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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Damn, $60..? Was hoping this would be a $40, or $50 tops. Is this VGP exclusive or will other retailers have it?

It's also hard to commit when there's no guarantee if 2nd or 3rd will get modern, physical release. I completely passed on SC because it was digital only in NA.
 
Trails in the Sky 1st... that's coming to other retailers too right? As long as Best Buy gets it, I'll preorder it there when the time comes.

nitrosmob said:
I might take a chance on Reyvantis.
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The only thing with Reynatis, just be patient during the training bits early in the game and really lock down how to do the different moves. Don't skip past something you fail at, just keep trying as it takes a bit of work (did for me anyway) to lock in on some of the trickier techniques. I think there's one that had to do with dodging and collecting energy that took me a lot of retries to get. Beyond that, there's a lot to like here. Especially if you enjoy Tokyo and action rpgs. The TWEWY crossover is a nice small bonus. It's cool that actually became a thing.
 
I know that I've read that Sky the 1st physical standard will be available on Amazon. Not sure about bby. But definitely not vgp exclusive. Vgp probably decided to get a jump on preorders.

There will be a physical LE as well that's being done by lrg. I have fomo about that one.

Edit: Here's the publisher announcement
www.gunghoonline.com

Adventure Awaits as Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter Launches on Modern Consoles in Fall 2025!

The first entry of the Trails series gets a remake for modern consoles, including a Collector's Edition
www.gunghoonline.com www.gunghoonline.com
 
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gospelman said:
I know that I've read that Sky the 1st physical standard will be available on Amazon. Not sure about bby. But definitely not vgp exclusive. Vgp probably decided to get a jump on preorders.
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IF it's VGP or Amazon, I'll probably just go VGP and save a few bucks on tax. We'll see what happens. There's still time. I don't typically care about CE's... just standard releases.

I did like in that press release it had:

"About Nihon Falcom
Nihon Falcom is a game developer founded in 1981 that has created many titles for consumer game platforms and boasts an extremely enthusiastic fanbase worldwide. Notable titles include the Ys series, the Trails series, and Tokyo Xanadu. "

I know we have another TX game coming... but it's still cool to see Tokyo Xanadu listed along side Ys and Trails. I look forward to that being "Tokyo Xanadu Series".
 
sf2-remastered.jpg



Saga Frontier 2 remastered launches on Nintendo Switch later today.


raidou-remastered-the-mystery-of-the-soulless-army-switch-debuts.webp


Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army will come to the Nintendo Switch on June 19 as Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army.
 
I will wait for a likely physical Asian-English release for Saga Frontier 2. I remember that one being good with an actual story. I wont make the same mistake and buy too early like I did for the last Saga game. DQ 1/2 HD2D this year is nice too and glad I wont have to mess with those DQ earlier 1-3 releases ever again.
 
Interesting to see that Bandai-Namco is republishing old Japan Studios PlayStation games cross-platform. Everybody's Golf, Patapon, and Freedom Wars so far. They really will do anything other than re-release the old Tales games, huh?
 
Tothoro said:
Interesting to see that Bandai-Namco is republishing old Japan Studios PlayStation games cross-platform. Everybody's Golf, Patapon, and Freedom Wars so far. They really will do anything other than re-release the old Tales games, huh?
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I still can't believe they finally did vesperia jpn ps3 content after spending close to a decade saying they'd never bring it over. And lo and behold it's one of the best selling titles in the series.
 
Found Xenoblade Chronicles X for $30 at my local Costco. Probably super YMMV but worth keeping an eye out for if you’re there grabbing groceries. It was locked behind one of the glass boxes in the tech section.
 

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shadowysea07 said:
I still can't believe they finally did vesperia jpn ps3 content after spending close to a decade saying they'd never bring it over. And lo and behold it's one of the best selling titles in the series.
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It's incredibly ironic too because they explicitly said they wouldn't do that one and it remains the only newly-localized Tales content from the past decade.
 
Tothoro said:
It's incredibly ironic too because they explicitly said they wouldn't do that one and it remains the only newly-localized Tales content from the past decade.
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Yeah people still use their comment as a meme occasionally.

The sadder part is how good symphonias crappy ports sold. As they will definitely try to get away with mediocre ports like that if people will let them.

Speaking of ports i wonder how good the recent graces port did given the original sales were among the worst in the series.
 
So, from the Nintendo Direct... I'm kind of hyped to see Hot Shots Golf make it's way to switch. Radiou Remastered looked pretty good. I never played the original. I do like action rpgs more than turn based at times (not that I dislike turnbased). There's already a preorder option for Radiou and DQ I&II on Bestbuy. I'm going to hold off a bit. So far nothing for domestic Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots... but that might be one I legit want digital. Like, it's the kind of game I would want always with me if it turns out good.

