Well, this is certainly curious: after many murmurs in online forums and a somewhat cryptic call for employment earlier in the year, Level-5 is re-entering the US market after the closure of the Abby in 2020 (with the COVID-19 pandemic being a contributing factor). This coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Yo-Kai Watch franchise in Japan. Here are my honest thoughts on the matter as they attempt to rise from their grave; especially in the West.
 |
| A Level-5 collage featuring characters from Layton, Ni No Kuni, Yo-Kai Watch and Inazuma Eleven. |
Let's start with the chocolate bar-guzzling elephant in the room, as it's only been around domestically for eight of the ten years of its existence. I began covering it around the time its international release was going to come out; and looking back, I definitely believe I could have handled things differently. I was certainly skeptical, but for all the things I said at the time; I made sure not to pull the "ripoff" card as that was never going to be the biggest roadblock to the global release.
That aside, I still don't like the original anime that much and made no secret of my disdain for it. I also have little need or desire to mine subsequent adaptations for reviews: besides the fact that fan translations have slowed down or outright stopped, it just doesn't offer the same material as it did in the past. Despite expressing interest in an international release of Yo-Kai Watch 4 and its accompanying films; such a release has yet to materialize. Though the trademarks have been registered for the Jam Project (under the Y School Heroes imprint), it remains to be seen whether or not anything will come of that. The most recent film does not appear to have charted at the Japanese box office, and I don't know what to expect from any of the commemorative toys they've announced (including this promotional video on Bandai's YouTube channel with Akihiro Hino that almost borders on an ASMR vid or perfume commercial).
As for the rest of the developer- that's another story. I am glad that they're starting with not just proven IPs such as Professor Layton and Fantasy Life, but promising new ones such as Deca Police (all three of which were unveiled during the February Nintendo Direct presentation). That said, Deca Police and the next Fantasy Life currently don't have release dates beyond just 2023; and the next Layton doesn't have a release date at all. The next Inazuma Eleven has had quite the troubled production behind it (so much so that a similar game based on Captain Tsubasa has come out in the interim). Megaton Musashi going free-to-play suggests that it didn't get the audience they were hoping for (also doesn't bode well given how many games of that nature have gone dark or will go dark this year alone). Dragon Quest was never entirely theirs to begin with. The Snack World trying to ride on the success of Adventure Time also didn't work as planned, as by the time its US release finally came out; Adventure Time had evolved far beyond wacky shenanigans.
So, with Level-5 re-entering the market; what does that mean for them and the Yo-Kai Watch franchise? Well, the short answer is that I'm not entirely certain. Here is the long answer; as I shall lay out in several key points.
First and foremost is how modestly they announced the return. Though I advocated for selling the company to someone else (even it meant ceding some creative control to their buyers), they instead hired new employees both for their native Japan and international markets. As previously mentioned, the past venture with the company came to an abrupt end in 2020. Though it was mismanaged and apparently a pretty awful place to work, the pandemic was easily the final nail in the coffin. Also, while the games they announced may not have been the biggest attractions (my personal highlights were new info on Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4, confirmation of Metroid Prime Remastered, Game Boy Online, Game Boy Advance Online, and pleasant surprises such as Ghost Trick Remastered and a new Samba De Amigo. Seeing the details on the Splatoon 3 Expansion is also a plus); it was the smart choice not to treat them as such. Not every game of theirs needs to be a multimedia franchise or live service (wasn't the best idea in hindsight to embrace them; given the sheer volume that are being shutdown this year alone); which brings me to the next point about this.
Second is the current state of the Yo-Kai Watch franchise in Japan. Although the 10th anniversary is currently in progress; it's been rather muted so far. Apart from what I mentioned above about the DX watches, the anime is going on hiatus and another project is taking its place; at least based on a somewhat cryptic tweet Hino made. Among the many "Games as a service" titles shutting down this year, Yo-Kai Watch World is among the games closing down. We still have no word on a fifth main game or any updates on the fourth being localized as I write this; which should make a nice transition to the next key point.
My third point is going to connect the two I just mentioned- the state of the franchise and Level-5 prior to this news. One by one, each pillar of the franchise fell after the other. The toy license was dropped by Hasbro in 2018. The English dub of the anime ended after this third season; and the fate of YW4, Y School Heroes or any future localized games is in limbo after the disappointing sales of YW3 (though launching after the Switch overtook the 3DS; plus both Kingdom Hearts III and the Resident Evil 2 remake didn't help either). In this month's Level-5 Vision, the franchise was conspicuous by its absence (it remains to be seen how the games they did announce will do).
However, beyond all this is the greatest risk of all- that of the company's reputation. Level-5 was once seen as an antidote to the likes of Konami, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard (especially given the controversies all three have faced). Now, since then, they've shown a willingness to embrace anything from live service titles (Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has even been delayed largely due to negative feedback of these aspects), to bleeding franchises dry (seeing new Layton and Fantasy Life games were, to quote Palpatine, "A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one") and even NFTs. Just the potential for that idea caused me to abandon the promising Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds; and I haven't looked back since.
As for the reputation of Yo-Kai Watch- that's harder to parse. I have detailed the previous international missteps at length; so for those unaware or need a refresher, here's the rundown. Though the 2015 launch didn't yield the worst results; it also didn't yield the blockbuster status that many others expected. The anime was getting a second dubbed season alongside the sequels being released in 2016 in the US. While many pundits claimed the series would be a "Pokémon killer" (a mindset that has doomed countless other games in the past- look at how many "Halo killers" became niche titles at best and complete flops at worst); the release of Generation VII, Pokémon Go and Final Fantasy XV would ultimately doom the sequels. The Pokémon anime joining the same network as the Yo-Kai Watch dub would be catastrophic, and even with the dub being recast in 2018; it was canceled after its third season. One by one, each pillar of success fell in the West- the toys were discontinued in 2018, the anime was canceled in English in 2019; and little has been heard of the localization of Yo-Kai Watch 4 since 2020.
In the past, I compared Level-5 and their handling of Yo-Kai Watch to Sega; and I think now would be a good time to explore the analogy further. They had a dedicated fanbase and a meteoric rise in popularity, but they also had a steady fall and the east and west portions of the company being at odds with one another. Though there is a mutual hope for return, there is also just as much realization they might never reach the heights they once had. However, I would argue the biggest parallels I can draw between them are the most tragic: they lost sight of what worked to begin with. They became their own biggest competition, and let nearly every partnership that could have changed their trajectory slip by them.
Above all, Level-5 is responsible for; and capable of correcting the trajectory of both the Yo-Kai Watch franchise and their company as a whole. Given what has transpired over the last decade; they definitely have an uphill battle on their hands. That will be all for now, and I will see you all again soon. Take care everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment