The first time I heard about Yo-kai Watch was last year at the Penny Arcade Expo. We were standing in line to play the (still) upcoming Starfox Zero game. There was a large screen showing trailers for other games, such as Super Mario Maker, Yoshi’s Woolly World, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, and, yes, Yo-kai Watch. Already a massive hit franchise in Japan, North America is just beginning to discover Yo-kai Watch.
Disney XD airs “Yo-kai Watch” having begun in October, though Japan started in January of 2014. The series follows Nate, a boy who inadvertently frees a Yo-kai, Whisper. Whisper then gives Nate a watch which, when a Yo-kai’s friendship medallion is placed inside will summon said Yo-kai. Yo-kai are spirits of people and animals, usually causing some sort of mischief. Unfortunately they can not be detected without the special watch. Nate will come across a Yo-kai, summon a specific type of Yo-kai and work to either battle or befriend the offending Yo-kai.
With hundred of Yo-kai out there, it is easy to see how this franchise will be long-lasting. The television series is only the beginning. There are video games (yes, plural), manga, and feature films. Of course when a franchise is this big a toy line can not be too far behind. That is where Hasbro has come in with a line of Yo-kai Watch toys allowing kids to amass their own collection of Yo-kai.
Hasbro graciously passed along a big box of Yo-kai Watch toys and now there are a number of kids on Seattle school yards summoning their own Yo-kai and creating their own spirit-based adventures. Or something like that. I don’t know. I will freely admit to not completely “getting” Yo-kai Watch. Then again, this franchise was not created with people like me in mind at all.
The centerpiece to the toys seems to be the watch. Players can wear the watch and insert collected friendship medallions. This triggers sounds (specific to each medallion) from the television series. This is of course an appealing aspect but be warned as there is no volume control on the watch. Having a couple of them continually go off as medallions are inserted, taken out, and inserted again was a bit much to handle. I do wish there was volume control on the watches, but thankfully this isn’t a problem that can not be solved.
Medallions themselves are easy enough to come by. By inserting them into the watch kids will “summon” said Yo-kai. There are packs with three different medallions though you don’t know which ones are in each pack.
Alternately you can shell out a bit more money for specific figures of certain Yo-kai which not only have their corresponding medallion, but also have a way to hold on to said medallion. Amassing a collection of these would be really fun (and probably a little disturbing in a good way) in an office cubicle.
On the back of the medallion is a QR code that can be scanned by the 3DS, allowing that medallion to be used in the 3DS game. This further integrates the virtual world of the video game and the real world of the toys. There is also an app for iOS and Android, but truthfully I’ve been a little scared to allow the kids to try it out.
Because this is a collection (as I said before, there are hundreds of Yo-kai) kids will need a way to store the medallions they get. The binder comes with a few sheets to store medallions as well as a stiffer cardboard style sheet that showcases the eight elements of the various Yo-kai so players can have their favorites at the ready.
Did the kids like the show and the toys? The bottom line, unfortunately, is yes. And I say unfortunately because parents will be baffled as this franchise continues to grow in popularity and irked as more of their money gets consumed by collecting wave after wave of new Yo-kai for their kids. Along with the lack of volume control on that watch (which doesn’t tell time by the way).
Chances are you won’t immediately understand what Yo-Kai Watch is all about, its appeal or how these spirits are able to cause trouble but nobody can see them. You know what? We’re parents. We aren’t supposed to. This is for our kids. And they like it. For me, that’s most of the battle right there.
You can learn more about Yo-Kai Watch through some social media channels such as Twitter @Yo-kai Watch News, the Facebook page for the Yo-Kai Watch television series, and on YouTube (and even catch a couple of episodes on there as well). Then there is the Yo-kai Watch website which links all the various aspects of the franchise together.
Yes, I was compensated for this post both monetarily and in a big box of Yo-Kai Watch toys for the kids. Opinions are my own and differ from the kids. That’s a good thing.