Japanese Niche Games Deals Thread: Atlus, NISA, Aksys, XSeed and More!

Status
Not open for further replies.
kndy

kndy

CAGiversary!
Feedback
2 (100%)
The following thread are for niche-based Japanese video games by smaller companies such as Atlus, NIS America, AKSYS, XSEED, D3 Publisher, KOEI/TECMO, SNK Playmore, Ignition, Natsume or any sweet deals for those who are passionate and hardcore about Japanese video games even from the bigger companies like SquareEnix, Sega, Bandai Namco, etc.

But to avoid any messiness of links everywhere, we'll focus on games within the last 2-3 years as opposed to the last five-ten. [although, if you do see older titles on sale, please post them regardless].

The theme of these deals are Japanese video games distributed in the US by the smaller niche companies. The thread is literally for those who love Japanese games. There will be a few Korean games that you may see on this list, such as the "DJ Max" games.

If you see a deal, please post!

NOTE: Please check the most recent page for the latest deals.

And I want to thank many of you in advance who submit their deals and their support!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks for liking my list. It's still a rough draft, but I just felt the previous halfassed list was too incomplete :p

Nier is very underrated though. It's way better then some of these other titles that got the same scores on gaming websites. Still falls short from the cream of the crop for me though...

 
Zaku77 said:
I'm not even going to get into breaking the list down item by item. I am very particular about differentiating between objective and subjective problems. People all have different tastes, and that's fine, but a lot of people lack the ability to see if something is good/bad or if it is just something they like/don't like lol.

(Although, lutz, I like your list quite a bit more! My biggest gripe would be putting NIER into a one of a kind, must be experienced category lol. There may be some drawbacks (the combat is adequate, nothing else, and the graphics were dated before it even came out, but experiences of that tier just don't come along very often, and the overwhelming greatness of the whole package washes away the slight flaws like an ocean vs a cup of water lol.)
Click to expand...
Nier is obejctively good? Oh my.

I suppose I could agree with you if it weren't for a story more stale than some of the weapon flavor text from Cavia's previous failed game - Drakengard, characters whose sole points of interest can only be learned from reading the Japanese Grimoire Nier guide, gameplay that is simultaneously imbalanced and consistently dull, plot "twists" that can only be garnered through multiple play-throughs and were clearly grabbed from scrapped Drakengard ideas, mismanaged gate points (most RPGs let you know when you're about to face a boss, so that you can potentially grind if you can't handle it, but Nier throws you at a boss, locks the doors behind you, and hopes that three hours later you don't want to strangle a kid because you're too underpowered to beat it without playing a perfect match - and underpowered only because the mindless fetch quests didn't provide enough sway to get you to do), a limited, disengaging world, and character development best described as devolution.

The game is a broken, janky mess. And while there are rare occasions of brilliance, the entire package is best approached with caution. Nier is not an objectively good game. It has a very, very vocal audience supporting it, but the experience is love-it-or-hate-it. Don't act like it's a 10/10 because it's not and never was.

I'm willing to play with you on any of the other games on my list, since you apparently took much offense at it. I actually put more thought into it than you did your entire playthrough of Nier, so I think my ten minutes spent ranking the games will be useful to those who need the advice.

 
Dark_Sage said:
Zaku77 said:
I'm not even going to get into breaking the list down item by item. I am very particular about differentiating between objective and subjective problems. People all have different tastes, and that's fine, but a lot of people lack the ability to see if something is good/bad or if it is just something they like/don't like lol.

(Although, lutz, I like your list quite a bit more! My biggest gripe would be putting NIER into a one of a kind, must be experienced category lol. There may be some drawbacks (the combat is adequate, nothing else, and the graphics were dated before it even came out, but experiences of that tier just don't come along very often, and the overwhelming greatness of the whole package washes away the slight flaws like an ocean vs a cup of water lol.)
Click to expand...
Nier is obejctively good? Oh my.

