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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Doing a quick write up of recently release of VNs and Eroges.

First Nekonyan released Aokana - EXTRA1, which is kind of like a fan disc to Aokana. This one's main character is Mashiro, but the others are involved in the story. There is a supposedly buggy Steam 18+ patch so if you're playing now and want the adult content maybe go Mangagamer or JAST USA. 10% discount for the release week. Easy buy.

Steam

18+ Patch (NSFW)

JAST USA (NSFW)

Mangagamer (NSFW)

Their next game will be Riddle Joker releasing on December 18th, 2020. I've been waiting for this for a long time and I can't wait to play it.

Some news about older recent releases:

Iwaihime was released. This was done by the people who did Higurashi games. A horror game which I did buy.

Steam

VNDB (NSFW)

JAST USA released SaDistic BlooD. This has Yuri vampires and a lot of brutal violence. Not my type of game.

JAST USA (NSFW)

VNDB (NSFW)

They are finally releasing Majikoi as well this Winter. Note that this release only has the family voiced so that stinks for sure. It's been forever and I'll see it when it comes. I'll probably still support them, but yeah this has been in release limbo forever. Now is where is my Sumaga?

JAST USA (NSFW)

Curse of the Kudan released on JAST USA and Mangagamer. This one is another horror game. It mentions a Kudan who is a lady spirit. Could be cool. No 18+ content.

JAST USA (NSFW)

Mangagamer (NSFW)

Mangagamer released Rance 01+02 recently. Been a long time coming too. Easy purchase.

Mangagamer (NSFW)

VNDB Rance 01 (NSFW)

VNDB Rance 02 (NSFW)

They also had some new announcements. 

Funbag Fantasy 3if (NSFW)

How to Live a Healthy Hentai Lifestyle! (NSFW)

Wanting Wings: Her and Her Romance (NSFW), VNDB 2 (NSFW)

Wanting Wings Mangagamer (NSFW)

Funbag Fantasy 3if is kind of a new take on the series. It takes place in an alternate ancient Rome with new characters. These are always top quality nukige with great stories and excellent art and pretty good characters. I recommend all of these, but go in order since characters reappear in sequels (not in this one I believe). Easy buy on release.

How to Live a Healthy Hentai Lifestyle! is from Clock Up, which are known for very explicit eroges. I've only played Euphoria, and I'd only recommend it to those with stronger stomachs. This one has a character Gotou Hajime, whom has enrolled in Penile University, majoring in perversion, in order to study and deepen his understanding of the art, and eventually carry out research on the subject. Due to Hajime’s chosen field of study, he has registered to live with the Maezono family – a family whose mother is the legendary pervert that prevented World War 3 with her sexual diplomacy! Sounds like a pretty wild nukige that I'm sure has some interesting comedy. Easy buy on release.

Wanting Wings: Her and Her Romance is available for purchase and comes out November 20th, 2020. It is from Baseon and has three girl roommates and they all saw an angel when they were younger and they suspect one of the other roommates might be that angel. It looks like a cute Yuri game that is comprised of two Yuri games (prequel and sequel). These are the type of Yuri games I usually play and the art looks really cute. Easy buy on purchase and you get I believe 10% off for pre-ordering on Mangagamer. 

 
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Playing underwater ray romano mask of truth.  I wonder if the perspective is gonna switch back and forth between oshtor* and kuon.
I know it's haku
  I have to say its nice that it had carryover from the last game mask of deception. Sucks that Kuons level is reset to 6. I had her around level 30 I think in the last game.

Jeezy peats this game is depressing so far.  incurable disease, fated to die, blind and not knowing they lost a loved one, one characters an orphan and can't speak.  Another character deels responsible for their siblings death.

 
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Mattiful-Joe said:
Yeah, that does entice me. Is this game actually good? I've heard it's basically a visual novel with a little tactical gameplay.
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I enjoyed 13 sentinels, but unlike most games I had trouble playing it for long stretches, I took breaks frequently.

There’s a lot of visual novel segments to read through, and there’s barely even an illusion of player choice. I think I would have preferred them just presenting it like Odin Sphere as a story, rather then making me run around and use keywords, when I have absolutely no influence on the story, every character’s story is strictly linear.

I would say the action is more like a tower defense game, but you have a lot more control over your towers. It was fine for what it was, but not interesting enough for me to grind the infinite dungeon. I played on Normal difficulty, but didn’t take any upgrades to my mechs until I had cleared all the levels once. Well, I did buy the score and points multipliers ASAP from points earned in story mode to reduce end game grinding.

I have a ps4 slim and the game did experience slowdowns when the number of enemies got too large in some battles, but it never actually crashed.
 
elessar123 said:
Finished 13 Sentinels.

