When it comes to Yo-Kai in Yo-Kai Watch, there are certain characters that are better than others. The best creatures are found in the end-game, of course, but it’s possible to come across more than a few potential party members that will enhance the rest of the game for you, perhaps making the overall experience easier.
For example, Baddinyan can be a great character that sticks with you throughout much of Yo-Kai Watch. He’s pretty easy to acquire too. Jibanyan joins Nate or Kate as part of the story and fusing him with one of the Roughraffs found in Uptown Springdale’s back alleys will give you Baddinyan. (Befriend a Roughraff by feeding it a noodle dish.) He excels in speed, like all Charming types, but works as a solid fighter thanks to his abilities. His Pompadour keeps enemy headbutt attacks from hitting him, which is a nice perk. It’s his Inspirit and Soultimate attacks that make him most worthwhile. His Delinquency will make an enemy attack its allies. Also, Nyice ta Beatcha, the Soultimate, deals damage to all enemies. Both are great perks for a character you can get in the first few hours of the game.
Having a character with Popularity is a perk too, since it makes befriending Yo-Kai Watch’s Yokai easier. I’ve extolled the virtues of Shmoopie before, but there’s another option if you want a party member that will help you make more friends, but perhaps deal a little more damage. Casanuva is a fantastic pick. He starts out as a D Rank Cupistol, which can be found in Downtown Springdale in trees and likes bread. He’s still a healer, like Shmoopie, but has stronger spirit that helps with a Whirlwind damage dealing technique. Once you start seeing the A Rank Casanuvas around, you can get a Love Buster as a random drop from him, which can be fused with Cupistol to evolve it. His spirit and speed are great, he has a strong Storm technique, and can deal decent damage with Guns Blazing. His Inspirit, Popularize, is good if you have a party member with high defense to act as a tank, since all opponents will attack him, an the Heavenly Heart Soultimate will heal 130 hit points for all allies. As another plus, Casanuva is an A Rank, whereas Shmoopie’s evolved form, Pinkipoo, is only a B Rank.
Appak is another character than makes quite a difference if you have him around. Unfortunately, you really have to work for this Charming type. Walkappa joins the party as part of a story event, just like Jibanyan, but evolving him isn’t as simple as finding another Yo-Kai for a fusion. You have to level him up to 32, either by keeping him around or using experience orbs, before you get this A Rank character. It’s worth it, though, because he boasts high attack and speed. His Penetrade means you’ll always deal elemental damage, which is helpful with his incredibly powerful Waterfall Technique that hits one enemy and Soultimate Torrent Slash that attacks every foe. Both deal water damage. His Inspirit, Torrent Power, can boost the strength of a weaker ally, like Casanuva, to make them more useful. Also, his Double Slice attack can do some decent damage.
But if you want someone really powerful, you should really try for a Dragon Lord. Draggie joins as part of a story quest in the tenth chapter. If you’ve been staying out all night and pushing the limits during Terror Time, you might already have his fusion item, the Dragon Orb. This turns him into a S Rank Dragon Lord, which has a Dragon Force ability that increases his strength when his health is low. His Maul Attack and Meteor Technique are both incredibly powerful. Like Appak, he also has an Inspirit move that boosts an allies’ strength, making someone like Baddinyan or Casanuva more valuable. Best of all is his Soultimate, Dragon Rock, which deals significant damage to enemies.
Bloominoko is a fun buddy to have around, though you have to work for it. It evolves from a Noko that’s fused with a Lucky Drop. Except a Noko only randomly appears in areas all around Springdale and is rare to befriend, even if you have the hamburgers he craves. Lucky drops appear sometimes as a reward after beating a Noko, so you’re really working for this guy. If you do put all the work in to earning one, you’ll have a critter with super strong Maul and Meteor attacks and techniques. So basically the Dragon Lord moves, but only sooner. Bloominoko also Inspirits allies a stat boost thanks to Fortunate, and his Lucky Smile Soultimate heals 150 health for all allies. It’s a good character to have around if you need money too, since Good Fortune increases cash earned from a fight.
Finally, there’s Shadow Venoct. This is a Crank-a-Kai exclusive Yo-Kai and S Rank creature, but there’s a way to get him early. People on Reddit have been compiling a list of QR codes from episodes of the anime and medals, as well as password codes. When I scanned one of these QR codes and received a 5 star coin, Shadow Venoct was the reward. It’s a fantastic character, thanks to a Secrecy skill that keeps it from being targeted and an Inspirit move called Enshroud that makes other party members less likely to be targeted too. It has a Restore technique to aid allies, which helps balance out a party that consists of these other characters. His Soultimate Shadow Dragon is fantastic for dealing 10 hits to all enemies. You aren’t guaranteed to get him from a five star coin, but if you do, he’s a great friend.
With over 230 Yo-Kai, there are plenty characters out there for you to favor. It’s especially reassuring to see how many of these handy folks end up joining a player’s party naturally as Yo-Kai Watch’s story progresses. But, if you don’t want to wait, don’t forget to always find the anime episode QR codes and growing collection of passwords to improve your odds of building a good party with the Crank-a-Kai. And, of course we want to hear everyone’s opinions on which characters they’ve found most valuable in the game.
Published: Nov 30, 2015 01:30 pm