Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

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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!

 
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Small Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition play through update:

I did pretty much everything I could reasonably do up through chapter 7. Every area is mapped as much as is available at this point in the game (swimming the waterfall area was a chore!), I 100%'d the collectopedia for all but two areas, I finished every side quest available (including a few that unlocked after doing the main event of Chapter 7), Colony 6 is fully level 1 and I could probably google some guides for the other items needed to finish level 2, but I'm past the point of being ready to move forward. So I pressed on and started Chapter 8 (enough to get throught the story segments and then save). Overall, I am loving it but I've neglected swapping characters to build affinity links. So that might be what I work on next as I make progress with the story.

super1upqueen said:
Gameplay is very much "baby's first XCOM," even more so than Mario + Rabbids
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That sounds pretty good to me and it should allow me to set my expectations appropriately for what it is, thank you. Sometimes I just want some more basic tactics without overly deep complex systems and that would be a good time to fire this up.
 
Nah, I'm not going to get the Persona 5 Tactica DLC. Even at $14 (down from $20), it's way overpriced for what's apparently only a 4 hour campaign. I mean, compare that to the $30 Monolith wanted for Torna and Future Redeemed, which were 30-40 hour campaigns (plus additional DLC for the base games). Plus, I read the story in it isn't great and Akechi doesn't have much to do, and he's the whole reason I'd get it. So, I'll just watch the cutscenes on Youtube. Meanwhile, I now have about 12 hours in the main game and my verdict is...it's still fine lol $20 was a good price for it. $60...hell no.

nightc1 said:
Small Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition play through update:

I did pretty much everything I could reasonably do up through chapter 7. Every area is mapped as much as is available at this point in the game (swimming the waterfall area was a chore!), I 100%'d the collectopedia for all but two areas, I finished every side quest available (including a few that unlocked after doing the main event of Chapter 7), Colony 6 is fully level 1 and I could probably google some guides for the other items needed to finish level 2, but I'm past the point of being ready to move forward. So I pressed on and started Chapter 8 (enough to get throught the story segments and then save). Overall, I am loving it but I've neglected swapping characters to build affinity links. So that might be what I work on next as I make progress with the story.
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When you unlock every landmark and location in a region, the map autofills all the empty space you didn't walk over, so you don't have to swim the entire Makna Forest waterfall, nor do you have to swim all of Eryth Sea (thank Christ). It's actually a great way to know for sure if you've found everything. Which characters have you been using the most? I always played as Shulk, Dunban, Sharla, and Melia a ton (leaving Reyn and Riki to the AI), especially Dunban. I'd slap every Agility+ gem I could find on him and laugh as all the enemies would target him and miss every single attack lol Dunban is for real one of the most fun characters to play as in any video game period.
 
I've been playing banner of the maid and the balance is all over the place in it. The double boss map where the one gets a stat buff after you kill the other was bonkers. Once it got that buff it'd one shot most of my units. And that fire emblem lite has leader death = game over on top of 3 units retreat game over iirc. Finally I just turtled it and managed to scrape a win. And of course free map grinding and exp books and such are all unlocked after that map.

50% trophy completion for that very early game map definitely separate the wheat from the chaff I believe the saying is. You'd think they'd see that and go back and update it.

I read that all the female general units are superior to their male counterparts with the exception of desaix who everyone refers to as Quan something. He has special equipment for why he's able to compete reasonably with Oscar the female armored cav.

Enemies having a bleed or curse like ailment skill that prevents you from healing sucks. Especially since my scouts main charm point is hp regen after killing stuff. And the troubadour/bard on a horse and band healer can't cure ailments as of yet.

I wonder when I'll get male healers as having 2 bards to give triple turns or go reach an get chests would be great utility wise.
 
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super1upqueen said:
When you unlock every landmark and location in a region, the map autofills all the empty space you didn't walk over, so you don't have to swim the entire Makna Forest waterfall, nor do you have to swim all of Eryth Sea (thank Christ). It's actually a great way to know for sure if you've found everything. Which characters have you been using the most? I always played as Shulk, Dunban, Sharla, and Melia a ton (leaving Reyn and Riki to the AI), especially Dunban. I'd slap every Agility+ gem I could find on him and laugh as all the enemies would target him and miss every single attack lol Dunban is for real one of the most fun characters to play as in any video game period.
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Oh that is good to know about the landmarks. While a waste of time to do all that swimming, I will at least hopefully auto complete some future side mission since there was something to find in there.