Story would have been really good if a couple of popular things didn't exist.

The art is really good, and I kinda want a poster of it more than anything.

The artbook leaves a lot to be desired. It's basically just character art.

Downside is all the names. There's like 50 names to keep track of, in a 30-40 hour game. As someone who's bad with names to begin with, it was really difficult for like the first half.

Overall, I guess 8/10. For someone who probably haven't played a specific game nor watched a specific movie, it'd probably be higher. The battle part of the game is ok. Gets pretty repetitive. They probably could have left it out and made it just a visual novel and it wouldn't detract from it. Or let you just skip it.
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Play-Asia has free Economy shipping site-wide 11/9-11/16. Picked up Dead or School, Katana Kami, and Onechanbara Origins - all for PS4. GEMATSU also worked for 5% off.
 
I went through and canceled / re-ordered like 5 different orders for free shipping lol. It's not a massive savings, but I'll take it. 

 
JohnnySako said:
Play-Asia has free Economy shipping site-wide 11/9-11/16. Picked up Dead or School, Katana Kami, and Onechanbara Origins - all for PS4. GEMATSU also worked for 5% off.
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Thanks for the heads up! Didn't even know Oneechanbara Origins actually got an English Asia physical!

Free shipping and 5% off too!

 
62t said:
What did you get?
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There are some pretty cool multi language Japanese / Asian releases coming up, so I got some of those locked in. Shiren The Wanderer (Switch port), Forward To The Sky, FF IX Switch, Wing Of Darkness, and I finally grabbed Caladrius on Switch because why not have it on a 4th platform lol.

 
Mattiful-Joe said:
Yeah, that does entice me. Is this game actually good? I've heard it's basically a visual novel with a little tactical gameplay.
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Legit one of the best game I played this year, story is intriguing, the combat is fun, and ost is terrific, also the jp voice had an all star cast which is a plus for me.
 
Mattiful-Joe said:
Have a really hard time thinking any publisher would bother with this one. And why wait when the Asia release is in full English.
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I mean if PQube thinks it is a good idea to release physical retail EDF5 2 years after digital and Asia English release then there is a chance.

 
62t said:
I mean if PQube thinks it is a good idea to release physical retail EDF5 2 years after digital and Asia English release then there is a chance.
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I suppose. I thought EDF5, though, had an online component that allowed it to develop a decent groundswell of gamers that justified the company taking a risk publishing a physical version. I don't think it sold very well given most folks interested in it probably already imported it.

 
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JohnnySako said:
Play-Asia has free Economy shipping site-wide 11/9-11/16. Picked up Dead or School, Katana Kami, and Onechanbara Origins - all for PS4. GEMATSU also worked for 5% off.
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Thanks for the heads up on the Play-Asia free shipping for this week. Picked up FFIX for Switch for $36.09 after coupon code. Will have to look at other stuff to order too.

 
62t said:
I probably still going to get Oneechanbara anyway as I got every game in the series on release date
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Actually this is the first time I hear that the Asian version has English on disc. I could swear I read the opposite.

But woah, $95 CAD

 
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Got my copy of Sakuna of Rice and Ruin today. I guess I ordered the standard version. I thought I had ordered the Divine Edition but I guess not. I would have liked the art book, but I probablyI wanted to save the $20 extra bucks at the time.

The packaging is still super nice though. Comes with a very rare nowadays full color manual and reversible cover art.

IMG-4101.jpg


IMG-4102.jpg


IMG-4103.jpg
 
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Zaku77 said:
There are some pretty cool multi language Japanese / Asian releases coming up, so I got some of those locked in. Shiren The Wanderer (Switch port), Forward To The Sky, FF IX Switch, Wing Of Darkness, and I finally grabbed Caladrius on Switch because why not have it on a 4th platform lol.
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LRG is now doing a release for Shiren.
 
Starcrest said:
Sakuna reminds me a lot of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, but I only skimmed the trailer. Is that an accurate comparison?
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I think that's pretty close! Although it's like they combined Muramasa with Harvest Moon. From what I understand it has the side scrolling exploration/combat but also with 3D farming. It's also not hand drawn like the Vanillaware games, but the artstyle looks nice and is kinda similar. I haven't played it yet, though.
 
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For those looking to grab niche titles to fill your backlog the 50% off sale at gamestop has some nice prices.

