[Review] 1993 Cosmology of Kyoto
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2026 10:14 pm
Hello and Welcome to the first of many video game reviews, retro or modern, triple A, Double A, B-Grade, Independent, or Indie!
To start off this review series of mine, I'll be reviewing what is perhaps the most obscure and dark education game made for the PC from 1993.
Cosmology of Kyoto
Released in Japan in 1993 for Windows 3.1 then later in North America on Macintosh for 1994 and Windows 95 in 1995.
The best way that I can describe this game is that it is an "interactive museum". The game is a point and click adventure where
you explore the ancient city of Heiankyō (modern day Kyoto hence the name of the game) during the Heian Peirod and the many legends, tales, and mythologies surrounding the city itself over a span of a thousand years.
The game was developed by Softedge a game studio that has no documentation on the Internet other than the wikipedia page. Similarly with it's publisher Yano Electric which only yielded me a web-page to some power-tool company from China which sells, well... Power Tools.
Going back to subject though. I first discovered this game via YouTube with featured what is the most infamous aspect of the game which I'll explain
in full detail later down in the review but needless to say that it is what most people will likely know this game for and yours truly was intrigued even more and eventually managed to play after I saw a detailed review of the game itself and many of the concepts and writing that went into the game.
Gameplay
So gameplay is very simple, as I mentioned earlier it is a point and click adventure game but at first glance you may be wondering, aside from the field of play, 'what in the world do these things mean?' and I can understand the confusion because the game's interface isn't well understood but based on my time playing, I can map out this game's interface and present them as to what they are.
For the most part, you'll be exploring the city itself finding points of interests and interacting with the many inhabitants of the city itself while
opening up the encyclopedia to read up what you just witnessed in the game itself. The game goes over the society of Japan during the Heian Period as well showcasing various belief systems such as the Yin-Yang Divination and Buddhism. The latter of which, plays a central role to the game's themes as death and reincarnation are the central mechanics of the game itself. The game is well researched and you'll find yourself
reading the encyclopedia a lot time to time to learn more about Japanese history and culture.
(Sadly one issue I have with this game is that the Encyclopedia's text is a bit fucked for certain entries and I don't if it's an issue with the game or something else entirely.
As you explore, you'll be encounter various people of all kinds and beings not of this world and there are movements where you have to input a prompt that opens in between the dialogue and inventory boxes, but to be honest this can be limiting as much of your input will come down to either Yes or No (And with proper spelling because god forbid you type YES or NO or whatever without the game scolding you).
And at times you will be wrapped up in the event of a given encounter itself but in most certain cases, whether by choice or not, you will
also have to do combat against more hostile beings. Combat is rather interesting. But when facing hostile encounter you are given the choice to counter these beings with your sword or a sutra which is an item that is earned after visiting and preforming rituals at the Toji Temple.
Against human beings your best option is to use your sword which can be given via at the start of the game or later by stealing someone's else sword. Sword combat comes down to clicking your mouse on the opponent's body as fast as you could until they are struck down by your sword.
When against demons however, attempting to use your sword will end in absolute death. So the best route is to use the Sutra against demonic opponents. A bow and arrow can also be used as an equipment as well-- however only to be used in very specific moments in the game itself. Truthfully during my run, I wasn't really able to use my bow and unfortunately in one crucial event, I wound up getting killed the process.
Death and Reincarnation
As mentioned before, Death and Reincarnation are the two central mechanics of the game as dying in the Cosmology Of Kyoto does not mean
a Game Over. Instead, depending on your "Karma" Level upon death, you will reincarnated into one of the five out of the "Six Realms" of existence. Buddhism has a central role in the game as it's also one of the game underlying theme. Though this is not some religious game by any means, the game does go
religion as a mean to explain how the people of Ancient Japan believed (and still to this day) and how they viewed life.
Upon Reincarnation you'll wind up the following Realms of existence based on your Karma Level.