I've stuck with just Shulk, Reyn, and Sharla. So pretty much the order they came into the team. Though when I did get Dunban early in the game (chapter 2) for that one segment... I made him my main character since he was so OP which made for a few quick level grinds and helped me wipe out a few of the more difficult early side missions with ease.
 
nightc1 said:
Oh that is good to know about the landmarks. While a waste of time to do all that swimming, I will at least hopefully auto complete some future side mission since there was something to find in there.

I've stuck with just Shulk, Reyn, and Sharla. So pretty much the order they came into the team. Though when I did get Dunban early in the game (chapter 2) for that one segment... I made him my main character since he was so OP which made for a few quick level grinds and helped me wipe out a few of the more difficult early side missions with ease.
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Yeah, the first time I played the game, I didn't know about the auto-completing map either and swam almost all of Eryth Sea. Then I looked up what landmarks I was missing and just happened to find that you don't have to physically traverse the whole map. I think my eyebrow twitched for the rest of the day.
blueweltall said:
The Satori Marsh at night time and the music is beautiful, even with outdated Wii graphics.
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Satorl Marsh is one of the coolest locations in the series. Love how it and Uraya from XC2 completely change based on if it's day or night. Valak Mountain is another cool one, though the piss filter is a little weird. Gaur Plain has a beautiful nighttime track, on par with the daytime theme. Good god the music in XC1 is incredible.
 
I ended up playing a few hours more of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition last night. I did decide to go ahead and swap out some characters but kept Shulk as my main in order to start towards maxing affinity between the characters. Holy overload on the side missions in Alcamoth! I completed what was available between day/night in the city within the space that is open... some of which opened more side missions. Even with completing the ones I could in the city there are well over 20 side-missions left as I ventured back out to the Eryth Sea towards the next story segment. Many with timers on them so I'll just wipe out as many as I can. It's a good way to level up quickly and build affinity faster. I think I gained two levels just doing the basic fetch/message missions in the city and accepting all the other missions.

It is kind of crazy to think this was on Wii first and then 3DS. I have the 3DS version because after falling in love with XC2, that it seemed like the most logical path for me to play the first game as Definitive Edition hadn't been announced yet and the options for the wii version meant likely going with an eu copy as it was a little pricy compared to the 3DS.
 
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blueweltall said:
I am on the same part as you. I found out those timer for that part ends much later in the game. I think it was Chapter 15.
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I don't mind just grinding through them now just to max infinity and level up to be even more OP for this part of the game... but it's good to know there's no pressure to do that if I feel like just pressing on for a bit. Thanks. Many of the missions should complete between the city and the next objective anyway by just eliminating the flagged enemies.
 
62t said:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth State of Play is insane. Demo is up.

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH DEMO

The Unknown Journey Continues
store.playstation.com
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I watched the first 3 minutes and decided to stop... from those first 3 minutes, it seems pretty clear that this is going way off the rails from the original and I think I'm just gonna enjoy the game as blind as possible come May after busy season, though it's prob gonna be difficult to avoid spoilers completely.

Plus I also need to play Intermission still... o_O

I will say though...
seeing Zack with Aeris made me smile.

EDIT* how the fuck do spoilers work here in this new version of CAG? Used the spoiler tag but spoiled text does show up.

EDIT 2* Oh I get it now
 
scorponok said:
I received the email today requesting my shipping address for the Persona 3 Reload sticker sheet.
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Me too, looking forward to receiving it. When I did the sign-up for the P5T patch, I didn't even have the game yet and then it dropped to $20. So hopefully, since I'm also about to get some merch for a game I don't have yet, that means P3R will also soon plummet in price and I can get it for cheap.
 
I might be mis-remembering, but was there supposed to be some bonus DLC you get for beating the Rebirth demo? If that's the case, I might have to break down and play it.


Also, seems like most retailers are sold out of the Deluxe Edition which is shocking. Remake and the FF16 deluxe editions were both very easy to find.
 
Vinny said:
I might be mis-remembering, but was there supposed to be some bonus DLC you get for beating the Rebirth demo? If that's the case, I might have to break down and play it.