I suppose I could agree with you if it weren't for a story more stale than some of the weapon flavor text from Cavia's previous failed game - Drakengard, characters whose sole points of interest can only be learned from reading the Japanese Grimoire Nier guide, gameplay that is simultaneously imbalanced and consistently dull, plot "twists" that can only be garnered through multiple play-throughs and were clearly grabbed from scrapped Drakengard ideas, mismanaged gate points (most RPGs let you know when you're about to face a boss, so that you can potentially grind if you can't handle it, but Nier throws you at a boss, locks the doors behind you, and hopes that three hours later you don't want to strangle a kid because you're too underpowered to beat it without playing a perfect match - and underpowered only because the mindless fetch quests didn't provide enough sway to get you to do), a limited, disengaging world, and character development best described as devolution.

The game is a broken, janky mess. And while there are rare occasions of brilliance, the entire package is best approached with caution. Nier is not an objectively good game. It has a very, very vocal audience supporting it, but the experience is love-it-or-hate-it. Don't act like it's a 10/10 because it's not and never was.

I'm willing to play with you on any of the other games on my list, since you apparently took much offense at it. I actually put more thought into it than you did your entire playthrough of Nier, so I think my ten minutes spent ranking the games will be useful to those who need the advice.
Click to expand...
Given the fact that I'm getting a vibe that someone that worked on Nier ran over your dog or insulted your sister, and you devolved into some slight petty name calling, I'm not really interested in continuing this conversation with you in any way, shape, or form. I'm not interested in talking to a brick wall and, with a response like that, that's what you seem to be.

I will just say (and yet here I am continuing it lol) that as a game, Nier does have some problems. It's certainly not the mess you made it out to be, but it's also definitely not perfect. As an experience, however, (which is a pretty damn big part of an RPG) it is wholly unique and should really be experienced. The story is mature (Kaine is not so much, but her repartes with Weiss adds some humor into what is otherwise a very bleak game), sorrowful, and haunting. It's not full of shounen tropes and forced happy endings. The main character is also an adult and a father, which puts it into a totally different perspective from your typical JRPG hero. The world is a melancholic place with a very interesting history. The world that they give you is also very diverse (nothing worse than a lack of diversity in locations) and interesting to explore, but carries a persistent sorrowfull atmosphere that ties it all together. The game must be fleshed out by the player to understand this, though. That includes in game reading, talking to extra people, and seeing the rest of the endings (This is very important). The soundtrack is also absolutely gorgeous and very different for a JRPG. You can moan about and exaggerate the gameplay issues all you want (I never experienced any of the frustrations that you did, so I suppose that depends on play style--get better, lulz =P) it doesn't take away from the experience in any way

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vigilante said:
Not really a deal per se, but Gamestop has a preorder bonus for Dynasty Warriors 8 (release date: 7/16): A Warriors Costume Pack.

http://www.gamestop.com/ps3/games/dynasty-warriors-8/108950#bonusFeatures

There's no image, but I saw an ad in-store promoting the bonus and the costumes look pretty cool. Sorry, I wasn't able to take a picture. :cry:
Click to expand...
I had the game preordered anyway (DW is my favorite franchise), so I guess this is just an added bonus xD Thanks for the heads up.

 
I want that PS3 region free LE D&D Chronicles of Mystaria game, I see the regular edition on Amazon.JP but it looks like I don't see the limited edition.  But even if they had it, US customers can't get games from Amazon Japan can they? The list price is $123 after conversion and Play Asia wants $175 for it, anyone else know a way of paying MSRP for this one? 

 
destro4eva said:
I want that PS3 region free LE D&D Chronicles of Mystaria game, I see the regular edition on Amazon.JP but it looks like I don't see the limited edition. But even if they had it, US customers can't get games from Amazon Japan can they? The list price is $123 after conversion and Play Asia wants $175 for it, anyone else know a way of paying MSRP for this one?
Click to expand...
It's an E-Capcom exclusive, so it won't be available at Amazon.jp. You can get it here:

http://www.nippon-yasan.com/lang-en/japanese-video-games-playstation-3/5218-ps3-dungeons-dragons-chronicles-of-mystara-e-capcom-limited-edition.html

 
 
Just out of minor curiosity, has anyone else heard anything out of the Class of Heroes 2 physical copy? I'm assuming it's going on 3 weeks since the digital codes went out and I'm hoping not much longer before they start shipping the game to the people who've pre-ordered.

