reproduction

All posts tagged reproduction

Custom Game Cases Vol. 5

Posted by Sega Dude on May 31, 2017

Posted in: Community, Restoration. Tagged: case, clamshell, CustomGameCases.com, hanging tab, reproduction, Restoration, Sega Genesis. 2 Comments

I recently received another order from CustomGameCases.com for 25 aftermarket Sega Genesis game cases. If you’ve been keeping track I’ve done a bunch of posts about these cases and I’m pretty sure it’s because I really do like them.

These cases are almost identical to the original hard plastic clam-shell cases that Sega use to make for Sega Genesis games. Click here for my more detailed impression of these cases.

Of 25 cases 19 arrived in condition that I was happy with.

Several cases had hanging tabs that were so loose that with a few wiggles they would fall right off. This was a bit upsetting because I was planning on using these new cases to replace authentic Sega Genesis cases that are themselves in OK condition except for the fact that they are missing their hanging tabs. It’s not easy to see in the picture below but the hanging tabs on these new cases are so loose that most flop back and forth as you handle them.

All of the cases came packaged very well and I believe they were not damaged in transit. I suspect that this relatively new product has just not fully matured yet.

I emailed customgamecases.com and explained that I would like them to ship me good quality replacements. And they did not hesitate. I have already received perfect cases to replace the ones pictured above. Customer service has been excellent. Thank you guys!

I took games from my collection that had cases with missing hanging tabs and various nicks and scratches and put the cover art, manual and cartridge for each into new CostumGameCases and now they really do look like new.

Is anyone wondering why Gargoyles is in a hard plastic clam-shell case? Anyone? Yes, the original case for Gargoyles only comes in Sega’s cardboard box style.

The previous owner wanted all of his Sega Genesis games in clam-shell cases so he cut up the cardboard box and made it fit as in insert into the more common plastic cases. I wouldn’t do this myself but I also wouldn’t pass up a good game at a good price because this had been done.

Below is a closer look at a few of the games in their new cases.

MW IV (Monster World IV) is a reproduction of the Japanese version with an English translation. It’s so well done that it’s worthy of a new nice hanging tab.

Of course I would prefer authentic Sega Genesis cases but it’s very hard to find them whole and in great condition and not already housing another game. On rare occasion I’ll upgrade games in my collection and have the chance to put better cases into the collection while removing lesser ones. But since that’s not a reliable option CustomGameCases.com has got my back.

Neo Geo Label Restoration for Four Games (Bang Bang Busters…)

Posted by Sega Dude on October 3, 2015

Posted in: Games, MVS, Restoration, SNK Neo Geo. Tagged: Bang Bang Busters, Ironclad, Kizuna Encounter, labels, mvs, neo geo, neo-geo.com, reproduction, shadowkn55, Super Sidekicks 3. 3 Comments

About six months ago I discovered a user on the forums at neo-geo.com by the handle shadowkn55 who makes very high quality replacement labels for Neo Geo MVS cartridges. At that time I purchased eleven label which really improved the look of those games. All those details can be seen here.

More recently I purchased another batch of labels and I’ve managed to clean four carts and apply the new stickers. And again the transformation is awesome.

Nice new labels by shadowkn55 from neo-geo.com.

Above are brand new reproduction labels for Bang Bang Busters, Ironclad, Kizuna Encounter and Super Sidekicks 3. When you see the images below you’ll know why I decided the original labels had to go.

The new and the old.

Beat up labels or entirely missing labels!

For starters both Bang Bang Busters and Ironclad are games that were originally developed for the Neo Geo but never actually got released. It was only later when the ROMs were found in the wild that people started putting the games on cartridges. Which is why these two games didn’t have any labels at all.

Bang Bang Busters is an excellent game that is very similar to Snow Brothers. Ironclad is also a good game and is very similar to R-Type; complete with charged shot and a detachable pod. I haven’t beaten these games but they feel very complete and polished. They are really nice additions to my Neo Geo collection.

On the Kizuna Encounter label you can see two tears; one tear to the left of the title and one to the right. Originally the sale SNK game cartridges were restricted to a particular region and the carts could be tracked by their serial numbers. So if someone who purchased a game later wanted to sell it they would often remove the serial number so that SNK could not track the cart back to them. Seeing two tears like this is pretty common on Neo Geo MVS carts.