The whole digital card sharing thing seems pretty decent, though it seems to require being on the same network to lend stuff... not a problem for me and my kids. It sure beats them just playing under my profile on their system with clouds saves turned off. Still, I'll mostly keep buying physical.

Five days until the Switch 2 direct.
 
gospelman said:
Yeah, that's Kai no Kiseki

Preorders live
store.nisamerica.com

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon

The people of Zemuria await the launch of humanity’s first foray into space with bated breath. Will it usher in a new age, or signal the end of the world as we know it?
store.nisamerica.com store.nisamerica.com

Acrylic stand garbage in the LE but at least there's a steelbook and a (slim) hardcover art book.
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Asks Black Friday GIF
 
Yeesh... can't keep track of all these "re" releases, feels like they're just doing more and more of them these days.

I love how Frontier 2 looks but never cared for the PS1 games so this is prob on my pass list unless it hits $20 or something.
 
gospelman said:
Yeah, that's Kai no Kiseki

Preorders live
store.nisamerica.com

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon

The people of Zemuria await the launch of humanity’s first foray into space with bated breath. Will it usher in a new age, or signal the end of the world as we know it?
store.nisamerica.com store.nisamerica.com

Acrylic stand garbage in the LE but at least there's a steelbook and a (slim) hardcover art book.
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It's least there's a matching box for the series lineup.

and not a $100 bullshit CE done by LRG and being sold for $170+
 
Everything I've bought from Woot including my PS5 Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus Lucid-Noir shipped in bubble mailers so good freakin' luck. I'm lucky my box only had a slight dent on a corner since the box is super thin cardboard, but don't expect anything other than bubble mailers.
 
The $15 off $100 works on multiple orders. I put in two different orders and got the discount, so after tax both orders were about $91:

1) Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Atari 50th Expanded Edition steelbook, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger Collection and two bags of Skittles (cheaper than in stores)

2) Metaphor Re-Fantazio, Y's Memoire - Refined Edition, A Plague Collection, box of 100 paper clips (the tellers at the bank always keep mine when I deposit via the drive thru)
 
nitrosmob said:
Everything I've bought from Woot including my PS5 Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus Lucid-Noir shipped in bubble mailers so good freakin' luck. I'm lucky my box only had a slight dent on a corner since the box is super thin cardboard, but don't expect anything other than bubble mailers.
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Oddly everything I ordered from them has shipped in a box. My 3 games in my last order was even rubber banded together. But it's been a few months iirc since I last ordered something gaming wise. Whenever the last 20% off was.

Ah my last game order was July of last year. P5t eternights and fate samurai remnant
 
Some bigger name visual novels have just released.

First of all Nekonyan has released Love, Elections, and Chocolate with a 21% launch discount on Steam and other places like JAST USA. This is highly regarded, and one I've fully completed myself. I think it is pretty high quality in art and decent enough characters, but there is a boat load of drama. There is love too as well. I don't remember much about the story anymore since it was years ago, so I may get this again someday and read it again.

Steam
Steam 18+ Patch (NSFW)
JAST USA (NSFW)
VNDB (NSFW)

Mangagamer have released the Rance 3 -The Fall of Leazas-, which is a remake of Rance 3. I'm way behind on this series, but it doesn't make me happy to know Mangagamer have pre-order discounts but not launch day/week discounts. I will likely pick this up once I catch up more with the series. There are some Alicesoft games including Rance 1/2 on sale on Mangagamer, and it's generally best to play this series in order, although Sengoku Rance can be played just about anywhere.

Mangagamer (NSFW)
VNDB (NSFW)

Idea Factory International is releasing Battlefield Waltz on April 10th. Physical copies are available, and it seems to have nice art. I do always like high quality otome games.
VNDB (NSFW)

PQube is releasing Bustafellows Season 2 on July 17, 2025. This has a standard physical edition available.

Amazon
VNDB (NSFW)

A new company kawaiinium, which is a Frontier Works company, released Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity on PC and Switch (eventually). There may or may not be an 18+ patch coming for the PC release, but I would guess no at the moment. This is a pretty old and pretty highly regarded visual novel. This has been remastered. Their is a 15% launch discount as well. This one is quite a bit more expensive than visual novels usually are digitally, so I may pass for the moment on it.

