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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Vigilante said:
Hooray, FFIX is getting a physical Switch release in Asia (likely meaning it'll have English support like the FFVII + VIII double pack):

https://nintendoeverything.com/final-fantasy-ix-switch-physical-release-happening-in-asia/

...That boxart is trash, though.

5sZ3bmA.jpg

Logo-only on a white background. That's all you had to do, Squeenix.
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hell yeah. my ff7 and 8 combo is arriving today actually. i didn't like FF once it hit 10 so these classic ones are great for the switch collection

 
bappt said:
NA copies of Ryza LE restocked.
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Wait.......restocked????? Im sorry when did this sell out? I must be out of the loop because I never got an email from them that their supply was at 50%, or 25% or 10% like they usually send out. And when I got their email today about "restocked", I thought it was a typo lol

 
Ryza 1 CE was the last straw for me on getting the CE ver. of the Atelier series.  I have basically gotten almost all the Atelier CEs since Escha and Logy but the CE have gotten skimpier and more expensive.  When Ryza 1 CE was up I looked at what I was getting for $100 compared to what I got for the Date a Live CE for $85.  I just ordered a standard edition from Best Buy after that. 

 
Vigilante said:
Hooray, FFIX is getting a physical Switch release in Asia (likely meaning it'll have English support like the FFVII + VIII double pack):

https://nintendoeverything.com/final-fantasy-ix-switch-physical-release-happening-in-asia/

...That boxart is trash, though.


Logo-only on a white background. That's all you had to do, Squeenix.
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I was about to post that FFVII and FFVIII are also being released in the Europe... long after they've been available in Asia. Don't get why they don't just release FFIX in Europe too.

 
Vinny said:
I was about to post that FFVII and FFVIII are also being released in the Europe... long after they've been available in Asia. Don't get why they don't just release FFIX in Europe too.
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Gotta get those double-dippers. I'm sure some people will even buy it three times if an ESRB release comes later.

 
Vinn said:
Ryza 1 CE was the last straw for me on getting the CE ver. of the Atelier series. I have basically gotten almost all the Atelier CEs since Escha and Logy but the CE have gotten skimpier and more expensive. When Ryza 1 CE was up I looked at what I was getting for $100 compared to what I got for the Date a Live CE for $85. I just ordered a standard edition from Best Buy after that.
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The last couple have been essentially the Japanese "Premium Box" which was the low tier LE available in Japan. Beforehand they would swap out some more Japanese things like the clear file and translate the art book but now that's not even happening.

 
BoxPizzaBox said:
...
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This post was insanely helpful- I wish I knew about this before. Is the idea behind this list that I could easily use to manually search for something I downloaded in the future?

I can't remember the last time I accessed the PS store on my Vita or PS3 but I do know I got quite a few PS+ games and free themes/avatars that I might want to check out in 20 years for no reason or something...

Pretty cool to see my download history... my first PS+ store download was... the Iron Man demo in 2008?:whistle2:?

 
Vinny said:
This post was insanely helpful- I wish I knew about this before. Is the idea behind this list that I could easily use to manually search for something I downloaded in the future?

I can't remember the last time I accessed the PS store on my Vita or PS3 but I do know I got quite a few PS+ games and free themes/avatars that I might want to check out in 20 years for no reason or something...

Pretty cool to see my download history... my first PS+ store download was... the Iron Man demo in 2008? :whistle2:?
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Yeah, that and you can use it to queue downloads. I'm not sure about PS3, but Vita's download list is chronological and doesn't exclude purchases from other systems. If you really needed to, you could at least figure out where in your download list something if you needed to go back and grab it.

If you click on an item in the list from PSDLE you can also queue it to download on PS3/Vita. I don't think the download queues are sticking around after the store update, but you can use it now to download some stuff. Download queues are finnicky, but usually if you restart your system and give it a couple of minutes it'll grab what you stuck in the queue. You can look at the queue here. In my experience Vita stuff doesn't usually remove itself once it finishes for some reason, and the Vita can only have 14 "waiting to install.." DLC items before it starts failing downloads for other stuff.. So you have to install those, queue 14 more, restart, repeat...

A lot of old PS3 stuff worked by having both a 'demo' and a 'full game unlock' of some kind. So if it was a PS+ game, maybe an unlock key is your next item in the list.

