Last time on Tetra’s Treasures, we took a deep dive into the Hyrule Lifestyle Collection, a batch of exclusive collectibles that could only be acquired by participating in the Ichiban Kuji Lottery in Japan. It offered quite an eclectic array of fun items, from sound effect boxes that make every fridge raid feel like a treasure hunt to a gorgeous alarm clock that gently coaxes you awake with Princess Zelda’s voice.
But this apparently wasn’t good enough for the mad geniuses working at Banpresto. So, just 17 months later, they launched a second Hyrule Lifestyle campaign. It featured a whole new line of unique utensils and kooky contraptions for die-hard Zelda fans to squeeze onto their already-crowded memorabilia shelves.
But would the sequel live up to, or even exceed, the standard set by the original? Let’s find out!
For those of you who need a refresher, Ichiban Kuji is a special lottery event where gamers and anime enthusiasts alike have the opportunity to win some awesome merchandise that can’t be found anywhere else. Each lottery is themed around a specific brand of media, such as Fullmetal Alchemist or Fire Emblem, and they all offer the same number of prizes as there are available tickets. So, if you’re interested in adding a high-quality figurine or quirky household item to your collection, all you have to do is purchase a ticket from any 7-Eleven, Lawson, or Family Mart convenience store (or, if you live in a country other than Japan, buy one online at KUJIconnect), and you’re guaranteed to win a random item from the pool of available prizes!
Ichiban Kuji hosted its first Zelda lottery in May 2017, just as Breath of the Wild fever was spreading like wildfire and reigniting interest in the series as a whole. The hungry masses gobbled it up so ravenously that hosting a second raffle event seemed like the only logical step forward.
Released in October 2018, “Hyrule Lifestyle Collection 2” differs from its predecessor in a couple of key ways. First of all, while several games in the series were represented in the first collection — giving the whole package a more generic Zelda feel — Breath of the Wild is clearly the favorite child in this new family of curios. That’s reasonable: the shock waves from the open-world odyssey’s explosive arrival were still being felt over a year later (oh, who am I kidding, they’re still being felt now), so it only made sense to capitalize on the game’s unprecedented popularity. And unlike the original collection, which included all sorts of random items like key accessories, knapsacks, and umbrellas, this follow up mainly focuses on kitchen and bathroom accessories.
I know that doesn’t sound terribly exciting, but who knows? Maybe these knickknacks will knock our socks off with their off-the-wall designs and creative applications!
Kicking things off in Tier G, we have a batch of printed hand towels with five available patterns: a somewhat abstract Majora’s Mask portrait with a magenta color palette, a blue and purple recreation of the Calamity Ganon Tapestry, a pale green close-up of Link from The Wind Waker, an 8-bit Link wearing a tunic that blends into the background (if it were a green screen, he would just be a floating head and arms), and finally, a nifty green-and-gold Triforce emblem. I could see that emblem stamped on a commemorative coin from a Zelda theme park.
I don’t know what kind of dyes the manufacturers used on the towels, but I’m guessing that these vibrant hues would fade after just a couple of wash cycles, so it would probably be better to just hang them up as decorations rather than actually use them to dry your hands. Not surprisingly, these are among the cheapest items available online, with listings ranging from ¥100 ($0.74) to ¥500 ($3.68).
Tier F presents us with a set of small glass plates featuring pixel art from early Zelda titles. Three of them depict bottles of Red, Green, and Blue Potion from A Link to the Past, another shows a Heart Container from The Legend of Zelda, and the last one recreates the ending of the original NES game with Link and Princess Zelda holding up the Triforce pieces of Power and Wisdom.
What can I say about them? They’re simple, cute saucers that would be perfect for serving up Japanese pickles or steamed vegetables, and that’s really about it. Plenty of individual plates are available at auctions for anything between ¥100 and ¥800 ($5.89), and one seller is requesting only ¥1,000 ($7.36) for an entire set. So, it wouldn’t be too difficult for you to nab a few to compliment the Honey and Darling salt and pepper shakers on your dining room table. (Okay, those don’t actually exist, but how amazing would it be if they did?)
People with Tier E printed on their lottery tickets received one of four different pieces of stainless steel silverware. The two forks are, rather cleverly, adorned with Master Sword designs, so now we can feel like we’re performing an Ending Blow on one of Ganondorf’s minions every time we sink the tines into a hunk of roast beef. One of them depicts the pristine sword that seals the darkness in most Zelda titles, while the other displays the broken, bedraggled blade that appears in the Era of the Wilds.
Meanwhile, a pair of spoons feature the embossed images of the Triforce Crest and the Sheikah Eye Symbol from Breath of the Wild. The packages mention that these utensils are ideal for people aged eight and older, but given their size relative to that of an average adult hand, I actually don’t think these would be of any practical use to the “and older” segment of the population. It’s possible that both this cutlery set and the pixel-art plates were designed with children in mind, so that they could have their own little set of dishes to play with. What a neat idea if so!
These prizes are a bit pricier than those in the lower tiers; you’ll need to fork over ¥1,000 for a single piece and spoon out ¥5,000 ($36.78) if you want the whole bundle. (I make no promises that these will be the last lame puns I make in this article.)
The prize in Tier D holds the third piece of the Triforce of Dinner, and it’s the coolest item in the collection by far: a package of Monster Curry! Apparently the folks at Banpresto are so dedicated to their craft that they bravely ventured to the Fang and Bone and negotiated with Kilton to obtain his entire supply of Monster Extract. Or, y’know, just threw some purple dye into some instant curry mix and called it a day.
