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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ritchardf said:
what holiday is it? or are you on a fake vacation?
Click to expand...

Vacation is holiday for non Americans. On a tropical trip, first time. Typically in Europe or Scandinavia otherwise.

One thing I did wonder how. On Caribbean islands, do people game? I’m not seeing any electronic stores. No game stores. No mass chain stores like in America. Beach life is nice though being a tech person, I don’t know how, where, or at what cost it costs to get ‘toys’ here.
 
elessar123 said:
Everything there is fake anyways. Alcohol labels probably aren't even in English.
Click to expand...

Oddly the sizes are quite small compared to Europe and US. 275ml bottles are common.

I know this is a fun riff here. My game collection, US or JP only. No fake UAE region / grey market games for me.

My holidays are generally in PEGI territory though!
 
HaloGX said:
I don't know what Romeo is saying, but whatever it is, this is why I ignored him.
Click to expand...

Haven’t posted in days. Was having fun replying to others who were making some funny posts. If you can’t have a sense of humor and feel the need to ignore people on forums, that is pretty sad.
 
Just wanted to draw people's attention to a couple major physical game sales that ININ Games is having on physical PS4 and Switch games from such developers as TAITO, SEGA/Westone, Success, Jaleco/City Connection:

There is a sale on ININ Switch games at VGP with such Switch titles as all priced at $13.95 USD:
:switch:Cotton Reboot!
:switch:Root Double : Before Crimes After Days Xtend Edition -
:switch:Wonder Boy : Asha in Monster World
:switch:Dariusburst EX+ Another Chronicle - Nintendo Switch
:switch:Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps and Beans 2
:switch:Jitsu Squad
:switch:Turrican Flashback
:switch:Air Twister
:switch:Boulder Dash Ultimate Collection

ININ Games is also having a PS4 physical clearance sale on its online store:

UK and German versions are the ones on sales. Here is the lowdown on the ININ Games PS4 clearance sale from the email I received from ININ:

All of these PS4 games are region-free and will work on PS4 (and PS5) consoles worldwide. Each game includes all available language options, but the instruction manuals (control sheets) are provided in the respective language version of the game. This means that no matter where you are, you can enjoy these fantastic games with full multilingual support.

I just ordered six PS4 games and the shipping cost was an extremely reasonable $12.99 from Germany to the U.S.

Here are all the games on sale at the ININ Games website:

:ps4:Space Invaders Forever (PlayStation 4) $9.99

:ps4:Cotton REBOOT! (PlayStation 4) $9.99

:ps4:Star Renegades (PlayStation 4) $9.99

:ps4:Crosscode (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Space Invaders Forever (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Bubble Bobble 4 Friends "The Baron Is Back" (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:G-Darius HD (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Cotton Fantasy (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Umihara Kawase Bazooka! (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Hidden Through Time: Definitive Edition (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle + Hell – Deluxe Edition (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:Jitsu Squad (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99

:ps4:RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $9.99 Sold Out

:ps4:Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ (PlayStation 4) $14.99

:ps4:Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World (PlayStation 4) $14.99

:ps4:Jitsu Squad (PlayStation 4) $14.99

:ps4:Wonder Boy Collection (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $14.99

:ps4:Pocky & Rocky Reshrined (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $14.99

:ps4:The Ninja Saviors: Return Of The Warriors (PlayStation 4) (German Version) $14.99
 
Just to put it out seems like Tayutama: Kiss on My Deity officially has an 18+ patch for the Steam version now. Still a bit expensive, but I've heard some actual story stuff was cut out of the all ages release. 15% off release sale still is on.

Steam
18+ Patch Steam Version (NSFW)

Mojika - Truth Rears Its Ugly Head released from JAST USA. Just a warning this is an utsuge, which are depressing games. It has good looking art from the same artist who did Euphoria and Maggot Baits. I think I'll pass on this one for now, but it looks interesting at the least. There is a 10% launch discount.

Steam
18+ Patch Steam Version (NSFW)
JAST USA (NSFW)
 
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Someone (I don't remember if it was GungHo themselves or an outlet) mentioned there wouldn't be US pre-orders for Lunar. The listing will just go up on release day. It's a weird strategy, but it's better than waiting six months for an LRG release at least.
 
Do we think Lunar will be more limited then, or should we assume it'll get a large print run? I have Amazon credit, but there's so many RPGs right now, and god knows when I'd get to playing Lunar.
 
