New Switch RPG With Serious Pokemon Vibes is Finally Nearing Its Release Date After a 20-Year Wait

A Pokemon-like game that has been in development for more than 20 years is coming soon to Nintendo Switch, giving fans of the monster-catching RPG genre a chance to collect a bunch of supernatural beings from Japanese folklore. Pokemon is one of the most successful media franchises in the world, and while its popularity has spawned several similar games, one planned for early 2026 has a lot of history behind it.
With the release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A in October and regular updates to many of its mobile games, 2025 was a great year for the Pokemon franchise. And with plans for Pokemon's 30th anniversary, 2026 looks to be even more intense, with a recently released official animation stating that this year will be the franchise's biggest one yet. Still, there's a lot left to be revealed, and fans of the genre will have a chance to pick up a similar game for Nintendo Switch while they wait.
The development team behind Navinosuke: The Yo-Kai Buster has confirmed that it will be releasing exclusively for Nintendo Switch in early 2026. Featuring a game world based on an alternate version of ancient Japan, players will engage in battles against many different yokai as they travel throughout the land to put a stop to incidents caused by the beings' presence. Presented in a lightly animated 2D pixel art style that's reminiscent of the days of the Game Boy Advance, which it was originally being developed for, the team at Kohachi Studio began work on this game about 20 years ago. However, it was never released and has ended up laying dormant until now.
Much like the cast of Pokemon from the Gen 1 games, Kohachi Studio promises there will be about 150 different YO-KAI to battle against, though it seems not all are of a friendly disposition, and some may not be able to be added to players' rosters. The game will follow the adventures of a character named Navinosuke, who, unlike typical Pokemon trainers, is actually a cheerful and adorable mechanical onmyoji. Built by an organization called The Instutute with the purpose of ending the threat caused by various spirits, Navinosuke has a special ability that allows him to seal YO-KAI, which will serve as the premise for creating powerful teams.
Only a handful of YO-KAI have been revealed so far, but many of them will be instantly recognizable to fans of games inspired by Japanese folklore. These include disruptive mountain-dwelling spirit Kurama Tengu, giant skeleton-like being Gashadokuro, and Senko, who appears as a fox spirit in the form of a young girl. There are a number of other familiar-looking spirits who have been given their own unique twist by the game, from the catlike Nekomata to the giant sparrow creature Okurizume. Each YO-KAI will have its own set of stats, as well as six different unique skills that it can employ.
In addition to all those YO-KAI, the game will feature more than 200 different characters for players to meet and interact with. One, the Recovery Center Lady, wears a nurse's uniform and provides healing services for YO-KAI in an obvious tip of the hat to Pokemon Center workers like Nurse Joy. A couple of other characters have been teased as well, including a castle lord who wants to put on a beauty pageant and a delivery ninja who is anticipating a duel against his greatest rival.