Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

CAGiversary!
Feedback
163 (100%)
Welcome to the Japanese niche games deals and discussion thread!  Feel free to talk about local and import Japanese games here.  Our goal is to maintain a thread dedicated to active deals on niche games including RPGs, Visual Novels (VN), Shoot'em ups (Shmups), Musou, etc.  Also maintained are pre-orders for standard, limited and collector's edition games with key release dates provided.

I've wikified the thread to make it more friendly and open to others that can actively update with important information. You can find the wiki post directly below this one.

NOTE:  Please, leave the censorship discussion away from this thread.  It's common for japanese games to have questionable content outside of the country.  We want to keep discussions to the game itself and not about cultural/societal tolerance.

A message from Thorbahn:

Our CAG Japanese Niche Games Thread also has a community on PS4, where you can interact and game with other members of the thread.

Our moderators are: Draekon, Las_Hole, and Waffleswanton

You can basically friend any of our members, or any moderator, and you will be able to request to join the community under "Communities friends are in" tab, and a mod will approve your request.

You can also leave your PSN ID in the thread, saying you want to join, and we can invite you directly as well.

As always, have fun and enjoy your stay!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 4 Downvote
Vinny said:
Anyone play Eiyuden Chronicle? I don't think I've seen it mentioned at all and I honestly forgot I had the game (KS backer) for weeks now. Reviews are kind of a mixed bag too...
Click to expand...

As someone who plays almost nothing besides JRPGs exclusively with a few turned-based strategies scattered in occasionally, I'm really enjoying it! I give it a solid 8.5/10 up to this point, and best estimate is I'm sitting at about 60% of the game completed excluding post-game content. I can't compare to anything in the Suikoden series as I sadly have yet to get around to any of those. (Seriously Konami, what the hell is the holdup exactly on the I/II remaster!?) I also know there have been issues with the Switch version, but I'm playing on PS5 and don't have any firsthand experience with that. A few things stand out, subjective as they may be.

THE GOOD
  • Music: Motoi Sakuraba's music never disappoints! He's had a hand in composing stuff for most (if not all) of the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile titles as well as many games in the Tales of ... series.
  • Characters: I appreciate the effort that went into creating all of the characters' distinct personalities, and I haven't really felt like there are a bunch of characters with the same generic personalities (yet). Some characters definitely stand out more than others though; favorites include Perrielle, Francesca, Falward, and B'baba.
  • Graphics: I love the pixel style that's been come back in style lately; colors are bright and crisp.
  • Combat: The auto-battle implementation is surprisingly robust, and it reminds me a lot of the gambit system in Final Fantasy XII. I also appreciate the use of gimmicks in some battles to try and help get rid of some of the monotony of battle.
  • Card Battle: This mini-game is simple to learn, fun to play, and includes a fair bit of strategy. I like the CCG aspect of it as well.
  • Growth: Exp seems to scale based on character and enemy levels both, so it's easy for lower-level characters to catch up. As a result, even characters than join 10 levels lower than the party are viable after several battles.
THE BAD
  • Mini-Map: There is no option to lock the mini-map orientation so that north remains facing up. I hate having to constantly rotate the map to get my bearings. This is a pretty standard QoL option nowadays, and I can't imagine it would have been difficult at all to include. I would love to know why/how this was overlooked.
  • Faye: The only character so far that I can't STAND! Her personality is annoying, her voice is even more annoying, and she seems to be an extremely weak character.
THE MIXED
  • Items/Equipment: Each character only has a single weapon that can be leveled up at a smithy, which I don't care for. Armor, accessories, and runes can be found in treasure chests and bought in shops though. Towns have only had a couple random treasure chests so far - the majority are found in battle areas. I have yet to find a single hidden item in a pot, in a drawer, on a shelf, on a table, etc.
  • Story: Up to this point, the plot has been ok but nothing amazing that's really got me hooked like some other games have. As the assumed main antagonist, very little has been shown on-screen of Dux Aldric, his ultimate goal (because world domination is NEVER enough), and his motivation. An event as pivotal as the supposed assassination of the Galdean emperor, presumably masterminded by the Dux, happens off-screen. I feel like showing this on-screen, or even the Dux plotting beforehand, would better impress the gravity of the situation. Even information on the Runebarrows, who created them, and their purpose has been virtually non-existent so far - really hoping the story fills in more soon. A well done plot twist or 2 would also be welcomed.
 
keyblader1985 said:
Oh, I thought we were just talking about Rising.

