Yo-kai Watch may be designed and marketed toward kids, but that doesn’t make it a simplistic game. Follow these quick tips and suggestions and you’ll be on your way to solving the mysteries of the Yo-kai around Springdale.

Crank-a-kai Everyday

You’ll soon discover one of the best treasure rewards in the game—those colorful Crank-a-kai coins. Return to the machine by the tree at the Wildwood Shrine where you got Whisper at the beginning of the game to insert them. Most of the time you’ll get a random item, but rarely a Yo-kai will pop out. There’s a rare chance you could get a very powerful A or even S-rank Yo-kai early on. Since you can use it three times a day, use it every day!

yo-kai watch

Fuse Reuknight

You learn about Fusion in Chapter 5. Fusing certain Yo-Kai together creates powerful new versions. Your primary destination in that same chapter is the Old Mansion, where you can find and befriend Armsman and Helmsman. Fuse them as soon as possible to create Reuknight, a powerful A-rank Yo-kai that found a home in my roster throughout the remainder of the story.

One Plus One Equals One

An important factor to remember when fusing is that you lose the two “parent” Yo-kai to create a new one. Many side quests require certain Yo-kai to complete, so make sure you complete them before using them for fusion, or you’ll have to find and befriend them again.

Popular Yo-Kai

Befriending Yo-kai can be a frustrating process, even when offering them the best version of their favorite food (which you should always do). To help even the odds bring a Yo-kai with the Popularity skill, like Shmoopie or Cupistol. I found it worth keeping one of them in my active party anytime I was out Yo-kai hunting. Also, Shmoopie is totally adorable and a useful mid-game healer.

yo-kai watch

Heal Me!

Healing Yo-kai via food items is not terribly efficient. Look for Yo-kai that have a Heal or Restore Technique that can heal your party for you. Some Yo-kai also have supportive Inspirit abilities that are cast on your Yo-kai instead of your foes, making them stronger or healing them over time. These abilities are invaluable in protracted boss fights. Tattletell and D’Wanna make great early game healers.

Day and Night

After hitting Chapter 4 you can switch between Day and Night by returning to your home. You can find different Yo-kai after the sun goes down, and it’s a good way to find the alternate versions of many day-time Yo-kai. Certain quests are also only available at night.

Terror Time is Treasure Time

Chapter 4 also introduces Teror Time, a darker version of Springdale filled with Yo-kai minions and a big red angry Yo-Kai. From then on Terror Time occurs randomly while running around the city. The goal is to escape to the exit point before Gargaros catches you. He’ll pretty much wipe the floor with any party that hasn’t yet beaten the game. If you can survive a little longer, however, you can nab some pretty good loot in the random chests in the area.

Upgrade Your Watch

Upgrade your watch rank at Timers and More in Blossom Heights by completing the various requests, which involve tracking down and defeating three specific Yo-kai for each rank. Your rank is capped by your campaign progress, but be sure to upgrade as soon as you can after completing a chapter so you can start seeing and befriending more powerful Yo-kai.

The Right Attitude

A Yo-kai will act in combat according to their Attitude. You can change a Yo-kai’s Attitude using various books you find as loot. Pay attention to a Yo-kai’s stats to determine what works best. Most will come pre-programmed with their best Attitude, but occasionally you might want a healer to focus more on buffing than heals, for example, in which case you’d want to switch their Attitude to Tender or Helpful.


This article was written by

Eric is a freelance writer who enjoys talking about video games, movies, books and Dallas-based sports teams. He's a featured community blogger on GameInformer.com and every week he watches a random film from his collection of several hundred DVDs and live tweets about it @RogueWatson. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife and daughter, two dogs, two cats, two fish tanks, some hermit crabs and a bookshelf full of Transformers.