Tothoro said:
Someone (I don't remember if it was GungHo themselves or an outlet) mentioned there wouldn't be US pre-orders for Lunar. The listing will just go up on release day. It's a weird strategy, but it's better than waiting six months for an LRG release at least.
Click to expand...
Yes, it was GungHo themselves through an FAQ though other outlets did report on it--no preorders for the US release:
noisypixel.net

Lunar Remastered Collection Confirms No Collector's Edition, No Difficulty Options, No Limited Physical Release, And More In Latest FAQ - Noisy Pixel

GungHo Online Entertainment America has shared an FAQ for the Lunar Remastered Collection, confirming physical and digital editions, widescreen support, faster battles, and a new English dub. The remastered RPG classics launch on April 18, 2025, for PS4, Xbox, Switch, and PC.
noisypixel.net noisypixel.net

HaloGX said:
Do we think Lunar will be more limited then, or should we assume it'll get a large print run? I have Amazon credit, but there's so many RPGs right now, and god knows when I'd get to playing Lunar.
Click to expand...
From the above link:

Will there be a limited physical release? ​

No, we will continue to produce physical copies as long as there is demand for them. Rest assured, there will be plenty of copies available for everyone interested.
Click to expand...
 
I've been looking through games on VGP today... Root Double is kind of tempting though I'm thinking if I am going to get into the genre, I might just wait for deals on digital games.

I haven't done an Anime update lately on what I've been watching...

Non Non Biyori ... finished this, all the ova's and the summer vacation movie. Loved pretty much everything about that. I could identify a lot of the stuff the kids felt even though their world was a bit less populated than my more country town growing up. Perfect anime for anyone looking to decompress and get something just purely wholesome.

Air - I mostly liked Clannad and it was recommended here to watch Air as well as Kanon. It was ok at best. It got kind of hard to really invest in the characters with how kind of shallow they were and how much of the plot was based on magic/myth stuff. Glad it was short. For now, I've skipped the movie. Now I'm iffy on giving Kanon a try, but probably will... just not right now.

Erased - my youngest son (20) suggested this because he might not have remembered everything about it, but he remembered how it made him feel. That was a big criteria for me. I want anime to make me feel and think. My gosh this was excellent. They set things up perfectly to keep me on my toes the whole thing all the way down to that final scene where what I wanted to happen, happened. Really satisfying.
I was worried that pizza girl was the reincarnation of the first girl killed, thank goodness that was just me projecting plot ideas after watching Air.
I watched this whole series with one episode saturday night during the Alabama/Duke game's half time and then finished it before lunch Sunday. It was that good.

Odd Taxi - this was suggested here. Figured it was short. That opening, not Parappa The Rapper, but gave me some vibes of that kind of simplistic style and groove. So odd right off the bat, but awesome. Overall, hot damn it's been good. I'm loving the interwoven plot even though some things I've kind of seen coming. I think I have 6 episodes left plus that special picture drama thing and the In The Woods movie. Started the series yesterday evening.

I've still got a pile of anime I want to watch including a few movies. I've been keeping track of some of it, but need to do better and might get on one of the anime list sites instead of just using my phone notepad.
 
I had to laugh, because yesterday I got all of the items from my woot purchases (DKCR HD hasn't shipped yet) and the only item to ship in a box was the small box of 100 paper clips. And of course the box was way too big for it.
 
Blasphemous 2 is a big CE, shipped in a bubble mailer. At least they didn’t just slap a label on the CE box and ship it that way, I guess. Amazon has been known to do that sometime.
 
Erased is amazing; the more people who check it out the better. Air was my first Key series; it was all right, but I liked the other two that I've seen better (Kanon and Angel Beats). I barely remember much of Air now beyond the basics of the main plot, but I remember getting major feels for Minagi.
 
Meh I didn't care for erased. I did chuckle that

the black guy is the first to go. Horror rules in play no matter where i guess

Angel beats was OK definitely banger music if nothing else and I'm impressed they dubbed some songs.

If you like dumb stuff with time loops
summertime rendering
is an OK watch. I really only watched it for the sniper lady who also used a sledge hammer. Since she was the only competent cast member.
 
shadowysea07 said:
Meh I didn't care for erased. I did chuckle that

the black guy is the first to go. Horror rules in play no matter where i guess
Click to expand...

