Yo-Kai Watch faces April release date

Japanese smash hit Yo-Kai Watch will finally arrive in Europe on 29th April.

The 3DS role-player is frequently compared to Pokémon for its monster catching and battling mechanics (although I think you'll find Yo-Kai are actually spirits, rather than creatures).

Yo-Kai has already spawned video game sequels and a spin-off anime series. There's even a special version of Just Dance themed around the franchise. Now, Nintendo is bringing the series West for the first time.

Developed by Ni No Kuni and Professor Layton studio Level-5, Yo-Kai Watch mixes monster battling with RPG mechanics. The game will arrive in Europe with a huge push - alongside an English-language dub of its anime, plus the inevitable range of toys and other merchandise.

"Yo-Kai Watch is going to be big. Cult classic big. I already am more enamored of it than I've been of any Pokémon release in a long, long time," Cassandra Khaw wrote in Eurogamer's look at Yo-Kai Watch last year. "But it's not going to kill one of Nintendo's biggest franchises. At least, not yet."