Ihatovo Monogatari for SFC
Review #2164
Ihatovo Monogatari
A relaxing journey through a poet's collected works
Gameplay
This is a pure adventure game with no RPG elements. Its practically a visual novel. There are no battles, no upgrades, no health or magic or weapons. In fact there's no way to see a game over screen. Items can be collected but these only serve to complete a fetch quest which opens the next area - nothing can be skipped. The gameplay is as simple as walking around a Zelda-like world, talking to NPCs, exploring your surroundings, finding important items, and then interacting with an NPC to trigger a story event.
Despite it's simplicity, the controls are more than adequate. You can't do much, but traversing the space feels peaceful and enjoyable. Little details abound, including automatically worming around a rounded corner without having to manually move your character in all directions. Think of how your horse automatically follows a path in Breath of the Wild.
Level Design
There's an overworld which operates as a hub and spoke with the center being the city Ihatovo. Your goal is to collect 7 journals from the ooet whose creations inhabit each of the areas you visit. You'll never feel lost but you also have a high degree of freedom to explore.
Theme
The game has an alluring, magical feel. The poet whose works you are exploring isn't on screen but the NPCs all have a certain reverence for him. It's intriguing. You and everyone in the city have a realistic, grounded feel, yet the areas you visit have talking animals and other fantastical elements. It's unlike anything else I've played from the 16-bit era.
Art Style
The artwork is beautiful, yet boring. Again it has a realistic quality, but is brimming with minute details. It's like an expertly drawn sill life - incredibly boring but undeniably beautiful.
Audio
Wow I'm blown away by the beautiful, peaceful music in this game. The theme song is the best of the bunch but every tune is as well-made as the next. It's ever bit as orchestral as Secret of Mana but as chill as a lazy summer afternoon. I don't think I've felt as comfortable playing a game as I did with this one and it's most due to the soundtrack.
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