Let's welcome the newest members of Forgotten Chest together! Any significant item I acquire is introduced here before it takes its place in the relevant section. Entries are listed from newest to oldest.
Trading card game collectors are all familiar with this fact: While trying to complete your mint card collection, you inevitably end up with a lot of duplicate cards. So after completing my first "Age of Empires: Expendable Card Game" collection of 536 cards, I also had an excessive amount of mint cards left over. I've been thinking about what to do with these duplicates, and then at some point found myself finalizing my second set already. And today is the legendary day that I completed my second mint AoE:ECG collection! Salutations to my buddy Kostas from Greece, with whom I traded my last missing card -- cheers mate!
This is a rare card game that has been out of print since 2001. There are only a handful of people in the world (including the creators) that I know of who own a complete set. And I'm probably the ONLY psycho in the world who owns two. Tbh it's a nice kind of honour, but not an honour I need. Currently I'm planning to put my second set up for sale, and I'm probably going to put it on eBay for around €4-5k (yes, that's the actual value). If you're reading this and are interested in this ultimate set, keep in mind that I'm open to messages from those fellow AoE fans who want to get a better price than eBay.
This is my second "Collector's Edition" from Limited Run Games. Again I had to buy it from a reseller due to the lack of official stock, and again I had to pay a lot more than LRG's asking price. The box contents are great though: in addition to the game itself, there is a poster, soundtrack CD, commemorative coin, pin and KEYRING.
But LRG has once again proved how accurate my previous complaints about their marketing are. They have produced 3 versions of this Collector's Edition (for GBA, SNES and Genesis consoles), and the keyring is unfortunately different in each version. Man, these guys have a customer base that is mostly "collectors". How lame is it to force such a target audience to buy all versions just to have these 3 cheap keyring variations? Well, since they didn't make a PC version, I bought the GB version just for the bonus items and I don't regret it. But having to buy the entire Snes and Genesis Collector's Editions for the sake of 2 cheap keyrings is really lame... As for their response to my message about buying the keyrings separately, it's just a dry "sorry, we're not able to piece them out individually".
I'm aware of how cringe it seems that the complaint in this entry is basically some stupid keychains :) But the point here is the kind that only collectors can understand, my friend...
Limited Run Games is a new fashion for collectors who are into old-school gaming merchandise. I met this company a short while ago, and their motto "Forever Physical" caught my attention. What they do is re-release old games in boxed form with the same nostalgic theme. Some lucky titles are even offered in Collector's Edition style with some bonus items such as pins, keyrings, figures etc.
Sounds perfect when you describe it like that, doesn't it? But the problem is, they have a business model that is flawless for them but terrible for customers. First they announce the product, collect pre-orders, and produce according to the numbers of pre-orders. It's not possible to buy that product from them once its pre-order period is over. In this case, you make opportunistic resellers rich and LRG declares publicly that it's not a problem for them.
System Shock - Enhanced Edition is the first LRG product I have purchased, and yes I was only able to buy it through a reseller. Although I find the box content great, I'll have a hard time having sympathy to this company and its marketing strategy.
Diablo 2 action figures -- aka the most beautiful and beloved Diablo figures ever made! I had already added these artifacts to my collection 10-12 years ago, but when I saw them as a set of 3 at a local online store for a ridiculous price, I couldn't resist buying them again. These guys, which are not available under $100 in their original box nowadays, were being sold for €35 in total! The seller only accepted personal pickups, and that meant a 3-hour round trip for me, but these dudes were definitely worth it.
I haven't decided yet whether to give them as gifts to some of my Diablo-head loved ones, or sell them on eBay, or just leave them on my bookshelf as they are. Feel free to drop me a line if you want to help me decide.
I've been looking for this product for many years and finally got it to add to my collection!
What is it? It is a sealed version of the very first "Making Of" DVD released by Ensemble Studios. The disc contains a well-rounded documentary about Age of Empires 1, 2, and Age of Mythology. I bought it on ebay from "theoptimizer", one of the former Ensemble Studios major gods :) He's an awesome dude! Salutations!
One of my favourite video game soundtrack albums! It really wasn't easy to find this one though. This CD is only available on ebay every 5-6 years and at pretty high prices, and fate smiled on me finally.
