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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gospelman said:
Appreciate those who answered my previous q's regarding Root Letter: Last Answer. Now finished the game. Was short but one of the better VN experiences in recent memory. Translation wasn't perfect and made some of the argument-building scenes frustrating. Regardless, I particularly enjoyed how down-to-earth everything was while giving a flavor of a more rural community in Japan. Was refreshing after previously playing an awful VN (world is ended).

Anyone have recommendations for or against two vn's in the current psn sale: 428: Shibuya Scramble or Worldend Syndrome?
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World End Syndrome is great, albeit a little short. The UI is a little annoying (the entire game is more or less choosing where you want to go on a map) but the story and translation is solid. Definitely worth picking up on a sale.

I haven't personally played 428, but I've heard nothing but good things about it from reviewers I trust. I can't recommend it from personal experience but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 
If anyone here's a Danganronpa fan, I recently finished analyzing all the trials from the three main games. I figured out how many lines of dialogue each character had in each one, as well as what types of lines they were, how many times they were refuted, etc. You can check it out here:

Danganronpa trial statistics (SPOILERS for the whole series)

 
62t said:
Very unlikely to happen as I and II are published by Xseed
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Maybe Xseed will see the opportunity on switch and bring the games over then since we are already getting Cold Steel 3. Similar to Sega publishing Shenmue 1 & 2 when Shenmue 3 was getting created thanks to Yu Suzuki / Ys net. Which reminds me... would love the Shenmue games on switch too.

 
I'd rather have new games localized than old ones ported to the Switch.  Beyond personal preference, the "minimal effort, maximum profit" ship has sailed for all but the top tier of releases with the eShop being flooded and the PS5/Series X on the horizon.

If they can get a port-centric studio like DotEmu to do some backporting that's great, I don't want anyone to be unable to play games they want to play, but it is a pretty big opportunity cost to have the localization studios themselves spend their limited time and money doing ports. Better to just include the Switch on future releases like Cold Steel IV or YS IX when hardware specs aren't a limiting factor.

 
Not sure where to post but Strictly Limited games sent me Ultracore Collectors Edition that wasnt shrinked wrapped or new! Writing to their CS now. So bullshit.

 
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The size is only 7.5gb so can't be too significant.  Giving it a shot now.

Edit:  Not sure if this combat camera and I are going to get along.
Regardless, really enjoying what they did with music & characters so far - esp Erica Lindbeck as Jessie.  Biggs as balthier's va definitely threw me off.

 
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Thoughts on the FF7 demo:

  • The extra characterization from added dialog and voice acting adds a lot.
  • The game is gorgeous and runs well even on a base PS4. No frame dips or stutters throughout.
  • There aren't any random encounters and there was only one optional encounter. Given the nature of the Midgar section of FF7, I imagine that means limited growth/grinding opportunities.
  • The control scheme took a minute to get used to, but it's fine. There's a shortcut menu which can cut down on some of the nested menuing for common commands.
  • Most enemies were a pushover, but the boss felt like it was an artificially difficult sponge for the sake of being cinematic. The boss fight took me about as long as the rest of the demo.
  • The combat is better than FF15 (my least favorite ARPG combat) but worse than a lot of action RPGs. It's essentially mash, stagger, mash, repeat. For some enemies you need to use magic and limit breaks are available for some flair. To an extent all RPG combat is cyclical so I don't know that it's really that damning of a criticism, but it was my least favorite part of the demo.
  • The few enemies in the demo felt nicely varied outside of the obvious "shoot things that a sword can't reach." So the mashing isn't as mindless as it could be.
Took me around an hour to complete.

 
I've only played the demo once but the boss only took around 5 or 6 minutes. Didn't really feel that drawn out given how many different phases it has tbh.

 
Watched a few other videos for reference, looks like 10-15 minutes is average for the boss. Dunno why it took me so long, but I definitely felt like I spent more time in hitstun/healing than the videos I watched. I'm probably just bad at dodging/blocking the attacks.

 
I liked the enemies towards the end that dodged a lot of attacks and it seemed like the counter was good for them. The game seems like it would be a lot more fun with a harder difficulty setting though I understand it is also the start of the game. 

 
Here's a random video of the kill in 5 minutes that also has general combat tips. Seeing people take 10+ minutes on the fight just tells me that there is actually a decent amount of depth to the combat systems and enemy design, which is a good thing, especially considering this is the first boss of the game.

Completely ignoring the gameplay mechanics themselves one of my biggest problems with FF15 is that the game actually didn't encourage you to get better at it as it didn't reward having an understanding of the games mechanics. It actually had some interesting things going on but mastering those systems was 99% pointless for a variety of reasons. This FF7 demo and seeing the wildly different experience people are having has me optimistic the same thing won't happen here.

