Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

CAGiversary!
Feedback
163 (100%)
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!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 4 Downvote
For a system that had the struggles the Vita did, and still got so many years of pretty good support, naming this "Vita" was hands down the only thing Sony truly got right.

 
Developers kept the Vita alive plus visual novels in Japan me thinks, since this was the machine for them. Niche gaming was good...very good.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
lilman said:
Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Complete Edition released today. $70 on PSN: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0700-CUSA10093_00-SAOFBCOMPLETE000

Since no store has listed it, seems it will be digital only. If you want to go somewhat physical, physical base game is $20, season pass is $25, new/final dlc is $20, so $65 total. If you want cheapest price overall, probably best to wait for a sale on the digital complete edition.

Free SAO:FB CE dynamic theme: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0700-CUSA10093_00-TH00000000000005
Click to expand...
If you have the base game and season pass on steam already, the newest DLC can be had for 33% off if you buy it from this bundle.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/9844/Sword_Art_Online_Fatal_Bullet__Complete_Edition/

 
I didn't play it but symphonia pc was said to be really bad until they patched it later.  Not too surprising considering they gave it away for free when you purchased zesty.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The whole "Japanese games are worse on PC" thing is simply a consequence of the traditional approach of Japanese developers to game engine development. In Japan, it has been almost traditional for every developer to create a custom engine for every game. That is to say, they build pretty much every game from the ground up, every time. Occasionally a developer might recycle a little bit of their former code, but even that was usually re-factored to improve on the original design. You almost never saw the same engine get used twice. This was an approach to development that continued, even into the 2000's. It wasn't until the rise of high-definition rendering that we started to see a shift away from it.

With the advent of high-definition consoles, the ground-up approach to development started to take its toll, and the inefficiencies of such an approach hampered many development houses. The more efficient and cost-effective Western approach of using recyclable game engines and middle-ware gave Western developers a significant competitive edge. We saw A LOT of Japanese developers go out of business around this time, and this engine methodology was a big reason why. The complex systems required by modern development couldn't be re-created or re-designed between every single title.

Where does this come into PC support? Well, modern middle-ware game engines make PC porting much, much easier. But the Japanese game industry was focused on proprietary engines, so they couldn't take advantage of that feature. And while PC gaming has maintained a solid following in the west for decades, it never caught on to the same degree in Japan. PC gaming in Japan tended toward laptop-friendly titles like Visual Novels, while hardware-intensive titles always targeted home consoles. And because of that, any game type other than Visual Novels had proprietary engines that were focused solely on limited console support. Japan has always leaned toward more of a single-console approach to large-scale development. You don't see the same kind of three-way split over there that we have in western markets.

It's only in recent years that we've begun to see some of the more savvy Japanese studios embrace modern game engines, and establish more efficient business models that recycle their efforts across releases. Any studios that still cling to the older methodology struggle to release respectable PC ports.

 
Compile Heart is teasing a Moero Chronicle enhanced port

https://twitter.com/CompileHeartWeb/status/1087169504809873408

 
Senran Kagura Burst Renewal stock has been replenished on the Best Buy website. They arrive on the 25th, but it saves a 90+ mile drive, especially if you're in the midwest.

 
bappt said:
Senran Kagura Burst Renewal stock has been replenished on the Best Buy website. They arrive on the 25th, but it saves a 90+ mile drive, especially if you're in the midwest.
Click to expand...
So people are still buying the overly censored version or did I miss a memo?

 
lutz said:
So people are still buying the overly censored version or did I miss a memo?
Click to expand...
Not everyone is upset about it in the first place. And some people aren't upset enough to not buy something they want, which is what makes voting with your wallet so difficult to make a real impact.
 
The only wallet voting you could possibly do is buy shares of Sony and attend an investor relations meeting. Of course by that point you have much better options open to yourself than jiggling some boobs on a PS4.

 
lutz said:
So people are still buying the overly censored version or did I miss a memo?
Click to expand...
Are there more changes than the removal of intimacy mode? I was wondering if light beams would be added anywhere; artwork, shinobi transformations, stage finishers. If the only change is intimacy mode that won't keep me from playing the game. The only time I ever used intimacy mode was for the trophies.

But I'll probably wait for it to go on sale. The game getting pushed back to the same week as Resident Evil 2 didn't do it any favors. I forgot it was coming out this week.

bappt said:
The only wallet voting you could possibly do is buy shares of Sony and attend an investor relations meeting. Of course by that point you have much better options open to yourself than jiggling some boobs on a PS4.
Click to expand...
...on the PS5?