A a screenshot of the six realms from the game's encyclopedia itself. (Left)
In Christianity, life is linear. There is a beginning (Birth), Middle (Life), and an End (Death). Upon death, we are judged in the afterlife and depending our action, will lead to either; Heaven or Hell. Two places that are eternal.
In Buddhism, life is circular. Meaning that after death, you are reincarnated into another realm. Known as the "Transmigration of Souls", each realm of existence is not eternal but rather temporary. Meaning that if you were a decent person you'd round up in heaven and you'll spend sometime there until your time on there is up and you're reincarnated back into the human realm. (This is how it usually is the game) If you were a terrible person however, you may round up finding yourself in the other realms of existences, the most notable of which and what got me into the game itself are is the realm of Hells itself. For the rest of the other realms, well that's up to you to find out!
Dante got nothing on Buddhist Hell!
Hell is divided into eight levels of "Burning Hells" which is determined by the Karma level of ours upon death. Here the game showcases
several grotesque and brutal imagery and animations of which, the game's encyclopedia lists a few entries of the many "Outer Chambers of Hell"
and they're pretty gruesome to read. Here's an entry to one of the Outer Chambers written.
Pretty harsh huh? Thankfully our stay in Hell and in the other realms are temporary so after your stay, you're brought back to the Human Realm
with a new appearance. Each death results in a new look and physique in the the game after reincarnation and when you respawn, you'll
find yourself back to where you had previously died. There you could find your corpse and gather back your items and clothing that way (Since
you'll respawn naked) and our Karma after death is reset back to zero.
Visuals and Presentation
Something I forgot to mention but as you've noticed, this game isn't exactly keen on bright colors and has a minimalist approach to animation.
Especially for a game from 1993, the characters and environments look and feel something is off and has gone wrong here and this is particularly strengthened by the game's artstyle which is primarily based on the illustrations and art from that era of Japan.
What color there is used minimally. So if you're expecting the game to be some cutesy, vividly bright (to the point of eye-bleed), then your best bet is to turn away because this game can get pretty violence at times with certain events which doesn't help that many of the said violent events of the game are based on the stories that are featured in the game itself. Such as, for example, saving a woman after being wrongfully accused by the lawmen in the game only for her to get snatched by a demon at the abandoned manor and have her blood sucked dry once you manage to break the door down and barge in with your sword. I wish I was making this up but nope, that actually happens in the game.
The game present itself as showing what was it actually like to live in the city during it's supposed "Golden Age" which while historically it was true as it helped Japan thrust itself into the culture that we recognize today. In reality, was probably not the best time to be living in the capital of Japan at the time. The city may claim itself to be the "Peaceful and Tranquil Capital" but once we explore the city, it reveals a darker and ugly history of plagues, death, terrible living conditions, beggars and homeless left to rot and die, and nobles who at the end of the days are paranoid and hungry for power so much so they resort to eating each other so long it helps them gain power. And they live in an era where Sorcery and Demons are real and the religious class of the city are vastly apathetic to the suffering around them, preferring to practice and meditate while some are paid to help warn or ward off demons for the people in power.
Not even the ruling class is safe as even the Emperor who founded the city, was done so because of a curse that threatens his life for disposing
a prince who may or may not have been the rightful heir to the Imperial throne. Many tales explain the not even Emperors are safe from the wrath
of vengeful spirits and demons that only seek to stir chaos and disorder. And then there is you, the player, who is just there to experience it all.
Not even you are safe from this game's trickery and your actions if it not been clear, has consequences. Especially if you're not careful.
After all, the game, while it has no "story" still hints of an actual ending and it all ends at the heart of the city; the Imperial Palace. I will not spoil what goes on there, you'll have to find out for yourself.
