At the beginning of the Taisho peroid (1912-1926), the westernization of Japan continued, forcing the mononoke (spirits) to retreat to Shinano, an area in Nagano prefecture. There they made one last promise, before disappearing. Six entirely different people however, share the power to understand the will of the mononoke. The game will feature five playable characters: Shunsuke Kamoi, the storekeeper of an antic book store, the shrine maiden Shiki Manai, the art collector Suzune, Yakumo Tachibana, the owner of a dry-goods store and Kuzuha Shinomori. The game features an adventure and battle part. Once every 15 days you will have to fight on a special day of evil. In those battles, you will be assisted by the mononoke.

Taisho Mononoke Ibunroku is set for a February 2003 release in Japan.

• Minazuki