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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Play Asia cancelled my PS5 version too, but I'm fine with the PS4 version. That shipped out along with Grisaia: Phantom Trigger 5.5 to 08 for Switch. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Mysteriful Limited Edition shipped from Amazon today too.

 
The Yumeutsutsu and Nurse Love games are excellent (slightly nuts) yuri VNs that never dip below ~$20+ each and some of which are over $60 MSRP, if you have ANY interest in VNs, buy all four. DO IT.
 
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Hate to double post, but does Strictly Limited Games ever do sales? I'm kinda looking at some retro stuff, but it's a lot of money to pay for stuff I already have loaded on my computer and PSP so I'm torn.

 
Souffrir said:
Hate to double post, but does Strictly Limited Games ever do sales? I'm kinda looking at some retro stuff, but it's a lot of money to pay for stuff I already have loaded on my computer and PSP so I'm torn.
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I have never seen a sale. They did send me a discount coupon code once. They are currently having free shipping with code SUNSCREEN

 
Just a note today Nekonyan released My Klutzy Cupid with a 11% discount on Steam. Note there is an 18+ Patch (NSFW) as well for it. It's also on JAST USA store (NSFW) among other places.

JAST USA also have a release date for VenusBlood GAIA International on 07/28/2023. This does have a pre-order (NSFW) and has a Steam page. There is a demo (NSFW) available as well.

Shiravune announced that White Album: Memories like Falling Snow will release on August 4th on Steam.

I'll likely start on My Klutzy Cupid tonight, but likely wont be trying to beat anything today.

 
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keyblader1985 said:
I have no idea; I don't think I've used Fanatical before. It just says "exclusive offer - 2 mystery games for $1.89."
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Those are mystery games. You buy it and you’ll get two randomized keys from a large selection. Odds are you’ll just get leftover bundle fodder, but there’s supposed to be a very small chance to get some relatively new and high profile stuff, exactly what cycles over time. If you go in expecting to get anything other than bundle fodder, though, I can all but guarantee disappointment.
 
Trouble Witches Final! Episode 01: Daughters of Amalgam PS4/Switch might be hard to find.  I preordered it at playasia and my order still hasn't shipped and it's currently out of stock there and I can't find it in stock anywhere.

 
Reverie-1.jpg


I've struggled heartily with my queued orders: which ones to keep, which versions to let ship, do I switch platforms, or order multiples?  But I only let the one ship.  Didn't submit the couple of other order invoices; things get expensive fast. 

Reverie-2.jpg

Looks like I've made the Switch over to PS5. Even though it would have been nice to have more of the whole lineup on one console (PS4). 

 
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Enchanted Arms was pretty fun. I just wish they had fully dubbed it instead of only dubbing the main story scenes and the 6 human characters in battle. I never beat the superboss at the bottom of the optional dungeon with the super high encounter rates but I beat all the other optional dungeons and bosses.
 
freshzen said:
Weird, maybe its a stock issue.
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I hope but I think it sold out to pre orders like Melty Blood Type Lumina. Over at the shmups forum they mention it's been sold out for a while at places like amazon japan, cdjapan, and amiami. I have it pre ordered at playasia with 2 in stock games and my order status has been Preparing order since the 6th.

 
scorponok said:
Trouble Witches Final! Episode 01: Daughters of Amalgam PS4/Switch might be hard to find. I preordered it at playasia and my order still hasn't shipped and it's currently out of stock there and I can't find it in stock anywhere.
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It'll come back in stock. Noticed there are some ongoing inventory delays across numerous newly released games - but they are coming back in stock. It'd be really strange to have a new retail title to go oos permanently that quickly.
 
PS4 and Switch versions of Trouble Witches Final! Episode 01: Daughters of Amalgam are in stock at Amazon Japan. It doesn't ship to USA though. You will need a forwarding service if you really want it.

 
Today they are accepting more orders for the PS4 version at playasia, Expected stock arrival within 1-5 days.  Hopefully that means they are getting more in.

 
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scorponok said:
Double Dragon Collection Asia English Switch up for preorder at playasia.

