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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Trouble Witches Final: Episode 1 - Daughters of Amalgam - Special Edition PS4/Switch is coming out in Germany, might be ININ Games shop exclusive. Includes all DLC. Looks like it will have the beautiful giant USK rating and also the pegi rating on the cover!
 
Had akibas beat crash in the middle of a double back to back boss battle. You'd think that companies could release games in a playable state these days between updates and patches. I grow tired of games I have to put extra effort and time into. It's got one more shot then I'm dropping it as unplayable.
 
I didn't get very far in the Vita version myself, but I don't remember too many things other than bad gameplay in my like 5-6 hours with it haha.
 
nightc1 said:
PS4 version, I take it?
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Yes I am playing the ps4 version.
nitrosmob said:
I didn't get very far in the Vita version myself, but I don't remember too many things other than bad gameplay in my like 5-6 hours with it haha.
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It's rough certainly but not terrible. I just recently figured out how to juggle an enemy in the air with Asahi.

Reiji has a sonic thrust like move that auto targets and lunges across the screen.

Asahi just learned flame wheel or something which is kinda like Lloyd's tempest attack from tales of Symphonia.


The really surprising thing is the sheer amount of voice work in it. I honestly don't think I've played anything close. Even tales of games.
 
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It's rough certainly but not terrible. I just recently figured out how to juggle an enemy in the air with Asahi.

Reiji has a sonic thrust like move that auto targets and lunges across the screen.

Asahi just learned flame wheel or something which is kinda like Lloyd's tempest attack from tales of Symphonia.

I didn't get very far in the Vita version myself, but I don't remember too many things other than bad gameplay in my like 5-6 hours with it haha.

The really surprising thing is the sheer amount of voice work in it. I honestly don't think I've played anything close. Even tales of games like bdmbet-de It's cool
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Asahi's fire wheel is reminiscent of classic techniques from other JRPGs
 
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Anime update... just random, I know... I finished The Demon Girl Next Door and moved on to Maid-Sama! because it aired and my dvr was able to record the whole thing. Overall it's decent. I was a bit thrown at first because the voice actor for the main female character in both The Demon Girl Next Door & Maid-Sama! is Monica Rial and she plays them both the same when the characters are excited/angry. So very dejavu feeling. I probably wouldn't have noticed as much if I had seen something else in between. There's a couple other series airing soon that I have set to record. Flower and Asura is one of them... another is Non Non Biyori along with the Summer movie. Figure, I'll give both a try.
 
This seems like a pointless release. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Daima Edition PS5/Switch $49.99. Base game with Daima voucher, doesn't even include season 1 and 2. The cover art also looks pretty bad.
 
scorponok said:
This seems like a pointless release. Dragon Ball Z Kakarot Daima Edition PS5/Switch $49.99. Base game with Daima voucher, doesn't even include season 1 and 2. The cover art also looks pretty bad.
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I mean if you only care about Daima content, it's not so bad. From their perspective, putting out physical copies is an easy way to get some mindshare and take advantage of the new show along with Sparking Zero.

That said, I find it very disappointing that they couldn't wait for it to all be on the disc/cartridge
 
I finished XCDE and XCDE:FC. Pretty good. I really enjoyed the combat system and the general vibe of the game. Music is top tier. Voice acting was okay; the shift in tamber of Melia's voice in XCDE:FC due to ten years difference on the actress' part was a bummer, but at least they got her back instead of a stand in.

Definitely recommended, but I didn't feel compelled to go hunt down all the big angry monsters afterwards.
 
TheKbob said:
I finished XCDE and XCDE:FC. Pretty good. I really enjoyed the combat system and the general vibe of the game. Music is top tier. Voice acting was okay; the shift in tamber of Melia's voice in XCDE:FC due to ten years difference on the actress' part was a bummer, but at least they got her back instead of a stand in.

Definitely recommended, but I didn't feel compelled to go hunt down all the big angry monsters afterwards.
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Yeah, I was pretty satisfied after 8-10 hrs or so with FC. As I pointed out previously, this series is a master class in building in the previous entries for future installments.

