What Yo-Kai Watch Means to Me as a Lifelong Pokémon Fan.

So, my speech went relatively well, and I am in the process of studying for finals as well as writing some journals I have left over.

On that note, I am about 60 hours combined into Pokémon Sun and Moon; and I consider the games excellent. I expect the games will keep me busy well into 2017; and I've ordered the Z-Ring and Z-Crystals as part of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Week Sale on Amazon (along with a 20th anniversary figurine set and a copy of Super Smash Bros. 3DS).

Still, it's finally time for me to address a subject that has been on my mind for a while: what Yo-Kai Watch means to me as a lifelong Pokémon fan.

Even though I have often been critical of the series; it goes beyond simply being disappointed with something that many others value so highly. It also turns out that I'm not alone in holding this mindset, and this would be a good opportunity to explain that.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate yokai as a concept in themselves. Even before the series came to the US, I have seen my fair share of stories that were heavily influenced by these mythical Japanese creatures. It's just that even as an anime fan and an RPG enthusiast; I didn't really have the same reaction most others did. In fact, I still feel that Ni No Kuni, the previous RPG from Level-5 took a lot more risks in how it approached the same concepts. I will be coming back to that game later on in this post; but for now, I'm going to further address this matter from the perspective I have on it.

As someone who's been a big Pokémon fan ever since the series came stateside; I have long appreciated the craftsmanship and stories that the people at Game Freak and OLM have put into their series. Even in points where I wasn't always into it; I still at least appreciated it for making efforts to stay relevant in a changing entertainment landscape.

Of course, when competitors were brought to the US; I also got curious of those. While not every one has had a lasting impact compared to Pokémon; the more notable ones at least had something to offer that I couldn't get from Pokémon. Digimon had cyberpunk aspects that intrigued me, Yu-Gi-Oh often told darker and more serious stories; and even Monster Rancher and Beyblade had a good amount of camp value in their cheesiness (even if the finale of Monster Rancher was shockingly depressing for an anime of its type).

Yet, when Yo-Kai Watch first came to the US; I never really understood the appeal others saw in it. In fact, I was thoroughly disappointed by the anime when I saw it; and that also soured my enjoyment of the game even if I admit the game is decent.

The article I linked above had a similar experience to mine. I have long felt the Pokémon series' capacity for world-building is one of the things I enjoyed most about the series. Ni No Kuni has succeeded in being akin to a Studio Ghibli movie in playable form; and Sun and Moon have been some of the most cinematic entries I've played yet in a Pokémon game. Yo-Kai Watch, by comparison; felt like a low-budget Saturday morning TV series to me in style and tone.

When news broke that the sequels were being localized; many people hoped that they would kickstart the series like they did in Japan. So far, they haven't. As of November 5, Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls have only sold about 70,000 copies in the United States; and critical reception has been a bit more polarizing than it was in Japan. While I admit that Western critics and gamers often have different expectations than ones in Japan; the consensus that I'm noticing seems to be that it has the weight of its predecessor on its shoulders even if there are improvements that make it a bit better than the original game. Even I admit the demo for the sequels was a bit better than the one of the first game; but it was nowhere near enough to justify me buying the games at list price. Again, I might consider it if I see them at a reduced price somewhere like Nintendo eShop; but I don't see myself doing that until 2017 at the earliest.

Yet, even if some of the fans concede that some media outlets were a bit hard on the game in comparison to Sun and Moon, I still feel that it's a problem that many fans of the series seem to have. Anytime someone expresses an opinion that's average or critical; this is usually the result. The sentiments can range anywhere from confused to outright hostile that someone might not share their enthusiasm for Yo-Kai Watch or accuse people of blindly shunning it in favor of Pokémon. The reality is that a lot of people do genuinely enjoy Pokémon and thus aren't guaranteed to enjoy Yo-Kai Watch in the same manner. I even had to drop the banhammer on a someone making such comments on some of my recaps of the anime; which is something I honestly didn't want to do. Unfortunately, the continued opinion myopia many fans of the series have just furthers that unhealthy way of thinking.

I mean, the first article I linked to put it quite nicely at multiple points. A character doesn't necessarily have to be complex in order for a player or viewer to identify with them. In fact, the player characters of Pokémon and Animal Crossing; as well as the likes of Mario and Link tend to work incredibly well because they're like ciphers, and anyone can put themselves in their stead. When you're given someone like Nate or Katie who has a very specific characterization; someone tends to have more trouble identifying with them if they don't fit that mold. I know Ash Ketchum may be a very common archetype as a character, but so are Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones.

The second article deconstructed the issues that many critics (and by proxy, a fair amount of players from Pokémon and other RPGs) had with the games; so I'm going to once again offer some counterpoints to the writer.

The argument about the mechanics is made that they're often incredibly daunting to new players. I must once again play devil's advocate and state I had the opposite problem. I found the mechanics, while competent for battle; a bit too simple for my taste. Apart from the quicktime events and special moves; the combat is almost entirely on autopilot, and the tribes such as Charming and Mysterious lack the strategy of type balances in Pokémon. I don't think I'll ever forget what someone said to me on YouTube about the matter: "some of the Yo-Kai designs are interesting, but the battling is very lame. Pokémon has such a complex battling system, and Yo-Kai is so easy even a toddler could win."

