Holy crap, Level-5 is actually back in action, and bringing back one of its most popular franchises, one that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. for seven years: Yo-Kai Watch. During today’s Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that a new Yo-Kai Watch game is in development…sort of. It’s called Yo-Kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain, and it’s apparently a remake of Yo-Kai Watch 2, which has at different times been called Bony Spirits, Fleshy Souls, and Psychic Specters. Confusing!
Yo-Kai Watch 2 originally came to Nintendo 3DS in 2016 in the U.S. as a sequel to the original Yo-Kai Watch. The Yo-Kai Watch games are monster-collecting games focused around Yo-Kai, mythical Japanese spirits who can be friendly, tricksy, or even evil. The main character, Nate or Katie, uses the titular Yo-Kai Watch to see, track down, communicate with, and befriend these wayward spirits, and they can then use captured Yo-Kai in battle against other ones. Yo-Kai Watch 2 had nearly 450 obtainable Yo-Kai.
Yo-Kai Watch 2 was extremely popular, particularly in Japan. Its original two variations, Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls, and the follow-up with additional content, Psychic Specters, sold over 6 million copies combined before any of the games ever came west. The reception was a bit more muted over here, and a third game in the series, with versions titled Sushi and Tempura and a third version called Sukiyaki, didn’t sell nearly as well anywhere. Yo-Kai Watch 4 never even made it to the U.S., as it launched at a time when Level-5 was doing significantly fewer releases outside of Japan.
So it makes sense that Yo-Kai Watch 2 is getting a remake, though I’m still not clear as to the logic of renaming the game a fourth time. According to a press release, Haunted Domain will get improved graphics and new story content, as well as new Yo-Kai. We have no idea when this game is coming out, we just know that it’s in development.