Also, seems like most retailers are sold out of the Deluxe Edition which is shocking. Remake and the FF16 deluxe editions were both very easy to find.
Click to expand...
Yes, there's an in-game item that unlocks for having demo save data. SE will probably make it free eventually, just like they did with the Remake demo bonus theme. Most significant to me was the announcement that the Rebirth demo will be updated later between now and release with an additional Junon area. I wonder if this part of the demo wasn't ready. Perhaps it's more likely that SE is trying to gate public redemption of the demo.

Used standard copies of remake were selling around $90 shortly after release in 2020. Were won't have the same lockdown conditions but it might be difficult to find for another brief window. I preordered rebirth deluxe at bby just in case I'm able to break even and keep the collectibles again.
 
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Oof, I don't want to play the Rebirth demo, but I do want those free bonuses. Can you just save as soon as you're allowed in the demo and still get the bonuses? If so, I may ask my husband to play up to the first save point while I leave the room. I'm that dedicated to keeping everything a secret until I get the full release.

Speaking of, got the Deluxe edition pre-ordered at Best Buy (double steelbook, baybee) and they never added the DLC to my order. It's not the end of the world if I don't get the pre-order bangle or whatever, but I still hope I do. My pre-order does entitle me to it. I would have canceled and reordered, but my area ran out of in-store pickups a long time ago, so I would have had to reorder it for shipping, and hell no to that. I want it at launch, with a steelbook that isn't bent/scratched from shipping. A digital bangle ain't worth sacrificing all that.
 
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The demo really doesn't give anything away. Having said that I am sure you can just save immediately after the start and be fine.
 
nightc1 said:
I ended up playing a few hours more of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition last night. I did decide to go ahead and swap out some characters but kept Shulk as my main in order to start towards maxing affinity between the characters. Holy overload on the side missions in Alcamoth! I completed what was available between day/night in the city within the space that is open... some of which opened more side missions. Even with completing the ones I could in the city there are well over 20 side-missions left as I ventured back out to the Eryth Sea towards the next story segment. Many with timers on them so I'll just wipe out as many as I can. It a good way to level up quickly and build affinity faster. I think I gained two levels just doing the basic fetch/message missions in the city and accepting all the other missions.

It is kind of crazy to think this was on Wii first and then 3DS. I have the 3DS version because after falling in love with XC2, that it seemed like the most logical path for me to play the first game as Definitive Edition hadn't been announced yet and the options for the wii version meant likely going with an eu copy as it was a little pricy compared to the 3DS.
Click to expand...

I am on the exact same part as you from one year ago! Need to go back to play and finish XC1. It was getting long with lots of tedious sidequests like you mentioned. Great game. I always intended to go back and finish.

God I have so many 100-hour rpgs to play. Today I'm currently going through my physical NISA CEs to see which ones I'm missing. There are so many, and then it gets multi-generational.
 
Trails games. I kinda stopped buying all the NISA CEs I wanted after they transitioned to including Switch. I ordered a couple of sets on both Switch and PS4 but then collecting them all became overwhelming. It costs too much to keep up and I didn't know which platform to buy for. Handheld option is great! but then it often has inferior performance. Performance disparities are obfuscated and not really published. The time I stopped I guess was when they were doing those NIS Classics Volume LEs 1,2,3 re-releases. They were buggy and unpolished, but I wanted to order those.

Trails-CEs.jpg


I think going forward I'm just going to start submitting orders on Playstation, and complete the collection there. You never know which ones get graphical or engine downgrades with an inferior version.

My collecting has been disorganized for years, and it's time to fix it. Their website changeover really put a damper on things as well. For instance, Trails Through Daybreak is only sold out on the PS5 now because they have to sell their plushies with it. Can't imagine that sales are going very well at NISA these days. Discussion over them has pretty much halted on here. Customers are confused, physical is dwindling, and now they want money up front. So if you're anything like me then you wait until the last minute before they sell out.
 
Finished Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Gameplay was great, story not as great. Didn’t feel it was as strong halfway through when they split the team up.
So now to wait for the next RGG game (next Judgement game perhaps) where the game through some convoluted logic has to take part partially in Hawaii so they can reuse the map.
 
Vinny said:
Hm.... So maybe not a huge loss to play it now. Curious as to what the 2nd part of the demo is.
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I figured there would be some tasty morsel in it somewhere but there is jack squat. When you finish the demo you can see a sizzle reel from the game and THAT gives away(or appears to give away) at least two major plot points.
 
