Mononoke No Kuni is an upcoming action adventure game developed by Studio Lights, and published by Happinet. Featuring a Shiba Inu, the game tasks players with restoring villages, purifying yokai, and reclaiming a lost world inhabited by Mononoke.
The game is the first original title developed by Studio Lights (Lights-Interactive), after having contributed on major titles, including Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and FINAL FANTASY XVI. While it is currently scheduled for release in 2027, we here at Netto's Game Room were given the opportunity to speak to the director and producer, Seiji Nanase, during Tokyo Game Show 2026 to learn a bit more about the game.
Here is what we found out!
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| (Photo provided by Happinet) |
Nice to meet you! I am Sagi, one of Netto’s Game Room’s co-founders. I’d like to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Would you please tell our readers about yourselves?
Sagi, thank you very much for having us. My name is Seiji Nanase, and I’m the director and producer of Mononoke no Kuni at Studio Lights. I previously worked at Square Enix, where I was involved in technical art and lighting. I’m now working with a small team of colleagues who have experience developing large-scale titles to create our own original game.
Mononoke no Kuni is a 3D action-adventure game in which a young boy named Taiki travels through a fantastical world inhabited by yokai and mononoke in order to save Musashi, a black Shiba Inu. We wanted to create a game where players could experience Japanese mythology, the beauty of the changing seasons, and stories from yokai folklore alongside Musashi.
By the way, Musashi is based on the real black Shiba Inu that I live with. Since I hear that you’re also a dog lover, Sagi, I hope you’ll pay special attention to just how adorable he is!
‘Mononoke no Kuni,’ or Kingdom of the Vengeful Spirits, is a game seemingly steeped with Japanese folklore, including plenty of different kinds of Japanese spirits. What made you want to go that route for the game?
The world of Japanese mythology and yokai is fascinating because beauty, fear, humor, and sadness all exist side by side. We wanted to turn that richness into a game where players could actually walk through this world and encounter it for themselves. We also wanted players to experience other aspects of Japanese culture, such as shrines, kagura, and the changing beauty of the seasons, as they journey through the game.
What particularly drew us to yokai was the opportunity to explore human emotions and different ways of life through them. While taking inspiration from Japanese mythology, the Kojiki, local folklore, and history, we asked ourselves questions like, “What kind of past might this being have had?” and built those ideas into original stories for the game.
This world is home not only to yokai carrying grudges and resentment, but also to charming inhabitants descended from animals. By learning about the circumstances behind frightening creatures and seeing the world through the eyes of the villagers, we hope players will have opportunities to reflect on how humans might choose to live in the future. We want players to experience these encounters as part of their journey with Musashi.
Japanese folklore is filled to the brim with different kinds of Yokai, from frightening and dangerous, to cute and mostly harmless, to just plain out weird. How did you choose which Yokai to add into the game?
In this game, we approached the yokai who appear as enemies differently from the mononoke who live in the villages.
For the yokai you fight, we first considered whether they would make compelling opponents in an action game. We chose creatures whose abilities would create different combat experiences, such as wind blades, flames, or attacks that emerge from underwater. We then combined these abilities with elements from their traditional folklore to create original backstories for the game. For yokai with human origins, we also explore the lives they lived and the regrets they carried before becoming yokai.
The mononoke who live in the villages, on the other hand, are animals that have transformed after living for many years. We chose animals that have traditionally lived alongside people in Japan, such as cats, tanuki, foxes, and frogs. They have values that are different from those of humans, and sometimes find things that people take for granted quite strange.
We hope that while enjoying these cute and charming conversations, players will also find themselves thinking, “So this is how humans look from their perspective.” We want players to enjoy experiencing the world from this different point of view as well.
There is an adorable Shiba Inu pup as a side-kick to the main character. As you heard, I love dogs, myself, but I still have to wonder; what compelled you to add a dog?
The biggest reason is Musashi, the black Shiba Inu I started living with while we were developing the game. The dog in the game even shares his name. As I spent more time with him, I began wanting to share with people around the world the affection I feel from living with him.