Ikaruga reprint is ready to launch at Nicalis on Aug 2. They sent me an email for some reason to make sure my address was correct even though I ordered and received the original print years ago.
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What's the difference between the Hypergun vs Metal Earth versions? Descriptions make them seem exactly the same outside of the Hypergun having a strap.

 
Vinny said:
What's the difference between the Hypergun vs Metal Earth versions? Descriptions make them seem exactly the same outside of the Hypergun having a strap.
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The game is the same. Looks like just new artwork and the strap. I guess they just wanted the reprint to look different to make the first print still kind of special. Speaking of Ikaruga, both Japanese printings sold out extremely fast, definitely was a small print run.

 
Tencent just bought Visual Arts (the usual publisher for Key), so that’s a bit weird. I imagine they’re probably after Heaven Burns Red? Though I don’t play gacha games, I feel bad for the fans since that was pretty much the most explicitly yuri one out there, and something tells me the yuri is going to die as Tencent tries to expand HBR into the global (read: Chinese) market.
 
Sugar Sweet Temptation was released by Love Lab finally. It looks like a cute patisserie themed moege and has a launch discount of 15% and an 18+ Steam Patch. I'm getting a bit burnt out on VNs (My Klutzy Cupid is very, very meh so far), but I may still get this one.

Steam

18+ Patch (NSFW)

JAST USA has released VenusBlood GAIA International with a 10% launch discount on their storefront. It is coming to Steam eventually, but for now is delayed there. I will wait for the Steam release myself and likely add it to my VN news when it comes out.

JAST USA (NSFW)

 
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GameStop having a B1G1 for pro members.  Had trouble finding much worth getting with prices inflated before the sale, and their $79.99 free shipping threshold, but put together the following order for $100 that I’m pretty happy with.  Had to look up most of these, they weren’t on my radar at all.  Most seem to fit the bill for fairly niche Japanese games, so posting here.  Pretty good reviews overall and sounded interesting once I read up on them, all for ps4, except live a live switch.

live a live

Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society

Trinity Trigger Day 1 Edition

Little Witch Nobeta

Anyone find anything else good in the eligible titles?  These are all at the same $50 base price to maximize the deal.  Hoping someone else finds it useful, took awhile.

 
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Xenogears said:
GameStop having a B1G1 for pro members. Had trouble finding much worth getting with prices inflated before the sale, and their $79.99 free shipping threshold, but put together the following order for $100 that I’m pretty happy with. Had to look up most of these, they weren’t on my radar at all. Most seem to fit the bill for fairly niche Japanese games, so posting here. Pretty good reviews overall and sounded interesting once I read up on them, all for ps4, except live a live switch.

live a live

Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society

Trinity Trigger Day 1 Edition

Little Witch Nobeta

Anyone find anything else good in the eligible titles? These are all at the same $50 base price to maximize the deal. Hoping someone else finds it useful, took awhile.
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The FS threshold is bad enough but I hate how they don't maximize the discount. Back in the day, their stores would automatically give you the best deal on any BxGx deals.

 
Vinny said:
The FS threshold is bad enough but I hate how they don't maximize the discount. Back in the day, their stores would automatically give you the best deal on any BxGx deals.
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Really? I remember around 2008 (and again around 2012-ish) or so doing some large batches on B2G1 sales from them, and their computer system did the same thing (at least in-store). I'd have to ask the associates to do separate checkouts. I have no memory of them ever automatically giving you the best deal. Which doesn't mean it didn't happen, but it's why I'm curious. :p

 
BoxPizzaBox said:
Really? I remember around 2008 (and again around 2012-ish) or so doing some large batches on B2G1 sales from them, and their computer system did the same thing (at least in-store). I'd have to ask the associates to do separate checkouts. I have no memory of them ever automatically giving you the best deal. Which doesn't mean it didn't happen, but it's why I'm curious. :p
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In store I've never had a problem with the deals lining up for used sales -- ~2019ish was my last big run getting stuff under B2G1 sales and having everything re-rung at the end so that prices lined up for the best deals automatically.

