai Watch isn't quite as prevalent as it once was??. I mean just this week the flagship store for the serie??s announced its closure in Japan.

Despite its slow de?cline in public interest, the series is just ?as lively six years in. I'll take what I can get.

Yo-Kai Watch 3 (3DS)
Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Nintendo
MSRP: $39.99
Released: July 16, 2016 (JP) / December 7, 2018 (EU) / February 8, 2019 (US)

Yo-Kai Watch 3 is another creature-catchin' JRPG that continues the antics of previous games, though for better or worse, it doesn't necessarily add to an ongoing storyline outside of worldbuilding. Despite the "3" moniker, like Pokemon, you can jump in at anytime. Sure there's some in-jokes and anime references?? you might miss, but those are innocuous given that the secondary protagonist (Hailey) is new and the setup for Nate'?s story is "he's a kid who is moving to the USA  (called "BBQ" in-universe) and starting a new life with new friends. This time there's no "separate version SKU" problem to solve, at least in the west: it's one ultimate version of the game.

While the "swap at anytime" dual prota??gonist setup is jarring in many instances it works here, mostly thanks to some cute internet-based worldbuilding. In this un??iverse even the Yokai use smartphones and are connected to each other with their own spirit-centric infrastructure. As a result, even though Hailey and Nate are in completely different countries, their stories can naturally compliment each other before they fully converge near the conclusion. By playing a certain mission with Nate a companion may bring to light the existence of a certain app for Hailey's crew and vice-versa. It's interesting to watch it all play out.

Yo-Kai Watch 3 also sports a new combat mechanic focused around team positioning. Battling is still mostly automatic outside of player-triggered supers (Soultimates), items and choosing what creature to focus on, but now you have the power to swap party members around a 3x3 grid-based battlefield. Where your team ends up matters when it comes to Soultimate moves on both ends of the battle, on top of two core formations (lining?? up for extra power or getting behind creatures to shield damage). If you couldn't stand how passive the series was in the past it's a little more engaging now, even if a lot of the standard brawls are still rudimentary in that they don't require vigilance.

Boss fights are a different story, especially some of the endgame superboss encounters. You'll need to actually make haste when you're purifying your team, manage your positioning constantly and in some cases even cancel super attacks to get your team ready for an impending attack. But for the vast majority of the experience a lot of people aren't going to find it super deep and that's okay. If you want a consistently hardcore RPG experience maybe the Yo-Kai Watch series isn't for you.

No, I'm in it for the sheer ridiculousness of it all, the richness of the world, and the completely unexpected. The duo of "Blunder and Folly," an FBI-like team that investigates the "Y-Files," is solid gold. Yo-Kai Watch is just a fun world to be in, full of self-awareness and some rather adult humor underneat??h its seemingly saccharine skin. When Hailey completely dunks on her companion Usapyon right after he pours her heart out in front of her I lost it. While the JRPG questing and combat formula are traditional the rest feels uniquely authentic.

Very few games nail the feeling of traveling around the bustling cityscapes and countrysides of Japan (the Persona series comes to mind) and Yo-Kai Watch is in that exclusive club. Even something as outwardly rote like riding a train contains a certain degree of significance in Yo-Kai Watch given how genuine it is. In case you're wondering, some of the BBQ (USA) humor consists of low-hanging fruit that's been done decades before in Tex Avery cartoons, but it rarely reaches groan-worthy status. Wa??tching the dichotomy unfold between the two cultures through ??Nate and Hailey's eyes bolsters the concept.

There's a massive Twin Peaks reference that's baked into the Busters side missions (that are much more fun as a gaiden type thing and not a full game), slice of life conversations about magical girls on Japanese transit and creatures like Treeter: a plant who spends all their time tweeting and has the tired red eyes to prove it. The world of Yo-Kai Watch is just as completely wholesome as it is bizarre and disturbing. There's nothing quite like it and it goes places Nintendo wouldn't dare to go with Pokemon.

I've rated all three main Yo-Kai Watch games the same because they're all on the level. All three (released in the west so far) are somew??hat held back by a simplistic combat system but boast an infinite amount of charm. There are very few games that can make me smile the entire way through and that counts for a lot.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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You can start with the impending third game

Nintendo is continuing to assist Level-5 in publishing the Yo-Kai Watch series outside of Japan, and the latest game, Yo-Kai Watch 3, is about to hit US shores on February 8.

To help facilitate any missed story beats the Big N just released a new trailer that will catch folks up, giving them the rundown on the first two games followed by a brief setup for the third. To be clear here, it's okay if the newest entry is your first. Yo-Kai Watch is kind of like Pokemon in that regard. A?lthough the former does star the same character for the vast majority of the series, you can just jump in carefree and only miss out on a f??ew select homages and Easter eggs.

