Greed Island (グリードアイランド, Gurīdo Airando) is a dangerous video game meant only for Hunters. Played on the JoyStation Console, it is out of print and sells at auctions for at least 8 billion. The game transports its players' bodies into the world of "Greed Island", only releasing them when they die (at which point they die in "real life" as well), win, or leave the game. It can only be played by Nen users. There is no limit to how many people can enter the game and it is possible to play without a memory card, but one is required to save a player’s progress. Using a multi-tap, it is possible for multiple people to use one save file to enter the game. In actuality, Greed Island takes place in the real world on an island due east of Yorknew City.
History[]
Greed Island was first released in 1987, created by Ging Freecss (the lead designer) and ten of his friends, all of whom are known as Game Masters. It was produced and sold by Marilyn Inc.
Intended exclusively for Hunters, its 5.8 billion price tag is the highest ever for any video game. There were 20,000 pre-orders for only 100 copies. After its initial sales, the game disappeared from the market. In 1988, Battera offered to buy the game for 17 billion and 50 billion for a memory card with endgame data. However, after no one came forward, even more urban legends concerning the game were created.
Acquisition Difficulty[]
According to the Hunter Website, while the game is considered legendary for the general public, the difficulty of finding one is ranked "H" (easiest) since it has started to appear at public auctions. It's added that the acquisition difficulty is ranked "G" (easy) because of the high cost, with the game not classified as rare because of the current number of professional Hunters (there are enough for one out of six to own a copy).
Ring, Binder, and Cards[]
The Ring[]
All players will have a ring that is required to enter the game and allows them to use two keyword spells:
1. Book - after a player says the keyword "Book", a binder will materialize which the player will use to store their cards.
2. Gain - after a player says the keyword "Gain", an item in its card form will turn back into its material form but cannot return to its card form again.
G.I. Ring
G.I. Book
G.I. Book Slots
The Binder[]
The binder has a total of 100 specified card slots; the goal of the game is to collect and fill these slots with the properly specified cards. There are also a total of 45 unnumbered free slots in the binder for storing free slot cards. The binder can also be used to check the names of players met on the island. It does not materialize in the “real world”. Only the three-slot case obtained by completing the game can be summoned with the "Book" command after leaving the game (the same rule applies to cards and "Gain").
The Cards[]
All items that are picked up on the island transform into cards. These cards can be materialized into item form again by holding them and saying "Gain". However, if a card is not placed inside the binder within a minute, it will revert into the item and can never be converted into its card form again, forcing the player to find the item again. Cards cannot be used outside of the game and will not respond to "Gain" unless they are one of the three placed in a special case obtained by clearing the game. There are four distinct sets of cards: the 100 specified slot cards, the 40 spell cards, the free slot cards, and Game Master-only cards.
Parts of the Card[]
- Upper left - Item/Card Designation Number
- Upper center - Item Name
- Upper right - Acquisition Difficulty and Card Conversion Limit
- Center - Item Illustration
- Bottom - Item Description/Function
Card Rank/Acquisition Difficulty Levels[]
Each card has a difficulty level that's shown in the upper right corner. There are a total of 10 levels, from the most difficult to the easiest to acquire in the game.
- SS
- S
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
Card Conversion Limit[]
There is a limit to how many times an item can be transformed into its card form, ranging from more than 100 to as few as three. Once that number has been reached, no other player can turn the item into a card until another player reverts the card or loses their save data. The higher the card’s rank is, the lower its conversion limit will be.
Island's Currency[]
Greed Island also uses Jenny. However, the currency is only acceptable by its inhabitants in card form (e.g., “J10,000”).
Locations[]
Shalnark estimated that Greed Island was as large as the Kotoritana Republic (approx. 83,450 km²/32,220 sq. mi.).
- Shiso Tree: The starting point of the game where Eta introduces players to the basic rules.
- Magic City of Masadora: The only place on the island where spell cards can be purchased.
- Spell Card Shop: Where players can purchase spell cards at a given price. When spell cards are used or players lose their data, the inventory of cards is replenished.
