In surprising news, twenty years after it was cancelled, Navinosuke: The Yo-Kai Buster from the developer of Metal Slug is coming back and is on the way to Nintendo Switch thanks to Kohachi Studio, the team behind the upcoming Metal Gun Spiritual Sequel, Black Finger Jet. The game will be a recreation of the game originally cancelled for the Game Boy Advance, and Director Shinano Ishiguro shared the following message on X:
There is a strong image that the Metal Slug team has spent their careers on the Neo Geo, but in fact they also worked on the Game Boy Advance for a while.
The name of the game is “Navinosuke.”
Navinosuke was a project that started out with a fairly ambitious concept at the time: to connect a GPS unit to the Game Boy Advance and play with it.
“We want you to create a game like this,” the proposal document handed to us described a RPG that was based on famous people from all over Japan and could be played in conjunction with GPS, a concept that was quite forward-thinking at the time.
When I saw the proposal, I suggested, “This will definitely be more interesting if you make it about monsters,” and I had them change the theme from famous people to monsters. And so, this game began as a “Japanese-style fantasy RPG” in which a wooden doll, inhabited by the soul of a girl who dreams of becoming an onmyoji, travels the Japanese archipelago sealing away monsters and making them his allies, reforming the world.
However, midway through development, talk of the GPS unit fell through, and the core element of “walking around the country and meeting monsters” became impossible to realize… The survival of the game itself was in jeopardy, but development continued after modifying it so that it could be played without GPS linkage, and it was finally completed, but due to various circumstances, “Navinosuke” was ultimately shelved.
…Looking back now, if development had continued as planned, a game that turns walking into a game might have taken shape 15 years earlier than Pokemon GO.
Of course, there is no future in which our creepy monsters can become as beloved characters as the social phenomenon that is Pokemon…
Thinking about it again, Navinosuke was the last game made by the Metal Slug team over 20 years ago.
After years of making run-and-gun games, the last game the Metasura team has worked on is, surprisingly, a Japanese-style fantasy RPG. It’s a little sad to see the Metasura team end their careers with such a game, but don’t you want to take a peek at the unconventional, heartwarming yokai game we’ve created?
The scenario in the game was written by me, so it’s bound to be ridiculous and nonsensical; it might even drive you crazy.
Come to think of it, back then, I would have my two young daughters test play the game every time it was updated, and they would praise it highly, saying, “Dad’s story is scary, strange, and fun!” That’s only natural, since I’d written it to appeal to my daughters, but seeing them enjoy it that much made it worth making.
If you ever get your hands on this game, please play with a pure heart, just like my daughter did back then.
Recently, my adult daughter has suddenly started talking about the story of the game Navinosuke that she used to play, as if possessed by something. The story is one I wrote over 20 years ago, but I don’t remember it, so when I asked her “What’s that? Sounds interesting!” and asked her where the story went, she told me, to her disappointment, that she didn’t remember any more.
Every time I heard my daughter say, “I want to meet those monsters,” I felt a sense of loneliness that she couldn’t share it with the world.
But lo and behold, the day my daughter will be reunited with those monsters is fast approaching! I never even dreamed that such a day would come.
I would be very happy if you all, along with my daughter, look forward to the day Navinosuke returns.
Metal Slug & R-Type artist Akio Oyabu will lead the development of the game for Nintendo Switch, which will launch in early 2026.
Among the yokai that will be featured in the game, includewith Zenko (Kitsune), Gashadokuro, Tengu, and other familiar spirits and creatures. Each of these has their own designated attribute, as well as a set of skills it can use in battle.
The game will reportedly receive support for both English and Japanese upon release.