Just hit 75hrs in XC3 and can't put it down. I might actually fulfill the Howlongtobeat.com par of ~250 hrs for full completion on this one. Voice acting as with previous entries is exceptional and so many ear worm tubes I can't stop humming during the work day.

Future Redeemed is next and then XCX if I can ever wrap up XC3 😉
 
Think I'm hard passing at Atelier Yumia at release. $69.99 + tax and the early reviews look okay, but the battle system looks kind of generic, and open world....eh....I'll just wait. I'm behind on this series anyway. Likely Xenoblade Chronicles X (and Suikoden 1/2 which I already got), will be my RPG gets of the month. Honestly I'm likely just passing on a lot this year. I think only MADO MONOGATARI is really on my list, as I'm a dungeon crawling RPG junkie. I do believe I got the last two Atelier games for $30 and I think it's going to be similar for this one.
 
nitrosmob said:
Think I'm hard passing at Atelier Yumia at release. $69.99 + tax and the early reviews look okay, but the battle system looks kind of generic, and open world....eh....I'll just wait. I'm behind on this series anyway. Likely Xenoblade Chronicles X (and Suikoden 1/2 which I already got), will be my RPG gets of the month. Honestly I'm likely just passing on a lot this year. I think only MADO MONOGATARI is really on my list, as I'm a dungeon crawling RPG junkie. I do believe I got the last two Atelier games for $30 and I think it's going to be similar for this one.
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Don't lie.. it's because Yumia isn't as thicc as Ryza.
 
I had a copy of Yuma preordered at Target with some discount, but I canceled after the reviews came out yesterday. Not a fan that they are going to action based combat. I know most prefer that type of combat, but I am just not good at it.

Maybe I’ll try it down the line if it gets deeply discounted. But I’ve actually been spending little so far this year and just going through backlog.
 
Vinny said:
Don't lie.. it's because Yumia isn't as thicc as Ryza.
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i-said-hey-he-man.gif
 
Thicc thighs do save lives, so you may be onto something. All I know is $69.99 + tax will keep me from getting MANY games on release. For me Xenoblade Chronicles X serves the same purpose for now (large open world action RPG). I'm mainly working to pay off some loan debt and am almost done putting more towards it every month. Koei Tecmo games always drop in price too. Just be careful to watch the stock once it goes to around $40, as it may not drop as low as the games did before because of nicheness.
 
nitrosmob said:
Thicc thighs do save lives, so you may be onto something. All I know is $69.99 + tax will keep me from getting MANY games on release. For me Xenoblade Chronicles X serves the same purpose for now (large open world action RPG). I'm mainly working to pay off some loan debt and am almost done putting more towards it every month. Koei Tecmo games always drop in price too. Just be careful to watch the stock once it goes to around $40, as it may not drop as low as the games did before because of nicheness.
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Plus it depends on game and platform whether it gets reprints or not. They presumably throw darts on what does or doesn't.
 
I'm also less concerned about picking up K-T releases these days because VGP seems to do a pretty good job of reprinting them when the prices get crazy. It might not be cheaper, but there's no risk of "if I don't buy this now it'll be $200 secondhand" like there used to be.
 
Final Fantasy XII released 19 years ago today. What a coincidence I have been currently playing the PS4 version, about 30 hours in. Still a fun game.

Speaking of Koei Tecmo, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty PS5 has been getting harder to find for me. I had to resort to searching on ebay. Was able to get a new copy for $35 shipped a couple days ago.
 
It's too bad the one price tracker site i used to use no longer exists. as there's listing's you can't normally find on the search pages for whatever reason on any site (Amazon, ebay etc) that would show up in its database. Occasionally if you followed a seller and or checked their pages the items will show up there typically. But not always. I used to find a number of niche stuff from the same sellers during the heydays before prices jumped on older stuff. including like gu vol 2 and 3, shadow hearts 2 and 3 and fire emblem por and radiant dawn. All priced below the normal going rate to move. I never understood why the sites are as gorked as they are.
 
