Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case Review – Interesting but Not a Practical Switch Game Case
There are a ton of Switch products out there. Some are good and some are bad, so when the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case came my way, it was only natural for me to assess whether or not this is a useful, fun, and/or practical third-party product to protect your Nintendo Switch cartridges.
Well, I have been playing with this thing for over a week now, and I have some thoughts. So is the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case as premium as it claims to be? Or is this just a chunk of plastic junk? Let’s find out!
The packaging for the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case is questionable at best. This is definitely not a Nintendo-approved third-party product, and it shows, as there is no sign whatsoever of any kind of Nintendo Seal of Approval. The packaging is also quite multi-lingual, as the front is a mixture of English and French while the back is mostly in Japanese with a product sticker that strongly claims “Made In China”. There is even an FCC logo on the back to confirm that the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case has been apparently checked by the agency that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. Weird.
So enough about the packaging, how cool is this product?!
Well, not so much, honestly. Don’t get me wrong, the Zelda logo on the one I received around the side panels of the cube looks amazing, but on the top and bottom panels, there is just giant text that reads “Switch” as if we weren’t aware. The top one even has “Switch” written right on the button that opens up the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case, and it just looks bad.
Once you open the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case, you will see little plastic molds where you can slide your game cartridges into. It can hold up to 16 games, two on the inside of each side panel and eight on the upper side of the bottom panel. When it is all splayed out, it looks a little bit unbecoming and not something you want to display your games in. Last year, I reviewed the JINGDU Game Card Case for Switch, and it is a much stronger, sleeker, and better displayed case than this one will ever dream of being.
The way the cartridges sit in the cubed casing also doesn’t sit well with me. It does not feel like it will protect my games in any case scenario, and it also does not feel good pushing my games into the side panel groovings, as it takes a lot more pressure than desired, especially when the cartridges are rather fragile.
Putting the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case back together is the icing on the cake. Considering this is supposed to be a housing for your Switch games, you would hope for a solid and protective casing. Well, when you fold everything back together, you feel just how cheaply made this product is. Don’t get me wrong, I love the design and the other available options look really good, too, but at the end of the day, I want something that protects my valuable games. Unfortunately, this is not the product.
This is absolutely one of the worst physical products I have ever had to review. Everything from the packaging to the casing itself and how it was designed are very poor. The Zelda graphics do look really great, but it takes a lot more than aesthetics to protect your Switch game cartridges.
If you are looking for a case for your Switch games, I absolutely cannot recommend the Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case. Instead, check out my review of the JINGDU Game Card Case and consider that option, as it is superior in just about every way, and the larger option can house 24-cartridges for less than this Shi Ban option.
Shi Ban Premium Game Card Case Review provided by Nintendo Link
Maker: Shi Ban? MAQRBAQR? KUEEN-US? Not clear, to be honest
Price: $14.99
What's Your Reaction?
Cool Zelda (Or other game) graphics
Awful packaging
"Switch" text on cube looks bad
Doesn't house games well
Impractical case for cartridges