Kohachi Studio, an indie game studio formed by members of Nazca’s Metal Slug team, recently announced Navinosuke: The Yo-Kai Buster (working title), a 2D action RPG scheduled to launch in 2026 on Nintendo Switch. This game isn’t new though – it’s a project the Metal Slug team completed a whopping 20 years ago, but never got to release to the world, until now.
Navinosuke: The Yo-Kai Buster originated as an ambitious project for the Game Boy Advance. It was designed to run using a GPS unit that could connect to the console, which essentially makes it a very “ahead-of-its-time” geolocation-based RPG. With a Japanese-style fantasy setting, Navinosuke was about travelling across the country and encountering various types of yokai (spirits).
However, before the game could be completed, the GPS unit idea suddenly got scrapped, which left the development team without their core gameplay mechanic. They were ultimately able to rework Navinosuke so that it could be played without relying on GPS, but due to undisclosed circumstances, the game ended up being shelved without ever releasing.
Metal Slug artist Akio, who worked on the game design, scenario and artwork for Navinosuke, comments on X, “If development had continued as originally envisioned, we could have made a game that turned walking into gameplay 15 years before Pokémon GO. Of course, I’m not saying our creepy yokai could compare to Pokémon’s beloved characters and level of influence.”
According to Akio, Yokai Buster: Navinosuke turned out to be the very last game made by the Metal Slug team, and with its quirky fantasy setting, it’s very different from the rest of their portfolio – which is why it was a bit heartbreaking to end on such a note, he explains. It seems like it’s a miracle we ever got to find out about this game at all, as Kohachi Studio’s representative Shinano Ishiguro says he’d been trying to resolve the issues around it for years, talking to everyone he knows in the industry and almost giving up on several occasions along the way.
Navinosuke: The Yo-Kai Buster’s new official website details the gameplay, characters and numerous yokai (over 150 types) you can befriend, battle, and seal away in the role of apprentice exorcist Navinosuke. The upcoming Nintendo Switch release is planned for early 2026, with support for Japanese and English confirmed for now.