Either way, having a collectors’ item modeled after a dish from Breath of the Wild is a fantastic idea. It’s actually the only time I’ve come across an edible prize in the entire library of Ichiban Kuji lotteries. And based on the testimonies of people who tried the curry, the dye certainly had the intended effect. The sickly purple-colored sludge immediately turned their stomachs – probably the same reaction Link had the first time he laid eyes on the gooey stew. But apparently the taste was perfectly fine, with some likening it to Keema Curry — a flavorful, moderately spicy Indian dish adopted into Japanese cuisine in the 1950s.
This brings me to another point of interest with the second Hyrule Lifestyle Collection: the Double Chance Campaign. By following just a couple of extra steps when purchasing their tickets, participants could enter for a chance to win an additional prize for free. In most Ichiban Kuji lotteries that offer Double Chance, the extra prize is just one of the upper tier items, but in this case, the 30 winners were given an amazing reward fit for a Champion: five helpings of Chef Link’s burbling violet concoction. Who says victory can’t be savory rather than sweet?
Since the Monster Curry is a perishable item, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that I couldn’t find any listings for it online. I did spot one a while back that was asking for ¥1,800 ($13.13), but it has since disappeared, so I think you’re better off just learning to make it yourself at this point.
If you’ve ever wanted to strut around your living room with your very own Champion’s regalia slung across your shoulder, then the curio from Tier C is just what the doctor ordered. This bath towel, a sky blue beauty that shows the four Divine Beasts protectively encircling the Triforce at the center, is a bit larger than the ones featured in Tier G. It’s not expansive enough to cocoon one’s entire body, but if you’re just looking for something to dry your hair with, this is the perfect size. You might have trouble sinking your claws into this particular prize, though, because I could only find one on sale for a hefty ¥5,000.
If Princess Zelda’s voice isn’t loud or persistent enough to get you to open your eyes in the morning, then fear not: Tier B’s Triforce alarm clock is guaranteed to awaken your adventurous spirit and fill you with the energy needed to tackle the day ahead. According to an official press release from Bandai Spirits, the clock’s alarm is the Title Theme from A Link to the Past, which I consider to be the best intro theme in the entire series (don’t worry, I won’t try and force you to agree with me on that one). Every time I hear that whimsical series of descending arpeggios, followed by the powerful orchestral thunderclap, a tidal wave of childlike excitement crashes into my brain.
But it doesn’t stop there! Does the base of the clock look at all familiar to you? It should if you’re a huge fan of the SNES Zelda title, because it’s a completely faithful recreation of the platform where you recover the Triforce at the end of the game! It’s a wonderful treasure that I would snap up in a red-hot minute, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me or anyone else. A single listing popped up asking for ¥8,000 ($58.24), which is a pretty steep price to pay even for a product as awesome as this one. Guess I’ll just have to settle for programming that epic theme song into my phone’s alarm app.
The Monster Curry may have been the coolest prize in the second Hyrule Lifestyle Collection, but the item from Tier A is definitely the most bizarre. Tell me, would you ever be inclined to stick an object modeled after a sharp, pointy blade into your shoe? If so, then Banpresto has you covered with this Master Sword shoehorn! It comes with a little pedestal, and whenever you pull the sword out, you hear the classic “schwing” sound effect, along with the Breath of the Wild version of the Master Sword fanfare.
Look, I can definitely appreciate unconventional, unorthodox, and even flat-out ludicrous ideas for merchandise, but my visceral reaction to this particular prize is profound discomfort. It’s like climbing into a sleeping bag that resembles a hungry shark, or drinking a glass of water with one of those fake-fly ice cubes in it. The logical side of my brain may understand that the shoehorn is perfectly safe to use, but the iconic Master Sword design makes me involuntarily cringe whenever I see a demonstration of it, because I just can’t help but think that the person is about to slice up the back of their foot!
But hey, if you’re able to overlook that kind of thing, you can easily purchase one of these odd knickknacks for anywhere between ¥3,000 ($21.80) and ¥4,475 ($32.52).
Now we finally come to the coveted “Last One” prize, which is reserved for the person who buys the last available ticket in any given Ichiban Kuji lottery. But you’d better prepare yourselves for an avalanche of disappointment, because this is — without a doubt — the laziest creation I’ve seen yet. All they did was take the Triforce clock from Tier B and paint it gray, which is neither aesthetically pleasing nor faithful to the lore of A Link to the Past.
Now, if they had decided to pay homage to A Link Between Worlds by flipping the Triforce upside down and having it play the intro to the Lorule Overworld Theme, that would have been a fun twist. But as is? Yeah, I think I’d want my money back. And based on the dozens of listings I’ve seen on Japanese auction websites, I’m guessing that other people agree with my assessment. Some ask for as little as ¥1,000, others want upwards of ¥8,500 ($63.80), and I see at least one new listing pop up every day. A dedicated collector would probably be able to amass a small army of gray Triforces in a relatively short amount of time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my deep dive into the two Hyrule Lifestyle Collections, brought to us by Ichiban Kuji! Which of the items did you find to be the most intriguing? For me, the Effectones from the first collection win the award for creativity, but I also adore the yellow Triforce clock from this second collection, and I would have been tickled purple to try some of that delightfully revolting Monster Curry. Feel free to share your thoughts, and check out Stephen Iwashita’s unboxing video if you want to see some of these prizes in action!
