2nd time playing, but its been 5 years since the first, and man was it a enjoyable experience to revisit this game. The combat, the down-to-earth plot, and the writing are all wonderful and a breath of fresh air from other monster-collector JRPGS. The main story doesn't drag; in fact, its rather short, making the postgame the true meat of the game. Some points are knocked off due to befriending Yo Kai is entirely RNG and the lack of variety of Soultimate/Purify actions making it somewhat repetitive later on but all in all this is a JRPG thats a must play if you have a 3DS

Many people say it copied everything from Pokémon, but I disagree. It is crearly inspired by the mechanics of the catch-and-explore RPGs, but goes WAY beyond copying franchises. nice story, good way to approach the combat without making it repetitive (and without falling into the turn-based combat that, in my opinion, is obsolete). A game that you can play for 5 hours and have fun (for example, in the case of children) or, if you are older, farm/get hard-to-find characters in the purest Level 5 style (similar to Inazuma Eleven DS and 3DS games). It's a lot simpler than the second or third game, but it's pretty cool despite being the first in the franchise.

The first thing to admit here is that Yo Kai Watch is not a good monster tamer. Yo Kai are essentially random drops that you have to hunt for and likely will not obtain on a consistent basis. Having to check under every single car in an area to find the one Yo Kai you are looking for only for it to die without joining you creates so much conflict between the player and the expectations of a monster tamer that friction is inevitable. Yo Kai Watch treats collecting monsters like it is a passive process, or perhaps like a mobile game where you have to keep spinning in order to obtain a desirable outcome. The iconography of the Gatcha machine is frequent in this world so it's not hard to see the connection.

Of course with that being said perhaps that is not the best way to criticize Yo Kai Watch. The game is very intent on being a passive experience, and the combat holds an enjoyable novelty because of that. You are given a very large amount of usable Yo Kai through the story anyhow, there's no expectation placed on the player to obtain specific Yo Kai in the wild. The only active element in obtaining new Yo Kai is through figuring out their favorite food and trying to manipulate the RnG to go in your favor with that knowledge. So where does that leave us?

Realistically Yo Kai Watch is at its best when it is a game about the lackadaisical carefree world of a child in the Summer. One where going to downtown Tokyo and stopping some spirits from causing people to forget where they put their keys is todays big adventure. The obvious attempt at merchandising that Level 5 did to treat this as a hallmark children's anime and merchandise line does give the game its own charm. The most true to the spirit game about living the childhood power fantasy that so many of those Slice of Life shows portray.

It's pleasant in that way, though likely to be held up as such since Boku no Yatsumi has never been translated out here in the West. I find the game to be... decent overall. The charms here are nice to talk about, but never really engaged me on any personal level. The friction that was often set in when I tried to acquire the Yo Kai I liked the designs of and was met with frequent, hours lasting failure. The direct sequel (which was released exactly 364 days after the first game) is more refined and palatable, but it's the same schtick pretty much.