2024 HAUL - SEPTEMBER CHAPTER: BATCH #1
The start of the next monthly haul, here we have two recent pre-orders make their appearances plus a few items picked up from my trip to town.
Starting off the month with a bang is a very interesting pickup and also a double-dip. 88 Films have released their 4K Ultra HD deluxe limited edition for The Project A Collection which is a two-film set containing Jackie Chan's 1983 film Project A (A計劃) and the 1987 film Project A Part II (A計劃續集). Now what makes this pickup interesting is the fact that it is an 88 Films USA distribution which means its not to be sold in the UK & Ireland, as Eureka Entertainment own the rights over here, but apparently they don't have plans to release a 4K set for these films which is why I went ahead with the US release.
Now buying US versions for non-anime can be a bit of a headache and in a rather grey area move, the release was available to purchase via their online store for UK owners which is how I received my copy and I used the points that I earned for ordering various other titles to bring the cost down. While Eureka's release is based on the 2K restoration, 88 Films release is presented with a 4K restoration with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support. Mandarin audio is also included which I believe was missing in the Eureka release. The 4K disc is all-region, however the Blu-rays are region locked.
You can view more photos and specs on my blog.
Next to arrive is a trip to HMV in town. I've been behind on a number of releases for various distributors so I used this opportunity to pick a few that were in stock in the store. First up we have Wim Wenders' 2023 film Perfect Days, a co-producion between Japan and Germany starring Kōji Yakusho of 13 Assassins & CURE fame. MUBI revealed the 4K version sometime after they scheduled the Blu-ray in a weird move but they eventually released it, presented in a big collector's edition package. Criterion have released the film for North America but it looks like the MUBI version shares the same content (both use HDR10 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio).
Also picked up are two more Radiance Films titles which were released a few months ago. First up we have Kinji Fukasaku's 1971 film Sympathy for the Underdog (博徒外人部隊) which is another yakuza type film from the director. Also picked up is that film that has caught my attention from its trailer - Claude Berri's 1983 film Tchao Pantin, a French neo-noir film restored in 4K. Both films feature Radiance's special limited edition packaging with reversible artwork, a booklet and Scanavo packaging.
Next up is a haul that has been one which I had been debating over for a long while. Considering the condition and price I decided it was time to roll with it. It's been 18 years since I last received a new PlayStation 2 game physically (which was Kingdom Hearts II back in October 2006) but now it's time to slowly build the collection.
PAL games is not the ideal world I would want because they perform worse than the NTSC releases (whether its due to frame rate or technical issues caused by going from NTSC to PAL for some titles) but given I live in the UK it's not going to be smooth sailing for owning NTSC versions unless you pirate or buy digital versions whenever possible, so I decided to change my stance.
So I picked up three games. Ironically and coincidently all three of them were released in the year 2000 which is mad.
Squaresoft and DreamFactory (Tobal No.1) made the beat em up title The Bouncer and it's a game that I recall being meme'd on over the years (for example, the main character looks like Sora) but I wanted to check it out.
Koei & Omega Force made the iconic Dynasty Warriors 2, which is the first game in the franchise to take on the Musou genre given its previous instalment was a fighting game. While I would have wanted the third game for its infamous dub, its neat to own the game that changed the world with its 'whack hundreds of enemies with just a few hits'.
And then we have Genki who made the sword fighting game Kengo: Master of Bushido, which is niche but is considered a spiritual successor to the awesome Bushido Blade series.
The local store also had many other retro games and around over a hundred for the PlayStation 2. Notable titles I spotted include Armored Core II, Devil Kings (the butchered version of Sengoku Basara), Makai Kingdom, Valkyrie Profile II & many more. They also have a couple of Japanese PS2 imports which I would like to make use of in the future.
There is some bad news which can be fixed - a few years ago I upgraded my TV to an LG C1 which is great for HD gaming, there are no slots available for retro devices. A solution is available and that's by purchasing a HDMI converter and the best ones out there are the RetroTink ones (2X Pro for up to 480i gameplay or 5X Pro for up to 1080i & 1440p gameplay). Since my only retro related games are for PlayStation & PlayStation 2 via PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube & Nintendo Wii via Nintendo Wii, I'm considering the 5X Pro version but will need to figure out how to get one given they are made in the US.
The staff at the local game store also has modded PS2s so if my current PS2 hasn't aged well I'll ask if their modded versions support region free and other stuff to save time.
And then we finally have Akiba Maid War from Anime Limited, presented in their collector's edition packaging. It is pretty barebones in a way but at least the show is now released. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.
The start of the next monthly haul, here we have two recent pre-orders make their appearances plus a few items picked up from my trip to town.
