Hong Kong 97 is a 1995 bootleg for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), developed by Japanese studio HappySoft. The purpose of Hong Kong 97 was to satirize the gaming industry by creating “the worst game ever.”
Hong Kong 97 revolves around the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. The Hong Kong government, fearing a dramatic increase in crime due to immigration from mainland China, hires a relative of Bruce Lee named Chin to kill every person in China.
Hong Kong 97 is infamous for how absurd the game is and how offensive the content is, and for several years the game's creator Yoshihisa “Kowloon” Kurosawa seemed content to forget it ever happened.
The return of Chin
However, 30 years later, HappySoft and Kurosawa are about to release a sequel. Hong Kong 2097 sees the return of China, this time to destroy the nation of 'Amurikka' (thanks, Automaton).
The description of the upcoming game on Steam reads: “A twinstick shooter where nothing is sacred. Fight your way through 5 stages of mind-numbing chaos and create a utopia for generations to come.”
The Story of Kamikuishiki Village, another game from HappySoft, makes light of the Aum Shinrikyo cult and the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack. The game uses real-life footage, and modern conspiracy theories suggest that the game was created by Aum Shinrikyo himself.
The inspiration for Hong Kong 2097 seems to be the recent increase in censorship we've seen in the gaming industry. The shop's page reads: “In a world of encroaching censorship and social media algorithms crushing our freedom of thought, Hong Kong 2097 and its irreverence for all that is sacred is a breath of fresh air.”
The images from Hong Kong 2097 show various absurd backgrounds, such as George Washington preparing to kiss another man, what look like the heads of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in tacos, and the famous Vince McMahon meme.
It is not known how long Hong Kong 2097 has been in development, but it is expected to be released this December. You can imagine how topical a game with such a twist can be.
- Mark
-
Nintendo
- Original release date
-
August 23, 1991
- Original MSRP (USD)
-
199 dollars
- Weight
-
2.12 pounds