The label on Super Sidekicks 3 looks like it might have already been a reproduction. It did not have rounded corners, seemed to be thinner paper and was matt like regular paper (That’s just a guess). That suspicion combined with how beat up the label was made it easy for me to decide to replace it.

Nicely applied.

Looking almost like new!

Above is the final product. I love it. They look fantastic. I’m always a little conflicted when altering an original product but I feel the two labels I removed here were beat up enough to warrant the reproduction labels.

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Reproductions

Posted by Sega Dude on May 5, 2015

Posted in: Community, Genesis (North America), Mega Drive (Japanese), Translation. Tagged: bootleg, genesis, mega drive, monster world iv, reproduction, sega, Serega, tetris, wonder boy. 11 Comments

For many years I’ve avoided reproductions. The only reason being is that I would really prefer the original. But as time passes some games get hard or impossible to afford. Tetris for the Japanese Mega Drive is a great example of this. It’s rare because Sega had to destroy the copies they produced when they discovered that they didn’t have a valid license to produce Tetris on a home console. It is rumored around the Internet that a few of these copies survived (1o? 20?) and got out into the wild. The only time I have ever seen one for sale was on ebay with a a BIN (Buy it Now) price of $1,000,000.00 USD. That’s beyond ridiculous. So for a long time I thought I’d have to make due with the “original bootleg” copy that was released when the Genesis was current.

But thanks to Serega I’ve gotten my hands on a reproduction that is near perfect.

While browsing to see what else Serega had to offer I quickly realized another giant benefit of reproductions. English translations.
There are many excellent Mega Drive games that never left Japan and where exclusively in Japanese. Now, some of these games have been translated by very talented fans. My thanks to all of you involved!

In addition to Tetris I also purchased Monster World IV. Even thought it feels like the amount of language used in Monster World IV is minimal there’s still enough to get you stuck if you can’t read it. Even in English I got stuck a few times!

Below are my new copies of Monster World IV and Tetris. The quality of these reproductions is outstanding.

Monster World IV in English:

Reproduction of Sega’s short lived Tetris:

They were not cheap with Monster World IV costing $70 USD and Tetris $60 USD. But because they are complete with Game, Case and Manual I decided to go for it. Honestly I believe I have an idea of the work involved in producing these and I cannot imagine someone doing this for much less.

As for the build quality? It’s excellent. I believe everything must have been cut by machine. The cover art sleeve, cartridge label and manual are perfect with straight sharp clean edges. When comparing the materials used for these reproductions to originals it is very hard to find differences. There are some subtleties but nothing worth fussing over.

The Original Monster World IV and the Genesis Reproduction:

Both looking very different in design but both are very well done:

Above is the official Japanese Monster World IV next to the reproduction. The Reproduction is meant to look like how it might have as a Genesis release. Both are very different but I would say equal in quality and professional design.

The original bootleg and the new:

The original is good the repro is awesome:

And above is the original Tetris bootleg next to the reproduction. Sure, technically a reproduction is the same as a bootleg but I have no issue with it. I don’t mind if you’re of a different opinion and I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Have I played them yet? I sure have!

First up is Monster World IV. Wow, what a great game. Of all the Wonder Boy games in the series that this game belongs to Monster World IV is most similar to Wonder Boy in Monster World. The graphics and gameplay are amazing.

Below is a video of my second time playing Monster World IV. The first time I got stuck early on when I could not find some quest item that was required to get me into the very first dungeon. I didn’t want to post a video of me failing what is pretty much the introduction of the game…
So…. This is my first ‘official’ hour with the game. You’ll find no mastery here 🙂 Just me learning where to go and how to fight. Don’t watch the whole thing. That would be cruel. But if you feel like jumping to the very end you’ll see me trying to use a lava geyser as platform to jump to the next area. I don’t know what I was thinking… I’m still not sure how to get to that next platform! I’m guessing a skillful double jump is required.

Next up is Tetris. If you know the game there will be no surprises here. It’s a classic game that will always be fun and the Mega Drive version is a good one. While playing I was happy to notice that I’m still as good now I was 20 years ago! It would appear that age has not yet hindered my video gaming prowess :D. *Please forget the part above about me failing the introduction of Monster World IV.

My final thoughts on these reproduction by Serega is that even though I don’t have a reproduction that I can compare to an identical original I do believe that with careful inspection someone would be able to tell the original apart from the reproduction. That being said I’m also going to say that I think Serega has done a fantastic job and if you want a beautiful copy of a ridiculously expensive original or play a game that was never before in English this is your answer.