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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Vita question - is there a way to tell what region a Vita cart is from? I bought about a dozen Vita games over the past month and it just hit me that I have no idea if they're NA copies or Import English UK or Asian versions. 

 
EU games tend to have ratings logo's on the cart stick.  Another option is pop the game into a vita and look at the digital user manual.  But at minimum the product number on the sticker should allow a quick google search to see what it is.

 
elessar123 said:
If they have the PSCx code, I believe it's region information.

You want PSCA and PSCE.
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Thanks bro- this helped quickly ID 8 of my 12 games as NTSC, though I think the code is PCSx. Other 4 had weirder numbers but 3 of which were NA games... the last one unfortunately was an Asian English release. Bah...

This website was helpful too: https://renascene.com/psv/list

 
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Yea, the later games didn't use the scheme any more, or something. I didn't keep up on what it changed to. So I assume the remaining 4 you had were the later releases?

 
elessar123 said:
Yea, the later games didn't use the scheme any more, or something. I didn't keep up on what it changed to. So I assume the remaining 4 you had were the later releases?
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I had to look them up but they all seem pretty early: Killzone (2013), Call of Duty (2012), Freedom Wars (2014) and Soul Sacrifice (2013).

 
Saga Frontier 2 is one of the best in the series with an actual story that's not all broken up. If I remember correctly it has chapters and it switches between 2 characters. It's linear compared to the other games, but in this case it just makes the game a lot easier to play and follow. I will gladly add it to my Asian English Saga games.

 
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I like ArcSys fighters, Granblue Fantasy Versus Premium is $40 for Prime Day, and there's an Amex promotion going where you can use points to pay for any portion of your purchase for 50% off, but I'm still hesitating because to get the full roster you have to pay another $65 for the two DLC character packs, it's literally cheaper to buy the digital Legendary Edition, so in effect buying the Premium Edition would just be for the physical extras.

Urgh. Did anybody here buy the Premium Edition? Are the artbook and soundtrack CD worth $20?

 
Souffrir said:
I like ArcSys fighters, Granblue Fantasy Versus Premium is $40 for Prime Day, and there's an Amex promotion going where you can use points to pay for any portion of your purchase for 50% off, but I'm still hesitating because to get the full roster you have to pay another $65 for the two DLC character packs, it's literally cheaper to buy the digital Legendary Edition, so in effect buying the Premium Edition would just be for the physical extras.

Urgh. Did anybody here buy the Premium Edition? Are the artbook and soundtrack CD worth $20?
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Amex promo aside, it's cheaper on XSeed right now.

 
picked up sword art online alicization lycoris ps4 is 19.99. Which was already my buy it price. So 12.50 after the 7.50 promo from the previous giftcard promo made it an easy buy. Any other decent rpg deals?

 
I know it wont' be english... but that Dragon Quest X Offline version that comes out in September on the Switch... it has my eye.  Even though I can already just play the base so many parts of that game now in japanese for free with my jp account since you can play from north american IP addresses.

 
Still no word on language for Rhapsody.. I'm concerned because the original PS1 game was dubbed, but the DS re-release was Japanese dub only.

Does anybody know what the language options were for the first two NIS Classics; whether they were one or the other, or both?
 
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Has the asia/english version of Demon Gaze Extra ever gone lower than $59.99?  Haven't been watching it but now considering it with the current FS.

 
gospelman said:
Has the asia/english version of Demon Gaze Extra ever gone lower than $59.99? Haven't been watching it but now considering it with the current FS.
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Red Art Games will be publishing an ESRB version of this game. You could probably pick it up on sale later if you wait.

 
I think I might go ahead and cave in and get Live A Live (releases this friday).  I've had many moments since playing the demo where the Shinobi story pops into my thoughts.   Only downside to this is Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the 29th.   Live A Live is supposedly under 30h to do absolutely everything so I think I could possibly finish it before XC3.   Now to just decide where to get it.   There are no deals according to dekudeals or the stores that have it listed... so I'll either go with BB or Walmart.... probably BB for the points.

 
Some thoughts on AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed after about 3 hours.

First of all I liked the sequel enough even with the janky combat. It felt fun enough and only broke down in fights with too many.

I know this is a remastered game and it's from PSP and it feels like it. The mission structure seems meant for portable consoles. The controls can be atrocious with no lock on for combat (terrible) and extremely repetitive combat at that. The graphics are simple, but I kind of like them. The story is probably the best part, but it's very generic mainly cause of tropey characters. The sequel had tropey characters, but I liked it a lot more. The game has a main story and side stories, which are mainly generic and consist of finding certain people and beating them. Overall I'm unsure if I want to beat the game, and just consider this one a lost cause to not waste too much time with it. I already played a better game (the sequel), and I'm just a bit bored already. It's not a bad game, but just feels incredibly average. The atmosphere for the most part is great though, feeling like Akihabara, but just shown simply. 6/10

Also currently playing through Kin'iro Loveriche -Golden Time-. I will give a better review once I finish up all the append routes, but Ayaka likely has one of the worst routes I've read in a visual novel in a long time. Very, very stupid most of the time, and there is next to no chemistry with the lead. Currently working on the Mina route, and I like it a decent amount, and the chemistry is actually there.

