Question about packaging.

[jay_are]

To those of you that once owned this game brand new and opened it...
Do you know where the map is supposed to go?

I bought this game many years ago, but used, and the jewel CD case has a mark outside that seems to be because of the map. I think the previous owner just placed the map inside the cardboard box, but outside the jewel CD case. I think that after sitting like that for a long time, it gave the case an unfixable mark, it looks like scratches that form a rectangle.

However, inside the jewel case, there's damage too. The center part that holds the discs is all damaged and scratched, presumably because the map used to be in there sandwiched between the discs.
The map seems fat enough when folded that I can't see a perfect place for it.

Thanks!

[Temzin]

I may not have your uncanny attention to detailed differences between sprite placement in the EB remakes, but I sure do remember what this package looked like! I recall that the case has four spindles for Disc 1 (first spot front inside left), the soundtrack (second spot front inside right), the documentary (third spot, back inside left), and Disc 2 (fourth spot, back inside right). The last two may potentially be reversed. I recall the map being folded into a square inside a plastic bag, and resting on top of the indentation for the soundtrack or possibly the documentary/Disc 2.

Those large jewel cases can be hard to replace with your own stock, but online you'll find places that will sell you them in bulk for hardly anything. They were a good thing to have on hand for the PS1 RPG fan.

[Uncle Ramus]

I've been meaning to ask about some gunk on my own jewel case, so thank you for making this thread, jay_are. Does your case look like this too?

http://i.imgur.com/XjtYrnp.jpg

When I took the game out of storage this year the map was sandwiched between the jewel case and the manual. The map was actually stuck to the case so I had to peel it off and it left this residue on the case.

[jay_are]

I may not have your uncanny attention to detailed differences between sprite placement in the EB remakes

You probably would if it was between Mega-CD (JP) and Sega-CD (US) versions of Lunar 2.

I recall the map being folded into a square inside a plastic bag, and resting on top of the indentation for the soundtrack or possibly the documentary/Disc 2.

All right. Thanks! That's what I assumed... still makes me wonder why the center of the disc holder is damaged. Like, it's not just broken, it looks like it was melted, or has residue of something, or is weirdly incredibly scratched.

I'll likely have to replace the plastic case : (

so thank you for making this thread, jay_are. Does your case look like this too?

You're welcome! And yes, that's exactly what mine looks like! Ugh...
You see, it only had this on 1 side. So I assumed it was something it had when factory sealed.
But then, I found THAT same thing on the other side of the case too. So it's the map itself doing this.
When I bought it (used but very good), it was NOT inside its plastic bag. I put it inside a plastic bag myself, and it still did that.
Now I have it inside the disc case, inside a plastic bag. Will see what happens...

and it left this residue on the case.

It may not be just residue. Can you really remove that? I think it is just something like very tiny scratches. Something that can't be fixed just by cleaning, mine looks damaged for good.

[Alunissage]

I may not have your uncanny attention to detailed differences between sprite placement in the EB remakes

You probably would if it was between Mega-CD (JP) and Sega-CD (US) versions of Lunar 2.

Well, one thing I remember noticing in EB is that in most of the sprite scenes the party goes into a sort of circle behind Hiro. I figure this is leftover from earlier versions where that was their standard formation; you can see it in the (nonplayable) Japanese store demo. (Which makes me notice that the main page on the demo CDs hasn't been updated even G1 got the EB MCD demo years ago; I know, because I gave it to him.)

I'll have to take a look at my various copies of SSSC with the map. My disc art 4 set might still be in pretty much new condition; it was opened to check the disc art and later to photograph the discs and pretty much nothing else. Sets 2 and 3 were the ones purchased new and played by my spouse and me, respectively (after which we each joined the WDMB, which is how we met), and I think I bought set 1 used on eBay.

[jay_are]

Well, one thing I remember noticing in EB is that in most of the sprite scenes the party goes into a sort of circle behind Hiro. I figure this is leftover from earlier versions where that was their standard formation;

That's awesome! I remember seeing that page a loooong time ago, hadn't even played the Sega CD game yet (2003 or so)
so I wasn't sure what I was looking at.

I'll have to take a look at my various copies of SSSC with the map. My disc art 4 set might still be in pretty much new condition;

Thank you : ) looking forward to this.

(after which we each joined the WDMB, which is how we met)

That is ultra sweet! : ) So lucky.

[Temzin]

I may not have your uncanny attention to detailed differences between sprite placement in the EB remakes

You probably would if it was between Mega-CD (JP) and Sega-CD (US) versions of Lunar 2.

Haha, you give me too much credit: I just happen to know both languages but I bumble through games without really noticing what's going on. Then again, I did play MCD Eternal Blue so many times as a kid that I probably do know almost every corner of that version, anyway.

The good news is that I just checked and saw that you can get about a dozen 4-disc CD cases for next to nothing on Amazon, so you can fix your poor damaged copy. The weird residue reminds me: I recall WD talking about how the EB remake's map was made out of paper instead because people kept getting these weird glue fumes from the cloth map, maybe its borders or something. I think...your map melted!

