Policenauts!

[Iron Draggon]

Well I finally did it, I just bought myself a very nice very rare factory sealed limited edition super sought after Hideo Kojima masterpiece for my Saturn...

!!!POLICENAUTS!!!

And it only cost me $48.99 plus shipping! Not even $50 for a SEALED copy of this LEGEND! I think I finally have some trade bait here, I will never ever open it, I will put it with my unopened copy of the Mega Drive Encyclopedia, and when I just can't resist the urge to play it anymore, I will buy myself a USED copy of it, and I will let this sucker increase in value like a giant mofo!

I'm surprised that this game didn't cost me twice this much by now, why is it still not that expensive yet, is it because there's so many different versions of it for so many different platforms, or what? It's a boxed set with an art book and everything for crying out loud, and it's made by Konami, the notoriously famous company that's only eclipsed by Treasure when it comes to this stuff!

I bet I get some PM's offering me more than what I had to pay for it before you finish reading this post! In a few more years, this game is gonna be gold!

So what is it, what's the deal here, I've always heard that this game is THE SHIT, so why am I getting it so cheaply nearly 10 years after it was released? There's nothing wrong with it at all that I can see, and I trust this seller, so I know that it's legit, so not that I'm complaining about my good fortune, but I just don't get it, from what I've heard about it, this should've cost me $$$!

Am I just missing something here, or is this game not one of the most highly sought after games of all time for one of the most collected for systems of all time, and should I not have jumped all over this for this insanely low price? I know that it wasn't a mistake, but seriously, how did I get it for so cheap?

Check this shit out, people!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8140992481&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

WOOHOO! I can hardly wait!

:D

[Azazel]

First of all the limited edition is pretty easy to get. The normal version is actually harder to find. Actually that item has gone down in value the last few years and I don't see the trend changing. You would of been better to just get a used one. If you didn't like it you could always try to resale it. You could get a used one for about $15.00 to $25.00. Look at Snatcher as another example. A regular used version for Saturn, PC Engine etc. can be had for like $15.00 if you look hard enough and there's not a huge demand for it. Generally most Japanese text heavy games don't increase in value with a few exceptions like Shining Force Scenario 2. Actually this game is pretty hard to play if you don't know Japanese. There's a lot of menus and most of them are Kanji so very few people would be able to get the full enjoyment out of the game.

[Iron Draggon]

So it's just all the Japanese that's keeping the value of it down then? I know that Snatcher for the Sega CD usually goes for alot more than I had to pay for this, so that was one of the biggest reasons why I got it. I haven't really been watching them for very long, but I figured that this close to Christmas the demand for it would probably be going up, not down. That's why I was surprised that nobody else had jumped on it yet, but I guess that should've been a clue. Anyhow, I don't regret it, I'll just hold onto it and not open it anyway, I didn't really get it to play it. Like you said, I can always just get a cheap used copy for that. I can always resell it here or on ebay and at least get my money back on it, so if it doesn't become as valuable as I think that it will in the future, then it's no big loss for me. But I still think that after it becomes impossible to find a sealed copy of it anymore that it will start going up in value alot. Or at least that's what I'm hoping that it will do, so we'll see soon enough. Give it a couple more years on ebay, and I bet it will go up! A sealed copy of Chrono Trigger used to be very cheap and very common too!

[dj898]

nice mate :D
I got mine used but in mint for 1200 yen

I also have number of sealed titles that I haven't opened yet due to lack of time among others.
The below is one of latest purchase. Both are sealed brand NEW condition.
and I'm hunting for a used copy now so I can play... :embarrassed:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/currypuff1/photos/gc_gundam_figure.jpg

cheers
p.s. BTW still waiting for the item to turn up :(

[Iron Draggon]

Oh boy, it's a good thing that I have no itentions of getting all the Gundam games, because there's way too many of 'em! But there is a Gundam pinball game that I want for the Super Famicom, as soon as I can find a decent one!

I probably should've resisted the temptation to buy this game, but if it had been sold before I clicked on it, I'd just be kicking myself over that instead, so I'm glad that I forced myself to get it while it was available. I understand that the Saturn version is the best version there is, much like the Sega CD version of Snatcher is the best version there is, so at least I'll have both now.

