Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga

[後半に日本語レビューあり] [h1]A Showa-Era Mythic Kinetic Novel Woven by Memory and the Girl of the Lost House[/h1] A folklore visual novel set in the summer of 1972 (Showa 47), where a high school protagonist visits his grandparents' countryside home and reunites with a mysterious girl named Susu in the forbidden mountains after five years. The central mechanic driving the story is that the girl is trapped in an ancient shrine called the "Lost House" (Mayoiga), submerged in a lake, and her memories vanish when she moves beyond a certain distance from the protagonist. A reunion with a being who cannot retain memories, forgotten promises, and the universal theme of eternity are quietly explored within a supernatural world set in rural Showa-era Japan. The use of a poem by Sanjouin from the Hyakunin Isshu as a structural motif also speaks to the scenario writer's careful attention to detail. The scenario is penned by Tomo Kataoka, known for narcissu. Based on his design philosophy that "humans can only focus on reading text for around four to six hours," the entire work is divided into short episodic chapters. Each chapter is kept brief, and the binge-reading tempo is intentionally crafted. Cha…

Be missed and remembered ~The Letter from Mayoiga~ is a new short project from Kataoka Tomo, the creator of narcissu, that was developed in collaboration with Overlap Games. The success of Christmas Tina opened the doors to multiple collaborations like this over the past few years, but were they able to maintain the same high quality? While narcissu and Christmas Tina relied on a grounded approach to storytelling, Be missed and remembered is clearly a different beast that leans toward Japanese mythology, telling a story about a secluded cursed shrine in the middle of a dry lake. The locals stay away from it and claim to see a monster occasionally appear near the village, but curious Naofuyu discovers not a monster, but a young girl who, for some reason, can't leave. There are plenty of mystery games that feature the protagonist traveling to a small village or town only to meet some unexplainable or even horrifying mystery buried there in secret: Higurashi, Gore Screaming Show, Kusarihime, Tousui Kitan—there are plenty of stories like this, the 2000s were especially full of them. But Kataoka's project goes for a slightly different goal. Rather than scaring you by making a thrille…

Kataoka Tomo is a writer whose vns I generally really like, all brought me a lot of comfort and generally were pretty good. This year I already completed 3 vns which he either wrote in full or contributed to, and plan to read at least two more somewhere in the next 6 months/year. This kind of dedication also meant a lot of worrying about Koi Shikarubeki and questioning if I'll even like it, especially after first reviews came out. Either way, I was very hyped for this title ever since it was announced, and I liked the demo well enough, so I decided to focus on forming my own opinion and started it day one. I really like the atmosphere, which is mostly quite sad and even bleak at times, but cute and fun moments brighten it up a bit. Characters, especially our MC and his sister, carry a lot of hope that situation of the mysterious girl, Susu, will improve. To say it in the shortest way, it's a tale about memories and having hope. It's not scary at all - which can be a shame for some, and I saw people getting interested in it because it can seem scary at the first glance - but definitely more of a melancholic and touching read. It was very moving and even tears-inducing at times…

Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga is an all age mystery kinetic visual novel developed by NEKONEKO SOFT and published by OVERLAP GAMES. NEKONEKO SOFT famous for heartfelt narrative titles that released on steam such as Narcissu, Ame no Marginal, Winter Polaris and Christmas Tina. All of these wonderful works are written by Kataoka Tomo. This game is split into 30 short chapters. Each chapter takes around 10 to 15 minutes to read, bringing the total playtime to roughly 10 hours. The story is set during the Japanese Showa Era, spanning the 1970s to the 1980s. Players take on the role of Matsuda Naofumi, who visits a quiet rural village alongside his cute brown haired younger sister Matsuda Risa. The siblings travel all the way from Tokyo to spend their summer vacation. They stay in their late grandparents old vacant house. Thanks to the warm and friendly local neighbors, the house remains clean and livable throughout the years. Aunt Tanaka one of the villager is incredibly kind and always reminds them to stay cautious. She warns them about a terrifying pitch black youkai monster that dwells deep within Oyama sacred mountain. The creature occasionally descends near th…