I played and finished the Atelier Yumia demo on PS5 for around 2 hours long but can be longer if you really explore. The gist of this one is that in a decayed world cause by alchemy at one time, now Alchemists are hated and Yumia is one of the last ones. She is sad and has low self esteem but wants to help anyway she can with her alchemy. We've seen this story a zillion times now where someone is hated or looked down on, and then they become strong and help the others around them and then they'll love them by the end of the story. I'm sure my party will eventually get other misfits like that. The graphics are just okay with decent character models, okay enough scenery and some other just okay stuff. The music is pretty solid though nothing stands out for what I played. The animations are good as well.

Now the battle system just sucks IMHO. Pretty much it feels like Genshin Impact with some buttons you can push to do skills and then they'll be on countdown and when that happens you can switch characters or wait there like an idiot. Mashing to the extreme and you dodge when you see the opponent turn red or a red area appears for their attack. It's really basic honestly and gets quite repetitive very quickly. Also the alchemy just kind of blows. I'm way behind with my last played Atelier game being Escha & Logy I believe and I don't remember alchemy being so uncreative and boring feeling. You pretty much have basic stuff you can make on the field which are just items, and a crafting table for just stuff. Then we have are other alchemy crafting which you choose a core and then just start filling nodes with items. It's really boring and not exciting at all. I just mainly just use the complete the recipe with either best quality or highest effect. It just doesn't feel that awesome. Most of the game is just exploring and getting items, fighting some enemies, looking for question marks on the map and seeing what they are (very open world feeling not too exciting). There is a main quest which generally is exploring and synthesizing stuff for your main quest. There is also minor base building but I don't think it affects much of anything maybe just a few side quests.

I'm way behind of Atelier games, but I just find the story not that interesting, the exploring okay, the synthesizing not interesting and the battle system really not interesting. This is junk food the RPG, and if I really want this type of game I'll play another in the series. I just remember the synthesizing feeling better, but I've heard in the last few games and this one as well that it's dumbed down, and it felt dumb. I'll probably still get it someday, but it's a heavy sale around $30 game for me. 6.5/10
 
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1900871364283953362

Good for Square. The awards acknowledgement for this game has been criminal from the start.

Plus it sends all the wrong messages. We got a AAA level video game from a AA publisher, well worth its weight in salt, they put a ton of work into boatloads of exploration and content, and it went incredibly underappreciated. Perhaps the combat was not best-in-class but it was good and the technical achievement of most everything else was top notch. FF7 Rebirth deserved far more recognition and accolades than it received. Most of all, I'm disappointed in sales and with PS blowing their exclusivity and marketing ability.
 
Yumias system sounds like ryzas. It definitely is a weird system. Usually it will either require specific items for a node or possibly multiple of an item type/certain quality. I don't hate it but I don't really like it compared to the other entries I played systems.
 
Nothing- said:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1900871364283953362

Good for Square. The awards acknowledgement for this game has been criminal from the start.

Plus it sends all the wrong messages. We got a AAA level video game from a AA publisher, well worth its weight in salt, they put a ton of work into boatloads of exploration and content, and it went incredibly underappreciated. Perhaps the combat was not best-in-class but it was good and the technical achievement of most everything else was top notch. FF7 Rebirth deserved far more recognition and accolades than it received. Most of all, I'm disappointed in sales and with PS blowing their exclusivity and marketing ability.
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I didn't realize people didn't like the combat in this game..? I know it's not traditional turn-based combat but I enjoyed it quite a bit. In any case, it is sad that the game didn't do as well as it should have... and I really agree, the marketing for this game didn't help but at the same time, feel like it had to be in a tough spot: it's a sequel + it's on a system with a smaller install base.
 
Went ahead and ordered a copy of Bakeru from Best Buy this morning. I enjoyed the demo and want to play the whole game. Seems like not much of a commitment. It's starting to sell out. Already gone from Walmart, Target, Gamestop, and even Gamefly sold out of new copies. Right now it's just BB & Amazon left. Not that it can't get a restock or that used copies won't pop up on gamefly eventually, but with buying so little and knowing I want this... I'm too old to just wait and hope just to save $5 or $10.

