The Yo-kai Watch: Gather One, Gather All collaboration event is back in Final Fantasy XIV for the fourth time, giving players another chance to get their hands on the many minions, weapons, and mounts available only during the crossover. The event starts on April 24, 2024, at 1 a.m. PDT and ends June 27 (Patch 7.0, Dawntrail).

This time, there's only one new reward in FFXIV with the Yo-kai Watch event: a limited Framer's Kit. However, if you're new �or just didn't finish the grind last time �FFXIV has a ton of collectibles to grind out in this collaboration. But don't worry, we've got quite some time, and I've got how to get every FFXIV Yo-kai Watch collab reward explained here.

Where does the FFXIV x Yo-kai Watch event start?

The Yo-kai Watch event begins in Ul’dah with the Poor-heeled Youth on the Steps of Nald (X:9.2, Y:9.1). He'll give ?you the quest A Complete Game Changer, and, upon completion, three key items for the jo?urney ahead:

• Yo-kai Watch
• Yo-kai Medallium
• (1) Yo-kai Medal

To begin, you must be level 15 a?nd complete the Gridanian,? Lominsan, or Ul'dahn Envoy Main Scenario quest.

How to earn Yo-kai Medals in the FFXIV collaboration event

Essentially, FFXIV offers two 'currency' types in the limited-time event, and old medals from previous iterations of the Yo-kai Watch collab are still redeemable, too. There are the typical FATE rewards, Yo-kai Medals, and then the minion-??dependent Legendary Yo-kai Medals.

Yo-kai Medals, exchanged for minions

To earn Yo-kai medals in the collaboration event, grind FATEs in certain zones and complete them with a rating of Silver or higher. Remember, you must wear the Yo-kai Watch accessory while grinding FATEs. Otherwise, it won't count.

Legendary Yo-kai Medals, exchanged for weapons

Legend??ary Yo-kai Medals are also earned through completing FATEs with a rating of Silver or higher, but the Medals you earn depend on which Yo-kai minion you have summoned. There is a special, corresponding Yo-kai Watch weapon for every minion. Again, always wear your Yo-Kai Watch bracelet while farming medals.

Whoops! What should you do if you threw away your Yo-kai Watch?

If you threw away?????????????????????????? your Yo-kai Watch bracelet for the collaboration event, head t??o any city-state and locate the Calamity Salvager. The NPC will sell you another accessory to replace anything you've tossed on accident.

How to get all Yo-kai Watch minions in FFXIV

After collecting your first Yo-kai Medal, head to the Gold Saucer and speak with Nohi (X:5.2, Y:6.9). The ??first minion is available fo?r just one Yo-kai Medal, but every minion after costs three Yo-kai Medals. 

To get every FFXIV Yo-kai Watch collaboration minion, you must gather 49 Yo-kai Medals in total.

Additionally, you cannot summon any of these minions until you collect 13 of them �though this rule only applies during the ev?ent. That's 37 Yo-Kai Medals required to summon a minion, and there are 17 total.

Every FFXIV Yo-kai Watch minion

• Jibanyan
• Komasan
• USApyon
• Whisper
• Shogunyan
• Hovernyan
• Komajiro
• Noko
• Venoct
• Kyubi
• Robonyan F-type
• Blizzaria
• Manjimutt
• Lord Enma
• Lord Ananta
• Zazel
• Damona

How to get all Yo-kai Weapons in FFXIV

You’ll need to get yo?ur hands on Legendary Yo-kai Medals if you want to collect th?e Yo-kai weapons available during this event. 

As of the Shadowbringers iteration of the Yo-kai collaboration event, there are 17 total weapons to col??lect. To get them, you’ll need to summon specific minions and complete FATEs in designated loca??tions. These locations are specified within the Yo-kai Medallium. 

How to get every Yo-kai Watch mount in FFXIV

There are three mounts to collect in the Yo-kai Watch event in FFXIV, all of which require some degree of FATE grinding. Whisper-go was available in the initial version of the collaboration, while the Jibanyan Couch was added in Shadowbringers.

How to get the Yo-kai Watch Framer’s Kit in FFXIV

The Framer’s Kit will unlock for purchase only after you’ve collected all 17 Yo-kai Minions. To get it, head back to the Gold Saucer and talk to Nohi once again, who will sell the Fra?mer’s Kit to you for 20,??000 MGP.

If you're among those who completed the event years ago, Nohi should be waiting for you in the Gold Saucer, you won'?t need to begin the event again in Ul'dah.

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I hope Yo-Kai Watch lives on in some form

Yo-Kai Watch Smarpho (smartphone) is coming very soon, as Level-5 continues to mine the well of former Yo-Kai Watch popularity. The mobile edition will be released on July 10 in Japan, which is basically right now in JST. It's 1,220 yen if you grab it before August 16: at wh?ich point it'll revert to the permanent price of 1,960 yen. That's b?asically six bucks off if you get it early.

So what is it? Well it's actually just a re-release of the original game; the game that started the craze in Jap?an, and the attempt at domination in the?? west.

If you're somehow in the un?ique position to play this, do it! There's a reason the first title (and subsequent games) caught on, as the main series is actually a pretty fun JRPG romp, with several unique mechanics and a very vibrant cute world. For 10 bucks ??you can't really go wrong, though the original has dropped to around that much on 3DS, so you have options.

There's a lot more Yo-Kai Watch in Level-5's future too, with several spinoffs in the works. Sadly, Yo-Kai Watch 4 still hasn't been localized, and Nintendo (who has been handling it in the west) has seemingly given up on this series. Level-5's western HQ is also shuttered, so the chances of t??he fourth entry actually seeing the light of day o??utside of Japan are very slim.

You can't say that Level-5 didn't try. I saw a ton of merch flood many US stores around the release of the first game overseas, and the team completely reworked a new anime series to appeal to an older crowd. It just didn't work out. You can read up on the whole history of Yo-Kai Watch here!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHuxYhlTyC4

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'A different type of system'

Level-5 CEO AkihiroHino has announced that there's going to be yet another Yo-Kai Watch game, and based on the current slow timetable, it might be Japan-onl??y for quite some time (or forever).

The title is Yo-Kai Academy Y, and is based on the new Academy spinoff series that focuses on more out-there comedy in contrast to their tepidly received Shadowside focus. Hino's tweet says that he has his work cut out for him given that he's juggling more Yo-Kai films?? and games, but this one will feature "a different type of system" compared to?? the mainline games.

In true Level-5?? fashion (they hop around, platform-wise) we don't have confirmati?on of what systems it's going to land on. Switch is likely, but you never know! Level-5 has also been jumping into bed with the PS4 after franchise sales have been slumping in recent years.

Like all Yo-Kai Watch related media (and I may be the only one in the US), I hope it comes west. I'm still kind of miffed that the films were never localized outside of the fir?st.

AkihiroHino [Twitter]

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December 5

Level-5 has shared what's next for Yo-Kai Watch: an expansion for the fourth game!

