Hello everyone. First off, Happy Father's day. Second, I am back from my sabbatical a day earlier than I was expecting. Last, and definitely not least; is that I really enjoyed E3 this year. In addition to finding out more about anticipated titles such as Super Mario Odyssey and Insomniac's Spider-Man; I am glad to receive surprises such as two new Metroid games (Metroid Prime 4 on Switch and Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS) and the official reveal of the Xbox One X (formerly known as Project Scorpio).
That said, (sighs) it's that time again to break the bad news. It has now been one year since Akihiro Hino said that the Yo-Kai Watch series would "bloom like a flower" in the US. I can now officially say that it hasn't. As of May 13, the games of "Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls" have only sold 160,000 copies combined. The one consolation is that the games are selling better in Europe, having sold 110,000 copies in a fraction of the time it took to reach that figure in North America, but despite relatively positive press from critics and those who played the games, it's safe to say that any chance this series had of being a "Pokémon killer" has been entirely decimated. With the games being put against Pokémon Sun and Moon as well as Final Fantasy XV; both games that sold millions and are being hailed as some of the best of their respective series, it's clear that despite the fans desires otherwise; any potential the series had for being a new hit here is highly unlikely to be realized.
Many were even wondering how promoting Psychic Specters would go, to say nothing of the persistent talk of Yo-Kai Watch 3 being localized. Well, it turns out there was no promotion of any kind this year. In fact, Hino didn't even attend Nintendo's conference, instead promoting Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom for Namco Bandai; and announcing his purchase of Mighty No.9 developer Comcept. He also plans to start having Level-5 publish content on their own, and although developing for the Nintendo Switch is facing some hiccups; Hino has expressed interest in developing for the system once they're worked out. So, what does this mean for Yo-Kai Watch?
Well, true to his word; the series is on a break for making a new game this year, the fourth film will be taking a direction that I think may be a welcome change, especially as someone who's made no secret of his displeasure with the current model for the series (I just rewatched the third episode of the dub's second season, I'm adding it to the list of ones I'm not doing for that reason). The film will be entitled "Yo-Kai Watch: Return of the Oni King".
Rather than Keita (Nathan in English) or Fumiko (Katie in English), the film will focus on a group of new characters. Akinori, the eldest son of a family of fortunetellers. Toma, a 13-year-old boy whose parents are always busy at work. Last but not least is Natsume, a 13-year-old girl who almost drowned in the river when she was younger; but was saved by a mysterious force. Anyone getting Spirited Away vibes from that description? That backstory is just a little girl's lost shoe away from being Chihiro's backstory (just watched the movie again the other night, still love it).
It's also been hinted that the film, while still retaining its humor, will also be skewing a bit older and have more supernatural horror elements to it. Again, can you imagine something like this? With a darker story and actual characterization that doesn't come at the expense of selling overpriced toys and video games? I can. Show me, Hino.
I submit you don't have to make this new movie like Princess Mononoke, but I wouldn't mind if it took cues from other dark, but family-friendly films. The Dark Crystal, The Neverending Story, Ridley Scott's Legend, the first two Ghostbusters films, the aforementioned Spirited Away; the 1986 Transformers movie, the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies; and the many Pokémon films (I am still working on my recap of the Darkrai movie as I type this).
I do not know how the series will proceed from here; but I will bring you any further developments on this as I get them. I am also still planning to see my father in California soon, and I want to get what I had planned done by July so I can have the slate clean; and work on other stuff as well. That will be all for now. See you, space cowboy.
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