Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu

Lore & Background

Jade Cocoon is set in a world where most land is covered in dense forest populated by bug-like monsters called Minions. The protagonist, Levant, is a young Cocoon Master who captures and purifies Minions to fight, defend, spin into silk, or fuse into more powerful combinations. As Levant captures more minions, his Capture Level increases, making capture easier. Fused minions inherit physical traits and elemental attacks from both parents, following a rock/paper/scissors elemental system (Wind beats Earth beats Water beats Fire beats Wind).

Reader's Guide

The game's significance lies in its fusion of RPG mechanics with virtual pet management, a niche that later became popular in titles like Pokémon. Its collaboration with Studio Ghibli's Katsuya Kondō gave it a distinctive visual style. The Eternal Corridor post-game area offered near-infinite randomly generated rooms with increasingly difficult monsters, a feature ahead of its time. Reviews praised the graphics, audio, and monster breeding system, but criticized the short 15–20 hour story and control scheme. The game received average scores on GameRankings, though Famitsu gave it 32/40. A mobile sequel, Jade Cocoon Gaiden, was released in Japan in 1999, and a full sequel, Jade Cocoon 2, followed on PlayStation 2 in 2001. The game was re-released on PlayStation Network in Japan in June 2008.

Did You Know?

• The game was developed by Genki in collaboration with Katsuya Kondō, character designer for Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service and Ocean Waves.
• A playable demo of Jade Cocoon was included with the release of Shadow Madness.
• The Eternal Corridor post-game area consists of randomly generated rooms that go on indefinitely.
• The game was re-released on PlayStation Network in Japan in June 2008, but not in other regions.