Crafting Nostalgia: Dotemu’s Journey to…

Cosmology of Kyoto is a first-person horror exploration game that invites players into a haunting yet educational experience. Released in 1993, this game is renowned for its unsettling portrayals of anguish, earning it a dedicated fanbase. Despite being celebrated—Roger Ebert notably praised it after immersing himself for weeks—the game was a commercial flop and never spawned a sequel, or so it was believed until recently.

In 2023, an intriguing title titled TRIPITAKA 玄奘三蔵求法の? appeared on Yahoo Japan, sold for $300 to an anonymous bidder after a competitive bidding process. Notably, this buyer didn’t disclose any information about the game, which led Mark Buckner to flag the auction in a conversation among enthusiasts of the original unsettling Japanese title.

While diehard fans had speculated about a potential sequel to Cosmology, actual proof was elusive. The only clues came from the resumes of two Cosmology producers, Hiroshi Ōnishi and Mori Kōichi, and a reference in an old website related to a 1999 Silk Road exhibition. Although the game was fiction, it drew heavily from 10th-century Japanese history and featured an in-game encyclopedia, suggesting that a sequel could carry a similar educational weight worthy of museum display.

Despite these hints, the game’s publication status and production progress remained uncertain. The auction caught the attention of video game scholar Bruno de Figueiredo, who endeavored to locate the winning bidder, hoping they would make the game accessible online. As knowledge about this title was sparse, if it were to exist, it would surely be significant from a historical standpoint, with fans eager to experience it.

However, persuading collectors to share rare games poses a challenge. Once a game becomes widely accessible, its rarity diminishes. Collectors often hold onto their copies to maintain their value, ensuring that what they own remains a coveted item. Some, however, are driven by the intention to preserve culturally significant games for future players, especially in cases where the game is still in its original packaging. Yet, sharing games not created by oneself can raise legal concerns.

In this instance, the collector opted not to share the game for others to play. Nonetheless, they did upload an hour of gameplay footage to YouTube, revealing a game named TRIPITAKA. While it does not explicitly label itself as a sequel, its artistic style, historical elements, and somewhat eerie ambiance drew comparisons to Cosmology of Kyoto, with fans regarding it as a spiritual successor. Notably, the original <