Due out on December 5, the content is called Yo-Kai Watch 4++, and will include "Fun elements such as new areas and new monsters in multiplayer." The expansion will be bundled in physical form for 6,480 yen (roughly $60) or as an upgrade for existing owners for 1650 yen (about $15). In a blink and you'll mi?ss it moment, Level-5 also says that the DLC will arrive on PS4 at the same time as the Switch version, which all but confirms that the PS4 port is coming on or before th?at date.

Note that Yo-Kai Watch 4 still isn't out in the west. Hell, it still doesn't even have a release date in the west! Once the "++" expansion is out though, we can likely expect a compilation with that included. Though, the whole PS4 thing might throw a wrench in Nintendo's localization plans, who have ??handled the entire series thus far in t?he west (on 3DS).

Yo-Kai Watch [Twitter]

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Will support cloud saves and two players locally/online

In case you haven't heard, Level-5 isn't giving up on Yo-Kai Watch. The fourth game arrived on Switch in Japan earlier this year, and the publisher?? is re?-releasing the original on the same platform very soon.

A new Switch landing page for the game gives us the rundown on what to expect, with the file size clocking in at 4.1GB, wi?th support for both online and local play. Similarly, an updated trailer not only explains the gist of what Yo-Kai are (mischievous beings that often inhabit everyday objects), but also provides a look at the updated visual style.

Re-releasing Yo-Kai Watch 1 is a weird prospect indeed, as the sequels do drastically improve upon pretty much everything the foundation of the original game laid down (the second game even retreads upon a lot of the same story beats, so you can jump right in). But if you really want to get in on the ground floor, it's not a bad place to start: its charm trumps a ton of other current JRPGs, and logic would dictate that Level-5 will eventually give us Yo-Kai Watch 2 and 3 on Switch.

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Is there an audience for this with Sony?

The Yo-kai Watch series has been Level-5's bread and butter for the past few years, securing solid releases on mobile and the Nintendo 3DS. While it was huge in Japan for quite some time, it never caught on in the west, even if Yo-kai Watch 3 is one of the most charm??ing titles of the year. Maybe it'll?? have better luck on PlayStation 4.

Just in time for Tokyo Game Show, Level-5 uploaded a new trailer to its YouTube page announcing a PlayStation 4 port of Yo-Kai Watch 4. The game, which was confirmed for a western release earlier this year, launched over the summer in Japan on Nintendo Switch. It's curre?ntly unknown if both or only one version will make it stateside, but the more people who get to try it out, the better.

Hopefully, we'll find out more on the western release before the year is over. With the recent ESRB rating of Snack World, a rumored new Layton, and Inazuma Eleven: Ares st??ill on the horizon, it looks like Level-5 might be gearing itself?? up for a big comeback.

Yo-Kai Watch 4 [Level-5]

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'Nooooooooo wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'

Just a few weeks ago the original Yo-Kai Watch was announced for Switch by way of a strange YouTube cartoon promotion; but now everything is officially official, complete with a website and release date and everything. Level-5 is bringing 2013's 3DS phenomenon to the Switch on October? 10 in Japan for 4,980 yen, which is roughly $45 USD.

It seems to be a straight remaster with touched-up visuals and toy compatibility, as there isn't a lot of fanfare about new content and the like on the landing page. While this is great news for Switch owners, if you own a 3DS you may as well just enjoy ??the series in its portable form — especially given that the second game retreads on a lot of what made the first one great with mechanical enhancements in tow.

If you haven't pulled the trigger on the series a?t all yet and the idea of experiencing it on Switch is enticing you, picking up the remaster isn't a bad option (assuming it comes west, which it should as all the major games have so far compliments of Nintendo). There's still plenty of charm there and the first game really gives you an idea of how this series caught on out of the gate.

Or you could say "noooooooo wayyyyyyyyyy" and hold out for Yo-Kai Watch 2 on Switch.

Yo-Kai Watch Switch [Level-5]

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Yo-Kai Watch 4 just arrived on Switch in Japan

Amid less-than-stellar sales (compared to their past conquests), Level-5 is looking to re-invent the Yo-Kai Watch series. The 3DS, which the franchise has predominantly hitched its wagon to, is on its way out, and the Switch is the new hotness. Naturally Level-5 saw this trend and swapped with their latest entry, Yo-Kai Watch 4, but now they're doubling, and p?ossibly tripling or quad??rupling down.

As revealed by way of the Dennoji Reto YouTube channel, Level-5 is bringing the first Yo-Kai Watch game to the Nintendo Switch. This is a pretty big moment for the series, as a new generation? of potential fans are now privy to entry, which will apparently arrive in September in Japan. Of course, the Switch Lite is featured heavily in the video, and the series has come full circle, highlighting its relevance on a portable-only device once again.

Hopefully this leads to the aforementioned extra-dipping with the release of Yo-Kai Watch 2 and 3 on the Switch. You can pretty much jump right into 2 immediately without missing much, and 3 is exceedi?ngly hard to find in the west, with physical copies going for upwards of $70 or more when stock is out.

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Yooooo, yoooooooo, yo-kai are everywhere

[Update: Oh, Level-5 confirmed it's actually coming west today at Anime Expo! Literally no info is available on timing or much at all really, out??side of the fact that it will have an English dub, and bits and pieces will require context from films that have not been localized (no films outside of the first have made it outside?? of Japan officially, though that may change).]

Yo-Kai Watch 4 has arrived on Switch in Japan after several delays, and now it's the only mainline Yo-Kai Watch game that hasn't been release??d in the west. Given the waning popularity of the 3DS and the insane reach of the Switch the timing couldn't be more perfect, as an eventual localization will make a much bigger ??splash on the latter system.

Of course we still don't know when that's happening, but Level-5 has already announced their post-launch DLC plans for Japan. Yo-Kai Watch 4 is getting several DLC updates, and as detailed on the official site some is free and some is paid: the lat??ter of which is a rarity for the series (and creature capture g?ames in general).

In early July the first free patch will arrive, followed by a free patch in August with a new map, a superboss,?? and more Yo-Kai. Later this year paid DLC comes, including multiplayer that allows you to "fight alongside friends and family," as well as more Yo-Kai and "other var??ious updates."

Note that the localization of Yo-Kai Watch 4 is not a gimme like it was in the past when the series was printing money, as the Switch iteration only pushed roughly 150,000 copies when it debuted in Japan: the lowest number yet for the franchise. Ri?ght now Leve?l-5 is sort of getting back to basics with the series, trying to recapture the magic it once had when it peddled sold out watch toys and the advertising power eclipsed Pokemon's reach.

Yo-Kai Watch 4 DLC [Level-5 via Gematsu]

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Now due on June 20

What was?? once due before the madness of E3, is now set to arrive a??fter.

The highly anticipated Yo-Kai Watch 4 was set to launch in Japan on June 6, but has now been quickly pushed to June 20 just weeks before release. This is one of several delays for the first mainline console entry, with Level-5 stating repeatedly that th??e cause is qualit??y related.