I read that we almost got an official translation of it too, but for some reason it didn't happen. So I'll just wing my way through it when I get another one to play. From what I understand, diffusing the bomb is the only scene that you can't guess your way through, and theres instructions for how to do it all over the net, so it shouldn't be too hard to get through it with a FAQ. I wanna get a light gun for the shooting parts though, that sounds like fun!

dj898: I imagine that it'll probably take at least 2 weeks for that package to arrive. I forget what method of shipping I used, but I know that it wasn't by ship, so it shouldn't take more than a month. If it does, please let me know.

[dj898]

there was a release for Playstation in Japan called Policenaut Private Collection. It's basically compilation of interview, original arts and background story plus few other things... obviously it's heavy on Japanese so not much of use for western market...

By the way bet you haven't seen this Gundam game machine? :D

http://members.optusnet.com.au/currypuff1/photos/FL%20MS%20Gundam-1.jpg
http://members.optusnet.com.au/currypuff1/photos/FL%20MS%20GUNDAM-2.jpg

would've bought it if I had enough space in my luggage... :angry:
cheers

[Iron Draggon]

Cool! I bet they wanted alot for that! I would've just tossed out underwear or something to make room for it though. You can always buy replacements!

Anyhow, the Saturn version of Policenauts actually contains all the stuff on the Private Collection disk too, plus you get the art book to go with it also.

So this is like one of the best deals that I've gotten all year. That's why I still can't believe that I'm getting it for so cheap. Only $57.99 with the shipping!

I bet that it cost more than that when it first came out. If not, it certainly hasn't gone up in price anywhere near as much as I would expect by now!

[Azazel]

Yes for the most part most import stuff has dropped in Value. Look at the PCE Dracula X as an example. It used to command up to $300.00 at one time and now you can get one for about $100.00 or so. For Sega CD Snatcher that's more cause it's the only english version of the game. The import ones use to fetch a decent amount but dropped down to about $15.00 or so on average.

A lot of seller just list something with a high bid price hoping someone will bite on it. You generally get better deals if you wait and bid on auctions that start with a lower bidding price. I would of personally just waited and see if I could get a better deal elsewhere but that's just me. I think having sealed games is really pointless as games should be played and not just stored ona shelf to be looked at and maybe sold for a profit down the road. More often that not that will backfire on you unless you have a really high demand game. If you want to play that game with sealed games get some action, shooters or fighter as at least those have the highest demand and you can probably make out the best with them. With the sealed Chrono Trigger you have a much bigger market with it beening a US games and all. The import sceen is much smaller and getting a good money for sealed games is much harder.

[Iron Draggon]

OK, now you're making me want to open it when it gets here! Stop it! HEHE

Actually I have thought about going into the sealed import shmup business, to help me pay for all the ones that I wanna get for myself, but the entry fee is very steep and as you said there's no guarantee that I'll make a profit instead of taking a loss. But I have been finding some great deals on alot of sealed shmups lately, so it is tempting. The problem is, I don't have enough money to buy them and then just sit on my inventory a while, I would need to move them out as fast as I was getting them in, and that would be hard.

Also, I seem to be the only one crazy enough to pay top dollar for them. It's strange how people will fight me for them up to the point of making me overpay for them, but then if I turn right around and offer it to them for their highest bid on it, suddenly they don't want it. So I'm like then why the hell did you make me pay that much for it, you bitch! It really pisses me off.

Oh well, hopefully one of these days I'll have enough money to get started.

[dj898]

for me it's simple lack of time really...
I tend to get sealed copy if I can and often it doesn't cost me more than used mint copy anyway... thing is with my baby I simply don't have time nowadays so they simply go to the shelf gathering the dust till the time when I can get around to play... I do buy certain children's titles sealed so when my daughter is old enough she can play... :p Heck I even have Pink Hello Kitty Dreamcast all sealed and stored away...

cheers

[Iron Draggon]

Hey, I wouldn't mind having one of those Pink Hello Kitty Dreamcasts myself!

[dj898]

do you really want one? :p
it's one of last production model so doens't read CD-R and all...

i got this just for my daughter since pink is her favourite colour... heh

[Iron Draggon]

Well it depends on how much they cost, I guess. But no, I don't really want one bad enough to buy it, I just wouldn't mind having one for the hell of it.

[dj898]

I know that feeling...
otherwise I wouldn't have bought three CartDev Rev.B units... :(

[delafro]

Yeah, Policenauts always surprised me by how little it would sell for, I got my copy in excellent shape for less than 1000 yen. Is it really that much of a problem that it's Japanese-intensive? Guess so.

