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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gmsick said:
Just finished Star Ocean 4. Good game overall. I liked it quite a bit more than SO3. Even though it didn't have a crazy plot twist like the former. Gonna take a break before starting Star Ocean 5. Since I know its the low point of the series. Really enjoying the series playthrough so far.
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I didn’t think 5 was that bad. I’ve heard 3-5 all called the low point, never played 4, but 3 is the low for me. It was a step back from SO2, and I did not like the plot twist trivializing all previous and subsequent games stories in one go.
 
Xenogears said:
I didn’t think 5 was that bad. I’ve heard 3-5 all called the low point, never played 4, but 3 is the low for me. It was a step back from SO2, and I did not like the plot twist trivializing all previous and subsequent games stories in one go.
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Outside the gameplay I agree for 3. The gameplay was fun for me enough to look past the stuff.

5 is just overall exceedingly mediocre. I really can't say there was anything that it did well. Most people quit due to the survive x number of enemies or time limit segments where you needed to protect Anne. Particularly difficult if you don't have the right Gambit like things equipped. As if you put the lowers being targeted and increases def ones on Anne and then the gets targeted more frequently ones on other characters that helps significantly.

But there's nothing that can defend the awful ship battle segment. It was so embarrassing I don't understand how anyone would have greenlit.
 
I didn‘t play 5 till well after all the negative impression's. Not expecting much, I still found enough that I liked to make it worth playing to me at least. The setting and atmosphere was done well enough, and better than the edge era SO3 came from, I like gambit gameplay, and I don’t remember the negative segments you mentioned. Game kind of just ends, which is the biggest negative I remember, but it didn’t retroactively mess up other games in the series like SO3 at least.
 
They should be extremely memorable given how many there were. One that was the hardest though was the outdoor map where you had to protect her. As obviously there is no cover unlike the other indoor ones.

The funny thing is one indoor segment was so easy. Especially because she's off in a separate room and you can just close the doors and camp in front preventing them from even touching her. And some of them couldn't go through the doors if they got them open it would just keep moving there against a invisible wall.

But yeah just using correct gambits presumably if you have them available make them more doable.

I didn't play 5 til a few years ago myself. I haven't played 6 yet.
 
Probably not niche enough, but just a heads up that Mario Vs Donkey Kong is $34.99 on Gamefly for used copies. Also, looking through other switch games I stumbled on Astral Chain actually being in stock for $39.99, so I finally grabbed a copy of that (also used). Total after tax and shipping $86.45.

I wanted Astral Chain for a while but just wasn't willing to pay a premium for it. Mario Vs DK, even though I have the original GBA version boxed and minty from when I bought it new back in the day... I will replay this. The 2player option and extra levels are a nice bonus.

So for 2024... I'm at $253.15 . Part of that was over paying for a copy of Metroid Dread when it was disappearing and I decided I did want to play it. If Only I had waited a week, I would have grabbed a $40 copy at Walmart +4 tax... instead of $65.26 new at GF. Still, that's Metroid Dread, Super Mario RPG, Silent Hope, Trinity Trigger, Akiba'S trip U&U, Astral Chain, & Mario VS DK ... which 7 games brings my average to $36.16 each so not really feeling too bad about it.
 
I picked up Astral chain presumably in a sale somewhere when it was cheaper iirc . as like you I wasn't paying the going rate for it.
 
Wasn't Astral Chain reprinted by VGP? I don't recall it ever going on sale but aftermarket price right now doesn't seem that bad for a Nintendo game...
 
Vinny said:
Wasn't Astral Chain reprinted by VGP? I don't recall it ever going on sale but aftermarket price right now doesn't seem that bad for a Nintendo game...
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yes I believe it did get a reprint. I got my copy before that. I want to say I got it on clearance at Walmart for 30 which was extremely ymmv.
 
A while back Astral Chain was $30 at Gamestop; that's when I got mine. I kissed out on physical and got digital. I'm not even particularly interested in it; I'm just a sucker for anything involving Masakazu Katsura.
 
For Astral Chain, I didn't want to slum it with GS knowing any copy from them was not going to be complete and I didn't want to go digital. Local/Regional Walmart stores I've visited sold out before the price drop except one that kept an MSRP copy for a while but eventually it too disappeared. I'm fine with what I paid.
 
Since we're all posting how we bought Astral Chain for some reason.. I bought mine at $27 and in a b2g1 set pre-owned & complete at GS a few BF's back. I'm hoping for future hardware that can run the game better before actually playing it. Low framerate arpg's ruin a lot of the fun for me.

My order from woot arrived from their 1 day 10% promo. The outer box of the P5R 1 More CE is higher quality than I expected, so I guess I'm not immediately throwing that away. But one big complaint is how warped the set of art prints arrived. I have them under weighted pressure right now but I have doubts that will be a lasting solution. Anyone else get a similar pack of prints?
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gospelman said:
Since we're all posting how we bought Astral Chain for some reason
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Too bad we're late for April fools. We could have done Astral chain avatars this year like the bebop ones from the previous year whenever that was.
 