 
Has anyone backed the Wonderful 101 on Kickstarter? I always get confused with how and what to pledge. If I wanted to get two physical copies. Would I choose the physical tier and then just double the pledge?

 
Zaku77 said:
Has anyone backed the Wonderful 101 on Kickstarter? I always get confused with how and what to pledge. If I wanted to get two physical copies. Would I choose the physical tier and then just double the pledge?
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I don't know how they're doing it, but usually after a Kickstarter is done the Kickstarter organizer sends out a backerkit which allows you to choose your award tier and usually add ons like extra copies.

 
Well this is the first kickstarter I've ever backed so I am no expert but they specifically have reward tiers for 2 copies of the game. One that gives a digital and physical copy, one for 2 digital copies, and one for 2 physical copies. I'd assume you'd just pledge for the double physical tier?

 
Zaku77 said:
Has anyone backed the Wonderful 101 on Kickstarter? I always get confused with how and what to pledge. If I wanted to get two physical copies. Would I choose the physical tier and then just double the pledge?
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It's available on https://www.bestbuy.com/site/the-wonderful-101-remastered-remastered-edition-nintendo-switch/6404809.p?skuId=6404809]Best Buy, btw.

Edit: WTF is the forum doing parsing my BBCode.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/the-wonderful-101-remastered-remastered-edition-nintendo-switch/6404809.p?skuId=6404809
 
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Zaku77 said:
Has anyone backed the Wonderful 101 on Kickstarter? I always get confused with how and what to pledge. If I wanted to get two physical copies. Would I choose the physical tier and then just double the pledge?
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No, you would pledge on the double physical tier which they added. When they send the survey, you can choose which platform you want each copy on.

 
nitrosmob said:
I can concur many great prices. Ask for opinions on VNs and I or someone else likely will have played them. I've played a good portion of the Mangagamer, Jast and Sekai/Denpasoft stuff.
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Have you played the Zero Escape series and AI: The Somnium Files?

I recently played through the entire Zero Escape series and thoroughly enjoyed them (Virtue's Last Reward was superb and probably my favorite of the three, followed by 999 and then Zero Time Dilemma), so I'm interested in giving AI: The Somnium Files a try. Assuming you've played all the games (and without spoiling anything) how does Somnium Files compare to the ZE series? Would it be worth it at the $26.99 it would cost me for completing the Zero Escape bundle on Steam?

 
Surprisingly haven't played ZE series though I've played Danganronpa 1/2. I've heard many good things about AI though.  Hopefully someone else can help.

I'd like to know if anyone has read How to Raise a Wolf Girl, but I doubt i'll get answers here haha. Likely will wait for a better discount.

 
I won't speak in place of the vn connoisseurs here but I can chime in on Somnium Files.

It's good.  High production values.. great localization and VA cast.  The game stands out for me as bringing a good share of moments than genuinely made me laugh.  Also plenty of innuendos, if you're looking for it, but thankfully there's substance beyond that.   Pretty interesting plot - though involves some anime cliches.  Nonetheless very creative and satisfying when it develops at the end.  On my first playthrough I was a bit frustrated to realize I had to finish all the other branches first - including characters I hate (looking at you, Ota).  Nonary vets might expect this though.  The puzzle solving sequences are somewhat weak.  And then there's some qte sequences which are pretty much a joke.  But I consider the quality of characters, script, plot, and storytelling to be the important things in a VN.  The game does them well with an unusually high measure of polish.

$27 seems like an okay price for right now if steam is your preferred platform.  Also I had only played VLR before this one so other cags could speak better in reference to the trilogy. 

 
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gospelman said:
I won't speak in place of the vn connoisseurs here but I can chime in on Somnium Files.

It's good. High production values.. great localization and VA cast. The game stands out for me as bringing a good share of moments than genuinely made me laugh. Also plenty of innuendos, if you're looking for it, but thankfully there's substance beyond that. Pretty interesting plot - though involves some anime cliches. Nonetheless very creative and satisfying when it develops at the end. On my first playthrough I was a bit frustrated to realize I had to finish all the other branches first - including characters I hate (looking at you, Ota). Nonary vets might expect this though. The puzzle solving sequences are somewhat weak. And then there's some qte sequences which are pretty much a joke. But I consider the quality of characters, script, plot, and storytelling to be the important things in a VN. The game does them well with an unusually high measure of polish.

$27 seems like an okay price for right now if steam is your preferred platform. Also I had only played VLR before this one so other cags could speak better in reference to the trilogy.
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I loved Ota! I thought his branch was really funny!
 
