Japanese sensation Yo-Kai Watch arrives in the United States on November 6 for 3DS, Nintendo announced today.
Yo-Kai Watch is an RPG in which players assume the role of a boy capable of seeing and interacting with Yo-kai, which are ordinarily invisible. These are beings that take on the appearance of all sorts of things–everything from various creatures to inanimate objects.
The natural comparison is Pokemon, though Nintendo insists these “are not ghosts, monsters, or creatures. Yo-kai are, quite simply, Yo-kai. They cannot be seen by the human eye, but they are everywhere. Whether born from the soul of a deceased human, or an everyday object discovering its higher purpose, their personalities are distinctly human-like.”
However you choose to classify them, Yo-Kai Watch includes more than 200 Yo-kai in all. You’ll team up with them to fight hostile Yo-kai and use them to help other characters solve problems, which are often caused by mischievous Yo-kai.
Nintendo originally revealed plans to release Yo-Kai Watch, which was developed by Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni studio Level-5, earlier this year. It was launched in Japan back in 2013, where it’s become tremendously popular, already receiving a sequel and a line of toys, manga, and an anime series.
The sequel, Yo-Kai Watch 2, was released in three different versions (again, not unlike the multiplayer versions of the Pokemon games), and according to Nintendo, these were three of the six best-selling console and handheld games in Japan last year.
Coinciding with the debut of Yo-Kai Watch in the West, Disney will launch an animated comedy Yo-Kai series. Nintendo’s description of the show sounds a lot like the premise of the game: It “follows the hilarious misadventures of an average human boy and his involvement with the mischievous Yo-kai all around him. Our young hero obtains a special watch, empowering him to discover and summon Yo-kai, befriend them and then work together to solve everyday problems … problems that are often caused by other troublemaking Yo-kai!”
Also coming soon are a bi-monthly Yo-Kai Watch manga (November 3) and new toys and children’s games from Hasbro (January 2016).
For more, check out our previous feature explaining exactly what Yo-Kai Watch is all about.
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