Was that spoiler supposed to be for Erased because it doesn't make sense. The first character
that is dead is the truck driver who died at the wheel and he keeps from running over the kid in the crosswalk... the first murder is after the main character gets out of the hospital and his mom is staying with him and the murderer from 18 years ago kills his mom. The only murders are the three girls in the past, some likely mystery other kids over the years that aren't detailed, and the mother. There are no black characters.

Or maybe this was about one of the live action versions? The anime is from 2017. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi.

I finished Odd Taxi last night. I kind of could see what was going on but they kept me on my toes till the end. The show did drop a lot of clues along the way like the DJ/Comedian group name and how character relatives
were different kinds of animals. They had it pretty well built up that after driving into the river he was going to see humans again instead of everyone being an animal. I was a bit concerned about the mystery in the closet. I wanted to think it was just a cat because the opening sequence depicts a cat in the closet and the whole opening starts with him trying to interact with a normal cat. Which later we did see the landlady had a pet dog outside her glass sliding door as well as another cat was in the city so they established pets outside of the animal people. Thank goodness it was just a normal cat in the end. I still need to watch the movie... it's supposed to flesh out the ending a little but I did watch the clip show bonus (basicly the idol group manager and the calico interacting at a desk). Side note, it was kind of twisted who killed the singer in the idol group.
. Overall, it was really quite excellent story telling. I was glued to the whole thing. I think there might be some lessons here but nothing that hit with me. So I wouldn't watch it for an emotional reaction, just the pure story telling of it all. Maybe it would land more with someone addicted to a freemum game? There was a message there on that as well as social media and consumerism.

This morning, I watched the first episode of Your Lie in April. Figure, this might be a nice change 🤞 . The animation is excellent as is the dub. Really a solid start. I'll take my time with this one since it's a bit longer.
 
Announcements from the Nintendo Direct:
  • Switch 2 releases June 5th. Will have bundles available at launch. Base console is $450.
  • Screens are LCD, Joy Cons are magnetic, 256 GB on-board (expandable via microSD Express cards, generic microSD cards like the Switch used are not compatible).
  • Switch 2 physical game carts will be the same shape/size as Switch 1 cartridges but red.
  • C button is for Chat - native chat and some camera integrations on Switch 2 (camera sold separately).
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller announced (sold separately).
  • Joy Con 2s can be used like a mouse - some existing Switch games will be upgraded to take advantage of this (i.e. Mario Party Jamboree).
  • Upgraded Switch games will be on Switch 2. Upgrades are paid. BotW, TotK, Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, Mario Party Jamboree,
  • New Mario Kart game: Mario Kart Worlds
  • New FromSoft exclusive game, The DuskBloods
  • New Donkey Kong game, Bananza
  • New Hyrule Warriors game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (Musou)
  • New Kirby Air Ride game, Kirby Air Riders
  • New Demon x Machina game
  • Bravely Defauly remake
  • "Welcome Tour" is a new "show off the console game" (think 1-2 Switch, Welcome Park, or Astro's Playroom). It is paid, digital-only.
  • "Drag X Drive" is a new wheelchair-based basketball game, kind of Rocket League-esque I guess? Reminds me of the manga Real.
  • Ports galore: Split Fiction, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, FF7 Remake, Civ 7, Yakuza 0, Hitman, EA Sports, Hades 2, Street Fighter 6
  • Gamecube games being added to NSO, Switch 2 exclusive. Launch titles include Wind Waker, Soulcalibur II, and F-Zero GX.
  • Nintendo Gamecube controller for Nintendo Switch 2 announced (sold separately). It's like the NES/SNES ones they previously did.
Overall I feel pretty good about my decision not to buy one. There's not any compelling exclusive software. The new DK game looks good but not "buy a new console" good. I think they'll be fine in the long run but they're going to have some problems overcoming the inertia that is the Switch 1's massive install base.
 
If anything I'm not buying much AAA anything on PS5 either this year unless I see some really good games. I am getting a few niche games here and there, but I don't think I have any AAA games on my radar. I do like the look of the DK game at least. Kind of reminds me of that Hulk Ultimate Destruction game.
 
Yeah. I was hoping for some news on the long-ago-leaked FF9 and FFT Remakes but nada. The biggest things on my radar are Expedition 33 and Lunar Remastered, both of which come out this month. I think Fable and Ghosts of Yotei might be the only first-party games on any platform that I currently have interest in or intent to purchase.
 
Just last month I was just thinking about how I wished we had Bravely Default (non handheld) on a modern system, awesome.