If you want to see what Yo-Kai Watch is all about you can start from the third game without any major issues: especially with the change in setting for the main protagonist Nate, who moves to St. Peanutsburg, BBQ (USA) at the start of Yo-Kai Watch 3. The other 50% of the campaign deals with newcomer Hailey in Japan, the?? franchise's traditional setting.

As a note, Level-5 has done away with the "multiple release" concept in the west: it's just one bundled SKU outside of Japan (a combination of Sushi and Tempura, otherwise known as the third Sukiyaki ultimate edition).

The post Get caught up ?with the Yo-Kai Watch s??toryline in under two minutes appeared first on Destructoid.

February 8, 2019

Although it's not nearly as prevalent as it once was, I'm still very much attached to the Yo-Kai Watch series.

The cartoon is a great way to relax, Level-5 has pivoted into several different directions with it, the toys are cute, and the mainline games deliver an old school RPG charm. For two years now we've been waiting on news of Yo-Kai Watch 3's localization: if it was going to happen at all, a??nd as of today, we have a firm release date from Nintendo.

Yep, it's officially confirmed for February 8, 2019, and will bring the additional heroine Hailey along for the ride. Hilariously it's focused on the core protagonist Nate's move to the USA, complete with "Merican" Yo-kai. In Japan there were three versions: Sushi and Tempura at launch, followed by Sukiyaki as the third "Platinum-esque" edition.

Nintendo has not shared their plans for splitting them up in the west, but it's a solid bet as they did just that for Yo-Kai Watch 2 and Busters.

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We would like to clay

How could you possibly make Jibanyan cosplaying Indiana Jones even more cute? Make it into a clay animation (or claymation) of course. These short but sweet TV spots kind of make me wish the whole game was ??a 3D clay-animated adventure. I'll accept a spin-off title as well.

The last major game to be done completely in this style was Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, where they purposely gimped the frame-rate to make it look like clay animation. Rainbow Curse along with ClayFighter and Skullmonkeys were all 2D games. I'd like to see full-scale, AAA 3D game done in clay?mation, ??but I do wonder if I wouldn't get tired of it while playing. Particularly that part about low frame-rate.

In any case they also uploaded a short video on the ?making of these commercials. It's really fascinating seeing the process behind such stuff. Granted ??these are short ads, but I would enjoy a more detailed look at the process.

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A promo for Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki

While things looked bleak for Yo-Kai Watch localizations just over a year ago, we've since gotten two main entries in that period in the west. Level-5 is pushing it hard overseas, and even though it hasn't reached Japan's level of success, they're still trying. The odds of us getting the third game are pretty high too, given that half of the wor??ld is based on the United States.

But while we're still waiting for that one Japan is getting Sukiyaki -- a third version akin to Pokemon Platinum that m??ixes and meshes some extra content. It'll drop on December 15 over there, and you can get a look at what's to come in?? the trailer below.

The biggest thing of note? The Indiana Jibanynan costume, which comes into play in the new gametype Yo-Kai Watch Blasters Treasure -- a four player dungeon cr??awling mode.

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Yoderu Yoderu Yoderu!

Yo-kai Watch 3 Sushi and Tenpura are officially getting a younger brother called Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki that'll release on December 17 in Japan to line up with the release of the third Yo-kai Watch movie. The first two versions released ba??ck in April in Japan. Going on name alone this one will be the tastiest since I've never been a huge sushi guy.

It's tempting to think that it's going to be an improved version a la Pokemon Yellow or Pokemon Crystal, but a better analogy would be what was originally planned as the original Pokemon Red, Green, and Blue.

The three will form will be mostly equivalent and by connecting all three versions will result in the appearance of "God Yo-kai" according to magazine scans. So you know, nothing like Pokemon. The story will tie in to the movie as well.

If you were unaware, this iteration of the insanely popular series (in Japan anyway) will take place in the good ole USA and will feature new Yo-kai nat??ive to America, including this badass called "Nyaaminator" or "Meowiminato?r:" 

Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki Announced [Gematsu]

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Love the voices

Jibanyan is the mascot of Yo-Kai Watch for a? reason -- people love cats, and they're the best.

Level-5 is doubling down on the nyan too, as Yo-Kai Watch 3 will have a full on "My nyan" create-a-cat feature, which accommodates vocal and costume options. Who wouldn't want a creepy king cat with an old man's voice? If you look down at the second screen on a repeated viewings, you can see a lot of the option??s that'll be available. 

Yo-Kai Watch 3 is arriving in Japan on July 16, 2016. The second game was just announced for the west.

