A long-lost RPG originally developed in secret during the early 2000s is finally getting its chance to reach players. Publisher Happinet and developer Kohachi Studio have announced that pixel art yo-kai collection RPG Navinosuke: The Yo-kai Buster will launch for Switch and PC via Steam in 2027. The game will support English, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.
Navinosuke: The Yo-kai Buster was first announced for Switch in June 2025, but the newly revealed PC version gives the previously unreleased RPG another platform for its long-awaited debut. The project was originally created by a team led by Akio, a Kohachi Studio creator and veteran of Japan’s arcade game industry, and has now been rebuilt for modern audiences while retaining the original team’s vision and pixel art style. The developers behind the game also include veterans of Metal Slug.
Set in a fictional version of ancient Japan inspired by Japanese folklore, the RPG follows Navinosuke, a karakuri Onmyoji apprentice created by the secretive Onmyo Bureau as humanity’s last hope against an escalating yo-kai threat. The story also introduces a modern-day human whose soul is transported more than 1,000 years into the past, bringing their fate together with Navinosuke.
Players will travel across ancient Japan while investigating supernatural mysteries, meeting characters and battling a wide variety of yo-kai. More than 200 yo-kai can be recruited, allowing players to assemble custom parties for turn-based battles built around elemental affinities and the Shikigami system.
The game’s visual presentation will retain its roots in early 2000s Japanese game development, with detailed pixel art and handcrafted animations designed to capture the expressive style of the country’s arcade era. After remaining unreleased for more than two decades, Navinosuke: The Yo-kai Buster will finally make its debut on Switch and PC in 2027.