As I've talked about many times before, Level-5 is at a tipping point with Yo-Kai Watch 4. The series hasn't caught on as well as they'd hoped in the west, but a fully 3D Ni No Kuni-looking Switch RPG is their best bet for really hitting it big. Various Yo-Kai Watch media franchises have been course correcting several times recently (from an adorable humor-based anime series to edgy, back to humor) and it's clear Level-5 has been putting a lot of time into Yo-Kai Watch 4.

Whatever happens, whenever this thing comes out it'll severely impact where th??e series goes f??rom here.

Yo-Kai Watch 4 [Level-5 via Gematsu]

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Check out the intro below

Yo-Kai Watch went into a different direction a few years ago and it didn't quite ?work out. Naturally, Level-5 is going? back to their roots.

The intro to the Switch-exclusive Yo-Kai Watch 4 is basically a greatest hits of the series, showing off Nate and Hailey, two of the main protagonists of the original run, alongside of Shadowside characters. Shadowside, as you may recall, was Level-5's attempt to bring some edge into their universe to appeal to an aging demographic, but the company has since backpedaled from that concept. Not only are they introducing a new anime series with a more comical theme, but they're also leaning heavily into nostalgia with Yo-Kai Watch 4.

We'll see just how success?ful they are when it launches during E3 season in Japan on June 6. Western fans still don't have a release window, ?but Nintendo hasn't failed them yet, despite less than anticipated sales.

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Did anyone else notice that creature in the corner?

Yo-Kai Watch 4 was going through some growing pains last year, but after a seasonal delay it seems like the game is back on track. Box art is locked in, it's still a Switch e?xclusive, and it's set for a June 6 releas??e, just in time for E3 excitement season.

Before that rolls around though (and folks all over the world look to import it, given our western-less time frame), 4Gamer gave us a look at what's to come. First up is Yo-makai, a location from one of the films that will be a hotspot in the game, as well as the fact that there will be six tot??al ?swappable protagonists that each have their own powers.

Party members can now be gained with an additional mechanic called "Soul Matchmaking," which is led by a super cute (but kind of sinister) monkey butler. Several new Yo-Kai, a few of which have creepier "darkside" versions, are also confirmed, as well as four new Yo-Kai Watch physical toys. If you're just getting into Yo-Kai Watch, you can read our full guide/explainer here.

So uh, how about that guy in the corner in the above Yo-makai screen?

Yo-Kai Watch 4 [4Gamer via Siliconera]

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I'm still anxious to see how Yo-Kai watch 4 turns out

I've talked at length recently about how important Yo-Kai Watch 4 is for the franchise, and this week during their annual Yo-Kai Watch event, Level-5 seemed to stress the same? thing while sharing plans for where the series is going in the future.

As for the anime portion, it seems as if Shadowside (the darker-tinted TV series that took over after the more lighthearted and great original) is done. Now Level-5 will focus on a third anime project that's more like the original (complete with Keita/Nate's full return) with even more of a comedic focus. This is all happening alongside of Yo-Kai Watch Jam, which will branch out into other genres as well as kick off a new film called Yo-kai Academy: Can a Cat Become a Hero?, which is a??bout students?? who can fuse with spirits.

All of this seems like an attempt to soft reboot the series back to its roots following the attempt to garner an older audience. While Level-5 stops short of calling the Shadowside initiative underwhelming, it does re-iterate that the series was always aimed at all-a??ges rather than just kids.

While the characters loo??k?? cute on paper, the original show (and games occasionally) does dig into some deep topics like death, family trauma and even alcohol/substance abuse. I most definitely agree with the "all ages" sentiment and I hope this new pivot keeps the series going for a long while.

In the meantime Japan will get the latest game in the series, Yo-Kai watch 4: Looking up at the Same Sky on June 6. You can watch the new trailer below. It looks fa??ntastic and if Level-5 plays their cards right, it could revitalize the series worldwide: not just in Japan.

Yo-Kai Watch [Famitsu via Siliconera]

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Still aiming for a 2019 release on Switch

There's a lot riding on Yo-Kai Watch 4.

As I explained in my lengthy takedown of the series, Level-5 has witnessed the appeal of the series wane over time and is now throwing a Hail Mary at the Nintendo Switch. Still due sometime this year following a delay, Yo-Kai Watch 4 is poised to bring the lovable world back into the spotlight with a full 3D open world concept that looks a whole lot like a Ni No Kuni game. With an expanded battle system and a ??generation-spanning narrative, it has a lot of promise.

You can get a good look at the RPG below by way of World Hobby Fair 2019 footage if you're a curious importer or reside in Japan. Yes those provisos are definitely a thing: Level-5 has not confirmed a western window for Yo-Kai Watch 4 yet. With any luck thei??????????????????????????r f?aithful publishing partner Nintendo will pull through and distribute it outside of Japan.

'Let's Play' gameplay videos [Gematsu]

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Gera Gera Po

With the recent western launch of Yo-Kai Watch 3 I've had a lot of people ?asking me if it's worth getting into the series. Short answer? "Yes."

Although its popularity has waned outside of Japan, for all intents and purposes the franchise has completed its first arc. Nothing has been can?celed, just wrapped up and reworked into the grittier future-flung "Shadowside" storyline; whic?h already has a new anime series and is set to debut on the Nintendo Switch this year in Japan.

Since I'm g??oing to be asked the above question time and time again through that launch, I figured it would be nice to have a central hub to point to.

Where do you start? Anywhere

The best place to jump into the series is with the 3DS trilogy. You can find the first one for roughly $20 and the second game, which launched with two "versions" (think Pokemon, with different creatures), now has a third ultimate edition. Yo-Kai Watch 3 is also fresh off the cart printer after a two-year wait. Here's the thing though, you really can start anywhere. There's a few in-jokes you might not fully grasp if you pick up Yo-Kai Watch 2 or 3 first, but?? both entries do a good job of catching ?you up to speed.

The "gimmick" of the original is basically just introducing you to a world where yokai (which exist in Japanese folklore) are present. These rambunctious spirits are anything from benevolent to violent and occasionally "haunt" people to influence their behavior. Although many comparisons to Pokemon have been used in the past (including above), Yo-Kai Watch sets itself apart with a more carefree slice-of-life tone. Nate Adams, the "Ash" of the series, isn't always saving the world or training to be a world class master fighter. It also isn't afraid to take on more mature themes or make a self-aware poke at consumerism.

Sometimes your quest is to get ice cream and be back before bedtime. Or, to solve a haunting and make a friend along the way by acquiring their "medal," thus adding them to your party. It's all rather unpredictable yet chill, which is why I'm so drawn to it. Yo-Kai Watch is content with slowing things down just enough so you can enjoy the countryside?? of Japan and laugh while you're doing it: that's a rare gift.

The second game's gimmick involves traveling to Japan's past 60 years ago and once again, you can just start there as the core of the original is summed up in the first few hours. If combat is really important to you (it is to me, sure, but I prefer worldbuilding first and foremost in an RPG) you'll want to start with Yo-Kai Watch 3. The first two entries sport a more simplistic combat system that you might find too passive. Other current western releases include Yo-Kai Watch Blasters, an action-oriented spinoff with a mixed reception. I'd wait to see if you love all three main entries before you dive into that one (Yo-Kai Watch 3 also has a modified, more engaging form of Busters baked into i??ts storyline).

