Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

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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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Supposedly the Switch version is 30 FPS vs 60 FPS for the PS4 version. Guessing the XBone version is also 60 FPS. It doesn't matter as much for these old games but it looks smoother going around in environments although battles are turn based so doesn't really matter there.
 
I’m just going to wait for reviews and player feedback and decide later. I’m already looking to go digital with switch 2 to end the fomo physical chase and force myself to not buy games unless I’m ready to play them or there’s a good digital sale. This would probably be a good one for a future $20 to $25 sale. Like the Grandia collection GungHo released for $40 is on sale for $19.99 digital on the eshop. No need for me to chase it. It’s under 9 gigs just like this Lunar collection. I don’t mind as much having a digital backlog.
 
Lunar Switch is currently the #1 best seller in video games category:) Even beating all the gift cards that are usually #1. Interesting how the listing states the price is currently at a 30% discount from regular price of $80.
 
I played the demo for the PSP version of Lunar back when that first came out, and it just felt so generic. I mean, sure, it would have seemed a lot less so to American kids in the early 90s, but by the standards of 2009 or whenever, let alone today’s, I just couldn’t really see the appeal. But more power to you if you’re nostalgic for it, I guess.

I have to wonder, though, are the Japanese even that into Lunar?
 
If you told me what was generally considered a niche weird weeb game at the time, that likely didn‘t have enough audience to be worth porting to the states when it was “cutting edge”, would be the #1 best seller in video games category of the number #1 online retailer 30 years later, I would not have believed you.

The next actual games in the top sellers list are Indiana Jones Great Circle PS5 at #13 and Dog Man: Mission Impawsible NSW at #15. Know it’s going to drop quick soon, but nice seeing Lunar at #1 for a little bit.
 
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I'm glad I had a bit of insomnia and was able to get an order in for the PS4 version of Lunar before it sold out. The Lunar games are special to me since the first one was the game that finally got me to get a PS1 way back in the day, so I would have been really bummed if I missed out. Hopefully Gung Ho gets more stock for those who still want it.
 
Souffrir said:
I played the demo for the PSP version of Lunar back when that first came out, and it just felt so generic. I mean, sure, it would have seemed a lot less so to American kids in the early 90s, but by the standards of 2009 or whenever, let alone today’s, I just couldn’t really see the appeal. But more power to you if you’re nostalgic for it, I guess.

I have to wonder, though, are the Japanese even that into Lunar?
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There's definitely a lot of nostalgia tied to the Lunars. The games are originally SegaCD games so they're very old and wouldn't be as enjoyable to someone who first played it in an era where we were getting more mature/complex/more popular JRPGS.

I first played them on the PS1 and that was during Square's golden ages still, and even then, as a teenager, I knew the Lunars were more "basic" games but they were still fun, well made and had a lot of charm.
 
Lunar was back from when we didn't have very many good jrpgs. People are also suckers for those few seconds of in-game .FMV that gets used in the marketing and box art. I believe that for a lot of people it was that one game they really wanted to own, but never did.

No one had Saturns or SegaCD. If you did, you were older. Or else were a really spoiled child. There was the occasional Sega megafan but those were very tertiary systems. Not that many families even had a Genesis, if they owned a current console. What you guess, maybe 1 in 3-4? That was the mainstream one. Sega CD even had a really bad rap because it often wouldn't work (read discs). I remember trying them at Funcolands. Really poor reliability and bad word of mouth.
 
The PS1 working designs releases are probably what most have nostalgia for, but yeah, series goes back farther than that, over 30 years. Also agree, the Sega CD, Neo Geo, expensive systems like that seemed like mystical unicorns at the time.
 
elessar123 said:
I knew someone with a Saturn (he's now a game dev, no real surprise). Sega CD though, nope.
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I remember one of my cousins had a SegaCD, he literally got it while we were visiting them for some family reunion thing for a few days. Their family was pretty damn rich (prob like top 10% rich in the 90s), which was a huge disparity our family who lived in 2 bedroom apartment. My brother and I only had a NES and a friend of ours had a Genesis- we were super excited to see him play it and on their massive TV (it was a 40" or 50" rear projection TV but at the time, it was insanely big to us). We weren't allowed to play it of course, because he was a douche (as was his mom who didn't want us touching their stuff). He fired up Sonic CD. My brother and I were pretty impressed seeing a game running from a "CD" (again, another thing we barely had any experience with as we just had a cassette player).