Even given the reputation online comments often have, I feel that's a very succinct assessment. Call me crazy, but Jibanyan and Whisper didn't really resonate with me the way Pikachu and Lucario have. However, some of the supporting Yo-Kai like Manjimutt and Venoct were more interesting to me because of how they had more grotesque designs and more interesting backstories than the series' mascots. The writer even compared the combat to Xenoblade, which didn't hold water for me because I don't really care about Xenoblade.

On the subject of the story; there is the matter of retreading the plot points introduced in the first game because of the outcome of the story there. The writer argues that it's like a soft reboot; something I objectively disagree with. A soft reboot generally implies that it keeps some of the continuity of the previous story; but goes in a different direction after a certain point. Key examples I can think of would be how Superman Returns was a direct sequel to the first two Reeve films that ignored the events of Superman III and IV, and more recently; how Jurassic World reinvigorated the Jurassic Park series by being closer in style and tone to the original film than its sequels. In many ways, it's a similar issue people have with Ghostbusters II; that it sticks too closely to its predecessor while not giving certain parties enough of its own material to stand out. What if you went to go see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the final battle was just a re-edit of the one from The Sorcerer's Stone? You'd be angry, wouldn't you? I'm sorry, but I just can't be invested in a conflict about donuts any more than I can about pudding unless there's something else the story can offer on its own merit that wouldn't require me to be aware of the previous entries. It's essentially the same reason why even if we're familiar with the origin stories of Batman and Superman, there is at least some effort to distinguish them from one another.

As for the side-quests: I'm not a big fan of them in video games either. They are slightly more tolerable than escort missions for me, but overall; they're just another thing that makes the experience a disappointment.

Another new feature that's a point of contention is the train system. I can't verify things one way or the other since I haven't played Bony Spirits or Fleshy Souls yet, but from where I'm sitting; it's really not all that different from how elevators hide load screens in games like Mass Effect or the Metroid Prime Trilogy.

As for befriending the Yo-Kai: while I admit there is a learning curve to getting ones you need for your quest compared to lowering the HP of a Pokémon and throwing a Poké Ball at the right time, it still can be a deterrent for some players. That, and I don't really feel the same level of attachment to the Yo-Kai as I do with the various Pokémon.

Beyond all this however, is roughly the same conclusion I drew about the first game. Much of the fanbase seems convinced that the series will be as beloved here as it is in Japan; failing to realize on a fundamental level that the two cultures are completely different, as are the fandoms of YKW and Pokémon.

Another analogy I can use is this: I went into Suicide Squad expecting to like it, and sure enough, my expectations were not only met, but by all means exceeded.

By contrast, Doctor Strange ended being one of my biggest surprises this year even with my unfamiliarity with the character (though I consider him to be underrated all the same).


Even in cases where it's clear that Yo-Kai Watch is starting to influence other series; least of all Pokémon itself, I just feel that it's not what I'm looking for. In obvious fact, the Sun and Moon incarnation of the Pokémon series is what I wanted Yo-Kai Watch to be. Don't get me wrong, I feel that Yo-Kai Watch has the template to be a truly great series on its own; it's just not there yet with the approach it's taking. I don't know if I'll ever see YKW as a worthy opponent like I have with Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh, or even a cultish oddity like with Monster Rancher or Beyblade; but I do know that I will definitely keep enjoying Pokémon Sun and Moon as they go.

Even if there is talk of localizing Yo-Kai Watch 3 (which the sequels heavily hint at); unless the sequels sell more, it might not happen. Pokémon Sun and Moon, on the other hand, are shattering the records set by their seniors. Both the Japanese and UK launches had the games sell over 1.9 million copies in each country after 3 days on the market. Even though official figures have not yet been released for the US launch, I expect similar numbers based on the record amounts of preorders and downloads of the demo (my nearest GameStop had lots of copies in stock to be safe). Even if Yo-Kai Watch 3 has sold 1.3 million copies since it launched in Japan (with a third "Sukiyaki" version on track to launch soon); it's still sold about half of what the second game has.

I honestly don't know how Yo-Kai Watch will do in the future. Personally, the anime has yet to win me over as a viewer; since it's taken more than 150 episodes to get to Keita experiencing misfortunes as simple as ripping his pants in gym class and losing his shoe when he tries to play kickball. The Sun and Moon series, on the other hand; has managed to balance its idealistic tone with the game's elements and paints a relatively nice picture for Ash and Pikachu's journey in Alola. I'm also thinking about starting Digimon Appli Monsters, or "Appmon;" as its premise is essentially that of Yo-Kai Watch applied to a more standard shonen action series. Even if I end up disliking it (my favorite version is still Tamers, might do more of that in the near future); I can still do the same thing I did when I was disappointed with Yo-Kai: turn it into content here, much as I'm doing now.

Overall, even with the offers I was presented; I just don't think the Yo-Kai Watch series is meant for me. As a lifelong Pokémon fan and RPG enthusiast; I just didn't get the same level of enjoyment out of it as others have. I'm sorry if I come off the way I do, but I needed to get this off my chest. Depending on how the games do in December, I will probably do the second movie then with my usual style. For now, I just plan to keep enjoying Sun and Moon. See you space cowboy.