Have any of you checked out the demo that's in the 3DS eShop? I'm curious to hear what other people thought about it.

I played through the demo and I'm kind of disappointed, personally. All the talk of this being "the second coming of Pokemon" only seemed to highlight some unfavorable comparisons.

But my thoughts:

• I love the concept. The pantheon of Japanese folklore spirits/demons/creatures is one of the craziest, most diverse collection of nightmares and nonsense I've ever seen, so a "catch 'em all" game fits perfectly.
• That being said, I feel like I'm missing a lot by not being natively familiar with all the cultural touchstones. I know about kappas and those weird umbrella monsters, but I don't know what to make of the "dog with a grumpy human salaryman's face".
• I could very well be missing some key element, but the combat feels like a huge chaotic mess. In 3 on 3 fights with everyone automatically attacking everyone else all at the same time, I'm having trouble seeing how/where the player can turn the tide with any kind of strategy (aside from being able to say "everyone target this one enemy").
• The super attacks refill for every fight (this could be different in the full game), so every battle turned into "how quickly can I do all 3 of the simple 'microgame' things before swapping in my other 3 monsters to do THEIR super attacks". The tapping, spinning, and tracing mechanics got pretty tedious after only a few fights.
• There MIGHT be types/elements/affinities? I had 6 critters on my team but I have no clue if any of them were better suited for combat against the different enemies.
• This may be a demo thing, but I have no idea what's going on in the story. The demo just drops you in and says "hey go fight some Yo-kai." I'd imagine the full game eases you into that stuff a bit more, but I can't say with any certainty.

I haven't had the chance to play/download the demo yet, but I've been following the series since January this year via the anime and junk; it's cute!

As for the game, from what I can tell, there are in fact affinities tied to a Yo-kai. For example, there are Yo-kai in the "Brave" tribe that can have fire affinities and things like that. While I do want to get the game (and plan on doing so later this month), I can't say I fully understand the combat system yet either, especially in terms of strategy. I do prefer turn-based systems to automatic systems like in this game, but I'm still interested in seeing what this game does with it and if it gets more complex as it goes on. Pokemon is something that's technically aimed at kids, and in its current state, it has a surprising amount of complexity to its battle system.

In terms of story, you're definitely eased into it. I've seen footage of the demo, and it seems to just take an excerpt from one of the quests in the game and change it a bit so that it works as a demo.

I'm excited for Yo-kai Watch; the world seems really well put together, and I'm all for exploring a world full of weird, cute monsters again (I haven't played a game like Pokemon in several years)!

@mrmathias: I'd give the demo a shot because unless the mechanics are like the story (in that the demo throws you in without explaining either), combat is kind of a mess.

Or, as I said before, it could be that it's fine and I just don't understand it.

It seems cool. Don't think I'll pick up the full release, though. I loved the look of the youkai and the overall charm of the game, but something's not clicking. It may just be the auto-playing combat, although, with some more mini games thrown into the loop, I could see it becoming very fun. As it was, the three mini games on deck (I think it was three; it felt like three) weren't terribly difficult or fun.

Ultimately, though, I think I'm most disappointing due to misplaced expectations. I knew nothing about the game outside of the fact that it was a "cultural phenomenon." With such high praise, and the concept of youkai being thrown around, I thought the game was going to be more of an ARG, using the 3DS camera to find youkai imposed upon your immediate environment. And then you could capture them and fight them and all the hullabaloo that is actually in the game That would've been so rad. But it's not the game's fault for not delivering upon those unwarranted, and admittedly lofty, expectations. Doesn't soothe my dashed dreams, though.

It's like every Level 5 game ever for me. The art looks nice, but I don't personally care for the style, and the actual gameplay is just boring and confusing to me.

I actually really liked how they did the 3D, though.

Yeah I never heard anything favorable when comparing the Yo-kai Watch games to the Pokemon games outside of the game being prettier and more actually kid friendly gameplay. Also it seems like phenomenon is much less centered around the games like Pokemon but more around the physical watches with the collectible medals. But I'll have to give the demo a whirl at some point.

@turtlebird95: Ever try Fantasy Life?

Nah. Almost bought it for whatever reason when it came out, but decided not to. Why do you ask?