A question for Saturn collectors

[attakid101 | 267]

If you own both Shining Force III and Panzer Dragoon Saga can you compare the manuals for me?

Both of these games are among the last released for the Saturn and they were both published by Sega so you’d think the manuals would be of a similar quality. 

But when I compare these manuals I notice that SFIII has a stiffer cover and back cover than PDS. The PDS manual cover/back cover is the same paper as the interior pages. I’m worried that one of these is a reproduction.

If you guys have time will you check your manuals for me?

Follow up question:

How prevalent are reproduction manuals? Do you come across them very often?

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by attakid101

[TrekkiesUnite118 | 7]

Later Saturn games started using thinner paper for manual covers as a cost saving measure. It seems to be a crapshoot which ones this was done for. I've owned my copies of Shining Force III and Panzer Dragoon Saga for a very long time and they are like yours. Shining Force III has the older card style cover for it's manual, while Panzer Dragoon Saga has the thinner cheaper manual cover. Other later Saturn games that have this thinner paper style manual in my collection are as follows:

• Burning Rangers
• House of the Dead
• Sonic R
• Sega Touring Car Championship
• Quake
• Duke Nukem 3D.

I've had these games for well over a decade, others like Sonic R I got new back in 1997 so it's definitely not a reproduction. The trend seems to start with games released in mid to late 1997 and there's no real consistency to it. My guess is either different printing plants or just whatever paper they had to print with.

[attakid101 | 267]

21 hours ago, TrekkiesUnite118 said:

Later Saturn games started using thinner paper for manual covers as a cost saving measure. It seems to be a crapshoot which ones this was done for. I've owned my copies of Shining Force III and Panzer Dragoon Saga for a very long time and they are like yours. Shining Force III has the older card style cover for it's manual, while Panzer Dragoon Saga has the thinner cheaper manual cover. Other later Saturn games that have this thinner paper style manual in my collection are as follows:

• Burning Rangers
• House of the Dead
• Sonic R
• Sega Touring Car Championship
• Quake
• Duke Nukem 3D.

I've had these games for well over a decade, others like Sonic R I got new back in 1997 so it's definitely not a reproduction. The trend seems to start with games released in mid to late 1997 and there's no real consistency to it. My guess is either different printing plants or just whatever paper they had to print with.

Great information, man. I appreciate you. That’s what I love about this place, it’s full of knowledgeable people like you. Cheers!

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

I'd love to have this problem but I do not own either of them. lol

[GPX | 1,369]

On 9/26/2021 at 11:21 AM, TrekkiesUnite118 said:

Later Saturn games started using thinner paper for manual covers as a cost saving measure. It seems to be a crapshoot which ones this was done for. I've owned my copies of Shining Force III and Panzer Dragoon Saga for a very long time and they are like yours. Shining Force III has the older card style cover for it's manual, while Panzer Dragoon Saga has the thinner cheaper manual cover. Other later Saturn games that have this thinner paper style manual in my collection are as follows:

• Burning Rangers
• House of the Dead
• Sonic R
• Sega Touring Car Championship
• Quake
• Duke Nukem 3D.

I've had these games for well over a decade, others like Sonic R I got new back in 1997 so it's definitely not a reproduction. The trend seems to start with games released in mid to late 1997 and there's no real consistency to it. My guess is either different printing plants or just whatever paper they had to print with.

Just to further your useful information, I can add something regarding the Pal games. The games you listed in the above, along with Shining Force 3 and Panzer Dragoon Saga:

- the Pal manuals I don’t think had changed

- instead, the cases changed, from a flimsy cover case (easy for damage) to a hardcover case (much more dependable).