Something weird happened at the end of my mass download, install, copying to PC through QCMA. I was basically done, but decided to back up a few PS+ games I was on the fence about. Somehow, at the very end everything I had copied to my PC got wiped. Still not 100% sure how, but thankfully almost everything was still on my 64GB memory card so I just have to copy it again. The cable on my Vita doesn't pick up a connection if it isn't super tightly inserted sometimes, so my best guess is that it came loose for a second, and reconnected. This reconnection caused the official Sony Content Manager Assistant program to launch. I'm guessing they were fighting or something, and the result was all my stuff disappearing. So yeah, after big steps you may want to make a manual backup of the files on PC. I also copied everything to PS3 that I downloaded to Vita, so it's there too at least. It was about two days (plus lots of WoW classic/videos while waiting on the longer progress bars) of popping in cartridges, downloading, installing, restarting, downloading 14 more DLC items, repeat forever, and backing up to PC so it freaked me the heck out when it all vanished.

 
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My first PSN download ever was the Wipeout Pulse demo in 2009 - I remember I bought a PSP when DJMAX Fever came out, so that may have been my first physical game, excluding a pack-in Ratchet and Clank I think.

First PSN purchase was Um Jammer Lammy in 2010

First PS3 download was Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 demo.

My first Vita download was.. Facebook. ._. 

 
Vinny said:
I was about to post that FFVII and FFVIII are also being released in the Europe... long after they've been available in Asia. Don't get why they don't just release FFIX in Europe too.
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Want the PS4 version. Anyone know if Square is the only one selling the Euro release? Presume not as their page makes no mention of exclusivity.

Yeah, hope PS4 gets an FF9 physical release, too. Would make sense.
 
Has anyone here played Moero Crystal H on Switch? I started Moero Chronicles on Steam, and I'm kinda enjoying it but holy heck I'm getting tired of the battles every 2 steps. Was curious if Crystal H managed to make the random battle rate a bit less than Chronicle.

 
Neat my neighbor totoro bluray steelbook limited edition came today in the mail. I've never seen it before outside a clip here or there on the internet and bobs burgers.

Oh heads up fairy tail and is it wrong to get boobs rubbed in your face in a dungeon are on sale on gamefly for 24.99. 

 
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My Neighbor Totoro is one of my favorite video games of all time. It's right up there in my top 10 with sock-'em-boppers and the-cum-jar-formerly-known-as-play-'doh.

 
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and the Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition will only be available for a limited time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xNUYS-tJZQ

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1319277654462222338

 
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Yea I'm ok not getting a code for shadow dragon. Already played mystery of emblem (part 1 is just a shadow dragon port) on super famicon as a kid, and the 2 DS games.
 
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EdJericho said:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and the Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition will only be available for a limited time.
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This is an extremely confusing decision. When the trailer started, I got excited, thinking it meant we were finally getting Roy's games in the West. But then, it was just the first game, which we already got a DS remake of, so they can't really act like this is the first time this game has come overseas. Yes, technically we never got the NES version, but I feel Nintendo is kind of reaching here. Plus, the limited availability is really horrible and I hate that Nintendo keeps doing it. I can understand the limited edition being, well, limited, but the digital version? Makes no sense. Finally, this game has been on Japan's NSO service for months now (I figured this trailer was for the game dropping there, not actually going up for sale).

I feel like every time FE fans remember how we need Roy's game in the West or the Radiant games ported to the Switch, Nintendo delivers with something FE-related that no one asked for.

 
Easy pass for me. No nostalgia for me though. First FE was awakening, favorite FE is echoes.

I 100% do not believe nintendo about these limited digital time windows. Like with 3d all stars, i fully expect the product to be available in a different package later.
 
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I'm passing on it as well, but mainly because they are trying to pass off a cartridge art piece. If I'm going to spend a huge amount on a collectors edition, I want a functional cartridge. A functional cartridge that can work on an actual NES or Famicom. You put that up for sale and I'll show up, wallet in hand. But an art-piece cartridge is basically a paperweight. Other modern repro houses are putting out actual cartridges. It's not that hard.