That was around when they switched to fulfilling web orders from stores and local inventory completely tanked, so I haven't tested it since then.

 
GameStop either needs to lean into the specialization, something like smaller stores are doing with reprinting high demand games, getting imports, or flat out localizing games, a long with the limited print market.

Backing the big publishers is just pushing people to all digital. In ten years, only old ass dorks like me will want physical product or deal with used games.

Or they can keep trying to "branch out" and become a theme store for pop media and brands. The latter is a big gamble, IMO.
 
TheKbob said:
GameStop either needs to lean into the specialization, something like smaller stores are doing with reprinting high demand games, getting imports, or flat out localizing games, a long with the limited print market.

Backing the big publishers is just pushing people to all digital. In ten years, only old ass dorks like me will want physical product or deal with used games.

Or they can keep trying to "branch out" and become a theme store for pop media and brands. The latter is a big gamble, IMO.
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I said this years back, long before COVID- GS is known as game store and there are tons of game collectors: focus in more on game collectors. Instead they went all in on Funko Pop/toys. You can easily trace aftermarket prices and invest in an inventory system, but they'd need to train their employees (to understand condition, fakes, etc). Of course, all this depends on getting good people and they can't seem to treat their employees right. It's just sad overall, there are tons of GS employees who I legit enjoyed talking to/dealing with who clearly hated the pay but enjoyed gaming.

 
TheKbob said:
GameStop either needs to lean into the specialization, something like smaller stores are doing with reprinting high demand games, getting imports, or flat out localizing games, a long with the limited print market.

Backing the big publishers is just pushing people to all digital. In ten years, only old ass dorks like me will want physical product or deal with used games.

Or they can keep trying to "branch out" and become a theme store for pop media and brands. The latter is a big gamble, IMO.
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The things it would take to fix gamestop would require someone who actually cares about gaming, game collecting, and quality to helm the ship. It's hard for me to even consider them for a purchase when I know it's likely a new or very recent release purchase will end up being already opened. They need to stop their shitty practices to bring folks back.

All the other stuff like reprints, imports, exclusive games, and so on... would make them a great option instead of importing or working to track down something odd. But that only works for me if I'm getting it sealed/new. IF I'm buying an import that comes already opened with stickers all over the box... forget that, I'm still going to just use playasia or vgp or someone else.

 
When I go to GameStop, they seem to be selling more Pokemon cards than video games.  And at least 1/3, if not 1/2 of the shoppers are looking at other merchandise like figures and shirts.  I'd say only like 10-20% of the other shoppers I notice go straight to the game shelf, and don't look at anything else.  They probably do a lot better with all the non-game stuff than we realize.

In general, their trade in's seem way down from pre-pandemic.  Probably a combination of people switching to digital and more people reselling games on facebook mp or eBay.  Its just going to continue to look more and more like a toy store.  In 3-4 years, they'll probably just have single wall in the back with Playstation and Nintendo titles.

 
I don't think that's unique to GameStop at this point. There's a semi-local Midwest chain called Vintage Stock and their inventory has also been pretty bad since just before the pandemic. I think it's a combination of folks wisening up to eBay/Mercari/etc. and resellers hawking over the inventory that does come in.

I don't have any fondness for GameStop, I don't think the reduced prominence for physical game retail locations bodes well for the medium long-term.

 
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nightc1 said:
The things it would take to fix gamestop would require someone who actually cares about gaming, game collecting, and quality to helm the ship. It's hard for me to even consider them for a purchase when I know it's likely a new or very recent release purchase will end up being already opened. They need to stop their shitty practices to bring folks back.

All the other stuff like reprints, imports, exclusive games, and so on... would make them a great option instead of importing or working to track down something odd. But that only works for me if I'm getting it sealed/new. IF I'm buying an import that comes already opened with stickers all over the box... forget that, I'm still going to just use playasia or vgp or someone else.
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I agree, they're so junky. New games that are opened, when they do reprints they do it quietly, open them, and label them as used so they can charge over MSRP and hope someone sees it thinking they found a rare deal (Dokapon Kingdom, Gravity Rush Remastered are the main ones I know of- but I know there have been others)

I've had it happen more than once where I've preordered something and it just never arrives (both in-store and online). I don't get any notification or automatic cancellation (or seemingly, fulfillment). I have to go request to cancel it (or if it's online, call their support and wait on hold because their cancel button never works).