Starting off the month with a bang is a very interesting pickup and also a double-dip. 88 Films have released their 4K Ultra HD deluxe limited edition for The Project A Collection which is a two-film set containing Jackie Chan's 1983 film Project A (A計劃) and the 1987 film Project A Part II (A計劃續集). Now what makes this pickup interesting is the fact that it is an 88 Films USA distribution which means its not to be sold in the UK & Ireland, as Eureka Entertainment own the rights over here, but apparently they don't have plans to release a 4K set for these films which is why I went ahead with the US release.
Now buying US versions for non-anime can be a bit of a headache and in a rather grey area move, the release was available to purchase via their online store for UK owners which is how I received my copy and I used the points that I earned for ordering various other titles to bring the cost down. While Eureka's release is based on the 2K restoration, 88 Films release is presented with a 4K restoration with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support. Mandarin audio is also included which I believe was missing in the Eureka release. The 4K disc is all-region, however the Blu-rays are region locked.
You can view more photos and specs on my blog.
Next to arrive is a trip to HMV in town. I've been behind on a number of releases for various distributors so I used this opportunity to pick a few that were in stock in the store. First up we have Wim Wenders' 2023 film Perfect Days, a co-producion between Japan and Germany starring Kōji Yakusho of 13 Assassins & CURE fame. MUBI revealed the 4K version sometime after they scheduled the Blu-ray in a weird move but they eventually released it, presented in a big collector's edition package. Criterion have released the film for North America but it looks like the MUBI version shares the same content (both use HDR10 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio).
Also picked up are two more Radiance Films titles which were released a few months ago. First up we have Kinji Fukasaku's 1971 film Sympathy for the Underdog (博徒外人部隊) which is another yakuza type film from the director. Also picked up is that film that has caught my attention from its trailer - Claude Berri's 1983 film Tchao Pantin, a French neo-noir film restored in 4K. Both films feature Radiance's special limited edition packaging with reversible artwork, a booklet and Scanavo packaging.
Next up is a haul that has been one which I had been debating over for a long while. Considering the condition and price I decided it was time to roll with it. It's been 18 years since I last received a new PlayStation 2 game physically (which was Kingdom Hearts II back in October 2006) but now it's time to slowly build the collection.
PAL games is not the ideal world I would want because they perform worse than the NTSC releases (whether its due to frame rate or technical issues caused by going from NTSC to PAL for some titles) but given I live in the UK it's not going to be smooth sailing for owning NTSC versions unless you pirate or buy digital versions whenever possible, so I decided to change my stance.
So I picked up three games. Ironically and coincidently all three of them were released in the year 2000 which is mad.
Squaresoft and DreamFactory (Tobal No.1) made the beat em up title The Bouncer and it's a game that I recall being meme'd on over the years (for example, the main character looks like Sora) but I wanted to check it out.
Koei & Omega Force made the iconic Dynasty Warriors 2, which is the first game in the franchise to take on the Musou genre given its previous instalment was a fighting game. While I would have wanted the third game for its infamous dub, its neat to own the game that changed the world with its 'whack hundreds of enemies with just a few hits'.
And then we have Genki who made the sword fighting game Kengo: Master of Bushido, which is niche but is considered a spiritual successor to the awesome Bushido Blade series.
The local store also had many other retro games and around over a hundred for the PlayStation 2. Notable titles I spotted include Armored Core II, Devil Kings (the butchered version of Sengoku Basara), Makai Kingdom, Valkyrie Profile II & many more. They also have a couple of Japanese PS2 imports which I would like to make use of in the future.
There is some bad news which can be fixed - a few years ago I upgraded my TV to an LG C1 which is great for HD gaming, there are no slots available for retro devices. A solution is available and that's by purchasing a HDMI converter and the best ones out there are the RetroTink ones (2X Pro for up to 480i gameplay or 5X Pro for up to 1080i & 1440p gameplay). Since my only retro related games are for PlayStation & PlayStation 2 via PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube & Nintendo Wii via Nintendo Wii, I'm considering the 5X Pro version but will need to figure out how to get one given they are made in the US.
The staff at the local game store also has modded PS2s so if my current PS2 hasn't aged well I'll ask if their modded versions support region free and other stuff to save time.
And then we finally have Akiba Maid War from Anime Limited, presented in their collector's edition packaging. It is pretty barebones in a way but at least the show is now released. You can view more photos & specs on my blog.
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although, there are a few titles from Discotek that I have earmarked: Rainbow, Digimon Adventure 02 when the Japanese version comes out, and Great Teacher Onizuka coming out toward the end of September. Thankfully there's not too much more in their back catalogue that I'm interested in. 
