Level-5’s monster-capturing RPG series Yo-Kai Watch is huge in Japan, and is now enjoying a measure of success in the West thanks to the recent localization of the first Nintendo 3DS game and an anime series.
Despite its resemblance to Pokémon, however, Yo-Kai Watch’s audience tends to skew towards the younger side because of the series’ silly monster designs (and fart jokes). It’s therefore unsurprising that Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch Land app is seemingly geared towards grade-schoolers. It’s simple to start up, simple to interact with, and offers games and activities that don’t adhere to a complicated ruleset.
All that is fine, of course. Youngsters who are big fans of Yo-Kai Watch will love the app. Its main appeal is its ability to scan Yo-Kai toy medals (sold separately!), which lets you reveal a Yo-Kai in glorious augmented reality (AR). Once summoned, you can observe the formerly invisible Yo-Kai in their “natural habitat.” Just don’t let them upset your stomach, give you a bad hair day, or flush your keys down the toilet.
Other activities within the Yo-Kai Watch Land app include a Wiki that lets you download and study information about different Yo-Kai, and a photo booth that supplies you with stickers to decorate your photos with. There’s also a collection of unlockable mini-games, most of which are of the tilt-and-avoid variety. Easy stuff, but fun distractions nevertheless.
Even if older Yo-Kai Watch fans may find Yo-Kai Watch Land a bit too childish for their tastes, smaller fans should adore it. Yo-Kai Watch Land is available as a free download on the App Store and Google Play.