GniLR1MbkAAWuO2


"SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE AND BRAVELY DEFAULT FLYING FAIRY HD REMASTER ARE COMING TO NINTENDO SWITCH TM 2" - Square Enix North America Press Hub

press.na.square-enix.com press.na.square-enix.com
 
The only thing I'm hyped for is Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment. But that's not until the end of the year.

I went ahead and put in on nintendo.com to get the standard version since it's better to be in line and back out than not be in line and realize in a month I wish I had just signed up to get an invitation. Still, at pretty much $500 after tax and without shipping for just the console, that's a bit much with as little info as we have.

I want to know more about BC. What games are compatible (especially third party), are there any regional restrictions (as I have some imports), and what are the prices for the 2 Enhance upgrade option. If this won't play most of the switch games I currently want to still play, I don't see any real reason to go through with the preorder. If it plays everything but there's no benefit to framerate or resolution (most switch games have dynamic resolutions so, I'd like to see 1080p standard and ideally 60fps on non-enchanced switch games)... then I'll probably wait and just keep on keeping on with the OG switch.
 
If it played Switch 1 games at 1080p while in handheld mode I would be more interested in getting one this year. However, it can not be region locked as I have a lot of European, Asian, and Japanese physical games which I play on my US Switch.
 
The main game right now that got me on not compatible right now is Tokyo Xanadu eX+. Hopefully that gets fixed. There are a few other niche japanese games on the list, but none in series I follow.
 
I have that pre-order coming in with Venus Vacation Prism. I'll let people know how it is being the master of random relationship simulators. I hope it's not junky or else it will be heading to Ebay before you know it.
 
nightc1 said:
The main game right now that got me on not compatible right now is Tokyo Xanadu eX+. Hopefully that gets fixed. There are a few other niche japanese games on the list, but none in series I follow.
Click to expand...
Which list are you basing this on? I thought I saw Labo as the only fully incompatible game.
 
nightc1 said:
Was that spoiler supposed to be for Erased because it doesn't make sense. The first character
that is dead is the truck driver who died at the wheel and he keeps from running over the kid in the crosswalk... the first murder is after the main character gets out of the hospital and his mom is staying with him and the murderer from 18 years ago kills his mom. The only murders are the three girls in the past, some likely mystery other kids over the years that aren't detailed, and the mother. There are no black characters.

Or maybe this was about one of the live action versions? The anime is from 2017. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi.

I finished Odd Taxi last night. I kind of could see what was going on but they kept me on my toes till the end. The show did drop a lot of clues along the way like the DJ/Comedian group name and how character relatives
were different kinds of animals. They had it pretty well built up that after driving into the river he was going to see humans again instead of everyone being an animal. I was a bit concerned about the mystery in the closet. I wanted to think it was just a cat because the opening sequence depicts a cat in the closet and the whole opening starts with him trying to interact with a normal cat. Which later we did see the landlady had a pet dog outside her glass sliding door as well as another cat was in the city so they established pets outside of the animal people. Thank goodness it was just a normal cat in the end. I still need to watch the movie... it's supposed to flesh out the ending a little but I did watch the clip show bonus (basicly the idol group manager and the calico interacting at a desk). Side note, it was kind of twisted who killed the singer in the idol group.
. Overall, it was really quite excellent story telling. I was glued to the whole thing. I think there might be some lessons here but nothing that hit with me. So I wouldn't watch it for an emotional reaction, just the pure story telling of it all. Maybe it would land more with someone addicted to a freemum game? There was a message there on that as well as social media and consumerism.

This morning, I watched the first episode of Your Lie in April. Figure, this might be a nice change 🤞 . The animation is excellent as is the dub. Really a solid start. I'll take my time with this one since it's a bit longer.
Click to expand...
I must have been thinking of a different one if that's not the case.

is erased the one with a bunch of morons who go on a bus together to a remote jpn village?

Or is that the one with the serial killer who murdered children and the mc uses his power to travel through time to try and solve the murders?
 
shadowysea07 said:
Or is that the one with the serial killer who murdered children and the mc uses his power to travel through time to try and solve the murders?
Click to expand...

This one. Also the MC's mom figures out who it is and is murdered in the first episode before she can tell anyone but he is thrust back in time to being a kid. It's pretty exceptional.

...

Currently, I wasn't going to rush Your Lie In April, but I should finish it today. For something hitting more emotions ... it's definitely up to task. I've got two episodes and the ova left. I have a list of other stuff to watch, but I might take a little time off before starting something else.
 
