With Yo-Kai Watch beginning to make its mark in the Americas as of last Fall, between a new Disney XD animated series and the first video game release, simply titled ‘Yo-Kai Watch‘, eyes are turning to the localization of the sequel here in the West. Nintendo isn’t wasting time localizing the game either, as they confirmed today, stating that Yo-Kai Watch 2 will release in North America on September 30th of this year. As with its predecessor, the game is exclusive to Nintendo 3DS and 2DS.
Unlike the previous game, which is available in one lone version, Yo-Kai Watch 2 will be released in two separate incarnations, much like the mainline entries of rival monster-collection RPG series, Pokemon. The two versions will be localized as Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Yo-Kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls. Both versions will contain unique variations of the titular Yo-Kai, unseen spirits that can be viewed and tamed with the protagonist’s ‘Yo-Kai Watch’, which can be responsible for shifts in human emotion, desire and wrongdoing, among other things.
Additionally, the second game in the series features not only new areas and 100 new Yo-Kai to meet and recruit for battle, but also a time travel component, which will immensely increase the scale of the experience. To celebrate the launch of the second game later this year, Hasbro, the toy line that manufactures Yo-Kai Watch collectibles and toys, will release an updated model of the Yo-Kai Watch, to take after the upgraded design of the accessory in Yo-Kai Watch 2, as well as pioneer a trading card game for the franchise in the West, and release new plush toys based on the series’ most popular Yo-Kai critters. A second season for the Yo-Kai Watch cartoon on Disney XD will also follow later this year, which will adapt elements from the series’ second game.
While it’s finally releasing in North America this year, Yo-Kai Watch 2 has been available in Japan since 2014, again in multiple versions. Developed and published by Professor Layton studio, Level-5 in Japan, but published directly by Nintendo in the West, Yo-Kai Watch is an enormous cultural phenomenon in its native Japan, to the point where new entries in the series routinely top sales charts, and to the point where it manages to rival even the colossal Pokemon franchise in the region. While similar in style and presentation to Pokemon, the gameplay actually puts Yo-Kai Watch more in line with a family-friendly spin on Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei games, due to its spiritual subject matter and ability to command multiple monsters at once using a supernatural accessory.
Keep summoning Eggplante for all major news and updates on Yo-Kai Watch.