I have had them send me some weird stuff where someone probably scammed them previously, too.

They sent me a demo disc for a game instead of the actual game once, a Japanese version of a PSP game, and plenty of discs that were way too damaged to work.

They're not worth it. I do the $5 monthly pro reward because it is easy enough to stop in-store and get a 50% off $10 gift card every month, but I think they're phasing that out as well?

I always end up having to order multiple of something to get free shipping, and assuming one will be gutted (which I will return to the store later).

The best thing I can say about GameStop in the past is that they were reliable. If you pre-ordered something from them, you could be pretty confident you'd actually get it. Where for a while in the past many online/other retailers didn't take games as seriously, and if they happened to oversell they'd just cancel your order.

I'm glad I have a nice independent game store near me. They're still subject to quality of what gets traded in, of course, but they at least try to clean it up. They also use eBay prices for trades, they see what some recent sales were on average and then will offer you half of that in credit. Which isn't too bad considering the convenience (eBay takes time, fees are around 15% or so plus any packaging costs, and then the income tax on top of that makes it pretty close [unless you are meticulous enough to keep track of how much you paid vs how much you sold per item, to lower/eliminate the amount that counts as income]). I'll take a net (for me) ~10-20% drop for my time, and to support a local business relevant to my hobbies.

 
Xenoblade and metroid prime trilogy iirc is the most infamous reprint (which everyone in the threads called me a conspiracy theorist for). For a little bit they were making a killing but later on people started catching up since the new copies came with club Nintendo codes and slight other differences. It definitely should have been illegal to open them up to sell for triple the msrp.
 
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Those Apollo listings have been up a while. I've been watching them. Notably to me is that PA also has NA region listings for multiple platforms. So I guess I'm waiting to see an official word about NA physical releases before I preorder the Asia version.
 
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Lots of visual novel releases and release dates.

First of all Shiravune released WHITE ALBUM: Memories like Falling Snow on Steam/Johren. This is a very highly regarded visual novel and I will start playing it likely tomorrow. There is a 10% launch discount. There is no 18+ content as this is based on the updated PS3 version.

Steam

Some big news that Shiravune is now getting their releases on non Johren sites such as JAST USA and Mangagamer. This so far includes all the titles listed below:

Dohna Dohna ~ Let's Do Bad Things Together
Holy Paladin Cynthia
Kuroinu Redux
Marauder of Dystopia: The Weakest go to the Wall  
Nope Nope Nurses
Nope Nope Nope Nurses
Saimin Gakushū: Secret Desire 

The Shell Part 1: Inferno
 
This is great news for Dohna Dohna (Alicesoft game not for the faint of heart but possibly fun RPG management game) especially. Most are coming out soon 08/07/2023 and are available on the websites, except for Marauder which comes out 08/24/2023. Hopefully Dungeon Travelers 2 and 2-2 are on way as well.
 
JAST USA has also put up their pre-order page (NSFW) for Gears of Dragoon: Fragments of a New Era from ninetail. I don't believe this was announced before and is a dungeon crawling game with visual novel elements coming out 09/28/2023. There is a pre-order discount of 10%. It will also be on Steam likely with a patch for 18+ content.
 
Steam
VNDB (NSFW)
 
The Shell Part 1: Inferno was released recently on Steam/Johren and will be on other platforms soon. I forgot about this so the launch discount is gone on there for now.
 
Steam
18+ Patch (NSFW)
 
Lastly Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue launches 10/19/2023. This is a Danganronpa like and is decent enough from the demo I played. I'll likely play it around release.
 
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My copy of Trouble Witches Final! Episode 01: Daughters of Amalgam PS4 finally shipped from playasia today, currently out of stock.  I noticed they are taking orders for the switch version today, it's been out of stock since release.  They raised the price to $49.99 though, it was $37.99 to preorder.

 
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