With just a couple weeks left to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet; as well as the continued radio silence on an official localization of Yo-Kai Watch 4 (increasingly possible that it was quietly cancelled after the closure of Level-5 Abby); I thought I would offer a rebuttal to another article from Jump Cut Online. Written by someone who I'm only referring to as Jude, it claimed that "Yo-Kai Watch was More than a Pokémon Clone, it was better." It is because of that statement that I am once again writing a response instead of having this conversation in their comments section. Relevant quotes will be included as per usual, so let me open with this: Hey Jude, don't you get mad, I'll take your bad take and make it better; remember to hold the phone: Yo-Kai Watch wasn't a "Pokémon Clone," but it also wasn't better.
Quote: "While the world of Pokémon still grips my Zoomer heart well into adulthood — (it did for my generation what Harry Potter did for my Millennial predecessors) — it becomes harder to ignore that the core series’ release cycle is governed by a cynical ethos. Abundance takes precedence over evolution. While the number of catchable creatures listed in the Pokédex creeps towards quadruple digits, the games themselves strain to keep pace with their taxonomy. As I worked through my copy of Sword two holiday seasons ago, I felt as though I paid for a library of new CG models and locations with an obligatory smattering of gameplay and plot thrown in for good measure."
Glossing over his statement against capitalism (since it's nothing I haven't heard from listening to Jim Sterling); I fully admit to claiming seniority over Jude. I also disagree with multiple statements made in this paragraph alone: as someone who has logged well over 260 hours each into both Sword and Shield; I can verify that it's not like buying model and location assets from Turbo Squid (at least he didn't use the long-debunked "asset reuse" argument). Nor is it a mere smattering so much as it is a complete overhaul of the mechanics even as the core system remains intact. The only cynicism I see is in this "zoomer's" statement is claiming there isn't "evolution;" something I've gotten increasingly good at disputing over the years. I also take greater offense to being called a "Millennial" than a "'90s kid," I also am starting to own my status as a potential "30-year-old Boomer."
Quote: "Don’t get me wrong; drafting a team of six species and experimenting with different combinations never gets old for me, and that’s usually worth the price of admission alone. But it might be our attachment to Game Freak’s tried-and-true formula, with its gym badges, villainous doomsday cults, and starter trios — magic as it all may be — that limits our expectations of what a creature-collecting game can be. While Pokémon has struggled to incorporate its massive roster of monsters into an open-world, online-friendly context, now seems like the perfect opportunity for a newer, leaner title to revamp a genre that is now a quarter-century into its lifespan."
OK, Jude, I'm going to overlook the fact that you started one of your sentences with "but" here (one of my grammatical pet peeves as someone who graduated as an English major). This whole idea that the design "limits expectations" is simply not accurate; since it merely gives us a place to set them. Though the idea of a newer title into that space might sound enticing in theory; in practice it hasn't really panned out. Temtem was potentially viewed as such a game (I personally thought it looked like a mobile game, but I opted to address it as little as possible); but its console launch got splatted in sales by Splatoon 3.
As for the whole "open-world, online-friendly context," the bookend of both Legends Arceus and Generation IX has that covered. So, the franchise is more than capable of revamping on its own. Haven't even gotten to the real meat of this response and I'm already seeing this argument fall apart.
Quote: "Unfortunately, developer Level-5’s attempt to solve that very problem may have come too early. In 2013, three months before Pokémon X&Y hit the shelves, Yo-Kai Watch nudged its way in front of Goliath. After dabbling in familiar-collecting with 2010’s Ni No Kuni, Level-5 repurposed its own concept of raising supernatural creatures into a cuddly, smaller-scale context prophesied to be the Next Big Thing."
That's the funny thing about prophecies: this one misread, could have been. There were even concerns at the same time that Nintendo would stop making consoles altogether and focus on games like Sega. That thankfully didn't happen, and while cloud gaming has been hyped as the next stage of games; it has been much more niche than anticipated, the shutdown of Stadia not helping matters. I don't care about what others might claim, I am cutting this canard short right now. Level-5 did wasn't attempting to solve a presumed problem; the people in charge were marketing it as a solution in search of one. This is going to get worse as we go; especially as I consider Ni No Kuni to be a better Level-5 game.
Quote: "For a brief period of time, it looked like that prophecy might come true. Level-5 had clearly studied the successes of Pokémon’s initial launch, unveiling Yo-Kai Watch with an omnipresent multimedia assault on Japan. They had it all: a phantom feline mascot primed to be turned into marketable plushies, collectible toy medals that could be scanned via QR code to earn in-game rewards, and an anime with a viral theme song. Initially, that was enough to make Yo-Kai Watch an overnight hit. In 2014, its IP beat out Anpanman’s cast of bread-themed characters as the most-liked by Japanese children. The next year, dedicated Yo-Kai stores would open up across the country, just before the first game reached western audiences."