That one had pretty excellent dialog between characters too. The gags with the mom were especially hilarious. I'll remember the faux cigarettes joke forever. A lot of the dialog was natural to me. Vs the usual anime over the top nonsense.

The only major negative is the pairing of the mc with a minor. and slight complaining i wasn't a fan of who the culprit is. That first part though was unnecessary and otherwise sours the nearly perfect experience.

Not saying that the author might be a sex offender but it gives me pause / bad vibes similar to kenshins author. My intuition says nope nope nope.


Anyway I must have gotten the wrong title for the other anime. But yeah that one opens with the cast singing about the unfortunate animal name or something that is just wtf.
 
Tothoro said:
Announcements from the Nintendo Direct:
  • Switch 2 releases June 5th. Will have bundles available at launch. Base console is $450.
  • Screens are LCD, Joy Cons are magnetic, 256 GB on-board (expandable via microSD Express cards, generic microSD cards like the Switch used are not compatible).
  • Switch 2 physical game carts will be the same shape/size as Switch 1 cartridges but red.
  • C button is for Chat - native chat and some camera integrations on Switch 2 (camera sold separately).
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller announced (sold separately).
  • Joy Con 2s can be used like a mouse - some existing Switch games will be upgraded to take advantage of this (i.e. Mario Party Jamboree).
  • Upgraded Switch games will be on Switch 2. Upgrades are paid. BotW, TotK, Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, Mario Party Jamboree,
  • New Mario Kart game: Mario Kart Worlds
  • New FromSoft exclusive game, The DuskBloods
  • New Donkey Kong game, Bananza
  • New Hyrule Warriors game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (Musou)
  • New Kirby Air Ride game, Kirby Air Riders
  • New Demon x Machina game
  • Bravely Defauly remake
  • "Welcome Tour" is a new "show off the console game" (think 1-2 Switch, Welcome Park, or Astro's Playroom). It is paid, digital-only.
  • "Drag X Drive" is a new wheelchair-based basketball game, kind of Rocket League-esque I guess? Reminds me of the manga Real.
  • Ports galore: Split Fiction, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, FF7 Remake, Civ 7, Yakuza 0, Hitman, EA Sports, Hades 2, Street Fighter 6
  • Gamecube games being added to NSO, Switch 2 exclusive. Launch titles include Wind Waker, Soulcalibur II, and F-Zero GX.
  • Nintendo Gamecube controller for Nintendo Switch 2 announced (sold separately). It's like the NES/SNES ones they previously did.
Overall I feel pretty good about my decision not to buy one. There's not any compelling exclusive software. The new DK game looks good but not "buy a new console" good. I think they'll be fine in the long run but they're going to have some problems overcoming the inertia that is the Switch 1's massive install base.
Click to expand...
Let alone the rumor that the games will be $79 (digital) and $89 (pyhsical). I only use my Switch for my students lunch incentives so I am definitely out of the 2.
 
shadowysea07 said:
The only major negative is the pairing of the mc with a minor. and slight complaining i wasn't a fan of who the culprit is. That first part though was unnecessary and otherwise sours the nearly perfect experience.
Click to expand...

The underage thing, as far as the main pairing (which we don't get to see develop)... it wasn't underage. She was 17 at the start and he was 29.. He flashed back to being 11 for the stuff in the past. Then he ended up in a coma for 15 years... woke up at 26 (possibly 27). He did whatever he did for a few years and eventually got into manga (like he tried to do at 29). It took him a few years before he got successful and was getting that anime spinoff (poster on wall of manga place at the end of the series). It was said he was 33 and she was now 21 when he bumped into her as a photographer. Remember in the original timeline where he's 29, she had only been dreaming of what she wanted to do and was working to make it happen. She doesn't reveal it's being a photographer, though she shows signs with doing the whole rectangle like a viewfinder when under the bridge. So she was older at the end when they bumped into each other.

This is all confirmed too. It did kind of bother me she was 17, though I also kind of get that the ages over there for consent are different... not that I think they are right. I'm glad in the end it was all fine even though she was a little young for him... she at least was 21.
 
I barely remember Erased anymore, but I watched it when it was airing and remembering getting into it and being disappointed by the ending (same with a lot of anime honestly). Was good though. I haven't really watched anime much these last few years...just haven't found anime that gets me excited anymore. It happens in anything though when you've been exposed to so much of it, kind of like visual novels for myself.
 
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