 A few weeks ago I took a look at Pilotwings 64, and while the game itself hasn't aged particularly well, the genre it represents has, and I don't mean flight sims, I mean games where the direct objective in the game isn't necessarily the point of playing it. In my opinion, a game like Pilotwings 64 is best experienced today by just flying around, enjoying the music, and just relaxing. In fact, chill laid-back playthroughs like that are more in demand than ever today, but games with this kind of intent go back much further than you'd think. Ihatovo Monogatari, or the stories of Ihatovo, is a super Famicom game that falls into that category, and that makes it unlike any other in the 16-bit library. There's no combat, there's no stats, there's not even really any enemies, the game doesn't even tell you who your character is or what you're doing or what you're even supposed to do. So what the heck is this game? Well, you started up and you're met with this weird passage from something called Springtime in the Carnage, and yes I should mention that I'm playing this with the English patch created a couple years ago by DDS translation Tom and FlashPV. You then get a scene of a train set to some oddly calm music, until you end up at the train station for a town called Ihatovo. Your character thinks it sounds like something out of a fairy tale, so what the hey, let's spend the day wandering around town. You find out pretty quickly that this place is pretty weird, you've got cats running a shop, someone called the Queen of Ants is hoarding whiskey, what? Everyone does seem really nice though, and eventually you'll stumble into a place that houses a certain club led by a fellow named Kenji Miyazawa. Apparently this dude is a poet, and he exists in real life and he's rather famous, and everyone in town seems to love his work, but sadly seven of his poetry journals have gone missing. So the point of this game is to track down these seven journals, and as such the game is divided up into seven chapters, with a little bit extra at the end that I don't want to spoil. You find these journals by walking around and talking to people and collecting items. For example, the first chapter directs you to head to Shellfire Forest on the east side of town. Here you've got bears wandering around grumbling to themselves, and rabbits congregating before you find a lily of the valley, you grab it, and huh, what's this cave doing here? There's a vase on the table, let's put the flower in there and see if anything happens. And sure enough, Professor Ursis Speilius is conjured out of thin air to talk to you. Sadly they don't know where any of the journals are, but they say some of the animals might know. Well gee, thanks a lot, how am I supposed to glean any information from a cranky bear and some weird rabbits? The Professor says they can teach you, but only if you go back in town and bring them a gift. That's really the gist of the game right there, lots of exploring, talking, collecting items, and trial and error. Obviously this game isn't meant to be much of a challenge, I mean jeez, if you want that go play Super Goals and Ghosts or something. Instead, Ihatovo Monogatari is meant to be something entirely different in the gaming landscape. On the surface it kinda sorta looks and feels like an adventure style RPG, but like I said, there's no combat here whatsoever, it's all storytelling. I mean, there's not even a way to get a game over here, or if there is, I haven't found it yet. And the way the story is told here is really well done, the game allows you to control the pace, and ensure you could just do the bare minimum just to get by, but the intent is to take your time and enjoy this peaceful world of strangeness, mystery, and subtly surreal stuff. Each chapter in the game tells its own story, and gleams you some insight into the author, and sure enough, each of these stories is based on Miyazawa's works. With a game like this, you're gonna need some help from the window dressing, so to speak, to help add to the overall experience, and I'm not exaggerating when I say this game has some of the best music I've heard in a 16-bit game. It's brilliant, and it fits the story and art style perfectly, and some of the melodies here are sure to get stuck in your head here and there. I'll stop here because I don't want to spoil too much. All I'll say is that if you like what you see, and you're intrigued by this game's premise, then you won't be disappointed. It's a fascinating game that plays a lot more like a visual novel than anything else, but all the ingredients of a traditional adventure game are here, like collecting items to unlock new areas to further the story. I will say, despite appearances, this game is very linear, but that's not a bad thing, mostly because this game is so well structured, to the point that it does a fantastic job giving the illusion of freedom. In other words, as you're playing, it doesn't feel linear, if that makes sense. And besides, the story here is truly interesting. It's what kept me playing, and this is something you can finish in just a few hours. There's all sorts of surprises here too, like the movie theater in town that's always closed. Huh, wonder what's up with that. Or the fact that you teach a class at one point. Of course, it helps that the pixel art here, and especially the music, does so much to carry the story and help you relax as you explore this oddly intriguing world. And hey, if this isn't your bag, I totally get it. Games like this aren't going to be for everyone, but otherwise, I highly recommend trying this one out any way you can. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.