Another gambit is: I want to play Disgaea 7 badly, and buy the collector's edition, but the PS5 deluxe edition is $39.99 on Amazon already today. Another obvious candidate for Woot.

Is anybody even playing these games anymore?? Game has a 6.0 user score with 29 votes, an 84 metacritic, and yet it feels like nobody is playing it or cares.

There is no way that NISA isn't struggling.
 
beenaround said:
I figured there would be some tasty morsel in it somewhere but there is jack squat. When you finish the demo you can see a sizzle reel from the game and THAT gives away(or appears to give away) at least two major plot points.
Click to expand...

Alright, good to know: Beat the demo and close my eyes and ears.
 
Nothing- said:
Another gambit is: I want to play Disgaea 7 badly, and buy the collector's edition, but the PS5 deluxe edition is $39.99 on Amazon already today. Another obvious candidate for Woot.

Is anybody even playing these games anymore?? Game has a 6.0 user score with 29 votes, an 84 metacritic, and yet it feels like nobody is playing it or cares.

There is no way that NISA isn't struggling.
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I got the Switch version when it was $40. Seems reasonable for an NIS Switch game. It might dip lower, then go out of print, then have VGA make more.
 
Nothing- said:
Another gambit is: I want to play Disgaea 7 badly, and buy the collector's edition, but the PS5 deluxe edition is $39.99 on Amazon already today. Another obvious candidate for Woot.

Is anybody even playing these games anymore?? Game has a 6.0 user score with 29 votes, an 84 metacritic, and yet it feels like nobody is playing it or cares.

There is no way that NISA isn't struggling.
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It's so much better than D6 but I think it sold worse. I could see the series ending if things don't pick up soon because to your point I feel like I am the only person who plays them anymore.
 
Disgaea wise I pre-ordered 6 for switch and that was about it. I don't play them often because backlog.

Saw a tweet that p3r sold 1 million copies. Atlus can't fathom how much they have jumped since vanilla having 75k copies waaaay back.
 
Nothing- said:
Trails games. I kinda stopped buying all the NISA CEs I wanted after they transitioned to including Switch. I ordered a couple of sets on both Switch and PS4 but then collecting them all became overwhelming. It costs too much to keep up and I didn't know which platform to buy for. Handheld option is great! but then it often has inferior performance. Performance disparities are obfuscated and not really published. The time I stopped I guess was when they were doing those NIS Classics Volume LEs 1,2,3 re-releases. They were buggy and unpolished, but I wanted to order those.

Trails-CEs.jpg


I think going forward I'm just going to start submitting orders on Playstation, and complete the collection there. You never know which ones get graphical or engine downgrades with an inferior version.

My collecting has been disorganized for years, and it's time to fix it. Their website changeover really put a damper on things as well. For instance, Trails Through Daybreak is only sold out on the PS5 now because they have to sell their plushies with it. Can't imagine that sales are going very well at NISA these days. Discussion over them has pretty much halted on here. Customers are confused, physical is dwindling, and now they want money up front. So if you're anything like me then you wait until the last minute before they sell out.
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I've actually been selling a few collector's editions, particularly NISA ones, because I'm trying to encourage myself not to buy collector's editions for games I'm not going to play right away or for games I don't know I'll love. I sold Cold Steel 3 and 4, as well as Reverie, but kept Zero, Azure, and the XSEED special editions of Cold Steel 1 and 2. I honestly don't think I'll keep up on the Trails series (I've still only played Sky 1-3) because I only have so much time to game and I've been less and less motivated to devote the time necessary to long JRPGs, especially ones like Trails that need to be played in order and have such huge scripts. I had a tab open on my computer for Daybreak for months, seriously turned off by the payment up front thing, and when the PS5 version sold out, I just shrugged and closed it. Basically, if it's a 100 hour JRPG that's not a Persona, Megaten, Xenoblade, Dragon Quest, or Final Fantasy, I'm going to be more picky about if I want to play it and especially if I want its collector's edition.

Oh, but I didn't sell Mishy from the Cold Steel 3 collector's edition. No way man, he's my little buddy. I gave him his own scarf and everything.
20240207_210036.jpg
Nothing- said:
Another gambit is: I want to play Disgaea 7 badly, and buy the collector's edition, but the PS5 deluxe edition is $39.99 on Amazon already today. Another obvious candidate for Woot.