The composer, Terry Scott Taylor, is really a marvelous composer with his unique style. Every single song in this album is differently entertaining, so was the game itself. Sigh, what a classic The Neverhood was...
Have you ever seen this figure of Gordon Freeman before? Simon from Taiwan told me that it's a promo item given to those who pre-ordered some kind of a special Half-Life Collector's Edition release in Taiwan around 2000. It's a copper figure with 17cm height and almost 1kg weight, only 1000 of which were made. Time has rusted it a little, but it looks great now after I cleaned the green layer of corrosion on some parts.
A valued present from a valued person. If you ever read this, thank you very much once again, Simon!
There are only rumors about this figure on internet. As far as I know, it is a promotional item that was planned to be included with the Age of Empires 2 Collector's Edition, but was removed from the package at the last minute as it was determined to be dangerous for young players. It's not for me to criticize this decision, but it's true that it has a spring mechanism that can make really strong shots for a toy of this size.
I just consider myself extremely lucky to have found a sealed one 20+ years later. I will post the final image in the Merchandise section after I assemble it.
For many years I looked for an action figure from the Prince of Persia video game franchise, but never found anything. I know that there are some from the movie, but I was fully convinced that nothing was ever produced for the video games -- before I met this guy on ebay.
An ebay seller was trying to sell his figure for around $500 with the tag "EXTREMELY RARE". I made a quick search on internet and found out that there's really an action figure produced for PoP: Warrior Within in some Asian countries, such as China, Singapore and Korea, and is not even rare at all in this region. It didn't take much time until I found some nice sellers in some nice Asian online-shopping pages who own this figure.
To cut a long story short, it doesn't really make an item "EXTREMELY RARE" when a seller wants to call it so. At the end of the day I bought this beautiful figure for only $20 + shipping, not $500.
My latest package that contains some collectibles from Age of Mythology, Bioshock, Splinter Cell etc. arrived today... I really love this feeling. Regardless of the importance, cost or rarity, the childlike happiness experienced in every new package received in the mail must be the most enjoyable part of collecting something. If you haven't already, you should also try making your own specific collection. It's never too late for that, and you'll not regret.
I recently got Planescape: Torment EE Collectors Pack. Once I opened the package, this dude came to me floating in the air and said: "Hey, chief. You okay? You playing corpse or you putting the blinds..."
Yeah, that's the replica of Morte, the flying skull who taunts around and accompanies The Nameless One on his journey in Planescape: Torment universe. This one is called "Morte, Skull-Shaped Slow Rising Squishy" in the package description. So, whether you squeeze it, or crush it or punch it, it comes back to its original shape. Not sure if Morte really deserves so much violence, but it really is a clever merch item indeed.
Oh boy... In October 2019, about a year ago today, I traded some Age of Empires: ECG cards with a fellow from USA. I was really excited about this trade since those were some of my only missing cards, and actually quite difficult ones to find even in early 2000s. Sender wanted to take the risk and ship the package without tracking, and then murphy's laws came true once again. Months passed but this package that I looked forward to receive was never delivered. As a result, the trade was inevitably cancelled in the end.
This is September 2020 now, and I found an unexpected letter in my postbox. I opened it, and the note inside made my day. It says: "This is from Sept 2019. Sorry I opened it. I didn't realize that it was a mistake."
Well, I don't even know if I should feel mad at this mysterious neighbour for opening someone else's package and keeping it for no reason for so long time, or thankful for bringing my cards safe and sound in the end. Man, we're really living in a world with full of weirdos.
Some people aren't really aware how rare an item in the palm of their hands actually is. This beautiful Age of Empires 3 ship model didn't seem more than a garbage when I received it, and made me really wonder how the previous owner stored it.
I needed to repair it with care and then even built a frame with wooden sticks and nylon to ensure its safety. It looks as good as it deserves on my shelf now.
I just got bunch of Age of Empires: Expandable Card Game Booster packs. To be honest, I don't even have any hope to find my missing cards in these packages, but gathering some extra cards for the future trades is always good idea.
Each booster package contains 6 Common, 4 Uncommon and 2 Rare cards for a total of 12 cards. According to the description, the odds of obtaining a foil card are 1 in 18.
How many of you knew AoE has a card game adaptation as well? Age of Empires: Expandable Card Game was published in 2000. It has 9 starter decks in total, and like most of other collectible card games, it consists of different rarity of cards such as, common, uncommon, rare, promo, foil etc.
