Jasei no In: The Serpent's Lust

I picked this out from the many games featured on the RMN site because it looked aesthetically pleasing at a quick glance. Being a Japanophile myself, and have some knowledge of Japanese history, I had to play this to see what I could get out of it. I decided to write a review based on my experiences.

Game play
Story is straight-forward. It’s a classic girl meets boy in a historical setting with a few supernatural elements in the narrative. You are a weaver girl, and you meet this mysterious man, Hebigawa, who lives in a big, white mansion in the middle of nowhere. No one knows much about him in town, but you must return his umbrella. This is where it gets interesting.
The game is dialogue heavy, as mentioned on the game’s profile page. This might be a problem in a lot of games nowadays, and a big turn-off, but not in this one.
I found myself immersed in the rich Edo-period Japanese setting in which this game takes place, and for a long time, I forgot I was just reading nonstop dialogue boxes. I became one with Manago, the heroine.
What I experienced whilst playing, whether it was suspense, fear, excitement etc., was what Manago was experiencing in her world.
This is a sign of a good game when you start to forget you are playing one.
I quite liked the J-horror elements, and how the mansion changed to the “darker” graphics. It was a good adjustment of pace and created conflict; I was at the edge of my seat near the end.

A few things I like to point out: the game is really short, and there are only a few locations you can visit: town, woods and the mansion. I had this sudden urge to explore the rest of the country, but I couldn’t. I was itching to release a fire spell, but alas, Jasei no In isn’t that sort of game where you do battle with monsters. The game might have benefitted with one or two hostile encounters with some traditional, old-school Yokai (umbrella demon, faceless woman, flaming wheel…), but it didn’t bother me that much to tell you the truth.

Music
The game relies on ambient sounds rather than music: footsteps, rainwater, Shamisen playing in the background etc. I believe this was a wise decision as a lot of the scenes needed something subtle to convey the mood. Full-on music would’ve ruined the delicate atmosphere, and only works in action-orientated games. Even the deathly silence in some of the scenes was effective.

Graphics and map design
This is the major selling point of the game – the visuals. I loved it from start to finish, and I could sit in front of my monitor for hours admiring the beautiful artwork. I don’t understand why there aren’t more games like this, or perhaps I’m not looking hard enough.
If I could make my own game, I would copy this style. But I’m not sure how the creator will feel about that, ha ha.
I loved the omake (bonus content) at the end. It was very educational, and I learned something new about Japan. Thanks for that!

Overall
This is a fantastic game with a beautiful storyline. Wish there was more, or a sequel in the near future. I understand it was for a university project, so maybe there are no plans, (cries in the corner). I found no issues, other than how short it was. This game is definitely a hidden gem on the site, and I hope more people will play it.