| Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y | |
|---|---|
 Promotional art depicting the game's main characters and the Y Academy | |
| Developer | Level-5 |
| Publisher | Level-5 |
| Composers |
|
| Series | Yo-kai Watch |
| Platforms | |
| Release | Nintendo Switch
|
| Genre | Role-playing |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Yo-kai Watch Jam - Yo-kai Academy Y: Yeah-Yeah School Life,[a] also known asY School Heroes: Bustlin' School Life, is a 2020role-playing game developed and published byLevel-5 for theNintendo Switch andPlayStation 4. A spin-off installment in theYo-kai Watch series,Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y focuses onJinpei Jiba, a student at the fictitious Y Academy, who investigates mysteries occurring in the academy and surrounding areas.[2] He is also joined by his friends, who are among the playable characters.
Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y was received positively by critics, who praised the game's combat system, environment, and school life mode, due to its routine feeling andopen world-like style.[3][4]
Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y is arole-playing game that focuses on Jinpei Jiba as he attends Y Academy, an elite boarding school and the main setting of theYo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Yanime series.Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y's main gameplay occurs during "school life",[5] which takes place during the day at Y Academy as the player attempts to raise their popularity by receiving "Likes", which can be obtained through solving fellow students' quests.[6] During school life, players can also befriend other students and joinclubs.[7]
Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y has a combat system that is drastically different from the core three mainlineYo-kai Watch games, with battles happening in real-time.[4] During battles, players can transform into the Yo-kai Heroes,[8] which makes the player stronger.
Yo-kai Academy Y was developed and published by Level-5,[9] who had developed and published otherYo-kai Watch games. The game is based on theYo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind anime series,[10] whose first season was ongoing at the time of the game's release. Development ofYo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y was prioritized overInazuma Eleven: Victory Road, due to Level-5 wantingVictory Road to be "a hit".[11][12]
The game was first revealed by Level-5 CEOAkihiro Hino onTwitter in December 2019,[13] and was officially announced in the March 2020 issue ofCoroCoro Comic.[14] Further details were unveiled in the lead-up to the game's release.[15][16] A demo for the game was released on theNintendo eShop on August 3, 2020.[17]
Yo-kai Academy Y was released on August 13, 2020, on the Nintendo Switch,[18] and on the PlayStation 4 on October 29.[19] The game was released physically on December 17.[20]
Yo-kai Academy Y received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the game's combat and school mode.[4]Akiru Miyashita, writing for4Gamer.net, stated thatYo-kai Academy Y was his favorite entry in theYo-kai Watch series,[5] due to the game's open world-like environment and combat system, which he opined had a "good tempo".[3]
The game's school environment was received positively by critics. Namco Kushida ofFamitsu described it as a "miniature garden", writing that she could "not help but patrol every corner". Totsuka expressed that going to and from school felt routine.[4] Miyashita also enjoyed the routine feeling of school life, calling it "comfortable".[5]
The combat system was also received positively. Keiichi Totsuka ofFamitsu wrote that the combat system was accessible to newcomers of theYo-kai Watch series, comparing the system to that of theYo-kai Watch Blasters series. Gigolo Ashida ofFamitsu appreciated the Yo-kai Hero mechanic, due to it being a "good accent". Amemiya, also ofFamitsu, criticized how the game uses achibi art style during battles, as he felt it makes it harder to see what's happening.[4]
Yo-kai Academy Y sold over 3,000 copies on the Nintendo Switch in its first three days of release, making it the 25thbest-selling video game in the week of August 10.[21] In late December 2020,Yo-kai Academy Y was announced to have sold over 42,000 copies on the Nintendo Switch.[22]
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