Background:
Diamond and Pearl, like other "base" sets before it, reset the layout for the TCG cards of the era in both the English and Japanese versions of the game. An examination of the differences between the English and Japanese layouts is presented below:
As reflected in the photos above, there are a number of differences between the English and Japanese cards.
1. Overall Layout Differences - Note the different card backs in the lower picture, along with the yellow vs silver border in the top picture. These layout differences are not new (the Japanese back was changed in the VS expansion and the silver border was implemented in the Ruby and Sapphire Expansion Pack) but both of these layout differences remained in place for the D&P era. Different fonts are used for the English and Japanese versions of the TCG. Height and Weight are presented in metric units on Japanese cards while English cards use the imperial system. Flavor text, last seen in the Wizards era of the TCG, returned to the cards in the Diamond and Pearl era in both the English and Japanese releases.
2. 1st Edition Symbol - As seen in the bottom left corner of the cards in the top picture, the Japanese Diamond and Pearl set was released in first edition and unlimited prints. The English TCG did away with First Edition cards after the Neo Destiny expansion. The English print, however, featured reverse holo versions of each of the cards in the set, other than energy and LV. X cards. The Japanese print did not include reverse holos.
3. Card Number - English cards featured a card number in the bottom right corner of the card. Even though Japanese cards in the ex era featured card numbers, this feature was removed from cards in the Diamond and Pearl era. I am not sure why this card number was removed from the Japanese cards (and as a collector, I find it very frustrating). Instead, Japanese cards featured a collector number based in part on the Pokemon's evolutionary family and pokedex number (see the bottom right corner of the Japanese card). English cards also included this number in the bottom left corner of each card.
4. Set symbol - As noted in the first D&P era post, the cards in each set featured different expansion symbols (see the bottom right corner of each card).
5. Copyright information - As reflected in the orange circle in the top picture, the Japanese and English cards list different copyright text.
Bulbapedia has a pretty comprehensive list of other changes between the Diamond and Pearl expansion and the ex era of TCG releases.
Other Notable Differences
1. Release Procedure - Space-Time Creation was released using two different booster sets: Pearl Collection and Diamond Collection. Certain cards were only available in each of these booster sets, much like how certain pokemon were only available in the diamond and pearl cartridges.
Pearl Collection exclusives included: Palkia, Mismagius, Bonsly, Glameow, and Purugly
Diamond Collection exclusives included: Stunky, Stuntank, Dialga
Each Japanese booster box came with 20 cards and each booster pack contained 11 cards.
The English expansion was released in much the same way as the prior expansions, in 36 card booster boxes. The size of booster packs, however, was increased from 10 to 11 cards per pack.
2. Empoleon Lv. X Error
Emploeon Lv. X was intended to have a Poke-POWER (as reflected on the Japanese card). The first print of the English release, however, used the graphic for Poke-BODY instead of Poke-POWER. This error was corrected in later printings of the English set.
Thanks for reading this week's edition of Regional Differences. You can see copies of my completed English and Japanese versions of this set by clicking the links below:
Diamond and Pearl
Space-Time Creation
Let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions for the next regional difference to cover. In the next issue, I'll be covering Mysterious Treasures and Secret Wonders.
Diamond & Pearl Pt. 1
Countdown Calendar
European McDonald's Promos
No comments:
Post a Comment