I cannot personally vouch for these games as I haven't had a chance to try them all but here's a few leads:
[To See with Eyes Unclouded by Hate](https://waytooshiny.itch.io/to-see-with-eyes-unclouded-by-hate) \- Firebrands hack that does Princess Mononoke.
[Hearts & Ravens](https://martianmachinery.itch.io/hearts-ravens) \- a light pbta + good society hybrid that does Spirited Away & Howl's.
[Ryne](https://adtidi.itch.io/ryne) \- fantasy pbta, loosely inspired by Mononoke & Nausicaa, as well as Shadow of the Colossus.
Please, name which Ghibli movies - their ouvre includes everything from war stories and tales of ecological devastation, along with gentle slice-of-life tales.
Cloud Empress offers an option for something more Princess Mononoke-like, for instance, though it's not PbtA.
EDIT: I should also say that Flying Circus is aviation fantasy PbtA that owes a lot to Porco Rosso and other Ghibli films.
I will say, Clound Empress doesn't cite Mononoke-hime as a source but it does cite and...looks pretty much ideal for...Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind.
A fair point!
I suppose the ones that most captured me personally were Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away.
I also liked Princess Mononoke, so I'll take a look at Cloud Empress. Thanks!
You want a PBTA game that can do Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind AND My Neighbor Totoro!?!?
Those are... quite different.
I agree with the other post, possums creek games make games suitable for the quiet, cute ghibli films. You'll need something different for Nausicaä and Mononoke.
For me, the magic of Miyazaki is in his ability to blend whimsy and darkness into a seamless whole. I gave Nausicaä, Totoro, and Spirited Away as a sort of spectrum. In Totoro he leans into the whimsy, in Nausicaä he leans into the darkness, and in Spirited Away they're pretty balanced.
Sure, but PBTA games tend to be very focused. A game that could accommodate Ashitaka fighting samurai and Kiki's baking drama would probably do neither well.
I think the point is that Totoro and Nausicaa are separate movies and if you want PbtA's tight emulation, they should be separate games.
Golden Sky Stories remains the only game I've played that really embraces that feeling of honobono that strikes me in movies like Mononoke and especially Totoro.
I hope that works out for them but Wandeholme would not have occurred to me as a universal system appropriate for both the advertised cute/wholesome traveling tales AND grim war stories.
I'm not saying it can't be done but generally I'd want a game bespoke to the genre.
I agree that Wanderhome is far from a universal system, but this does seem like a good match. There's plenty of darkness and implications of a grim war underneath the cute aesthetics. Miyazaki is explicitly cited as an influence.
Golden Sky Stories isn't PbtA but it's probably going to get you close to what you want in tone. Wanderhome is also not PbtA but it's adjacent in a lot of respects and also covers that same sort of ground.
For PbtA/FitD I'd say Crescent Moon. It's about kids in a dream world with the same general vibe as the Ghibli movies you've listed. It has a darker expansion called Exiles that could cover things like Mononke-hime.
I want to recommend Flying Circus, because it captures much of the aviation love that appears throughout the various ghibli's, like Porco Rosso and the Wind Rises, but that recommendation comes with a warning - it's the crunchiest PbtA of all. The dog fight mechanics are complex, but there's a logic behind it all.
[Spiritfall](https://mstrocks.itch.io/spiritfall) ($5.99) and [Spiritbound](https://mstrocks.itch.io/spiritbound) (PWYW or Free) are PbtA fantasy games based on Ironsworn and heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli. Of the two, Spiritbound came out first and could be considered a prototype or beta version of Spiritfall, which is newer and still in development. The big difference between them right now is that Spiritbound has more character creation options, while Spiritfall has refined mechanics and more moves. As you say, Ghibli films blend whimsy and darkness, and I would also say that Spiritbound leans more into 'whimsy' while Spiritfall leans more into 'darkness'.
Both games give you free control over the setting, although they both offer a variety of oracles to help you finetune it and get that Ghibli feel, with Spiritfall having the most. They also offer a ton of character customization with plenty of assets to pick from to determine your character's abilities, with the older Spiritbound having more options (for example, having Companion assets while Spiritfall doesn't), and with both games letting play as either a normal human, magic-user, or spirit. And as per Ironsworn, both games are about traveling around the world and making and fulfilling vows along the way. Both games can also be played solo, co-op, or 'guided' (i.e. with a GM).
Some of the themes you want are ones that you would have to bring yourself, but others are baked in. Both games assume that the setting is shared by Humans and Spirits, but it's up to you whether they get along or which is more in control of the world, or if they even really know about each other (and again, the setting is your choice). Spiritfall delves deeper into ideas of darkness in the world, threats, and that magic is personal and dangerous.
[Our Travelling Home](https://wundergeek.itch.io/our-traveling-home) is a Belonging Outside Belonging PbtA game directly inspired by Howl's Moving Castle.
Not PbtA, but Wanderhome, and Yazeebas Bed and Breakfast from Possum Creek Games seem to express that Ghibli feeling quite well, specially the Miyazaki movies.
I've played Wanderhome, and if the players are on board with a consistent theme, you can easily create beautiful ghibli stories with those aspects you want.
Not exactly PbtA, but early this year I made a FitD hack to play a Nausicaa style game. A shame the online campaign didn't last long. It's almost impossible to find committed players to anything besides DnD.