Here are our reviews for Yo-Kai Watch, Yo-Kai Watch 2, Yo-Kai Watch 3 and the first Busters (known as Blasters in the west).

What should you check out after one of the games?

Your first stop is the anime.

Currently you can stream the inaugural season and original feature film on Netflix, though the show airs on Disney XD. I recommend watching the movie after you've finished the first season. After that y?ou'll need to track down the remaining two seasons (most of which is available for purchase on Amazon Video). The original run of the anime aired between 2014 and 2018 in Japan and consists of 214 roughly 20-minute episodes, most of which have multiple storylines or shorts.

Following the OG narrative, Level-5 moved on to the aforementioned Shadowside show that features Nate's kids and many of the same characters, just slightly more formidable with more of a focus on action. Shadowside, as well as the second, third, fourth, and fifth films have not been released in the west. The fourth movie is ??a lead-in for this new generation and the fifth is a prequel.

Why didn't it succeed in the west?

Reasons why Yo-Kai Watch didn't break through outside of Japan include but are not limited to: the fact that Japanese folklore always had a limited appeal in the west, that Level-5 took too long between localized releases and didn??'t strike while the iron was hot, there were too many cooks in the kitchen and too many licenses to juggle with the massive rapid cross-media push, different toy SKUs caused confusion in Japan and burned out collectors and? of course...luck.

Originally Yo-Kai Watch debuted in Japan in 2013 and reached its absolute peak a year later in 2014 when the sequel arrived. Having been to Japan during that time I saw this boom happen with my own eyes: there were more Yo-Kai Watch advertisements and merch flowing in the streets of Tokyo than any other property, Pokemon included. Even people I spoke to that didn't play games were aware of the series and knew of Jibanyan, the cat mascot. The catchiness of the main theme helped and many folks worldwide are already aware of some of the creatures like the Kappa and the Tengu, which have proliferated mainstream culture. Disney World e?ven had an exhibit for m??any years in the Japan portion of Epcot that featured several yokai.

Reality set in for the west in mid-2016, when the first game was released in North America and pushed 400,000 units on 3DS. Level-5 noted that the mark was "below expectations," but was still happy. By comparison, it cro?ssed the 1.3 million mark in just over a year in Japan. Level-5 had to temper their expectations and make some cuts.

Hasbro was the first to leave, abandoning the toy line in North America in 2017. Contracts were reworked for the English cast of the anime, replacing them with a new production company for season three. Yo-Kai Watch Dance, Sangokushi (the cool-looking SRPG Three Kingdoms spinoff), and Yo-Kai Watch Blasters 2 remain Japan-only along with ??a heap of mob?ile games.

What's next for the series?

Yo-Kai Watch is still very much alive, though the fo??urth game on Switch will in many ways decide if the fate of the series is sealed in J?apan (that is, if a localization is even announced).

Going from a 55.2 billion yen boom in 2014 to below six billion yen in the last few years isn't a failure. As I hypothesized above, it just means Level-5 needs to reevaluate its "open the floodgates" style in the past that relied on so many other outside parties and stick with what works. Right now, that's releasing numbered games in the west with the partnership of Nintendo, who has stuck by them for the past four years. Outside of Japan, the toys (and series) also do very well in some parts of Europe and Animax Asia has licensed the rest of the original anime series and Shadowside. There is a market, it's j??ust not as ravenous as ant??icipated.

Shadowside seems to be the future of the series. The idea this time around is that each Yokai has a "light and dark" form, allowing them to get cute or get terrifying on a moment's notice. Think of it like the series reaching its Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban moment. Having seen the show I think it mostly works (even if it's not nearly as great as the original), and the reception at tradeshows for Yo-Kai Watch 4 has been overwhelmingly positive in light of a delayed launch (just look at this screen ??with Japan's majesty in the background: it's like Ni No Kuni?? level beautiful, which Leve?l-5 also handles).

I'm almost all caught up on the original anime run and I'm up to date with all of the localized games. If Yo-Kai Watch is going to be relegated to Japan going forward I'll be disappointed, but it makes perfect sense. Just because that's happening, though, it doesn't mean that Yo-Kai Watch isn't worth getting into.

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BBQ USA

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

Despite its slo??w decline 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 a?t 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 v??ersion SKU" problem to solve, at least in the west: it's one ultimate version of the game.

While the "swap at anytime" dual protagonist setup is jarring in many instances it works here, mostly thanks to some cute internet-based worldbuilding. In this universe 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 seri??es 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 underneath 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. Watching 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 t?he level. All three (released in the west so far) are somewhat 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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It's a sad day

While it's not the end of Yo-Kai Watch, it's the end of an era: Japan's flagship Yoroz Mart (originally called Yo-Kai Watch Yoroz Mart) is closing later this month on February 24. Known as the "Yoroz Mart Fukuoka Main Store," it was the original place to grab Yo-Kai Watch merch when it was released in 2015 to meet the demand of the growing craze for the series. According to the tweet, the online storefront will remain available.

In case you haven't heard, Yo-Kai Watch, a series framed around Pokemon-like spirits called yokai, was a phenomenon in Japan. It completely took the nation by surprise and Level-5 ?quickly expanded as part of its cross-media approach, peddling millions of toys (including a sold-out-everywhere?? watch accessory), games and a successful anime series that spawned several films: one of which broke box office records in Japan.

Over time the series waned, particularly as Level-5 expanded overseas. The US never really took to it despite decent sales for the localized version of the first game, in light of a huge initial toy push (that Hasbro later pulled in favor of selling to more hungry European markets) and a deal with Disney XD and Netflix to air the show. There are five Yo-Kai Watch films to date and only one is localized, to give you a picture of when the worldwide marketing kind of stopped. ??That's on top of a cost-cutting English cast change for the third season of the anime.

I've been following this saga since the start and was even in Japan during the height of Yo-Kai Watch's popularity. It was absolutely everywhere and everyone knew about it. There are myriad reasons why Level-5 wasn't able to maintain long term success, but in the west I've always posited that the cultural boundaries make it a little trickier to market than say, Pokemon (which has Japanese influences but basically tricks you into going along with it, as opposed to Yo-Kai Watch, which is more explicit/intrinsic and harder to localize). Perhaps the slow-going western efforts?? added to the p??ressure to close down the previously successful Main Store.

Either way the series is still very much alive. The third main entry is arriving in the US this month on 3DS and Yo-Kai Watch 4, which has gotten a decent amount of buzz due to some? hands-on sessions in Japan, is headed to Switch this year. It might not be as prevalent as it once was but I'm glad it's around.

Yo-Kai Yoroz [Twitter]

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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. Although 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 few 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 sto?ryline 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, and as of today, we have a firm release date f??rom 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.

The post Af??ter nearly three years of waiting, the west is finally getting Yo-Kai Watch 3?? in 2019 appeared first on Destructoid.

