Summary

  • Level-5 has revealed a trailer for Holy Horror Mansion, a new installment in the Yo-kai Watch franchise.
  • The upcoming title is planned to be the largest cross-media project for Yo-Kai Watch to date.
  • The developer plans to hold a showcase in spring 2025 to reveal more information about the game, including platforms and a potential release window.

Almost four years after the latest installment in the Yo-Kai Watch series was released, the franchise is gearing up to return in a whole new way. Holy Horror Mansion has been announced by Level-5 and follows new protagonist Tom Lordland instead of Nat Adams and Katie Fielder. At first glance, the game looks to be a complete departure from previous installments.

The first Yo-Kai Watch game, simply titled Yo-Kai Watch, was released in Japan in 2013 and launched in the West in 2015. The franchise primarily follows protagonists Nate Adams and Katie Forester as they fight and befriend creatures called Yo-kai to help solve tasks. The games task players with rotating unique Yo-kai in and out of battle, but that looks to be changing in what's coming next for the Yo-Kai Watch franchise.

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At the very beginning of Level-5's reveal trailer for Holy Horror House, the developer states that the game is the next concept for Yo-Kai Watch, though interestingly, the franchise's name is not in the game's title. The trailer shines a spotlight on Tom Lordland and the haunted apartment building he lives in with his family. After discovering a strange camera, he is suddenly followed by several different colored Yo-kai, each with different abilities. Unfortunately, the trailer did not feature a release window or platforms for the monster-taming game, though Level-5 plans to hold a showcase for the game in spring 2025 to reveal more information.

Holy Horror Mansion is the Next Yo-Kai Watch Concept

The trailer for Holy Horror Mansion suggests that the Yo-Kai Watch franchise is taking an entirely new and interesting path. Yo-kai will continue to trick unsuspecting victims, this time using the dark items provided by the De Ville Corp, an evil corporation within the new game. Fortunately, the camera that Tom found, the Cameron, can uncover items possessed by evil Yo-kai. The camera also seems to possess the power to locate helpful Yo-kai as well. Even the combat is changing, with Yo-kai engaging in 1v1 combat, similar to the Pokemon franchise.

After almost 11 years since the start of the Yo-Kai Watch franchise, developer Level-5 is taking it in a new direction. Holy Horror Mansion gives the series new gameplay and story twists, which some fans may agree is needed. There was a time when Yo-Kai Watch outsold Pokemon, so fans may want to keep this upcoming title on their radar.

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Yo-Kai Watch Tag Page Cover Art
7 /10

Yo-Kai Watch
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RPG
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 76 /100 Critics Rec: 57%
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Released
January 8, 2014
ESRB
E 10+ // Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence
Developer(s)
Level-5, Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher(s)
Level-5, Nippon Ichi Software
Multiplayer
Local Multiplayer
Franchise
Yo-Kai Watch
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Find, befriend and battle hundreds of Yo-kai After selling millions and being a cultural phenomenon in Japan, YO-KAI WATCH is coming to the United States for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The YO-KAI WATCH game is about hundreds of sometimes cute, sometimes spooky, and usually mischievous Yo-kai that inhabit our world. Yo-kai are not ghosts, monsters or creatures. Yo-kai are, quite simply, Yo-kai. They cannot be seen by the human eye, but they are everywhere. Whether born from the soul of a deceased human, or an everyday object discovering its higher purpose, their personalities are distinctly humanlike. As you explore the world, use your Yo-kai Watch to find them, befriend them, and turn them into a team to battle other Yo-kai. Befriending new Yo-kai may not be so easy, though – in many cases, you will need to battle with them and impress them during your battle. Each Yo-kai has its own unique skills and strengths and you’ll use them to challenge the evil Yo-kai and help people in need of solving daily problems – like an argument with a friend or forgetting something important – which may be caused by mischievous Yo-kai hidden everywhere. Features: • With the power of the Yo-kai watch, find and befriend more than 200 hidden Yo-kai, found everywhere in the world, and call upon their powers when you need their help. • Assemble a team of six Yo-kai in your watch to defeat evil and help people. • Each Yo-kai has its own unique skills and strengths, so use strategy to assemble your team to address different problems and fight different evil Yo-kai. • Make your Yo-kai Watch more powerful and upgrade your Yo-kai as you play through the story.

Genre(s)
RPG