Cosmology of Kyoto is a first-person horror exploration recreation the place gamers navigate a deeply haunted but surprisingly instructional terrain. Initially launched in 1993, Cosmology of Kyoto and its disturbing depictions of struggling have since grow to be a cult basic. Roger Ebert, recognized hater, beloved the sport a lot that he spent weeks enjoying it. Regardless of its acclaim, although, the sport was a business failure and by no means received a sequel. At the least, that’s what many individuals believed till now.
In 2023, a recreation referred to as TRIPITAKA 玄奘三蔵求法の? was listed on Yahoo Japan. The sport was bought for $300 to an unknown social gathering who, regardless of embarking on a bidding struggle that culminated in a whole lot of {dollars}, didn’t actually share something publicly about it. The transaction was initially observed by Mark Buckner, who introduced it up in a dialogue between followers in regards to the unique eerie Japanese recreation.
Although diehard aficionados had a suspicion that the Cosmology builders had thought of a follow-up, concrete proof of it was scant. The one obvious point out of a sequel lied within the resumes of two Cosmology producers, Hiroshi Ōnishi and Mori Kōichi. Followers additionally noticed point out of it in an outdated web site for a 1999 museum exhibition on the Silk Street. Although it was a piece of fiction, Cosmology was rooted within the historical past of tenth century Japan and supplied gamers with an in-game encyclopedia. It might make sense for a possible sequel to have sufficient an academic focus worthy of a museum exhibition.
Regardless of these rumblings, it was unclear if the sport had ever been revealed, or how far into manufacturing it received. Data of the public sale prompted online game educational Bruno de Figueiredo to trace down the public sale winner. The hope was that whoever purchased it would share a replica of the sport on-line. In any case, up till this level, few knew what this recreation was and its mere existence lay unsure. But when it did exist, then it was clearly important from a historic perspective. Followers can be desirous to play it.
However getting collectors to share copies of uncommon video games is difficult. If a recreation is extensively accessible, then it’s not uncommon. Holding on to a replica ensures that it retains its aura as a prized possession. Hoarding additionally signifies that the worth of a recreation received’t drop — in reality, it would rise. Not all collectors see their possessions as commodities, although. Holding on to a culturally important recreation is likely to be motivated by the will to protect it for future generations, which is related in situations the place a replica of a recreation continues to be sealed. Importing a recreation that you just didn’t develop can also be more likely to be legally doubtful.
On this case, the proprietor declined to share the sport in a kind that others may play. The collector did nevertheless add an hour’s price of footage on YouTube. The sport was referred to as TRIPITAKA, and although it didn’t outright classify itself as a sequel, the artwork fashion, historic focus, and barely unnerving vibe positioned TRIPITAKA in the same realm as Cosmology of Kyoto. Followers thought of it a non secular successor. Cosmology itself had been developed with the assistance of Japanese museums.
For some, it was sufficient to get extra of a recreation they beloved. Even when they couldn’t personally management the gameplay, the TRIPITAKA video was prolonged sufficient to present a way of what the expertise can be like. Others have been enraged: Couldn’t the collector see how essential this recreation was?
“I can not understate simply how disgusted I’m that this piece of tradition and artwork (that I’m an enormous fan of) isn’t being preserved and unfold for the enjoyment of others,” one commenter on YouTube wrote. “Disgrace on you.”
Undeterred by this roadblock, Bruno de Figueiredo continued his pursuit of TRIPITAKA. In 2025, his efforts bore fruit. On X, the professional on obscure Japanese video games revealed that he had lastly satisfied the collector to share the sport on-line after “years of appeals.” Figueiredo has since uploaded a playable ISO of the sport on-line alongside a full three-hour playthrough of a recreation that had as soon as been thought of misplaced media.
Figuerido didn’t reply to a request for remark. In a weblog publish, he emphasised the importance of this discover by stating that “the significance of this footage may hardly be overstated.”
I’m delighted to have performed a minor position within the unraveling of this thirty 12 months outdated thriller, and may hardly include my enthusiasm, as I now discover myself geared up with ample info to provide a full publish regarding a recreation about which I couldn’t have written greater than a sentence, simply final 12 months.
Figuerido refers to TRIPITAKA as one of many rarest video games ever made, and it’s true inasmuch as there seems to be just one recognized copy of it. Worth and rarity are additionally fluid ideas which might be in the end decided by audiences. On the similar time, TRIPITAKA’s destiny and availability is shockingly bizarre when you think about how poorly the gaming trade preserves its personal historical past. If the dearth of care is clear with important video games which have debatable advantage, it’s doubly true for common video games. That is how a recreation with blended opinions from twenty years in the past abruptly begins commanding a whole lot of {dollars} on resale websites; the shortage occurs as a result of no one felt a recreation was price holding on to.
“There are a lot of extraordinarily uncommon (and even misplaced) video games for private computer systems which, not like consoles, don’t have any central management over who can publish a recreation, or what the minimal variety of manufactured items must be,” says Frank Cifaldi, founding father of the Video Recreation Historical past basis, a nonprofit devoted to preserving video video games. Cifaldi notes that video games within the 80s and 90s particularly, a few of which have been self-published and by no means received widespread circulation to start with, are significantly susceptible to the kind of obscurity that may result in solely a single copy of a recreation.
“I might additional suspect that there have been many video games and multimedia objects from Japan throughout this period which might be simply as uncommon, however we don’t hear about them due to their lack of historic significance within the West,” Cifaldi says. “I might guess good cash that if you happen to surveyed the gathering on the Recreation Preservation Society in Japan, you’d give you dozens of ‘solely recognized copies’ of Nineteen Eighties microcomputer video games.”
