Susanoo, presented under the Japanese title 素戔鳴 with the reading スサノオ, is an Enix role-playing game project documented in the Japanese press of 1989. It turns the gods, places and creatures of Japanese mythology into an original adventure. The articles show a world of ancient villages, shrines, caves and supernatural lands, rather than the castles and knights of European medieval fantasy.

Comptiq announces the PC-9801, while POPCOM uses the broader designation PC-9800 Series. The battles described use commands, weapons and ritual powers. It is therefore more accurate to describe Susanoo as a mythological RPG than to assume that it played as an action game.

Comptiq · 1989-05 · pp. 72–73 ; Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93

This distinction explains the project’s title: Susanoo is the power being sought, whereas Kōga is the hero whose journey the player follows. The story draws on names and references from Japanese mythology but rearranges them around the game’s own conflict and characters. The May presentation already mentions the weakening of the gods’ power and the need to recover a sealed force to restore peace.

Opposing Kōga is Jaki, 邪鬼, introduced as the prince of Yomi. The published drawings contrast the young hero with this unsettling, elegant and threatening figure. They are more than decorative silhouettes: the press places them at the centre of the confrontation between the two realms. The surviving documents do not, however, reveal a complete ending or every twist in the scenario.

Comptiq · 1989-05 · pp. 72–73 ; Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13

The invasion of Takamagahara and the search for divine power give the adventure a dramatic foundation. Yet journalists do not describe a uniformly solemn story. The May presentation outlines a changing tone: lighter situations at the beginning, a darker middle section and a conclusion intended to move the player. This is the announced intention for the scenario, not a review of a finished commercial game.

Some characters encountered during events can join the team. Because places are limited, these arrivals require choices about who will accompany the hero. This structure links scenario encounters to party composition: travelling to a new region may change combat possibilities and the characters present in the adventure.

The encouraging deity also shows that party members are not defined solely by statistics. The descriptions give them roles, personalities and sometimes deliberately unconventional usefulness. The articles establish this principle of changing companions but do not allow a complete recruitment list or every joining condition to be reconstructed.

Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13

Battle screenshots show enemies facing the player and a command interface. The May presentation compares this structure to the kind of combat popularised by Dragon Quest. July’s articles explain weapons and powers called 呪術: supernatural or ritual techniques that contribute to the game’s mythological identity.

The images therefore document a specific interface and combat principles. They do not establish damage formulas, the precise order of turns or every technique’s effects. Those detailed rules would require additional documentation or a copy of the program, neither of which is provided by the sources assembled here.

Comptiq · 1989-05 · pp. 72–73 ; Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13

This changes how the journey is presented. Exploration, encounters and acquisitions become stages of progression: advancing the story and finding necessary elements matter more than repeating the same fights. It does not mean battles disappear, as the magazines provide detailed screenshots and explanations of them.

The distinction must be preserved: the sources establish the absence of experience points and the importance of events and items. They do not reveal a complete levelling system or demonstrate that every battle is optional. The mechanism’s historical interest is substantial without adding undocumented rules.

Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13

The initial geography draws on Japan before the adventure leads to a new continent. The July dossier shows cliffs, a bridge and an enclosed rocky area associated with an important event in the second half. These images indicate an expansion of the journey but do not supply the names or order of every region.

The moss cave stands out through luminous, almost aurora-like colours. The limestone cave emphasises rock formations and stalactites. The underground lake contrasts water with dark walls and changes in terrain height. Finally, the volcano uses lava reds and a hostile environment whose exploration is linked to equipment and power choices.

These places convey the art direction more concretely than the phrase ‘a game inspired by Japanese mythology’. They show a search for varied atmospheres, relief and colour contrasts. Here illustrations and screenshots explain the spaces traversed, extending beyond portraits of the main characters.

Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13

Comptiq announces more than seventy enemy types, including bosses and excluding simple colour variations. This number describes content presented by the press during development; it does not prove that a definitive version containing all these enemies was completed.

Preparatory drawings and screen representations show how these forms become combat graphics. Some enemies have an imposing presence, while others retain a strange or humorous quality. The documents provide examples of this diversity without establishing a complete catalogue of names, statistics and encounters.

Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13

POPCOM provides a particularly useful example with a mermaid: the preparatory drawing and its pixel representation are published together. This comparison shows how a pose, silhouette and character elements are preserved when an illustration becomes a usable game graphic. It documents graphical adaptation without implying that one person carried out every stage.

Game images must also be distinguished from illustrations supplied by the magazines. Comptiq explicitly separates the credits for game illustrations from those for its article. Similarly, a village illustration published in May is associated with an animation background artist without being identified as Arita’s work. Its proximity to his testimony does not justify attributing every dossier image to him.

Comptiq · 1989-05 · pp. 72–73 ; Comptiq · 1989-07 · pp. 90–93 ; POPCOM · 1989-08 · pp. 12–13 ; Mitsuhiro Arita’s testimony preserved in the site’s research

Mitsuhiro Arita’s involvement should not be reduced to a name associated with the project. In his testimony he describes work on maps and characters, including development of an editor. He also explains that he was paid for atmospheric illustrations intended for maps, as Mutsumi Inomata’s assistant.

The interview published by Journal du Japon in 2022 provides context consistent with this path: Arita discusses his early interest in computing, his studies and his first attempts at making games. His Susanoo testimony thus belongs to a period when programming and drawing were still two possible directions for his future.

This recollection should not be turned into a more precise scene than the evidence permits. The scenario writer who offered the advice is not named in this answer. Yūho Hanazono is credited with Susanoo’s scenario in the press, but that does not prove he spoke those words. What can be retained with certainty is the importance Arita assigns to the encounter.

Mitsuhiro Arita’s testimony preserved in the site’s research ; Nathan Boulant · Journal du Japon · 2022-01-16

The research brings together substantial material: character illustrations, environment concepts, map and battle screenshots, system descriptions and information about collaborators. This shows that Susanoo progressed beyond a title announcement. It does not measure development completion or certify the existence of a fully playable finished version.