As per usual, in order to determine this; we need to go over the timeline of what's led to this. The project was in development in the year 2018; with its first intended release meant for that holiday season in Japan. The game used characters and elements from the previous year's anime film, "Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside: Return of the Oni King" and the TV series it led into. That same year also saw the release of "Yo-Kai Watch: Forever Friends" in Japan; though the game was delayed to the summer of 2019, which brings me to my next point.
On June 20, 2019, "Yo-Kai Watch 4: We're Looking Up at the Same Sky" released on the Nintendo Switch; with a "4++" expansion releasing on December 5 that year for both Switch and Playstation 4. The game, while not without technical issues; marked a noted departure in tone and gameplay from the previous installments. During Anime Expo that July, series creator Akihiro Hino informally announced the release of the game outside of Japan; and also expressed interest in localizing the movies key to its plot, so as not to confuse audiences who haven't seen them. However, the disappointing financial performance of the game and said movies has made this prospect less certain; especially given what happened next.
Though the year 2020 certainly wasn't the only factor that contributed to the problems faced by the potential localization, it definitely didn't help matters either. Some anonymous former employees for Level-5 Abby (before it closed down later that year) also shared details about the localization for "The Snack World: Dungeon Crawl Gold"; which were impacted by a hostile work environment. Said problems included forcing changes to the game and its anime's writing and visuals (the "Covfefe Cafe" was a dated reference before last year, now it's just painful), which contributed to its mixed reception and the anime getting dumped on Crunchyroll after networks reportedly balked at the game's T rating and the risqué content. The Jara toys also were not localized; and while this is a different series from Level-5, it is important to note before I continue. Even removing the COVID-19 pandemic from the equation, it's clear this game would be facing an uphill battle with or without coronavirus to contend with. That said, it's another important factor to note before I continue.
All this brings us to 2021: things aren't quite back to usual yet, but they have at least improved by this point last year (admittedly a low bar to clear, but I'll take what I can get). That said, Level-5 has yet to address the localization further at any point; and the company has been having issues on their home turf as well, with the newest Inazuma Eleven having been pushed back to 2023, a full seven years after it was first announced; not helped by the fact that development had to restart multiple times. Commentators on the Yokai Watch subreddit have also pointed out that the series is in a position where it's tough to continue localizing, with one in particular (who shall be referred to as Rengoku Kyojuro) citing the subject matter of the fourth and fifth movies as factors that can't really be edited without completely butchering their plots. I have also suggested that it might not be feasible unless they sell the rights to a streaming service or another distributor who would give the anime an uncut/subtitled release (Funimation being an obvious choice, other potential candidates could be Sentai Filmworks or Shout! Factory; and Discotek Media specializes in niche anime licenses).
With Bandai Namco porting Ni No Kuni II (a game I absolutely love) to the Nintendo Switch later this year; there are companies who have the money and resources to translate the game if Level-5 can no longer do it themselves. I know that would mean ceding some control to another publisher, but if the alternative is not being officially localized at all (outside of imports and grassroots fan translations); it might be worth considering.
Still, the fact the ESRB has still not rated the game after being submitted well over a year ago (there isn't even a placeholder RP rating as I type this) and it's been two full years of near radio silence since the AX 2019 announcement, some fans; Rengoku Kyojuro included have even wondered if the localization has been quietly canceled, which wouldn't surprise me given the circumstances and the franchise being an international failure; a stigma which has long since replaced any ripoff accusations. There's apparently a livestream taking place this week on their Japanese feeds and talk of porting the second game to Switch; but I don't expect much from either, especially as the port of the first game completely bombed at launch; and the developer hasn't reported sales since then. That, and I'm looking to finally get Black Widow tickets soon (been waiting over a decade to see it, Stephen Dorff getting salty notwithstanding); so I don't plan to address this any further unless something else is said officially. The most recent anime has yet to be fansubbed; and it doesn't provide as much material for reviews as it would have in the past (though this hitting the reset button every two years isn't really a good sign for the longevity of the series either). That will be all for now, take care.
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