City Connection and G.rev will release Under Defeat and Mamorukun Curse! for the PS5, Xbox, Switch, and PC. Since CC are releasing G.rev games maybe that means we will finally get a port of Border Down! Back in the day I had Under Defeat and Border Down for the Dreamcast, also had Mamorukun Curse! for the Japanese 360, great games!

NeverAwake is getting DLC called FLASH BACK.
 
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shadowysea07 said:
Too bad we're late for April fools. We could have done Astral chain avatars this year like the bebop ones from the previous year whenever that was.
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I... honestly forgot April Fools even happened. Feels like we don't get any good April Fools joke anymore. Then again, humanity itself has sort-of turned into a joke.

I must be the only person who didn't get Astral Chain on sale, looks like I got a used copy on eBay for $55. Pretty sure this was as the price was going up/it was gone everywhere and before VGP started doing their regular reprints. Not gonna lie, glad they're doing reprints but hate that they're getting into them so late in the game... I'm just looking at all the insane prices I paid for some of the games they reprinted (many of the Ateliers and Koei-Tecmo games).
 
I got Astral Chain when it went like $45 or something during one of its first drops. I have to hang my head in shame now that I didn't wait as long as some CAGs :p.
 
Vinny said:
One of the top 5 biggest lies in history.
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You never know. Their power could go out and their switch is the only thing charged. That's usually how I end up playing something new on the switch.

For me I usually throw my backlog into a randomizer and then make a poll for the 10 games that it picks. And have people vote on it/give recs and advice.

I'm still plugging away on banner of the maid.
 
Xenogears said:
I didn’t think 5 was that bad. I’ve heard 3-5 all called the low point, never played 4, but 3 is the low for me. It was a step back from SO2, and I did not like the plot twist trivializing all previous and subsequent games stories in one go.
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Cool. Yeah I went ahead and started SO5. My buddy told me it wasn't very long (around the same length of SO1 by his recollection). It has a indie game feel to it. Like there was no budget for cutscenes. The battle system is solid. Like a tightened up version of SO3's. 18 hours in and apparently I'm towards the end of the game. Not a bad game by any means. It's fun, but very middle of the road. Star Ocean 3 was the one people kept hyping up as the best in the series & it was the one I least liked. Solid game & decent plot twist, but not the crown jewel of the series imo.
 
I think it's safe to say now that Sega/Atlus games will just get quick drops now. Probably only worth buying immediately if you'll play then. Still haven't started Unicorn Overlord, but I would have loved $20 off haha.
 
nitrosmob said:
I think it's safe to say now that Sega/Atlus games will just get quick drops now. Probably only worth buying immediately if you'll play then. Still haven't started Unicorn Overlord, but I would have loved $20 off haha.
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The possibility of UO dropping another $10-$20 is what's tempting me to hold off even at $40 (and I'm definitely waiting for LaD: Infinite Wealth to drop closer to $20 because of the 8 other Yakuzas in my backlog), but I might get it anyway from Gamestop to use up my monthly coupon and support its release.
 
I wonder if UO is popular enough that it'll get enough print runs to drop any further? Persona, sure, lots of copies. New IP that leans towards the strategy side... I would think this is more likely to disappear like other Sega published strategy games.
 
My guess is that UO will follow the trajectory we saw with 13 Sentinels. Looking forward to paying it but will still hold off for sub $20, even if that means a platform other than nsw.
 
nitrosmob said:
I think it's safe to say now that Sega/Atlus games will just get quick drops now. Probably only worth buying immediately if you'll play then. Still haven't started Unicorn Overlord, but I would have loved $20 off haha.
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I haven't either but I did get the Switch version B2G1 off on the preorder. Though I'm undecided if it'd be better on PS5 since it's a nice looking game.
 
I ended up grabbing a copy of Unicorn Overlord for switch from Bestbuy. Free shipping and no worries about open copies (GS) or other region copies possibly getting mixed in (Amazon). If it gets cheaper, that's life. If it doesn't then I won't laugh too hard because I know most of the time it's a losing game trying to predict when something will go cheaper. Side note, the Gamefly copies of Super Mario RPG and Mario Vs Donkey Kong for $35 each (used) sold out. I feel like $35 + tax + shipping wasn't too bad on either of them even though each will probably be $40 on black friday.
 
nightc1 said:
I ended up grabbing a copy of Unicorn Overlord for switch from Bestbuy. Free shipping and no worries about open copies (GS) or other region copies possibly getting mixed in (Amazon). If it gets cheaper, that's life. If it doesn't then I won't laugh too hard because I know most of the time it's a losing game trying to predict when something will go cheaper. Side note, the Gamefly copies of Super Mario RPG and Mario Vs Donkey Kong for $35 each (used) sold out. I feel like $35 + tax + shipping wasn't too bad on either of them even though each will probably be $40 on black friday.
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Super Mario RPG and Mario vs Donkey Kong should be easy enough to get cheaper during QVC's promo codes for new accounts. Even if you've made orders through QVC before, you can just make a new account and delete your card from the old account.
 