Shiba Inu are often known for being somewhat independent and not always very affectionate toward people, but the real Musashi absolutely loves people and quickly warms up even to those he meets for the first time. He’s also very curious, and there’s a comforting sense of security that comes from simply having him by your side. I felt that personality made him the perfect companion for venturing into an unknown world together. And, of course, his adorable face was another major reason! (laughs)
Even though you can’t communicate with a dog through words, you can gradually understand each other’s feelings by walking and playing together. We wanted Taiki and Musashi to have that same kind of relationship—the kind of bond you experience when sharing your life with a dog.
Is it possible to pet him in the game?
Yes! We’re currently developing the game so that players can pet and interact with Musashi. Since we’re making a game where a dog is your companion, this was something we really wanted to include. We’re also adjusting the controls to make sure the interaction button doesn’t accidentally appear during combat.
In addition to petting him, players will be able to feed Musashi, change his outfits, and play with him using a flying disc. We also want players to enjoy simply taking a break from their adventure and spending some quiet time with Musashi.
What are you hoping to convey to the players with the game?
Life brings not only joy, but also moments when things don’t go as we hoped and the sadness of losing things that are important to us. Through this game, we wanted to portray people who, despite these hardships, continue to care for others and find ways to carry life forward.
The yokai in the game all have their own struggles and pain behind their stories. By having players face them through the eyes of a young boy like Taiki, we wanted to create a story that allows players to reflect on both the feelings we can understand now that we are adults and the things we may have been able to feel more honestly as children. That is why we chose to make our protagonist a young boy.
Taiki’s journey begins with a simple wish: “I want to save Musashi.” That small wish gradually leads him to recognize the pain of others. After finishing the game, I hope players will come away with an even greater appreciation for the time they spend with the people and animals close to them.
What is the experience you are hoping they will have?
We want players to fully experience both sides of the game: the “scary” and the “cute.” You might feel tense when encountering a yokai deep in the forest, get a rush of satisfaction when you successfully land a parry in battle, laugh at a conversation with a villager when you return to the village, and then feel a sense of comfort when you’re back by Musashi’s side. We hope these shifts in emotion become part of the memories players take away from their journey.
We also hope that a yokai who initially seemed frightening might look different to you once you learn about its past. We want players to gradually find their own emotions becoming intertwined with those of the characters they encounter.
If, after finishing the game, players find themselves thinking, “I wish I could stay in this world a little longer,” or “I want to walk through that village with Musashi again,” that would mean a great deal to us as creators.
What is the thing you are most proud of about the game?
What we’re most proud of is that, as a small team creating our own original indie title, we’ve taken on the challenge of making a full-fledged 3D action game and carefully crafted the story, world, and gameplay into one cohesive experience. We’re also bringing the experience we gained from working on large-scale titles into our own project.
In particular, we hope players will pay attention to the encounters with the yokai. There’s the satisfaction of reading their attacks and successfully parrying them, a story that reveals the past they carry, and ultimately a path toward purifying them. We wanted to create a game that leaves a lasting impression through both its action and its emotional story.
We’re taking Japanese mythology and folklore that have been passed down for generations and retelling them in a modern way through the adventure of a young boy and his dog. We hope you’ll enjoy taking on that challenge and experiencing the journey alongside Musashi.
And as per our website's tradition, we have a final silly question: If you were a Yokai, what kind of Yokai would you be?
I’d like to be a Zashiki-warashi. It’s a child-like yokai said to live in a household and bring good fortune to the family. I like the idea that even if I played little pranks from time to time, the people in the house would still want me to stay forever. (laughs)
It would be fun to play alongside the children, only for the adults to somehow find that there was one extra child when they counted everyone. I’d love to live right alongside people and create little mysterious happenings in their everyday lives. And I have to admit, having people leave sweets out for me would be pretty nice too.
Surprising someone with a little mischief and ultimately making them happy—it might actually be a little similar to making games
For more on Mononoke No Kuni, player are invited to join the playtest on Steam, and for more exclusive interviews like this, feel free to visit our Interview Page!
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