Yo Kai Watch 2 Review - Worth finding time for?

Yo-Kai Watch 2 is all about collecting supernatural forces using a time-telling device strapped to your wrist. While it is essentially a new-age Pokemon, it's also quite good.

Like Pokemon, you meet potential allies which you can befriend by besting them in battle. Or by giving them their favourite foods. In some cases, you'll need to take things a step further by considering their distinct personalities as well.

It all starts out very similarly to the original. You wander around the town of Springdale, solve other people's problems, catch bugs, and make sure to cross the road properly.

But Yo Kai Watch 2 eventually takes you back in time. Letting you take part in the Yo-Kai War between the Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls.

The game has over 350 Yo-Kai, with around 100 new ones. This also means there's new Soultimate attacks and combination possibilities, as well as touch-screen mini-games.

The combat remains the same, however. Your Yo-Kai will automatically attack unless they're assigned orders, and you can swap out characters on the fly using the dial-system. The level of interactivity, however, will not be to everyone's tastes.

You can also play against others in both casual and official battles which give you additional currency to spend. You can now also trade Yo-Kai online, increasing your chances of completing your collection.

There's even a four-player Blasters mode which lets you team up with other Yo-Kai and run through town in order to reach the exit, collecting items and beating up enemies along the way.

The interface has had a much-needed upgrade. Whisper - your friendly neighbourhood ghost - lets you access his Yo-Kai Pad and installs appropriate apps for travelling through the game.

You can get hints on where some Yo-Kai might be hiding, see your trophy collection, and easily track each quest using location services.

There's so much more to do as well with secret challenge rooms, bugs to catch, and things to unlock. Add to that the abundance of side-quests and collectibles, and you’ll soon find yourself drowning in content.

Yo-Kai Watch 2 is more of the same, but with better narrative direction, a more eclectic cast of characters, and improved usability.

The tutorial does weigh down the pacing from the get-go, and the simplicity may be off-putting for hardcore Pokemon fans.

But like all good sequels Yo-Kai-Watch 2 improves upon the original and gives you plenty to think about for the future of the franchise.