KICA-1010: Symphonic Poem GRADIUS III

[Secret Squirrel]

I'm not sure where Konami Filharmonic Orchestra came from, as it's nowhere else on Google. It's changed to Philharmonic now.

[LuxKiller65]

I think this album has no spinecard. Instead, there is a round sticker at the back of the outer box with barcode and other information usually found on a spinecard.

[seanne]

For the printings that came with the box, you appear to be correct about that. Some time ago I received a second copy of this album and to my surprise it had such a sticker on the back of the box. My first copies of both this and the other Gradius III album both lack the sticker in question, so I always assumed the product info had been given in some other way.

We have a photo on the KICA-1001 entry showing the sticker separate (removed?) from the box, which is quite strange since the sticker I have here is firmly attached to the box and could not easily be removed, without damaging the rather frail paper surrounding the box, or even at all.

[LuxKiller65]

I'm getting convinced that the sticker may have originally been on the shrinkwrap. Konami Shooting Battle seems to support this. I have pictures of two sealed copies, plus one from the database.





Let's summarise the Konami releases with an outer box/slipcase (where outer box is a box made of two pieces, front and back, and slipcase is a single piece where the album slides in and out from the side):

KICA-1001 - Gradius III
First press with outer box & sticker, no spine. Second press only spine.





KICA-1010 - Gradius III Symphonic Poem
First press with outer box & sticker, no spine. Second press... where's the spine? I've never seen one! My idea is that this album never got past the first press. But there is a tape version of this album (although it's not yet in the database).

This picture shows the sticker at the back, just like seanne's. It could be that this is its original location. I am wondering the outer box may have had no shrinkwrap at all. But what about the album itself? Sealed with no spine?





KICA-1136 - Konami Shooting Battle

First press with slipcase & sticker and spine. Second press only spine. I've seen many copies with both slipcase and spine, so I think the album came sealed with a spine (as usual), and then put inside the slipcase, which was shrinkwrapped.



KICA-7624 - Gradius in Classic I

Only sold with slipcase and spine. No second press.



KICA-1135 - Gradius in Classic II

Same as the first part, and notice that this album comes right before Shooting Battle (1135 → 1136). Also, why are the catalog numbers between Classic I and II completely different?

[Jodo Kast]

My suspicion for many years is that Gradius III Symphonic Poem was not released with an obi and was also only available with the box.

[LuxKiller65]

This would make it the only Konami/King Records album with no spinecard... that I know.

[seanne]

Maybe it is as you're both suspecting, that this album never got released without the box. I too have never seen an obi for it

I uploaded a pic of the back of the box, showing the sticker. I'll consider this the original position until proven otherwise.