Is anybody even playing these games anymore?? Game has a 6.0 user score with 29 votes, an 84 metacritic, and yet it feels like nobody is playing it or cares.

There is no way that NISA isn't struggling.
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I almost pre-ordered the collector's edition of 7 because I liked the stuff it came with, but again, trying to cut back. I'm also tempted by the $40 deal, though I have a feeling it'll get down to $30. I've played 1 and some of 3, and as shadowysea07 said, the backlog has prevented me from playing the others.
shadowysea07 said:
Disgaea wise I pre-ordered 6 for switch and that was about it. I don't play them often because backlog.

Saw a tweet that p3r sold 1 million copies. Atlus can't fathom how much they have jumped since vanilla having 75k copies waaaay back.
Click to expand...
I saw that tweet, too. My first thought was, "damn, maybe it won't get cheap any time soon." I kind of regret canceling my $60 Gamestop pre-order, but I need to stay strong and wait for a good sale. I have plenty more games to play in the meantime.

There's a rumor Atlus is working on remasters of Persona 2 and 4. I'll believe a 4 remaster is coming before I believe one for 2, but it would be really nice to have a definitive version of 2 with both games. As for 4, I'm not sure if I want that game getting any kind of remaster, as I fear what they'd do to try and "fix" Kanji's character arc...
 
super1upqueen said:
Can you just save as soon as you're allowed in the demo and still get the bonuses?
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Demo save data of any kind gets you the bonus item. Demo clear data is only required to skip the demo gameplay of the full release.
super1upqueen said:
Speaking of, got the Deluxe edition pre-ordered at Best Buy (double steelbook, baybee) and they never added the DLC to my order. It's not the end of the world if I don't get the pre-order bangle or whatever, but I still hope I do.
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Exact same situation. Dlc items for remake were pathetic anyway so it will likely be available for free eventually.
Nothing- said:
I think going forward I'm just going to start submitting orders on Playstation, and complete the collection there. You never know which ones get graphical or engine downgrades with an inferior version.
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Solid decision. Zero & Azure are best on nsw. For the rest I collect the PS4 CEs and then also buy the standard PC versions for playing handheld or otherwise. The switch versions of CSIII-Reverie are basically the exact same PH3 builds done for the PC, just locked at the lowest settings. The PS4>PS5 upgrade was added late by nisa but ended up working fine for me. More than fine actually.

If anyone cares, when I checked a couple months ago, the PS5 upgrade for Reverie using the PS4 disc was completely broken. Claiming the PS5 upgrade on console made you eligible to claim the full PS4 version for free. And then having the PS4 licence allowed me to add the full PS5 license free. I don't even need the disc anymore.

As for Disgaea, I care but only consider buying the complete releases. I actually bought that huge dlc bundle for Disgaea 3 on PS3 and learned my lesson going forward. Bloated dlc and hot sauce are pretty much my only memories of that game.
 
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Finished two games this week. Can't sleep, so I'll give each a paragraph.

Atelier Sophie 2. 8/10.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to call it the peak atelier experience as i've heard from others. Any story that focuses on experience in an alternate world with little bearing on the actual character's world feels kinda cheap. Like Sophie 1 there is zero real threat or antagonist for nearly the whole game. And yet despite some cliches and the abundance of fuzzy trite plot elements, there is eventually a mature message ("Remember your dream!") that hits home. The game unsurprisingly spotlights the female alchemist characters who are all well done. Yet this leaves a backdrop trio of a weak/generic supporting cast that made me miss the "Hey, fat guy!" variety of party members in Sophie 1. The game only runs acceptably with low settings on steam deck, so I used handheld for alchemy sessions and the hdtv for exploration. This game's main variation gimmick, weather changing, eventually feels like a chore. Dlc was a waste of money. Pretty good game.

Ace Attorney Justice for All. 7.5/10.
Previously I had only played the first PW game (was just ok) as well as GAA Chronicles (which I loved). I bought Apollo Justice recently and figured I needed to grind out PW 2&3 first. Anyway Pt2 starts with a ho-hum introductory case but then an excellent 2nd case (which stands as my favorite PW case so far). The third case is just so-so and drags at times. But at some point I had the clear thought, "at least they improved from all that terrible steel samurai case" ..and then bam the final case happens. I didn't like the plot or gameplay flow of the final case but understand how it was a necessary transition to the ending. The ending is EXCELLENT. What they do with Edgeworth is profoundly superior to what they mimic with Kazuma in GAA. (Although Susato is still firmly my favorite companion/assistant.). Trials & Tribulations this weekend.
 