For the year that puts me to $231.44 including Xenoblade Chronicles X later this week. Daybreak 2, XCX, Bakeru, Zelda:Echoes, and Wii Fit U w/Fit Meter. I needed a ballance board to setup the fit meter, and I borrowed one from my brother. Probably setting that up this week and will start wearing that to see if the fit meter makes me more interested in moving around.

Also, went ahead and set the Yumia demo to download to the switch (it dropped yesterday) and will probably give it a try. I lean more action rpg and I've not played any of the Atelier games except dabbling with the japanese release of Atelier Marie & Elie on Dreamcast which was a cheap import from liksang back in the day. SO, pretty much no experience with the series since I don't know Japanese. 🤣

Anime update: Finished Maid Sama! ... it was ok, but not really remarkable. Probably not going to bother with the manga that helps finish the story. Started Non Non Biyori and that has to be the most calming and pure slice of life anime ever. The production quality is exceptional. Decided to give Bloom into You a try (yes I knew in advance the plot) since it's just 13 episodes. Overall, it's kind of interesting from the perspective of one person having feelings and the other not having an instant reaction. It lives up to that title. I DVR'd the first seven episodes of Flower and Asura which aired free. Kind of a smart decision for HIdive to put a current new show on the free channel. Episode 11 will be available this week on hidive (the service) which makes it more tempting to subscribe, vs these older complete series where there's nothing new. Not going to start Flower and Asura until I've finished Bloom into You.
 
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I do think of Bakeru for sure. I liked it for the most part, and I was enjoying gathering the collectibles. I think my least favorite part was the fighting, but everything else was pretty solid. I may need to get it as well.
 
I'm currently playing through Bakeru. It's a fun throwback. The environments are on the too large side, and it's simple all around (I mostly forget about the transformations unless I need to use them), but enjoyable.
 
If it were $60, I'd probably have waited for a digital deal on Bakeru or held out for used at Gamefly... but $39.99 + tax... it's not too hard a decision for me. I never really stopped thinking about that game after playing the demo. Especially with how little I'm buying and nothing else on my immediate horizon after XCX. Later this year, sure, there's that remake of Trails in the Sky First... and Switch 2 at some point most likely... maybe DQ I & II 2DHD this year?... probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. But nothing with firm dates after Thursday's XCX release.
 
Yeah, same for me. I played the demo and kept thinking about it. It's so colorful and jolly. Best Buy had given my sister's account a $10 cert, so I used it to preorder the game.

I'm looking forward to XCX, having never opened my WiiU copy and selling it after the Switch version was announced, but I'm currently, slowly, going through Infinite Wealth and I don't feel like jumping into another RPG afterwards.
 
On my upcoming game horizon are XCX, DOA Venus Vacation Prism (I like dating simulations), Trails Remake, 100 day whatever (Danganronpa developer game), Lunar 1/2 (some of my favorite games), a number of otome (3 from akysys at least and one Idea Factory one), Rune Factory - Guardian of Azuma (love my farming games), and possibly some Compile Heart games (Mado Monogatari for sure). I'm sure other stuff will come up, but these are what I'm thinking of currently. Not crazy exciting honestly, but some good stuff here.
 
My upcoming list is:
Death End re;Quest Code Z, Atelier Yumia (waiting for a sale though), DOA Venus Vacation Prism, and while not a niche Japanese game I'm also looking forward to the turn based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
I wonder if that Tactics R-Type I II Cosmos game will actually come out this year, too.
 
Does anyone know what's going on with NIS America? They haven't announced new titles in quite a while and other that one distribution title where they are selling a CE and one very long delayed release that is still on the calendar, it seems like they have nothing in the pipeline.
 
I'm guessing they're working on the next Trails game, but other than that I'm not sure. They sure haven't announced much third party stuff for sure.
 
