Mimi and animals is a free adventure video game wherein you go around recruiting the help of several animal friends. Developed by Hidebu, this adorable 2D pixelated indie game is a single-player casual adventure game that features NPC social interactions and exploration.

Similar to Ib, Mimi and animals was made using RPG Maker—specifically RPG Maker MZ. The gameplay is the same here, in which you’ll have to walk around interacting with objects to figure out puzzles. Take note that this game is originally in Japanese and has just been given an English version so some texts may sound awkward.

An adventure like no other

In Mimi and animals, you play as the titular Mimi, who has just finished her homework for the day and is ready to go on an adventure in their humble little kingdom full of humans and magical talking animals. You actually have no set goal; your mother simply tasks you with delivering your father’s lunch at the farm. Thanks to that, you end up doing various tasks around the kingdom. 

The gameplay is straightforward enough: talk to NPCs to figure out if they need anything and explore to check if you can pick up any useful items. Fulfilling whatever the animal NPCs need will usually unlock them as a follower you can recruit—and having them by your side can solve certain puzzles to open new areas. The back-and-forth fetch quests can be tedious but there’s still some logic to them.

However, Mimi and animals lack a tutorial. The keyboard controls are never explained. At least Touch UI mode is always enabled so you can simply use your mouse to interact with objects and walk around. The arrow keys are used for movement while the Enter key or Spacebar is used for interaction. To open the Pause menu, just click either Esc or X.

Needs a bit more tweaking

All in all, Mimi and animals is interesting enough for a Japanese indie game that’s been given an English translation. While the gameplay can be tedious due to the lack of gameplay variety and a proper tutorial, the graphics and item puzzles are engaging enough to keep you on your toes. This is a highly recommended game for RPG Maker fans.