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nightc1 said:
I ended up grabbing a copy of Unicorn Overlord for switch from Bestbuy. Free shipping and no worries about open copies (GS) or other region copies possibly getting mixed in (Amazon). If it gets cheaper, that's life. If it doesn't then I won't laugh too hard because I know most of the time it's a losing game trying to predict when something will go cheaper. Side note, the Gamefly copies of Super Mario RPG and Mario Vs Donkey Kong for $35 each (used) sold out. I feel like $35 + tax + shipping wasn't too bad on either of them even though each will probably be $40 on black friday.
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Given Nintendo doesn't have a new Switch this holiday, pretty safe to expect bigger sales on the software to make up for console sales.
 
Yesterday CAG crashed right after I noticed that the previously sold out NEW copies of Tales of Symphonia Remasterd on switch that dropped to $16.85 actually popped back in stock at GF for a short window. Even though that version isn't highly recommended, it has been patched (I looked for feedback) and is considered pretty playable in the current state if you can weather the load times. For $21.52 shipped, I grabbed a copy. If anyone was interested in getting this on the cheap, here's the link. Maybe you'll luck out and it'll pop back in stock.

Also in Astral Chain news, at some point yesterday the game showed up in the price drop page for switch games on gamefly but was sold out when I noticed it so no telling how cheap it got. It wasn't there that morning and the previous price was $39.99 for a used copy. Now all that's left are New copies at MSRP $59.99. Ebay prices aren't too crazy, you can still get a complete ESRB copy for around $40 shipped and sometimes a little less if you can wait for the right deal and there isn't much competition for it.

Another Code Recollection is the game I'm keeping an eye on now at GF. They aren't selling used copies directly right now but the keep it price is $34.99, so that should be what it is when it shows up for direct sales. I would love to get it cheaper, but would be ok getting it for $35 and not having to track it down later.


spoderman said:
Super Mario RPG and Mario vs Donkey Kong should be easy enough to get cheaper during QVC's promo codes for new accounts. Even if you've made orders through QVC before, you can just make a new account and delete your card from the old account.
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Some folks doing that have ended up with EU copies. Not every game, but enough people have reported that happen that I don't think it's worth the gamble for myself and my low tolerance for hassle. I prefer ESRB. But for everyone else, yeah, that's a good way to go.

Mattiful-Joe said:
Given Nintendo doesn't have a new Switch this holiday, pretty safe to expect bigger sales on the software to make up for console sales.
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Definitely. But the last good Nintendo Switch holiday game sale was at Walmart 2020 online when they had games like Zelda Link's Awakening & Luigi's Mansion 3 for $30/ea. Seems like most sales are $40 (including I think all the current deals on first party switch games) or $35 and rarely $30. Mario Golf Super Rush has only as gone down to $39.99.
 
Just beat Star Ocean 5. It was a breezy 25 hour rpg. Happy to finally be caught up with the series. Started in October with the intention of knocking the whole series out of the backlog. Installed Star Ocean: The Divine Force and will start it in the next couple of days. Good times.
 
My GF order with Mario Vs Donkey Kong and Astral Chain showed up yesterday. Mint as expected. They also put Mario Vs DK back in stock for $35... and Another Code: Recollection now shows Used as an option, though out of stock. So maybe they are getting close to putting some of them up for sale since they didn't even show used as an option before. My copy of Unicorn Overlord from BB is scheduled to show up today. Which will just leave Tales of Symphonia Remastered (new from GF) for probably this weekend or early next week. I need to check my Mario Vs DK, but every game I've ever ordered used from GF has had the gold coins still available if it's within that first year release like any new game. I need to go ahead and add them to my account.


Side note, a lot of switch gamers are noticing Amazon preorders are being dropped for some games like Paper Mario TYD and Luigi's Mansion 2. I'm not sure how wide spread this is, and it probably doesn't affect that many here since most of us are looking for deals. But just check your preorders if you haven't in a while. Some have said they didn't get any notice, the preorders were just gone.
 
Finished P3R the other night and got embarrassingly emotional at the end. I somehow nailed my Max Social Links plan with a few days to spare (only used a guide to select all the right dialogue options), and since the rest of the trophies were relatively trivial, I got the platinum. I maintain my 9/10 review and recommend it to Persona fans, JRPG fans, dungeon crawling fans, visual novel fans, monster collecting fans, and just video game fans in general. It was a wonderful experience.

Contemplated starting FFVII Rebirth, but then I started my recently-acquired copy of Hey! Pikmin because I'm a psychopath. I honestly think it's super-cute so far, though I only managed to play just over an hour of it so far due to life stuff. Hopefully, I continue to like it. Accepting it's a spin-off is an important step toward enjoying it, I think.

Also, got this in the mail today from Amazon Japan:
20240411_154212.jpg
They shipped it loose in a thin, cardboard envelope so the top and spine of the book jacket got creased. I thought Amazon Japan was better than that. Anyway, having this is encouraging me to finally replay the game. There's a very nice surprise under the book jacket, though I won't show it in case anyone else is getting this and wants to see it themselves.
gmsick said:
Just beat Star Ocean 5. It was a breezy 25 hour rpg.
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I couldn't get further than like 5 hours in that game. I loved the character designs (done by the legendary Akiman, who also did the ones for Divine Force), but that was about it. It just bored me to tears.
 
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