Ps4

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 2.5 Remix 7.49
Kingdom Hearts 3 12.59
The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 3 12.49
Dark Rose Valkyrie 7.49
Banner Saga Trilogy 6.49
Exist Archive the Other Side of the Sky 6.49
Valkyria Revolution 7.49
Utawareumono Mask of Truth 7.49
Star Ocean 5 Integrity and Faithlessness 7.49
.Hack//G.U. Last Recode 9.99
Disgaea 5 Alliance of Vengeance 9.99
 
Nintendo Switch
 
Resident Evil Origins Collection 9.99
Borderlands collection 9.99
Sonic Mania Plus 9.49
Lego Harry Potter Collection 11.49
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated 12.49
LEGO Jurassic World 11.49
Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection 9.99
Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 9.99
 
The Disgaea 1 and 4 complete versions, utawareumono mask of deception are under 10 as well I think but both were unavailable for shipping in my area. There's also
persona 5 vanilla for 7.49
ff15 vanilla for 2.50
persona 5 dancing in the starlight 9.00
persona 3 dancing in the moonlight is 6.49
Steven universe save the light + ok ko bundle 8.99  A paper mario grandia like game. Very fun. 
 
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There seems to be a small price error at Target for the Poison Control Contaminated Edition (comes with mini artbook and digital soundtrack sampler. I believe all Switch physical versions are this version, and the PS4 version is just the game - excluding the NIS Limited Edition for both PS4/Switch)

Anyway, everywhere has the Contaminated Edition listed for $49.99, but it seems like Target listed it for $39.99 probably matching the PS4 version.

It's also eligible for their Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale this week:

https://www.target.com/p/poison-control-contamination-edition-nintendo-switch/-/A-81624316

I paired it with Aokana $39.99 and Princess Guide for $33.49

Some other stuff I saw in their B2G1, but not an exhaustive list:

Atelier Ryza 2 (only PS4 version is eligible)

Neptunia Virtual Stars

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (Don't think PS5 was eligible)

Saviors of Sapphire Wings & Stranger of Sword City Revisited

Balan Wonderworld (PS5 not eligible, just PS4/Switch/Xbox One)

Robotics;Notes Elite & DaSH Double Pack

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory

 
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Aokana is a pretty good visual novel game with some cool characters and a nice story and not need H scenes so reading on Switch would be fine. Course I opted for the PC 18+ version, but that's just me. I am on the fence for Saviors/Poison Control. If I can find a third game to go with that I may.

 
nitrosmob said:
Aokana is a pretty good visual novel game with some cool characters and a nice story and not need H scenes so reading on Switch would be fine. Course I opted for the PC 18+ version, but that's just me. I am on the fence for Saviors/Poison Control. If I can find a third game to go with that I may.
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Remember that you can buy 3 of the same title and then cancel 2 of them. So there's no need to actually get 3 games. You can just get whatever ones you want on their own with the discount.

 
I already pre-ordered the NISA store collector's edition of Poison Control, so I'm looking at Balan and Nep Virtual Stars. I know I don't actually need to buy 3 games for this promo, but does anyone have an opinion on Azur Lane Crosswave? The Switch version is coming out and I'm a little interested.

 
Zaku77 said:
Remember that you can buy 3 of the same title and then cancel 2 of them. So there's no need to actually get 3 games. You can just get whatever ones you want on their own with the discount.
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That is true, but unlike others I feel scummy taking advantage of something obviously not intended from a programmer's perspective. I know people love to screw the system, but that's not me.

 
BoxPizzaBox said:
There seems to be a small price error at Target for the Poison Control Contaminated Edition (comes with mini artbook and digital soundtrack sampler. I believe all Switch physical versions are this version, and the PS4 version is just the game - excluding the NIS Limited Edition for both PS4/Switch)

Anyway, everywhere has the Contaminated Edition listed for $49.99, but it seems like Target listed it for $39.99 probably matching the PS4 version.

It's also eligible for their Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale this week:
https://www.target.com/p/poison-control-contamination-edition-nintendo-switch/-/A-81624316

I paired it with Aokana $39.99 and Princess Guide for $33.49

Some other stuff I saw in their B2G1, but not an exhaustive list:
Atelier Ryza 2 (only PS4 version is eligible)
Neptunia Virtual Stars
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 (Don't think PS5 was eligible)
Saviors of Sapphire Wings & Stranger of Sword City Revisited
Balan Wonderworld (PS5 not eligible, just PS4/Switch/Xbox One)
Robotics;Notes Elite & DaSH Double Pack
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
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Target is likely price matching Amazon since they have poison control for 40.00 as well.
 
So, just read some of the Japanese Amazon reviews for Nep Virtual Stars and...yeesh. It sounds like an absolute mess. Tamsoft not being involved at all in its development, despite there being hack and slash segments, makes me very sad. So, now I'm leaning toward Balan and the new Spider-Man game (1 more day left to pre-order it lol).

EDIT: nevermind, Spider-Man isn't eligible. False alarm.