Yet despite all of this, despite the bleak nature of all, where this despair, there hope. Where there is suffering, there is faith. Where there are
cowardly, there is bravery. Though this game has shown the "reality" of the city itself, not all tales are tragic and violent. In fact the game features
some characters and entrees that more or less talks about the many lifestyles and the day-to-day livelihoods of the people. Around this time, a
new type of Buddhism was taking foot that found popularity amongst the everyday man in Japan, that of course was the cult and later sect of
Buddhism known as Pure Lands Buddhism which was said to be a place beyond the Six Realms of existence and gave everyday hope to continue
moving forwards in hopes that one day, they too will go to the Purelands, so long as they chant the Nenbutsu to their hearts, as we, westerners do with our daily prayer to God.
Namu Amida Butsu... Namu Amida Butsu...
Final Thoughts and Critiques
Finally to conclude this long and arduous review...
Cosmology of Kyoto is a fantastic experience to play for a game especially over the fact that it is, after all, an interactive museum.
The game features a variety of events and characters that while mostly self-contained in each of the stories they're based on, are very
colorful and often than not, pretty thought provoking in what they say. The animations, while minimalist and what limited amount there is
are still fun to watch.
That said there are some issues with the game of course. For one, despite the fact you're given the ability to explore the city...
You're sadly only limited in where to explore in the game which is downright disappointing really
(Only within the blue highlighted areas are places you can actually explore.)
There is the obvious fact that it's a pretty old game so if you plan on running the game you'll have to download some tools in order
to run it on modern hardware. My suggestion personally that when you get the tools; please make sure the game is running at minimum and max 15 frames per seconds, the game seems to glitch out if it's below or above that and certain events get messed up as a result too.
The game doesn't exactly have much in the way of replay value but that wouldn't matter however since again; the game is a virtual museum and what plot there is, it's pretty much only there to show the central themes of the game.
Personally, I love the idea of an interactive museum. Especially that these days, you don't see those types of games anymore on the markets and
it makes me wonder how many games like Cosmology of Kyoto are actually out there in the wild. As it stands, there is no way to play this game
on modern hardware other than what I have mentioned above but there is a push by the game's fans to get it on GOG so if you want to, you can go and help support the fans on the GOG website here, so that there would be a GOG release of the game for modern computers. The people who developed the game (Softedge) had clearly done their homework
and it shows. I loved reading the entrees and for each event I witness while exploring the city.
In 1999, Softedge would developed a sequel to the game under the name "TRIPITAKA" which apparently I found out is that, it, and Kyoto were going to be part of a larger series called "Cosmology of Asia". However TRIPITAKA would go obscure, almost lost media for decades, until 2023 when it resurfaced on a bid on the Japanese Yahoo! Website and in 2025, Video Game Preservationists managed to buy the game and release the .ISO file on Internet Archive for everyone to try out. Maybe sometime in the future I'll review that game as well.
That said, it would be nice to see a remake of this game, retaining the Artstyle and such yet expanding on the game a bit more, maybe the ability to explore the city even more, maybe have the player get involved with the city a little more than what we're given in the game. Maybe make it a classic RPG of sorts (With skills and everything), that'd be cool honestly.
Well I've written as much as I can now. Do I recommend this game to people? Yes, absolutely! The game is an experience you won't forget and it is pretty straightforward with how it presents itself to the player itself though provided you may need to get used to some of the game's quirks of course. I will warn the the game isn't for everyone per say, I've heard how many people say this is "Dark" for an educational game since people assume that a game meant to educate people shouldn't include features like violent animations, nudity (Yes, there are two cases of nudity in the game but it's very minimal at the very least however), blood, and a general eerie or horror vibe to it. If you ask me personally, I think we should scare people in an educational game, it helps reinforce the idea and concept that it's trying to teach. Of course, never to the point of overkill obviously, there must be a balance. Plus, I never thought that this game was meant for children which is another assumption that I think people have when they hear "Educational game" but I digress really.
With that, I conclude my review of the game and I hope you enjoy the game as I did and this review itself. This is gonna be one long ass post for the forum I'll say
So long and thanks for reading everyone!
Links and Videos Related to The Game
A documentary of the game itself
All of the "Hell" Animations from the game, where I first discovered the game [Graphic warning!]