[Iron Draggon]

I didn't think that it was, from what I've heard about it. Supposedly the only part that isn't just point & click or aim & shoot is the part where you have to diffuse the bomb, and there's step by step instructions for how to do that all over the net, along with complete walkthroughs for the rest, so what's the big problem? So you can't read all the dialogue, I have tons of imports full of dialogue that I can't read now. They would be alot more enjoyable if I could read it all and knew what it was saying, but they're still enjoyable without it.

Anyhow, I just sent my payment for it, so I should have it within a week or so. Maybe I'll go ahead and open it after all, I dunno, but at least I'll have it. It just didn't seem right for me to have Snatcher on Sega CD and not have Policenauts on Saturn, even if it is in Japanese. The stories may be unrelated but the author is just too good to own one without owning the other one! I do need to start shopping around for a Zapper light gun for my Saturn though, if I do open it, because I never bought one of those and I know that this game will be far more enjoyable with it than it would be without it!

[Azazel]

I think just getting through the menus can sometimes be really hard for people. For a game that's mostly about story there's really no enjoyment in playing it in a language you don't know. Take soemthing like a stretegy/RPG at least the menus are pretty to figure out the battles can still be enjoyed and are the selling point for the game.

[maxlords]

FYI people, a FINISHED Beta of Policenauts in ENGLISH does exist. I'm working slowly on procuring said Beta. If it does come into my hands, you all at DP will be the first to know. It was finished BEFORE it was canned...100%. And no...this isn't a joke.

[dj898]

I've heard that "rumour" many moons ago.
so it wasn't just "rumour" after all huh? :D

cheers

[Iron Draggon]

FYI people, a FINISHED Beta of Policenauts in ENGLISH does exist. I'm working slowly on procuring said Beta. If it does come into my hands, you all at DP will be the first to know. It was finished BEFORE it was canned...100%. And no...this isn't a joke.

OMG! Then why was it canned?

Wait... Let me guess...

Sega of America :angry:


I think just getting through the menus can sometimes be really hard for people. For a game that's mostly about story there's really no enjoyment in playing it in a language you don't know. Take soemthing like a stretegy/RPG at least the menus are pretty to figure out the battles can still be enjoyed and are the selling point for the game.

Oh well, as for playing the game in a language that I don't understand, yes a knowledge of the language would increase my enjoyment of the game by a large amount. But at least I can still look at all the pretty pictures, and this is something that I wanted more to complete my collection than anything else. It's well known that the Saturn version is the definitive version of the game, so if it only exists in Japanese and an English beta then so be it. I don't care to mod my Saturn, so a beta is out for me unless I can run it on an emu, but I don't have any problems running imports on my system. I am concerned about this being a multi disk game though. I haven't tried to run any imports like that yet, so I'm wondering how I will swap disks when the time comes for it. I hope that it won't be a problem. I've heard that it's only a problem if you can't save your game before you change disks. If you can do that, then you just insert the next disk and load the save. But otherwise I hear that it gets pretty nasty. Dangerous black magic and stuff. Not something that I really wanna get into just for one game that I mostly don't even understand.

BTW, the menus in import strategy games are still a real challenge, even if you can guess your way through them. If you don't learn what all the kanji say, then you still have no idea what you're doing. And I have alot of import strategy games with alot of menus that I barely even understand at all now. I can fight some of the battles OK in some of them, and even advance a few levels, but in others I still haven't even been able to get to the battles yet. So it's always a touch and go experience for me with any import game. The shmups and the driving games are the best, because you never really need to know what any of the kanji say, and they're usually all in English anyhow. And the strategy games are alot harder in Japanese, but I can still fumble my way through them OK, and eventually I'll find a way to translate what I need to know about the menus. But the RPG's I'm still avoiding, because like you said there's really very little point in playing a game that's all about story in a language that you don't understand. I made an exception for this adventure game only because I've heard so much good hype about it for so long now.