Also turns out I did buy Rising at some point and just completely forgot..
Click to expand...
I have to check bundle games almost one by one most of the time because I have them many times over. The perils of having a too large game library especially digitally. This is similar for PSN games as well. I need to play a bunch of RPGs, but I'm trying to figure out what to play. I think I'm playing Loop8 next since there is a higher chance I'll likely not like that one. Otherwise probably finishing up the FF7 Remake (Pt 1) is in my future.

Also on another note AMANATSU ~Perfect Edition~ came out from Shiravune and has a launch discount of 20% off. This is one I believe about a guy going home and meeting up with some ladies from his past. It's very much a moege and has some nice art. It's on Steam, JAST USA (18+) and Mangagamer.

Steam
Steam 18+ Patch (NSFW but a safe looking page)
JAST USA (NSFW)
Mangagamer (NSFW)
 
Last edited:
nitrosmob said:
I have to check bundle games almost one by one most of the time because I have them many times over. The perils of having a too large game library especially digitally. This is similar for PSN games as well. I need to play a bunch of RPGs, but I'm trying to figure out what to play. I think I'm playing Loop8 next since there is a higher chance I'll likely not like that one. Otherwise probably finishing up the FF7 Remake (Pt 1) is in my future.

Also on another note AMANATSU ~Perfect Edition~ came out from Shiravune and has a launch discount of 20% off. This is one I believe about a guy going home and meeting up with some ladies from his past. It's very much a moege and has some nice art. It's on Steam, JAST USA (18+) and Mangagamer.

Steam
Steam 18+ Patch (NSFW but a safe looking page)
JAST USA (NSFW)
Mangagamer (NSFW)
Click to expand...
I have 3 figments because of it being given away free twice and I got it in a bundle. Not counting the switch version which I have.
 
The reviews for Loop8 scare me. On the other hand it is only 12-20 hours on howlongtoneat. A lot of average anime RPGs usually get somewhat decent reviews on Steam
 
We're in a golden period for clearance JP titles again. Just ordered that Robotics;notes Elite set for $20. You can see there that NSW Danganronpa is available again too. My copy of Disgaea 7 deluxe edition from Woot was delivered yesterday and I'm having fun playing that. If it only lasts 20 hours then ehhh so what, got my money's worth.

I highly recommend Dead Cells: Castlevania from Woot $21.99, for anyone who might like roguelites. I've been playing that one a ton in bed. The one I'm really waiting for right now is a price drop on new Shiren for NSW.

Can't believe Like a Dragon: infinite Wealth is down to $29.99 already.

Come onnnnn twenty-dollar Metal Gear Solid collection. You know it's coming!

You can't lose with these $20 disc game pickups. I love these periods.
 
62t said:
The reviews for Loop8 scare me. On the other hand it is only 12-20 hours on howlongtoneat. A lot of average anime RPGs usually get somewhat decent reviews on Steam
Click to expand...

I'm sure the overall feedback is probably accurate. If the standard physical version would hit like $10... maybe $15, I'd step up to see just how bad it is because the actual game looks quite nice and does get positive feedback for the graphics. It also seems hella quirky with it's battle system being based on relationship status. I don't think this is Superman 64 levels of bad... but just the loop mechanic grinds people as they work to build up enough rep to try a boss for the second, third, etc... time and it burns the player out. This might be a case where a guide might alleviate the worst of it after failing a couple times.

