Hong Kong 97

Lore & Background

Hong Kong 97 was designed by Japanese game journalist Kowloon Kurosawa, who stated his goal was to make the worst game possible as a mockery of the game industry. Kurosawa had limited programming skill and received help from an Enix employee, with the game being made in seven days. He later asked a friend with basic English knowledge to translate the story into English, and an exchange student from Hong Kong to translate it into Chinese. The music, an audio clip from 'I Love Beijing Tiananmen,' was taken from a second-hand LaserDisc, and the main character sprite, depicting Jackie Chan, was taken from a movie poster of the 1984 film Wheels on Meals.

Reader's Guide

Hong Kong 97 is significant as a notorious example of an unlicensed, low-quality video game that has been retrospectively considered among the worst games ever made. Its development, completed in two days with borrowed assets and minimal programming skill, reflects a deliberate attempt at satire of the video game industry. The game's offensive content, including depictions of Chinese populace and political figures, contributed to its cult following in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and the West, particularly after being featured in an Angry Video Game Nerd YouTube video. Despite selling only about 30 copies due to its underground bootleg release, it has endured as a reference point for extreme poor quality in game design. A sequel, Hong Kong 2097, was released in February 2026 for Windows.

Did You Know?

• The game was made in seven days, with the help of an Enix employee, according to designer Kowloon Kurosawa.
• The game over screen includes a still graphic image of a corpse from the Bosnian War, taken from the Japanese mondo film New Death File III.
• The game sold only about 30 copies, despite several hundred copies of the insert being printed.