 
outerfox said:
Just out of minor curiosity, has anyone else heard anything out of the Class of Heroes 2 physical copy? I'm assuming it's going on 3 weeks since the digital codes went out and I'm hoping not much longer before they start shipping the game to the people who've pre-ordered.
Click to expand...
According to this thread, it's been delayed several weeks (as of the 14th) due to an Alchemy Recipe bug or something:

http://www.gaijinworks.com/interact/showthread.php?125-How-are-the-physical-editions-coming-along-for-Class-of-Heroes-2/page2

 
hmm generally avoid this thread after the mods made it kinda worthless deleting everything durring the mugen souls flames, but im not sure where to ask.

is Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk getting hard to find? i never got it because there was no LE. i figured it would hit 20 bucks soon, but it hasnt really dropped. I ask because its in my gpld box for about 42 bucks and im not sure if i should snag it or wait for a drop. i do notice gamestop doesnt carry it anymore, nor BBY. Itwould suck not getting it, then paying a premium. But so would getting it and seeing it hit 20 bucks soon. I have the LEs for all the other games in the series.

hopefully someone chimes in because theres a witch and 100 knights there for 36 bucks too so i gotta bite or pass in the next hour or so tonight

Dead_Batteries said:
Not sure if this was posted already, but a trailer for The Witch and the Hundred Knights is up.

http://youtu.be/AEV8glOWJTo
Click to expand...
waiting on an LE announcment from NISA for this. the JP one looks pretty standard.

That dog knights adorable. Cat girls are a dime a dozen. Y ou never see dog girls! btw is the witch wearing mermaid shells for a bra?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Kenshindono said:
hmm generally avoid this thread after the mods made it kinda worthless deleting everything durring the mugen souls flames, but im not sure where to ask.

is Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk getting hard to find? i never got it because there was no LE. i figured it would hit 20 bucks soon, but it hasnt really dropped. I ask because its in my gpld box for about 42 bucks and im not sure if i should snag it or wait for a drop. i do notice gamestop doesnt carry it anymore, nor BBY. Itwould suck not getting it, then paying a premium. But so would getting it and seeing it hit 20 bucks soon. I have the LEs for all the other games in the series.

hopefully someone chimes in because theres a witch and 100 knights there for 36 bucks too so i gotta bite or pass in the next hour or so tonight
Click to expand...
Yeah, a lot of people showed that they either lack the ability to critically think or are just basement dwelling weaboos that are completely out of touch with Western society as a whole with that whole debate. It's probably better that those conversations not be allowed because those of us that don't fit the aforementioned description tend to lose copious amounts of respect for those that do ;).

As for Ayesha, it is the first Atelier game released by Tecmo Koei instead of NISA, so it's really hard to say what will happen with it. I've been waiting for a price drop as well, but we can't really go by past patterns because of the change in publisher.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm trying to decide between the standard version and the limited edtiion of Muramasa for Vita. Are Aksys LEs worth it? Rare at all? I don't want to pick up an LE the day it comes out if it will be more affordable down the road.

 
XxFuRy2Xx said:
I'm trying to decide between the standard version and the limited edtiion of Muramasa for Vita. Are Aksys LEs worth it? Rare at all? I don't want to pick up an LE the day it comes out if it will be more affordable down the road.
Click to expand...
STAY AWAY!

I preordered the CE before they even announced it and thanks to an IGN unboxing my hype was killed. Not only is the case an ugly color / looks cheap (not something I would ever use anyway), the skin didn't look that nice and the pouch looked fairly standard fare / boring. The main draw for me was the Lithograph, which looks awesome, but is around the same size as a Vita case and was not actually "framed" per se. It came in an envelope with a cardboard / paper boarder around it, but that was it. Nothing about this CE screamed value and considering it hasn't sold out yet, I wouldn't worry about it. However, the CE seems to be limited to GS / Amazon, so your odds of finding it cheap are lower.

 
admiralvic said:
STAY AWAY!

