Yo-Kai Watch 2 Review

Yo-Kai Watch 2

Release: September 30, 2016
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Level 5
Genre: Nintendo 3DS Reviews, Role-playing
PEGI: 10+
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Over the past two weeks, we have been promoting and proving lots of written coverage on YO-KAI Watch 2; through are articles, and videos from YouTube’s Abdallah, we have done our best to provide our readers with the best YO-KAI Watch 2 content on the web. It is no secret that we have been fairly critical of the critical reviews for YO-KAI Watch 2. Many of these reviews were sub par, lacked details, and unfortunately, appeared as if the reviewers spent very few hours within the game.

We cannot say this review will be much more comprehensive. While we while definitely touch on the highs and lows of YO-KAI Watch, we cannot stress enough that you veer away and look at our three review in progress articles. We go in depth with the beginning of the story, controls, and bug catching here; we examine some of the more in depth controls and the battle systems in our second part, found here; and finally, break down the myth that YO-KAI Watch 2 is simply YO-KAI Watch 1 with a new story by examining a few of the new areas you can explore in YO-KAI Watch 2, here. In Part 3 we also examined fishing, creature collecting, a wide variety of items, and more.

Before being overly critical of the basic information you might find in our review, please click off to these other links for more great YO-KAI Watch information. As always, follow Abdallah on YouTube for more in depth content, and a 100% walk through of the game!

Familiarity

For those 3DS owners who spent considerable time with YO-KAI watch when it originally launch, they will be right at home when loading up YO-KAI Watch 2. So much of what made the original game great has been transferred to the second iteration, and so much more has been added. While some have passed this off as a new skin on an old mechanic, I’d argue the opposite. By moving everything that worked in one, and including new features and concepts, Level-5 has created a title that has more appeal than the original ever had.

Yes, lots has transferred over, but tweaks have been made in almost every area of the game, which in general are for the better.

Creating Something New

The game world you wander around in is a bit of repetition from the first title, but when you couple in the new locations – San Fantastico, Harrisville, multiple subway stops, and more – the game really does have a lot more world travel then ever before. Fortunately, you won’t have to run everywhere either – as this would take extraordinary amounts of time – as the game has a built in fast travel system using the warp enabled YO-KAI Mirapo.

Another great new addition to YO-KAI Watch 2 are, well, the YO-KAI. With hundred of YO-KAI to find, and medal to collect, I’ve begun to wonder if YO-KAI could also carry the “Gotta Catch Em All” slogan made famous by Pokémon. After a few hours, I really had that in my mind, to fill every slot in my album with YO-KAI medals. Of course, with two versions of the game, it is plainly obvious that some type of human-to-human interactions would be required to obtain all the medals.

And this opens up a new door for LEVEL-5 in their YO-KAI 2 release. Not only can you trade medals online with other YO-KAI players – see this in action with Abdallah – but you can also engage in battles online, using your YO-KAI against your friends. These modes will open up in your YO-KAI Pad fairly early into your adventure, and a great in game tutorial will teach you the rules that regulate these online interactions. For example, don’t worry about what level your YO-KAI may be at, as online battles set all YO-KAI to Level 60; your job is solely to make sure your collection of six YO-KAI work well together.

I could go on and on about the new modes, options, and game play in YO-KAI Watch 2, but our review would creep well over 1000 words and frankly, no ones going to read all that. Again, I point you towards Abdallah’s YouTube page and our previous articles about the game, all of which are linked at the top of this article.

Not All Is Well

YO-KAI Watch 2 is not without its faults. The majority of your quests are standard “go get me this” and “go get me that” experiences. When your goal is to battle and defeat certain YO-KAI, there is a bit more exploration and excitement involved; however, in general, it is your standard fetch quests. Like it or hate it, not a lot has been done to spice these up, although they can be a great source of experience and rare items, so doing them is worth the boredom you might experience doing them. That being said, you are never required to do them back-to-back-to-back. Do them at your leisure, or fulfill them as you hunt for rare and elusive YO-KAI!

The other minor problem quickly becomes a mute point, but for those looking to throw in the towel early, I need to make this clear. Your trips around hometown might take a while, and you will definitely think the “holy crap this is taking so long” thoughts when you make your first trip to Harrisville. Especially for those who played YO-KAI Watch 1, and already have a decent understanding of the layout of your city – this constant running around makes the first few hours a real slog. Those new to the series won’t find that same issue, as everything is fresh, new, and obviously explorable. Once you unlock fast travel – which is only a few hours in, although other reviews will make it sound like 10 hours – fulfilling quests definitely becomes much easier.

Conclusion

Enough has been modified and changed in YO-KAI Watch 2 to make it a worthwhile experience for new and old players alike. There is no requirement to play the first title – and in fact would recommend this title as the go-to YO-KAI experience – and there is much more depth within the game then most reviewers are giving it credit for. Whether exploring new battle techniques with your new YO-KAI Watch (no spoilers here, we promise!), looking for items around town, or hunting for one of hundreds of YO-KAI, this game is definitely a great improvement over the previous title, and another great step for YO-KAI Watch in North America.

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