Playing Yo-Kai Watch on the 3DS

Last weekend I stopped at the local second hand game store to see if they had any decently priced 3DS systems that I could try to mod. Instead I found a cheap copy of Yo-kai Watch (and Mario Galaxy 2!) which is a game I've been passively interested in the past couple of years. I considered buying digital copies of the games before the 3DS eshop shut down, but I never got around to it. Besides, I vastly prefer physical media to digital.

I think my general disinterest came from the gameplay. When the game released I downloaded the demo and played through but it felt very… Underwhelming? Your Yo-kai fight automatically with simple touch screen mini-games to break up the action whenever you activate a powerful attack. It felt like an app game for kids, and I wasn't all that interested in the designs so I passed on it. This was about 10 years ago.

But my interest in creature collecting games has been growing a lot over the years, especially in series that have very little documentation. It feels like uncovering treasure troves of strange and unique designs that barely saw the light of day. Or the case of Yo-kai Watch, didn't make a large impact in the states.

At the time of writing, I've sunk in around 15 hours into the game and I can definitely say it's been a lot of fun! Definitely not a perfect game- but I really enjoy the episodic nature of the story and having the freedom to run around the world if I want to ignore the main quest.

I've actually grown to enjoy the combat, it's actually pretty engaging when you encounter difficult enemies that force you to strategize with when you want to use Soultimate attacks or when to use a healing Yo-kai on the battlefield.

I also greatly enjoy that the world feels like a real Japanese town and emphasizing the culture without pretending it takes place in some fantasy world separate from our very own.

I think the idea that Yo-kai are hidden throughout the world, waiting to be discovered feels like it really explores a sense of childlike wonder that I find really captivating. I liked that the story started with a search for rare bugs and you can actually catch them before encountering any Yo-kai! (Although I do wish I could show off my cool rare bugs to the jerks from the beginning of the story! They don't care about Yo-kai, let me show them my rare bugs!)

I've also remembered that the game uses the 3DS's Play Coins that you can earn by walking around with your console in real life and spend those tokens on the Gachapon machine in the woods. I forgot how cool the 3DS actually is and why its still a great console. Additionally, my used copy of the game was making a lot noise- I assumed the game was loose, but nope! It came with these plastic medallions featuring some of the Yo-kai! They even had QR codes on the back I could scan to redeem some in game items.

However, despite the fact I've been having a lot of fun with the game, I also have a lot of gripes. For one, you can't activate quest markers for side quests which is really frustrating especially towards the middle of the game when you unlock a ton of new locations. Sometimes I have no idea where I'm supposed to go.

"The what alley? In which town? Huh???"

Navigation in general takes a while and the map is only somewhat helpful. I waste a lot of time wandering around and there are LOTS of locations in the game. I need a better map to guide me around.

Another issue is that I think the bug and fish catching can be really frustrating and feel completely random as you try to land the pointer on a piece of the wheel. Sometimes I think I can time it out correctly but it's so inconsistent that it feels like a waste of time. And it's even worse if you want to get a rare-star bug.

I also didn't realized that I needed to seek out upgrades for my watch. I assumed I'd be prompted to upgrade it as I continued to play- but that is not the case. After your first upgrade you have to go back to the shop on your own and do the side-quests which are essentially three random battles with Yo-Kai all over the map (ugh!). I realized this was the case when I couldn't access the next area of the main quest as it was blocked off due to having a higher level than my watch. Maybe that's on me, but it feels clunky to just randomly throw in gated areas with no warning. The execution feels clunky.

I really hope some of my issues with the game are improved in the sequels- but I guess I'll have to wait and see!