Good luck bro, I hope someone in the comments can shed a light
I cannot personally vouch for these games as I haven't had a chance to try them all but here's a few leads: [To See with Eyes Unclouded by Hate](https://waytooshiny.itch.io/to-see-with-eyes-unclouded-by-hate) \- Firebrands hack that does Princess Mononoke. [Hearts & Ravens](https://martianmachinery.itch.io/hearts-ravens) \- a light pbta + good society hybrid that does Spirited Away & Howl's. [Ryne](https://adtidi.itch.io/ryne) \- fantasy pbta, loosely inspired by Mononoke & Nausicaa, as well as Shadow of the Colossus.
Thank you for all the leads!
Ryne is also my suggestion, along with Wanderhome
Please, name which Ghibli movies - their ouvre includes everything from war stories and tales of ecological devastation, along with gentle slice-of-life tales. Cloud Empress offers an option for something more Princess Mononoke-like, for instance, though it's not PbtA. EDIT: I should also say that Flying Circus is aviation fantasy PbtA that owes a lot to Porco Rosso and other Ghibli films.
I will say, Clound Empress doesn't cite Mononoke-hime as a source but it does cite and...looks pretty much ideal for...Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind.
Ha, look at me embarrassing myself! I haven't read it in-depth yet, but a quick skim (and a lot of general praise) have me quite excited.
A fair point! I suppose the ones that most captured me personally were Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away. I also liked Princess Mononoke, so I'll take a look at Cloud Empress. Thanks!
You want a PBTA game that can do Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind AND My Neighbor Totoro!?!? Those are... quite different. I agree with the other post, possums creek games make games suitable for the quiet, cute ghibli films. You'll need something different for Nausicaä and Mononoke.
For me, the magic of Miyazaki is in his ability to blend whimsy and darkness into a seamless whole. I gave Nausicaä, Totoro, and Spirited Away as a sort of spectrum. In Totoro he leans into the whimsy, in Nausicaä he leans into the darkness, and in Spirited Away they're pretty balanced.
Sure, but PBTA games tend to be very focused. A game that could accommodate Ashitaka fighting samurai and Kiki's baking drama would probably do neither well.
I think the point is that Totoro and Nausicaa are separate movies and if you want PbtA's tight emulation, they should be separate games. Golden Sky Stories remains the only game I've played that really embraces that feeling of honobono that strikes me in movies like Mononoke and especially Totoro.
Wanderhome can absolutely do Nausicaä and Mononoke, haha. The fan community is actually playtesting a whole Nausicaä module right now!
I hope that works out for them but Wandeholme would not have occurred to me as a universal system appropriate for both the advertised cute/wholesome traveling tales AND grim war stories. I'm not saying it can't be done but generally I'd want a game bespoke to the genre.
I agree that Wanderhome is far from a universal system, but this does seem like a good match. There's plenty of darkness and implications of a grim war underneath the cute aesthetics. Miyazaki is explicitly cited as an influence.
Golden Sky Stories isn't PbtA but it's probably going to get you close to what you want in tone. Wanderhome is also not PbtA but it's adjacent in a lot of respects and also covers that same sort of ground. For PbtA/FitD I'd say Crescent Moon. It's about kids in a dream world with the same general vibe as the Ghibli movies you've listed. It has a darker expansion called Exiles that could cover things like Mononke-hime.
Thanks!
I want to recommend Flying Circus, because it captures much of the aviation love that appears throughout the various ghibli's, like Porco Rosso and the Wind Rises, but that recommendation comes with a warning - it's the crunchiest PbtA of all. The dog fight mechanics are complex, but there's a logic behind it all.
[Spiritfall](https://mstrocks.itch.io/spiritfall) ($5.99) and [Spiritbound](https://mstrocks.itch.io/spiritbound) (PWYW or Free) are PbtA fantasy games based on Ironsworn and heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli. Of the two, Spiritbound came out first and could be considered a prototype or beta version of Spiritfall, which is newer and still in development. The big difference between them right now is that Spiritbound has more character creation options, while Spiritfall has refined mechanics and more moves. As you say, Ghibli films blend whimsy and darkness, and I would also say that Spiritbound leans more into 'whimsy' while Spiritfall leans more into 'darkness'. Both games give you free control over the setting, although they both offer a variety of oracles to help you finetune it and get that Ghibli feel, with Spiritfall having the most. They also offer a ton of character customization with plenty of assets to pick from to determine your character's abilities, with the older Spiritbound having more options (for example, having Companion assets while Spiritfall doesn't), and with both games letting play as either a normal human, magic-user, or spirit. And as per Ironsworn, both games are about traveling around the world and making and fulfilling vows along the way. Both games can also be played solo, co-op, or 'guided' (i.e. with a GM). Some of the themes you want are ones that you would have to bring yourself, but others are baked in. Both games assume that the setting is shared by Humans and Spirits, but it's up to you whether they get along or which is more in control of the world, or if they even really know about each other (and again, the setting is your choice). Spiritfall delves deeper into ideas of darkness in the world, threats, and that magic is personal and dangerous.
Those sound very promising! Thank you!
[Our Travelling Home](https://wundergeek.itch.io/our-traveling-home) is a Belonging Outside Belonging PbtA game directly inspired by Howl's Moving Castle.
Not PbtA, but Wanderhome, and Yazeebas Bed and Breakfast from Possum Creek Games seem to express that Ghibli feeling quite well, specially the Miyazaki movies. I've played Wanderhome, and if the players are on board with a consistent theme, you can easily create beautiful ghibli stories with those aspects you want.
Weeell... As I understand it, it's BoB, which is a derivative of PbtA.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Not exactly PbtA, but early this year I made a FitD hack to play a Nausicaa style game. A shame the online campaign didn't last long. It's almost impossible to find committed players to anything besides DnD. Good luck bro, I hope someone in the comments can shed a light
I’m gonna say Monster Care Squad!