“Youkai Watch 2” Focal Point of This Week’s Nintendo Direct

Ghost-Taming RPG Slated for Release this Month

By Michelle Curtis on July 2, 2014 at 11:46am

According to their official Japanese website, Nintendo will focus on the upcoming release of “Youkai Watch 2” during this week's Nintendo Direct.

Developed by Level-5, the makers of “Ni no Kuni” and the “Professor Layton” series, “Youkai Watch” is an RPG game where you befriend ghosts by feeding them their favorite foods and then engaging them in battle. If you win, you receive their Youkai medal, which allows you to summon them. You can also use in-game coins as well as Play Coins to win them from gashapon (capsule) machines.

This second installment in the growing franchise (which also includes an anime series as well as two manga series) will have two versions: the Ganso (Founder) edition and the Honke (Head) edition. The Honke edition looks to contain Kyuubi, a nine-tailed fox youkai. “Youkai Watch 2” will feature some version-exclusive youkai as well as Z medals, new transportation modes (bicycle, train, pole-climbing), and a mysterious red box that causes the player to either fart or possibly receive a special reward.

In addition to the gameplay elements, the storyline will follow main character Keita as he travels back in time with his friends to the Showa era. Players can also look forward to the reveal of the truth behind the Youkai Watch that Keita uses to summon his ghosts. The sequel also introduces the character Keizo, a young ghost-tamer from the Showa era that the group meets in their travels.

Nintendo Direct is scheduled for July 4 at 6 p.m. JST. “Youkai Watch 2” is currently available for preorder from sites like PlayAsia and will be released for the Nintendo 3DS on July 10. There is a movie tie-in with the release of the “Youkai Watch” movie being released Dec. 20 in Japan. Advance tickets go on sale July 19, and those who purchase these tickets will receive a limited-edition Fuyunyan medal, which is supposed to have some secret significance to “Youkai Watch 2.”

Youkai Watch 2

Release: 7/10/2014 [JP]

ESRB Rating: Everyone

Publisher: Level-5

Platforms: 3DS

Purchase: Amazon