 
Reviews are starting to come in for Resident Evil 2 Remake and it's looking really good.  Some examples include:

Playstation Lifestyle - 10/10
Game Informer - 9.5/10
EGM - 9.5/10
Gamespot - 9/10
Easy Allies - 9/10
IGN - 8.8/10

Metacritic is currently at 91 with 54 positive reviews and 1 mixed review.

 
deadofnight said:
Are there more changes than the removal of intimacy mode? I was wondering if light beams would be added anywhere; artwork, shinobi transformations, stage finishers. If the only change is intimacy mode that won't keep me from playing the game. The only time I ever used intimacy mode was for the trophies.

But I'll probably wait for it to go on sale. The game getting pushed back to the same week as Resident Evil 2 didn't do it any favors. I forgot it was coming out this week.

...on the PS5?
Click to expand...
It's the intimacy mode that was removed. Sony has mostly been focusing on "skinship" touch features inside of games published on their platform. That one with the light beams was a porn visual novel and Sony considered their modifications for the "All Ages" version to not be enough and the developer responded by covering everything with light.

 
bappt said:
That one with the light beams was a porn visual novel
Click to expand...
Probably not, if we’re being honest. I’m not familiar with that one, but VNs often have adult scenes, ranging from simple nudity to full on sex, without really being intended to be pornographic. Full fledged eroge—actual porn—are almost never ported to console, as sexual content is the focus of those games. It’s the difference between, say, a raunchy R-rated movie and Brazzers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Souffrir said:
Probably not, if we’re being honest. I’m not familiar with that one, but VNs often have adult scenes, ranging from simple nudity to full on sex, without really being intended to be pornographic. Full fledged eroge—actual porn—are almost never ported to console, as sexual content is the focus of those games. It’s the difference between, say, a raunchy R-rated movie and Brazzers.
Click to expand...
I mean who isn't sleeping with their adopted little sister after their mom died and also wooing a demon girl?

www.vndb.org/v18148

E: If it's not clear, this is the game with the light bar censors

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Anyone doing the new event in Star Ocean: Anamnesis? I just got Fina after spending 20k gems.

Also, is there supposed to be a new spot in the Item Exchange tab for the new currency we get during the event? I don't see it.

Edit: I see it now, it's in the Event Draws tab.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
keyblader1985 said:
Not everyone is upset about it in the first place. And some people aren't upset enough to not buy something they want, which is what makes voting with your wallet so difficult to make a real impact.
Click to expand...
I think we can make a difference with our wallets. Just buy the version that Sony isn't censoring (which I mean, buy PC/Switch).

Mortal Kombat for the SNES was forced to change the blood into sweat back in day (also no real fatalities). It was changed back to blood in 2 because the crappier Genesis version outsold it by a ton (it had blood and fatalities).

This isn't about letting creeps be creeps. This is about discouraging censorship and content reduction being forced upon the consumer. We gotta do our part for any chance of change.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm all on board, but I'm just saying it's not easy. Especially in cases where the game is an exclusive and can't be found on other platforms; not buying it just means the game doesn't sell at all, which hurts the developers.
 
Pets0undz said:
Moero Crystal?
Click to expand...
ya idk what's up with the number 3 since chronicles is considered the 2nd game and crystal the 3rd game but it looks like a upgrade of chronicles and not crystal on the switch.
Kinda sucks since i already imported the Asian copy of chronicles on vita and i much rather have an English version of crystal or the pirates game on switch.
 
keyblader1985 said:
I'm all on board, but I'm just saying it's not easy. Especially in cases where the game is an exclusive and can't be found on other platforms; not buying it just means the game doesn't sell at all, which hurts the developers.
Click to expand...
But you were advocating for the PS4 version when there's a steam version as well. While it's unfortunate that the developer was basically bullied by Sony to censor their version, the Steam version will be the full version. As long as you buy a version, it's not going to hurt the developer and send a message.

The age of anime style games being exclusive to Sony is basically over, since they are screwing the smaller developers on multiple levels (example, now that Sony Headquarters is exclusively in California, Japanese developers have to discuss any issues on American time zone and speak fluent English. Also decisions are made by Americans, even for the Japanese market).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you are going to buy the Moe Chronicles game on Switch, I suggest you do it before the 1/31 launch in Japan as it's 30% off until launch, then 20% off post launch.

Really they are testing the waters for Switch, just like Fairy Fencer F is their test on North American Switch units.

 
Fair enough, my bad.