Steam
VNDB (NSFW)
 
HaloGX said:
The $15 off $100 works on multiple orders. I put in two different orders and got the discount, so after tax both orders were about $91:

1) Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Atari 50th Expanded Edition steelbook, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger Collection and two bags of Skittles (cheaper than in stores)

2) Metaphor Re-Fantazio, Y's Memoire - Refined Edition, A Plague Collection, box of 100 paper clips (the tellers at the bank always keep mine when I deposit via the drive thru)
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Awesome... thanks for the tip! I put in an order this AM but might put in another one.
 
scorponok said:
A few days ago, I ordered Fairy Tail 2 and Reynatis from woot and I didn't even get a bubble mailer, they shipped them in a paper mailer.
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Paper mailers are getting more and more common from Amazon. Feel like that's the Woot gamble, I assume my items will arrive with cosmetic wear of some kind. My order from week ago was for 4 games, all 4 were shipped in bubble mailers but 3 of the games had partially ripped shrinkwrap.
 
nitrosmob said:
Everything I've bought from Woot including my PS5 Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus Lucid-Noir shipped in bubble mailers so good freakin' luck.
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Yeah I also had major problems with that rain code+ edition. That thin paper outer box is easily damaged. The first one I received was slightly damaged. The email rep told me a replacement would be sent with "a return label in the box." They sent the replacement in one of those thin gray plastic bags, not even bubble padding. It arrived crushed and contained no shipping label.

I think the best odds to get an actual box is to order multiple large items in the same order.
 
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It's okay, I'll take the much discounted shipping + charges than the expensive MSRP or boutique ordering. It's okay to get dinged corners when you're buying things at like 40% of menu price. I love Woot for the service it offers. 🤑

It's one or the other. We don't get it both ways. If we want special packaging treatment and attention then we can order from a premium boutique or Ebay seller and pay for the shipping and handling. There are plenty of services willing to accommodate that.
 
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I’ve gotten things from woot with unexplainable water damage, weird sticky goo, huge gouges out the side. Unrelated to Amazon using it as their shipping training dept and F team (since regular Amazon shipping is C team at best). Most stuff is fine, but I’ve gotten enough with issues beyond the bad packaging, to suspect Amazon is using it to sell some returns. Wouldn’t be that much a stretch from selling mixed region fake games, which we already know they do. I’ve said it before, but that’s my reasoning. Just be aware of that. Blasphemous 2 CE is a crazy good deal with this promo. If you like Metroidvania‘s, it’s one of the best, and it’s a quality CE even at regular price.
 
Vinny said:
Paper mailers are getting more and more common from Amazon. Feel like that's the Woot gamble, I assume my items will arrive with cosmetic wear of some kind. My order from week ago was for 4 games, all 4 were shipped in bubble mailers but 3 of the games had partially ripped shrinkwrap.
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I believe I learned a ‘trick’ a while back to force amazon to ship on a box. Purchase batteries with any other item. I ordered a PS5 game and a car fob remote battery as two separate orders. Game was sold and shipped by amazon. Battery was sold by third party and shipped with amazon. They bother arrived together in a box.

Since a battery is considered flammable I’m not 100% sure they can ship them in a mailer. Both came in a box with the flammable stickers on it.
 
Xenogears said:
I’ve gotten things from woot with unexplainable water damage, weird sticky goo, huge gouges out the side. Unrelated to Amazon using it as their shipping training dept and F team (since regular Amazon shipping is C team at best). Most stuff is fine, but I’ve gotten enough with issues beyond the bad packaging, to suspect Amazon is using it to sell some returns. Wouldn’t be that much a stretch from selling mixed region fake games, which we already know they do. I’ve said it before, but that’s my reasoning. Just be aware of that. Blasphemous 2 CE is a crazy good deal with this promo. If you like Metroidvania‘s, it’s one of the best, and it’s a quality CE even at regular price.
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I understand folks being annoyed when they get a non-ESRB game -- though if Woot discloses on the item page that it's a possibility, then the buyer accepts the risk.

As for "fake games," confused by what you're saying there. Non-ESRB games aren't fake just because they're from a different region. PAL and Asia releases, among others, are all genuine releases. Frankly, I hate the ESRB and like having games from other regions in my collection.

There are also plenty of games that never get stateside physical releases, or in other cases, the other region releases are complete on disc whereas the stateside release is missing content or episodes.
 
I decided not to participate in the woot sale yesterday. Everything I was interested in are boxed and I don't want them damaged. However, I did pick up Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream PS5 for $16.99. I have never seen the anime, but I keep buying the games. I have 4 and I haven't played any of them, hopefully I like them.
 
Mattiful-Joe said:
I understand folks being annoyed when they get a non-ESRB game -- though if Woot discloses on the item page that it's a possibility, then the buyer accepts the risk.

As for "fake games," confused by what you're saying there. Non-ESRB games aren't fake just because they're from a different region. PAL and Asia releases, among others, are all genuine releases. Frankly, I hate the ESRB and like having games from other regions in my collection.

There are also plenty of games that never get stateside physical releases, or in other cases, the other region releases are complete on disc whereas the stateside release is missing content or episodes.
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Have you missed the last few months of never ending debate on this topic? My comment was just a joking reference to that. We know woot sells mixed region games, but even if disclosed most of the time, that is still unusual.
 
Now Amazon more than likely does have fakes intermingled with the inventory. Especially on older Nintendo stuff like pokemon and fire emblem.
 
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