In this game, you play as Isao, a young man taking a well-needed vacation in his hometown. You intend to visit a friend, but first, you must banish all the monsters you find. (Note: Many Japanese words in this one.)
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the work.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of a work of interactive fiction. Please make an honest effort to play the work before reading this walkthrough.
You add "akaname" to your notepad. You'll add notes to your pad often in this game. To simplify this walkthrough, I won't comment about the notepad again, but feel free to re-read it as often as you like.
> x sink. x counter. x cabinet. open it. x mirror.
> x fusuma. open it. g.
> n.
Bathroom
> x tub. x stool.
> s. w. w.
Sitting Room
> x furniture. x painting. x creature.
> x shoji.
> e. s.
Foyer
> x shelf. take newspaper. read it.
> put newspaper on shelf.
> e.
Toilet Room
You automatically take your key when you enter.
> x key. x toilet. x slippers.
> w.
Foyer
> unlock door with key. open door. s.
Hallway
> close door. lock it with key.
> w.
Onsen Entrance
> sw.(no time for a bath)
> s.
Veranda
A suiko is attacking. The game suggests throwing something.
> x suiko. take wrench. throw wrench at suiko.
Every time you banish a monster, it's replaced by black powder, all of which look the same.
> x powder. x wrench. x fence. x water.
> n. e. e.
Main Lobby
> x okami. x desk. x shop.
> talk to okami.
> ask okami about akaname. ask okami about suiko.
> ask okami about city.
> ask okami about me.(Your old school is west.)
> ask okami about friend.(He lives all the way to the east.)
> s.
Front Gate
> x gate. x salt.
> s. s.
Konbini
> x cashier. x ATM.(out of order)
> ask cashier about ATM.
> x magazines. x food.
> n. e. n.
Library
> x shelves. x books.
> x manager. talk to manager.(He gives you a book.)
When you arrive here, the gaki starts following you. It makes you very hungry!
> x house. x gaki.
> consult book about gaki.(Its cure is miso soup.)
Head back to the store:
> w. w. n. w. w. s.
Konbini
> ask cashier about miso soup.
> buy miso soup. x soup. eat soup.(The gaki is gone.)
> n. w. s.
School Main Gate
> x student. talk to student.(She's a nopperabo!)
> x her. consult book about nopperabo.
> point torch at her.(She's gone.)
> x bag. take it. open it. x beans.
> n. e. n.
Front Gate
> open box. take salt.
> s. e. e. e.
Main Road (near friend's house)
> x oni. consult book about oni.
> take beans. throw beans at oni.(He's gone.)
> e.
Inside the House
> x Hayao. x table. x brush. x bottle. x drawings.
You must ask Hayao about several topics before you are determined enough to deal with the brush and able to go east from here.
> ask him about himself. ask him about drawings.
> ask him about brush. ask him about shrine.
> ask him about monsters. read pad.
> ask him about akaname. ask him about suiko.
> ask him about gaki. ask him about nopperabo.
> ask him about oni.
> e.(You automatically take the brush.)
Hidden Shrine
> x shrine. x altar. x holder. x path.
After four turns here, you're prompted to talk to Hayao.
> talk to him.(He tells you what to do.)
> put brush in holder. close holder.
> seal holder with ofuda.
> take salt. spread salt.
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
The people:
Isao is the protagonist. He's taking a vacation in his hometown and wants to visit a friend.
The okami is the landlady of the inn. She's friendly and can answer some questions.
The cashier in the konbini (convenience store) is there to sell you some food, but you need to say which food you want.
The manager of the library is kind, but his book is able to answer far more questions than he can.
The miko (shrine maiden) at the Inari shrine is willing to sell you items from her shop table.
Hayao is a friend of yours who lives in a house at the east end of town. He's a skilled anime artist.
The monsters:
A akaname may be hiding in your lavatory or bathroom.
A suiko menaces you on the veranda overlooking the hot spring.
A gaki outside an old house follows you and fills you with hunger.