It felt like you were implying the PS4 version was the only version and by not buying that version it would hurt the developer (towards my comments, I'm not stating this sarcastically or something).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks like CrossCode was announced for the Switch the other day:

[customspoiler='Announcement Trailer']
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XU9lz45tKU[/customspoiler]

I definitely recommend it so long as you don't mind it being rather puzzle heavy. It has a bit too many puzzles in my opinion, but it's still a really solid indie game. It is also eventually coming to the PS4 too, but nothing has been stated about it. Wonder if this means they finally got some kind of HTML5 wrapper for the game.

 
wow that looks cool but that's way too much screen shaking and violent camera movement.

I'm always surprised how many top-down/isometric bullet hell games there are similar to that on Steam.  They make my head spin.  Yet so many of them are well-received. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nothing- said:
wow that looks cool but that's way too much screen shaking and violent camera movement.

I'm always surprised how many top-down/isometric bullet hell games there are similar to that on Steam. They make my head spin. Yet so many of them are well-received.
Click to expand...
You can lower and even disable Screen Shaking in the options menu. It's also not really much of a bullet hell. More Action RPG with various attacks that do include bullet-like ranged attacks. Bosses tend to have them, but they have plenty of other moves too.

The game plays extremely smooth.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Draekon said:
It's also not really much of a bullet hell.
Click to expand...
I know, I was just comparing it to other similarly styled games. (in presentation)

It's a crop of games that I can't really play due to motion sickness and vertigo. There's too much flickering, camera zooming in-and-out, and it's hard for my brain to register what's going on. Sometimes it's just the way the game is presented in the trailer.

 
Finally an update on Metroid Prime 4!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLIv_UXI_So

oh...

IpK8aYv.gif


 
Josef said:
Death End re;Quest Limited Edition is up for preorder on Iffy's online store. $79.99:

http://www.iffysonlinestore.com/death-requestLE/

I haven't heard much about this game - is it any good?
Click to expand...
I've been keeping myself in the dark about the details outside of it being a corrupted game with the creator trapped inside. 31/40 was the Famitsu score and it was the 4th best selling game in its launch week, with things like Splatoon and Kirby ahead of it. It seemed interesting enough.

 
https://twitter.com/IdeaFactoryIntl/status/1088888529319473152

Soon you'll only have to buy Neptunia Rebirth 1

 
I had honestly forgotten that Metroid Prime 4 was in development.

I wonder how bad it had to have been to not meet the quality standards set by Other M.

 
Honestly, I've been really pleased with Nintendo's return to quality.   It finally feels like they make games for adult, core gamers again too.  While the Metroid Prime 4 news is sad it doesn't bother me in the slightest.  I'm glad that we're finally out of the shovelware dark ages of Nintendo home consoles that has been going on during most of the last 15 years. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nothing- said:
Honestly, I've been really pleased with Nintendo's return to quality. It finally feels like they make games for adult, core gamers again too. While the Metroid Prime 4 news is sad it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'm glad that we're finally out of the shovelware dark ages of Nintendo home consoles that has been going on during most of the last 15 years.
Click to expand...
I dunno. Sure, Nintendo has provided strong first party support, and seriously loosened the content controls for other developers. But it also feels like every indie game is going up on the switch estore. Portability is nice for those games, but at the premium prices compared to flash fire sales. So I’m not sure what my point actually is now.
 
Since i'm sure everyone is wondering I haven't played most of the Mangagamer IG bundle. I have played EROGE! Sex and Games Make Sexy Games, and it's an above average nukige. The situations are usually fun and interesting and have to do with them making eroge games. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The art is pretty good as well. I don't think i'd play the other honestly, but those aren't my type of games.

Also been waiting for Hello, Goodbye a while so I know what i'm going to be playing this weekend. May give impressions if people want them. I did try out Hara ChuChu and honestly I didn't like it very much. It was as dumb as it sounded with the guy becoming a lusting vampire and it was just a mess. I made it through one path and gave up on the 2nd as I just didn't like where the story was going. Not my style at all.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello, Goodbye is a really unique VN. The setting and characters are different since the main guy is a military guy, and has a unique setting and characters. There does seem to be a natural playing order for the order of choices (1 to get on a person's main path). The visuals, characters and story are really good after just about completing 2 routes. This is the type of VNs we should strive to support, as it's not generic at all. I don't think it's super long, but likely will give me about 20 or less hours of game play. I may give a full review later, but these are my impressions after pretty much completing 2 routes. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I ordered SNK heroines on Switch from Amazon and they sent me a PEGI copy. Does this mean I can't download any of the free DLC? If so it's going right back.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top