Lithon released Retro Stick Ihatovo Monogatari, a home game console, in Japan on August 1, 2026. The product is a stick-shaped unit that plugs into a TV HDMI port and comes preloaded with a single title: Ihatovo Monogatari, originally a 1993 Super Famicom game. It was planned around the 130th anniversary of writer Kenji Miyazawa's birth, and the suggested retail price is 6,600 yen including tax.
Plug It Into HDMI, Play With a Wireless Controller
The main unit measures 95 by 34 by 10 mm and weighs 25 g. Plug it into a TV HDMI port, supply power over USB, and it boots. If the TV has no USB port, power can come from a wall outlet using any USB AC adapter. The bundled power cable is Type-A to C, and an input extension cable is also included for TVs with awkward port placement.
Control is handled by a wireless controller measuring 118 by 46 by 15 mm and weighing 40 g, powered by 2 AAA batteries sold separately. Because there is no cable to run across the room, the distance between the stick hidden behind the TV and the sofa stops mattering. Both the stick and the controller use ABS resin. The box contains 4 items: the stick, the wireless controller, the USB power cable, and the input extension cable.
Emulator sticks of this type can stay small because the display and power both come from the TV. A weight of 25 g suggests a device meant to be left plugged in rather than stored away between sessions.
One Title on Board: Ihatovo Monogatari From 1993
The only included title is Ihatovo Monogatari, and it is single-player only. The original was a Super Famicom game published by Hect in 1993, set in Ihatovo, the idealized land imagined by Kenji Miyazawa.
The player takes the role of a traveler searching for the 7 lost notebooks said to have been left behind by Miyazawa. The world draws on well-known Miyazawa works such as Gauche the Cellist and Night on the Galactic Railroad, but the plot is built specifically for the game, so readers unfamiliar with the source material can still follow it. The soundtrack contains 18 original compositions by Tsukasa Tawada. The copyright notice reads ©SEKI.
More than 30 years after release, the original still commands high prices on the used market. According to Lithon, developer Hect had long received requests to play the game again, and the spread of emulator sticks that run by simply plugging into a TV made this reissue practical.
A Machine to Play, or a Box to Display
The packaging uses a design that evokes the 1993 original. Since the hardware carries just one game, whether 6,600 yen looks reasonable depends largely on how much the period packaging itself matters to the buyer. Set against the effort of sourcing a used Super Famicom and cartridge and then adapting them to an HDMI television, a self-contained option at 6,600 yen has its own logic.
That said, only 1 title is included. Compared with similar products that bundle several games, the count looks thin, so the purchase decision comes down to attachment to Ihatovo Monogatari itself, or curiosity about tracing Miyazawa's world through a game.
Specifications
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Product name | Retro Stick Ihatovo Monogatari |
| Model code | KTFC-019B |
| JAN | 4573468827121 |
| Power | Stick: USB power / Controller: 2 AAA batteries (sold separately) |
| Dimensions | Stick: 95 x 34 x 10 mm / Controller: 118 x 46 x 15 mm |
| Weight | Stick: 25 g / Controller: 40 g |
| Materials | Stick and controller: ABS resin / Cables: PVC |
| Suggested retail price | 6,600 yen including tax |
| Release date | August 1, 2026 |
It is sold through electronics retailers, toy specialty stores, hobby shops, and Rakuten Books.
Summary
Retro Stick Ihatovo Monogatari is a 6,600 yen game-on-a-stick that runs the 1993 title Ihatovo Monogatari as soon as it is plugged into a TV HDMI port. The setup consists of a 25 g stick and a wireless controller, with essentially no configuration required. Only 1 game is included, but as a project marking the 130th anniversary of Kenji Miyazawa's birth, it packages the experience together with a box design drawn from the original era.
