Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

A while back an infomercial video for replacement UMD discs from a company called Multimedia Recovery made the rounds and I noted a couple of unusual things about it. First, I was interested because at least one of my own UMDs had suffered some damage, and second there was mention of screws of some kind needed to secure the case shut but they weren’t shown in the video. Those screws had me wondering how good of a replacement the cases would be, so I asked Multimedia Recovery (MMR) for a sample and they graciously agreed to send one to myself and to James so we could both put it through its paces.

If you’d like to see a larger sized picture of my test subjects, click the picture above.

I’ve noted James’ additions to this review with his name so you can get an additional perspective on this item.

The Rundown
The first thing I noticed about the professional-looking packaging was the fact that I didn’t have to risk harming the cases by opening the package with a scissor. Just pry apart the plastic shell and you’re in business. After suffering through the razor-sharp packaging of the Buzz! quiz game and almost nicking the USB cables to its controllers I was relieved to see this packed this easily.

James: I was also impressed by the packaging although that will have to change if they ever plan on selling these on a shelf in a retail store. Sticky fingers could heist these cases away all to easy in this case.

The second thing I noticed is that the three cases had absolutely no screws in the package. Not only that but the cases themselves had no slots for them. The speaker in the video mustn’t have tried the product out before making the video, which immediately made me even more curious about the end product.

For my review I decided to perform two tests.

1. Transfer a demo disc to the MMR case.
2. Re-use the MMR case with a second, full-version game disc.

1. The Demo Disc
The first test is the most important one. Can the MMR case replace a broken UMD case, and how well-constructed and solid is the resulting game?

The chief difference between the default UMD case and the MMR case is in terms of parts. The UMD case is made of four pieces. The top and bottom of the white ring are the first two pieces while clear windows on the top and bottom are the last two. The MMR case is much simpler, coming in a top and bottom piece. For me, the clear windows of the UMD have been the big problem. I’ve stored my UMDs in PSP cases where the aftermarket analog stick I added to my PSP was putting pressure on the UMDs, and there were other UMDs that simply had the clear window come loose during normal wear. Once loose, they’re a threat to the disc inside the case. The two-piece MMR casing held a lot of promise for eliminating this problem by providing a solid construction.

I made sure to heed the words of caution from the infomercial about how little protective coating is on the UMD discs themselves when doing my tests. I used my fingernails to pry open the existing UMD demo case and tilted the case to let the disc slide out on its top, bottom-up onto my work area. I didn’t want to touch it to avoid getting fingerprints on it. Once the UMD case is split open, it can’t be reclosed. You can pitch it into the trash.

I opened the MMR case by inserting my fingernail at the seam on the curved side and carefully sliding it around the edge. There was a significant amount of resistance to prying the MMR case open and I could see the different points around the edge where notches fit together to lock it shut. It wasn’t too hard to open, and once I cautiously placed the disc into the new case it was an easy process to mate the top and bottom pieces without any tools at all. Again, no screws were needed and the fit was extremely solid.

The end result actually feels slimmer than a regular case, but side-by-side comparisons show they’re basically identical in size. Really, the only way this case could be better is if it somehow found a way around Sony’s poor decision to leave a window on the back always open, leaving discs open to finger prints and dust if they’re kept outside of other UMD cases.

James: My only concern with these replacement MMR’s is it seems to give the interior disc less room to spin than a factory UMD. It might not be an issue in the long run.

2. Snake? Snake?! Snaaaake!
The second test was re-using the MMR case. I personally don’t think most people would want to do this, but when the infomercial touted the cases as being reusable I became curious. How solid would the case feel the second time around?

This second test went perfectly and allowed me to get rid of a nagging problem I had with my Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops game. The plastic window on the back of the game had become loose and easily flexed in and out of its socket, making me worry that it would get looser and damage the game, maybe even jamming inside the PSP. Again, I pried open the existing UMD, slid out the disc, and expended some effort to get the MMR case open again.

I didn’t use any thin tools because I was afraid of scratching the disc, so I was a little more cautious prying open the MMR case a second time. I ended up not prying it all the way apart and sliding the demo UMD out and the game UMD in without incident, and when I snapped the parts shut again the fit was very solid.

Final Thoughts
I’ve tested both the demo and game UMDs and they run perfectly fine in my PSP and have taken away all of my worries about the loose and broken UMD discs. It’s also reminded me of just how overdue I am to get through Portable Ops. The resulting game is extremely solidly put together — especially so when you compare them to the original UMD cases — and I’ve tested them with carrying cases and external UMD cases to prove that yes, they are the same size as the original UMDs and can be stored in the same places. The one difference is that you’ll sleep more easily as you won’t have to worry so much about any jostling knocking loose any clear windows on the case.

Another point James brought up in a conversation we had about the MMR cases was that we couldn’t tell what their long-term durability would be in this review, whether heating and cooling might affect them over a number of months, and so on. While his point is valid, I don’t foresee any problems cropping up. I’d even go so far as to guess the original UMD design would suffer damage from normal use and temperature variations long before the MMR cases would. I’ll be putting in some serious time with Portable Ops coming up so I’ll keep an eye out, but the case is really very solid.

James:Thanks to these MMR cases, I was able to rescue my old copy of Wipeout Pure in less than a minute. I actually prefer the clear look to the MMR UMD’s compared to the factory ones. Seeing how simple and clean these replacement cases are makes me realize how blatant a mistake the white-plastic and clear window design really was.

We give the Multimedia Recovery replacement UMD cases 5 out of 5.

Do You Want To Know More?
You can get the replacement UMD discs from Multimedia Recovery as single units for USD 3.99 which includes shipping in the continental USA.