Mighty No. 9 physical editions finally ship, and they're disappointing too

Things have not gone smoothly for Mighty No. 9, the game that was infamously billed as "better than nothing" last year. It was delayed multiple times. It wasn't very good. And the boxed edition of the game, promised at the $60 Kickstarter tier, has been nowhere to be seen. Until now, that is: As reported by Kotaku, the boxes and manuals have finally started arriving. And in perfect Mighty No. 9 form, they're completely half-assed. 

First things first, a description, taken directly from Kickstarter pitch: "Satisfy that inner-collector/old-school-gamer itch by having Mighty No. 9 take its place among the side-scrolling action games of yore on your desk, shelf or Ocean's-Eleven-style laser-tripwire-protected display case. This will be shipped to you with the printed instruction manual already inside ... the Western-style box will be patterned after the NES game box dimensions and style, while the Japanese version will be Famicon-esque." 

As for that manual, it's "an actual, physical, full-color instruction booklet to go along with your actual, physical game box—just like the old days!" 

As a fan of game boxes, I think that sounds pretty great, and obviously so did the 7289 backers who ponied up the money to get one. But what actually showed up, more than a year after the game's release, was a flat box—backers have to fold it themselves—with no cardboard insert to retain its shape, and a grayscale owner's manual that, to pile one last insult on top of everything else, is too damned big to fit inside. 

I think it really speaks to just how much of a mess this whole Mighty No. 9 business has been that many backers don't seem upset or angry about this final slap in the face, but just glumly resigned to its inevitability. And there is one bright spot: With the box finally delivered and everyone presumably anxious to forget that the whole thing ever happened, the disappointments are (hopefully) over.