Forgotten Games: Ihatovo Monogatari - SNESdrunk

[@SNESdrunk]

Here is the original composer, Tsukasa Tawada, performing "Travel Diary" from this game: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipatZZ5jhNepp68 You can also buy the soundtrack here: nanomusicpro.stores.jp/items/5d2ffd528e691915851bd032

[@jamillie87]

I want this it’s so soothing I love RPG and this seems like a helluva GEM THANKS SNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNESSSSSS DRUNK

[@GeeksandGrub]

If there was ever a day people need something soothing and relaxing...it would be today. Good choice 👌

[@spine--damaged]

Very nice to listen/witness such artistic investment done for a 16 bit game. There definetely is art put into games, even as old as this one, and it is good to be able to appreciate it and for you to point it out and help us do that - thank you! I certainly can understand why chilled/laid-back playthroughs like this are more in demand these days, I've been looking for them. Looking forward to play Journey and Flower on the PS4. World needs to chill and have a good rest of its existence.

[@DaedalosC9]

it's always awesome to listen the original composers perform their work live

[@Syreion]

It's a beautiful game and I thought I should mention that the composer still plays and sells renditions of his wonderful soundtrack. As you've done that.. I have nothing to add. Nice take on the game!

[@amzrigh]

If this game interests you, I recommend an anime movie called "Spring and Chaos". It's mostly a biopic on Kenji Miyazawa, but all the characters are cats. The visuals are gorgeous, and downright surreal at times.

[@d.b.gaston665]

There's another anime movie based on his book Night on the Galactic Railroad that's very good.

[@iennefaLsh]

There's more Kenji Miyazawa-based anime? Right into my watchlist.

[@jasonblalock4429]

You know, given how much information we now get on, like, *every* game released everywhere, I'm always a little amazed at how many 3rd-5th gen games there are that no one has heard of outside of their original language/region. It seems like there's always more obscure NES or SNES games I've never come across before.

[@DrakkarCalethiel]

This is the reason why I love the NES/SNES era, so much stuff to explore and love!

[@JT-nd6qp]

So it's basically an interactive Studio Ghibli movie. I love it. Thanks for a cool recommendation!

[@astevens1919]

Ni no kuni series is also a fab Studio Ghibli like game too!

[@JT-nd6qp]

@@astevens1919 Ni No Kuni is indeed fantastic. But I guess Ihatova is the closest thing to a retro Ghibli game. lol

[@horacioferro3571]

You should check both the anime movie based on Miyazawa's most famous novel ('the Japanese Alice in Wonderlan', as they dubbed it): Night on the Galactic Railroad (Gisaburo Sugii, 1985), & the one based in his life: Spring and Chaos (Shoji Kawamori, 1996). They are both beautiful.

[@buffaloj0e]

It is a great play through, do yourself a favor and give it a chance. 10 out of 10, probably due to have a 2nd go around.

[@evilblader7]

Really? I will then...

[@charlie_nax]

this game is such a huge love letter to mr. miyazawa, every single little thing is a reference to his work, even the title screen features "sun and mountain" in the background which was a painting done by him, like 90% of the characters in the game are related to miyazawa stories and their comments are relevant to the plots of their stories, i may say its probly a easy route if you already have gone trough his work, but then the game takes some spins that stab your heart hard, like in town you are witnessing proffessor kubo waiting for budori to lift him to carbonado island, which is a volcano (read or watch gusko budori no denki for details). then at the end of the game you see budori at the milky way station, that brough me to tears because i know how the book ends. several examples of that are through all of the game, is also fun that your mission is finding 7 missing journals and bring them to mr miyazawa at the milky way station, for context, miyazawa always had a notebook with him where he would writte and scribble random ideas but most of their contents were never made public, until his death when they found soemwhere around 14 to 15 journals where his now most notable works were and were not published until after his death and that discovery.

[@macheifach]

"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?" Yeah, sounds pretty much like real life alright.

