Mana Khemia PS2

[mailman187666]

Has anybody been playing this game at all? I ordered that premium box set from rosenqueen.com. I only played it for about a half hour or so because I'm kind of addicted to crisis core, but so far it seems alright. The voice acting in it is pretty over the top for some of the characters but the art seems pretty good and having it upscaled on the PS3 makes it look pretty nice. So far I like this game but I need to play more because I haven't even gotten into the real meat of the game yet.

On a side note, those who pre-ordered the premium box edition, it seems to be selling quite well so far on ebay. Some listings are selling between $70-$200, and as far as completed listings go, there have already been a couple buy it nows that sold for between $109-$150.

[lendelin]

On a side note, those who pre-ordered the premium box edition, it seems to be selling quite well so far on ebay. Some listings are selling between $70-$200, and as far as completed listings go, there have already been a couple buy it nows that sold for between $109-$150.

You never know, but my guess is that it won't sell so well after the first couple of hysterical buys are over.

Already there are thirty of them listed. They don't go well for over a hundred; most of them seem to settle for around 80 already. Some of the high priced auctions completed are obviously artificially spiked, and so are some of the ones still being in progress.

It seems that too many of the boxes were sold with reselling in mind. They will be easily available for well under $100 weeks from now, too many offerings at once decreases the price.

...and I don't know if this affects the price at all, but it might be that the Rosenqueen edition isn't an independent, alternate edition after all.

If the box with the figurine comes just separately with the smaller box every retailer gets w/o having the game in special in-box packaging/content, THEN the box is just a separately shipped pre-order item that comes with the common box set.

Is there something else in the oversized box than the Jessica figurine?...and what is exactly in the other smaller box?

[TonyTheTiger]

Rosenqueen was selling this for cheaper than they would have been expected to. The same collector's package was sold in Japan sans music CD and cost about $100. Add in the fact that so few were made and $80-$100 for this isn't really much of a gouge. It's just up compared to the initial $50 price Rosenqueen was charging. $200 is just crazy though.

I would like to know, myself, how the smaller box compares to the on-the-shelf copy being sold. If there are differences beyond the big outer box and bonus figurine then I might take the plunge. But if there aren't any other differences, I'll just buy the normal copy. It's really the difference between whether or not this is going to be a case of "this PS2 release only had 1,000 printed copies" or something less significant.

[mailman187666]

if the retail version of this game includes a soundtrack CD and comes in an 'Ar Tonelico' style outer box, then you are getting the same thing with the limited package. On the box for the figure, it has NTSC-J on it as well, so its as if the figure wasn't intended to be released in the states. The box also has PS2 logos all over it. I preordered it, thinking it was all going to be in one box, but I was mistaken. I may just keep the game and sell off the figure or something to somebody who only bought the game but wants the complete limited package. I may hold onto it for a while also and see if the game gains any form of popularity out of nowhere also. If not, hey, I got 1 of 1000.

[Bojay1997]

The version available from Amazon and other retailers is identical to what I got from Rosenqueen. The only additional item was the figure in a Japanese box. I think once people figure out that this really isn't a limited edition and is really just a bonus for pre-orders identical to what the Japanese market got, the prices will fall. Heck, if I could sell my figure for enough to cover what I paid for the game, I would do it since it's not even an American version premium.

[lendelin]

The version available from Amazon and other retailers is identical to what I got from Rosenqueen. The only additional item was the figure in a Japanese box. I think once people figure out that this really isn't a limited edition and is really just a bonus for pre-orders identical to what the Japanese market got, the prices will fall. Heck, if I could sell my figure for enough to cover what I paid for the game, I would do it since it's not even an American version premium.

I think with your info and the info from mailman it is pretty clear that the box with the figurine is nothing more than a pre-order item.

It is unclear if that influnces the price or de-evaluates the package for collectors (certainly not for the gamers who are interested in figurines). But my guess is that it won't be in such high demand if it can't be regarded as an edition variant. For completist collectors it isn't certainly a must-buy, and probably they spend their money now on other pricey items they really need.

Rosenqueen was intentionally very unclear about the thing. It might have been that the game comes in the oversized box (which would have made it a variant) maybe with some special pckaging; but as it stands the oversized box is just part of a pre-order package dubbed an 'edition' like Rosenqueen uses so often for other pre-order packages.

Not really bad considering that we still get the regular cardboard box and get the limited box with the figurine for just ten dollars more paying the usual $50 like for other special sets.

[Bojay1997]

I think with your info and the info from mailman it is pretty clear that the box with the figurine is nothing more than a pre-order item.

