Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits

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.

Yo-kai Watch 2 improves everything done in the past, but at the same time overlooks some elements that fans wanted to be fixed. There are some new game modes, online multiplayer, new Yo-kais and a bunch of different activities, but overall the game still remains too easy for seasoned players.

It hasn't changed much compared to the first one, but it has evolved. Although it can be a little bit confusing at times, it is overall a very engaging adventure.

Quotation forthcoming.

It's fun but conformist. If you liked the first game you'll like what you'll find here.

A kids RPG that’s kind of hard to hate, but the mileage may vary depending on how much said child likes to do as they’re told.

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.

Yo-Kai Watch 2 keeps the iconic feeling of the first title, but adding some ingredients to boost the original formula. It succeeds, but it also feels like we have seen the game before. It's a sequel in narrative terms, but not from a gameplay standpoint.

Yo-Kai Watch 2 is a solid sequel: in addition to two hundred new yo-kai, Level5 is been able to expand the open world and the combat system with some new interesting mechanics. However, the recruitment system is still pretty poor.

It's the same formula as in the first game, but this time we have much more content and many more things to do, including online battles. Yo-kai Watch 2 consolidates this franchise as the best alternative to Pokémon.

Yo-kai Watch 2 is an iterative sequel that plays too safe too often, but, taken for what it is, also delivers a solid JRPG experience, enriched by almost two hundred new Yo-kai, online battles and new areas to explore. Your enjoyment of the first game and of the anime really is a factor here.

Despite some mechanics that didn't get the necessary fix they sorely needed, Yo-Kai Watch 2 definitely is stronger than its predecessor by leaps and bounds. While the recruitment system is still a sore spot, the wealth of content and freedom of exploration in Yo-Kai Watch 2 builds a much more solid foundation, making it a great sequel and a worthwhile purchase.

Ultimately, though, I have incredibly mixed feelings about Yo-Kai Watch 2. On one hand, I really wanted to love it because it channels the more outlandish elements of the TV series incredibly well, but I also can't shake the feeling that Yo-Kai Watch 2 is more of a glorified expansion rather than a true sequel.

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]

A solid sequel with minor improvements to a successful formula.

I’m still surprised that Nintendo ever thought that there would be an audience for Yo-Kai Watch 2 in the west, but boy am I glad that they did.

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 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.

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.

I had a lot of fun with Yo-kai Watch 2. If you can deal with fetch quests and a passive battle system that requires a bit of patience, Bony Spirits is a great sequel with a fun story that feels refreshingly nostalgic to experience. This is the game you wanted the first Yo-kai Watch to be.

Yo-Kai Watch 2 is a fantastic sequel to a fantastic game.

There’s a world with charm and careful detail, more than a collection of paths, obstacles and objectives. It’s a place worth occupying, even if you may sometimes, occasionally, feel a little lost while you’re there.

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.

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.

Coming from a series newbie, Yo-kai Watch 2: Fleshy Souls/Bony Spirits is an enjoyable game, but there were a couple of things that surprised me. The mostly-automated battles confused me at first as I wasn’t expecting it, but I did get the hang of it over time. I just wish the user had more input during them other than healing and Soultimate moves, but other than that and the tedium of befriending Yo-kai, fans of the original game should enjoy the second outing as well.

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 has a great degree of potential, so it's tragic to see Level-5 squander it over fears of upsetting their massive cash cow. (In Japan, anyway.) This sequel carries the same sense of spooky whimsy as the first game, but unfortunately doesn't lose the underlying tedium. If you're looking for an alternative to Pokemon, you might want to see if the next game fixes Yo-kai Watch's woes—if it gets localized, that is.

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 also goes to some real crazy places that Pokémon wouldn't dare to explore.