Yo-kai Watch 1 speedrun route

Yo-kai Watch 1 speedrun route
By NerdyNyanmurai (with the route shamelessly stolen from the great Mr. Dew's Switch WR)

General notes:
Do not nickname your Yo-kai
Skip all cutscenes and dialogue, unskippable or ones that are faster to mash through will be noted
All tutorials are unskippable so I won't ever bring them up
This route assumes you know and are comfortable with using IAE
Always fast forward in battles (except for charging soultimates and purifying if you struggle)
I recommend putting your IAE Yo-kai in the top-left slot for convenience (3DS and Switch only)
For Phone, due to the full touchscreen controls it's equally easier to IAE from anywhere
Try and manage your stamina so you never have any spare when you enter a loading zone (3DS only)
Feel free to use food as you see fit, as you'll want to save medicine for the final boss
If you ever run into an accidental battle, always flee with a Getaway Plush if you have one
I won't divulge into optimal movement so I recommend you familiarise yourself with shortcuts/overworld layouts

Important disclaimer:
This route is identical across all versions, with one major exception: the bike
In the Switch version specifically, it's actually faster to not use the bike due to unaltered movement speeds
Due to the game's interface it is unclear which is faster in Phone, this will be tested

Chapter 1:
Choose boy and a 1-character name (both of these are proven to be faster)
Timer starts on name/gender confirmation
Head downstairs and talk to Mom, head outside
Mash the one line of dialogue and head to Triangle Park
Examine the right tree, mash dialogue and catch the bug
Run to the north, then southwest trees and catch the bugs
(If you miss a bug, I would recommend you reset the run)
Head to school through the front gate and talk to the Janitor
Head to Mt. Wildwood, mash dialogue and run to the gate
Examine the closest tree then immediately quit out
Examine the flagged tree, search for Buhu
IAE Buhu with Cadin

Chapter 2:
Lens Dismarelda, can't skip her cutscene immediately (it's basically frame-perfect)
Head outside, then head to the alley behind Everymart
Check the two spawns for Roughraff, reset by examining the trash pile and quitting out
Use Cadin's soultimate on Roughraff, don't fast forward until you've completed the minigame
Roughraff is your new main, always IAE with him unless otherwise specified
Fight and befriend the other Yo-kai in the alley (either Dimmy or Dulluma)
Head to the alley behind the Fish Place, fight Negatibuzz (doesn't matter if you get Droplette)
(If you don't get any of these befriends, I would recommend resetting)
Talk to the fish seller, lens and then talk to Jibanyan
Head back into the alley and fight Roughraff
Return to Jibanyan, this cutscene is another late skipper like Dismarelda
Head home and fight Dismarelda

Chapter 3:
Talk to Katie at Triangle Park, cut beneath the slide for badness
Head to the riverbank, don't talk to Katie
Tattletell is on the top bench, lens and then talk to her, then talk to Katie
Head to Lambert Post Office, switch the watch from weather back to radar on the way
Talk to the shady businessman and fight Tengloom
Swap Roughraff and Buhu if you haven't already
Give Roughraff the Worn Bangle and swap Buhu and Jibanyan
Fight Peckpocket at Piggleston Bank and Mochismo at the Community Center
Examine the seal at school and fight Slimamander 1
Focus on one eye only, the fight is scripted to be 3 cycles so don't worry about that

Chapter 4:
Enter Blossom Heights from the bottom entrance and head to Timers and More
Head down to the bike shop to pick up the screw
Head to Wayfarer Manor to pick up the spring
Head to the Old Mansion
Follow the left corridor to the ladder to the attic
Fall through the floor near the ladder on the other side of the wall
Open the box on the right and head outside
Re-enter the mansion from the front and fight Baku
Head back to Timers and More
You cannot skip any of the cutscenes or dialogue related to Terror Time
Sprint northwest so you can cut the corner before the sentries spawn
Manage your stamina efficiently and exit Terror Time
Head to the hot springs, fight Sproink
When he falls over, target his head to prevent him from using his soultimate
You can't skip the Timers and More cutscene, but you can skip the Baku one

