Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

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Welcome to the Japanese niche games deals and discussion thread!  Feel free to talk about local and import Japanese games here.  Our goal is to maintain a thread dedicated to active deals on niche games including RPGs, Visual Novels (VN), Shoot'em ups (Shmups), Musou, etc.  Also maintained are pre-orders for standard, limited and collector's edition games with key release dates provided.

I've wikified the thread to make it more friendly and open to others that can actively update with important information. You can find the wiki post directly below this one.

NOTE:  Please, leave the censorship discussion away from this thread.  It's common for japanese games to have questionable content outside of the country.  We want to keep discussions to the game itself and not about cultural/societal tolerance.

A message from Thorbahn:

Our CAG Japanese Niche Games Thread also has a community on PS4, where you can interact and game with other members of the thread.

Our moderators are: Draekon, Las_Hole, and Waffleswanton

You can basically friend any of our members, or any moderator, and you will be able to request to join the community under "Communities friends are in" tab, and a mod will approve your request.

You can also leave your PSN ID in the thread, saying you want to join, and we can invite you directly as well.

As always, have fun and enjoy your stay!

 
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A little disappointed my question post from Saturday only received three replies. Oh well. [customspoiler='I tried.']
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Anyways, one of the games from my list, A Hat in Time, has finally received a release date for PS4 & Xbox One. It releases next week, December 6th and I definitely recommend checking it out as I had a lot of fun with it. The launch price will likely be the same as it was on PC, which was $30. The game itself will run you about 10 hours collecting all time pieces. Soundtrack is pretty decent as well.

[customspoiler='Accolades Trailer']
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um_3_cmnSmg[/customspoiler]

[customspoiler='Original Console Announcement Trailer']
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIDakHOJGk8[/customspoiler]

No plans for a physical release as that was only offered to kickstarter backers as a tier reward. So I wouldn't count on an LRG release happening, but it's not impossible. More likely if they ever decide to release on the Switch down the road I'd wager.

EDIT: Unrelated, Koei Tecmo finally adds in HD 2D Assets to Atelier Sophie on PC. Before and After. Unfortunately though they're not vector/4K assets, so they still have to upscale to any resolution beyond 1920x1080.

 
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Draekon said:
A little disappointed my question post from Saturday only received three replies. Oh well. [customspoiler='I tried.']
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[/customspoiler]

Also a random premium theme from a couple weeks ago that I came across which probably interests this thread.
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Now you know how I feel when I make a post about the PSN community, or try to set up some game sessions.

Also, never seen that theme before, looks nice! Wish I would've noticed it when they had the 20% coupon since I have all the other SK premium themes, but it might have come out after that.

 
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BlackRockWaifu said:
Now you know how I feel when I make a post about the PSN community, or try to set up some game sessions.
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You forget that I've tried that too. You're probably not going to get anywhere most of the time by asking. Just setup a predetermined time a week or two ahead of the actual date. Post it in here and create a calendar event in the PSN community and then post it there for people to sign up directly to the event.

There's always a chance nobody may not show up, but sometimes action is better than sitting around waiting.

 
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I don't think I've played much non-mainstream games this year, so I couldn't add anything. Horizon, Persona, Nier, and Tekken took most of my first half of the year. Maybe these qualify?

Dragon Quest Builders

I think I already posted a blurb about it. I thought I would want to finish the game and then craft cool creations afterwards, but I got my fill from the campaign and have no desires to go back. It's not that it's bad, but it can end up being grindy if you want specific materials.

And chapter 3 (of 4) was really long and annoying. Chapter 4 redeemed itself, but it still left a little bitter taste in your mouth.

FF12:Zodiac Age

About as boring as I remembered it. Setup gambits, fall asleep because you don't have to do anything.

I actually stopped roughly where I stopped when I first played it on PS2. I really should go back to it.

Earth Defense Force 4.1

This game is so stupid, it's good. Played almost all couch co-op, because it's pretty hard to solo not using a Wing Diver on harder difficulties. Soldiers move so slow and get swarmed, vehicle callers are weak af, and I guess I didn't play the shield tanks much.

Horribly optimized though, so shooting down buildings will lag everything to like single frame rates. Sucks when you want to use rocket launchers because you're a soldier and have to kill things before they swarm you.

Waiting for the next entry for sure.

Yakuza Kiwami

Playing this after Sleeping Dogs makes it a little difficult. It also has the clunky controls a lot of Japanese games have.

Etrian Odyssey V

Probably the last mainline, and I've already complained about it before. It feels like they made changes to push people to buy the XP DLC. Things are much more grindy than previous if you want to level someone back up after retirement or try a new class.

I think I'd rank this one last on my mainline EO games. It'd probably be like 2 > 3 > 1 >> 4 > 5.

Layton MJ

Just got this because it was on sale on Android. The second puzzle already pissed me off with the worst wording ever. How many times do you have to touch the clock? fuck you, make real puzzles like the first game.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Free to play, extremely extremely grindy once you hit about level 20. Fun for a couple of days.

