Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits

Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits is, at its stronger parts, a fantastic game about being young, curious, and free - a pleasant feeling most either feel or miss from their childhood days. Mixed with this is a huge feeling of impatience, fed by terrible gameplay choices to extend playtime during some of the worst sections of the game, which makes this sometimes feel like it is overstaying its welcome. Overall, it is a good catch 'em all game, but it is rough around the edges.

While it may not solidify the burgeoning franchise as an alternative to Pokémon, Yo-kai Watch 2 is nonetheless another solid RPG in 3DS's library, especially for younger gamers. [Issue #24 – November/December 2016, p.12M]

The fights are too simple and the very frequent fetch quests are too taxing to hold interest. Even the pretty art style, fun dialogue, and immersive city (complete with metro rides) aren’t enough to make the game last [for] you.

While the game does introduce a number of new Yo-Kai and a follow-up story, this second entry feels too deeply rooted in the original to where many of the same faults are still present, with it really feeling like Level-5 played it way too safe in Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls.

Yo-Kai Watch 2 is not a bad game, it is a bad sequel. It is so good to newcomers to the franchise, that the fans need to be extremely patient to stay interested.

While the game doesn’t have the generation spanning appeal of the great Nintendo canon, what we have here is a very competent entry level role playing game for younger players. More mature players will find little to be impressed by with Yo-Kai Watch 2’s plentiful but basic offerings.

The arrival of Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits provides fans with a familiar experience that changes very, very little when compared to the first iteration of the series.

Instead of evolving, Yo-kai Watch 2 plays it safe by fusing new content – some good, some trivial, and some bad – onto a recycled frame, and the result is what we refer to as a sophomore slump.

The original Yo-kai Watch got a pass when it came to battle depth and strategy, but Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls do not enjoy the same luxury. The battle system is not improved in any way, and as a result is both shallow and slow.

The world can be fun to dive into, but actually playing Yo-kai Watch can shift from tedious to outright boring. For every new story idea or impressive blend of humor and pathos in its writing, Yo-kai Watch 2 fails to breathe life into the act of actually playing it, and until something’s done about all the issues with combat, no amount of delicious doughnuts can cover up its problems.

Yo-kai Watch 2 does preserve the quirky tone and charming writing that made the first game so engaging, but its lack of iteration is problematic in that there aren't enough fresh ideas to color its monotonous gameplay.