Magic Knight Rayearth (Sega Saturn) - Did some copies come without stickers ?

[RetroMichel | 106]

Hey there !

I am currently buying games for my Sega Saturn console and I've got in contact with a guy that has Magic Knight Rayearth. As some of you probably know, this game by Working Designs came with three variants available. In fact, when buying the game (which was the last one released for Sega's console in America), you could get one of the three disc variants.

One features Hitaru Shidou:

The other one features Fuu Hououji:

Then, the last one presents Umi Ryuuzaki:

The guy I talk to has the one with Hitaru Shidou (the girl with red hair). The game is in fantastic condition, however, it lacks the stickers in the manual. Not as if they have been removed, but more like they have never been there: the manual does not present any page for the stickers. You have page 16 and then, it jumps to the page containing the registration card.

My question is: Did some copies of Magic Knight Rayearth for Sega Saturn come without stickers in the manual ?

If you do have the game, I would really appreciate if you could look at your copy and see if it includes the stickers in the manual, especially if you have the version with Hitaru Shidou on the disc.

Thank you for your time.

[RH | 4,965]

I think this one will be a hard one to prove.  I hunted a solid copy for a while and then after a few years, I decided to sell.  All the while, I followed eBay listing just checking the rarity of variants and paying attention to details.

Though not all had the stickers fully intact, most did have them.  I imagine this game got only one print run so I'd be quite surprised if some didn't come with stickers and, if they didn't, it was likely an assembly error.

I can't give a definitive answer but I can't see that being the case considering the nature of this game.  Maybe, maaaybe, if it has a second, small quantity second print run but this was EOL of the Saturn and Working Design probably wanted to just get the game out the door to make back a bit of money on their work.  The point being, all manufacturing and assembly they probably did just once, and I'd imagine everything would have been very uniform in the process (with the exception of the disc variations.)

Edited July 9, 2022 by RH

[Brickman | 4,012]

I have the Fuu version and the stickers are attached with the ability to tear them out. The tear out is very close to the page so it wouldn’t leave any page leftover exposed.

I’d inspect very closely the manual if you can and in person, pictures might not capture how close the tear out is.

I haven’t seen any manuals without stickers (except for those with the stickers removed) so I’d be surprised if it wasn’t sold with stickers. 

[Throwaway | 0]

Yes they come with stickers here's don't know if dudes trying to pull a fast one

[Renmauzo | 1,205]

On 5/6/2022 at 12:32 AM, RetroMichel said:

Hey there !

I am currently buying games for my Sega Saturn console and I've got in contact with a guy that has Magic Knight Rayearth. As some of you probably know, this game by Working Designs came with three variants available. In fact, when buying the game (which was the last one released for Sega's console in America), you could get one of the three disc variants.

One features Hitaru Shidou:

The other one features Fuu Hououji:

Then, the last one presents Umi Ryuuzaki:

The guy I talk to has the one with Hitaru Shidou (the girl with red hair). The game is in fantastic condition, however, it lacks the stickers in the manual. Not as if they have been removed, but more like they have never been there: the manual does not present any page for the stickers. You have page 16 and then, it jumps to the page containing the registration card.

My question is: Did some copies of Magic Knight Rayearth for Sega Saturn come without stickers in the manual ?

If you do have the game, I would really appreciate if you could look at your copy and see if it includes the stickers in the manual, especially if you have the version with Hitaru Shidou on the disc.

Thank you for your time.

Mine is a Hitaru copy, and yes, the stickers are present (the sticker sheet folds in two inside the manual). I'm skeptical of a second print in which the stickers would be omitted given the very low sales of the game, so while I can't say for certain, I'd err on the side of 'the stickers are probably just missing' with the copy you're looking at.

I hope you find a copy that suits you, and all the best on the Saturn hunt!

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I'm not a Saturn expert by any means, but people have gotten really, really, really good at creating replicas of longbox instruction manuals. I saw quite a few fakes while collecting Sega CD and they are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

It could certainly be real, but I'd remain skeptical until you can prove otherwise.

[phart010 | 1,708]

On 5/6/2022 at 8:56 AM, RH said:

Though not all had the stickers fully intact, most did have them.  I imagine this game got only one print run so I'd be quite surprised if some didn't come with stickers and, if they didn't, it was likely an assembly error.

Could be right. Whenever something deviates from standard manufacturing processes, it’s going to much more prone to error. Standard manufacturing meaning game, jewel case art, manual..

In this case you have three different disc variants, and a special manual with stickers. If those stickers are attached to the manual, then maybe not, but if they are an insert then I could see a manufacturing error. 


I always wonder about how the manufacturing process  looks for non-standard releases. Sometimes you’ll notice non-standard releases for modern games such as Wii/Wii-U/Switch don’t come in the standard y-seal plastic sleeve that regular print games are in. I imagine that all the games are made on Nintendo’s automated assembly line with game, case and manual (or just game/case for Switch games) then y-sealed in a sleeve and shipped to publishers. Then maybe the publisher opens the non-standard release games and individually packs in the extras (including manuals/stickers/keychains for switch games) before resealing it with stretchy shrinkwrap