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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Nothing- said:
I am really excited to play P3 reload; was going to get it on day1. But I am NOT paying for that collector's edition. That is a $100-$120 CE and the value simply isn't there. So I'm not buying that, and it's causing me to also want to wait for discount on the regular version. $69.99 for the base version is absurd.

I'm someone who wants to buy the game but probably won't. No idea what they're thinking, or when Atlus got this greedy. Bc it's another game that will be $40 in a month.

That really isn't healthy for your brand.
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What about the fatlus tax they had back in the 3ds gen? I still remember the bs when they did it for Stella glow and they not only did nothing for that game but let it release with numerous translation errors including equipment and accessories.
 
Nothing- said:
I am really excited to play P3 reload; was going to get it on day1. But I am NOT paying for that collector's edition. That is a $100-$120 CE and the value simply isn't there. So I'm not buying that, and it's causing me to also want to wait for discount on the regular version. $69.99 for the base version is absurd.

I'm someone who wants to buy the game but probably won't. No idea what they're thinking, or when Atlus got this greedy. Bc it's another game that will be $40 in a month.

That really isn't healthy for your brand.
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I had the standard edition pre-ordered with Gamestop back when they mistakenly listed it for $60, but I ended up canceling. Between the lack of FES and Portable content, questionable voice acting, and my continued frustrations over Atlus' business practices, I don't need to get it at launch. To be honest, I always enjoyed the FeMC version of Persona 3 over the original experience.

I'm sure I'll enjoy P3R just fine...when it's on sale for $40, and I doubt I'll be waiting long.
 
gospelman said:
I'd probably bite in your situation if a physical copy of Royal isn't among those two.

I have the the vanilla and royal ps4 CE's so I am holding off hoping for a further drop. Also reluctant because to pull off the Akechi bag I feel like I would also need to commit to the haircut.
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I have vanilla with the steelbook, and just the normal Royal. To be honest, I’m not all that tempted, the CE goodies don’t look super appealing to me. I miss when Atlus included soundtracks and artbooks.
 
I have the original game autographed by several of the VA's (I got the first autograph before Royal came out, so I just went with it from then on), and Royal on PS4 and Switch... and I was still considering getting this for my nonexistent PS5.
 
P5 Tactica tempting even though I haven't beaten Persona 5 Royal yet. Might pick up the PS5 version. I'll probably get the Persona 3 remake when it hits $30 too.
 
Tactics games are pretty niche and I'm sure they're a lot of copies out there under Sega. P5 is super milked now too. Just a lot of things lead to it dropping quickly. I would guess it will eventually reach around $20 (similar to P5, P5 Royal, other Persona games not cheap already), but if you want to play the price is pretty solid for a niche game.

I have noticed (mainly cause of Wario64 on X) that super niche stuff like Otome games fall in price too. If I am not as interested I'll wait for those too. $30 is what plenty of niche games fall too, and then generally become sold out. Some drop lower but generally are games that likely bombed in sales (Monark and Soul Hackers 2 come to mind).
 
Follow your Yuri heart. I always follow my Moe one. I'm slightly tempted by Another Wonderful Life Special Edition for $29.99, although I have felt swamped by Story of Seasons games lately. The Switch is a very good visual novel machine, and those games are pretty much only otherwise available on PC (was in a good bundle in Fanatical a while back). It's your choice though. I still remember back in the day I bought the Atelier Totori Special Edition without owning a PS3 yet.
 
Now that I have them I've got to say this is very pleasing.

Persona-3-Switch.jpg


Probably bc I failed to buy the PSP version somehow. It always costed more than I preferred to pay, even on the early 'used' aftermarket.
 
Persona 3 on PSP is one of my best timing's as a CAG.

I bought a new copy from Amazon for $20 on June 2012. I already had a digital copy I had bought while traveling for a semester abroad. I wanted a physical copy too but never had a reason to open it. Sold that thing for $425 in May 2021, I think it was about a year and some change after that they announced the new versions.
 
Pheria said:
Persona 3 on PSP is one of my best timing's as a CAG.

I bought a new copy from Amazon for $20 on June 2012. I already had a digital copy I had bought while traveling for a semester abroad. I wanted a physical copy too but never had a reason to open it. Sold that thing for $425 in May 2021, I think it was about a year and some change after that they announced the new versions.
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Huge sell. nice job. That pays for an entire new console.

and I don't want to listen to anyone who wants to drone on about "the inevitability of the all-digital future".

That type of capitalizing you just created is still possible.
 