Internet Archive for the .ISO file of the game
https://archive.org/details/CosmologyOfKyoto
Installation tutorial
To start off this review series of mine, I'll be reviewing what is perhaps the most obscure and dark education game made for the PC from 1993.
Cosmology of Kyoto
Released in Japan in 1993 for Windows 3.1 then later in North America on Macintosh for 1994 and Windows 95 in 1995.
The best way that I can describe this game is that it is an "interactive museum". The game is a point and click adventure where
you explore the ancient city of Heiankyō (modern day Kyoto hence the name of the game) during the Heian Peirod and the many legends, tales, and mythologies surrounding the city itself over a span of a thousand years.
The game was developed by Softedge a game studio that has no documentation on the Internet other than the wikipedia page. Similarly with it's publisher Yano Electric which only yielded me a web-page to some power-tool company from China which sells, well... Power Tools.
Going back to subject though. I first discovered this game via YouTube with featured what is the most infamous aspect of the game which I'll explain
in full detail later down in the review but needless to say that it is what most people will likely know this game for and yours truly was intrigued even more and eventually managed to play after I saw a detailed review of the game itself and many of the concepts and writing that went into the game.
Gameplay
So gameplay is very simple, as I mentioned earlier it is a point and click adventure game but at first glance you may be wondering, aside from the field of play, 'what in the world do these things mean?' and I can understand the confusion because the game's interface isn't well understood but based on my time playing, I can map out this game's interface and present them as to what they are.
For the most part, you'll be exploring the city itself finding points of interests and interacting with the many inhabitants of the city itself while
opening up the encyclopedia to read up what you just witnessed in the game itself. The game goes over the society of Japan during the Heian Period as well showcasing various belief systems such as the Yin-Yang Divination and Buddhism. The latter of which, plays a central role to the game's themes as death and reincarnation are the central mechanics of the game itself. The game is well researched and you'll find yourself
reading the encyclopedia a lot time to time to learn more about Japanese history and culture.
(Sadly one issue I have with this game is that the Encyclopedia's text is a bit fucked for certain entries and I don't if it's an issue with the game or something else entirely.
As you explore, you'll be encounter various people of all kinds and beings not of this world and there are movements where you have to input a prompt that opens in between the dialogue and inventory boxes, but to be honest this can be limiting as much of your input will come down to either Yes or No (And with proper spelling because god forbid you type YES or NO or whatever without the game scolding you).
And at times you will be wrapped up in the event of a given encounter itself but in most certain cases, whether by choice or not, you will
also have to do combat against more hostile beings. Combat is rather interesting. But when facing hostile encounter you are given the choice to counter these beings with your sword or a sutra which is an item that is earned after visiting and preforming rituals at the Toji Temple.
Against human beings your best option is to use your sword which can be given via at the start of the game or later by stealing someone's else sword. Sword combat comes down to clicking your mouse on the opponent's body as fast as you could until they are struck down by your sword.
When against demons however, attempting to use your sword will end in absolute death. So the best route is to use the Sutra against demonic opponents. A bow and arrow can also be used as an equipment as well-- however only to be used in very specific moments in the game itself. Truthfully during my run, I wasn't really able to use my bow and unfortunately in one crucial event, I wound up getting killed the process.
Death and Reincarnation
As mentioned before, Death and Reincarnation are the two central mechanics of the game as dying in the Cosmology Of Kyoto does not mean
a Game Over. Instead, depending on your "Karma" Level upon death, you will reincarnated into one of the five out of the "Six Realms" of existence. Buddhism has a central role in the game as it's also one of the game underlying theme. Though this is not some religious game by any means, the game does go
religion as a mean to explain how the people of Ancient Japan believed (and still to this day) and how they viewed life.
Upon Reincarnation you'll wind up the following Realms of existence based on your Karma Level.
- HEAVENLY BEINGS
- ASHURAS
- ANIMALS
- HUNGRY GHOSTS
- HELLS
A a screenshot of the six realms from the game's encyclopedia itself. (Left)
In Christianity, life is linear. There is a beginning (Birth), Middle (Life), and an End (Death). Upon death, we are judged in the afterlife and depending our action, will lead to either; Heaven or Hell. Two places that are eternal.