It's like Ghostbusters but without the copyright infringement

The world of Yo-kai Watch has always been one I've admired from afar. I've viewed a few episodes of the anime and dabbled in the first few games of the series, but nothing so far has planted the seed of fandom inside of me. For many years, the Pokémon franchise was the same way. I'd play the games and check out the cartoon, but only as a casual admirer. My obsession with Pokémon didn't really start to take root until I got my hands on the spin-offs. The Trozeis, the Mystery Dungeons, the PokéParks; these were the titles that finally got to take the series serious??ly.

If those games could do that for Pokémon, surely Red Cat Corps will be able to do the same for Yo-kai Watch, right?

Yo-kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corps (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: September 7, 2018 (WW), July 11, 2015 (Japan)
MSRP: $39.99

Though it is a spin-off of the main series, the story of Yo-kai Watch Blasters is a direct sequel to Yo-kai Watch 2. It features the same faces and places as that game and the reused assets found throughout result in a product with much higher production values than I would expect. The stages of Blasters look beautiful on my 2DS screen and the layouts of ??each neighborhood I explore contain such intricate details it’s easy to forget this is nothing more than a simple action RPG.

Red Cat Corps puts me in control of Jibanyan and his trio of partners who make up the titular Blasters. What are Blasters? Well, they’re Ghostbusters, right down to having their own firehouse headquarters and wise-cracking Janine, but slightly altered to avoid the risk of a copyright lawsuit. My team is supposed to protect the people of Springdale from the supernatural, b??ut they’re quite awful at it. After suffering a defeat at the hands of Gargaros, the Yo-kai Blasters Association sends in Sgt. Burly to whip them into shape.

The narrative is divided into episodes, complete with a “Next Time On…” segment at the end of each one. These episodes are filled with various missions I can take to clean up the ghost nuisance plaguing Springdale and its surrounding areas. All of the missions are quite short, usually running me about five minutes to complete though I can take up to 30 if I need it. There are three types of missions in the gam?e: story, patrol, and big boss. Story missions advance the narrative, patrol missions give me 20 minutes to explore an area and defeat any Yo-kai I encounter, and? big boss missions are just an escalating series of rematches with the bosses I face in the story.

No matter which type of mission I choose, the gameplay remains largely the same. I can take up to four Yo-kai out at a time and I can pick and choose which of the group I control. Each Yo-kai has a basic attack and two special moves that will differ depending on what class they are. There are basic fighters, healers, tanks, and rangers. The AI does a darn good job of controlling my partners so I only very rarely switch from team leader Jibanyan. In fact, though I recruit more than four dozen Yo-kai during the 15 or so hours it takes me to c??omplete the campaign, I never switch away ?from my starting four characters.

The action of this action RPG reminds me a lot of those Pokémon Rumble games without the hordes of enemies to make it fun. Most battles in Blasters are four-on-one and I can usually get by just spamming my attacks without giving much thought to avoiding enemy assaults. Defeated enemies give shards I can use to create new weapons or Orbs which act as the overall currency of the game. Everyth??ing costs orbs, from leveling up at the gym to evolving Yo-kai to buying items. I like the system because it means I can quickly level up new Yo-kai without having to take them back to the starter missions.

The game is generous enough with orbs that I never really feel like I have to grind for them. In fact, it’s so generous, I’m always about two levels ahead of my opponents.?? Taking down normal enemies in each mission never really presents a challenge and neither do most of the boss characters. Excluding a handful of occasions, boss? battles are made up of two phases. The first takes place on the standard map. Bosses are a lot bigger than normal enemies and have easily avoidable attacks which, as previously mentioned, my AI partners do a good job of dodging. After I drain their energy on the map, I give chase, smacking them around for extra orbs, until we reach a specific location where the encounter changes from a top-down battle to a more traditional third-person fight. These battles can be a blast, but they’re repeated often enough in the campaign that they lose their luster.

If I fail at all during boss battles or any of the missions I undertake, I have to start over from the very beginning, losing everything I collected in my attempt. It’s an annoying design choice to deal with, but it’s not as bothersome as some of the other systems Level-5 implemented here. There are gacha machines at the top of the firehouse that uses coins I can win after each mission, but I can only take three turns a day and I’m never guaranteed to pull a Yo-kai. In the spirit of making players use every aspect of the firehouse, simple tasks such as leveling up or switching out my team members require me to travel to different f??loors of the facility. It adds to the immersion, but I grow tired of having to run back to the second floor every time I want to level my crew up.

There are also extensive online components here that may be a victim of Nintendo’s glacial localization process of the franchise. Players are encouraged, either locally or online, to team up with other users to complete missions. When I'm able to find people, which is rare, the connection works well enough. I’m fine going about this game on my own but there are rewards, namely insignias, that are tied to either playing with people online or challenging their teams through Street Pass. These don't factor in too much to the campaign but do play a large part of the post-game content. There is plenty of stuff to me to take on solo after I watch the credits roll, but it just makes me wonder what I’m missing if I can’t find a steady stream of fellow Red Cat Corps owners.

It took three years for Yo-kai Watch Blasters to make it out of Japan, and I’m not quite sure it was worth the wait. The game looks fantastic and has an excellent localizat??ion, but the lackluster and repetitive combat hold it back from being anything more than run-of-the-mill. It's a se??rviceable spin-off, but with this series struggling as much as it does, it needs to deliver more than serviceable. Especially when it's on a piece of hardware that is on its way out.

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

The post Review: Yo-kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corps appeared first on Destructoid.

Now where is Yo-Kai Watch 3?

Previously known as Yo-Kai Watch Busters, Yo-Kai Watch Blasters is arriving west on September 7 on 3DS. Just like the original release it'll come in two flavors -- Red Cat Corps and White Dog Squad.

If you haven't seen this subseries before, the whole thing is one big Ghostbusters joke, complete with a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man boss. It was warmly received in Japan, and I've been waiting ages for it! It'll sport four player co-op both locall??y and online, according to Nintendo, and features "over 400 Yo-Kai."

If you've been playing along this whole time and own other games in the s?eries, their data will net you spe??cial Yo-Kai.

The post After three long years Yo-Kai Watch Busters is finally coming west as ‘Blasters’ appeared first on Destructoid.

I want them all

Yo-Kai Watch has been battling series fatigue even in its home region of Japan, where it was attempting to outpace Pokemon just a few years ago. The anime has pivoted to a more mature audience with a new series, and in turn, t??he games have pivoted to the currently popular Nintendo Switch.

Level-5 has been pretty open about their decision to basically go all-in on the portable/console hybrid, and now we know that the previously announced Yo-Kai 4 is coming this year. By way of a new trailer the stage is set for Nastume, the daughter of Keita??/Nate, the protagonist of the original game and anime series.

All of this is pretty exciting for folks who are still into the franchise, but what about the west? We still don't have Yo-Kai Watch 3. Hopefully they'll find some way to work it out for ev??eryone who decided to invest, assuming we'd get consistent localizations.