I preordered the CE before they even announced it and thanks to an IGN unboxing my hype was killed. Not only is the case an ugly color / looks cheap (not something I would ever use anyway), the skin didn't look that nice and the pouch looked fairly standard fare / boring. The main draw for me was the Lithograph, which looks awesome, but is around the same size as a Vita case and was not actually "framed" per se. It came in an envelope with a cardboard / paper boarder around it, but that was it. Nothing about this CE screamed value and considering it hasn't sold out yet, I wouldn't worry about it. However, the CE seems to be limited to GS / Amazon, so your odds of finding it cheap are lower.
Click to expand...
:shock: Wow, thanks for the heads-up. I'll wait for the standard edition to be cheaper, then.

 
Eh I'm keeping my order in, only 20$ and I still want to support the company. Got nothing else to order anyway, paid off everything in the month and a half lol. I loved the Hard Shell from the Persona 4 Golden LE, and the Lithograph looks awesome

I also just ended up ordering Time and Eternity's LE on a whim despite being against it at first

 
Last edited by a moderator:
admiralvic said:
STAY AWAY!

I preordered the CE before they even announced it and thanks to an IGN unboxing my hype was killed. Not only is the case an ugly color / looks cheap (not something I would ever use anyway), the skin didn't look that nice and the pouch looked fairly standard fare / boring. The main draw for me was the Lithograph, which looks awesome, but is around the same size as a Vita case and was not actually "framed" per se. It came in an envelope with a cardboard / paper boarder around it, but that was it. Nothing about this CE screamed value and considering it hasn't sold out yet, I wouldn't worry about it. However, the CE seems to be limited to GS / Amazon, so your odds of finding it cheap are lower.
Click to expand...
thanks, I was on the fence about this one so I'm willing to wait and hope for a price drop.

 
Donkey132 said:
thanks, I was on the fence about this one so I'm willing to wait and hope for a price drop.
Click to expand...
admiralvic said:
STAY AWAY!

I preordered the CE before they even announced it and thanks to an IGN unboxing my hype was killed. Not only is the case an ugly color / looks cheap (not something I would ever use anyway), the skin didn't look that nice and the pouch looked fairly standard fare / boring. The main draw for me was the Lithograph, which looks awesome, but is around the same size as a Vita case and was not actually "framed" per se. It came in an envelope with a cardboard / paper boarder around it, but that was it. Nothing about this CE screamed value and considering it hasn't sold out yet, I wouldn't worry about it. However, the CE seems to be limited to GS / Amazon, so your odds of finding it cheap are lower.
Click to expand...
Goddammit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fs3WfKjLkU

Yeah, that doesn't look that amazing. Oh well, I'll keep my pre-order since my brother really wants to play it and I'd be picking the SE up down the road anyway.

 
Dark_Sage said:
Goddammit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fs3WfKjLkU

Yeah, that doesn't look that amazing. Oh well, I'll keep my pre-order since my brother really wants to play it and I'd be picking the SE up down the road anyway.
Click to expand...
Wow, thanks for posting that. It's really underwhelming. I'll be canceling my pre-order in favor of the PSN or standard version then.

 
for $20 more, it's not that bad at first glance, but given that the case looks like crap, an abridged soundtrack, a very mediocre looking litho, a velvet bag with a large, annoying text banner below the muramasa logo and the fact that it's a remake from the Wii version of the game, I'll wait for a $20 pricepoint.  This doesnt look very appealing as far as a "collector's edition" goes.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pretty crappy limited edition. System protectors always make your unit look like ass, and so do decals. The bag is boring, the lithograph is cheap and the soundtrack seems pretty meager.

Do not want.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
whats with the Muramasa LE hate? At least its real stuff instead of lame dlc or something. The pouch looks nice actually. Though i dont know what the facewplate thing is. does it just protect the screen when your not using it?

Actually i was wondering: Is the soundtrack in the box, or seperate? my GS is lame so i want to make sure i get it if its seperate. it looks like the guy pulls it from the box.

Zaku77 said:
Yeah, a lot of people showed that they either lack the ability to critically think or are just basement dwelling weaboos that are completely out of touch with Western society as a whole with that whole debate. It's probably better that those conversations not be allowed because those of us that don't fit the aforementioned description tend to lose copious amounts of respect for those that do ;).

