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  1. The Yo-kai Watch franchise must be hitting the big leagues if they're putting out not just sequels but spin-offs as well. Unlike the main games Yo-kai Watch Blasters does away with the human protagonists and focuses just on the ghostly creatures as they band together in Blaster teams to keep the peace in the spirit world. Just like Yo-kai Watch 2, Blasters comes in two flavors, Red Cat Corps and White Dog Squad (for this review I played the former). The change in gameplay focus helps alleviate some of the nagging little problems found in the previous two mainline games, but it's not enough to completely cover the sense of repetition that weighs down the experience. Yo-kai Watch Blasters may not be a dungeon-crawler but it still feels extremely similar to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, mostly because you don't play as a human character controlling and collecting Yo-kai but as the Yo-kai themselves. In this game Yo-kai band together to form Blaster teams who keep the peace by battling unruly ghosts. Just like the main games there's a distinct Saturday morning cartoon vibe to the storytelling—the game is even divided into chapters that play out like individual episodes. As such the writing isn't exactly hardhitting or even that original but it's cute and charming enough for what it is. Besides, as you'll quickly discover while playing, Yo-kai Watch Blasters is more concerned with gameplay grind than storytelling. Rather than control a human character collecting Yo-kai, you play as a Yo-kai yourself and can engage in battles in real time while running around the city. This actually isn't the first time players have seen this style of gameplay as Blasters was a side mode in Yo-kai Watch 2. The formula has been refined a bit but the basic idea is the same, with strategy being somewhat less of a concern as your team of four Yo-kai battle enemies. Just like the main game there are hundreds of Yo-kai to collect and use in battle (you still befriend Yo-kai through a semi-random system after defeating them in battle) plus every ghost is given one of four classes: fighter, tank, healer, or ranger. A good Blasters team will balance out all four classes, though it's entirely up to you how to assemble and use your team. The battle system itself is decently fun—for a little while. Even with so many Yo-kai there really isn't much variety to combat and the game quickly turns into a game of repetition. Even fighting against different Yo-kai doesn't feel unique, though boss ghosts at least pose a more unique challenge. What quickly becomes apparent is that the entire game is built to be a grind. You can use whatever Yo-kai you want since it's easy to use Oni orbs to level them up, but collecting the necessary amount of orbs to build up more than four Yo-kai requires a lot of grinding. Oni orbs are also used for various other game mechanics (purchasing equipment, evolving Yo-kai, etc.) so the game really is made for grinding. It wouldn't be so bad if the gameplay itself was a little more exciting, but even when battles get tougher the combat system of Yo-kai Watch Blasters just isn't that interesting, and it seems almost endless when you look at the amount of Oni orbs necessary to level up each Yo-kai, or the random chance of getting unique upgrade materials from bosses. One way the game tries to liven things up is the multiplayer system that allows four players to team up on missions. Much like the Monster Hunter games the monotony of grinding should be more fun with other players, right? Well, not quite. Playing with friends doesn't really change the fact that every battle feels like it plays out exactly the same as the last one, and there are few opportunities to really coordinate on team attacks. And although Blasters supports both local and online multiplayer, the online community isn't exactly bustling so you're better off grouping up with friends to get a multiplayer game going. The controls in the game are pretty straightforward at least, and the bottom screen serves as a handy map that you can even zoom in/out to get a better idea of where you need to go next. The one minor problem is that there are also icons on the touch screen that you need to tap to use items or activate your Soultimate move, but the placement/size of these buttons could have been a little more convenient. Just like Yo-kai Watch 2, Blasters recycles a ton of material from the original Yo-kai game. The environments are largely the same cities seen in the main games, and obviously the Yo-kai themselves are largely the same. The art design in these games is certainly charming but three games of it is pretty boring—the series could definitely use a fresh look. The soundtrack meanwhile isn't bad. It's fast-paced and fun, with plenty of clever inspirations from other familiar tunes, but still manages to feel unique to Yo-kai Watch. There's nothing that stands out once you're finished playing but it's a solid background soundtrack nonetheless. As mentioned the core of Blasters is grinding, so if you really want to see everything the game has to offer you'll be putting in a lot of hours into the game. The story is relatively direct and only lasts around ten hours or so (assuming you don't spend too much time grinding to level up other Yo-kai), but the post-game content that opens up afterward can last for hundreds of hours—if you're willing to sit through the grind of it all. Yo-kai Watch Blasters offers a decent spin-off to the Yo-kai Watch formula, one that isn't too different but still feels unique enough to work as its own game. For better or for worse Blasters retains all of the same humor and style of the main games, one that feels right at home in the kids' cartoon universe that Level-5 has built. But it's the seemingly endless grind of Blasters that just highlights how shallow the gameplay actually is, and will leave you questioning whether putting hours and hours of playtime into leveling up Yo-kai is actually worth it, even if you're spending those hours in multiplayer. Yo-kai Watch Blasters is fine in a short amount, but it lacks the spark to keep you coming back for hours on end. Rating: 6 out of 10 Yo-kai
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