The post Yo-Kai Watch 4 out? in Japan this year, west still waiting on Yo-Kai Watch 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

A look ahead to everything we know is, and could be, coming our way

On February 26, the Nintendo 3DS will celebrate its seventh year on the market. In that time, it has sold more than 70 million units worldwide and more than 340 million games. It’s been home to the great franchises we grew up with like Sonic and Zelda and marked the debut of new, celebrated properties like Bravely Default and BOXBOY. It may not have had the stratospheric sales of?? its predecessor, but hot damn if it isn’t arguably Nintendo’s finest handheld to date.

Like Harry Potter, year seven is looking to be a rough one. Any limelight the handheld had has been taken by the Switch, and over the course of this year, I imagine many gamers will make the move to the handheld-console hybrid at the expense of Nintendo’s dual-screen dynamo. But with more than 700,000 people picking up a 3DS or 2DS last month in the US alone, there are scores of customers looking for ??great games to play on it.

You may have moved on but don't start digging its grave yet. Just because 2018 isn't as jam-packed as years past doesn't mean there are some great games coming to it. I scoured the internet to find games guaranteed to hit the 3DS this year and those that haven’t been confirmed yet ??but still could be localized in 2018.*

Here's what's confirmed for the west already:

Pokémon Crystal (Virtual Console)
Release Date: 01/26/2018

While Switch owners patiently wait for Virtual Console, the service has all but died on the 3DS. Over the last seven years, most worthwhile games from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color found their way onto the service. The Virtual Console already started to wane when the first Pokémon games were brought to the 3DS and I imagine it will completely die with Pokémon Crystal. I don&??rsquo;t know why there was a wait for this one, but t??he wait ends this Friday. The game launches the same day as the New Nintendo 2DS XL Pikachu edition, allowing you to play Pikachu on your Pikachu because yo dawg, I heard you like Pikachu.

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
Release Date: 02/13/2018

I know what you're thinking: What, Atlus is porting an old game to the 3DS? Yes, as shocking as it can be, Atlus is indeed taking a game it previously released and updating it for the 3DS. It did it with Devil Survivor, it did it with Devil Summoner, and now it's doing it with Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology. And just like ??those other ports, this is one damn fine game.

Radiant Historia originally released in North America just one month before t?he launch of the 3DS, so I could understand why people skipped over it then. If that was you don't make the same mistake twice. Just because it's on older hardware doesn't mean you should miss one of the more interesting JRPGs from the last decade. 

Detective Pikachu
Release Date: 03/23/2018

Despite originally releasing in Japan two years ago, Detective Pikachu's inevitable localization became all but certain once it was announced Hollywood was making a movie based on it. That movie is still very real -- it just added Ken Watanabe to the cast -- and earlier this month Nintendo finally coughed up a worldwide release date. Not only are we getting this sure-to-be strange game, but we're also getting a big, fat, new amiibo to go along with it. Don't?? be ??surprised if Nintendo ports to this to the Switch right around the time the film hits theaters in 2019.

The Alliance Alive
Release Date: 03/27/2018

The Alliance Alive is the second Atlus jam confirmed to release on the 3DS this year and the only one that is an original title. Developed by Cattle Call, the same team that brought us the unfortunately named and mediocrely reviewed The Legend of Legacy, Alliance Alive will hopefully benefit by the addition of Yoshitaka Murayama to the team as its scenario writer. Murayama is the writer and director of the first three Suikoden titles and this marks his first game in more than a decade.? Those two facts are reason enough for me to pick it up.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
Release Date: 05/15/2018

Strange Journey was actually my first introduction to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and it immediately drew me in with its story, world, and demons. It was all so different and spectacular and rightfully deserving of its Mature rating with those penis monsters and everything. Popping it in my Nintendo DSiXL last month, the original game is a bit rough to look at now. The art direction and graphics didn't age as well I would have hoped, so getting an update on this treasure of a title is alright with me. Even with the altered artwork, I'm ready to return to Antar?ctica in May.

Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido
Release Date: TBA 2018

Depending on what Nintendo does with some of the titles in the second part of this article – or if there is some completely unknown game it hasn’t announced yet – Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido could be the last game it publishes for the 3DS. Revealed during the Treehouse broadcast at E3 last year, Sushi Striker looks to have all the fun of a free-to-play mobile puzzle game witho??ut any of that free-to-play nonsense. Unless it ends up being free-to-play, then just forget that last part.

Shovel Knight: King of Cards
Release Date: TBA 2018

Also known as Jonathan Holmes’s most anticipated game of 2018, Shovel Knight: King of Cards is the final expansion pack for one of the greatest indie games of all time. After so many months, players will finally get their hands on King Knight in this prequel to the original game as he makes his way across four new lands to take on the Three Kings who rule over all. I never expected Shovel Knight to be this multi-year journey I would come back to time after time, but Yacht Club Games managed to do just that, making everything feel new with each new playable character they debuted. King of Cards will launch sometime this year, as will the Shovel Knight amiibo three-pack I already have pre-ordered from Best B?uy.

Jake Hunter Detective Story: Ghost of the Dusk
Release Date: TBA 2018

The Jake Hunter series has been going strong in Japan since 1987, but only managed to make a mark over here once with 2008's Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles. It hit at just the right time, joining similar adventure games like Hotel Dusk and Time Hollow on the Nintendo DS just as it got into full swing. But it must not have sold that well because the next five games in the series skipped localization. After a five-year hiatus, Jake returned in Ghost of the Dusk. Released last year in Japan, Arc System Works, the current ow??ner of the IP, announced it was giving the franchise another go in North America in 2018.

Shakedown Hawaii
Release Date: When it’s ready

Brian Provinciano has done a damn good job on Twitter drumming up interest in Shakedown Hawaii. As the follow-up to Retro City Rampage, a game perfect on my 2DS XL, Shakedown aims to bring the same chaos and carnage to a 16-bit setting. Unlike Retro City, ain't nobody from Destructoid going to be in this one. It's our own fault. We used to be so much cooler. At least that's what ?everyone on Twitter keeps telling me.

Besides the beautiful setting, I'm most looking forward to seeing how far I can take the destructible environments feature. After watching three episodes of the new Hawaii Five-0, I'm just?? about ready to level the whole frickin' island.

Picontier
Release Date: TBA 2018

Originally slated for a late 2017 launch, Picontier was pushed back to this year as the developers work to complete it for the 3DS, Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. It’s being published by Flyhigh Works which, between Kamiko last year and Ambition of the Slimes last week, is stealthily establishing itself as a go-to source for cheap, entertaining games. I don’t know what the price will be on Picontier, but I’m willing to pay anything to get my hands on this “slow-moving miniscape RPG.” From the developers of Fairune, Picontier combines crafting, fishing, farming, and fighting into one agreeable looking package. It gives me Stardew Valley vibes which are just the type of vibes I am lo??oking for.

