They say you die twice, once when your body leaves this earth, and again when someone says your name for the last time. For some, the second death is the most feared of the two. It’s easy to understand why: once you’re forgotten, it’s like you never existed at all. All your actions and any impact you may have made on this world are just gone. It can be a lot for anyone to handle, even if it wouldn’t realistically happen for another century. But what would happen if someone forgot about you the moment they walked away? It’s an interesting concept, one that Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga centers on.
Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga is a visual novel from NekoNeko Soft and Overlap Games. It tells the story of Naofuyu and Risa, siblings visiting their grandparents’ rural home for the summer. There is also a local legend of a monster that lives in the mountains and curses anyone who gets close to it. While Naofuyu initially thinks this is just superstition, he quickly discovers there is truth to it. There is no monster in the mountains, but instead a young girl who wants a friend. Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga has quite a premise, and while it doesn’t feel fully realized, I still enjoyed the story.
Letters from the Mayoiga
Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga takes place in Japan. The story starts in the summer of 1972 and spans different time periods. The player follows Naofuyu and Risa Matsuda. Naofuyu is in high school while his sister is only eight years old. The two live in Tokyo but are visiting their grandparents’ rural home for the summer. Despite no one living in the house, it is still in good shape thanks to their neighbor, Ms. Tanaka. As the three catch up, she reminds them about the local legend Susu.
Susu is a monster that lives in the mountains who curses anyone who gets close to them. They seem to live in the mountains and come out during especially hot summers. Naofuyu has never believed this and has always gone up the mountains whenever he visits. This time, he feels drawn to them for some reason and hikes up the next day. After walking through a series of torii gates, he reaches the top and finds what he is looking for. At the top of the mountain is a lake that has been dried up due to the summer heat, and in the center is an abandoned shrine.
Locals call the shrine the Mayoiga (lost house), and Naofuyu is determined to enter it. When he finally approaches it, he sees something he wasn’t expecting. He finds a young girl whom he seems to know already. This young girl is the local legend “Susu”, but she is far from a monster. She is the master of the Mayoiga and has been here for decades. Despite being here for so long, she looks like a 14-year-old girl. It turns out the Mayoiga has magic properties: it can stop time, you don’t need to eat or drink when in it, and it can even heal people.
Upon seeing Susu, Naofuyu suddenly remembers everything. He has been in the Mayoiga before, and he is friends with Susu. It turns out that anyone who talks to Susu will forget everything about her after walking away. Naofuyu has forgotten about Susu before, and he won’t let that happen again. The only safe place for Susu is the Mayoiga, as when she steps outside, she starts to look like a monster. There really was truth in that local legend, but now Naofuyu wants to try to help Susu, but it’s gonna require more than just them as they learn more about the Mayoiga itself and its previous master.
I love this story’s premise. It doesn’t take long to meet Susu, and she hooks you immediately. She and Naofuyu have a great dynamic, and Risa eventually joins them too and is a great addition. There is also another storyline about the previous master that is a great addition to the narrative. I loved seeing the narrative bounce back and forth between these different storylines. It all comes together, making this world feel more fleshed out in the short time I had with it. While I am praising it right now, this story isn’t free from issues.
One big problem I have with the story is its pacing. Earlier I said it immediately hooks you, but not long after it starts to lose steam. The story is told through chapters, each around 10 minutes long. After an important story moment, you’ll get a few chapters that just feel there to pad the run time. I normally like extra story moments where the characters are just hanging out, but it really hurt the pacing here. It never made me stop since the chapters are so short, and the story got me back in the end. One slight issue I have with the ending is that it can feel abrupt and rushed. I still found the ending satisfying, even if I was hoping for more.
Things to Remember
I have a couple more compliments for Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga. I talked about it a bit earlier, but I have to praise the main characters. Naofuyu is a strong character to follow, and we see him as a child, high schooler, and then college student for the rest of the game. He takes charge, is resourceful, and always has a plan. He pairs great with his sister, who is in middle school for the rest of the game, and can also be quite responsible despite being so young. It’s great to watch them interact with Susu as they try to find ways to avoid forgetting her. Susu is also a compelling character that I enjoyed learning more about.
We also learn about the former master of the Mayoiga, and I enjoyed her story from start to finish. I also like the game’s art. All the backgrounds and character designs are reminiscent of the visual novels I saw online growing up. Some full art spreads in the game are just beautiful. The voice acting is solid too, and while most of the music is just there, I enjoyed the opening and ending songs. Another small thing I like is that the game’s audio settings let you adjust the volume of individual characters. I don’t see this in many games, and it’s cool to see it in the audio settings.
One I Won’t Forget
Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga is a fine visual novel. It is short, taking about 7 hours to finish. The game is also linear, with no choices and a single ending, but it’s still a good story. It has a strong premise that immediately hooks you, though I don’t think it fully utilizes it. The characters are all great and help alleviate some of the slower parts of the narrative. I do like the ending, even if I feel it felt rushed and a bit abrupt. Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga is still a solid visual novel and easy to recommend for most. One I don’t see myself forgetting anytime soon.
Disclaimer: Overlap Games provided a PC (Steam) copy of Be Missed and Remembered: The Letter from Mayoiga for review purposes.
