Yo-Kai Watch Celebrates Eight Years By Finally Releasing their Mobile Port. How Did We Get Here?

So, Black Widow was pretty awesome; well worth the wait after the year that was. I would say go see it, but lots of you already plan to.

That said, (sighs), another event took place early yesterday morning on Level-5's official feeds. Rather than a new anime movie or a potential Switch port of Yo-Kai Watch 2; the lone announcement for the eighth anniversary of the series was finally releasing the mobile port of the first game in Japan. 

How did we get here, one must wonder? When the series first got big in Japan; its creator Akihiro Hino was being hailed as a "genius." At this point, with no word on more of the anime or the fourth game being released internationally; is that really the case? Is Hino truly a genius, or is he a madman? Granted, that's a question that's also sometimes asked about Hideo Kojima; but even when his games often get a "love it or hate it" reception (I tend to fall into the "love it" camp typically); they do make money the world over. 

Yo-Kai Watch, on the other hand; never became the global hit that it was expected to be. The toyline was discontinued in the US in 2018; the anime was dropped after its third season of the English dub; and unless something is said, the video games are the last pillar to fall. It's safe to say that the "international failure" stigma has long since replaced any "ripoff" accusations. The latter belief is no longer the one held by the majority of fans; with only a vocal minority still suggesting it. Major users of the subreddit for the series (who I have been speaking with online) have realized what I did a long time ago: that regions outside Japan simply weren't interested in the series the way the people in charge thought they would be.

Now that a mobile port of their first game is coming in Japan after five years of development; I'm having flashbacks to Blizzcon 2018: "Is this an out of season April Fool's joke?"

I mean, it's honestly kind of incredible how fast and how far that this series and developer have fallen. Though Level-5 hasn't tanked their creative reputation the same way that, say, Konami has (even with Getsufumaden being well-received; it still isn't enough to redeem them after what's transpired over the last decade); their status they held in the days of cult classics such as Dark Cloud and Rogue Galaxy (neither of which I've played; nor do I plan to) seems to be slipping further away all the time. It definitely doesn't help that their decisions with Yo-Kai Watch even in Japan seem to be downright baffling. These include continually reviving the original anime after attempts to branch out to spinoffs like Shadowside and the Jam Project don't yield the desired results; and allowing fans to stream the mobile port of the first game, but not its ending (really though: if you're worried about spoilers for a game that came out eight years ago, you only have yourself to blame). Though some fans still maintain hope that their support can sustain the series; others have pointed out that the series simply doesn't have the same leeway that others do overseas. It's one that simply has its mythology so baked into its world that you can't really change it in English like other series; where they can be enjoyed regardless of their backgrounds.

As previously stated, I will keep an eye on the status of Yo-Kai Watch 4 being released outside Japan even though I'm formally retired from covering the anime (there isn't much material I can get out of an episode that starts with the lead having problems with his pants and ending on an out of place Nausicaa reference, even if I don't think this anime is worthy of that movie) in between other posts. So, go see Black Widow; and I will see you all again soon.