But then he fired up TimeGal and only shit, it was amazing to see. Of course, since we didn't get to play, we didn't realize it was just FMVs playing... LOL

For that reason TimeGal was one those games I wanted for a long time and ultimately did get like 7 or 8 years ago and wow, does that game suck.
 
The Genesis was my first console. I got it Christmas 95, along with Batman Returns, if I remember correctly. Well, whichever Batman game it was, I couldn't figure out the first level as an 8 year old, so we returned it to KB Toys and they were clearancing the model 2 Sega CDs for $50. I had never heard of the Sega CD, but I saw it attached to my Genesis, so I bought it with the money from Batman. It came with Sewer Shark. God I hate Sewer Shark.
 
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I don’t get the desire to rebuy Lunar, they didn’t even bundle it with Lunar 2 for a complete version. I mean cmon.
I stand corrected. I don’t know how I missed that.
 
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If it comes back for PS4 the Lunar collection please post about it. I'm okay with missing it the first time, but I don't want to miss the restock whenever it comes. Disappointed, but I needed to be up way too early for that. I do have loads of other stuff to play and I think a Saga game might be in my future!
 
For me the Lunar games are kind of bad graphics now (where outdated in the PS1 days), good stories and characters you grow to care about, a pretty good journey overall, so-so battles and some okay side quests now and then. I'm a little afraid overall that my nostalgia is making it better than I remember. I am wondering the same when I play Suikoden 1/2 sometime.
 
Vinny said:
I remember one of my cousins had a SegaCD, he literally got it while we were visiting them for some family reunion thing for a few days. Their family was pretty damn rich (prob like top 10% rich in the 90s), which was a huge disparity our family who lived in 2 bedroom apartment. My brother and I only had a NES and a friend of ours had a Genesis- we were super excited to see him play it and on their massive TV (it was a 40" or 50" rear projection TV but at the time, it was insanely big to us). We weren't allowed to play it of course, because he was a douche (as was his mom who didn't want us touching their stuff). He fired up Sonic CD. My brother and I were pretty impressed seeing a game running from a "CD" (again, another thing we barely had any experience with as we just had a cassette player).

But then he fired up TimeGal and only shit, it was amazing to see. Of course, since we didn't get to play, we didn't realize it was just FMVs playing... LOL

For that reason TimeGal was one those games I wanted for a long time and ultimately did get like 7 or 8 years ago and wow, does that game suck.
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I was at a game store that's kind of out of the way, but I was in a the area. They had a SegaCD and I bought it... LOL. Gotta find TimeGal and fire that bitch up, I never played it on an actual SegaCD (used some PC emulator that played discs).
 
I bought a Saturn around 97... early 98? .. back when the system was on it's way out. I had graduated college, lived at home while saving for my first house, and my first professional job allowed me to really go hog wild being a cheap ass gamer. I could talk rental stores that were desperate to get rid of old NES games from 2 for $10 into 4 for $10 with the condition I'd buy at least 20 games. I built such a great collection and I had a lot of freedom to play whatever I wanted. Before that point in life, my parents had bought the Atari 2600/VCS and we had a generic pong system and my bro had a TI-99/4A (all of which eventually made their way to me)... but my first console that was all mine was an NES. When I was in college, I bought an SNES used when someone listed one with a bunch of games in the classifieds locally for $100. Dude was after a playstation. So I rocked the NES and SNES through college. Which was fine.. it was the 90's. People got together to play SNES and Genesis. Genesis mostly for the sports games. SNES for the arcade multiplayer stuff. I loved the Saturn and played a lot of the best games on it (other than that third Panzer Dragoon, never saw that in stores). You didn't need to be rich, just a bargain shopper and get into a system when it was on it's way off the market and the deals were plenty.
 