Here's what we could get if they're localized:

If the 10 above is all we receive in 2018, well, it’s not the worst way to wrap up a console’s life. But still, there are so many more games we could enjoy this year if publishers choose to bring them over from Japan. We don’t have any confirmation the following titles will make it to our shores in 2018, but by the spirit of Iwata I hope they do.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

There are three things we know about Dragon Quest XI:

• It released on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 3DS 
• It's in development for the Nintendo Switch
• It's absolutely coming to West this year

What we don't know is exactly which format it's coming over in. With three versions to choose from, Square-Enix can go about this in several different w??ays. Preferably, we get all three. But if that doesn't ha??ppen, which version gets left behind. The Switch is too red-hot to ignore, the PlayStation 4 is well on its way to moving 100 million consoles worldwide, and, as mentioned above, hundreds of thousands of people are still picking up a 3DS system. Looking at it that way, it doesn't really seem like a difficult choice: localize all three.

At the very least, one Nintendo system should get the game as the company has published the Dragon Quest&nbs??p;series outside of Japan for some time (even if a bit fleetingly for my liking).

Dillon’s Rolling Western: The Dead Heat Breakers

Announced in the same Nintendo Direct where we found out Style Savvy: Styling Star was a thing, Dillon's Rolling Western: The Dead Heat Breakers is arriving five years after The Last Ranger released and bring??ing with it the ability to turn your Mii into a furry, playable character. So far it's only confirmed for Japan, but as both of the prior games in the series received simultaneous worldwide releases, I expect this one to follow suite.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2

When I found out at E3 the trio of Altus games above would be coming to North America and Europe, my reaction was “great, but what about Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2?” I love the Etrian series but I simply adore Mystery Dungeon games. Whether I’m playing as Shiren, a Chocobo, or a Pokémon, it’s hands-down my favorite role-playing conceit. Etrian Mystery Dungeon stole an entire month of my life, so I’ve been waiting since EMD2 was announced in March of last year to come along and do the same thing.

New Etrian Odyssey

Etrian Odyssey is one of those will-they-won't-they games. It's perfectly designed for a dual screen device, but that era of gaming comes to an end soon. When it's over, does Atlus keep the series going? Whatever the future holds remains to be seen. Also still to be seen: a brand new Etrian game for the 3DS.

Series director Shigeo Komori confirmed last year a new Etrian Odyssey is on the way. It won’t be EO3: Untold, but rather a festival-like culmination of the series with completely unexpected content. After playing through the entertaining but predictable Etrian Odyssey V, I’m ready for something a little more surprising. Whatever this Etrian Odyssey game is, expect to be announced this spring.

Persona Q2

All we know about this game is its coming to the Nintendo 3DS and the artwork accompanying its announcement is clearly a cuter version of The Phantom Thieves of Hearts logo. So I expect we’ll see Joker and company teaming up with the cast of Persona 4 or 3 or both. Or hell, why not throw 1 and 2 in there while we’re at it. Just make it a big Persona family reunion.

Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sushi & Tempura

You can tell Nintendo and Level-5 really expected Yo-Kai Watch to be the next big thing. Between the games, television series, movies, manga and a crapload of merchandising, the two companies clearly thought this series had “Next Pokémon” written all over it. But that’s not what happened. The Yo-Kai Watch craze has died down in Japan and I don’t think the series ever caught fire this side of the Pacific.

Despite that, I still think we’ll see Yo-Kai Watch 3. For starters, the third season of the anime is coming over in a couple of months. Beyond that, we’re exactly on schedule for a new Yo-Kai Watch game. With the exception of last year’s Psychic Specters, each game in the mainline series has released in North America two years after its Japanese debut. With the St. Peanutsburg-set Yo-Kai Watch 3 releasing back in July 2016, history tells we should expect it here sometime this fall if Nintendo is bringing it over. I certainly hope it does because the new combat system introduced in 3 actually makes me think I’ll finally be able to get into the series.

New Professor Layton

This one is a bit iffy because it hasn’t exactly been confirmed the new Professor Layton game will be coming out on the 3DS, but if I were a betting man I’d say it is. The Layton series is so in tune with dual-screen devices that it’ll take a complete rework of the formula should Level-5 ever want to get the most out of single-screen hardware. I don’t mind the franchise becoming mobile-only -- Layton's Mystery Journey was certainly playable on the iPad -- but it should be something that is developed from the ground up for a single screen instead of trying to mimic Nintendo's handheld. Either way, expect news on this title sometime in the next few months, along with what should be a quick release before the year is up.

The Snack World: Trejarers

After Professor Layton hit it big and kind of made Level-5 a household name, the company pivoted towards these massive, multi-media projects. Yo-Kai Watch wasn’t just a game it was every type of entertainment. Inazuma Eleven and Little Battlers Experience followed the same pattern though the latter quickly fizzled. Snack World seemed to be its next big thing. In 2015 the company founded Level-5 abby in Santa Monica, the same year it first showed off Snack World with this dazzling eight-minute long trailer. It looked good, damn good, but then began a two year wait for the actual game to arrive.

The Snack World: Trejarers launched last year in Japan, and while it didn’t exactly blow up the sales chart -- it failed outsell the Yo-Kai Watch Buster 2 spin-off games -- it did end 2017 as Japan’s 20^th best-selling game of the year. That’s not bad, but clearly, Level-5 wants more. Recently it was announced Trejarers is being ported to the Switch because that’s just how the industry works now. So far neither version has been confirmed for the West but I hold onto hope that we don’t have to wait for the Switch port to see it on our shores.

Megaton Musashi

I’m not holding my breath on this one as there are several Level-5 games developed over the years that never made it out of Japan -- hello Time Travelers -- I just thought it’d be nice to remind everyone this exists and looks absolutely badass. Like Yo-Kai and Snack World, Megaton Musashi is being developed a cross-media project with video games, anime, movies, and merch planned. Of course, we haven’t heard anything about it in more than a year and a half. Is it still coming to the 3DS or is it jumping ship to the Switch? At this point, either is possible and certainly preferred to it being dumped on mobile and forgotten. If it can happen to Wonder Flick, it can happen here too!

Baku Tsuri Bar Hunter

Okay, so ther?e is no way in hell this actually is brought over to the US, but I just like to remind people that Bandai Namco made this game that combines fishing, AR, and rampant consumerism into one ri?diculous package and bundled it with a reel.

_{*Obviously this isn’t a complete list as there could be dozens of small eShop games from tiny indie devs still coming this way. For the sake of this article, I only mentioned the more well-known games we know about and also Picontier because it needs to be on everybody’s watch-list. Also, though it is not mentioned above, I would like to see Puyo Puyo Chronicles localized.}

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One or more games

Level 5 CEO Akihiro Hino stated "although I can't reveal the content, we're making game(s) for [the Nintendo Switch]" in a Nikkei Trendy Interview. Japanese language does not differentiate nouns by plurality or singularity, so it's not clear if he means a single game or multiple games. Two months ago, Hino mentioned that the currently in-development Inazuma Eleven: Ares for 3DS "may also release on what y??ou would call a higher quality game machine… perhaps."

