Likey's Magical and (Final) Fantasy Collection - Page 6

Likey · #51 05-16-2012, 11:48 AM

Yesterday I received a couple of parcels:

1. Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core A4 Print - apparently this was given out to those who pre-ordered it at GAME in the UK. I didn't buy this when it was released so I missed out so the seller got a decent profit from it (£10).

Comments:

I checked the item and this was packed really well as requested - including cardboard on both sides of the sleeve to protect it from bending. Unfortunately, it's not in mint condition (wasn't advertised as such). The back appears to have a shoe print on the outer cardboard sleeve LOL! The corner has a slight crease and the sleeve opening has some wear. It's probably not as bad as it is, when framed it'll be totally fine.

The quality of the print isn't that great, it's not glossy like the Dissidia prints that I have so a bit disappointed about that. It is a decent thickness so it's not all bad. It'll be good to compare it with Hans v Hube's copy if he wins it.

Is it worth £10? Probably not but then I can’t get it any other way without winning an auction and who knows how much that could cost.

Front sleeve

Pretty sure that is a shoe print - sigh!

Spoiler!

The art print

2. Big box shipped from Australia, I decided to purchase Zack from the seller and as the shipping cost so much I took the risk of purchasing a full set of the Crisis Core figurines to average out the cost so now I have two full sets of these in total. Hopefully I don't get stung on the import tax for this!

The box contains the set 'Cloud, Aerith and Zack with the freebie Crisis Core keychain' and another Zack which completes the set as I already own the Cloud and Aerith figurines bought directly from Square Enix Shop.

Comments:

I just went to open up the box and it is really well packed and are packed better than Square Enix. However, I get a bit OCD about these things so I took it all out and repacked them up with the bubblewrap it came with so that all the empty spacing was filled up to prevent any chance of it getting squashed or corners getting rubbed. It even has the thin tissue paper they use to protect the plastic front of the box from getting scratches, something that Square Enix always uses for their products.

From what I can tell, these aren't fakes and are indeed the real stuff. The Crisis Core key chain even has the small authenticity card that you get when you order jewellery from Square Enix. I know because I helped order the Black One Winged Angel ring for work colleague otherwise I wouldn’t know the difference. It also has a strip of hologram on the packaging of the keychain saying Square Enix.

So I’m very pleased with this – it’s just a shame they are in Australia instead of the UK.

It was raining yesterday evening so I wrapped it up in a couple of black bin bags and took it home.

The big box it came in with fragile tape

View the rest of the photos here:

Spoiler!

gurpswoo1 · #52 05-16-2012, 01:10 PM

Very nice,

I rarely get a big box with many items in it.

Feels like Christmas.

Likey · #53 05-16-2012, 02:12 PM

Haha, yeah. It feels like Christmas nearly every day the last couple of weeks for me. If it carries on like this it will really have no effect which can be bad. Then again, I've never really had proper birthday or Christmas presents before so I don't know.

About 15 minutes ago I received my big box for the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Advent Pieces Limited - woohoo!

Was horrified when I saw the amount of labels and stickers all over the box - until I saw it was wrapped in brown paper. Ooooooh yeah!

Will open this up later and post my unboxing photos. In the meantime I'll write up my PSP purchase which will be posted shortly, just keep to tweak it a little and check the photos are OK.

For now - here's a sneak preview of my new arrival:

Look - they absolutely plastered it with stickers and labels lol.

Nice to see some fragile stickers all over the box - happy with that.

The other side had a little scratch in the middle which could have damage the Square outer box.

More fragile stickers on the side. Makes me feel the import tax was worth it just to protect the main outer box.

Likey · #54 05-16-2012, 02:31 PM

I bought the Japanese Sony PSP Crisis Core Limited Edition from eBay and it arrived early last week. This is something I've wanted ever since I've known about it but the prices on eBay can be ridiculous.

It is limited to only 77,777 and are numbered - sold in Japan only. It came with the very rare Buster Sword Strap too which itself can fetch for quite a few dollars on its own. This was later released to Europe and Australia but wasn't numbered nor did it come with the buster sword strap. Actually, neither came with much at all, no case, no earphones and no memory stick.

I did find out that anyone who queued up to purchase the PSP from stores in Japan also got the pre-order 10th Anniversary Core Crisis earphones. This never came with it but on eBay someone is selling it so perhaps I'll get it too to fully complete the collection.

Here's an article with some sales and figures: (you may need to use a compatible browser for this)
http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/819/819814p1.html

The box didn't come in mint condition unfortunately, it had a really minor tear on the lid where you open up the box. Normally I'd be disappointed but the auction didn't say it would be in mint condition.

The main thing is that the PSP was never used so it was brand new with no marks at all. The guy never even put the battery in or charged it up so the PSP was never even turned on before. The only problem with that is that the battery is swollen which the seller didn't know about because he didn't check it when sending it out - which makes sense. So I asked for a small refund to cover the cost of getting a replacement battery which he agreed to.

Hard to tell on the photo but there's a slight bump, I didn't take it out of the packaging.

Overall, I am very happy with the purchase. Managed to snipe this one for £186 + £15 delivery which was a great price as I've seen recent ones go for £228 and £250, they were used and the back were scratched up which I found amusing. Some of those at these high prices didn't even come with the buster sword strap! WTF? Why would you bother getting it without that? If you do get one make sure you get a photo of what the back looks like, I didn't ask so it was a bonus that it was pristine!

Still waiting for the replacement battery, it's been nearly a week since I ordered it so hopefully it'll arrive soon. The only thing I'll need to check is if there are any dead pixels. Not even sure I want to know!

Here are photos of the contents:

Side view with a slight tear on the top left.

Side and top view

You can view the rest of the photos here:

Spoiler!

Ryu Kazama · #55 05-16-2012, 03:42 PM

Ah, the good old CC PSP. One day I too shall grab it. One day...

Likey · #56 05-17-2012, 10:55 AM

Need to stop soon, running out of places to put boxes.

Here is just one corner of my bedroom.

Likey · #57 05-18-2012, 12:24 AM

Hey Ruy,

I bought this and wondered if the Sephiroth is OK or not. Says ArtFX instead of the other brand, is it exact same but different packaging or fake?

Is £55 a good price for all of these? He said it is all in mint condition and unopened, the Advent Children DVD has been used and was a freebie.

Here's the standard one for sale:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2808821464...84.m1423.l2649

EDIT: Actually, I'm an idiot. They are different. LOL! One is from FFVII, the other is FFVII Advent Children. But, is the ArtFX brand OK?

gurpswoo1 · #58 05-18-2012, 12:33 AM

You certainly have been busy over the last few days.

Great additions.

Likey · #59 05-18-2012, 12:42 AM

Hey there, glad you like it.

Reckon all the photos is overkill or it's good for the thread?

I have a few more items arrived today but I'll post it when I have time, going to be busy tomorrow at work and off to play poker at the club on Saturday. I've already taken the pictures so just involve the write-up and uploading them onto tinypic website to get the links ready.

Likely to get more stuff tomorrow so will ask my wife to meet me after work to help me carry it all home.

Ryu Kazama · #60 05-18-2012, 12:49 AM

Right, slightly confused with the first one as I have never seen that Sephiroth before.

From what I know ArtFX normally gets associated with US releases. I think I remember some ArtFX stuff for FFVIII and FFX in the past and they tended to be local US releases (figure is same as Japan from what I remember). But in this case I just don't remember anyone but Play Arts making figures.

There were other types of figures for AC in similar boxes. I just did a quick google on them and they're probably legit. They may have been available in a different way in Japan though - I honestly just don't recall there being any other version.