 
Nothing- said:
Digital is no problem guys. You can just buy it again on your next Nintendo™
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Richard Kain said:
I'm passing on it as well, but mainly because they are trying to pass off a cartridge art piece. If I'm going to spend a huge amount on a collectors edition, I want a functional cartridge. A functional cartridge that can work on an actual NES or Famicom. You put that up for sale and I'll show up, wallet in hand. But an art-piece cartridge is basically a paperweight. Other modern repro houses are putting out actual cartridges. It's not that hard.
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super1upqueen said:
This is an extremely confusing decision. When the trailer started, I got excited, thinking it meant we were finally getting Roy's games in the West. But then, it was just the first game, which we already got a DS remake of, so they can't really act like this is the first time this game has come overseas. Yes, technically we never got the NES version, but I feel Nintendo is kind of reaching here. Plus, the limited availability is really horrible and I hate that Nintendo keeps doing it. I can understand the limited edition being, well, limited, but the digital version? Makes no sense. Finally, this game has been on Japan's NSO service for months now (I figured this trailer was for the game dropping there, not actually going up for sale).

I feel like every time FE fans remember how we need Roy's game in the West or the Radiant games ported to the Switch, Nintendo delivers with something FE-related that no one asked for.
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Welcome to the next generation of video game publishing. I'm sure the loyalists/fanboys ate up the Mario garbage, so no surprise Nintendo is now all-in on limited digital games.

Frankly, thanks to Nintendo, we're going to see other publishers do the same thing.

Why do I feel less and less inclined to participate at all in the new PS5/Xbox/NS generation? None of this sounds appealing. At. All.

 
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So I beat Disaster Report 4 (PS4) last night. It was really good. Not sure I'd call it great. It's clearly a low budget production and there were times I wished it was higher budget with more animations or more actioney events but overall I thought it was a really cool, interesting, unique game with good characters and and enjoyable play system. The numerous dialogue options often felt like I could easily change the way interactions and character relations which was cool and lead to some weird humor that I appreciated (Disaster Report 4: Miracle Water). Definitely had some of the Yakuza franchises side quest feel in a good way. Not as good, obviously but it was close enough.

How is the epilogue chapter dlc? Is it good and worth playing? Or is it just some tacked on 30 minute junk? Not that that would dissuade me fully anyway 🤷‍♂️
 
Miker525 said:
So I beat Disaster Report 4 (PS4) last night. It was really good. Not sure I'd call it great. It's clearly a low budget production and there were times I wished it was higher budget with more animations or more actioney events but overall I thought it was a really cool, interesting, unique game with good characters and and enjoyable play system. The numerous dialogue options often felt like I could easily change the way interactions and character relations which was cool and lead to some weird humor that I appreciated (Disaster Report 4: Miracle Water). Definitely had some of the Yakuza franchises side quest feel in a good way. Not as good, obviously but it was close enough.

How is the epilogue chapter dlc? Is it good and worth playing? Or is it just some tacked on 30 minute junk? Not that that would dissuade me fully anyway ‍♂
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DLC is worth it for one scene near the end

 
62t said:
DLC is worth it for one scene near the end
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Turned out that I had apparently bought the epilogue DLC's. Just finished running through the credits. Kinda bizarre. But I enjoyed it. Good game overall. Plays like a very old game but I still enjoyed it tons none the less.

I'm assuming you were talking about the fight scene with the burly men? Can I also ask what the deal with Tomoya Kazama? It seemed like they just totally dropped him unless I missed something. He came up a few times, found him in the office building, then asked about him a few times and got some details but it seems like they just dropped his details. Also surprised by the lack of Yayoi outside of the letter at the end and the exclusion of Kanae. There was even a dialogue selection at the end about how she was totally MIA.

Overall I really liked the game though. Glad I bought and played it. Thanks to everyone here who suggested it.

G_x51 said:
Yea the dlc was worth it, I kinda wish more games did that type of dlc in their games. Cool way to revisit the game world.
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I agree. It was pretty cool. Totally different kinda DLC from usual but I'm glad for that. Usually DLC is more of the same but I actually preferred that this was just kind of a much later check in.

 
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Now, if the cartridge was a functional NES cart and there was also a Switch download code included...you know what? I'd possibly pick it up. But I despise digital downloads and avoid them as much as possible...so, pass for now.