Actually I met this game around 6-7 years ago the first time, and purchased my first starter deck shortly after. I simply loved the concept, but after figuring out that it's almost impossible to collect every single card in this game, I gave up the idea of collecting before even starting.
Short time ago I met Alan, a card game geek from Spain, on a platform I've been following for a long time. He was selling all 9 AoE: ECG Starter Decks (still sealed) for a fair price. I jumped on it, of course, and this is the day I received the package. It's my first CCG experience, let's see how it'll turn out.
I've been buying Soundtrack CDs for years, but it's the first time I've come across a release that comes with a physical merch. Rockstar Games offers 3 CDs of original soundtrack, unique retail box, and a USB stick looks like a gold bar in this set.
Retail box contents in computer games vary from country to country, and Japan is unrivaled in this regard. Today I received my "The Elder Scrolls Online - Japanese First Press Limited Edition" that I bought from the Japanese Amazon. The box contained bonus products that were not available in any other country outside of Japan, such as a physical soundtrack CD, a letter opener shaped sword, a USB flash drive, a fabric Tamriel map, etc... I love it.
Check out what I won in the latest Age of Empires Facebook page giveaway! Followers were asked to share a screenshot of their "most magnificent Age of Empires kingdom", and I was one of the 3 winners. The joy I felt when I read the message announcing that I had won was worth remembering!
This is the screenshot I participated with to get this limited Age of Empires: Definitive Edition Soundtrack CD. Legends never get old, indeed ;)
I finally managed to get this awesome set! CJ would be proud!
Finally got myself a retail box version of Half-Life. This one is neither rare nor expensive in the market even today, but has the undeniable importance of being the pioneer of a legend in the gaming industury.
Great soundtrack set from a great game. Actually I already had US version of GTA: Vice City OST Box Set, but I've been looking for an opportunity to replace it with the EU version ever since I heard that there are more tracks in it. As far as I know, some songs have been removed from the US version due to some licensing issues.
Salutations to everyone who has "V-Rock" in their "Most Favorite Radio Station" game stat! \m/
I haven't even played Counter-Strike: Global Offensive yet. However, after hearing that a digitally distributed game in my collection has a physical release too, my collector nature forced me find it and buy it wherever it is. After a long search, I found out that English PC Retail was available only in India. It really wasn't easy to have it delivered from there, and I'm so happy to finally meet a cooperative seller who helped me get this limited release.
For those wondering what's inside, it has just a reference card with typical instructions and the CD-key written on it, and the disc itself the scan of which I'll upload in my CD Collection page soon.
Music from the Ages by Stephen Rippy had great songs from Age of Empires, but not all. This album named MORE Music from the Ages that contains the remaining hits from Age of Empires 1 and 2. Simply awesome!
This is the only physical release of Planescape: Torment Soundtrack. It was published in Poland, and was included only with some Collector's Edition releases in early 2000s. The game itself is a masterpiece, with the soundtrack worthy of it.
Bjorn Lynne is a great musician, and did a great job in Worms sondtracks. I am very happy to find this Worms: Armageddon Soundtrack album signed by him! Too bad he didn't take part in the newer Worms games.
Being a musician is an admirable thing. But being a talented, humble, gentle and helpful musician is something else. Huge thanks to Stephen "Big Al" Rippy, the composer of Age of Empires series and many other great titles, for sending me such an awesome album with his signature on its cover!
This was my first time of buying a Soundtrack CD from Video Game and Anime Music Database, aka. VGMdb. If you're into video game soundtracks, you'll find all the information you'd need in VGMdb.com, and several other soundtrack collectors and contributors. They're the best.
I've been looking for this CD for quite a long time on ebay, but had not luck. Finally one day I found it on Amazon USA. However, the problem was, Amazon didn't offer Paypal support, and I didn't have a credit card to buy from there. So, I started looking for some alternative solutions on the internet, and that's where my prepaid virtual credit card torture has started.
Nothing too dramatic happened, fortunately, but I learned that not every virtual service provider is reliable. They didn't complete my transaction for 2 months due to some "malfunctions" in their system, which meant 2 damn months the seller had wait for his payment. I just can't thank him enough for his absolute patience and understanding.
