Rare Game Hunt: 2-Year Search Success
- A long-lost game considered a spiritual successor to the cult classic Cosmology of Kyoto has been unearthed.
- Cosmology of Kyoto, a frist-person horror exploration game set in a haunted yet educational landscape, gained a devoted following after its 1993 release.
- Mark Buckner spotted the transaction,sparking discussion among fans of the original eerie Japanese game.
After 30 years, the lost sequel to Cosmology of Kyoto, TRIPITAKA, has been found and is now available to play.A dedicated video game academic, Bruno de Figueiredo, orchestrated the online release of this rare game, convincing a collector to share it after a long search. this discovery highlights challenges in video game preservation, especially concerning obscure PC titles from the 1990s. The game, considered a spiritual successor, offers a familiar art style and unsettling atmosphere, captivating fans of the original horror exploration game. News Directory 3 is thrilled to bring you this exclusive story of digital archaeology, with the playable ISO uploaded for all to enjoy. Discover what secrets TRIPITAKA holds for the future of gaming.
Lost ‘Cosmology of Kyoto’ Sequel, TRIPITAKA, Found After 30 Years
Updated June 01, 2025
A long-lost game considered a spiritual successor to the cult classic Cosmology of Kyoto has been unearthed. TRIPITAKA, unseen for decades, is now available online thanks to the efforts of a dedicated video game scholar.
Cosmology of Kyoto, a frist-person horror exploration game set in a haunted yet educational landscape, gained a devoted following after its 1993 release. Despite acclaim, including praise from Roger Ebert, the game never received a sequel—or so it seemed.
In 2023, a game titled TRIPITAKA 玄奘三蔵求法の? surfaced on Yahoo Japan and was sold for $300. Mark Buckner spotted the transaction,sparking discussion among fans of the original eerie Japanese game. While rumors of a sequel existed in the resumes of Cosmology producers Hiroshi Ōnishi and Mori Kōichi, and a mention in a 1999 museum exhibition website, concrete evidence remained elusive.
Video game academic Bruno de Figueiredo tracked down the auction winner, hoping to share the game. Initially, the collector declined to release a playable version but did upload an hour of footage to YouTube. The art style, past focus, and unsettling atmosphere of TRIPITAKA strongly resembled Cosmology of Kyoto, leading fans to consider it a spiritual successor.
After “years of appeals,” Figueiredo convinced the collector to share the game online. He has since uploaded a playable ISO of TRIPITAKA, along with a full three-hour playthrough.
I am delighted to have played a minor role in the unraveling of this thirty year old mystery, and can hardly contain my enthusiasm, as I now find myself equipped with sufficient information to produce a full post concerning a game about which I could not have writen more than a sentence, just last year.
Figueiredo calls TRIPITAKA one of the rarest games ever made, with only one known copy. Frank Cifaldi, founder of the Video Game History foundation, notes that many rare or lost PC games lack central control over publishing, unlike consoles. He suspects numerous equally rare Japanese games from that era remain unknown due to a lack of Western historical meaning.
What’s next
the rediscovery of TRIPITAKA underscores the ongoing challenges of video game preservation and the importance of individual efforts to safeguard gaming history.