In Buddhism, life is circular. Meaning that after death, you are reincarnated into another realm. Known as the "Transmigration of Souls", each realm of existence is not eternal but rather temporary. Meaning that if you were a decent person you'd round up in heaven and you'll spend sometime there until your time on there is up and you're reincarnated back into the human realm. (This is how it usually is the game) If you were a terrible person however, you may round up finding yourself in the other realms of existences, the most notable of which and what got me into the game itself are is the realm of Hells itself. For the rest of the other realms, well that's up to you to find out!
Dante got nothing on Buddhist Hell!
Hell is divided into eight levels of "Burning Hells" which is determined by the Karma level of ours upon death. Here the game showcases
several grotesque and brutal imagery and animations of which, the game's encyclopedia lists a few entries of the many "Outer Chambers of Hell"
and they're pretty gruesome to read. Here's an entry to one of the Outer Chambers written.
Pretty harsh huh? Thankfully our stay in Hell and in the other realms are temporary so after your stay, you're brought back to the Human Realm
with a new appearance. Each death results in a new look and physique in the the game after reincarnation and when you respawn, you'll
find yourself back to where you had previously died. There you could find your corpse and gather back your items and clothing that way (Since
you'll respawn naked) and our Karma after death is reset back to zero.
Visuals and Presentation
Something I forgot to mention but as you've noticed, this game isn't exactly keen on bright colors and has a minimalist approach to animation.
Especially for a game from 1993, the characters and environments look and feel something is off and has gone wrong here and this is particularly strengthened by the game's artstyle which is primarily based on the illustrations and art from that era of Japan.
What color there is used minimally. So if you're expecting the game to be some cutesy, vividly bright (to the point of eye-bleed), then your best bet is to turn away because this game can get pretty violence at times with certain events which doesn't help that many of the said violent events of the game are based on the stories that are featured in the game itself. Such as, for example, saving a woman after being wrongfully accused by the lawmen in the game only for her to get snatched by a demon at the abandoned manor and have her blood sucked dry once you manage to break the door down and barge in with your sword. I wish I was making this up but nope, that actually happens in the game.
The game present itself as showing what was it actually like to live in the city during it's supposed "Golden Age" which while historically it was true as it helped Japan thrust itself into the culture that we recognize today. In reality, was probably not the best time to be living in the capital of Japan at the time. The city may claim itself to be the "Peaceful and Tranquil Capital" but once we explore the city, it reveals a darker and ugly history of plagues, death, terrible living conditions, beggars and homeless left to rot and die, and nobles who at the end of the days are paranoid and hungry for power so much so they resort to eating each other so long it helps them gain power. And they live in an era where Sorcery and Demons are real and the religious class of the city are vastly apathetic to the suffering around them, preferring to practice and meditate while some are paid to help warn or ward off demons for the people in power.
Not even the ruling class is safe as even the Emperor who founded the city, was done so because of a curse that threatens his life for disposing
a prince who may or may not have been the rightful heir to the Imperial throne. Many tales explain the not even Emperors are safe from the wrath
of vengeful spirits and demons that only seek to stir chaos and disorder. And then there is you, the player, who is just there to experience it all.
Not even you are safe from this game's trickery and your actions if it not been clear, has consequences. Especially if you're not careful.
After all, the game, while it has no "story" still hints of an actual ending and it all ends at the heart of the city; the Imperial Palace. I will not spoil what goes on there, you'll have to find out for yourself.
Yet despite all of this, despite the bleak nature of all, where this despair, there hope. Where there is suffering, there is faith. Where there are
cowardly, there is bravery. Though this game has shown the "reality" of the city itself, not all tales are tragic and violent. In fact the game features
some characters and entrees that more or less talks about the many lifestyles and the day-to-day livelihoods of the people. Around this time, a
new type of Buddhism was taking foot that found popularity amongst the everyday man in Japan, that of course was the cult and later sect of
Buddhism known as Pure Lands Buddhism which was said to be a place beyond the Six Realms of existence and gave everyday hope to continue
moving forwards in hopes that one day, they too will go to the Purelands, so long as they chant the Nenbutsu to their hearts, as we, westerners do with our daily prayer to God.