 
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simmias said:
Speaking of ToCS, Trails of Cold Steel III is $27 at Amazon right now. I think that's the cheapest it's been.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MWSVYFR
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I've heard these games are basically visual novels - slow burn plots, a ton of reading, all interspersed with some turn-based combat. I get it that allows for world building (and across allegedly 4 games, it better!), but this doesn't seem like my cup of tea at all.

I've also read there is little to no voice acting, which I think would be nice to have in a game with this much text. I understand these games have a niche following, but for someone who has very little time, is this game series worth a shot? I like the FF series but the story pacing tends to move faster (and the production values don't hurt, either). I also don't mind the Tales series but those games are more linear and self-contained.

My feeling has been ToCS is for those with a lot of time, i.e., those who'll spend hours talking to every NPC and doing tasks. It also sounds like the games do call back to earlier ones without much care for making sure new players know what's going on. Again, nothing wrong with that, but that just means it's catering to a different base.

Is any of what I said wrong? I just want to know if this series can be fun for a gamer who tends to prefer more tightly contained stories with a clear narrative.

 
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Mattiful-Joe said:
I've heard these games are basically visual novels - slow burn plots, a ton of reading, all interspersed with some turn-based combat. I get it that allows for world building (and across allegedly 4 games, it better!), but this doesn't seem like my cup of tea at all.

I've also read there is little to no voice acting, which I think would be nice to have in a game with this much text. I understand these games have a niche following, but for someone who has very little time, is this game series worth a shot? I like the FF series but the story pacing tends to move faster (and the production values don't hurt, either). I also don't mind the Tales series but those games are more linear and self-contained.

My feeling has been ToCS is for those with a lot of time, i.e., those who'll spend hours talking to every NPC and doing tasks. It also sounds like the games do call back to earlier ones without much care for making sure new players know what's going on. Again, nothing wrong with that, but that just means it's catering to a different base.

Is any of what I said wrong? I just want to know if this series can be fun for a gamer who tends to prefer more tightly contained stories with a clear narrative.
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Hmm, I think none of those points are entirely accurate, although I can somewhat understand why some of them were made.

-They're not like visual novels at all. VNs usually have multiple paths that you can take to get to multiple endings like a Choose Your Own Adventure.

Combat/Exploration/Dungeon Crawling is a huge part of Trails. I find the combat very fun, and you can make it very easy or much more difficult. I won't go into a description here but there's lots of gear to level up, and spells to learn, etc.

-Trails has a LOT of voice acting, and you can switch between English and Japanese. Lots of voiced dialogue both in cut scenes and other parts, like voices when during combat and exploration. Text only dialogue usually reserved for talking to NPCs and other insignificant parts of the story.

-The games do take time, and can be quite long. Have you played Persona 4 or 5? It is somewhat similar in structure (and length) to those, where you have objectives to complete within certain days. You do not have to spend 10,000 hrs speaking to every NPC in the game, although one of the things the series is famous for, is giving many of the NPCs lives and stories in the game, and they will say different and new things as the story progresses. I don't bother speaking to everyone either. In fact, I've followed a guide for each game, and found I've really enjoyed the game that way as I don't feel like any of my time is wasted trying to figure out what to do or where to go next. There are lots of side quests that you do not have to do or complete if you don't feel like it. Just like most FF games. There is cooking and fishing, but you don't have to partake in it if you don't want.

-The story is great, and you'll see almost everyone as a recurring character from the multiple games at some point. Lots of twists and turns and quite a bit of typical anime stuff if you're okay with that, but I love it. People will tell you to start with the first one Trails in the Sky, but I would say maybe start with Cold Steel 1 and see if you like. Since it's cheap and on a modern console.

Also, those two games super1upqueen posted above, Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki, are the two "Crossbell" games that came out before Cold Steel. I went back and played an excellent fan translation of them on PC after I finished the first two Cold Steels and they are now my favorite of the series.

Here is a trailer for Zero.

https://youtu.be/CQWEc9rPhR0

 
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Mattiful-Joe said:
Is any of what I said wrong? I just want to know if this series can be fun for a gamer who tends to prefer more tightly contained stories with a clear narrative.
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Yeah, most of that is hearsay that's not particularly accurate.