As for Ayesha, it is the first Atelier game released by Tecmo Koei instead of NISA, so it's really hard to say what will happen with it. I've been waiting for a price drop as well, but we can't really go by past patterns because of the change in publisher.
Click to expand...
yea, it was lame; but the mods ridiculously draconian response was just as bad. Deleting tons of unrelated posts, and worse, people who just copy/pasted the official statement on what was censored from the publisher was supremely asinine. It just lead to people asking over and over about it because they kept removing it. Idiotic, and made this thread pretty worthless IMO

As for Ayesha.. damn thats what i was afraid of. No one seems to know. I dont want to buy it now, then see it drop, but i dont want to miss it and it becomes rare either. Have most of you bought it?

 
admiralvic said:
STAY AWAY!

I preordered the CE before they even announced it and thanks to an IGN unboxing my hype was killed. Not only is the case an ugly color / looks cheap (not something I would ever use anyway), the skin didn't look that nice and the pouch looked fairly standard fare / boring. The main draw for me was the Lithograph, which looks awesome, but is around the same size as a Vita case and was not actually "framed" per se. It came in an envelope with a cardboard / paper boarder around it, but that was it. Nothing about this CE screamed value and considering it hasn't sold out yet, I wouldn't worry about it. However, the CE seems to be limited to GS / Amazon, so your odds of finding it cheap are lower.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Guess I'll be picking up the tomb raider CE instead.

 
Kenshindono said:
whats with the Muramasa LE hate? At least its real stuff instead of lame dlc or something. The pouch looks nice actually. Though i dont know what the facewplate thing is. does it just protect the screen when your not using it?

Actually i was wondering: Is the soundtrack in the box, or seperate? my GS is lame so i want to make sure i get it if its seperate. it looks like the guy pulls it from the box.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't call it hate, just that it could have been better. Like the faceplate is something of a case, which protects the face when it's not in use. The back is missing so you can use it whenever, though it's open to damage (unless there is another piece I am not seeing). As far as the hate goes, I don't see how comparing it to the worst CE's makes it objectively better. Like lets compare it to a few CE's out there, GoW A was also $20 dollars more and included the Season Pass (Muramasa has roughly $20 dollars worth of DLC coming out), a figure and a steelbook. Ragnarok was $10 dollars more and included a fairly helpful guide book, OST and some cool looking cards. Catherine was also $20 dollars more with boxer shorts / t shirt / pizza box / pillow case and a preorder OST / Artbook. Seriously, the main draw was probably the lithograph (that's what Vanillaware is known for...) and even that was fairly unimpressive. Especially given the price tag.

I am sure the soundtrack is included with the CE and separate for preorders. Either or, it's only like 5 songs.

 
admiralvic said:
I wouldn't call it hate, just that it could have been better. Like the faceplate is something of a case, which protects the face when it's not in use. The back is missing so you can use it whenever, though it's open to damage (unless there is another piece I am not seeing). As far as the hate goes, I don't see how comparing it to the worst CE's makes it objectively better. Like lets compare it to a few CE's out there, GoW A was also $20 dollars more and included the Season Pass (Muramasa has roughly $20 dollars worth of DLC coming out), a figure and a steelbook. Ragnarok was $10 dollars more and included a fairly helpful guide book, OST and some cool looking cards. Catherine was also $20 dollars more with boxer shorts / t shirt / pizza box / pillow case and a preorder OST / Artbook. Seriously, the main draw was probably the lithograph (that's what Vanillaware is known for...) and even that was fairly unimpressive. Especially given the price tag.

I am sure the soundtrack is included with the CE and separate for preorders. Either or, it's only like 5 songs.
Click to expand...
I was pretty jacked about the CE. But the IGN unboxing really killed it for me. Totally underwhelming. But I'll be saving a few dollars, I suppose.

 
To Kenshin, I brought Ayesha on launch day because I didnt want to risk it becoming rare, especially with it shifting hands from NIS. One of the reasons I ended up deciding to buy Time and Eternity, I'd rather just buy it now than it ending up being another Neptunia MK2 LE (Which I willingly passed on and regretted)

 
Bought Ayesha new sealed, from a trusted seller on eBay a couple weeks after it came out for 30 bucks.

