A micro-sized trip back to the glory days of the PS1 and 2.

We’ve still got big smiles on our faces from the tiny manga that we got on our latest capsule toy run, but there’s already another reminder of just how cool physical media can be. This time around it’s Sony, along with Gashapon capsule toy machine maker Bandai, who’re delivering a tactile trip back to the days of early PlayStation generations with a line of miniature game case replicas.

These aren’t just single-sided trinkets, either. Though not shown in these promotional images, the capsule toys’ backside cases are also exacting recreations of the original packaging. Maybe the coolest part of all, though, is that you can actually open the cases and take out little replica disks, which are accurately colored black on their non-label sides for the PS1’s CD-roms and silver for the PS2’s DVD-roms. The insides of the PS2 cases even include the bracket where you could store a memory card.

A total of nine landmark PlayStation and PlayStation 2 titles compose the Game Package Mini Charm, with each featuring a chain strap so that you can attach them to a bag strap as an accessory or use them as keychains. Starting things off is Ape Escape, released in 1999 and the first PS1 game to require the then-new DualShock analog controller to play.

Next we have Hot Shots Golf, also known in some markets as Everybody’s Golf, a direct translation of its Japanese title Minna no Golf. Released in 1997, Hot Shots Golf was developed by Camelot Software Planning, who previously produced the Shining in the Darkness and Shining Force RPGs for Sega, and would eventually go on to handle the various Mario sports games for Nintendo.

Doko Demo Issyo, actually pronounced Doko Demo Issho and meaning “Together Everywhere,” was a Japan-exclusive 1999 release compatible with the PocketStation, a memory card with a small screen and controls that could be used to play minigames even when removed from the PlayStation. Toro, the cat-like virtual pet that the game features, became a sort of ambassador for the PlayStation brand as a whole, and even now occasionally serves in that capacity in Japan.

And last, there’s XI, another Japan-exclusive release from 1998, this one a dice-based action puzzle game that became a sleeper hit in Japan despite needing to put a pronunciation guide on its front cover.

Moving on to the PlayStation2, when even Japan switched to the larger DVD cases for games, we’ve got sequels Ape Escape 2, from 2002…

…Hot Shots Golf 3, from 2001…

…and Doko Demo Issyo follow-up Holiday with Toro, from 2001.

Last, but most certainly not least, there’s Ico, the 2001 directorial debut of Fumito Ueda and a masterful example of minimalist but emotionally impactful storytelling.

Well, actually, Ico isn’t the last game in the lineup, as there’s also a ninth, “secret” capsule toy, though the preview image does at least give us the hint that it’s a PS2 title.

The Game Package Mini Charms are priced at 300 yen (US$2) and are out in the capsule toy wilds of Japan right now.

Source: Gachapon, PlayStation via Otakuma Keizai Shimbun via Livedoor News
Top image: Gashapon
Insert images: PlayStation, Gashapon
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