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My main RPG series are DQ & XC... but I still care about the genre as a whole and will buy something if I find it interesting enough. Most other series I either have opted to stop buying for them, I'm on a pause until I play them more, or I'll decide on a game by game release.

Talking about organizing games, I built out a basic 8'tall x 6'wide set of shelving from some 1"x6" pine a few weeks ago for my spare room that I use as a home office. I have been organizing my collection and getting the stuff out of boxes that I was considering selling or I just didn't have a good place to display. I think when I'm done with game organizing, I will add shelves for DVD, BR, and CD's as well as other collectables and make this more of a media library space. It would be nice to have everything in a single space with nothing in boxes and it'll be a bit easier to organize what I might want to go ahead and sell off since I'll have it out in the open to look at and space to separate it. Plus having space to actually display stuff in the open is nice. Maybe I'll take a couple pictures when I'm done and share them here.

XC Definitive Edition update: Tuesday night I ended up polishing off all the side quests (including a half dozen or more additional ones found explorting the Eryth Sea) except two which were for the next area in the game. Those last two I finished last night along with Chapter 8. The side missions, while many in number, weren't that bad and didn't require much beyond basic exploring (which I was already going to at minimum use all the transporters). There was one side-mission boss that got me twice because of all the other enemies surrounding it... so, I ended up going casual mode to get past it. Nothing else was too much of a challenge on normal. Currently I'm level 45, two cut scenes into Chapter 9, and the play time is just under 46 hours (I love exploring in games like this). I have zero side quests available (unless something unlocked in another area since starting chapter 9) and I have a single item missing from the Collectopedia on the Forest and then everything in the Bionis Interior which isn't really unlocked yet beyond that one path with no enemies or item drops.

I'm still loving the experience. The side quests initially feeling overwhelming had me concerned but then I cleared them so quickly (maybe 2 hours or less?) given my level is above everything and so much you are going to naturally stumble into on the way to the next objective. So those that got stuck on that, it's really not too bad. Especially since everything needed for every side mission taken will have an exclamation mark on the map for it even if you don't have it set as an active mission.
 
Target has a Buy One Get One 50% off sale this week.
Buying 2 and canceling one for about a 25% discount works. It's not quite as good of a deal as B2G1F using the same method, though.

What's applicable is hit and miss, some preorders eligible of note:
www.target.com

Sea of Stars - PlayStation 5

Read reviews and buy Sea of Stars - PlayStation 5 at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.
www.target.com www.target.com
Sea of Stars PS5 (Xbox also eligible)

www.target.com

Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters - Xbox Series X/Xbox One

Read reviews and buy Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters - Xbox Series X/Xbox One at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.
www.target.com www.target.com
Neptunia: Sisters Vs Sisters (Xbox only - PS4 version is eligible but that's an older version and there should be better prices)

www.target.com

Visions of Mana - PlayStation 5

Read reviews and buy Visions of Mana - PlayStation 5 at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.
www.target.com www.target.com
Visions of Mana (PS5, PS4 and Xbox versions also eligible)

Not a preorder, but Eternights PS5 is eligible at $23.99 before the discount, and works out to be a couple bucks cheaper than Amazon's $19.99
www.target.com

Eternights - PlayStation 5

Read reviews and buy Eternights - PlayStation 5 at Target. Choose from contactless Same Day Delivery, Drive Up and more.
www.target.com www.target.com

I'm hoping Stellar Blade makes an appearance and is eligible before the week is over, but I haven't seen it yet.
For most preorders remember you can usually get better deals later, so it's really only a good deal if you wanted to play that game right away, or if you find a game with a decent price that's also eligible (like Eternights)

All eligible video games:

Target : Expect More. Pay Less.

www.target.com www.target.com
 
Agreed there isn't much. The preorders are probably the 'best' deals (if it's something you really want immediately) as they're discounts on stuff that isn't out yet, but 25% off full retail price still isn't amazing. I had a preorder that Target never fulfilled (just kept asking me to approve delays forever - I've heard of this happening to others with Target, but it was the first time for me) for P5T on Xbox using of those previous B2G1F sales and that thing dropped like a rock, I'm glad now they never fulfilled it.
 