 
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nitrosmob said:
Some thoughts on AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed after about 3 hours.
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Thanks for the feedback. Every so often that game ends up raising an eyebrow as it's hit $20 but I have to remind myself I didn't make it far in the sequel on vita (and never got Beat). On the surface it seems like something I could love (like Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble ... aka Kenka Bancho 3) just for the environment and gameplay... but the reviews weren't that good as they didn't do enough to modernize it. It's a shame we never got more Kenka Bancho.

 
nightc1 said:
Thanks for the feedback. Every so often that game ends up raising an eyebrow as it's hit $20 but I have to remind myself I didn't make it far in the sequel on vita (and never got Beat). On the surface it seems like something I could love (like Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble ... aka Kenka Bancho 3) just for the environment and gameplay... but the reviews weren't that good as they didn't do enough to modernize it. It's a shame we never got more Kenka Bancho.
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Only reason I bought it was because the physical launch edition looked nice and I got it during a B2G1F gamestop sale, otherwise I had the feeling the sequel is better in every way. I still feel like it's a good price for the boxed copy, but probably not worth buying it digital and to stick to the sequel.

 
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Yes, same.  I've gone through artbook and such and it's a pretty nice edition for the $13 or so (in a b2g1 set)

 
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I'm officially done with it. The gamer difficulty makes it relatively difficult to deal damage quickly, and I keep losing fights due to horrible controls, policemen locking me up for fighting in public (stupid!), and I just don't care about these characters. Added another hour, but I'm done. I'd rather replay the second and get an ending with another character than play anymore of this one. Trust me and just go with an easier difficulty on your first playthrough at least. I'm glad I got it cheaper (about $25), but it's leaving my collection for sure. Too many in the backlog to deal with the frustration.

 
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Some of those reviews are the typical "it's not fire emblem"

"Not worth the full price"

It's $2 now lol

I'll probably get it on steam so I can refund just in case it doesn't work or some shit but I'm not gonna be mad over $2 if I don't like the game.
 
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Placed an order at Play-Asia last night for Chrono Cross (Switch) and Fatal Frame Maiden of Black Water (Switch) and they shipped right away.  Want to make another order for Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (Switch) and one other game, but am having trouble picking out a second game.  Any suggestions?  Must be a Switch game with English support and most likely not getting a US release.  Thanks!

 
Josef said:
Placed an order at Play-Asia last night for Chrono Cross (Switch) and Fatal Frame Maiden of Black Water (Switch) and they shipped right away. Want to make another order for Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series (Switch) and one other game, but am having trouble picking out a second game. Any suggestions? Must be a Switch game with English support and most likely not getting a US release. Thanks!
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Saga Frontier Remastered or Legend of Mana Remastered?

 
Grandia HD collection too if you missed LRG. I'm going to be getting River City Saga, which just came out. I'm adding it to an order for stuff coming later this year (Needy Girl Overdose, Cardfight Vanguard, Witch on the Holy Night). Play-Asia only ships when they get the whole order though, so something to be warned about at least. Final Fantasy 7-8, and 9 are good choices too. Other Saga games are there too (Romancing Saga 2, 3, Scarlet). Lots of good choices, although I think the free shipping doesn't matter as much for $50, as the games all cost an arm and a leg anyway. Just my opinion of course. I still choose Play-Asia for my Asian English releases and East Asia Soft releases.

In other news Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse Remastered released today with a 10% discount on Steam. I remember being kind of just okay on the anime many years ago now. Still going to buy it and I will start going through the series again (stopped on the first...will just restart) and give opinions here.

I will likely finish up Golden Time and give opinions. I'm still making it through the 2 main routes and will do all the append routes.

 
Thanks guys, already have Legend of Mana, Saga Frontier Remastered, and Grandia HD Collection.  I am kind of leaning towards River City Saga now, but have a feeling that LRG may release that under their distribution line (and I do prefer the ESRB version if possible).  Also considering Koumajou Remilia Scarlet Symphony and Saga Scarlet Grace.

 
October 20th for Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher for Japan and Asian territories. It's now available for pre-order for $59.99 on Play-Asia if you want the Asian-English one. We still have the $49.99 free shipping, so this isn't a bad one to pre-order.

Play-Asia

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn2kFZJaa_M[/media]

 
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My copy of Live A Live (switch) showed up saturday morning.  So I started it that evening.  I opted to continue from the demo save for the story with an old master finding a student to pass down his knowledge.  It ended up quite short an experience after the demo portion.  I went on to the shinobi story but started it fresh because I wanted to try and beat it without killing anyone (minus the ghost, monsters, etc you can kill).  That was pretty involved and much meatier and very enjoyable.   I played the Present Day story of the fighter... and finished it in maybe 30min or so.   There wasn't much to it.  I'm doing the pre-history story now... and at least it's been more involving.

Overall I'm holding judgment till I've finished it.  So far is it's been VERY inventive in how some things were done.  I really didn't need a mega rpg right before Xenoblade Chronicles 3... but I did need something to push me to game more as I've been mostly ignoring gaming.

 
Xenoblade Chonicles 3 reviews out today indicate that's it's a good game. Good to see. I have no idea when my game from the SE preorder through nintendo will arrive though.
 
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