VA11 HALL-A (not JP)

I played about half on PC, but decided to wait to get trophies. It's a great experience. Almost no game play, so it's like a quirky visual novel with likeable and interesting characters that you're not trying to bed.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (not JP)

I see the appeal, but I don't like 99% of platformers.

Nex Machina (not JP)

I really want to like this one, but the arcade and rushed feel makes me not like it as much.

I should go back and play Alien Nation, since I liked Dead Nation a lot (all the same people).

Splatoon 2

No one's heard of this one, so I'll just not write anything.

But I hate that you need motion controls to be really effective at it. And there's a latency issue with wireless joy cons, which makes you have to use it handheld, or a pro controller.

 
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Draekon said:
A little disappointed my question post from Saturday only received three replies. Oh well. [customspoiler='I tried.']
b90e5ec33f50d5582159fdcbd45e1692b8e678ee_hq.gif
[/customspoiler]
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i think since this is a niche thread a lot of games are well known to us rather than not which makes naming anything without recognition tough.

I had the most fun playing Yakuza kiwami, Dragon Quest Builders, Earth Defense force 4.1 & 2 [vita], Danganronpa 2, & Gravity Rush remastered this year. All Amazing games.
 
vic_x51 said:
i think since this is a niche thread a lot of games are well known to us rather than not which makes naming anything without recognition tough.
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The idea behind my post was to help introduce some lesser known games to other people in the thread since people tend to mostly play the main stream stuff as a given. I was probably expecting around six to eight posts and hopefully get some lesser known games thrown in that people liked. I'm personally aware of plenty, but have to prioritize what I buy and play. Then there are played on a whim like A Hat in Time. Though I can't remember them all or play more than a fraction of them, so it would also help me take a second look at games I've passed over initially.

 
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VOEZ was probably the most niche thing I played through this year as it's been pretty full of heavy-hitters otherwise.

I find it uncomfortable to play, but I did really enjoy it. A future physical release in other regions is adding controller support. I'm curious about that.

 
JCAll said:
Some days I feel like I must be going blind, because I can't tell the difference anymore. Animation quality has started meaning more to me than how high you can pump the resolution before you notice the flaws.
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Well 1920x1080 is standard 1080p resolution on console. Prior to the patch, all the 2D assets (UI, logos, text, other static images) were upscaled from the Vita asset resolution of 720p that the game had if you used 1080p. This made all those assets blurry, which was rather annoying and something that shouldn't have happened. How you can get a game with proper textures from the PS4 version but then somehow import the Vita static assets is beyond me.

Also most PC players sit closer to the screen typically than console players so. So blur is typically much more noticeable. Plus with Atelier being a much more menu heavy game thanks to Alchemy, you see it everywhere. It's just an annoyance that shouldn't have existed in the port.

 
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Draekon said:
A little disappointed my question post from Saturday only received three replies. Oh well.

EDIT: Unrelated, Koei Tecmo finally adds in HD 2D Assets to Atelier Sophie on PC. Before and After. Unfortunately though they're not vector/4K assets, so they still have to upscale to any resolution beyond 1920x1080.
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*pats Draekon on the back* :grouphug: Now give me my prize for participating.

Also don't forget Firis got the 2D update a few weeks ago. Hopefully there won't be any wait when Lydie and Suelle get released.

 
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Pheria said:
VOEZ was probably the most niche thing I played through this year as it's been pretty full of heavy-hitters otherwise.

I find it uncomfortable to play, but I did really enjoy it. A future physical release in other regions is adding controller support. I'm curious about that.
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I've played the demo for this a bunch on my Switch. I would've bought it already if it had controller support. The touch mode works fine, but like you said I can never really find a comfortable angle to play it.

 
I haven't beat as many games. You already know that Draekon;).

For those I beat my favorite was easily Da Capo 3. I declared it annoying and the story changes after the prologue, but honestly the characters and story were fully developed. Every character was fun and the overall last story part was really good. Well worth playing.

Another I really liked was Princess Evangile W fandisk. It provided a lot of good character stories and gave more story to the previous games characters. Really decent, though I wish there were a few more chapters.

My disappointment of the year was likely Wagama High Spec. The characters where super simple and the twists extremely predictable (I predicted 3 of the stories...with the same twist...). Expensive and very by the numbers equals a very forgettable game. I also haven't finished SakuSaku but it boring me and having a very boring first route and ending led to me putting it into the backlog. Really good graphics with some pretty bad characters.

I vow next year to try to finish at least 1 game a month. All I've finished this year is Criminal Girls 2 and a bunch of VNs.

 
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Did you ever play through The House in Fata Morgana? You own it on Steam, but only have 4 hours in it. I assume that's for cards, but wasn't sure since it's a 10 hour game. I heard the title come up a lot during the recent Steam sale in 'Hidden Gems' discussions elsewhere. Many people seem to put that, Steins;Gate and Utawarerumono as their top three 2017 Visual Novels with Utawarerumono having by far the most production value as a Visual Novel this year. Though Steins;Gate 0 actually released at the end of last year, so I'm not really sure why that's included.

