PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness – Limited Edition
Publisher: NIS America
Developer: 5pb
Platform(s): PlayStation 4 & Vita
Genre: Visual Novel
Available Editions: LE or Regular
Release Date: 09/13/2016
Welcome to the third week of JRPG September hell! This is not a JRPG but it is a Japanese game, therefore it counts. My mind was so set into the first week of September with Trails of Cold Steel II and kept getting dragged back into Daiya no Ace hell that I legit forgot that this was even coming out. However I was greeted to this monster of a package and couldn’t be even more pleased!
Psycho-Pass is a 2012 anime produced by Production I.G that aired in Japan as a twenty-two episode series. The series is written by Gen Urobuchi best known for the Fate/Zero light novels and various anime such as Puella Magi Madoka and Aldnoah.Zero (this is also code for: “you will be in a world of hurt“). Before the second season started in 2014, an Extended Edition of Psycho-Pass was aired, condensing the first anime with addition footage down to eleven episodes running for forty-five minutes each. A movie later followed as well as a manga, light novels, and this video game spin-off. All anime related content is licensed in America by FUNimation. Everyone should watch it, it’s fun.
Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness first was released in Japan for the Xbox One in 2015. Later the game would be ported to the PlayStation 4 and Vita in March 2016 and released for the West in September. I was surprised about this very fact because, one, this game based off an anime – this visual novel was seriously getting a localization. Two, for the Vita game to get a physical release (let’s be fair, I’m always surprised). And three, to see a Limited Edition, so many points to NIS America.
Let’s tear this apart!
So this is a beast and I was not expecting that. I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the dimensions when I bought it. The collectible box is enclosed with a cover slip that is identical to the cover art of the game box.
Here is everything that comes with the Limited Edition. First up, we have the game and CD tucked away in this white box. The disc has fifteen tracks from the game (hey, better than a three or five tracked CD?). Also there’s some cute artwork on the coverslip. Required listening huh? Well if I must. Actually seriously it’s a great listen. This series always had some awesome music be it vocal or instrumental.
And here’s the game itself, no physical manual but honestly that’s okay this time around. Why?
Because we got a seventy-two paged softcover artbook, that’s why. I haven’t sat down to read through it all but there’s beautiful art in general, character designs, and information about the world. The art of Psycho-Pass does hold a dear place in my heart because the characters are designed by the manga-ka of Katekyo Hitman REBORN!, Akira Amano. OH LOOK, WHITE HAIRED TRASH. GOOD TO SEE YOU.
I did appreciate that they took the time to paste a spoilers alert at the beginning of the book.
Next is a 6″ x 6″ microfiber cloth featuring some of the cast. And a cat. Not sure why a cat. So yeah, this is going to be staying in the plastic bag forever never to be used for the purpose it is intended to be used for.
And finally, something I did not expect to see – shitajiki! Or known in English as pencil boards. These are usually for collection or decoration purposes but if you really want to put these sorts of things to work, they are used to provide a better writing or drawing surface. We get three different designs, ah they are indeed pretty but damn that second pencil board leaves me with bitter feelings. This anime ruined me.
An addition bonus but only for a limited time, the PlayStation Store has the first two episodes of the Psycho-Pass Extended Edition anime for free. I believe this offer will end on September 27th.
So that’s everything! I’ve got to admit, this was certainly a treat and an amazing Limited Edition for a visual novel I never expected to be localized. Or to be ported to PlayStation platforms, back when it was announced for Xbox One in Japan I thought it was a lost cause. I enjoy being wrong. When I do actually jump into this, I’ll be going into this game blind as I actually haven’t really paid any attention to who and what is in this game. I don’t even know who the new characters are. I assume it takes place sometime before the second season starts and before the first anime ends which I’m okay with (which means I should refresh my memory, the last I watched any Psycho-Pass was the second season. Bitter feelings all around). Now all that’s left is to play the game but for now, here’s to the rest of JRPG September, because it’s still not over yet.
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