Alun: Ah, the WD boards! What a wild, interesting place to visit in the early days of the consumer internet. Mayhem in the best possible way, to say nothing of the Dark Scimitar, however bruising its denouement.

[Alunissage]

Heh, I joined just after the DS contretemps. And just after certain WD-internal drama. As in, it took three weeks for my forum account to be activated because Dave Zdyrko had just quit or been fired for some drama stuff I only learned about much later. WD's site was only about the third website I ever visited, maybe the second. I read pretty much the whole thing before requesting to join the boards (except for much of the archived threads themselves, since each one took several minutes to load on my very slow connection), and in fact their example of FF7 as the definition of a spoiler was a spoiler for me. Also, it was from their review section, and specifically the review of SSSC, that I learned that there was a sequel to TSS. And thus I was probably the last person ever to buy EB new directly from WD, in 1999.

Okay, I just checked three of my copies of SSSC. The first one is the one I bought myself -- I actually jumped up and down in the line at Fry's with excitement, if you can believe that -- and yep, the map, no longer in its plastic, has adhered to the soundtrack and Making Of. Holy cow. The other two I looked at were sets 1 and 4, the latter of which still has its sticker seal on the jewel case (though I've peeled it back previously to get at the discs), and they both have the map folded up in plastic and put between the two game discs, in the front part of the jewel case.

[jay_are]

And thus I was probably the last person ever to buy EB new directly from WD, in 1999.

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!

and yep, the map, no longer in its plastic, has adhered to the soundtrack and Making Of. Holy cow.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh wow. That's really unfortunate, I couldnt understand why they made the map out of paper in Lunar 2, other than to save space and probably costs? But I see now there's a real reason behind it. Everything in the Lunar 2 package is neat. And the Arc the Lad too. I guess they learned from experience! .............. still wish the map wasn't that bad.

and they both have the map folded up in plastic and put between the two game discs, in the front part of the jewel case.

All right. So it goes in a plastic bag, inside the first part of the case. Thanks!

Mine doesn't have its original plastic bag... but I can easily "make" one from a standard plastic bag.
I'll just sadly discard the plastic case that game with the game originally, and replace with a new one. Hopefully my plastic bag will protect everything from the map!

Here's another thing for the perfectionist: the fold of the map.
It's difficult to guess if you got it used and was folded wrong by the previous owner. But after looking at pictures online, i've come to the conclusion that it is folded from top to bottom first, with the image facing out, and then tri-folded, with the Lunar logo on the front.

The end result should look like this: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KMii-tS1dzg/T ... 020206.JPG

When opened, you can see where the tri-folding goes: http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/lun ... 0422024424

However, mine wasn't like that. And other people who post their pictures online also dont seem to be doing it like that:
http://www.game-rave.com/psx/playstatio ... _group.jpg

Anyway, I believe that folding it the way it shipped, is going to take less space and less possible damage, especially if its inside a plastic bag.

Now, WHAT PS1 game has a 4 disc case, can be found new, cheap, and I care little about that I can sacrifice?
*looks at Final Fantasy IX GH*

[Uncle Ramus]

Well, thanks for all the information guys. I think there's a lot of knowledge here for a nice article about packaging in a LunarNET wiki someday.

Yes it appears that the map damaged my case permanently rather than just leaving some adhesive residue on it. And wow Alun, that really sucks about your discs. Are they still playable?

I tried various solvents (water, soap and water, alcohol, even vegetable oil) to try to remove what I thought was glue on the plastic and I think I only succeeded in scratching the case with my fingernails. I eventually took care of my problem by swapping the back of my SSSC case with the back of my MK Trilogy case.

Anyhoo, my reason for bumping the thread was because I was looking at the pictures of the packaging on the LN website and I noticed a difference between the back of my box and the box pictured. My copy of the game has always had this plastic hang tab on the back. I suppose that is not stock and was added by the retailer? I don't recall the game hanging off anything when we bought it back in 1999.

[Alunissage]

I would assume the tags were added by the stores, since of my four copies of SSSC two have them and two don't. One of the ones that doesn't has an EBX price tag on it.

[Raining51]

Oh wow! A nice map that sounds awesome... I didn't even know the PS1 game a came with a map... incidentally this was my own personal
introduction to the Lunar series... I started with Nintendo and Sega in the early 90s and late 80s basically... but I didn't play the Lunar series on Sega CD until recently... or well at least after I played this version.

Plus I only rented it... so that's probably the main reason...

[Alunissage]

To be honest, the SSSC map is nicer in concept than reality, because it's actually the TSS map and thus is not useful for SSSC -- the Temple of Althena is in a different location. But it's a color cloth map, so there's that. It only shows the first three towns by name and is more for atmosphere than anything else.

[Kizyr]

How have people's maps held up? It's been nearly two decades since this release!

I keep mine in the case in a cabinet, but wondering if others' have faded by now. It was nice, but not, like, built to last...