Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou

Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou
North American cover art
DeveloperOutSide Directors Company
Publishers
DirectorOsamu Sato
ProducerOsamu Sato
ProgrammerAmiko Takama
ArtistOsamu Sato
Writers
  • Osamu Sato
  • Hiroko Nishikawa
ComposerOsamu Sato
EngineMacromedia Director
Platforms
ReleaseClassic Mac OS
  • JP: April 1994
  • NA: August 1995
Windows
  • NA: August 1995
GenrePoint-and-click adventure
ModeSingle-player

Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou is a 1994 point-and-click adventure game by Japanese artist Osamu Sato. The plot follows a man named Rin whose soul is taken by the island of Tong-Nou. Rin travels to Tong-Nou to fulfill the lives of nine creatures and regain his soul. Whenever Rin dies, the player chooses what creature Rin will be reincarnated into.

Sato began development on Eastern Mind in 1993 with three collaborators. He incorporated several of his own spiritual beliefs, including reincarnation and animism, in the game's plot. It was published in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1994 for Classic Mac OS and in North America by Sony Imagesoft the following year for both Mac and Windows. Critics gave mixed reactions to the game, with some praising its surreal imagery, but many describing it as bizarre and disturbing. A sequel, Chu-Teng, was released in 1995.