October Haul #1
In this batch we have three separate packages arriving on 2nd, 5th & 9th October.
#1: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve
#2: Limited Run Games Edia Collection Haul
#3: Suzume
In this batch we have three separate packages arriving on 2nd, 5th & 9th October.
#1: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve
Starting off the month with another brand new video game for PlayStation 5 and it wasn't planned to begin with. There had been a bunch of hype surrounding Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve and I decided to pre-order it. What I got was a very fun and engaging combat flight simulator that's also very accessible to newcomers. Expert controls is easier than expected and adds to the experience. The hardest mission I had encountered was Mission 5 because everything else after that was very manageable and were a lot clearer on where you needed to go or shoot next.
Also included in the pre-order offer is an older game in the franchise Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. Due to licensing with the aircraft designs and such, this game was only available if you pre-ordered the newest instalment (much like how Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War was only available to PlayStation owners who pre-ordered Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, whilst Xbox owners received Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation for their pre-order, though physical copies are backwards compatible so they received the better deal).
Also included in the pre-order offer is an older game in the franchise Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. Due to licensing with the aircraft designs and such, this game was only available if you pre-ordered the newest instalment (much like how Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War was only available to PlayStation owners who pre-ordered Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, whilst Xbox owners received Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation for their pre-order, though physical copies are backwards compatible so they received the better deal).
#2: Limited Run Games Edia Collection Haul
Next we have two Limited Run Games releases that finally shipped out. I pre-ordered these two together back in January so it has been a long while since. The release date estimations started to get vague so I had no idea when they would show up but here they are. Both were re-released by Edia who also handled the new releases for Telenet Shooting Collections and Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collections.
Earnest Evans Collection is a trilogy of games developed by Wolf Team for SEGA Mega Drive & Mega CD platform, which includes 1991 platformers El Viento and Earnest Evans as well as 1993 beat 'em up Annet Returns (Anett Futatabi). This collection uses the Carbon Engine that Limited Run Games and YouTuber ModernVintageGamer created to help bring back classic games for modern hardware.
Tenshi no Uta: The Angel Verse Collection is a duology of role-playing games developed by Telenet Japan for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² platform (which would be known in the west as TurboGrafx-16 CD for those unfamilar), which includes 1991's Tenshi no Uta: The Angel's Verse and 1993's Tenshi no Uta II: The Fallen Angel’s Choice (Tenshi no Uta II: Datenshi no Sentaku). There is a third game but was not considered a true continuation to the others.
Earnest Evans Collection is a trilogy of games developed by Wolf Team for SEGA Mega Drive & Mega CD platform, which includes 1991 platformers El Viento and Earnest Evans as well as 1993 beat 'em up Annet Returns (Anett Futatabi). This collection uses the Carbon Engine that Limited Run Games and YouTuber ModernVintageGamer created to help bring back classic games for modern hardware.
Tenshi no Uta: The Angel Verse Collection is a duology of role-playing games developed by Telenet Japan for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² platform (which would be known in the west as TurboGrafx-16 CD for those unfamilar), which includes 1991's Tenshi no Uta: The Angel's Verse and 1993's Tenshi no Uta II: The Fallen Angel’s Choice (Tenshi no Uta II: Datenshi no Sentaku). There is a third game but was not considered a true continuation to the others.
#3: Suzume
We have another new anime addition to the 4K Ultra HD collection with Makoto Shinkai's 2022 film Suzume. This is the only one in his feature-length filmography that I've not yet seen as I've watched the earlier works. While Your Name and Weathering With You were distributed by Anime Limited, Crunchyroll won the bid to secure the rights for Suzume for the UK territories as well as the US. From what I can remember, this film was not as well-received as his prior works and Crunchyroll didn't release the film on 4K right away.
The 4K Ultra HD release, which finally came out after a few years, is presented as a steelbook with a transparent o-card sleeve which handles all of the age ratings and info/specs that you normally get on the back cover. Inside the steelbook we have a bonus Blu-ray disc with various bonus features and four art cards. The discs aren't stacked or overlapping which is good. This is not a combo pack release so if you're after the Blu-ray version you'll need to pick up the already released sets from years ago. And yes, the HDR10 is how it was in Japan compared to their handling for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
The 4K Ultra HD release, which finally came out after a few years, is presented as a steelbook with a transparent o-card sleeve which handles all of the age ratings and info/specs that you normally get on the back cover. Inside the steelbook we have a bonus Blu-ray disc with various bonus features and four art cards. The discs aren't stacked or overlapping which is good. This is not a combo pack release so if you're after the Blu-ray version you'll need to pick up the already released sets from years ago. And yes, the HDR10 is how it was in Japan compared to their handling for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
bout time I started buying Fairy Tail thankfully ain't got to worry bout region locks with a region free blu ray player. Already got a few more volumes coming in from across the pond in a few weeks.