And right on time, the game comes in! [Enslaved: Journey to the West also came in, but we'll save that one for later.]
The first thing to notice is that it's got a rather fancy-pants cover. Rather than a 3D render of the main character, we get a rather lovely (if dark) painting of almost the exact same cover.
It's a lot more showy than the original art, and has that more "flair" kind of style akin to the Castlevania series as a whole, particularly later Metroidvania entries.
The plastic cover is so thin that I actually couldn't tell this thing loaded from the side! I nearly dropped it on my way to grab the camera. Still, though, it feels nice and glossy.
The case itself actually opens up like a book:
It starts out with a pretty decent art book glued right into the case. Unfortunately, it's a bit cumbersome to wield, but the plus side is that the print quality is gorgeous. Everything is glossy and beautiful, even if the contents are a bit paltry (30 pages, each with only one, MAYBE two concepts). There doesn't seem to be a lot of spoiler content in here; nearly everything within can be seen in any of the game's trailers, so don't worry too much about diving into it beforehand.
After that is the soundtrack, which is placed in its own cardboard sleeve on the next page (again, awkward to wield). The soundtrack listing is as thus:
1. Besieged Village
2. The Warg
3. Hunting Path
4. The Dead Bog
5. The Swamp Troll
6. The Ice Titan
7. Labyrinth Entrance
8. Waterfalls of Agharta
9. Agharta
10. Cornell
11. Maze Gardens
12. Castle Hall
13. The Evil Butcher
14. Laura's Mercy
15. Carmilla
16. The God Mask
17. Belmont's Theme
18. Final Confrontation
19. The End
20. The Last Battle
The last bit is just the typical case and manual (the latter of which features the standard edition cover art). The disc is a bit difficult to get out or even put back in, thanks to the center tab, to the point where you're less afraid about breaking the tab and more about the disc itself. A little care and extra pressure on the tab and you're fine, but this might worry some people.
Overall, this is a pretty nice setup. The soundtrack alone seems to be worth the extra $20, but the art book and packaging are definitely well done. However, with no extra game content or extra incentives, unless you've got the money to spend on luxuries like this, the standard edition might be the way to go. Still, all told, it looks quite nice on a shelf, isn't too large, and doesn't clutter much up.
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