Night Trap 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
Night Trap 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition
Platform: PlayStation 4
Year: 2017
Region: NTSC (region free)
Night Trap is a cult game from the early nineties, and is probably the most (in)famous game in the ‘interactive movie’ genre. The game originally released for the Sega CD in 1992, and became notorious for the controversy that eventually contributed to the foundation of the ESRB ratings that are still used for games today. In the game, the player is tasked with watching over a group of characters through surveillance cameras located in the different rooms, and trigger traps to capture any threats to its guests.
For its 25th anniversary, a rerelease was announced in April of 2017 for PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One. Developed and published by Screaming Villains, the PC and PS4 versions of the game also received a limited physical release by Limited Run Games. For the PlayStation 4, a normal edition and a collector’s edition were available, and both versions sold out quickly after pre-orders were opened on the website. This 25th anniversary edition uses the uncompressed video footage as well as adding some all new features, such as a theater mode, a survivor mode and deleted scenes.
The standard edition had a run of 5000 copies, while the collector’s edition only received 3000 units.
The collector’s edition comes in a paper box featuring the cover art of the original Sega CD release.
Inside are several goodies.
First of all, a S.C.A.T. patch. In the game, you play as a member of the S.C.A.T. (Special Control Attack Team, though originally the S stood for Sega), a unit trying to rescue a manor full of teenage girls by controlling cameras and traps around the house.
Next, a cassette tape, because nothing embodies the nineties like a good old cassette tape. It has the Night Trap main theme on one side and the Auger / Bathroom Scene music on the other.
The PS4 case comes with a reversible cover. The two covers are based on the original releases: the red one resembles the original cardboard case, and the blue one the rerelease that came in a large jewel case (the rerelease had the ESRB rating on the box).
There are also some goodies inside this case. First of all, a manual with some instructions, just like in the old days.
Lastly, it comes with a poster featuring the famous Night Trap artwork.
Why is there such demand for a collector’s edition for a 25 year old game? More than anything, this is a tribute to a piece of gaming history – a game that not only was – and still is – a famous title in its genre but also led to an age rating system that is still being used today. Just for that reason it is fair to say it was an influential title, but it’s also very much a product of its time, a time when video games were still considered children’s toys, a time of Full Motion Video and genre pioneering.
From a collector’s perspective, this is a very nice bundle given the game’s cult status and the limited quantity in which this was produced (only 3000 copies of the collector’s edition). The edition does a nice job of providing a trip down memory lane with the cover looking like the original and the inclusion of both a full color manual and a cassette tape..
One last interesting little anecdote. Aside from the cover variants mentioned above, there were also plans for a yellow cover, based on the 32X version of the game, that was going to be made available as a reward through Limited Run’s loyalty program. Ironically, this version got scrapped because their games now require ESRB ratings. For this reason the publisher had to cancel the 32X version. That’s right, the very same rating system tho who’s foundation Night Trap contributed comes back to prevent the release of a cover variant of the same game 25 years later.