Hino also talked about his love for the console, and his shyness playing it outdoors. He was hesitant to play outdoors, especially with the red and blue neon colored Joy-Con he received: "when I carried it around a lot, the looks I got made me self-conscious. I bought the black controller that they released myself and attached it." Hino especially loved Zelda: Breath of the Wild and thinks it's a "wonderful fit for competit??ive games."

Level-5 working on Switch game(s) [Gematsu]

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Yoderu Yoderu...

Looks like the Yo-kai Watch craze is fading away. In 2016's financial report, Bandai Namco listed earnings by IP. Gundam, Dragon Ball, and One Piece are as popular as ever, but Yo-kai Watch only pulled in just 10.4 billion yen, a third of what it made in t??he previous year and a fifth of it's peak year.

Many saw the Level-5 franchise centered around catching ghosts, or "Yo-kai," as a competitor to Pokémon, some even going so far as to call it the "Pokémon killer." It never came close in the west, but it was a mammoth in Japan. The series peaked around 2014 when the second game and anime de??buted, raking in over 55.2 billion yen. The series is predicted drop further in 2017, to 6.3 billion yen. 

I can attest with anecdotal evidence. When I returned to Japan in 2014, you couldn't turn a corner without seeing Yo-kai Watch advertisements, merchandise. anime, or what-have??-you. Nowadays I never see any campaigns or school children with Jibanyan umbrellas; just the occasional commercial.

While I can't say anything of the games' or anime's ??quality since I've not quite gotten around to them, it all looks quite fun and endearing. I even started reading up on Japanese mythology, youkai, yurei, obake, and such out of interest born from the series. I wonde??r what Level-5 has in store to try and revitalize the series?

「妖怪ウォッチ」売上高が大幅減　ピークから5分の1に [Yahoo! Japan]

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If you waited, cool

Both Jed and I liked the recently released Yo-Kai Watch 2 Fleshy Souls and Bony Spirits respectively, but just like Pokemon, a third game has risen from the ashes like a phoenix. It's called Psychic Specters, and will function just like the Crystal or Em??erald variants have for Nintendo's famous? pocket monster series.

Sport??ing a "fall" release date, it'll sport new Yo-kai creatures, new quests, and another area. There's also the opportunity to befriend bosses and play an enhanced edition of the co-op Blasters mode.

I'm kind of torn on this one, because while I adore the series (and the show/movies), this is a really bold move. Yo-Kai Watch isn't as big in the west, so by releasing a third version of the same iteration, they risk pissing their fanbase off. When Pokemon did it in the second generation of its life-cycle, it was already an international phenomenon t??hat swept the US.

On the other hand, this is the perfect chance for someone to jump in. The sequel basically renders the storyline of the original as defunct, so you can just grab this definitive edition and still get the complete experience up to this point. In the meantime we're still waiting for Yo-Kai Watch 3, which takes place in the US and Japan.

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Yoderu Yoderu Yoderu!

Pokémon Sun & Moon has been one of the top two selling games every week since it's release nearly five weeks ago. It slid into second place only in weeks where Final Fantasy XV and Yakuza 6 released, but then overtook them in the following weeks. This time the new game that has temporary taken Sun & Moon's throne is Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki opened up at over 337,000 sales across Japan, whereas Pokémon has yet to fall beneath 190,000 weekly sales and in fact increasing back up to more than 199,000 this week. Third place Super Mario Maker for 3DS saw it's sales boost by 50k this week up to 168,000, while Final Fantasy XV sales have decreased ??even further to just over 44,000 in its third week (over 79,000 last week).

Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki and also newly released Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Heroes are likely reasons for the increase in both 3DS XL and 2DS sales this week, pushing it into the top spot on the hardware charts over PS4. The Vita also saw an increase thanks to the release of SaGa: Scarlet Grace.

Akiba's Beat also released this week, but sadly did not make the top 20. Shame because it seems like a fine game. It's poor showing may hurt the chances of an Akiba's Trip 3 being made.

Media Create Sales 12/12/16-12/18/16 [4Gamer]

Top 20 selling games this week in Japan??. Lifetime sales in parentheses. 

1. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki – 337,979 (New)
2. [3DS] Pokémon Sun & Moon – 199,514 (2,578,960)
3. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for 3DS – 168,072 (448,160)
4. [PSV] SaGa: Scarlet Grace – 64,965 (New)
5. [PS4] Yakuza 6 – 44,592 (262,760)
6. [PS4] Final Fantasy XV – 44,340 (814,603)
7. [3DS] Miitopia – 27,933 (55,023)
8. [3DS] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Heroes – 26,673 (New)
9. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition – 20,488 (966,976)
10. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch 3: Sushi/Tempura Busters Treasure Pack – 17,709 (New)
11. [WIU] Minecraft: Wii U Edition – 16,315 (215,728)
12. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi: Mura o Tsukurundesu – 15,638 (105,725)
13. [3DS] Mario Party: Star Rush – 15,635 (104,179)
14. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome Amiibo – 14,535 (52,695)
15. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 14,468 (2,488,181)
16. [PS4] Watch Dogs 2 – 10,995 (68,796)
17. [PS4] The Last Guardian – 10,754 (93,014)
18. [3DS] Kirby: Planet Robobot – 10,678 (496,521)
19. [WIU] Splatoon – 8,654 (1,516,219)
20. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 – 8,299 (2,694,863)

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Nyan

Yo-Kai Watch may have lost some steam in that it had a roughly 43% dropoff from the last film, but it still sold gangbusters at the box office over in Japan. Crunchyroll is reporting that the third Yo-Kai film sold roughly 608,033,100 yen worth of tickets ($5.189 million USD) over its weekend debut, beating out the opening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in that region. While Rogue One made more revenue due to more expensive admission fees, Japanese box office ranks are determined by tickets sold, which Yo-Kai won out with.

For reference, the second Yo-Kai Watch film (which also beat The Force Awakens last year in Japan) would eventually go on to make $47 million USD, which handily beats out the revenue of the last Pokemon film that ended up settling on $20 million. The series is ?still a big mon?ey maker over in Japan in theaters, but here, we ended up getting the first movie on TV for free just for the extra publicity.

While the jury is out on ?whether or not Level-5 can? still push people in the west into liking something so intrinsically Japanese, I'm just enjoying the ride.

Rankings [Eiga via Crunchyroll]

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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 advent??ure. I'll accept a sp??in-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 claymation, but I do wonder if I wouldn't get tired of it while playing. Particularly that part about low frame-r?ate.

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

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We just got the first!

The US just recently aired the first Yo-Kai Watch film by way of Disney XD, but Level-5 is already planning a fourth movie! It's the IP that just won't stop in Japan, and although we d?on't exactly know what it entails, there will be another feature film released in winter ??2017.

At this point Yo-Kai theatrical releases are somewhat of a holiday tradition, as one movie will have dropped ev?ery December since 2014. They also do insanely well, topping $65 million US (breaking records) and $45 million US ??for the first and second movies respectively.

Yo-kai Watch Franchise Gets 4th Film in Winter ??201?7 [Anime News Network]

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