Yo-kai Watch 3 releasing on December 7th in Europe
A few weeks ago, Nintendo announced that Yo-kai Watch 3 was headed to Europe and North America, which means that fans will be able to play all mainline entries released on Nintendo 3DS.
The game was announced for February 8th in North America, and simply “this Winter” in Europe, and we assumed this meant the release would be simultaneous (after all, that’s what happened for Yo-kai Watch Blasters which wasn’t given a proper date in Europe initially). And it turns out that Yo-kai Watch 3 will be released in Europe a whopping 2 months before North America, on December 7th to be precise!
Nintendo made the announcement earlier today, and revealed the first trailer for the game at the same time:
Here’s what the story of this game is all about:
The story begins when Nate Adams’ father is offered a new job forcing them to leave Springdale and relocate to a town called St. Peanutsburg in the country of BBQ. Having just replaced his inoperable Yo-kai Watch with the new Yo-kai Watch Model U, it’s not long before Nate finds himself caught up in another series of mysteries. One day, FBY agents and hilarious duo, Blunder and Folly, come knocking at Nate’s door asking if he’s aware of the UFO which recently crash-landed in the area. Unable to help, Nate sets off to investigate with his beloved friends, Whisper and Jibanyan, and finds himself getting caught up into an assortment of exciting adventures, while meeting with a cast of bothersome, friendly and quirky Yo-kai along the way.
Meanwhile, back in Springdale, a geeky detective wannabe, Hailey Anne Thomas, gets more than she bargained for after trying to hunt down a limited-edition character figure. After entering a shop with high hopes, a mysterious voice entices her to purchase a Yo-kai Watch Model U. Once Hailey Anne discovers the voice belongs to a Yo-kai named Usapyon and understands why he was so eager for her to buy the Yo-kai Watch Model U, they join forces, inspiring Hailey Anne to open a detective agency to solve the troubles of Springdale.
Why has there been so much mysterious activity in Springdale and St. Peanutsburg lately, and why do Nate and Hailey Anne both possess a Yo-kai Watch Model U? Nate and Hailey Anne must travel their own separate paths to discover their shared destiny and unravel the mysteries in each of their towns.
Alongside the main story, players can also tackle the usual sidequests (Requests and Favours), with some nice rewards at the end. And if you want to take a little break, there’s various mini-games and challenges to try out, including one where you need to raft down rapids in BBQ, or unearth treasure maps.
If you’re a big fan of Jibanyan, good news! The game features something you will definitely love: Build-a-Nyan! It allows you to design your very own cat Yo-kai by giving it a name, changing its colour, and even selecting which tribe it represents! By collecting Originyan parts, found through the game, you can change its voice and appearance. And by befriending cat Yo-kai along the way, you can have them pass their moves to your new cat Yo-kai friend!
Yo-kai Watch 3 features a revamped battle system, with the Tactics Board. Basically, you have to place your 3 Yo-kai on a 3×3 grid, and naturally, their position has a direct impact on how they battle. For example, Yo-kai placed at the front see their physical attacks strengthened, protecting Yo-kai behind them. Also, if you place Yo-kai next to each other, it triggers Linking effects, resulting in combo attacks (there’s many possible combinations, so you’re highly encouraged to experiment as much as possible!).
But Yo-kai Watch 3 isn’t all about Single Player, there’s also various multiplayer modes to choose from:
- Local Battle
- Friend Battle
- ‘Merican Dream Battles
- Casual Battle (no rules)
- Official Rank Battle (players battle to gather Rank Points)
- Yo-kai trades (StreetPass, Online, Local)
Of course, Yo-kai Watch 3 has the usual extras already found in the previous entries, such as download codes, QR Codes, and passwords that can be redeemed for special items and Yo-kai at the Post Office. The Crank-a-kai also makes its comeback, with even more items and Yo-kai to get using Crank-a-kai coins or Play Coins (earned by walking around with your Nintendo 3DS console in sleep mode).
Finally, players who own previous games in the series will be able to link them to Yo-kai Watch 3 in order to unlock in-game content:
- Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits (S-Ranking Yo-kai)
- Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls (S-Ranking Yo-kai)
- Yo-kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters (S-Ranking Yo-kai)
- Yo-kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corps (exclusive Yo-kai)
- Yo-kai Watch Blasters: White Dog Squad (exclusive Yo-kai)
By the way, in case you’re wondering, Yo-kai Watch 3 is seemingly getting only one version. The game did get three in Japan (two at launch, and one more several months later), but it looks like Level-5 and Nintendo decided to go with only one in Europe and North America.
In other words, the content from both launch versions should be available from the getgo in the Western version without having to trade, though the extra content from the 3rd version will most likely be released as free DLC after launch if Yo-kai Watch Blasters is anything to go by!
Yo-kai Watch 3 (3DS) comes out on December 7th in Europe, and February 8th in North America. The Upcoming Games page has been updated!
Source: Nintendo PR
