Grim Fandango Remastered physical editon by LRG

[Lagomorph01]

Hi everyone! I got my physical release of Grim Fandango Remastered in the mail today, and I wanted to share the pictures with you.

 

Here is the full set:

(Unlucky for me, my poster arrived damaged. Notice the top left to middle, there are two small tears.)

 

When I pre-ordered, I was most excited about the figurine that was announced, but... am I the only one who thought it'd be a lot BIGGER?

(On the plus side, it drives! Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoaa!!)

(Also the detail on Manny's face is... baffling...)

 

It really shows that this is a re-release, scanned from the original files. One thing that's really noticable is the darkness of all the printed material.

Here is a picture next to my original dutch release box:

 

It really becomes apparant when you put the backsides of the boxes next to each other:

A lot of detail is lost this way, which is a shame. It looks like they didn't really crosscheck the brightness/contrast with the original material.

(EDIT: The new poster and cd-case look fine though!)

 

Another funny thing I noticed (and I guess this is a credit for @Laserschwert's amazing work) is this little thank you on the back of the cd:

 

All in all, a nice release, but it doesn't live up to the excitement I felt when pre-ordering. It's nice to have the game and soundtrack in physical form though!

 

EDIT: I just double checked the product page, and apparantly the mural print is missing. I wonder if I'm the only one who doesn't have it.

Edited May 16 by Lagomorph01
More info on poster and mural print.

[Laserschwert]

Is there a track listing of the soundtrack CD?

[Lagomorph01]

Yes! Unfortunately it's not the "extended" soundtrack album that was released a couple of years ago, but the "regular" soundtrack that was released back then. (I haven't listened to it yet though.)

 

It has 37 tracks:

01. Grim Fandango

02. Intro

03. On the Roof

04. Mr. Frustration Man

05. Brennis

06. Ledge Peckers

07. Domino's Office

08. Compañeros

09. Lost Souls Alliance

10. Casino Calavera

11. Swanky Maximino

12. Smooth Hector

13. She Sailed Away

14. Hi-Tone Fandango

15. High Roller

16. By the Lighthouse

17. Farewell Lola

18. Hector Steps Out

19. Gambling Glottis

20. Trouble with Carla

21. Blue Hector

22. Blue Casket Bop

23. Rubacava

24. Shanghai'd

25. The Lola Zapata

26. Sunken Lola

27. Miner's Room and Factory Hub

28. Lamancha Sub - Crushed

29. Temple Gate

30. Mayan Train Station

31. 9th Heaven

32. Nuevo Marrow

33. The Enlightened Florist

34. Meadow Flowers

35. ByeBye

36. Manny & Meche

37. Bone Wagon

Edited May 16 by Lagomorph01

[Laserschwert]

Thanks! And that was to be expected. The extended album would have needed a second CD, which they probably wanted to avoid.

[Torbjörn Andersson]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:01 PM, Lagomorph01 said:

It really shows that this is a re-release, scanned from the original files. One thing that's really noticable is the darkness of all the printed material.

Here is a picture next to my original dutch release box:

So both their Full Throttle and their Grim Fandango boxes came out looking much darker than the original ones? That's weird. Consistently weird, but still weird.

[Laserschwert]

A bit of a relief that it only affected the ones where I didn't provide the artwork 😅

[Torbjörn Andersson]

15 hours ago, Laserschwert said:

A bit of a relief that it only affected the ones where I didn't provide the artwork 😅

 

Someone on Facebook said he had complained to LRG about the Full Throttle box, only to be told that it was meant to be that way.

Which I guess means that LucasArts got it wrong through several re-releases, not to mention within the game itself, but now LRG finally got it right...? 🤷‍♂️

[Lagomorph01]

It's crazy that they'd make that same mistake twice!

When you look at the box it's pretty clear that this is not the way it's supposed to look. I mean, Hector LeMans face is barely distinguishable on the cover.

LRG's quality control is severely lacking, as showcased by several of their LucasArts editions. (The FT box, the order of the MI games on the box, the spelling and other errors in their MI book, the missing Loom versions).

I'm still waiting for my ReMI boxed edition, but that's the last one I'll ever order from that company. All in all, everything I got is pretty lackluster so far (which is also caused by the long wait. Waiting one and a half year for something really deminishes the excitement).

 

Has anyone got their copy yet? Is the Mural Print also missing from those copies, or is mine the only one?

 

EDIT: I've contacted Limited Run about all three issues (the missing Mural Print, the ripped poster and the darkness of the reprinted material) and I'll keep you updated on their reaction.

Edited May 20 by Lagomorph01

[Lagomorph01]

I've got a reply. At least Limited Run's customer service replies quite quick, I'll have to congratulate them for that.

 

Quote

In this case, I would be happy to have a replacement poster and mural sent to you, and I have reached out to our inventory team to confirm the availability of these components.
 
Sadly, we would not be able to provide a replacement box, however, as the artwork shown on the box in the photos is as intended and all units will carry a similar design. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

 

So their stance is that the artwork appears as intended, just like with the Full Throttle box. I send them a reply, saying that this can't be the case, because LucasArts themselves used a lighter, less contrast-rich design in their original release and multiple re-releases (thanks @Torbjörn Andersson for that argument), but I don't think they'll ever admit that it's a fault on their side.

 

Well, at least I'll get a replacement mural and poster.

Edited May 24 by Lagomorph01

[elTee]

While I agree that the Full Throttle and Grim Fandango boxes are too dark, I feel obliged to point out that they're not necessarily supposed to be identical to the original boxes. These are releases of the Double Fine remasters, which is why DOTT and Full Throttle both use different box art to the originals. Grim Fandango is a bit weird because that box actually is a recreation of the original for the most part, it probably would have been better if they had designed a new cover to separate the releases a bit. Something like this would have been my choice:

 

 

[Lagomorph01]

On 5/25/2024 at 10:19 AM, elTee said:

While I agree that the Full Throttle and Grim Fandango boxes are too dark, I feel obliged to point out that they're not necessarily supposed to be identical to the original boxes. These are releases of the Double Fine remasters, which is why DOTT and Full Throttle both use different box art to the originals. Grim Fandango is a bit weird because that box actually is a recreation of the original for the most part, it probably would have been better if they had designed a new cover to separate the releases a bit. Something like this would have been my choice:

 

 

I fully agree with your post. A different box design would've helped to differentiate the remastered version from the original . The poster that uses this design (sans the cigar) looks fantastic and has the right brightness/contrast values. However, since they did use the original box art for the most part, it should look identical to the original.