Chapter 5:
Head southwest to the riverbank, run into the Tattletell bench for another late-skip cutscene
Lens the sunflower further downstream and talk to Walkappa
Catch 3 Carp (you can afford to miss one or two without resetting) and return to Walkappa
Head up to Catfish Pond on Mt. Wildwood, fight SV Snaggerjag
If he spawns a fish, just ignore it but kill one if he spawns another
Head to Eyepo, set Walkappa over Negatibuzz/Droplette, give him the Water Ring
Swap Walkappa with Dimmy/Dulluma and then with Cadin
Head down to the bottom of the Mt. Wildwood stairs

Chapter 6:
The cutscene with Nate's parents and Wazzat is another late-skipper
Head to Timers and More from the bottom to accept the C-rank quest
Talk to the station worker and ride the train Downtown
Pick up the Serious Life in the chest to the left of where you spawn
Head southwest and stick to the wall to weave past the Wazzats
Enter the Business Tower front the right side
Interact with the elevator and mash the dialogue
Head southeast to the Delivery Bay and fight Tantroni
Exit from the left and head to the alley behind Frostia's Place, fight Suspicioni
Enter the Academy Shortcut from the left and fight Signibble, leave through the right
Talk to Wazzat, then talk to him at Banter Bakery

Chapter 7:
Head to Timers and More to turn in the C-rank quest and accept the B-rank quest
Head down to Shopper's Row and enter Flower Road from the north entrance
Enter Settle In Bookstore, then talk to Mr. Barton at the top of the road
Fight Flumpy in the Shopping Street Narrows (bottom alley)
Exit from the right and talk to Lucas near Everymart
Head down to Nocturne Hospital, then head home and sleep until night
Head up to Mt. Wildwood and prepare for the worst
Check all trees past the shrine for a Sawtooth Stag
When you find one, use all your Black Syrup and pray to Enma that you catch it
(If you miss it, you may want to consider resetting)
But if you do catch it, you can enjoy taking this run to the final boss as it's the last of the RNG!
Enter the Abandoned Tunnel
Take the minecart up and to the right and hit the lever in the far northwest
Take the minecart to the southeast, across the wooden bridge
Fight Leadoni (he can actually befriend you)
Fight Mad Mountain
Exit the tunnel and head all the way down to the Construction Site
(The movement in the Construction Set is really pedantic so apologies if it isn't explained well)
Go up the flagged escalator
Fall off the bar to the southeast
Open the chest to the right to get the Fire Ring
Climb out and go up the ladder to the northwest
Tread west carefully to avoid the Yo-kai and falling off to open the Skill Encyclopedia chest
Cross the narrow plank bridge, then run north to fight Tengloom
Go up the closest elevator to the southeast
Climb up the pole and head left to the cutscene trigger
Head round the outside of the site until you reach Eyepo
Set Komasan over Dimmy/Dulluma
Give Komasan the Fire Ring and swap him and Jibanyan
Fight Massiface, IAE with Walkappa
Target forehead immediately

Chapter 8:
Head to Timers and More to turn in the B-rank quest and accept the A-rank quest
Equip Roughraff with the Brute Bracer
Enter the sewers south of Timers and More
Fight Benkei, IAE with Komasan/Walkappa (he's weak to fire but Komasan's attack animation is slower)
Hug the bottom of Uptown Springdale then enter the sewers in the far east
Fight Quaken, use Walkappa's soultimate
Enter Breezy Hills and enter the sewers along the river
Fight Alhail, IAE him with Komasan and then use Roughraff to take out the Droplettes
Head to Eddie's house and talk to him in his room
Head down to the museum and follow Eddie around
Talk to Eddie in the lobby, go home and sleep until night
Head back to the museum and talk to Eddie at the entrance
Interact with the "mirror" to infiltrate the building
Take the bottom-right Mirapo
Then the one straight up
Then the one straight to the left
And then the one in the top-left corner to head upstairs
Take the Mirapo to the right
Then the one at the bottom of the room
Grab the key and backtrack to head downstairs
Talk to Eddie and enter the vault
Interact with the armour and fight Phantasmurai
Never target the swords, go straight for the torso
The Mirapo cutscene afterwards is unskippable