In the end, I got my money from that company back, paid the seller his money by a normal credit card, and received the CD with almost 3 months of delay. I'm sure, you can imagine how important this CD is for me now :)
Edit in 2020: That online credit card company has been shut, and now Amazon offers various payment options including Paypal, finally.
This is Prince of Persia dual pack release that contains both of 5,25" and 3,5" floppy disk versions. It's published in Europe by Domark Software Ltd. in 1990. It's a rare gem which is almost impossible to find nowadays. Phew, it wasn't easy to get this one.
This special bundle was released in Germany in 2003 for the 40th anniversary celebration of Porsche 911. It's called "40 Jahre 911 Bundle" and comes as a unique metal box with NFS Porsche 2000 (Porsche Unleashed in USA) game itself, and the official soundtrack of the game which is the reason I got it.
I hate the word "Edition" in most multimedia products, especially in video games (long story). I don't collect any edition if I have the initial version of the game, but this one caught my attention differently. After seeing that it's called "EA Crew Edition", and that it's so popular on all over the e-commerce platforms, I decided to buy and check what it's all about.
I received it today. It actually has nothing special except some additional cars... and the notes like "for EA personnel only", "only for our employees", "not for resale", "entirely exclusive" etc. on all over the box. After a time it feelt like I'm holding something that I'm not supposed to, lol. I'm not sure if EA really has millions of employees out there and all are selling their copies on internet, or if there's something wrong behind this release. Intriguing...
Myst is an adventure classic that never gets old. Boxed version takes its place is my shelf now.
Boxed version of the very first NFS game is here! Road & Track automotive magazine presented this golden-laying chicken of the racing games in 1994, far before I was blessed with a personal computer by my parents. Although I met NFS series the first time with NFS2, I found this one also quite successful for its time.
Did you know that Worms was developed for a programming competition, and was called "Total Wormage" at first? Initial version released by Team 17 in 1995 only for Amiga, and then they ported it for DOS and other platforms. Today I finally got both of floppy and CD versions.
Everyone knows about Morrowind, Oblivion and especially Skyrim very well nowadays, but how many of you (except veteran gamers) is familiar with the very first game of The Elder Scrolls series? This legendary franchise started with TES:Arena in 1994. Its strong RPG elements, huge lore, several quests, infinite game world, day/night cycle technology etc. brought TES:Arena many awards back then.
According to the officials, the initial release sold 3000 units only, but the number is increased to at least one million over the years. And this is the moment I add the retail-box version into my collection, finally.
I still can't believe how I acquired these two rare gems! I received them from such a cool Turkish collector from the USA. These discs contain all those exciting soundtracks in the Mortal Kombat classic series. The first album has the tracks from the 1st and the 2nd games, and the second album has the tracks from the 3rd and 4th games.
I fall prey to nostalgic tastes very easily. I've been playing Diablo 2 so often lately, and realized that I'm kind of a Diablo fanboy. Diablo franchise is more than just a video game, so I wanted to check what a Diablo guy can find on ebay, and then this fellow popped up to me. I said why not, and bought it.
You're looking at the very first computer game action figure that I bought. Looks great, doesn't it?
I bought these beauties from RosebudBandaSonora.com, very nice online soundtrack store based in Spain. I love some of the Commandos soundtracks a lot, and I was actually intended to rip them from the game files at first. Then some Google searches brought me the cover designs of these soundtrack albums. When I looked closer at those scans, I saw the address RosebudBandaSonora.com on them, and then visited the webpage, and bingo!
I really was excited about the delivery of these CDs, and today I received them without any issue. All three CDs contain awesome music from the game. Commandos 2 OST disc even has a special mix from Commandos:BTCOD too. These Commandos albums are the first OST CDs in my collection (except for the AoE OST CD that I bought as a kid).
EA Sports began the FIFA series in 1993 with this game. It was pretty ground-breaking, as it used isometric technology, instead of 16-bit style which was popular at the time. The game only included national teams, and real player names were not used.
CD version released a bit after the floppy version with the additional improvements of AI algorithms and in-game commentary courtesy of David Anthony "Tony" Gubba.
Look at this beauty! Age of Empires has been in my life since 1997. I have its home-made duplicate, jewel case version, and even the cereal promo, but never had the chance to get the boxed version -- until now. You're looking at my all time favourite video game. Behold!