It is unclear if that influnces the price or de-evaluates the package for collectors (certainly not for the gamers who are interested in figurines). But my guess is that it won't be in such high demand if it can't be regarded as an edition variant. For completist collectors it isn't certainly a must-buy, and probably they spend their money now on other pricey items they really need.

Rosenqueen was intentionally very unclear about the thing. It might have been that the game comes in the oversized box (which would have made it a variant) maybe with some special pckaging; but as it stands the oversized box is just part of a pre-order package dubbed an 'edition' like Rosenqueen uses so often for other pre-order packages.

Not really bad considering that we still get the regular cardboard box and get the limited box with the figurine for just ten dollars more paying the usual $50 like for other special sets.

I agree with everything that you said, except that Rosenqueen was intentionally unclear. As I posted here and at Cheapassgamer.com, I contacted them before I pre-ordered and they were honest about the fact that this was just the Japanese premium in a Japanese box and that the actual game everyone was getting was the same as what would be available at retail. In the hype, everyone disregarded my posts which is fine, but I really don't like the fact that people are now acting all disappointed.

[RadiantSvgun]

I picked up my pre-order from gamestop today. Here is what it comes with:

"Original Soundtrack featuring 33 songs from the game!"

"Beautiful and rare Mini-Poster!"

"Reversible CD cover Insert!"

"Weapon Stat Cheat Sheet!"

I haven't opened it yet, but thats directly quoting the back of the box.

[lendelin]

I agree with everything that you said, except that Rosenqueen was intentionally unclear. As I posted here and at Cheapassgamer.com, I contacted them before I pre-ordered and they were honest about the fact that this was just the Japanese premium in a Japanese box and that the actual game everyone was getting was the same as what would be available at retail. In the hype, everyone disregarded my posts which is fine, but I really don't like the fact that people are now acting all disappointed.

I remember well your posts here and on Cheapassgamer; it ws the best information we could get; maybe I read it wrong, but for me it was still not clear if the game was packaged in the oversized box, or the common retailer box would somehow ship separetely or stashed in side the oversized box; they weren't clear about it on their site (therefore your call), and still unclear when they changed a bit of the text later on.

I'm not disappointed at all since the thing was unclear from the beginning; I'm just interested in the issue because 1) I get the little thingie, and 2) if I have to make two entries (one regular edition, one variant edition) in the list of the RPGs for the PS2.

[lendelin]

I picked up my pre-order from gamestop today. Here is what it comes with:

"Original Soundtrack featuring 33 songs from the game!"

"Beautiful and rare Mini-Poster!"

"Reversible CD cover Insert!"

"Weapon Stat Cheat Sheet!"

I haven't opened it yet, but thats directly quoting the back of the box.

Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

[TonyTheTiger]

This is what confused me.

What's this about?

Please note that Mana Khemia will be available at other retailers, and will feature on outer box that will contain the game box, mini-poster and soundtrack only. Also, due to the size of the outer box, it will not fit in the Limited Edition Collector's Box that comes with the Scholarship Box Set.

http://www.rosenqueen.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=219

If this version just has the standard retail box inside why are they saying the standard retail box won't fit inside?

[RadiantSvgun]

Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.

No problem! Also, here is the rest of the back of the box description:

"Combat courses help develop your personal strengths."

"Al-Revis celebrates racial diversity of every kind."

"Work with your personal assistants for your alchemic research."

Looks like it should be a good title to play in the summer.

[mailman187666]

This is what confused me.

What's this about?

Please note that Mana Khemia will be available at other retailers, and will feature on outer box that will contain the game box, mini-poster and soundtrack only. Also, due to the size of the outer box, it will not fit in the Limited Edition Collector's Box that comes with the Scholarship Box Set.

http://www.rosenqueen.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=219

If this version just has the standard retail box inside why are they saying the standard retail box won't fit inside?

I think what they are saying is the standard retail box (for the game) won't fit inside the box for the figure to make it all one package. It was basically saying you get two items shipped in one shipping package.

[TonyTheTiger]

Wow, so it really is just a preorder bonus in the strictest sense. Like the Ghaleon punching puppet.

[Bojay1997]

Wow, so it really is just a preorder bonus in the strictest sense. Like the Ghaleon punching puppet.

That's exactly right.

[Aussie2B]

No, no, no, the figure is NOT a pre-order bonus, at least other than in the sense of how Rosenqueen was offering it. The figure is in fact a gutted version of the Japanese Premium Box. It was a limited edition of the game released in Japan for over 10,000 yen (~$100), and for whatever reason, the US branch of Nippon Ichi acquired the box sets, removed the Japanese version of the game (or maybe that's how they received them, who knows), and voila, an extra, special item to offer to its customers.

