Space Fantasy Zone REPRINT - Takin' one for the team...

[nat]

I'll admit, I let my curiosity get the best of me. I pulled the trigger on one of the Space Fantasy Zone reprints from Anime4Ever. While I still paid more than I should have, I ought to preface by saying I got away with a copy for far less than the $160 asking price.

Why'd I buy it? Hard to say. I was really, really curious about the quality of the reprint and I guess I wanted to compare it with the Sapphire reprint that Anime4Ever also sells. I guess a small part of me also wanted to be able to rub it in the tool's face that bought a copy of the same thing on Yahoo Japan for over twenty times what I paid for it. If Anime4Ever has any business sense at all they'll take the rest of their stock to Yahoo Japan and make enough money to buy a small island and retire there.

So about the thing itself....

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the presentation, the quality of the inserts, spine card, etc, is really really good. On very close inspection you can tell it's a reproduction, albeit done on some very high end equipment. The disc is a CD-R and not a professionally pressed disc. However, they used some really high quality CD-R media-- the back is silver like a regular CD and resembles the higher end Diamond Silver CD-R media Missa turned me on to a while back. The game even played on one of my systems that normally chokes on CD-Rs.

The foldout is a scan and print of some magazine article on the game from 1992.

So is the reprint worth picking up? Not for $160 it's not. If I had to put a price on this, I'd say $40 would be a reasonable price point. I can't imagine Anime4Ever is going to sell very many for $160. But then again, judging by that Yahoo Japan auction, maybe they will. $40 is less than I paid, but anytime I start feeling remorse over my purchase I'm going to load up that Yahoo Japan auction and set myself straight. At the very least, it's an oddity that relatively few people in community will ever own, so I can take some comfort in that.

I took some photos, but they really don't show anything you can't see on Anime4Ever's website. Here they are anyway, just because.

[SignOfZeta]

Wow.

Yeah, I'd pay $40 for this if it wasn't a CD-R...but it is, so I'm staying away.

BTW, kind of being picky here, but "reprint" isn't really a proper term for this since the original never existed.

[Sinistron]

I'm interested in knowing more about the one that supposedly came with a pc-engine fan zine in Japan.  Was that just a blank-face cdr?  Something tells me no- that there was some printing on it- meaning that the one Nat bought can indeed be considered a 'reprint'.

That aside Nat- I'm definitely proud of you.  You always show tons of love for the community and the system.  That job looks hella sweet, the pics are fantastic, and you gave a good description of something that all of us instantly wanted to know more on but were apprehensive due to the price-tag. 

 

I bet that looks like a real cherry on your shelf 

[ParanoiaDragon]

Do some of the music tracks cut out, rather then continue & then fade?  That's how every rip of the game I've found seems to be.

[shubibiman]

A CD-R? OMFG! I really thought it would be the same quality as his Sapphire "reprints". 

[Joe Redifer]

I have the same question about the music that ParanoiaDragon has.  Please answer it, or we shall be sad.

Also, can you post a picture of the CD's underside?

[NecroPhile]

This is pretty much exactly what I was expecting this 'reprint' to be.  Maybe I should have similar packages made up for Dynastic Hero, Might & Magic III, and Super Air Zonk.  Woohoo, I'll be rich!

[CrackTiger]

I thought that I'd be the first to give in shearly out of curiousity. Thanks for saving me a bunch of cash nat.

Although I may still buy one if I can get it for less than $160...

[Turbo D]

I'd buy it, looks super cool! I don't have that kind of cash atm though 

[Joe Redifer]

Nat we know ur here plz ansur question k thx.

[awack]

I checked out Anime4ever's site and this is what it said about the sound,


(The version available always suffered from faulty audio which caused cracking sounds and delayed audio when a new track was played. Prices on Yahoo Japan auctions are ranging from 30,000 to 60,000yen nevertheless.

The small-run version available now has corrected audio tracks)

[ParanoiaDragon]

Corrected audio tracks??  Hmmm.

[nat]

The end-of-level and high score table tunes still truncate early. All the in-game music fades and loops correctly however. But-- this is the same as the burn I made a while back though, so I'm not sure what they actually fixed/changed?

[esteban]

Dude! It was very kool to see the pic of the disc, manual and all of the inserts. Thanks, Nat!

Does anyone know the answer to Sinistron's question about a PCE magazine + Space Fantasy Zone?

I think it looks really nice, regardless.

[CrackTiger]

I checked out Anime4ever's site and this is what it said about the sound,


(The version available always suffered from faulty audio which caused cracking sounds and delayed audio when a new track was played. Prices on Yahoo Japan auctions are ranging from 30,000 to 60,000yen nevertheless.

