The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

Everybody knows who Jet Li was, but few people remember his video game, Rise to Honor, that came out on PS/2 in 2004.  Even fewer people knew that a promo photo for the game was shot in Chinatown back then, probably 2003. Now, the only reminder is this photo archived on Mobygames .  The location, at least for those who lived in Chinatown for a while, is very obvious: 100 block of Waverly pl, an alley in Chinatown. Utopia Cafe is clearly visible.  This was what Utopia Cafe looked like circa 2002 Utopia Cafe is still there, albeit, rebranded with a completely different sign and awning. 

We have seen plenty of TV episodes and movies set in Chinatown. How about games?  Turns out there are not that many. PLENTY of games have San Francisco as a level, but Chinatown is MUCH harder to find. In fact, I've only counted... maybe 4 or 5.  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (and its remake) has a Chinatown map with the TransAmerican pyramid in the background. It is actually a remake of the COD/COD2's MP map Carentan. So while it looks right, the layout is in no way related to the real SF Chinatown. This one is a bit of "meh".   Rockstar's game GTA: San Andreas has a version of San Francisco called "San Fiero" where there is a reduced version of Chinatown .  NOTE: GTA has a mobile game called Chinatown Wars, but it's based on LA's Chinatown, not San Francisco's.  Driver: San Francisco has a very good representation of San Francisco in general, but almost nothing of Chinatown. Guess the streets are a bit too narrow for all the drifting and ...