Pheria said:
Agreed there isn't much. The preorders are probably the 'best' deals (if it's something you really want immediately) as they're discounts on stuff that isn't out yet, but 25% off full retail price still isn't amazing. I had a preorder that Target never fulfilled (just kept asking me to approve delays forever - I've heard of this happening to others with Target, but it was the first time for me) for P5T on Xbox using of those previous B2G1F sales and that thing dropped like a rock, I'm glad now they never fulfilled it.
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Yeah, I can't stand pre-ordering from Target because of the chance of getting trapped in the infinite delay loop. That happened to me with the deluxe edition of Horizon Forbidden West (thank goodness I got a copy at Gamestop later) and it looked like it was going to happen with the Sephiroth amiibo, which I canceled when I found it in a store.

Literally the only thing I'd want in this sale is Visions of Mana, so I may just do the buy 2, cancel 1 trick to save $15 on it. I'm with you hoping for Stellar Blade, but I doubt it would qualify for this deal, anyway.
 
super1upqueen said:
Yeah, I can't stand pre-ordering from Target because of the chance of getting trapped in the infinite delay loop. That happened to me with the deluxe edition of Horizon Forbidden West (thank goodness I got a copy at Gamestop later) and it looked like it was going to happen with the Sephiroth amiibo, which I canceled when I found it in a store.

Literally the only thing I'd want in this sale is Visions of Mana, so I may just do the buy 2, cancel 1 trick to save $15 on it. I'm with you hoping for Stellar Blade, but I doubt it would qualify for this deal, anyway.
Click to expand...
Finally put my pre-ordered in

THE CALIGULA EFFECT 1 & 2 on VGP. It's nice if VGP re-print HYRULE WARRIORS DEFINITIVE EDITION (S)​

 
Masterkyo24 said:
Finally put my pre-ordered in

THE CALIGULA EFFECT 1 & 2 on VGP. It's nice if VGP re-print HYRULE WARRIORS DEFINITIVE EDITION (S)​

Click to expand...
I didn't know it was hard to come by (Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition).
I do see it's sold out at most major retailers, but there are still some sealed with free shipping ESRB copies on sites like eBay for MSRP ($59.99):
www.ebay.com

Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch 45496592745 | eBay

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch.
www.ebay.com

I didn't notice right away, but I see they're 'World Edition' UAE copies- is that what you're trying to avoid?

The UAE copies seem to perhaps keep the price down on a handful of 'like new' used ones that aren't World Edition, but yeah fair enough- that's not quite the same as getting a sealed new copy for a similar price.
(Ex: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3554467704...sh=item52c2474b17:g:f3kAAOSwkwhlwRR5&LH_BIN=1 )
 
Pheria said:
I didn't know it was hard to come by (Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition).
I do see it's sold out at most major retailers, but there are still some sealed with free shipping ESRB copies on sites like eBay for MSRP ($59.99):
www.ebay.com

Hyrule Warriors - Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch 45496592745 | eBay

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch.
www.ebay.com

I didn't notice right away, but I see they're 'World Edition' UAE copies- is that what you're trying to avoid?

The UAE copies seem to perhaps keep the price down on a handful of 'like new' used ones that aren't World Edition, but yeah fair enough- that's not quite the same as getting a sealed new copy for a similar price.
(Ex: https://www.ebay.com/itm/355446770455?epid=18045308975&hash=item52c2474b17:g:f3kAAOSwkwhlwRR5&LH_BIN=1 )
Click to expand...
Why are collectors so down on those UAE copies? Are they not compatible with USA region DLC or something? Collectors say they won't buy PEGI games because they hate the "ugly logo" so what's the excuse for UAE games? Personally I couldn't care less what ratings logo is on the box, I just want to play games.
 
kevers7290 said:
Why are collectors so down on those UAE copies? Are they not compatible with USA region DLC or something? Collectors say they won't buy PEGI games because they hate the "ugly logo" so what's the excuse for UAE games? Personally I couldn't care less what ratings logo is on the box, I just want to play games.
Click to expand...

Uniformity probably. Like having original releases versus greatest/platinum/all-star/player's choice/ etc. releases. If there's an ESRB release, I prefer it, again for uniformity, but if there isn't an ESRB release I have no problem owning a copy from a different region.