The small-run version available now has corrected audio tracks)

So in other words, buddy used a CD copy instead of a downloaded rip with mp3s.

[geepee16]

nat, excellent post and thanks for the pix.  i admit that this is one game i have never even seen.  toshi at dream stars (whatever it's called) japan had it once but the price was through the roof.  there are definitely a couple of other games i'd like to get before this but it's on my list.  how is it that so many of you have played it?

[Turbo D]

how is it that so many of you have played it? 

The iso has been circulating around the internet for awhile.

[kitkit.com]

Thank you for the pics and the infor Nat.

I am just wondering if you are willing to post pic of the Space Fantasy Zone CD (underside) .  The reason I am asking is because Anime4ever uses "Care4data CD disc" for their Sapphire "reprint".  Do you happen to own the Sapphire "reprint" as well?

[SignOfZeta]

Thank you for the pics and the infor Nat.

I am just wondering if you are willing to post pic of the Space Fantasy Zone CD (underside) .  The reason I am asking is because Anime4ever uses "Care4data CD disc" for their Sapphire "reprint".  Do you happen to own the Sapphire "reprint" as well?

This is a CD-R, it won't say Care4data on it like Sapphire because that was an actual pressed CD.

[SignOfZeta]

nat, excellent post and thanks for the pix.  i admit that this is one game i have never even seen.  toshi at dream stars (whatever it's called) japan had it once but the price was through the roof.  there are definitely a couple of other games i'd like to get before this but it's on my list.  how is it that so many of you have played it? 

The reason you've never see it is because this game is a fabrication. Its not real. It was never released.

I guess it could be said that rather than a fabrication it is a compilation of various legit resources like the beta ISO, magazine/art book scans, etc. The obi is certainly a fabrication. This disc is almost certainly manufactured in Europe, and certainly years after NEC Avenue ceased to exist.

I think its fine that people are making these (price aside, which is ridiculous) I'd just hate to think that people think this is real or rare. Since its a CD-R there will be as many copies as this guy feels like cranking out.

[nat]

I added some shots of the underside of the disc to the first post. When the disc is viewed by itself it's not quite as apparent that it's a CD-R, held up against a "real" pressed game (Splash Lake in this case), the difference is pretty apparent.

[kitkit.com]

I added some shots of the underside of the disc to the first post. When the disc is viewed by itself it's not quite as apparent that it's a CD-R, held up against a "real" pressed game (Splash Lake in this case), the difference is pretty apparent.

Thanks for the additional pics Nat.  I would not pay $160 for a CD-R....

How do you like the gameplay?

[Joe Redifer]

Thanks for the extra pics, nat.  I am assuming that Space Fantasy Zone is the darker one.

[nat]

It's a fine game, definitely should have gotten a widespread release. The scrolling is about as smooth as the TurboGrafx version of Space Harrier, but the graphics look a little crisper and everything (sprites, etc) is a little bigger. Also, the soundtrack mix of Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone themes is a must-listen. I almost prefer the medleys here over the original tunes.

This reprint/reproduction is definitely worth picking up....... if you can score it for less than $100. The nice packaging alone gives it some value in my eyes, CD-R or not.

Thanks for the extra pics, nat.  I am assuming that Space Fantasy Zone is the darker one.

Correct, good sir.

[Green Card]

Does playing CD-Rs damage the Duo laser? I have heard this happening with Dreamcasts.

[VestCunt]

http://www.videogameimports.com/get_game.php?product=8395&new=4&side=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/Turbo-Duo-PC-Engine-SPACE-FANTASY-ZONE-new_W0QQitemZ320249141904QQihZ011QQcategoryZ54982QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[nat]

Ehh, that's way too expensive. Way more than I paid, and even *I* feel I paid a little too much.

[CrackTiger]

If you take a look at the "misprints" in the last 2 photos on this page-

http://sapphire.anime4ever.de/

-it looks like buddy coincidentally happens to own an original copy of Sapphire that he's made that cover inlay from.

Since these look more like real deal from the front, I'd be (even more) extra cautious when considering a purchase of a copy that looks legit in a photo. Although it should go without saying, I recommend contacting a seller to clear up any details that aren't clear in a description or photos.


One other thing I'd like to point out, the remaining "new" sealed bootlegs that aren't "way overpriced" like the eBay auction listed, are still 2/3 to 3/4 the price that legit copies often sell for nowadays.



