Navinosuke: The YO-KAI Buster Revives a Lost GBA RPG on Switch

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Navinosuke: The YO-KAI Buster has been officially announced by KOHACHI STUDIO, the studio that is also working on Black Finger JET. It brings back a long-lost project created by legendary pixel artist Akio and members of the original Metal Slug development team.

First planned in the early 2000s for the Game Boy Advance, the project was canceled when Nintendo dropped support for a planned GPS add-on for the system. After securing the rights to the game, KOHACHI STUDIO is now rebuilding it for a worldwide release on Nintendo Switch, with launch planned for early 2026.

The game is set in a fictional version of ancient Japan and takes the form of a 2D pixel-art role-playing game. Players control Navinosuke, a mechanical onmyoji trainee created by a mysterious group. Always cheerful and full of energy, Navinosuke travels across the land to investigate strange events and seal dangerous spirits known as Yo-kai. Along the way, you will meet more than 200 characters, including Lord Sadatsuna of Utsunomiya, a delivery ninja named Keiichi, and Satoru, a young boy in the hospital who has strong psychic powers.

Exploration and turn-based battles drive the gameplay here where players move through different regions to find Yo-kai, fight them, and seal them for use in battle. Recruited Yo-kai can be added to a custom team, allowing you to shape your own strategy. Each Yo-kai belongs to one of five attributes, and each type brings unique skills to combat.

KOHACHI STUDIO has made it clear that this version of the game is meant to stay true to its original vision. Much of the original pixel art and style is being preserved to honor the work of the Metal Slug artists. At the same time, the game is being updated with a cleaner interface and smoother systems to better fit modern players. Drawing from Japanese folklore, the game features famous spirits such as the Kurama Tengu of Kyoto and the dream-eating Baku.