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I was compensated both financially and in product by Hasbro for the #YokaiWatch campaign. All opinions are ours. To some parents Yo-Kai Watch is Greek. it’s that foreign thing that kids dig but parents can’t tell their Yo-Kai from their spectral anomalies. In actuality, Yo-Kai Watch isn’t Greek at all, it’s Japanese. It’s an anime show that took Japan by storm and is now in the U.S. As go the shows, so go the toys and the Yo-Kai Watch toys from Hasbro are here, full of imagination based play-with a touch of collection, mischief and giggles.
Yo-Kai are mischievous spirits that live in another dimension, but sometimes they cross over into ours. Nate is an 11 year old boy who frees Whisper, who gives him a Yo-Kai Watch, which allows Nate to see the Yo-Kai and ultimately send them into battle if needed. However, if you assist a Yo-Kai then they’ll give you a medal, which will allow you to summon then in case you need their assistance.
Now that all of the parents know the deal with things we can come to grips with the toys. Your Yo-Kai Watch does not tell time; rather it is able to recognize over 100 different medals. These are the medals that the Yo-Kai give us when we assist them. Your Yo-Kai Watch comes with two medals already, just pop one into the watch and let the fun begin.
There are three ways to play with the toys. When you put a medal into the watch it will introduce itself and tell you what Yo-Kai tribe it belongs to. There are seven different tribes, each having their own strengths and personality quirks for battling and introduction songs. From here kids can listen to the songs, use their imagination to find Yo-Kai and open the lid to the watch.
During our Yo-Kai Watch party the kids loved putting the medals into the watches. There are arrows on the medals that align themselves into the watch. All you have to do is slide the medal in and you’re rocking. They all danced along to the songs, laughed when the characters made funny noises and figured out where they were on the respective chart that has them all on it.
The second way to play is a go-to classic for ages 4 and up: socialize, collect and trade. The Yo-Kai Watch Yo-Kai Medallium Collection Book is sold separately and the best way to organize all of your medals. This also comes with two medals and has a sheet that breaks them all down according to their tribe (remember that part?).
The third way to play is second nature for kids. It’s the Yo-Kai World app that works with select iDevices and Android units. Once you download that app, just open it up and scan the front of the medals. You’ll see the augmented reality figure of them pop up, over the medal in the 3D. Move the camera around and take a picture of their tail, put your friends in the background or store it for future trade value.
So that’s the toys. Our Yo-Kai Watch party consisted of three 6 year olds watching the show, then opening the toys and figuring them all out. Unless they hit the wall and really need some help, I’m a parent who lets kids figure things out. Sure enough the kids figured it out, the younger ones just needed help actually opening the toys.
Within minutes they were seeing which medals made what sounds and who had the coolest looking Yo-Kai on them. Once I assured them that everyone will have the same number of medals, but that they were free to trade, they resumed their play. The same thing went for the Yo-Kai Watch Medal Moments figure. This is a collectible figure that comes with a medal, which you can then play with or trade.
The Yo-Kai Watch itself is thick plastic. It’s a bulky medal reading toy, which will take a licking and keep on detecting Yo-Kai. Kids might need a hand putting it on their own wrists, but its size is big-or small enough for people 4 and up. If you’re going to jump into the Yo-Kai pool I recommend getting the Medallium Collection Book, the medals are about 2” round, but could get lost in the shuffle of your child’s bedroom.
The individual packs of medal have there in each one for kids to trade or collect. They retail for $2.99 and it’s a grab bag of Yo-Kai luck, thus, it’s good to have some trading partners who are game.
What’s neat about the Yo-Kai Watch toys is that they directly feed from the anime; but can also be played independently from it. You can bring in the app to see Yo-Kai in virtual person, trade the medals or have in-person duels if you know the strengths and weaknesses of the Yo-Kai. Like previous shows and toys that started big in Japan and became a worldwide phenomenon, it’s popular for a reason.
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