[@bryangarcia5599]

_Herr Professor Kierkegaard? Kannst du es wirklich sein?_

[@Acacius1992]

@@bryangarcia5599 Wer ist Professor Kierkegaard?

[@bryangarcia5599]

@@Acacius1992 _Ein dänischer Verrückter, der Vater der existentialistischen Philosophie_

[@Acacius1992]

@@bryangarcia5599 Ah, danke für die Antwort :)

[@bryangarcia5599]

@@Acacius1992 _Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja!_

[@ManillaHeep]

Glad the SFC translation scene is still robust

[@mariusamber3237]

Yup! There aren't many adventure games on the SFC, tons of RPGs instead usually, so there are still people translating them. Shame it's not the same with PS1 or PCE-CD, but with every system, the number of games needing fan-translation seems to drop (internationalization and all that, I guess).

[@hgc7000]

"And some say that Sabin helped give the Galactic Express that final lift into space."

[@pixelatednoose3999]

I played this one sitting couple of months after the English translation came out, there's no words to describe it besides that I love it.

[@aoememes5708]

SNES drunk: "Hey anybody play the forgotten classic, はらすきらかかいみキチモイト?"

[@wavecast64]

This is just the game I needed, thank you for the suggestion. I remember seeing the cover in your relaxing snes music videos and the look with the music caught my interest

[@mariusamber3237]

Good stuff. This is seriously one of the most tranquil, contemplative games on the SFC. You gotta be in the right mood to play it, but I enjoyed it myself, especially since there aren't that many typical adventure games on the SFC.

[@NESFriend]

Fantastic review. I love seeing these exceptionally beautiful and fun games I have never, ever heard of here. Thanks!

[@PandaXs1]

for those who don't know Kenji Miyazawa wrote Night on the Galactic Railroad, a classic children's book from the late 1920's that still gets referenced in pop culture to this day. he also wrote Ame ni mo Makezu, which was discovered in one of his journals after he died but went on to become probably the best known poem in modern Japanese literature. if you've studied Japanese, or are just a huge weeb, you've probably come across either of these two at some point.

[@MaidenHell1977]

I adore the anime film adaptation.

[@akabwb1]

I've seen and read Night on the Galactic Railroad and have a collection of Miyazawa works and they are all very interesting reads

[@Syreion]

Can you recommend any english translation of the Galactic Railroad? When I played this game last year I was eager to read one, but all the ones I found were criticized for being inaccurate or otherwise bad.

[@RayOfTruth]

@@Syreion I don't know about the translations, but I'd recommend the animated film adaptation of Night on the Galatic Railroad. The one with the cats. That version was a heavy influence on Penguindrum too.

[@Preddy2006]

Great review. One of the most relaxing games I've ever played. The short stories always cover some sort of moral and decisions based on them. Take your time, explore the town, talk to the people and listen to the music. The final chapter is (No spoiler) fantastic and was a good way to end the story.

[@myotis2300]

This is one of my favorite hidden SFC gems. Thank you for giving it a signal boost. More people really ought to experience both the game and Miyazawa’s work.

[@JMFSpike]

So it's basically something in-between a visual novel and an RPG. That's actually a neat idea, but I can see why it has remained almost completely unknown to anyone (at least outside of Japan), even after nearly 30 years since it's release. This would be a game pretty much only for people who enjoy reading books, since it sounds like it's strictly about the story and setting, and not really anything else. I'll have to try this one out sometime. You sure do find some super obscure (but very interesting) games. Besides Clyde T. Dog (obviously), this is what makes your channel so great.

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

i had no internet for 8 days, came back home today and the net is back, and the first thing i do is watch a SNES DRUNK video.....life is good.

[@Tony_Cardoza]

Nice!

[@naraksama3903]

Ever since i found your relaxing SNES OST playlist, I'm in love with this OST.

[@katrinaarrojo4549]

@snesdrunk I love your channel and I am so glad you featured this game. Ihatovo is such beautiful game. I love its music the most. So relaxing!

[@lhfirex]

This definitely feels like a forgotten game. Not my type of game, really, but cool just for being so different. Not to mention, Japanese short stories like the ones in this game are usually pretty interesting.