The UAE releases don't bother me either. It's just the little blue and green circle on the front. Yes, a sticker on the shrink wrap would've been preferred over the printing on the cover art, but absolutely everything else is the same, including the region, so North American DLC works with it. A couple of years ago I bought a bunch of 3DS UAE releases, because they were sealed and often times the same price or even cheaper than used regular ESRB releases.
 
HaloGX said:
Uniformity probably. Like having original releases versus greatest/platinum/all-star/player's choice/ etc. releases. If there's an ESRB release, I prefer it, again for uniformity, but if there isn't an ESRB release I have no problem owning a copy from a different region.
Click to expand...

This. I don't bother kidding myself anymore, I don't have time to play games like I did in my younger days, most of my purchases are because I like the collecting aspect...

Yes, yes, I know "games are meant to be played" but...
1707496050823.png
 
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kevers7290 said:
Why are collectors so down on those UAE copies? Are they not compatible with USA region DLC or something? Collectors say they won't buy PEGI games because they hate the "ugly logo" so what's the excuse for UAE games? Personally I couldn't care less what ratings logo is on the box, I just want to play games.
Click to expand...
I don't mind UAE copies either. I do question if it's worth paying a few bucks more for a non-UAE version just for resale prospects, but that just comes down to "People find stuff valuable because they find stuff valuable". If people care, even without a good reason, non-UAE is worth more. I don't care though, and I don't resell very often either so I don't fret about them.

I assume it's just a "what is this? Why is this different? I'll just get the normal one just in case" reaction or similar to wanting a first print run if there was a cover art difference or something for most people.
 
Thanks for the responses, all fair points. I consider myself a "collector" by some definition (I have over 2000 physical games) but I only ever buy games that I am interested in. I will never play every game in my backlog but I don't consider resale when I buy a game, only whether or not it is a game that I want and actually see myself playing. I used to buy games just because they were stupidly cheap and would convince myself that "I will maybe play this game someday" but I reassessed my spending habits when I had the time to reflect on this during COVID. I buy far fewer games these days and use that extra spending money on other things I actually want. When I do buy games now I don't care about ratings logos or anything like that, just whatever is the best deal whether it be a Japanese/Asia/EU/UK import. We are spoiled with region-free gaming ecosystems nowadays so I take full advantage of that. The only thing that gives me pause is language barriers and DLC incompatibility.
 
HaloGX said:
Uniformity probably. Like having original releases versus greatest/platinum/all-star/player's choice/ etc. releases. If there's an ESRB release, I prefer it, again for uniformity, but if there isn't an ESRB release I have no problem owning a copy from a different region.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's my problem with the UAE copies. Unless the game doesn't have a US release, I prefer my games to be ESRB/North America. I've paid more for ESRB copies of games to keep my collection uniform. I'm also extremely anal-retentive, though, so that doesn't help.

Finished Persona 5 Tactica yesterday. The ending seriously falls off a cliff since the final boss is just another big, stupid god. They even compare him to Yaldabaoth, but at least Yaldabaoth was build up and foreshadowed throughout the game and his existence made sense for the game's society (and real life society, too). It also sort of becomes a gauntlet at the end (complete with having to rematch the previous bosses), since it's speed running the remainder of its story. It was really disappointing that the game just ended up being about this new character Toshiro. Whereas Strikers was absolutely a Phantom Thieves story with some new characters to spice things up, Tactica is a Toshiro story with the Phantom Thieves tagging along. If the story had been stronger, this wouldn't have been an issue, and at times, it can be pretty entertaining, but its cliched presentation just further highlights this game's budget feel. I was losing interest quite a bit and I started skipping cutscenes so I could just finish it up and play something else.

Oh, and I watched a couple of scenes from the Repaint Your Heart DLC, but that story looks like crap, too, so I didn't even finish it. Never been a big fan of Kasumi anyway (she felt so shoehorned into Royal). Glad I didn't blow $14 on it. Should have been $5 at the most, or, you know, just in the fucking base game.
 
It's also worth noting the the UAE releases came out of nowhere as far as being available in North America (including on sites like Amazon), and despite the ERSB rating, people, myself included, were really confused at first since the 3DS is region locked. I think a large part of it is people just want to make sure the game will work with their system, though there's enough online Q&A and video proof NOW that there's no difference in releases.
 
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