Long Box

And I am also going to talk about other non-standard size cases.

I only have two long box games. They are Raiden Project and Ridge Racer for the PS1. The Raiden Project one is in great condition (it even has the foam), but the Ridge Racer one has the tabs broken and some cracks in the corners. I love stupid cases like this. It's so stupid to have such a huge case just for one CD, but I love it. All the time CDs use standard cases. This is actually nice to change out broken cases for good ones, but the non-standard ones (and I am not talking about paper types, even if they are weird sizes: I hate those. They get all ruined and they are so cheap) are so cool.

One of my Saturn games (it is SD Gundam G Century S) has a slightly thicker case than a regular CD case. This was the first non-standard case I had. And I like it. Honestly after some time on the internet, I saw somewhere that the reason for these thicker cases is so that there is room for the manual (which also explained why the European DS games I see have thick cases because of all of the languages). This game has a bit of a bigger manual, so this explains it.

Notice how the top case, which is SD Gundam G Century S, is slightly thicker than a normal size CD case because of the slightly thicker manual, both of which can be seen in the picture. By pure luck and through no action of my own, the bottom case just so happens to be Darius Gaiden. Again, and maybe (or not) you were thinking this, this is not due to some angling of the camera. The top case is actually a tiny bit thicker than the bottom case. The camera is not lying.

Also, one of my 2 Japanese PS1 games (the game is called Depth) has not only a thicker case, not only a taller case, but it uses a completely different system. The front door frame is made of black plastic, and the clear cover part is glued into it. The top and bottom of the door is also this kind of black plastic. It is smooth. Most regular CD cases have ridges on these parts. The inside of the door does not actually hold the manual, however. You will see the back side of the front artwork which can be seen from the outside like a normal case because of the clear window I talked about 3 or 4 sentences ago. The manual sits on TOP of the CD. The thickness is to hold a thicker manual somehow inside the case, but this game honestly does not need such a thick case. The manual I think could be easily put inside of a normal CD case. Maybe there were some other inserts that I just do not have which made sense for the case to be so thick, but I don't know. It's a weird case. I think some PAL PS1 games also used this kind of case. I have seen pictures of those on the internets and they look like they are similar cases.

Maybe I will also talk about game boxes (yes the idea comes from Scott the Woz on YouTube, but I was thinking some similar thoughts in the back of my mind as well). Maybe you think that I like huge boxes, but NO! While I like the crazy size of the Long Box, I actually much prefer for boxes to be tiny. Many times it is the Japanese versions of games that may have smaller boxes. Some examples I can think of are the GameBoy, WonderSwan, and WonderSwan Color. I only have one boxed GameBoy Game, and it is a Japanese one. It is Tenjin Kaisen, or Mercenary Force. This is the smallest box I have. There are french fry boxes that are larger. The next one is Hataraku Chocobo for the WonderSwan. It is the same length and a bit thicker, but it is a bit taller. The next two are the same thickness and length as Hataraku Chocobo, but they are taller. They are Final Fantasy I and II for the WonderSwan Color. Next I have 2 Super Famicom game boxes. I checked, and these are the exact same size as the paper case for VHS tapes. I also have 1 NES box (it is Metroid, but I don't have the manual). It is shorter, thinner, and longer. For the size that NES cartridges are, it's not a ridiculous box. The NES cartridge sizes are ridiculous, however. Then I have a boxed Japanese N64 game (it is WaveRace 64). Maybe I am wrong, but is not this the same size as US SNES and N64 box sizes? I don't have any US SNES or N64 boxes to compare it to. I actually don't mind it, but I don't think it had to be this size. Maybe they wanted to use the same materials and machinery across Japan and the US for boxes? But I don't think that US N64 boxes are this size either, so this idea is not good? The manual uses the space inside the box at least. Master System and Genesis/Mega Drive boxes are actually quite nice. The boxes are medium sized, but at least the manuals use the space, and those I would call a good size. We are used to standard CD cases, so there is no need to go over them, though I do like the slightly thicker variants. DVD-Sized cases we are also used to. I don't think that they actually need to be this big, however. But I think the thickness is good on DVD-sized cases. DS and 3DS cases are nice. Yes, the case is larger than the cartridge, but at least the space is used by the manual, which is alright. PSP cases are strange. I actually like the case, but because of the shape of the case, the manuals are really long. I don't like that. And now we are on to the Switch. I think there are some good things and bad things about these cases, but I actually think they are a good balance. The cartridge is TINY inside the box, and there are usually no manuals, but if they made them the size of DS or 3DS cases, I don't think this would be a good idea since this is a full console, not a portable. Because they are games for what can be a full console, I don't think that the box should be super small. I think that if they were super small, maybe it would not be taken seriously. They are also not a standard (boring) size. I do like the thinness. The height is also good, as well as the length.

I am also going to talk about PC Engine HuCard cases (I only have one, but I assume that, at least for the ones that don't house a thick HuCard, they are basically the same).

I like how they use a standard size CD-like case, and I really like the little plastic holder for the HuCard itself, but DANG this is the CHEAPEST FEELING CASE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! The clear plastic part that holds the front cover/manual is SO FLIMSY!!!!!!!!! The back part is a bit better, but it is still FLIMSY!!!!! NEC really cheaped out on the cases.