So we'll see when it gets here I guess, if I decide to go ahead and open it, but I'm still trying to find out how hard it is to find it still sealed like this. I really don't want to open it if it's gonna be the next Chrono Trigger in a few more years, and with as much high praise as I've heard for it over the years, I'm really surprised that it was even within my reach to be able to afford it. I would expect it to be like Radiant Silvergun by now, with as much hype as I've heard about it. And I still can't quite afford a used copy of that game, much less a sealed one, so I'm still in shock that this one is actually on it's way to me now. I'm getting really excited about it, which kinda sucks too, because I know that will make me that much more likely to rip the plastic off it as soon as it arrives, so I can pop it in my Saturn and see what all this hype that I've been hearing about it for so many years is really all about. So I'm kinda nervous about it too. I wanna open it, but I don't wanna open it, you know how that is. It's gonna be calling out to me, saying "play me, play me" and I wanna know what the art book contains, and I'm a very weak person! That game is practically as good as opened already. Help! Somebody stop me!

[maxlords]

@ dj898: Nope...I thought it was rumor too...but this Beta is in the posession of an ex-Sega employee who used to get sent a lot of that sort of thing.

@ Iron Dragoon: Nope...Konami themselves canned it, apparently because it was so close to the end of the life of the Saturn when it was completed that they felt there would be no demand....so they just didn't release it, even though it was finished. And you won't be able to do the swap disc trick with it....it's a true Beta that requires a mod chip or a dev disc to play it. Of course...I found out about it AFTER I sold my dev disc.... *sigh*

[Iron Draggon]

Well I'm very glad that I got the import then, but DAMN, how could Konami honestly believe that there wouldn't be any demand for it after Snatcher? I've always heard that this game is a masterpiece, so WTF is their problem? I guess it has to be a Castlevania or a Gradius for them to really care about it.

And why not at least release it for the PC? They're giving us updated TMNT games for crying out loud, so you'd think they'd have an interest in releasing a few titles for the adult PC gaming market too. It would do well on the PC! I swear, sometimes the smartest companies make the stupidest decisions.

[maxlords]

Because Snatcher sold like crap and the Saturn was basically a dead system? :)

[Iron Draggon]

Well for a game that sold like crap, it sure is in demand now! But as for the death of the Saturn, it was companies like Konami stubbornly refusing to go ahead and release the last of their completed games like that which helped to kill it off as quickly as it died, just like what happened with the Dreamcast. As soon as Sega of America said no more games from them, everybody else jumped ship too. But if they had at least released the last of their completed projects, those systems could've died with dignity, instead of dying in shame!

[petewhitley]

By the way bet you haven't seen this Gundam game machine? :D

Jesus is that cool. I'm a sucker for anime-based LCD handhelds. My Golgo 13 game-and-watch ripoff is the pride of my collection.

[Iron Draggon]

WOOHOO! It's finally here! I just got it today! This is a REALLY NICE box set! I had no idea that the box was a nice hard plastic case! I really didn't want to open it, but I just couldn't resist! It's just so COOL! It's in almost PERFECT condition too! The only thing that I can see is some VERY SLIGHT scuffing on the edges of the corners of the outer spine card for the box, where the shrinkwrap was peeling off. But other than that, it's 100% MINT inside and out! There is NO WAY that I would ever find a USED copy in this condition! It's just as mint as mint can get, and I mean it is MINT! It's totally awesome!

The collector's photo book is just as CRISP as it can be, and I mean it is so crisp that I had to very carefully seperate all the pages from each other, as they still had that BRAND NEW feel to them throughout the entire book! There's even a couple of overlay pages with cel shaded graphics printed on them, and those two pages don't have a scratch on them! The whole book is just so PRISTINE that I could barely even bring myself to touch only the very edges of all the pages, so I could leaf through them all without leaving any fingerprints on them! But I just HAD TO see what I got, so I was just as careful as I could be with it, and it's still as perfect as it was before I opened it. Even the page of stickers in the back of the book is still just as FRESH as it can be, so that page doesn't have a scratch on it either! It's just beautiful! They really did a FANTASTIC job on it! It's the nicest import that I own now!

This set was definitely a DEAL for what little I had to pay for it too. I still just can't believe that I got it for so CHEAP! Did it even sell for only $50 when it was new? I'm thinking that surely it must've been more like $75, and I only had to pay $60 after all the shipping charges! It should definitely have cost me alot more money than it did. If I hadn't opened it, and I was willing to sell it, I wouldn't take less than $75 for it before shipping charges. And really, it looks like it should be worth at least $100 to me right now. I bet that I could've gotten $100 for it after Thanksgiving, when everybody on ebay goes nuts for this kinda stuff! I'm so glad that I talked myself into it, I can't believe how GREAT it is! They really should've gone ahead and released the English translation here, and made it just as nice as this set is, I'm SURE that it would've sold! But I wish I could've resisted the temptation to open it!

