Happinet Sets Yokai Buster Navinosuke For 2027 On Switch And Steam
Happinet is betting its indie label on a finished Game Boy Advance game that sat unreleased for roughly 20 years, a publishing decision that rests on archival code rather than a new pitch.
Key Facts
- Happinet announced on September 10 that Yokai Buster Navinosuke will be released in 2027 for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
- The game was originally developed in the early 2000s for the Game Boy Advance by members of the Metal Slug development team and was completed but never released.
- Yokai Buster Navinosuke features more than 200 types of yokai across five attributes that players can seal and recruit for turn-based battles.
- KOHACHI STUDIO holds the IP to Yokai Buster Navinosuke after rights processing and is developing the game under Happinet's Happinet Indie Collection label.
- Yokai Buster Navinosuke and Sa[meow]rai: Cat Samurai of the Silver Wings will be playable at the Happinet booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held at Makuhari Messe from September 17 to September 21.
Reporting from 3 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Automaton, Game Spark.
Happinet announced on September 10 that Yokai Buster Navinosuke will be released in 2027 for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, under its Happinet Indie Collection label. The yokai-collecting pixel RPG is set in a fictional ancient Japan where Navinosuke, an apprentice onmyo student and karakuri puppet, resolves yokai incidents across various regions. Players seal and recruit more than 200 types of yokai, which have five attributes, and build freely customized parties for turn-based battles that use a shikigami system. Development is handled by KOHACHI STUDIO, the studio led by pixel artist akio, who worked on R-Type and Metal Slug. The game was originally produced in the early 2000s for the Game Boy Advance by the Metal Slug development team, completed but shelved, and after rights processing KOHACHI STUDIO holds the IP. Happinet also said a new trailer is out and a playable exhibit is planned for Tokyo Game Show 2026.
Happinet Indie Collection is the label releasing the game, described in the announcement as a line launched to "select interesting indie games from around the world and provide new experiences to game fans," with no genre limits.
The product listing adds details the first announcement left out. The game is single-player only with no online play, price is undecided, and text is supported in Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean. The copyright line reads "(C) KOHACHI STUDIO All rights reserved. Published by Happinet."
The playable yokai shown so far include Senko, a fox yokai that gained divine powers after living for many years; Nekomata, a cat transformed after many years; Gashadokuro, a giant skeleton formed from accumulated human grudges; and Kurama Tengu, described as the largest great tengu in Japan. Each has its own techniques.
The revival follows a June 2025 press release that said the UI and play feel were redesigned while preserving the pixel art and direction of the original. The release window moved from 2026 to 2027, and Steam was added to the platform list alongside Switch.
KOHACHI STUDIO is developing a second original title in parallel, the action game Black Finger JET. The studio also released Marchen Forest.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.