[@DanielMarkstedtR]

Bizarrely, I finished this game myself yesterday and then saw your video being uploaded. I guess Ihatovo was on all our minds.

[@kylemurdock4270]

THANK YOU!!! I’ve wanted to see you do a video on this game since I started following you! This just made my day

[@thenostalgiafactor5023]

Total length of video: 324 secs. Total length of "SNES Drunk": 4.5 secs. 1.39% of the video was spent listening to "SNES Drunk".

[@billcook4768]

Weak. He either needs shorter videos or longer Snnnnnnnnness drunks.

[@k0lpA]

if you mesure it precisely its actualy 69%

[@glaceRaven]

I'd heard about this game a while back but couldn't find much information on it. I'll definitely be checking this one out! Thank you for making this video!

[@alkristopher]

A strange twist most people won't even know while playing this game: the two railroad signals you see are sentient (Signalou and Signalette). You follow their love life through the entire game by talking to them every so often. It's a crazy hidden detail and I love how it's presented.

[@MrAnon00]

I feel like I need something like this right now... Thanks for sharing this.

[@alejandroantoniovaladezuva4504]

I actually discovered Ihatovo Monogatari because you talked about it in one of your videos, and when I finally played it, it became one of my all time favorite games and certainly my favorite for the SNES. The cover art caught my eye because I thought it was weirdly similar to a film I really love, Night on the Galactic Railroad. Turns out both are based on the writings of now one of my favorite writers ever, Kenji Miyazawa. What I love the most about the game has to be the music. I every once in a while take the time to listen to the full soundtrack. It has this warm vibe to it I really can't explain. Anyways, sorry for the unnecessarily long comment. Thank you for putting this game on my radar, I'll treasure this game forever. Great video, love the channel!

[@Stupac0110]

Thank you, I needed this break from the election day coverage. Just wanted to say, I really appreciate your channel man. You just make good videos about video games. You don't dump on games or people, you just do your thing and you do it very well. And you still manage to do it with heart and appreciate the joy that video games provide. You're like the Bob Ross of video game reviewers or something. Thanks.

[@carlosbfly]

Why I love this channel. You shine a light on so many unknown gems.

[@TheZackofSpades]

This game’s theme came up on a “relaxing SNES music playlist” (thank you) and I was so intrigued but knew nothing about it. Now I want it on my switch...

[@QuwehShunMark]

Whoa, it looks beautiful. Excited for the ost. You're the best! Edit: Omg, all my favorites rolled into one. Secret of Mana, Earthbound, and Suikoden? And it did it first!? Don't know when I'll dig through the backlog to get here but man that OST Slaps!! Might be a new favorite, only Chrono Trigger stands up to it. Edit again: You Guys need to see Tsukasa Tawada's channel! He does an Ihatovo Monogatari practice before an orchestra performance. Criminally underwatched.

[@AlchemistTongueDrums]

AWESOME find! Loved playing this one. More like this please!

[@raphaelfp]

I can certainly think of old gaming magazines labeling this one as "mediocre at best" and criticizing the lack of combat and sorta stuff at that time. It does look and feel much ahead of the time it was released, and this is much more about the general approach than any technical aspect of it. I have never heard about this before and I'm not sure I would play it back in the 90s but it has got my attention right now. And how good it is to find a new great soundtrack you've never listened to before

[@uba754]

Great episode. Love hearing about good games that I hadn't heard of before.

[@lucid_sfc]

Yesterday i‘ve started to play with msu1 Support. After that i‘ve discovered your yt video about ihatovo. I‘ve realized your channel before. But… man i love those „off topic“ conten about SFC niche Titels. Thanks for your work!

[@marcianoacuerda]

After all these years following your channel and you still find new ways to make the Snes shine again.