Archetype Arcadia impressions after 90ish minutes on the Switch:

This is a visual novel that takes place in a world where there was an apocalypse where a sickness eats away at peoples' memories or something. This eventually offs them. Our main character is a guy who never was able to get into technology, specifically Archetype Arcadia that requires a headset. In this VR experience you experience a world of stuff to make you feel better outside of the awful apocalyptic world. The MC's mom says for him not to use this and they have a daughter and die off later due to said pandemic. Now he learns that this VR world is where those like his sister can get cured of this disease. He doesn't know how it works to heal the condition (you find out in the first 90 minutes how this works but no spoilers), and later when his sister goes down in the real world with an error on her headset he goes into this VR world.

This VR world is cool looking and all, but is pretty much a ruined world where gods rule regions and you have very typical (at least the first god) OMG I'm so evil let's beat everyone silly and laugh about them losing their memories and bleeding to death. Pretty much this VR MMO has it where if you lose memories in the world (that is how you use your abilities...all about memories) you pretty much vanish from the world and I'm assuming die in the real world (it's freakin' a variant of Sword Art Online where die in the game you die for real). The MC has a special guest tag where he does die in the VR world (it happens so early) and actually revives. He is super weak though as something is holding him back from becoming empathic with his memories, and in this world he wants to save his sister, but what are his true aspirations? Also does beating the gods in the world mean beating the game?

Frankly this is a kind of Shounen feeling anime story with a grimdark world with ultra over the top villians. The main character is a guy who believes in the good of people and seems to put others before himself. He has issues from his past that keep him from empathizing with others and his own past. He meets other characters lost in the world, and also others who fight to beat the game and get memories I guess. Frankly I think this story would be so much cooler if it just stuck to an adventure in the real apocalyptic world. You can have villians and such among survivors, but instead we get this VR world where the story takes place. The MC is a typical MC who doesn't believe in himself and just wants to help others while trusting others who may hurt him. If this sounds like a typical Shounen MC it is because it is. Nothing too original here other than the action taking place in a VR world.

The music is actually quite good. I didn't expect to be surprised by the quality of the tunes, but they sounded nice. The voice acting is alright enough with lots of that over the top acting during action scenes. The graphics are pretty decent for the character arts. It isn't amazing, but is very passable. The avatars that do combat look silly and don't do great action scenes. It's a visual novel so these chibi avatars moving across the screen is the action you get. Overall it's a bit above average for all the presentation, but not a lot better than average.

This game feels typical even though the setting is somewhat unique. I'm sure there will be some twists and turns and the MC will become empathetic somewhere along the way. I'm guessing you will "Win" the game, but who knows. It seems to be an OK enough story to hold it along, but for now the characters hold it back a bit by being very cliche. Still a decent enough time and I could see myself playing it 30 minutes a night. It runs wonderfully on the Switch and is great to play before bed. 6.5/10
 
Thanks, appreciate your review. Saw Amphibian from Raging Loop was listed as Planning Assistance but probably didn't have enough of an impact before he left.
 
scorponok said:
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse [Premium Box] (Limited Edition) (Multi-Language) Asia Switch $99.99 playasia. The Japanese version is pictured for some reason, guess you should ask if you are actually getting the Asia version before purchasing since the Japanese version doesn't have English.
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I picked up this set at launch - the outer box (and art book) are entirely in Japanese but the Asian/English version of this set has a few decals on the shrink-wrap detailing the contents & DLC in English (you can see one near the Switch logo on the front of the box in P-A's product listing). The game itself is the Asian/English version with English language box art though!
 
Vinny said:
Has Star Ocean Second PS5 or Advance Wars Re-Boot gone on sale since release?
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I got my used copy of Advance Wars Re-Boot from Gamefly for $39.99 before shipping tax back on September 15th, 2023. I think that's the best deal that's happened. Dekudeals shows the new copies cheapest deal so far was $49.99 physical and $59.88 digital.

I'm likely grabbing Star Ocean Second... but for switch, which hasn't had a sale yet.
 
nitrosmob said:
Star Ocean I believe hasn't. Advanced Wars the same other than I think $10 off on Gamefly used a while ago.
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nightc1 said:
I got my used copy of Advance Wars Re-Boot from Gamefly for $39.99 before shipping tax back on September 15th, 2023. I think that's the best deal that's happened. Dekudeals shows the new copies cheapest deal so far was $49.99 physical and $59.88 digital.

I'm likely grabbing Star Ocean Second... but for switch, which hasn't had a sale yet.
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Hm... I see. I've honestly had some really bad purchases in the past year... stuff I buy because I think it'll never go on sale, end up on sale and then stuff I pass on end up going OOP. Ryza 3 NS I skipped and is OOP, but feeling like that'll get reprinted. But with SE and Nintendo games, who knows...
 
Vinny said:
Hm... I see. I've honestly had some really bad purchases in the past year... stuff I buy because I think it'll never go on sale, end up on sale and then stuff I pass on end up going OOP. Ryza 3 NS I skipped and is OOP, but feeling like that'll get reprinted. But with SE and Nintendo games, who knows...
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I did that with Metroid Dread. It sold out at all the regular stores so I grab a new full priced copy from Gamefly ... and the day before it shows up in the mail I'm in walmart and they have one copy on the shelf for $40. Nicely at least it sold out when I came back the next time, and I felt better but I went in another walmart last week and they had two copies. You win some and you lose some. But I won't be hunting for the game and I was getting interested in playing it.


