Ihatovo Monogatari

Overview

Ihatovo Monogatari ("Story of Ihatovo") is a Super Famicom adventure game from the development studio Hector (or simply Hect), chiefly known (if at all) for creating the Igo Shinan series of Go adaptations. The game is loosely based on the writing of prolific Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa: an early 20th century author who focused on children's stories and poetry, and had most of his bibliography released posthumously based on detailed notes and half-finished works.

More information on Ihatovo Monogatari can be found on Hardcore Gaming 101.

Gameplay

The game uses a top-down visual style similar to many RPGs of the era, such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Illusion of Gaia, but does not contain any "traditional" RPG elements such as combat or level progression. Rather, the game is at its core a graphic adventure game similar to those put out by Sierra or LucasArts: the player walks around talking to NPCs and finding items in the environment, using them to solve roadblocks and other puzzles.