[@ekdavey]

Hey, mate, I really admire how dedicated you are to retro gaming. The breadth of your SNES coverage is mind boggling. I've had a nice time watching a bunch of your videos on some of my old favorites, reminiscing

[@marquisdan7659]

I want to thank you for making this video and hope you have a great rest of your day

[@nathanbeets8229]

Stuff like this is why I like this channel so much. Discovering mesmerizing experiences through games that would be otherwise forgotten in the sands of time. It's wonderful. well...this and the intro to the race drivin' video. :)

[@BabusGameRoom]

Thank you for adding another unique title to my SNES radar!

[@elliotprusi5807]

I started playing Ihatovo after it was featured on one of your earlier list videos (I think) and it has been the single greatest recommendation I have received. Your recommendation and the game itself inspired me to check out one of his books of translated stories from my local library! So glad to see it get its own videos! Thank. You. Sir!!

[@albertamalachi3560]

That cover picture was basically the ad they ran in Famimaga and Famitsu. It was on a red background, the lettering description if I recall was black. But I also distinctly remember another one that ran with the picture being smaller and didn't fill half the page. I could be wrong, but that's what I remembered.

[@mmocracy]

I recognize some of these songs from your 3 hour music video! Thanks for finally doing this game Drunk!

[@AdamOSretro]

That town theme should be on your SNES relax playlist for sure! What a great tune!

[@Syreion]

It is! It's in the second "relaxing music" video from half a year ago :)

[@AdamOSretro]

@@Syreion Awesome, I had no idea, thanks!!!

[@jasoneverett]

Over the years your voice overs have gotten much better, more natural sounding. Good work.

[@raina1848]

This looks cool! And you're right about that town music.

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

I only know of this game thanks to your Snes music series. Such good music throughout and I need to play it now that I love the whole soundtrack. Thanks for the recommendation.

[@bf0189]

Damn I've been looking for a super cebereal and relaxing! This looks like it'll scratch the itch just fine. Thank you so much.

[@Unquestionable]

This very much seems like it fits into the magical realism genre and I love that. Not every game can pull off that moderately surreal atmosphere while also remaining mostly grounded. Need to check this out for sure.

[@leonardosoutelo5511]

What a beautiful game, wow. Thank you so much for this video. This reminds of things that I love so much, like Yasujiro Ozu's movies, or slice of life manga. So precious.

[@pixelatednoose3999]

I love Ihatovo Monogatari, we need more games like this.

[@schao2156]

I played this over the Summer. I didn't expect to be taken on such an emotional roller coaster. It's really such a well written and bittersweet story.

[@death2logic623]

Makes me think of games from Freebird Games. To the Moon, The Mirror Lied, and Finding Paradise are all fantastic.

[@RayOfTruth]

I love Freebird Game's work. Can't wait for Impostor Factory.

[@duderino7382]

Miyazawa sounds like a fascinating individual. Why am I getting the feeling that I'm about to jump into another world? This is the video I needed and I'm already enjoying the game.

[@iennefaLsh]

Coming back to this review and listening to the Ihatovo City theme again is refreshing. I still haven't finished it, but I'll take my time.

[@shin_roku5696]

Just by looking at it I feel relaxed

[@blasstois]

So glad I found your channel man!

[@FrogFraction]

Thank you. im 20 seconds in and figured this would be a game i'd like to experience without further information. I gave you a couple likes instead of watching if that's ok

[@JamieBainbridge]

There's a modern game called "7 Years From Now" which is in this same walky visual novel style. It's pretty good!

[@YouRSmalltime]

It's always neat to hear about really obscure games even if I won't play all of them. Thanks

[@suddenlycrows]

This is probably the predecessor to the modern walking sim...

[@albertamalachi3560]

It actually was. I think someone called it an 'interactive novel game' back in the day. I think it people placed it under the Adventure genre mostly.

[@lawyerenjoyer7154]

I've played this before! I never thought I'd see you mention it! I don't know how I didn't see this.

[@qaywsx583]

that spritework looks fantastic

[@kwizzeh]

I want to stress just how good the music in this game is.

[@evenmorebetter]

Good morning, Drunk. What a fascinating game Ihatovo is!

