: The game's creator, Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa, placed postcard advertisements in magazines about game copy devices (Magikon) rather than mainstream gaming press.
Contrary to what the name might suggest, "Hong Kong 97" was not a professional, mainstream magazine. It was an unlicensed, "doujin" (homebrew) game, and the "advertisement" that made it infamous appeared in a short-lived Japanese hacker/game modification magazine known as .
Because the game was sold through these unauthorized channels and via specialized magazines, only around 30 copies were believed to be sold, making it one of the rarest "physical" games in existence. hong kong 97 magazine link
When the internet matured in the early 2000s, emulation communities began trading the ROM file of the game. Along with the file came rumors of an official —a URL pointing to an archived scan of the original Japanese gaming zines where Kurosawa placed mail-order advertisements.
Before Slender Man or FNAF , there was Hong Kong 97 — a bizarre, pixelated nightmare born from the twilight years of the Super Famicom. Little more than an urban legend for decades, this infamous “torture simulator” has resurfaced, and its grim atmosphere has never felt more relevant. : The game's creator, Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa, placed
The Mystery of Hong Kong 97: Hunting for the Legendary Magazine Link
The only confirmed print advertisement for the 1995 unlicensed, indie Super Famicom game Hong Kong 97 Because the game was sold through these unauthorized
Many search results point to Pastebin dumps or 4chan archives claiming to hold a “master list” of scans. These are almost always unreliable. They often link to generic SNES magazine archives or, worse, malware-ridden PDF hosting sites. Proceed with extreme skepticism.
The connection between Hong Kong 97 and magazines comes entirely from how the game was originally marketed and sold:
The magazines featuring the ads were underground, low-print-run publications like Game Urara or tech-hobbyist zines. Most copies were thrown away decades ago.
The magazine's content was characterized by its bold and unapologetic approach. Issues featured explicit artwork, provocative interviews, and essays that critiqued the government's policies and societal norms. The magazine's design was also notable, with a DIY aesthetic that reflected the editors' anti-establishment ethos. This subversive approach resonated with a generation of young Hong Kong people who felt disillusioned with the city's conservative values.