- Port City of Soufrabi: A city controlled by Razor’s pirates, whose base is located in a nearby lighthouse.
- The City of Love, Aiai: A city filled with almost every clichéd romantic scenario. Hisoka considered it a nice place to spend time.
- City of Prizes, Antokiba: A city located close to the game’s starting point. Every month a different contest is held here, with different prizes for each month.
- Caveau de Riquewihr: A restaurant located in Antokiba.
- Wig & Pen: A store located in Antokiba.
- Gambling City of Dorias: Several casinos are located in the city. Specific cards can only be acquired by gambling here.
- Rubicuta: Another town located close to the game’s starting point.
- Capital City of Limeiro: It includes a castle inhabited by Dwun and List. This latter structure, as well as the city's populace, are given to the winner of the end-game quiz as a reward through Ruler's Blessing.
- Greed Island Port: The only port on the island and home of the Harbormaster, who will give players a "Transport Ticket" card to leave the game. To obtain the ticket, players can either bribe or knock out the Harbormaster, who will give them infinite quests otherwise. Elena operates from a nearby tower and teleports players out of the game.
- Badlands: A series of hills (composed of eroded sedimentary rocks) in dry terrain with minimal vegetation and inhabited by a variety of monsters. It is where Gon and Killua were trained by Biscuit. There are also abandoned campsites and towns in the area.
- Village of the Bandits from the Mountains: The place where Sick Villagers (posing as mountain bandits) reside. Everyone in the village suffers from a disease endemic to the island which begins with a fever and becomes fatal after one month. Once the player heals all of them, the "Wild Luck Alexandrite" card is given as a reward.
- Bunzen: Little is known about this town or village to which Abengane returned after talking with Gon and Biscuit. His purpose there was mainly to use the forest near the town entrance to perform the ritual needed for his exorcism ability.
- Trade Shops: Where players can buy information, deposit money, and sell and purchase cards (besides spell cards). All B-rank cards can be bought at trade shops if a player shops more than 50 times at the same location.
Game's Creators[]
There are a total of 11 people responsible for creating the game. It’s revealed that the game’s title uses the initials of their first names. Since Ging was the lead designer, he wanted a word that started with “G” and decided to use “Greed”.
- G - Ging
- R - Razor
- E - Elena (Game Master in charge of players leaving the game, twin sister of Eta)
- E - Eta (Game Master in charge of players entering the game, twin sister of Elena)
- D - Dwun (Actual name Wdwune, until Ging decided to change his name)
- I - Unknown (Presumed to be Ickshonpe Katocha)
- S - Unknown
- L - List
- A - Unknown
- N - Unknown
- D - Unknown
Trivia[]
- The two cards Ickshonpe Katocha mentioned when asking Ging to trade were not available to players before Gon cleared the game. This may mean that either Ickshonpe is a Game Master and has access to exclusive cards, or the cards have been changed after Gon's victory.
- The card acquisition difficulty levels seem to be the same used by the Hunter Association.
- Greed Island wasn’t adapted in the 1999 anime until the second OVA series.
Anime and Manga Differences[]
- In both the 1999 and 2011 anime adaptations, the first card to be used was "Trace". In the manga, however, it was "Peek".
- The Wolf Pack does not appear in either anime adaptation.
Intertextuality and References[]
- Prior to "Greed Island", Yoshihiro Togashi had used the science-fiction concept of "video games in real life" in three other manga he created:
- In 1987, Togashi wrote Tonda Birthday Present, a short story appearing in Togashi's anthology series Ōkami Nante Kowakunai!!, released in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. The story involved a middle school student (a prototype to Yusuke Urameshi) bringing his favorite RPG to life via a machine created by his mad scientist father.
- Tsukishito Amanuma, a minor antagonist from Togashi's YuYu Hakusho, has the ability to bring video games to life. He is also known under the alias of "Gamemaster".
- Level E, an anthology series focusing on extraterrestrials visiting Earth, features a story arc involving five grade-schoolers being teleported to an alien planet that operates as a J-RPG akin to the Final Fantasy series.
- A version of Greed Island appeared in an episode of Sailor Moon.