A nopperabo stands at the school's front gate, in the guise of a female student with a featureless face. You scream at the sight of her.
An oni blocks your way into your friend's house. It's a fearsome demon.
Background or mentioned:
A kirin is the subject of the painting in your sitting room.
Your mother is an old friend of the inn's okami.
People are still inside the temple, but since it's nearly closing time, they aren't letting anyone else enter.
You sometimes hear birds or a barking dog as you travel about the city.
You sometimes see a cluster of butterflies.
Credits
This is the response to CREDITS:
Concept, game design and coding by Gianluca Girelli. Play testing by Garry Francis and Ruggero Simoncelli. Special thanks to Mr. Masaki Mori for providing insights on Japanese real life and mythology.
Also, at the end of the game, there is this dedication:
Dedicated to Isao Takahata - Studio Ghibli co-founder October 29, 1935 - April 5, 2018
Inventory
Items are listed in the order acquired in this walkthrough.
your garments. You're wearing them.
Examine the garments to note there's a pocket, then examine the pocket to find the notepad that's inside,
a notepad. It's in the pocket of your garments.
During the game, you automatically record topics to research. Read the pad to remind yourself of what you wrote. You are encouraged to ask people about these topics, or consult the book about them.
While the game's tutorial encourages you to put the pad back into your pocket, I recommend leaving it out, since you don't have any problem carrying it directly.
Your final list of notes are: akaname, apparitions, kirin, suiko, yokai, monsters, gaki, nopperabo, beans, sumo, salt, oni, ofuda, and that's it.
a stool. It's in your bathroom.
You don't actually need the stool.
a metal key. You acquire it when you first enter the last of your rooms at the inn. This will be the bahroom, sitting room, or toilet room.
In your foyer, unlock the guestroom door with the key.
a wrench. It's on the veranda.
Take it and throw it at the suiko.
a book. In the library, the manager gives it to you when you first talk to him.
Consult the book about all the monsters you find in the game, and about some other items too, like the salt and ofuda. The book usually tells you what to do.
some change. In the public park, search the vending machine to acquire these coins.
At the Inari shrine, buy the small box, the two batteries, and the ofuda with some of your coins.
In the konbini, buy some miso soup with some of your coins.
a torch. Find it by searching the garbage in the bin at the Inari shrine.
Put the batteries in the torch, then close the torch.
In the dark bamboo grove, turn on the torch to see there.
At the school's main gate, point the lit torch at the nopperabo to banish her; she drops a bag.
Feel free to leave the torch on. The batteries don't expire in this game.
a small box. At the Inari shrine, buy the box with your coins.
At the inn's front gate, open the box and take the salt. The salt goes into the box so you can carry it.
two batteries. At the Inari shrine, buy the batteries with some of your coins.
Put the batteries into your torch and close the torch. Now you can turn your torch on for light.
an ofuda. At the Inari shrine, buy the ofuda with some of your coins.
At the hidden shrine, after putting the anime brush into the brush holder and closing the holder, seal the holder with the ofuda.
a miso soup. In the konbini, buy the miso soup with some of your coins.
When the gaki is following you, eat the soup to banish it.
a small bag containing some beans. At the school gate, the nopperabo drops the bag when you banish her; see torch.
Open the bag to find the beans inside.
At the east end of the main road, take the beans and throw them at the oni to banish it.
some salt. It's at the inn's front gate.
You can pick up the salt if you have a box to put it in.
At the hidden shrine, after sealing the brush holder with the ofuda, take the salt and spread it to complete the ritual.
an anime brush. It's on the table inside your friend's house, but you won't take it with you until you head east to where the hidden shrine is.
This brush created all the monsters you encountered. You must ask Hayao about several topics before you're both determined to do something about the brush.
At the hidden shrine, put the brush into the brush holder then close the holder; see ofuda and salt for the next steps.
Japanese
Several Japanese words are used in this game, which may feel a bit overwhelming to some players. I've listed many of them here with brief definitions. Links are usually to either Wikipedia or yokai.com.
akaname = Filth licker monster in baths and toilets.