Lastly, I recently contacted the seller of this bootleg-

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEC-PC-ENGINE-ARCADE-CD-ROM-SAPPHIRE_W0QQitemZ260247849323QQihZ016QQcategoryZ139973QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

to let them know that it was counterfeit and included a link to my Sapphire bootleg page. They responded with this-

hi

i dont think so ,i live in japan and i baught this game in the shop mandarake so i dont think that its a counterfeit

[nat]

One other thing I'd like to point out, the remaining "new" sealed bootlegs that aren't "way overpriced" like the eBay auction listed, are still 2/3 to 3/4 the price that legit copies often sell for nowadays.

Yeah, dude has gotten really greedy with these reprints. He used to sell them for $40, now he's straight raping people up the butt.

Lastly, I recently contacted the seller of this bootleg-

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEC-PC-ENGINE-ARCADE-CD-ROM-SAPPHIRE_W0QQitemZ260247849323QQihZ016QQcategoryZ139973QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

to let them know that it was counterfeit and included a link to my Sapphire bootleg page. They responded with this-

hi

i dont think so ,i live in japan and i baught this game in the shop mandarake so i dont think that its a counterfeit

What a numbskull.

That same seller ("akiba-connect") had something else up that was ridiculous recently but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I just remembering wanting to kick him.

[geepee16]

without even looking at whether something is a bootleg or not, $180.00 for a sapphire is proof enough that it's a fake.  the only way it couldn't be is if some kid's mom were selling it without knowing the value of it and we know this game doesn't fall into this category.  i have been visiting/living in japan off and on for 9 1/2 years and have seen it going for less than $275 only once that i can recall.  these days, it's going for $340+ ($330 the other day without spine card). 

that akiba-connect guy is either a victim or a liar or just plain silly...and perhaps all three.  if anyone wants to buy his copy of sapphire, i might be able to meet up with him for you (if he is in tokyo) and examine the product but i am sure he's full of it.  there is NO WAY he could even hope to break even on a $180 sale of sapphire.

[Turbo D]

I bought a complete original sapphire on ebay in 2007 for $280 bin. It was the cheapest I had ever seen it, so I naturally grabbed it!

[CrackTiger]

without even looking at whether something is a bootleg or not, $180.00 for a sapphire is proof enough that it's a fake.  the only way it couldn't be is if some kid's mom were selling it without knowing the value of it and we know this game doesn't fall into this category.  i have been visiting/living in japan off and on for 9 1/2 years and have seen it going for less than $275 only once that i can recall.  these days, it's going for $340+ ($330 the other day without spine card). 

that akiba-connect guy is either a victim or a liar or just plain silly...and perhaps all three.  if anyone wants to buy his copy of sapphire, i might be able to meet up with him for you (if he is in tokyo) and examine the product but i am sure he's full of it.  there is NO WAY he could even hope to break even on a $180 sale of sapphire.

I've seen it go for between $200 - $300 a few times on eBay since the bootlegs were uncovered and I bought mine complete without spine for $250. But yeah, this seller is obviously trying to rip someone off on purpose given their story.

[PCEngineHell]

That seller is Neomars under a new id,so don't be surprised by anything he does. Hes not that great or honest a seller it seems at times. Quoth had  a very bad experience with him a few months back.

[Redfield1]

Just few pics of our common order i made for French Nec Community.

/2135rb6.th.jpg /2136wl2.th.jpg /2140dv1.th.jpg /2141ny0.th.jpg /2142pi1.th.jpg

Finaly, we could obtain the game for 46€ (69$) including shipping.

  ... Red ...

[Tatsujin]

 

[NecroPhile]

Just few pics of our common order i made for French Nec Community.

Zoinks!  There's nearly three grand in goodies there. 

[Tatsujin]

yeah..but if it would be the real deal, it would be 300 grand or more.

[PCEngineHell]

Just few pics of our common order i made for French Nec Community.

Zoinks!  There's nearly three grand in goodies there. 

Three grand in cd-rs 

[NecroPhile]

yeah..but if it would be the real deal, it would be 300 grand or more.

Probably not.  If they had actually released the game, there would be a lot more of 'em and it wouldn't have the mystique that it currently has.

Three grand in cd-rs 

True, but they're silk-screened discs with offset printed manuals and liners.

[geepee16]

>Probably not.  If they had actually released the game, there would be a lot more >of 'em and it wouldn't have the mystique that it currently has.


it is possible but then again, indo no honnou was a legit game and there is nothing but mystique about it and it sells at over $4,000 a copy.

[NecroPhile]

it is possible but then again, indo no honnou was a legit game and there is nothing but mystique about it and it sells at over $4,000 a copy.

Maybe, but there's a big difference between a few hundred copies of a promotional release and a widely distributed game, which SFZ surely would've been had it actually been released.