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'The Y-File'

It looks like Level-5 had a lot of fun creating Yo-Kai Watch 3, which takes place in both Japan and the US. That includes the blatant X-Files reference in the form of the "Y-File" invest??igators Marder and Kakurii, which looks to be a full, amazing questline.

Gematsu also reports that the game will feature a "create your own Nyan" system where you can customize a cat Yo-kai, a "Zombie Night" minigame that operates similarly to the Oni one in the first title, and a built-in rhyhtm game featuring "Nya-KB" (read: a cat-themed version of the popular idol group AKB48.

I really love this dual region theme they're going for he??re, and I hope they nail the ridiculousness of the US and don't pull any punches.

Yo-kai Watch 3 deta??ils Nyan Create, ??Zombie Night, more [Gematsu]

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It's coming in a few weeks

Yo-kai Watch 3 will arrive in two flavors when it hits Japan on June 16 -- Sushi and Tempura (for reference, that's two different 3DS versions) -- and will be set in America. You can take a look at the new battle system below, as well as the announcement that it will contain over 600 Yo-Kai to befriend (it's catching up on Pokemon's 721!).

I'm constantly confused as to the performance of this series overseas. It seems to be doing well enough to warrant a release of the second game in the west, but is that essentially being bankroll??ed b??y the money Level-5 is making hand over fist in Japan? They still haven't revealed sales numbers for it, and I hope it's sustainable enough to warrant future localizations -- lest we get invested and find out the great experiment is over.

But I'm just rambling. I'm glad we live in a world where Pokemon and Yo-Kai both exist.

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Yo-Kai Watch 2 localization also confirmed

Yo-Kai Watch is heading to 'Merica (thematically and literally, in-game, that is) in its ?third iteration, which&n?bsp;will feature absurd caricatures from the US like cowboy and food-based creatures (so good!).

Also, Jibanyan, the adorable cat mascot, is getting his own western form as "USA-Pyon," who was experimented on by "NASU." But beyond the setting shift there's also a number of upcom??ing changes, including a new grid-based action system that once again makes use of the 3DS' unique ??stylus capabilities. Check it out for yourself in the video below -- I'm digging it!

Yo-Kai Watch 3 will hit Japan on July 13. The second game was just confirmed for a September 30 release in the US.

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Oh my god look at all the cats

Level-5 recently shared some brand new info regarding Yo-Kai Watch 3, including a trailer and some other tidbits. For starters it will sport two main ch?aracters -- Keita (Nate in the west) has moved to the US as a result of his Dad's career c??hange, and Misora Inaho who resides in Japan. It will also sport a brand new 3x3 grid-based battle system that differs from the first two entries.

Most of you predicted some awesome American Yo-Kai variants, and yes, there are food and cowboy creatures! Hilariously, there is a new cat variation called "USA-Pyon" the firs??t animal sent into space by NASU, who also runs a detective agency with Misora in Japan. This series is wacky beyond belief and I love it.

There's still no word on whether or not the west is getting Yo-Kai Watch 2, much less 3.

Yo-kai? Watch 3: more details, second traile??r, screenshots, boxarts, more [Perfectly Nintendo]

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'Sushi and Tempura'

According to CoroCoro, Yo-Kai Watch 3 will arrive in Japan on June 16. It's set for the 3DS platform once again, and will come in Sushi and Tempura varieties, just like Pokemon Red and Blue. As a note, Yo-Kai Watch 2 ended up getting a third version a la Pokemon Platinum, which is probably? the one we'll get eventually in the west, and? likely the strategy for the third game.

In a change of pace for a series that typically is set in Japan, the third iteration will instead take place in "St. Peanutsburg." If the food moniker didn't tip you off,?? it's set somewhere in the United States. It will also feature "American Yo-Kai," which has the potential to be pretty amazing.

Yo-kai Watch 3 launches in Sushi and Tempu??ra versions on July 16 in? Japan [Yo-Kai Watch 3]

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Whoa!

Level-5 has big plans for the Yo-Kai Watch franchise beyond the localization of the first game in 2016. It's also gone and announced three more titles in the franchise last night, including Yo-Kai Watch 3, Yo-kai Watch: Three Kingdoms (with Koei Tecmo), and Yo-Kai Watch Busters.

The first two are RPG-centric but the latter will be more action oriented, taking a page out of a m?inigame from the second core title. All of them are for the 3DS.

Level-5 seems to know exactly what its doing, as the third game is not only set in America, but Busters is a clear homage to Ghostbusters. Hopefully the first game does well enough in the West to keep this gravy train running??, as I like what I've played of the Japanese version.

Yo-Kai Watch 3, Three Kingdoms [Level-5]

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