On occasion an average rpg will come along that I end up just loving despite the critical feedback. Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travellers was such a game. The best feedback called it an entry level rpg, but I found it scratched the itch of quirky classic rpg. The overall story had me plus the world and enemies were all pretty interesting. But it at least had some good feedback. There aren't many that have had positive things to say about Loop 8.

Nothing- said:
We're in a golden period for clearance JP titles again.
Click to expand...

Getting Fire Emblem Engage & Star Ocean Second (switch) for $20 each at walmart was fantastic. Same for finally finding Miitopia (switch) for a decent enough price ($30). There have been some pretty solid deals lately. I've spent more this year already (including a couple preorders) than all of last year... and it's only May.
 
shadowysea07 said:
Yeah tail ends of generations when they start clearancing out stuff is the best if you are quick enough to snag things. And they have it in your area in stock.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of caveats now to even finding "deals" like these with ymmv, and with online retail. Also, with physical games now in far smaller numbers generally, you seldom even get games to sit long enough to drop to $20 or below.
 
Mattiful-Joe said:
There are a lot of caveats now to even finding "deals" like these with ymmv, and with online retail. Also, with physical games now in far smaller numbers generally, you seldom even get games to sit long enough to drop to $20 or below.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I feel like I miss more deals now than ever. I never see any worthwhile clearance games at WM or Target, not even shovelware, I only find sports games or the games based on tabletop games (poker, etc). Worse yet, I've mentioned this before but I definitely paid above MSRP for lots of games (basically everything from Koei-Tecmo) for a period before VGP started becoming a reliable reprinter.

Hell, since I can't find deals on current gen games, to get into Xbox/360 collecting recently since those were two systems I figured would always be cheap enough to buy for that I could do it later but then I guess the prices skyrocketed because of the XB store closing.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I found a "holy shit deal!".
EDIT* Wait, it was my PS Portal like 3 weeks ago; got it for ~$167 from Target after multiple deals/offers due to the new Circle promos.
 
Until this latest round of Walmart clearance craze, we hadn't really seen many good clearance deals at b&m retail for a good 2-3 years. They didn't have to discount stuff during COVID either. Target has all but eliminated sweeping clearances, and the Thanksgiving-Xmas dump bins have been trash for a few years. Some of my locations have these kinda permanent dump bins where everything is forever full price, it's annoying. Best Buy only occasionally offers stuff at 40 bucks, which everyone else is clearancing for $20-$30; they are always behind. We won't even talk about Gamestop; everything there requires shipping too. It's been pretty much Amazon/Woot or Gamefly these days. with everything else being a YMMV markdown.

The new $35 range makes the real clearance stuff all that much more appealing and obvious.

People are sometimes like, "There aren't any good sales". But this is what I got during the last two months at Walmart. The Switch games were a combined $95. The PS5 discs were $115 total. and they have a bunch of resale value and playability.

Walmart-pickups-1.jpg


Things have been GREAT since post-Christmas. Prior to that, there was a bunch of good discounts at BB and Amazon in Jan. $20 RE4 remake, $30 GoW Ragnarok, $47 Wo Long steelbook. I have tons of shit to play. like a dozen jrpgs I haven't even started.

It's been a lotta fun this year and I've been able to add a ton of value to my library and collection. Only really need to buy about 1 or 2 new releases per year. Shit man, Balatro was like $11, Animal Well is $23, Hades 2 is only $29.99 at full price. We been eatin' good.

What I've really had it with is paying for PS+ service. There are better things to do. what a complete sham.
 
Souffrir said:
I haven’t even seen clearance games at all in any local B&M since the early 10s. Maybe longer.
Click to expand...
Yikes that's terrible. Resellers/employee in your area snatching stuff up or stores that just don't do clearance?

Don't forget about the QVC and Staples coupons though those were ymmv for Staples.

Target wise you basically have to rely on circle promos plus buy x get y for a good sale.

And or discounted gift cards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top