Clockwork Aquario Collector's Edition (PS4)

A game that was literally rescued from the dead deserves a collector's edition that does it justice. The Clockwork Aquario Collector's Edition for PlayStation 4 is one of Strictly Limited Games' most fascinating releases, individually numbered and limited to just 1,300 copies worldwide. This is the final arcade game Westone Bit Entertainment ever developed back in 1992, left unfinished and presumed lost for nearly three decades before being painstakingly recovered and restored for modern hardware.

The story behind this one is the kind of thing we live for. Westone, the studio behind Wonder Boy, poured gorgeous pixel art into a game that never saw the light of day. Three playable characters, vibrant colors, and that unmistakable early-90s arcade energy, all trapped in development limbo until Strictly Limited went full video game archaeologist and brought it back. Playing Clockwork Aquario in 2023 feels like unearthing a time capsule that was never supposed to exist.

The collector's box itself comes with a magnetic latch and houses a hardcover artbook, an acrylic diorama, both the original and remix soundtracks, an arcade coin, character cards, a large reversible poster, and a PCB-Retro-Box that speaks directly to the arcade heritage of the title. The arcade sticker and flyer reproductions are nice touches that ground everything in the game's coin-op origins.

With only 1,300 units in existence, this is the kind of set that quietly disappears from shelves and then haunts collector forums for years. If you care about game preservation as much as shelf presence, this one belongs in your collection.