Niche RPG by Genki with a unique demon absorption and fusion mechanic in a mysterious forest. Sumptuous art direction by Katsuya Kondou. Short but dense and original experience. An overlooked PS1 JRPG gem with incomparable visual identity.
Your verdict
Category
RPG1 player12+
Description
English and French edition of Jade Cocoon, a spirit-hunting RPG where young minion hunter Levant explores the forest and fuses his catches. Created by Genki and Crave Entertainment for the USA, Ubi Soft for Europe, released in 1999 in the United States, Europe and France. Turn-based combat with three minions, creature fusion to transfer abilities, animations made in collaboration with Studio Ghibli and Kimitaka Matsumae's score. English and French edition under the Jade Cocoon Story of the Tamamayu title.
Jade Cocoon - Story of the Tamamayu review
3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
2/5
Music
★★★★★
"Decent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"Mild"
Addictiveness
"Light"
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Average"
Technical info
💾0,39 GB📅25/07/2000
Published by Crave Entertainment
Jade Cocoon - Story of the Tamamayu (PS1) price, value & rarity
Carried by character designs from Studio Ghibli, this creature-catching RPG invites you to fuse beasts to shape brand-new ones, across forests as beautiful as they are unsettling. Short and a touch linear, it was overshadowed by the giants of monster-catching. Its bewitching beauty and fusion system make it a singular adventure, forgotten far too soon.
A questionable morality
Saving your village here means capturing the creatures of the forest, then fusing them together to shape mightier ones, at the cost of those sacrificed along the way. The process, dressed up as an ancestral art, amounts to recycling living beings into bespoke upgrades, something you carry out methodically without ever dwelling on the fate of the ingredients.
Is Jade Cocoon - Story of the Tamamayu still worth playing in 2026?
A Genki RPG with character design by Studio Ghibli's Katsuya Kondo, Jade Cocoon blends a coming of age quest with creature capture in a venomous forest, using a monster fusion system to shape your fighters. The sumptuous art direction, the animated cutscenes and the dreamlike atmosphere make it a memorable experience. A somewhat limited bestiary and repetitive battles temper the whole. An RPG of unforgettable aesthetics, to recommend for fans of monster capture and poetic fantasy.