Also ordered that Time and Eternity LE. That set is way to pretty not too pick up.

Kenshindono said:
whats with the Muramasa LE hate? At least its real stuff instead of lame dlc or something. The pouch looks nice actually. Though i dont know what the facewplate thing is. does it just protect the screen when your not using it?

Actually i was wondering: Is the soundtrack in the box, or seperate? my GS is lame so i want to make sure i get it if its seperate. it looks like the guy pulls it from the box.

yea, it was lame; but the mods ridiculously draconian response was just as bad. Deleting tons of unrelated posts, and worse, people who just copy/pasted the official statement on what was censored from the publisher was supremely asinine. It just lead to people asking over and over about it because they kept removing it. Idiotic, and made this thread pretty worthless IMO

As for Ayesha.. damn thats what i was afraid of. No one seems to know. I dont want to buy it now, then see it drop, but i dont want to miss it and it becomes rare either. Have most of you bought it?
Click to expand...
 
Dead_Batteries said:
Not sure if this was posted already, but a trailer for The Witch and the Hundred Knights is up.

http://youtu.be/AEV8glOWJTo
Click to expand...
Thanks! This is the first NIS-published game in a LONG time to appeal to me at all. As big of a JRPG fan as I am, I just do not care for 90% of their stuff - but this looks fantastic. Hoping that Amazon release date of March 2014 isn't correct.

 
I didnt see it posted here yet (i did post this on the Kmart thread as well), but i found Battle Fantasia (AKSYS) clearanced out for $4.97, new, at my local Kmart store for Xbox 360, although its YMMV in most cases with Kmart Clearance.

 
Kenshindono said:
whats with the Muramasa LE hate? At least its real stuff instead of lame dlc or something. The pouch looks nice actually. Though i dont know what the facewplate thing is. does it just protect the screen when your not using it?
Click to expand...
The faceplate thing is basically a case that you use for travel, but also while you play. You don't remove it, which is why the back has the big square cutout so you can still access the touchpad in the back. The front just folds down when you aren't using it as admiral said above.

It's basically a Muramasa branded hori face plate. It looks the same as http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WJ6YGW/

One of the pics shows what it looks like when it's in use. You'll have that top piece open when playing it. If a game requires you to shake/move/tilt the vita, it can be a little annoying as sometimes the faceplate will fold back down due to the movement.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
admiralvic said:
STAY AWAY!

I preordered the CE before they even announced it and thanks to an IGN unboxing my hype was killed. Not only is the case an ugly color / looks cheap (not something I would ever use anyway), the skin didn't look that nice and the pouch looked fairly standard fare / boring. The main draw for me was the Lithograph, which looks awesome, but is around the same size as a Vita case and was not actually "framed" per se. It came in an envelope with a cardboard / paper boarder around it, but that was it. Nothing about this CE screamed value and considering it hasn't sold out yet, I wouldn't worry about it. However, the CE seems to be limited to GS / Amazon, so your odds of finding it cheap are lower.
Click to expand...
Personally I think it's alright... Maybe throw up a link so people can make their own decisions?

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/06/21/unboxing-muramasa-rebirths-special-edition-on-ps-vita

 
God damn Amazon. I order a $12 CD, comes in a nice cardboard thing to protect it today. My $40 Project X Zone comes in dinged because Amazon used a Bubble Mailer. :bomb:

 
Sir_Fragalot said:
God damn Amazon. I order a $12 CD, comes in a nice cardboard thing to protect it today. My $40 Project X Zone comes in dinged because Amazon used a Bubble Mailer. :bomb:
Click to expand...
I won't order any boxed LE from them anymore. Their shipping has sucked ass for the last 1-2 years, so you should all know better by now. =P

 
About the bubble mailers...

Since my copy of PXZ hasn't shipped yet, I contacted them on chat to make a note about using a box for the shipment, with my and others getting their products ruined from the mailers. Things went smooth and they are sending a box! Perhaps doing this FIRST will result in less agravation for us consumers wanting our items nice, and maybe they will finally stop putting them in mailers? Even if they put it in those cardboard flaps, where you peel the tab off, would work MUCH better.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
bread's done
Back
Top