Chapter 9:
Wake up Mt. Wildwood's Mirapo
Set Mirapo over Cadin
Buy as many Beef Tongues as you can from the red stall to the right
Head to the school and talk to Bear
Enter school and grab the keys
Wake up Springdale Elementary's Mirapo
Go up the stairs and head east to the science lab
Lens Rattelle and bring back her rib from the flagged desk
Exit from the top and head up the stairs
Head down and to the left to the music room
Lens Cupistol and bring back his sheet music from the library
On the way, open the Top Techniques chest in the classroom
Exit from the left and head down both flights of stairs
Fight Tarantutor to save your future wife
Don't worry about targeting a leg since you need to take them all out anyway
Head to the roof to watch the fireworks show that you skip immediately

Chapter 10:
Warp to school, head right and talk to Mr. Barton
Head to Timers and More to turn in the A-rank quest
Wake up Timers and More's Mirapo
Head to Shoten Temple and interact with the crystal ball/Draggie twice
Wake up Shoten Temple's Mirapo and warp to Timers and More
Head down to Nocturne Hospital
Talk to Leadoni in the three rooms, mash dialogue and always select the top option
Go around the left side and talk to the head doctor
Open the chest with the Large Exporb, then fall down and open that chest to get a VoltXtreme
Interact with the stretcher and fight Dr. Maddiman
Don't go out of your way to pin hearts, use the VoltXtreme if Roughraff's soul is stolen

Chapter 11:
Warp to Mt. Wildwood and enter the Yo-kai World
Fight Venoct past the entrance
From now on, you can evolve Roughraff if he is ready to
Mash through Gargaros' cutscene and head to the end of Hungry Pass
Talk to Grubsnatch and do his stupid hide-and-seek
(I'm not going to try and describe his locations so I recommend committing them to muscle memory)
Talk to Grubsnatch again at the exit and leave Hungry Pass
Mash through Ogralus' cutscene and choose the second option (very important!)
Open the chest on the second right branch of the bridge to get a Top Techniques
Mash through Orcanos' cutscene and quickly move down to avoid the Yo-kai spawning on you
Head to the very top-left of Hooligan Road and open the chest to get a Mega Exporb
Head straight east to the exit (if you want, open the chest on the way to get a safety medicine)
Talk to Eyepo, set Venoct over Jibanyan and Draggie over Buhu
Give Draggie the Earth Charm, swap Venoct and Roughraff/Badude
Give Venoct the Lightning Ring, Skill Encyclopedia, Top Techniques, Serious Life, and Exporbs
Fight McKraken 1 past the Lord's Gate
Always target the head, use the VoltXtreme if Venoct's soul is stolen (provided it wasn't used earlier)
Give Venoct the Mega Exporb that McKraken drops
Warp back to the entrance and talk to Insomni to leave
Warp to school and head outside
Talk to Lucas and fight Slimamander 2
This fight works exactly the same as in chapter 3, it's more of an endurance test than anything
Head left to the White Impass fight, IAE with Walkappa/Appak
Head down to the west riverbank, fight White Rollen
Head east to the White Bruff fight, IAE with Walkappa/Appak
Warp to Mt. Wildwood from home
Swap Draggie and Walkappa/Appak for safety
Head to the Sacred Tree and fight McKraken 2
Ignore his nose tentacles, and don't shy away from using food or medicine!
Timer stops upon dealing final hit to McKraken 2

Congratulations on finishing the run! Ideal time is around 2:05 to 2:10 for 3DS, maybe even sub-2 for Switch and Phone