 
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Spoder always encourages me to go through the House of Fata Morgana. I actually played a tiny bit and then idled the cards. It's at the top of my to play list for VNs along with Imouto Paradise 2 in about a month.

 
nitrosmob said:
I haven't beat as many games. You already know that Draekon;).

For those I beat my favorite was easily Da Capo 3. I declared it annoying and the story changes after the prologue, but honestly the characters and story were fully developed. Every character was fun and the overall last story part was really good. Well worth playing.

Another I really liked was Princess Evangile W fandisk. It provided a lot of good character stories and gave more story to the previous games characters. Really decent, though I wish there were a few more chapters.

My disappointment of the year was likely Wagama High Spec. The characters where super simple and the twists extremely predictable (I predicted 3 of the stories...with the same twist...). Expensive and very by the numbers equals a very forgettable game. I also haven't finished SakuSaku but it boring me and having a very boring first route and ending led to me putting it into the backlog. Really good graphics with some pretty bad characters.

I vow next year to try to finish at least 1 game a month. All I've finished this year is Criminal Girls 2 and a bunch of VNs.
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pretty sure the only game I've beaten this year has been Parasite Eve 2. This year has been pretty rough. I seem to have a hard time sticking with one game.

 
Well, NISA just has their little new localization announcement. I guess it's time for XSeed this Thursday at 3:30PM PST:

Twitter Link

https://twitter.com/XSEEDGames/status/935680317288886272

I know what I want from them, but I know it won't be it. Still, I want to believe. Seems like it's PC related, in which case it may just be Cold Steel II PC.

 
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Draekon said:
The idea behind my post was to help introduce some lesser known games to other people in the thread since people tend to mostly play the main stream stuff as a given. I was probably expecting around six to eight posts and hopefully get some lesser known games thrown in that people liked. I'm personally aware of plenty, but have to prioritize what I buy and play. Then there are played on a whim like A Hat in Time. Though I can't remember them all or play more than a fraction of them, so it would also help me take a second look at games I've passed over initially.
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I would like it if it was extended to any niche games we played this year, not just ones that were released over the course of the year. Since I mainly buy these games for cheap months/years down the line (and I'm sure others do too), and probably only have time to get to them in the backlog a while after I buy them. That way, there is more to talk about, since I didn't really play much of the new niche releases this year (only 2 because I pre-ordered the CEs.) I did on the other hand, play quite a few older niche games in preparation for their sequels (Danganronpa, Gravity Rush, Senran Kagura.)

However, I do understand why you choose to do it this way, since the other way might give us too many games to work with, and it's probably better to review the newer releases to give others an opinion in case they are thinking of buying it down the line. So maybe have a limit of 5 and emphasize newer games?

bappt said:
November 30th is Ass Day in Senran Kagura lore.
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I like this Senran Kagura holiday too. Maybe more than Ass Day.

TY7hdZE.jpg


 
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Draekon said:
I know what I want from them, but I know it won't be it. Still, I want to believe. Seems like it's PC related, in which case it may just be Cold Steel II PC.
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Which is?

Turns out what I want is ToCS II. and 3 of course. But we already knew that was coming. Localized Crossbell games would make this dino happy.

 
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I'm revisiting KH2 and trying to get the platinum - the gameplay is just so much fun it's crazy! I suppose the collection came out on PS4 this year (I'm playing the PS3 2.5 haha) so it kinda counts

But it's not really niche so oh well I tried Draekon

 
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I just got :ps4: FF12 for free because I ordered the steelbook from Target and they sent the standard one. Customer service decided to give me a full refund.  

 
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It feels like forever ago since I finished Tales of Berseria and Nier Automata on PS4 since the Switch has taken over my life. So much so that I still haven't touched CyberNep or KaguraSplash  :whistle2:

 
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gospelman said:
Which is?

Turns out what I want is ToCS II. and 3 of course. But we already knew that was coming. Localized Crossbell games would make this dino happy.
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I want Crossbell before Cold Steel III. It won't happen I'm sure and I'll have to rely on the fan translation more than likely, but I plan to play those two before Cold Steel III with how much that game seems to spoil of the past two arcs.

Cold Steel II on PC is nice, but it's not particularly big for me since I already played and beat it. I will however go through the PC ones and replay them before Cold Steel III hits.

It's not Trails related or Hatsuu's Mystery Project either it seems:

Twitter Link

https://twitter.com/Hatsuu/status/935722523186028544

 
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NeoMonk said:
It feels like forever ago since I finished Tales of Berseria and Nier Automata on PS4 since the Switch has taken over my life. So much so that I still haven't touched CyberNep or KaguraSplash :whistle2:
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I guess you do a lot of gaming on the go? My Switch will return to its duty as a doorstop once I'm done with Xenoblade 2.

 
 
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