The localization of the next Trails game, Kai no Kiseki, is definitely in the works right now. Not at all happy that it's the same team who were responsible for Daybreak I-II. But I can confirm it's a current project.
 
nightc1 said:
Went ahead and ordered a copy of Bakeru from Best Buy this morning. I enjoyed the demo and want to play the whole game. Seems like not much of a commitment. It's starting to sell out. Already gone from Walmart, Target, Gamestop, and even Gamefly sold out of new copies. Right now it's just BB & Amazon left. Not that it can't get a restock or that used copies won't pop up on gamefly eventually, but with buying so little and knowing I want this... I'm too old to just wait and hope just to save $5 or $10.

For the year that puts me to $231.44 including Xenoblade Chronicles X later this week. Daybreak 2, XCX, Bakeru, Zelda:Echoes, and Wii Fit U w/Fit Meter. I needed a ballance board to setup the fit meter, and I borrowed one from my brother. Probably setting that up this week and will start wearing that to see if the fit meter makes me more interested in moving around.

Also, went ahead and set the Yumia demo to download to the switch (it dropped yesterday) and will probably give it a try. I lean more action rpg and I've not played any of the Atelier games except dabbling with the japanese release of Atelier Marie & Elie on Dreamcast which was a cheap import from liksang back in the day. SO, pretty much no experience with the series since I don't know Japanese. 🤣

Anime update: Finished Maid Sama! ... it was ok, but not really remarkable. Probably not going to bother with the manga that helps finish the story. Started Non Non Biyori and that has to be the most calming and pure slice of life anime ever. The production quality is exceptional. Decided to give Bloom into You a try (yes I knew in advance the plot) since it's just 13 episodes. Overall, it's kind of interesting from the perspective of one person having feelings and the other not having an instant reaction. It lives up to that title. I DVR'd the first seven episodes of Flower and Asura which aired free. Kind of a smart decision for HIdive to put a current new show on the free channel. Episode 11 will be available this week on hidive (the service) which makes it more tempting to subscribe, vs these older complete series where there's nothing new. Not going to start Flower and Asura until I've finished Bloom into You.
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Atelier wise the others are all turn based to my knowledge outside of ryza (aka thyza) which is more atb ish. The older games are more complex due to time limits and alchemy item creation systems. The later ones like ryza simplified it and completely removed the time limit.
 
bojay1997 said:
Does anyone know what's going on with NIS America? They haven't announced new titles in quite a while and other that one distribution title where they are selling a CE and one very long delayed release that is still on the calendar, it seems like they have nothing in the pipeline.
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They're working on ways to make their CEs shittier.
 
I think it is a bad sign when NISA America of all people is slowing down with their release. I guess they still got Ys X Proud Nordics at some point.
 
I feel like for NISA might just be in a pinch point with new games to localize. I looked through the list of FuRyu games that haven't been ported over and i'm not sure they have the rights to any of the more well known ones that are left. Plus I don't how well these even sale. I felt like the only one here willing to figure out Reynatis and was actually happy to grab a copy. NIS wise, maybe Xicatrice and Bar Stella Abyss? They haven't been announced yet with english translations. We already know about R-Type Tactics, Ys X Proud Nordics, and LoH Kai no Kiseki. They released Phatom Brave The Lost Hero and Trails Through Daybreak II already this year. So tha's five for the year (though I get it if Proud Nordics doesn't count and RType isn't believable yet). There's also the premium box version of Atelier Yumia even though that's KT. They could be watiing 15 days for the Switch 2 Direct to reveal whatever they are doing there. That direct is almost here!

Thinking outside the box a bit, I'm not sure who has the publishing for the new Tokyo Xanadu sequel. That might be Marvelous/XSeed. Which realy is also part of the problem... there's a lot of competition and not all of these games are going get serious sales. I kind of wish they'd partner up with Level-5 since Level-5 seems to be going digital only for their releases. I'd imagine though that it's all risk/reward. It's not enough to just publish games, people have buy them.
 
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