Throwback Thursday: Jade Cocoon

I’m pretty sure most of you have not heard of this game. It wasn’t a big international hit or a game that with a huge studio behind it. It was kind of a RPG and NeoPet management put together. Jade Cocoon was something different and refreshing. I played it out of boredom the first time but I got hooked. It had all the elements of an RPG with the perks of catching and raising monsters. Another perk was the ability to merge two monsters (Divine Beasts there were called in the game) to create a stronger one. Know what? Here is the plot for Jade Cocoon:

Jade Cocoon is the story of Levant, a young man who lives in the town of Syrus. The silent protagonist is guided by the player on his quest to follow in his presumably dead father’s footsteps to become a Cocoon Master. To do this, he must marry a Na’gi woman, and is betrothed to a girl named Mahbu (voiced by Michelle Ruff). On the day of a large festival in Syrus, the village is attacked by demons known as the Onibubu, which cause many villagers to fall into a deep slumber. An elderly Nagi woman, Garai, repels the Onibubu using Nagi magic before their curse affects everyone.

After a quick wedding ceremony, Levant is given the title of cocoon master and leaves to explore the surrounding forest to find a rare herb rumored to be able to lift the curse. He traverses four forests on his quest, the Beetle, Dragonfly, Spider, and Moth forests, which are populated with a variety of monsters known as minions (or just Divine Beasts) that Levant may capture into cocoons and tame. Throughout Levant’s journey, his wife, Mahbu experiences treacherous ordeals called Nagi Brandings in order to soothe the souls of the minions the protagonist captures. On his quest he meets many others, such as Koris, the Blue Cocoon Master, Kikinak, the Bird Man, and Yamu, who assist him in saving the people of the village.

In a desperate attempt to save their village, the government of Syrus makes an attempt to sacrifice Garai to the Divine Tree, believing her to be the Goddess of sewing souls. Garai reveals herself to be the goddess, and ties the souls of the village to Levant, turning the people into stone. Levant makes one final journey into the gates of the Moth Forest to find the Temple of Kemuel, a place where he must go into the nether-realms to fight challenging inner demons and save his village once and for all and fulfill a prophecy.”

I know, I know, kind of a long explanation. But nonetheless, it was a fun game. Jade Cocoon was released on the PS1 in 1999. Even though it may not be as well known as other games, this is a certified classic. So much so that it spawned a sequel (may do a TT on that one in the future). This game is very hard to find these days and finding a copy will run you the cost of a PS4 game on Amazon or around $29.99 on Ebay (but be careful with that). If you are ever feeling like trying a new old game, and have the money to spend on this, I highly suggest Jade Cocoon. You can thank me later (or not, I don’t really care). As always, Nerd out people!

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