[Picspam Review!] Chinese Ao no Kiseki Boxed Sets

TodayI received both of the limited boxes for the Chinese PC release of Ao no Kiseki that I had preordered. I was torn on the two of them, so I ended up just biting the bullet and getting them both.

Since this is a very picture heavy post, I’ll put everything of the review behind the cut.

First, we’ll start with the Deluxe Edition.

The box is a monster. No seriously, it is. The link shows the photo of the boxes together as I received them in the mail via EMS. (I also had a third game- another copy of Ys Seven PC.)

The outside cover is, like the others, the heavy cardboard slipcase. It can take a beating, but I’d prefer that it didn’t. (You’ll see why on the next box.)

I’m including a photo of it with my oldschool gameboy propped against the side to give some scale to how thick this box is. It’s gotta have something to store all the goodies, right?

Upon removing the lid, and removing a foam protector set on top, the first thing you see is the full body pillow case. This particular box comes with the Tio pillowcase.

The colors are very vivid on it and it’s made of a super soft material. I only removed it from the packaging to feel it. I’d almost want a normal pillowcase made of this, at the very least. It has a metal zipper in the side as well to keep the case from slipping off of the pillow.

Underneath the pillowcase was the jigsaw puzzle. I’ve put it on as a small thumbnail, since the picture is from the end of Ao no Kiseki and does contain spoilers. Most people who have finished the game should already know what it is, at the very least.

Underneath the pillowcase and the puzzle, you see the rest of the goods…

First is the game itself. It’s kept in a nice looking DVD case.

Inside the case, you get the game, instruction manual, and the card that has the serial number on it.

Next is the soundtrack sample CDs with the Rixia cover. I like the fact that it’s in a DVD case, because you get a slightly larger image of the original S-Craft CD covers.

Inside:

I got four 3D character cards- two of Rixia, and two of Ilya. These are fairly thick. They’re the type of 3D that you have when you shift the angle of the card for it to change slightly. It’s hard to describe, but it’s something I’m sure many of you are familiar with.

I got three tiny items, too. The first is a keyring of Penguin KeA! It’s a sturdy enough keyring, and the color on it is very bright.

I also got a pin of the SSS badge. It feels kind of die-cast with an enamel type paint. It’s small and very detailed.

The orbment pendant. This is actually a really pretty pendant. The hands of the ‘watch’ inside have a little tiny bit of red that almost seems a bit gem-like. Though while I like the plating on this one, I like the one from the other box better. But you’ll see it eventually.

This set comes with a 400 page strategy guide- as did the other. It’s pretty much a Chinese translation of the guide that was published for Ao no Kiseki in Japan as well, complete with a material collection.

And last, but not least, are the two miniature figurines. The Deluxe set came with Rixia and Wazy. Rixia stands up great, but I’m not sure how to get Wazy to stand on his own. (If I did, he’d totally join the others as well!)

Now something to talk about at the end of this… it wasn’t packaged with the box, but I got it for my preorder- and only got one, despite getting two boxes. I got this great postcard set. I’ve also included photos of it as well. These are the same cards as the 2012 calendar that Falcom released, also.

The Ladies’ Edition

The contents are identical to the deluxe edition, but with different characters, for the most part. It’s called the Ladies’ Edition because it’s more of the fan service for the ladies.

The box itself has the same dimensions as the Deluxe Box. If you wish to see the size of them, when compared to my Zero no Kiseki and Ys Seven boxes, you can check out this tweet that I posted earlier today.

Like before, I’ll show the size of the box with my Gameboy propped against it. Again, this is a monstrous box. Seriously.

Unfortunately, while they’re very tough and durable, it appears like mine took a nick in it somewhere in its transport. It’s okay, though. This also shows that they are capable of taking some abuse, as well.

The first thing you see when you uncover the goods is, instead of a Tio pillowcase, the Wazy/Randy pillowcase. Wazy is on one side, and Randy is on the other. I’m terrible at folding pillowcases and clothes, and just about everything else that needs to be folded, so it remains in its package once again. I have no doubts that it, like the Tio case, is super soft, also.

Of course, this box also has a jigsaw puzzle in it. Whereas the last one was relatively spoilerish, this one is just artwork of Noel. It’s a great image, much like with the previous, and makes me wonder what other images were used for the rest of the puzzles.

You get the game, of course. And it’s packaged the exact same way, as well.

The CD set has a Wazy cover this time around…

And the 3D cards feature Randy, Sigmund, Shirley, and Arios.

Where the last box has the Penguin KeA, this one has Tio and Mishie.

There is also a pin of Lloyd’s orbment cover. It’s also feel like a diecast pin with enamel paint for the colors.

I highly prefer this plating of the orbment pendant over the other. It’s plated with a super dark copper-type cover, giving it that black appearance. As such, the red on the watch hands, I think, stands out more.

Finally, the figurines of this box. You get Olivier and Loewe. I found that I didn’t have to assemble the figures, like I did the nendoroids.

…at least, until I got to the Loewe figure.

But sticking his hand on his wrist was easy enough.

And that’s pretty much it for the most part. I really like both of these boxes and have no regrets for getting either one. I also got an Ys Seven standard box, just because I wanted the keyring. The keyring does pop up somewhere in my photos. If you saw it, give yourself a pat on the back. There are also several more boxes that were released, so it’s more than just the ones I ended up getting. Sometime ago, I did a post with a buyer’s guide so that you can see what’s available.

I don’t speak Chinese, so there are a lot of areas I can’t help in, but I’ve got a few routes to go to order my things. If you need anything, just drop me a line in comments, or respond on twitter. I’ll do my best to help you out.