The one thing I would say is fair is that it requires a significant time/life investment to appreciate fully. And that's okay. It means there's a ton of content to play & replay. It's not for everyone but there are developments that only shine across the long scale. There's not a bad game in the kiseki series and they're best when played in order, for the most part . My opinion is that Ao (Azure), currently only accessible through a fan translation, is the best installment. They're my favorite games currently being made and I place them up right with the squaresoft favorites that locked-in my love for the genre.

I'd post more but I'm busy playing IV. I'm playing on Hard and just squeaked through a max AP finish to Act I. Enjoying the challenge. Thankful to have it localized.

super1upqueen said:
Some very on-topic news: Trails of Cold Steel I and II, as well as Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki, are coming to Switch in Japan and Asia:
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Thanks for posting- exciting news. Really hope :switch: Zero & Ao Evo make the localization here. I'm not reading any kind of news/article at the moment until I'm done with IV. Eschewing potential spoilers is difficult but very worth it for these games.

 
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heavy liquid said:
Hmm, I think none of those points are entirely accurate, although I can somewhat understand why some of them were made.

-They're not like visual novels at all. VNs usually have multiple paths that you can take to get to multiple endings like a Choose Your Own Adventure.

Combat/Exploration/Dungeon Crawling is a huge part of Trails. I find the combat very fun, and you can make it very easy or much more difficult. I won't go into a description here but there's lots of gear to level up, and spells to learn, etc.

-Trails has a LOT of voice acting, and you can switch between English and Japanese. Lots of voiced dialogue both in cut scenes and other parts, like voices when during combat and exploration. Text only dialogue usually reserved for talking to NPCs and other insignificant parts of the story.

-The games do take time, and can be quite long. Have you played Persona 4 or 5? It is somewhat similar in structure (and length) to those, where you have objectives to complete within certain days. You do not have to spend 10,000 hrs speaking to every NPC in the game, although one of the things the series is famous for, is giving many of the NPCs lives and stories in the game, and they will say different and new things as the story progresses. I don't bother speaking to everyone either. In fact, I've followed a guide for each game, and found I've really enjoyed the game that way as I don't feel like any of my time is wasted trying to figure out what to do or where to go next. There are lots of side quests that you do not have to do or complete if you don't feel like it. Just like most FF games. There is cooking and fishing, but you don't have to partake in it if you don't want.

-The story is great, and you'll see almost everyone as a recurring character from the multiple games at some point. Lots of twists and turns and quite a bit of typical anime stuff if you're okay with that, but I love it. People will tell you to start with the first one Trails in the Sky, but I would say maybe start with Cold Steel 1 and see if you like. Since it's cheap and on a modern console.

Also, those two games super1upqueen posted above, Zero no Kiseki and Ao no Kiseki, are the two "Crossbell" games that came out before Cold Steel. I went back and played an excellent fan translation of them on PC after I finished the first two Cold Steels and they are now my favorite of the series.

Here is a trailer for Zero.

https://youtu.be/CQWEc9rPhR0
Click to expand...

gospelman said:
Yeah, most of that is hearsay that's not particularly accurate.

The one thing I would say is fair is that it requires a significant time/life investment to appreciate fully. And that's okay. It means there's a ton of content to play & replay. It's not for everyone but there are developments that only shine across the long scale. There's not a bad game in the kiseki series and they're best when played in order, for the most part . My opinion is that Ao (Azure), currently only accessible through a fan translation, is the best installment. They're my favorite games currently being made and I place them up right with the squaresoft favorites that locked-in my love for the genre.

I'd post more but I'm busy playing IV. I'm playing on Hard and just squeaked through a max AP finish to Act I. Enjoying the challenge. Thankful to have it localized.
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Thanks! May be I'll pick up the first one and give it a try.

 
Hopefully with Trails 1 & 2 and these other two games getting ported to switch... nisa will get them and localize some physical releases.  It would be nice to play more of the series on switch.  I would like to see the sky series get ported for switch as well as other older games.  Maybe as a collection or something.

 
Ah Trails...I keep trying to get into you, but I keep getting out. I still buy the games when they get cheap and hopefully TOCS IV reaches around the $25 mark which would be my buy point.

 
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