Advance Wars, I think it'll hit $40 to $45 in clearance (it seems to still be stocked well at my walmart stores) and be gone but you'll probably have to pay attention for it. That's why I jumped on the $40 deal when Gamefly had it. I figured even if it goes cheaper that it would probably sell out before I found out. I don't know what ebay prices are for a complete used copy, but that might be worth considering. If I see it pop back up on gamefly used for $40, I'll post about it here as I track all price drops on switch games usually once every weekday using this url I saved: https://www.gamefly.com/browse/store/switch-store-pricedrop But they've already done that drop a couple times and sold out of the excess copies they were getting rid of and don't even have a rent and "keep it" price.
 
I'm surprised you didn't just get dread during targets and game stops buy x get y sales like most people do. Advance wars I recall also being in targets sale but probably preorders got canceled given the delayed release.
 
Fate getting localized is huge, but no PS version is such a weird choice. I get that VNs don't sell as well on PS as Switch but it feels like weird omission for such a big title.
 
Not too surprising they are just doing Switch & Steam for that Fate game. That seems to be the main platforms where VN's sell well and it has to be a profitable venture for the developer & publisher. They have enough data to know it's just not worth it even with a small dedicated group that would buy it.

Update on XC1 play through:

I'm making slow but steady progress and currently at what I expect is the main town in chapter 7. After getting things setup for the next event and going around to get all the side missions logged, I'm taking a progress break on the story to go back and finish other side missions, finish exploring each area (as few did I actually complete the whole map), and making sure I complete any other side missions I missed (though I have done a lot of side missions already). One of the major things I've found since starting down this backtracking completion thing is the whole Colony 6 part. I didn't even venture into that area after the chapter where I had to go through the ether mine. I only got into it because of a side mission I missed in Colony 9 (first area) from the dude with the machine that lets you make the crystals. But before I push forward on the Colony 6 stuff, I'm doing everything else possible ... and then I'll tell the refuges it's safe and decide how much of that I want to do or if it's time to push forward in the story. I'm currenlty in the mid 30's on leveling and I kind of want to spend some time grinding so I can level my arts a bit more. I only recently started buying the upgrade books for them as I wasn't spending any money up to this point in the game since the drops from side missions and just playing the game have been so good. I also only just now put any time into making the crystals. It feels kind of arbitrary at the moment since I haven't had too many struggles just using what I've found along the way.

Overall, it's a fantastic game but it's not beating my love for XC2. That game grabbed me from the start and I loved how quirky the main characters were and the personalities of each blade and how they had their own mini-story told through cut scenes when completing each affinity chart. Still, XC1 is excellent... and I'm dedicated to doing everything I can in the game and I can't fault it for being the first game.


shadowysea07 said:
I'm surprised you didn't just get dread during targets and game stops buy x get y sales like most people do. Advance wars I recall also being in targets sale but probably preorders got canceled given the delayed release.
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I usually don't shop at target and part of that is how some people end up with cancelled preorders. I was also on the fence about continuing to follow the Metroid franchise as I had about two years of very limited game playing and thought I might just be over it. Now that I'm back playing games regularly, I decided I'd get it but then the supply dried up at all the regular stores.
 
 
Grabbed Persona 5 Tactica for Switch. $20 was my buy price. I got both Switch and PS5 because I was worried the deal would disappear while I was trying to decide, then canceled PS5 since even though it does look better, the colors are super-saturated and I'd prefer to play this handheld while I listen to something on the TV. Clearly, the game flopped if it's this low already. Time to finally move on from milking Persona 5.

Fingers crossed Persona 3 Reload drops in price quickly. I just can't justify more than like $40 for a game I know is going to get a superior version down the line.
 
I didn't buy any video games during Black Friday week. There was hardly anything worthwhile or on sale.

But holy crap, the last month has been insane! I've bought so many titles for < $20 since Christmas. After basically doing zero holiday shopping. My favorite pickup was probably the Wo Long PS5 steelbook edtion for $40 on an Amazon flash sale. I bought Cuphead switch for $20, Theatrythm $20, GoW Ragnarok $30, RE4 ps5 $30, SF6 CE $80, Dead Cells Castlevania swtich $20, and Bravely Default 2 $20. This post-holiday rush has been unreal.

When there's so many things you want for your permanent collection, you just wait!

This week I'm playing the FF7 remaster where I left off and started the Alan Wake 1 remaster for the first time.
 
Best Buy did a price adjustment for me fortunately. Bought P5T last week thinking the Switch version would sell out before it hit $20
 
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