Note: This is a review for the edition’s extra contents and
not the game itself.
After
what seems like a long collector’s edition dry spell, a new collector aimed
edition has been released for the latest Kingdom Hearts title. In all honesty,
I wasn’t going to review this set. I wasn’t even going to purchase it. However,
after seeing prices on Amazon and Ebay skyrocketing for this modestly priced
edition, I felt it necessary to type out an objective opinion for those
considering spending an obscene amount of money to purchase the Mark of Mastery
Edition from secondary sellers.
What’s Included:
1) Display box
2) Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance
3) 5 AR cards
4) 12 Art Cards
5) Kingdom Hearts Protector Case for 3DS
The Display Box:
This
edition’s box is covered up by a nice and functional slipcase. The slip has a
fairly classy design on the front and comes with standard game information on
the back. It is made from a glossy card stock and basically does what it needs
to do. It looks good, protects the inner box, and informs the customer of the
included items.
Underneath
the slipcase is the actual box that holds the edition’s contents. My first
impression of it was that it felt rather cheap. It is made of two halves that
are jointed at one end so that the box can open up like a book. The aforementioned impression of
cheapness comes from the way the two halves of the box are joined. They are
both glued to a strip of cardboard that has the same pattern as the outside of
the box. That’s pretty standard, but the halves are not aligned properly and
the actual piece of cardboard that they’re joined to was glued improperly so
that a fold is present.
 |
| Nice and lopsided |
 |
| Still lopsided |
 |
| And an ugly fold |
Though
you can’t see it, magnets hold the two halves of the box together. The inside
of the box holds the contents well and there seems to be no danger of them
coming dislodged and sliding around. The contents are held into place by some
very cheap looking/feeling cardboard. Underneath the cardboard are two nice
Kingdom Hearts images. It’s almost as if the makers of this box want you to
keep the box, but to throw out the included cardboard spacers. I can’t see too
many people doing that.
 |
| Held nicely in place |
 |
| By ugly white spacers |
 |
| Covering nice artwork |
The
fact that the display box looks bad may not be the biggest problem ever, but
it’s not a good sign. Obviously, Square wasn’t prepared to spend the kind of
money that it would take to include a box as fancy as the one for Uncharted 3
or Soul Calibur V, but they didn’t really have to. They could have put the
money they spent on the failed box design towards including more Kingdom Hearts
Goodies. Editions like the ones from Little Big Planet 2, Infamous 2, Mortal
Kombat Tournament, and others have done well without needing fancy displays.
5 AR Cards:
The
AR cards are, visually, quite strange. Their main use is as a means to unlock
digital content within the game. As such, their visual appearance really
doesn’t matter. Their most important job is to look like something that the
3DS’s camera can easily identify. So, really, the way they look should be
irrelevant. That said, they look like they were designed for use with a black
light.
 |
| Probably awesome under a blacklight. |
Considering
the fact that Square could have simply given us number codes, or QR Codes, or
Bar Codes to unlock this content, it’s nice that they bothered to print out
these cool but strange cards instead.
(Digital
Content Review will be added once used in-game)
12 Art Cards:
The
12 art cards are kept inside a neat little cardboard sleeve. The cards are
about the size of your standard postcard. They are printed with a slight gloss
on one side and with the Kingdom Hearts argyle pattern on the back. Each card
represents the cover art for a specific Kingdom Hearts title and Square has
been nice enough to remove all of the other stuff that is usually plastered on
the front of the included game covers. It’s a cool way to show respect to the
original compositions of the series’ cover art. It’s also a cool way for
non-Japanese gamers to see the art for games not released in their region.
 |
| For scale only (individual pics at the end) |
 |
| The backs |
And
yet, as nice as this inclusion is, it’s hard to forgive the fact that they feel
just like postcards. Maybe it would’ve been better to use higher quality card
stock or to have used a better printing technique or simply to have included
fewer pieces at a larger size. The Art postcards are another case of this set
trying to make something really special but, seemingly, not having the budget
to do it properly.
Kingdom Hearts Protector Case for 3DS:
This
one really baffles. Included in this set is a plastic Kingdom Hearts branded
clear case for the 3DS. The first problem with this inclusion is that it is a
case for the soon to be obsolete regular-sized 3DS. I’m not saying it’s a
terrible idea to include a case, but it’s also not a great idea. Why did Square
think the best use of their budget would be to include something that not all
Kingdom Hearts fans/customers would even be able to use?
 |
| Nice, but conceptually a mess |
The
second problem with this case is that Kingdom Hearts is compatible with the
Circle Pad Pro. Many gamers will be using the CCP and, therefore, won’t be able
to make full use of the included case. Now, it is nice that the case comes in
two parts so that CCP users can still take advantage of the branded top part
when playing, but it still makes me wonder why they included a case in the
first place.
The
third problem with the case is that the Kingdom Hearts design is printed in
black against a clear material. For those gamers who purchased a black 3DS (and
that’s a whole lot of gamers), this clear case will make it very hard for them
to show off their love for Kingdom Hearts. It will still protect the 3DS from
scratches, I guess, but I don’t think that was the main reason for including it
in this edition.
 |
| Why print it in black? |
 |
| This photo was taken in a light box. The design doesn't actually stand out this much. |
 |
| Half of a protector for CCP users. |
So,
if you have a non-black 3DS and don’t plan on using the Circle Pad Pro or
upgrading to the larger 3DS, then the protector case is definitely a cool final
addition to the Mark of Mastery set. If not, then, like me, you’ll be left
scratching your head. Again, it’s not a terrible inclusion, but with so many
potential problems, why didn’t Square just scrap the protector case idea and
include something else?
Overall:
To
start with, it’s a good idea to remember that this is what I consider to be a
budget Limited Edition. These are editions that want to give you that little
something extra but don’t want you to break the bank. The mark up on this
Edition is 15 bucks. In order to figure an overall impression, you have to
consider if what you get is worth the extra 15 dollars. I would say, that if you
have a non-black 3DS, don’t plan on using the Circle Pad Pro, don’t want to
upgrade your 3DS, and need a case for it, then this set is easily worth the 15
bucks. If you are not one of those people, though, the rest of the contents and
the lackluster display quality of the Mark of Mastery Edition are not worth the
price of admission.
Looking
at the quality of something like the Soul Calibur V set (a 20 dollar mark up),
it’s hard to tell if Square just went the cheap route or if 5 dollars really
goes a long way. In any case, this budget edition feels like a budget edition
and that, alone, should be reason enough to avoid it (unless you can make use
of the case). Do yourself a favor, if you are one of those people considering
ordering this at a huge mark up, don’t. If you can get it at the regular price
and are a huge fan, there are worse things you could spend your money on.
Overall,
the Mark of Mastery Edition is a modest attempt at a modest price with modest
results.
Keep scrolling down for more pictures. My next Review will most likely be Darksiders II! See you then.
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