I didn't have a Saturn when it originally came out. I was thinking about getting one, but I picked the PS1 instead. I did eventually buy a couple of them about 25 years ago. I bought a brand new white Japanese Saturn off ebay for $100. Also had a Victor Saturn which I can't remember where I bought it. I only had fighting games and shmups for it.
 
I was always pretty late to most gaming generations except the Genesis era (got one as a present when it came with Sonic 2 from some stores!). My PS was the PSOne when it came out and I got many RPGs very cheap at that point I was collecting. So much clearanced stuff back then. For the PS2 my PS2 was the slim (this one was awesome), and I got many things on clearance and cheap as well. It was my system throughout college and Goozex was my friend back then getting rid of some old PS1 games I do regret sometimes (Silent Hill mostly, but Suikoden 1 as well, which was a clearance copy from Comp USA of all places). My PS3 was also the 2nd iteration, which was the first system I bought myself getting a version on Black Friday with a Ratchet and Clank copy of the newest game (not a very good one). 2nd iteration systems really generally improved parts of the system and just made it smaller until we got the Pro versions. Still haven't bought a pro version and I doubt I will even for future generations, though I did buy the New Nintendo 3DS XL and gave my old Nintendo 3DS XL to my sister. I do miss when games really bottomed out for like $3 physical copies and such. $20 feels like the new bottom out price especially for niche games although some do reach a sub $10 level (not very often).
 
I have the Sega Saturn, got it when the system sales was declining and they included 3 free games (Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, and Virtua Fighter 2). Dragon Force was the stand out game for me and played some other good game on there, until I saw the FFVII commercial. Got a PSone soon after and the first game on that system was FFVII.
 
scorponok said:
I didn't have a Saturn when it originally came out. I was thinking about getting one, but I picked the PS1 instead. I did eventually buy a couple of them about 25 years ago. I bought a brand new white Japanese Saturn off ebay for $100. Also had a Victor Saturn which I can't remember where I bought it. I only had fighting games and shmups for it.
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My first real console (I had a Game Boy) was also the PS1 but I have no idea why I picked it. Our family only knew Nintendo consoles (from the "it's for you both to share" NES and SNES that my brother never let me play) but I remember being with my dad at Toys R Us, and getting a PS1 with Battle Arena Toshinden bundled (don't think it was an official bundle, might have been a Toys R Us thing?) and I'm guessing my dad suggested I get the "Sony" console since it's a well known brand. I'm so glad I did though...

Also it just hit me that I have no idea how game saves work on a SegaCD... I don't think I've ever seen a memory card for it, or if there is one, where it'd go.
 
I played both Lunars on the PS1. Really can’t remember the story for either, but I know if I bought it I wouldn’t play it again. And my older daughter doesn’t play any JRPGs except for Persona. So I’m skipping.
 
Yep the only thing I remember from the one I played (psp version) was how they kept making a big deal about the dude's dragon bone vest jacket thing. The originals were before my time, so no nostalgia or fomo. If the nsw version gets cheap-ish after future prints I might add it to the collection. I hope the scarce initial copies end up with people who want to play them.
 
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I got a copy of Lunar:SSS a few years ago from one of my brothers in box of random PS1 & PS2 games and other hardware including a broken PS2 slim. He needed some cash and wanted me to test everything because a co-worker of his was interested. Much didn't work, but Lunar was pretty decent condition and I played some of it. It seemed like a good game. I gave him some cash just to save him the hassle of selling broken stuff. It was kind of cool to see an old rpg like that play so well. Also got a copy of Silent Hill. I still need to list and sell all that stuff.