Namu Amida Butsu... Namu Amida Butsu...
Final Thoughts and Critiques
Finally to conclude this long and arduous review...
Cosmology of Kyoto is a fantastic experience to play for a game especially over the fact that it is, after all, an interactive museum.
The game features a variety of events and characters that while mostly self-contained in each of the stories they're based on, are very
colorful and often than not, pretty thought provoking in what they say. The animations, while minimalist and what limited amount there is
are still fun to watch.
That said there are some issues with the game of course. For one, despite the fact you're given the ability to explore the city...
You're sadly only limited in where to explore in the game which is downright disappointing really
(Only within the blue highlighted areas are places you can actually explore.)
There is the obvious fact that it's a pretty old game so if you plan on running the game you'll have to download some tools in order
to run it on modern hardware. My suggestion personally that when you get the tools; please make sure the game is running at minimum and max 15 frames per seconds, the game seems to glitch out if it's below or above that and certain events get messed up as a result too.
The game doesn't exactly have much in the way of replay value but that wouldn't matter however since again; the game is a virtual museum and what plot there is, it's pretty much only there to show the central themes of the game.
Personally, I love the idea of an interactive museum. Especially that these days, you don't see those types of games anymore on the markets and
it makes me wonder how many games like Cosmology of Kyoto are actually out there in the wild. As it stands, there is no way to play this game
on modern hardware other than what I have mentioned above but there is a push by the game's fans to get it on GOG so if you want to, you can go and help support the fans on the GOG website here, so that there would be a GOG release of the game for modern computers. The people who developed the game (Softedge) had clearly done their homework
and it shows. I loved reading the entrees and for each event I witness while exploring the city.
In 1999, Softedge would developed a sequel to the game under the name "TRIPITAKA" which apparently I found out is that, it, and Kyoto were going to be part of a larger series called "Cosmology of Asia". However TRIPITAKA would go obscure, almost lost media for decades, until 2023 when it resurfaced on a bid on the Japanese Yahoo! Website and in 2025, Video Game Preservationists managed to buy the game and release the .ISO file on Internet Archive for everyone to try out. Maybe sometime in the future I'll review that game as well.
That said, it would be nice to see a remake of this game, retaining the Artstyle and such yet expanding on the game a bit more, maybe the ability to explore the city even more, maybe have the player get involved with the city a little more than what we're given in the game. Maybe make it a classic RPG of sorts (With skills and everything), that'd be cool honestly.
Well I've written as much as I can now. Do I recommend this game to people? Yes, absolutely! The game is an experience you won't forget and it is pretty straightforward with how it presents itself to the player itself though provided you may need to get used to some of the game's quirks of course. I will warn the the game isn't for everyone per say, I've heard how many people say this is "Dark" for an educational game since people assume that a game meant to educate people shouldn't include features like violent animations, nudity (Yes, there are two cases of nudity in the game but it's very minimal at the very least however), blood, and a general eerie or horror vibe to it. If you ask me personally, I think we should scare people in an educational game, it helps reinforce the idea and concept that it's trying to teach. Of course, never to the point of overkill obviously, there must be a balance. Plus, I never thought that this game was meant for children which is another assumption that I think people have when they hear "Educational game" but I digress really.
With that, I conclude my review of the game and I hope you enjoy the game as I did and this review itself. This is gonna be one long ass post for the forum I'll say
So long and thanks for reading everyone!Links and Videos Related to The Game
A documentary of the game itself
All of the "Hell" Animations from the game, where I first discovered the game [Graphic warning!]
Internet Archive for the .ISO file of the game
https://archive.org/details/CosmologyOfKyoto
Installation tutorial