Anyhow, it shows a really cool looking light gun on the back of the box, so I have a few questions about that. What is this gun called, and do I need the Japanese version, or is there an American version that it will work with? If I get the Japanese version, will it still work with my American system? Is there any difference between these guns for all the different regions? And what about 2 player games? If I get more than one, will that work for other light gun games that have a 2 player mode, or are there two different guns for player one and player two? I'd really like to play this game with the light gun!

Now I'm gonna have to go back to one of the fansites for it and print out a walkthrough so I can get through it all. I watched the intro and all the stuff in the demo mode, and I started an actual game, but you guys were right, it's not something that I'm just gonna breeze through without some help with the language! It's such a SHAME that Konami didn't go ahead and bring it out over here in English for us! The graphics KICK ASS, and I haven't even gotten to the BEST scenes yet! Now I finally see what all the hype over it was all about already, and I've barely done anything but open it, check out what the box contains, flip through the photo book and the manual, and see as much as I could see of the game itself up to all the things that I can click on in the first scene! And I've still got THREE CD's worth of game to play through! This experience is gonna ROCK, even if I can't read Japanese!

So yeah, I'd say that I LOVE IT already! It's just an INCREDIBLE package, and I'm ECSTATIC that I paid the extra bucks to get myself a SEALED copy! Yeah, it's no longer sealed anymore, and it probably was a HUGE MISTAKE to open it, but rest assured that I will keep it in this condition forever, so it's still gonna be worth alot of money if the rest of the world ever finds out about it! No wonder why everybody says that the Saturn version is the DEFINITIVE version, I just can't get over what a SWEET package this whole thing is! And that's just all the BONUS stuff, the game itself still looks to be cool as shit!

[Azazel]

I don't remember the original selling price but I think most import stores were sellling it for about $60.00 or so a few years back. I don't remember mint ones even cleaning more than $60.00 on Ebay even when the interest for Saturn import was bigger a few years back.

I would think that you should be able to play the game with that US orange gun which I forgot the name of. Generally for most system controllers can work on any region and I assume the same hold trues for the Guns.

[delafro]

You wouldn't be excited about this or anything would you?

[maxlords]

I believe it'd designed to be compatible with the Stunner, but I find that it's easier with the control pad :)

[Iron Draggon]

LOL Yeah, I am pretty excited about it! It's just so cool! But I sure wish that it was in English, so I guess I'll be eagerly anticipating the arrival of that beta that Maxlords was talking about earlier, or the completion of the translation that one of the fansites is working on right now. In the meantime, I guess my only choice is to let one of the walkthroughs hold my hand the whole time, because I don't see how I'm even gonna get through it all otherwise.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Glad to hear about your purchase of Policenauts draggon! If you need any help whatsoever on Policenauts (or Snatcher), or wanna know more about them, i've been pretty much an aficiando of all things Snatcher/Policenauts ( I also have a small walthrough for Policenauts). If ya need it, check out my site and tell me what ya think! BTW, not evrything from the Private collection is on the Saturn version, although I do too believe the Saturn to be the most complete version.

P.S. - I want that damn beta disc!!!!!

The Policenauts Paradise and Snatcher Shrine
http://community.webtv.net/LiquidSnake/ThePolicenauts

[Iron Draggon]

HEHE, I LOVE your site!!! That's where I found the complete walkthroughs before I even bought the game! In fact, your site is one of the things that helped convince me to go ahead and buy it. If I hadn't found it, I might've passed up on the game. I haven't started playing through it yet though, because I was hoping to get one of the light guns before I do so. I want the full experience. So maybe I should start with Snatcher. I've never even played through that one yet, and I own the English version on Sega CD!!!

P.S.: I want that damn beta disc too! Even if I can't play it, I'd love to own a copy of it, even if it's just one that somebody burned onto a CD. At least I would own an English version of the game then, but the Japanese is cool! I just can't understand a single word of it, that's the only problem with it. All I can make out are the names, which of course are in English, which makes it even more ironic. But it's still neat to listen to all the dialogue in Japanese! It just needs to have an option to make it have English subtitles. Then it would be alot more enjoyable. But still, it's no different than watching any foreign film, or even a silent movie, you can still watch the story through the images!