It's not as limited as they made it out to be since obviously the Japanese got the same thing (but these limited box sets are always produced it pretty small quantities over there), but it's still a great deal, even more so now that we know what's going on. Essentially, we got everything the Japanese did and MORE for half as much money (just with a different region game). Heck, if anyone is interested, I bet you could even piece together a complete Premium Box by buying the Japanese version of the game. There's a possibility that it might have different packaging from the stand-alone Japanese release, but I doubt it considering the Japanese box doesn't seem to mention anything about a special cover or what have you.

[TurboGenesis]

I just get my game (and DJ strat guide) today

My question is, are they all have bilingual box and instructions?

[TonyTheTiger]

No, no, no, the figure is NOT a pre-order bonus, at least other than in the sense of how Rosenqueen was offering it. The figure is in fact a gutted version of the Japanese Premium Box. It was a limited edition of the game released in Japan for over 10,000 yen (~$100), and for whatever reason, the US branch of Nippon Ichi acquired the box sets, removed the Japanese version of the game (or maybe that's how they received them, who knows), and voila, an extra, special item to offer to its customers.

It's not as limited as they made it out to be since obviously the Japanese got the same thing (but these limited box sets are always produced it pretty small quantities over there), but it's still a great deal, even more so now that we know what's going on. Essentially, we got everything the Japanese did and MORE for half as much money (just with a different region game). Heck, if anyone is interested, I bet you could even piece together a complete Premium Box by buying the Japanese version of the game. There's a possibility that it might have different packaging from the stand-alone Japanese release, but I doubt it considering the Japanese box doesn't seem to mention anything about a special cover or what have you.

Yeah, it does sound like they just got a handful of Japanese boxes and figurines and set it up as a limited edition but if all you're getting in the end is the standard game release with a completely separate entity (the big box and figurine) then doesn't that separate entity mean there's really only one "version" of the game? You wouldn't say that there are two versions of Lunar...the one that came with the punching puppet and the one that didn't.

Maybe "preorder bonus" is the wrong term as Rosenqueen set it up as a separate sale from the standalone version. "Bundle" might be a more appropriate term here. Either way, it's no different than if they sold the normal game for $40 and then sold this item separately for $10. Bundling them together gave the air of a special edition but in the end isn't anything too special.

[Aussie2B]

I wouldn't call it a separate release of the US game, but the analogy to the Ghaleon puppet doesn't apply. As it was conceived, the figure with the box is NOT a pre-order item, as it's a separate release of the game all together for a different region except the game it normally comes with is missing. The Ghaleon puppet, on the other hand, was created AS a pre-order bonus. I mean, Rosequeen could've thrown in a box of Cheerios with the order, but I wouldn't call a box of Cheerios a pre-order promo item (unless it came in a special box, heh).

[Bojay1997]

No, no, no, the figure is NOT a pre-order bonus, at least other than in the sense of how Rosenqueen was offering it. The figure is in fact a gutted version of the Japanese Premium Box. It was a limited edition of the game released in Japan for over 10,000 yen (~$100), and for whatever reason, the US branch of Nippon Ichi acquired the box sets, removed the Japanese version of the game (or maybe that's how they received them, who knows), and voila, an extra, special item to offer to its customers.

It's not as limited as they made it out to be since obviously the Japanese got the same thing (but these limited box sets are always produced it pretty small quantities over there), but it's still a great deal, even more so now that we know what's going on. Essentially, we got everything the Japanese did and MORE for half as much money (just with a different region game). Heck, if anyone is interested, I bet you could even piece together a complete Premium Box by buying the Japanese version of the game. There's a possibility that it might have different packaging from the stand-alone Japanese release, but I doubt it considering the Japanese box doesn't seem to mention anything about a special cover or what have you.

Sure it is. It's no different than an art book or a soundtrack CD or any of the other pre-order bonuses which have been coming with RPGs in the United States from certain retailers since the Playstation One. The game itself is shrinkwrapped and self-contained with all of the premium items in an English box with the exception of a separate Japanese box which houses a figure. You can order an identical game and premium items from Amazon or Gamestop. You can't order the figure and Japanese box, but it has no connection to the English release other than that Rosenqueen got a hold of 1,000 of them and decided to create a bundle for $10 extra. It doesn't require a separate entry as it is exactly the same as any other pre-order bundle. If it helps, you can think of it as similar to the Sonic Birthday pack which came with the US and Japanese release of Sonic Adventure 2. Separate from the game, but included if you pre-ordered. That doesn't get a separate entry in Dreamcast lists and neither should this pack.