[@fromthe90s21]

I had a great rest of my day beacuse I enjoyed this watching.

[@Yuuretsu]

This is such a nice surprise. I'd never heard of this game before and it just seems so pleasant in every regard.

[@ChibiKami]

it's a basic walking simulator like anyone could throw together in RPGMaker but it's charming, ambitious, and adheres to its theme strongly I threw it on my 3DS after you mentioned it in a previous video

[@talir71]

Or a point-and-click adventure mixed with a walking simulator.

[@adam1984pl]

or adventure game with isometric view.

[@csward53]

What a unique game SNES Drunk. That's for bringing it to my attention.

[@thecunninlynguist]

PreSNES Drunk! For some reason this game reminds me of Paddington Bear. I do like how it's more of an exploration type game with no real enemies

[@thekillerpillow]

Ahoy there, fellow linguist and classic VG fan! Hope all is well on your side of the tracks!

[@rushley5813]

It looks like a visualization between hercul poirot and paddington to be sure looks interesting though

[@tulip811]

So it's professor Layton without the puzzles

[@VJFranzK]

"Midnight on the Galactic Railway" an anime based on a novel, may have been an influence? (oh, it's the same author!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenji_Miyazawa

[@EduardoLara-r6j]

This game is so damn unique and incredible. Love games like this. Something out of the ordinary👏😃

[@CarletonTorpin]

Well worth playing. Thank you for bringing this game to the attention of so many. :)

[@questionablebackyardmeows]

the ending is the game over :(

[@ChargeQM]

Shhhh

[@cazamilfs8945]

Duhhhhh

[@GenerationPixel]

This could be the first ever "Walking Sim", hmm, I feel a new video brewing cheers for the inspiration 👍

[@noahboat580]

It looks like the main character always moves with his hands in his pocket. It looks good!

[@TheShoe1990]

Ooh, I love games like this. Thanks for the video! I'll give it a try ASAP

[@connorlucas5035]

Vids like this is why I love your chanlen

[@billcook4768]

Sounds like something I’d love. Can’t wait to check it out.

[@gwgux]

Intriguing. I have a few games like this in my Steam library, I'll have to check this one out! It's nice to have a game like this every once and a while to have a break from fighting monsters and such.

[@jhonviel7381]

id put this in the top 10 video game reviews on this channel.

[@franciscopina2899]

This reminded me of To the Moon, apparently the formula was already pretty old... maybe this game served as an inspiration for it?

[@dylan.t180]

Looks fantastic thanks for the upload

[@juliomonrroyperez]

I do hope U have a nice rest of your day SNES drunk. I know I'm going to. Thanks for this game. I'll chek it out

[@far2d28]

Always love your vids drunk thank you so much for being a patriarch of the art, I also enjoy the moments you did with classic gaming podcast jay and Robert. That was some interesting stuff on their for sure especially about the 90s music good grief lol, I would love to get in contact with them some day as well as you and be a regular emailer contributor if I could, much obliged thanks.

[@Hanokaze]

What a Chill game. Might give it a go, for a change of pace.

[@adam1984pl]

Its like action-dventure without any fighting,so its adventure game.

[@blakestewart7200]

KENJI MIYAZAWA IS THE GREATEST!!! Night on the Milky Way Railroad is a classic, as are all his tables and short stories. Must play this game ASAP.

[@AvianSavara]

Gotta love peaceful, contemplative games like that.

[@janbiela8596]

Wow that’s the definition of a hidden gem! Looking forward to try it out!

[@owlyus]

This is fascinating! I'm curious what a Gaming Historian piece on this game would come up with

[@Cav_Florian]

i love ur work soo much man!

[@rustymiller9555]

Awesome. Never knew this was a game on the sfc. One day I will check it out. Thanks.

[@jeffersonjjohnson]

Play this and watch Ikiru in the same day for an existential reset.

[@SeveredLegs]

That music.... Sounds amazing.

[@mjbeltran9429]

I hope you have a good rest of your day too!

[@michaels6391]

I hope you have a great rest of your day too