Again, that's the funny thing about predictions: sometimes even understandable and sound ones don't end up coming to pass. People thought Pokémon itself was just a fad back in the day and its appeal wouldn't last. They were wrong of course, and the article even admits it's become the biggest multimedia franchise ever; but I must continue.
Quote: "Flying in the face of globe-trotting JRPGs, the majority of the game takes place in a single town, Springdale — New Sakura Town before localization. There’s an anti-escapist streak running through the series, limiting the scope of its settings to universally familiar experiences. There are no tundras or deserts to explore, but you will get to explore the nuances of Springdale’s urban planning. There are corner stores to swing by in the protagonist’s suburban neighborhood, burger joints and arcades downtown, and unaffordable McMansions out in the hills. And if you’re planning to reach those locations on foot, be prepared to stop at the crosswalks to look both ways. In a Kojima-esque move, you’re punished or rewarded based on your willingness to wait at the traffic light."
OK, I seriously think we need to retire the "anti-escapist" selling point; especially as pandemic lockdowns have dramatically increased the desire for that kind of entertainment. Also, I don't consider traffic stops to be "Kojima-esque," especially as someone who has no problem understanding how a game he made with Norman Reedus making cross-country cargo delivery became a highly-acclaimed bestseller (whatever he has planned for Microsoft, I'm eager to see what it entails). Let's keep this thread going.
Quote: "What I loved about Yo-Kai Watch was that it wasn’t a world to dream about visiting. It was a new perspective on our own reality in which everyday incidents were triggered by karma or the whims of Yo-Kai — ghostly beings only visible to wearers of the titular watch. If you ignore an overarching plot regarding the spirit realm’s government, your average in-game conflict involves accidentally leaving an assignment at home due to a Yo-Kai’s curse or figuring out what’s making the museum’s suit of armor move on its own. The fantasy takes place within reality — not outside of it."
That's exactly the reason why I have a counterpoint that invokes reality is unrealistic- the last two years alone have had events far crazier than any Japanese spirit or enchanted wristwatch; so that perspective has been increasingly been undermined. Even at the time of its initial release in 2015; I was unimpressed by its approach. It felt less like Earthbound and more like Sesame Street Countdown, and I am well aware of this degree of comparison (I do love the Count, for the record). I also took issue with the unintended message that suggested it's better to blame problems on an external force rather than confront and fix them. Most people tend to not be that passive in regards to issues; hence why I chose the "conflict" playthrough rather than the negotiation route (basically playing it like regular RPGs) just to get through it.
Quote: "Even the design of the Yo-Kai themselves reflect Level-5’s hyper focused approach to worldbuilding. While Pokémon’s strength comes from its diversity of influences, Yo-Kai watch pares its inspiration down to a few key elements. Japanese folklore, urban legends, and mundane annoyances. They’re not quite as cute as their Game Freak counterparts, but they make up for it in their uniformly creepy charm. There’s Noway, an anthropomorphic wall likely based on the Whomp-like Nurikabe, and Manjimutt, inspired by reports of man-faced dogs wandering the streets of Tokyo."
Again, "charm" is a relative term. Some people might see themselves as charming, when they're more likely to have a white van in their garage. I also found the setting decisively lacking compared to Level-5's previous works (I haven't played their whole catalog and don't plan to; but I understand the appeal at least). Of course I don't mind when Pokémon is willing to experiment in terms of creature design- Scarlet and Violet are going to have you traversing on a dragon cycle like a Kamen Rider.
Quote: "While this cultural cohesiveness earns Yo-Kai Watch points for artistry in my book, it’s unfortunately the prime culprit for the series’ lack of success overseas, despite aggressive advertising and its inclusion in the Disney XD lineup. If you’re not well-versed in Japanese cultural traditions, much of the franchise’s humor gets lost in translation. While many of Level-5’s Yo-Kai shared the same name as their mythological yōkai counterparts (the in-game Nurikabe is a Murikabe, for example), localization efforts relied on awkward puns and overly-literal descriptors to help westerners identify their phantasmal companions. Creative as the Yo-Kai may have been, it’s tough to compete with the iconic, universal design of an Eevee or Jigglypuff. Even Jibanyan, Yo-Kai Watch’s own answer to Pikachu, wasn’t enough to foster anything more than a cult following. The series’ original 3DS release moved less than 500,000 North American copies in its first year of sales — about a third of the copies sold domestically in that same time frame."
This is actually a fairly solid admission of failure; with some annotations I'd like to add: even people who were well-versed in the folklore and yokai were turned off by the changes made in the localization of the anime and games. Changing the whole setting from Japan to Idaho (which has already aged as well as 7-year-old Russets) made the infamous "jelly donut rice balls" seem restrained by comparison.