 
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Well that is a shame to hear about Virtual Stars as I was looking forward to that one. Guess I will wait until it goes on sale and pick it up then. Now, if it has a really good collectors edition I might change my tune.

 
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Fred Gordon Herbert said:
How are the PS4 Persona dancing games? From what I've heard they're not that great because they're split between two releases as a way to milk them and barely have any songs to begin with and many of the songs are repeated in the games as remixes, plus no story mode or content but hundreds of dollars of DLC.




Does anyone think Atlus will double dip and include Persona 3, 4, and 5 dancing in one PS5 collection with one day where it's actually worth buying? I know the Persona 4 dancing is supposed to be good but I heard the others are pretty lazy cash ins...
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I really liked P3 and P5 Dancing and honestly felt the lack of a story mode didn't hurt the games at all, simply because P4 Dancing's story mode was needless fluff and not all that compelling. P3 and P5 opt for unlockable character interactions (and there are many of them), and they're honestly a lot better than P4's bloated story mode. P3 and P5 Dancing take place during those games' events, while P4 Dancing takes place after, and while the reason for the games happening is convoluted and silly, having them take place before the main game's conclusion is not a bad decision, as opposed to P4 Dancing opting to slap together a narrative that's undermined by all of the drama from the main game having already happened and wrapped up.

I will agree that splitting them up was a bit of a cash grab, but they both have a good chunk of music and unlockable accessories, and none of the DLC is really necessary. The gameplay is as good as it was in P4 Dancing, and the English voice acting is top-notch. P5 Dancing is the weaker of the two, since I feel its jazz/lounge music doesn't lend itself well to electronic remixes. P3 Dancing, on the other hand, has the BEST remixes of all 3 games, and I still listen to its soundtrack on a routine basis. This is probably because P3 had a more hip hop soundtrack, which can be more easily remixed.

Considering the games are constantly on sale, I recommend them as fun rhythm games for Persona fans. Plus, all three entries are very easy platinums, if that means anything to you.

 
Personally I am in the camp where I don't think either game has enough songs to justify the normal asking price. 25 songs per game and a few of the songs are very short as well as they are short music videos and not the characters dancing. And yes there are some songs that are there multiple times as remixes (Burn My Dread is 3 of the 25 songs on P3D) but that didn't bother me personally because the remixes are so radically different that it's barely the same song.

What did bother me though is that just the basic non-remixed version of Battle Hymn of the Soul is not included in P3D at all, just a pretty bad remix. The normal song is $5 dlc, which is absolutely the definition of milking your product.

That said though, I do think the price is fine if you wait for the bundle to go on sale. $22 for all 3 of the games is far more reasonable imo.

 
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Fred Gordon Herbert said:
How are the PS4 Persona dancing games? From what I've heard they're not that great because they're split between two releases as a way to milk them and barely have any songs to begin with and many of the songs are repeated in the games as remixes, plus no story mode or content but hundreds of dollars of DLC.




Does anyone think Atlus will double dip and include Persona 3, 4, and 5 dancing in one PS5 collection with one day where it's actually worth buying? I know the Persona 4 dancing is supposed to be good but I heard the others are pretty lazy cash ins...
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I liked them. They're a fairly easy platinum and it's fun to see the characters with PS4 models and listen to the various remixes. There's a light story mode, but it's not on the same level as P4 dancing.

I don't like the gameplay of the rhythm game itself too much. The "from the middle of the screen to the outer edges" doesn't work well for me. On a larger TV it feels like my eyes need to a move a tiny bit. You can start to rely more of peripheral vision + the sound, as I think usually happens in rhythm games as you improve. But something about it still felt a little weird. It's a little better on the Vita screen, but I still definitely prefer when notes all go to one centralized area, not all over the place - Kind of feel the same about Project Diva to a lesser extent, but at least those tend to move along generally clumped together not consistently opposite ends of the screen.

 
hey guys, what's the best promo code for Playasia? I know a lot of codes got converted to 5% instead of $5, so are any dollar amount off codes left? thanks
 
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G_x51 said:
hey guys, what's the best promo code for Playasia? I know a lot of codes got converted to 5% instead of $5, so are any dollar amount off codes left? thanks
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Nope, afaik ever since they introduced the loyalty program, they have discontinued the complementary $5 coupon you normally get with your order.

Sent from my SM-N970U1 using Tapatalk
 
G_x51 said:
hey guys, what's the best promo code for Playasia? I know a lot of codes got converted to 5% instead of $5, so are any dollar amount off codes left? thanks
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PLAYASIAWEEK gets you $2 off any item, good for this week only I believe. Works out good if you want to buy something less than $40. Otherwise use one of the 5% off coupons.

 
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