| Yo-kai Watch | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Yo-Kai_Watch_NA_Artwork.jpg) North American packaging artwork | |
| Developer(s) | Level-5 |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Ken Motomura |
| Producer(s) | Akihiro Hino |
| Designer(s) | Akihiro Hino |
| Programmer(s) | Yuji Mori Tetsuo Mori |
| Artist(s) | Nobuyuki Yanai Takuzō Nagano Miho Tanaka |
| Writer(s) | Akihiro Hino |
| Composer(s) | Kenichiro Saigo |
| Series | Yo-kai Watch |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | Nintendo 3DSNintendo Switch
|
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Yo-kai Watch (Japanese: 妖怪ウォッチ, Hepburn: Yōkai Wotchi) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS and the first game in the Yo-kai Watch franchise. Originally released in Japan on July 11, 2013, the game is based on the Yōkai of Japanese folklore, who are said to be ghosts and apparitions that cause mischief in daily life. In Yo-kai Watch, player character Nathan "Nate" Adams or Katie Forester, depending on who the player chooses, is given the titular Yo-Kai Watch, which gives him or her the ability to see Yo-kai, after stumbling across and befriending the butler Yo-kai Whisper. Players assume the role of Nathan or Katie, as he or she travels around town searching for and befriending peaceful Yo-kai, battling hostile Yo-kai, and solving problems caused by mischievous Yo-kai.
The game was released to a positive commercial and critical reception in Japan, and a steady rise in popularity started a franchise, including a toy line and an anime series, in addition to Yo-kai Watch 2, released the following year for the Nintendo 3DS. Despite the franchise's success in Japan, the game would not be released internationally until 2015, when Nintendo announced plans to localize the game in the West. By November 2014, the game had sold over a million copies in Japan, making it one of the best selling games on the Nintendo 3DS.