Quote: "Yo-Kai Watch has spawned three proper sequels in its eight-year lifespan, but the series’ popularity continues to diminish in all markets. Yo-Kai Watch 4 only managed to sell 291,000 copies in 2019, and its prospects for a future localization look grim."
This is also a solid admission of failure, with more annotations to add: in the year since this was posted, we have no word on a fifth main game (the troubled production of the next Inazuma Eleven and apparent flop of Y School Heroes not helping matters), the 2021 anime is just kind of there (I didn't see any point in reviewing it; since it's not giving me much material and nobody's really subbed it) and I haven't found much data on the toys.
Quote: "Though Yo-Kai’s commercial impact may not have amounted to much more than a mid-10s trend, the IP deserves recognition for attempting to innovate a monster-collecting genre that hasn’t seen much diversity since its late-90s infancy. One can argue that the combat system was a bit too complex for its own good, but its ambition was admirable, augmenting the usual rock-paper-scissors dynamic with stylus gestures and strategic bonuses like team chemistry. Because the Yo-Kai’s actions were autonomous, battling made me feel more like a “trainer” than Pokémon ever did. I picked my roster, set my strategy, and left the fisticuffs to the phantoms."
I'm going to have to stop you right there, because you make quite a few mistakes in this paragraph alone. You do link to Digimon and Monster Rancher correctly as fellow entrants in that space (Survive finally came out after its troubled production, and Ultra Kaiju; a collab with the Ultra Series of toku is actually coming out stateside sooner than I expected); but this also glosses over other prominent examples. Shin Megami Tensei for example, predates most ones by several years and laid down a lot of the foundations for the subgenre; including its own most notable spinoff in Persona. The "rock-paper-scissors" balance is another oversimplification that's been increasingly mocked (even to the point of being outright featured in Pocket Mortys).
Most of all, I can honestly say that the autonomy was a major issue I had with the combat system (I think Generation IX having the "Let's Go" for sentries could work, but I will have to try it to know for sure); and that it didn't feel like being a trainer to me at all. The partner dynamic has been one of the most vital aspects of the franchise since day one, and it's still major advantage it has over others. I wouldn't argue that Yo-Kai Watch has combat that's "too complex," if anything; it was far too simple for someone who's been playing RPGs almost as long as they've been playing video games as a whole. The "team chemistry" actually felt like a nerfing of type balances (fairy types coming to Generation VI gave me new appreciation for poison and steel from then on; two types I didn't previously play with that much), and the touch screen gestures felt like a mid-battle Wario Ware minigame.
Quote: "Pokémon has about as much reason to radically alter its own formula as Coca-Cola does. If audiences continue to shell out cash for the product, why fix it? But that doesn’t mean there still isn’t room for a Pepsi in the marketplace. As Game Freak’s franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary, perhaps it’s worth also giving the games it inspired a second look. While it’s not worth holding your breath for Yo-Kai Watch 4’s worldwide release like I am, why not bust out the old 3DS and give the first 3 games a try? You might just find another bestiary of best friends to fall in love with."
Not only did you start another sentence with "but," YKW is not even close to the Pepsi of this subgenre of RPGs. Given the times other "Yokites" have been in my mentions; I'd say it's more like the Faygo. Another hot take I have in this post is that I dislike the taste of Faygo, its association with the ICP and Homestuck fandoms not helping either.
I did however, buy the third game; played through it; and even though I may never love this series the way I do Pokémon, even I agree it's the best of the trilogy. It also, in a bit of tragic irony; was the game that was meant to appeal the most to Western players and became the worst-selling entry in the franchise domestically. Not only did people move onto the Switch much sooner than expected; it launched right after both Kingdom Hearts III and the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2. So, while "love" may be a strong word; it's become something of a worthy opponent in this space seven years on (at least in terms of the games- there's a reason I retired from addressing the anime after the Shadowside movie; since I'm not getting much to work with after the original).
Bottom line: even if you perceive a product as "better," it's not always the one that wins. Here's a classic example: while Betamax may have had better picture and sound quality, VHS had longer runtimes; more recording space and more people willing to manufacture them and back them. There's a reason why I remember checking out a lot of anime for the first time on VHS and only found out about Beta videotapes because they're vital to the story of Faye in Cowboy Bebop. Likewise, I never once considered Yo-Kai Watch a "Pokémon clone" (even as a YKW non-fan, I considered it a massive oversimplification); but I also don't consider it better.
Anyway, with two weeks left to Scarlet and Violet; it's going to be quite the exciting time as Generation VIII is giving way to Generation IX. As this marks the first fully open-world iteration of the franchise; I once again have this to say about potential competitors: Bring. It. On. That will be all for now, and I will see you soon.
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