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Yo-Kai Watch Busters Spinoff Game Gets Manga Adaptation
posted on by Karen Ressler
This year's June issue of Shogakukan's Coro Coro Comics will begin a manga adaptation of the upcoming game Yōkai Watch Busters on Friday. Atsushi Ohba is drawing the series and Level-5 is credited as the original creator.
Yōkai Watch Busters is a spinoff game that will allow up to four players to cooperate in battling boss Yo-kai. Players are given case assignments from Commanding Officer Bree, after which they can explore the town, recruit Yo-Kai, and fight the big boss behind the case.
The game will get two versions: Akaneko-dan (Red Cat Team) and Shiroinu-tai (White Dog Corps). The versions will have different packaging and bundle different medals, download codes, and stickers. In addition, they will have some different playable Yo-Kai available, as well as some different bosses and rare items. Both games will ship in Japan on July 11 and retail for 4,968 yen (about US$41).
Game developer Level-5 announced the Yōkai Watch franchise in 2011 with a game, manga, and anime already planned. The franchise's first game for the Nintendo 3DS debuted in Japan in 2013, and the television anime premiered in 2014. The game's sequel Yōkai Watch 2 debuted last July with two different versions, Ganso and Honke, and the third version Shinuchi debuted in December.
Noriyuki Konishi launched the main manga in Shogakukan's Coro Coro Comics magazine in 2012. The manga won the Best Children's Manga award at both the 38th Annual Manga Awards last year, and the 60th Shogakukan Manga Awards in January. Viz Media is publishing the manga.
Nintendo announced that it plans to release the game franchise in North America and other territories in 2016.