I think the only systems I bought near launch are the GBA (arctic white on launch day, I was involved in the whole frontlight project for that system), DS (about a month or two after launch?), Switch (a week or so after launch when the second shipment showed up at a local walmart)... and, I think that's it. I plan to get the Switch 2 at launch because then I'm pretty much golden. I plan to go digital for most game purchases going forward. Which makes extra sense even for regular switch games since the storage speed change alone (about 8x faster) should at least improve game loading in digital where as with physical, it'll be limited to the cart speed.
 
Why are anime games and their advertisements the worst at displaying what the hell kind of gameplay is even in the game.

It takes forever to figure out if it's an action game, RPG, SRPG/TRPG (what is even the difference? lmao), visual novel, or straight gooner bait that will put you on a watchlist.

Japan was a mistake.
 
This is going to be off topic, but I like talking about my video game history. I will try to make this short and summarize it. My first console was the IIntellivision II in the 80s. I have been addicted ever since. I stayed up to date with everything by reading lots of gaming magazines. These might be a little out of order, but these are the consoles I had growing up: NES, Game Boy, SNES, Turbo Express (yes, I actually had one of these as a kid, there was an electronics store going out of business in a mall and they had a stack of them on the floor for $25 each), TurboGrafx-16 & CD, Atari 2600, Genesis, Game Gear, Sega CD (model 2, for some reason I don't even remember seeing a model 1 in stores), Sega CDX (my brother bought his for some reason, don't remember having it long, one of the coolest looking consoles ever), Odyssey 2 (ended up with this somehow, never played it), Jaguar (these showed up at KB Toys, $25 for the console and $5 for the games, I bought the console and one of every game they had, this was one of the worst consoles I have ever owned, I kept all the boxes for everything and eventually sold it all on ebay in 2000 for $100, it's worth a little bit more now), CD-i (a pawn shop had this for years, they were more than happy to lower the price for me, I got the console a bunch of accessories and games for $40, this was also one of the worst consoles ever), I remember seeing stacks of Virtual Boys at Magic Mart for $25 but just walked by those :D, 3DO, N64, NeoGeo CD, NeoGeo AES, MVS 1 slot hooked up to a supergun, and I had most of the consoles that followed.

To get back on topic, I don't really have any interest in Lunar. I do remember seeing them when they came out for PS1, the big boxes stood out. I wasn't interested in RPGs when I was young. I think the first RPG I played and finished was Final Fantasy X, I tried IX but gave up quickly.
 
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. watching people lose their minds over a game they didn't order when the publisher has already stated they are going to print it to demand.
We've had all these great retro games, remakes, and re-issues during this gen. Why are people losing their minds over this particular one? When all sorts of other stuff sits in stock that nobody cares about. We even had a PSP version, and you could always get the PS1 omake box for a pretty reasonable price. No idea what the fuss is all about. And as far as prioritizing purchases that might possibly go OOP goes, such as any of the imported asian-english releases, this is NOT one of them. Suikoden and countless other things are equally as big of a deal.
It goes OOS (temporarily), so now everyone wants it badly. Some things never change. People can't have Lunar today so now they suddenly need it more than anything. If it was there, always in stock, almost none of them would be buying it.
 
Nothing- said:
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. watching people lose their minds over a game they didn't order when the publisher has already stated they are going to print it to demand.
We've had all these great retro games, remakes, and re-issues during this gen. Why are people losing their minds over this particular one? When all sorts of other stuff sits in stock that nobody cares about. We even had a PSP version, and you could always get the PS1 omake box for a pretty reasonable price. No idea what the fuss is all about. And as far as prioritizing purchases that might possibly go OOP goes, such as any of the imported asian-english releases, this is NOT one of them. Suikoden and countless other things are equally as big of a deal.
It goes OOS (temporarily), so now everyone wants it badly. Some things never change. People can't have Lunar today so now they suddenly need it more than anything. If it was there, always in stock, almost none of them would be buying it.
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Yeah, I don't get why people are antsy about Lunar physical... Like ok, you won't have it for a few more months... You'll live.
 
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