17/05/2017

Collector's delight: My (second to) last special edition


As I mentioned before, I'm getting a bit burnt on collector's editions; hence my decision to stop purchasing these alluring yet ultimately disappointing items. I'm not planning to fork out an extra buck for the upcoming special editions of Culdcept Revolt and RPG Maker Fes; instead, I'll wisely go for regular copies with no dust-collecting memorabilia included. However, despite my vows to stop lavishing money on these space-consuming packages, I lately found myself purchasing one Special completely out of the blue, and for the most unlikely game ever. What I purchased is none other than the Japanese special edition of Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke 2, better known as Oreshika 2.


There are two reasons for that unlikely and unexpected purchase. The first is that this package was dirt cheap; since the game was panned by many a Japanese player, affordable Japanese copies are abundant — including copies of this special edition, which are trending around 40-50 bucks. The second and most important reason is that this Special is incredibly well curated. Granted, its contents don't fulfill my ultimate criterion for the purchase of collector's editions, i.e. to improve on the game experience and/or add something significant to the gameplay; but on the other hand,we're dealing with items that are actually useful for a change, and quite gorgeous to boot. No dust collectors here: what we have is a hand strap, a (very large) cleaning cloth, a pouch and a set of skins, all boasting really lovely patterns. In a word, a full set to pimp up your Vita and make it the ultimate Oreshika machine.



Not only is it rare to find such a cohesive and carefully chosen set of items in a collector's edition, but said items are also arranged quite neatly and orderly. They are actually housed in a separate box, each one having its own little compartment; that separate box inserts smoothly into the main box, with the game itself nicely nested on the side. This is a nice change from most special editions, in which items are either thrown willy-nilly into the box or squeezed into it to such a point that it's nearly impossible to slide them back in once you took them out.


As a whole, this is a Special that was obviously crafted and put together with love and care; and just for that reason, it's perfectly worth owning. Sony went the extra mile to offer original collectables instead of sticking to the old OST or flimsy 30-page artbook seen in virtually every collector's edition under the gaming sun, and that effort must be praised. I'm quite content I got my paws on this Special — which, as I mentioned in the title, is not going to be my last, but rather my second to last collector's edition. Before I stop purchasing these overpriced collections of memorabilia for good, I absolutely want to make mine the special edition of Ys: Lacrimosa of Dana, which is shaping up to be a thing of beauty and a Special totally worth purchasing. Until then, I'll gladly stick to regular editions and rub my hands at the thought of all the money I'm saving. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

7 comments:

  1. That's a nice collector piece, but it's your last mention that got my attention the most - the Lacrimosa of Dana package looks absolutely _gorgeous_, what with those beautiful bookends that will sandwich my Vita collection perfectly!

    Honestly, that is probably my most looked forward to gaming purchase of this year. You going PS4 or Vita?

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    1. Definitely Vita. I don't actually own a PS4 - nor a TV, for that matter. :p

      I'm also really looking forward to that purchase. Heck, I think it's going to be the highlight of the upcoming fall as far as my collecting is concerned. And it better be, because, as I mentioned, it's certainly going to be the last Special I purchase in a very long time, if not ever.

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  2. That special edition really does looks damn sweet. I'm particularly impressed with the pattern present on the Vita case. Simple yet, lovely. Unfortunately, the efforts Sony put into it did little to compensate the repetitiveness of Oreshika 2 and the scores and sales it consequently got. Seems like we will have to wait another 15 years for Oreshika 3. Or maybe we'll never get another one at all.

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    1. I'm with you on that, the pattern on the pouch is really sweet. Not to mention that one can never have too many pouches for handhelds! ^^

      Hum, I actually didn't know that Sony was the publisher (not that I bothered looking for it, mind you). It's pretty rare that they publish Vita games, so kudos to them for that and this lovely Special. Thanks for the info, I included it in my post! ^^

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    2. Yup, Sony actually owns the Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke IP, they just hired the same developer for both the PS1 and Vita games (and the PSP port of the first one).

      Oh, kinda unrelated but, if you like the Ys games, you should look around for Trails of Nayuta/Nayuta no Kiseki, a PSP game. It's arguably the best game Falcom did in the late 00's.

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    3. >It's arguably the best game Falcom did in the late 00's.
      Ups, typo. I meant SINCE the late 00's.

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    4. As a matter of fact, I already own Nayuta no Kiseki.^^ Not only have I only heard good things about that game so far, but it belongs to one of my favourite RPG subgenres and it's an offering from one of my favourite developers of all times; all this makes me think that playing it will definitely be a blast!

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