Collection Spotlight: Growlanser Generations Deluxe

There are many types of editions when it comes to the gaming world. There are press kits, review kits, developer editions, and so on. The most expensive Playstation game edition was a run of 40 for a very select few. The average player had no way of getting these nice collections of trinkets and memorabilia.

There was once a company named Working Designs. They specialized in bringing to the masses some quirky and favored cult classics from Japan. On top of this, they also created collector's editions that were sentimental for those that loved the series, and just plain neat for people new to the games.

From Game Collecting with Rick

I ordered this around 2005. This is Growlanser Generatioins Deluxe collection, and it was the last special edition that Working Designs did before they went out of business. This is the reason I bought it, out of loyalty. Their previous games I had been a fan of since seeing them on Sega CD, or reading about them in import reviews. Growlanser was before I got a taste for Tactics games(NIS reversed my views on them about a year later).

From Game Collecting with Rick

I have not gotten around to playing this yet, so some of it is still unopened as you can see in the picture. This is not a case of me wanting to keep things pristine, it is the case of me having too many games to... holy crap I almost said the forbidden phrase. I just have a lot of "back log" to play :)

From Game Collecting with Rick

This is the soundtrack that came with the game. The artwork for this game is legendary, as the artist is considered a national treasure of Japan by some people. Satoshi Urushihara is his name and he has done lots of famous stuff. Just do not Google his name if kids are around... he does lots of work in "mature" areas of anime as well as games and harmless manga.

From Game Collecting with Rick

This is some of the stuff I have not opened. First up is the deck of traditional playing cards that have "custom" artwork on them. A review said the artwork is just limited to their backing and the jokers, so I have not rushed to open them. I had been hoping it was something for each card, like the old X-men playing deck I had as a kid.

Beside it is a physical representation of the ring that is featured on the card box. It is made of some sort of metal with 3 fake gems inset. It is on a chain meant to be worn around your neck. I have not played the game, so I do not know the significance of it. I do know that Growlanser continues its stories as each sequel comes out, and this is part 2 and part 3, so perhaps it is very central to the story.

*part 1 was supposed to be released around the same time by Atlus, so Working Designs could not get the rights

From Game Collecting with Rick

This is my favorite bit of memorabilia included in a Working Designs set. It is an actual watch! I am sure it would turn my skin yellow and green if I wore it, so for sure I did not. It is still cool non-the-less and extremely nice for packing into a video game.

I do have a lesson to impart here at the end. If you are ordering things like this, and you care about box condition, you need to contact the seller before you even place your order. Be it SNES boxes, NES Boxes or Working Design special edition, most sellers just see a game and throw it in something and ship it. They actually stuffed this box in an envelope and sent it USPS. My corner was ruined, which lead to my watch's case being smushed and my sound track being crumpled. If this had been something I wanted for unopened collection purposes, I would have been furious(I was still pretty angry).