I think "remake" in the title is fine.  Fans had been asking for decades for a remake.  SE decided to do it and just call it what it's been referred to all this time.

If anything the title should say Part 1 of 3 or whatever.

 
gospelman said:
I think "remake" in the title is fine. Fans had been asking for decades for a remake. SE decided to do it and just call it what it's been referred to all this time.

If anything the title should say Part 1 of 3 or whatever.
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It’s a pretty lazy name, though SE is a pretty lazy company. That said, it’s also a pretty petty thing to heckle, there are plenty of other reasons to hold reservations about this game.
 
I can't wait for FF7 Remake The Story Continues! I will play this, but just knowing how much of the story wont be there will disappoint me regardless. Still hope it will be pretty good. I'm pretty sure I'm not playing the demo. Just downloaded it to get the theme.

 
Souffrir said:
It’s a pretty lazy name, though SE is a pretty lazy company. That said, it’s also a pretty petty thing to heckle, there are plenty of other reasons to hold reservations about this game.
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Nintendo named like a dozen games using “DS” abbreviations. There’s got to be someone at Square who can do that.

I just hadn’t realized that “Remake” was part of the official title until I booted up the demo. If I was heckling, I’d propose naming it Final “we spent too much money on the engine for 15 that no one liked, so we had to print more money” Fantasy.

Personally, I hate that they are doing this as a three parter, but I already have my preorder paid off at GameStop (thanks Division 2). Mostly it’s because I’ll have to wait years, and I suspect you’ll lose all character progression between games somehow. That bugs me when it was just a single progression before.
 
Why do people keep saying it's a three parter? They already confirmed that it ends after Midgar. So you are like maybe 30% through disc 1. I just can't see them wrapping it up in 3 parts unless Disc 2 is pretty much completely skipped or is heavily abridged and combined with Disc 3 as the final third part. I do think they will have a faster turn around for these next parts though. A lot of time and effort already going into it they can easily reuse assets that and if they do end up doing the overworld it'll be easy to reuse that for all the remaining parts as well.
 
After Kingdom Hearts, I was expecting something along the lines of Final Fantasy RE:VII ~MASTERia~

Disc three is really just the final dungeon and the final boss fights. I see it being four parts broken up like (mild spoilers):

Part One: Midgar

Part Two: World Map to Temple of the Ancients

Part Three: Temple of the Ancients to Whirlwind Maze

Part Four: Post-Whirlwind Maze to End

With everything that happens and how much they're expounding on Midgar, I honestly can't see it being any fewer parts than that.

 
FF7 Remake is suppose to take 40 hours to beat, including side quests. If it's 40 quality hours, I'll have no complaints. Even the 15 minute escape back to 7th Heaven in the original (chapter 2 in remake) gets fleshed out to see the devastation of the reactor blowing up and will take almost 1 hour to complete.

There's also replayability since there are choices that places you closer to Tifa or Aerith (and maybe Barret) throughout the game.
 
My Langrisser has shipped and I’m sure it’ll be here tomorrow, but booooo for Usps tracking that says it hasn’t even been pickup up in Texas yet.
 
Looks like the Trails from Zero fan translation is finally releasing this Saturday, the 14th. They even went as far as recreating the original trailer in English:

[customspoiler='Trailer']
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQWEc9rPhR0[/customspoiler]

Oh and the PC demo is out for Cold Steel 3 on Steam. NISA hired the new porting company created by Durante. So it shouldn't be a shit show like other NISA ports. He also released a patch for Ys VIII on PC to fix a lot of the issues a month ago or so as well that includes experimental local co-op. Check out the month old AMA if you're interested.

 
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Draekon said:
Looks like the Trails from Zero fan translation is finally releasing this Saturday, the 14th. They even went as far as recreating the original trailer in English:

[customspoiler='Trailer']
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQWEc9rPhR0[/customspoiler]

Oh and the PC demo is out for Cold Steel 3 on Steam. NISA hired the new porting company created by Durante. So it shouldn't be a shit show like other NISA ports. He also released a patch for Ys VIII on PC to fix a lot of the issues a month ago or so as well that includes experimental local co-op. Check out the month old AMA if you're interested.
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I believe durante worked on pc CSI & II, which did have their own problems after release. But yes should be an improvement from nisa's track record.

Been waiting a loong time for the geofront release, glad it's finally close! I've only played through zero once (with a very rough translation) and have been waiting for this to go through the game again. If anyone here needs help finding the necessary files, send me a pm.

 
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I'm finally finishing up the routes of Senren*Banka and I will just say this is one of the more fun VNs I've played in a while. The story, characters and setting are pretty neat, and the music and voice acting is excellent. I will give a mini review once I finish all the routes.

 
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