Kowloon High-School Chronicle

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## Kowloon High-School Chronicle

* PlayStation 2
* Nintendo Switch
* PlayStation 4

## Information

### Developer(s)

Atlus
TOYBOX

### Publisher(s)

Atlus
Arc System Works
PQube (Retail)

### Platform

PlayStation 2
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch

### Released in Japan

September 16, 2004 (PlayStation 2)
June 4, 2020 (Nintendo Switch)
March 18, 2022 (PlayStation 4)

### Released in NA

February 4, 2021 (Nintendo Switch)
March 26, 2022 (PlayStation 4)

### Game Modes

1 Player

**Kowloon High-School Chronicle** is a adventure game developed by TOYBOX and published by Arc System Works and released for the Nintendo Switch on June 4, 2020 in Japan and February 4, 2021 in North America and PlayStation 4 on March 18, 2022 in Japan and March 26, 2022 in North America. It is a remake of a 2004 game that previously only released in Japan.

# Official Description

*Kowloon High-School Chronicle is a hybrid RPG, adventure, and first-person simulation game originally released in 2004 in Japan. Never before released in North America, experience this classic title, now remastered in HD on Nintendo Switch™!*

Treasure Hunters - Adventurers who search for buried treasure scattered around the world.

In Shinjuku, Tokyo, a young man appears as a transfer student at Kamiyoshi Academy. While he seems like a normal student, he is actually a treasure hunter. His mission is to discover a mysterious ruin hidden deep beneath the school. Accompanied by his new friends from school, he sets out to discover the mysteries of a super ancient civilization. However, numerous traps, monsters called "Kehito" that lurk within the ruins, and the clutches of the "student council" stand in his way!

Build your relationship with friends, solve puzzles, dodge traps, defeat enemies, and discover the great mysteries and treasure sealed beneath the school!

# Gameplay

The game is a mix of a dungeon crawler and visual novel. The player explores the ruins beneath the school in a first-person dungeon crawler in the style of classic RPGs like Wizardry. In battle, attacks are carried out like an action game with the player able to aim and shoot via a cursor. The player's actions are limited by action points. In addition to the standard combat, there is several puzzles and a crafting system.
During the visual novel segments, there is an emotion input system. Along with some dialogue options, there are special segments when an interface window will appear. It has 8 options with each one tied to a cardinal direction and whether the button is just pressed or held. The player can also choose to ignore the character by pressing nothing. Depending on the player's responses, they can build relationships with the other characters which can lead them to become party member with unique abilities for the dungeon crawler.

## Changes from Original

The game is largely the same as the 2004 original, ignoring the additions of the re:charge rerelease. The assets were re-sampled to support HD graphics and widescreen. The game now features full voice acting with most of voice actors from the original returning. The game also

# Plot

An adventurer who searches for buried treasures scattered around the world is called a "treasure hunter.
A young treasure hunter named Protagonist is a transfer student at Kamiyoshi Academy in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
He discovers a mysterious "ruin" hidden deep within the school, and with his friends from the school as his buddies, he sets out to discover the mysteries of a super ancient civilization.
However, he is hindered not only by the numerous traps that await him at the ruins and the monsters called "Kehito" that lurk there, but also by the clutches of the "Student Council" that controls the school.

# Characters

* Kuro Habaki
* Asuka Yachiho
* Ayuko Hinakawa
* Gendo Sakai
* Kasuka Shiraki
* Kotaro Minakami
* Tsukumi Nanase
* Ryu Louly
* Teito Amon

# Reception

*Kowloon High-School Chronicle* is considered a cult classic in Japan, with Nishikawa of Famitsu describing it as "a work that enjoys indefatigable popularity to this day" – a sentiment echoed by Taijiro Yamanaka of Automaton Media. The Nintendo Switch remaster was nominated for "Best Adventure Game" in the 2020 Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards.

The game's dungeon segments have been largely well-received. Makoto Kawachi of IGN Japan found the battle system to be balanced, and praised it for requiring trial and error in the strategy employed. Abraham Kobylanski of RPGFan similarly noted a "tactical feel" in the game's battles, finding the action point system to be interesting and a "nice challenge". Nagaame of Dengeki Online emphasized the dungeon segments' controls, saying that "It was outstandingly fun to assign weapons to buttons and fight as though it were an action game." Paul Shkreli of RPGamer, on the other hand, found the game to have "outdated mechanics" and "problematic balancing issues" – though submitted that it "generally works".

Of particular note is the Emotion Input System, which has been praised and criticized in similar measure. Joel Couture of Siliconera opined that it "makes conversations feel realistic", stating that "[i]n offering this system and presenting it in such a mysterious way, [it captures] that awkward feeling of starting at a new school". He also imparted, "It really felt like I was getting comfortable with new friends as they grew more comfortable with me." Kawachi found the system to augment role-playing, but lamented its obtuse nature and minimal impact on the story, while Shkreli described the interface as "difficult to decipher".

Shkreli characterized the game's writing as "over the top"; a "hypnotic mix of Egyptian occult, survival horror, and high school anime tropes". Kawachi considered the story "typical", but remarked that "eccentric character designs and voices make an immense impression, and as a result the characters are all unforgettable". Kobylanski, meanwhile, argued that the game's social elements are "uncomfortable" and that the game has a "gross vibe", owing to romantic overtones and characters perceived to be offensive – though also praised the story as "emotionally affecting". Multiple characters – the protagonist's classmate Kotaro Minakami especially – have found lasting popularity in fandom and doujin culture.

At launch, Kawachi criticized the Nintendo Switch remaster for having a "fatal abundance of bugs" that break the game balance – though numerous patches have since been released, which IGN Japan considered to address the issues.

# Video

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