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

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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!!!
 
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62t said:
8-4 did the localization, the same people with other recent Tales games. It is usually same problem if you are playing any game sub only.

All reviews in one place

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=930016
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Most games normally don't change names but keep jpn voice work in place in my experience. Closest I've come to that would be anime where they americanized the names and people stuck with them for the subbed version at times. Like case closed jimmy rachel serena and richard (which are improvements imo especially with all the dick the detective puns to be made buwahahaha)

 
shadowysea07 said:
Most games normally don't change names but keep jpn voice work in place in my experience. Closest I've come to that would be anime where they americanized the names and people stuck with them for the subbed version at times. Like case closed jimmy rachel serena and richard (which are improvements imo especially with all the dick the detective puns to be made buwahahaha)
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One rumor regarding ToHR's localization is that a dub was planned at one point--and so the name changes would have been voiced--but canned later on and no one told the script-writers to revert the names back.

It'll be mildly annoying to read "Kor Meteor" but hear "Shing Meteoryte", but I'll get over it.

 
Was looking through the Tales of Hearts reviews. Solid, but unspectacular seems to be the consensus.

Btw, the synopsis for RPGamer was something like "a solid entry that was nice after the disappointing Tales of Xillia 2." So I went to their site and they gave Xillia 1 a 4.5/5 and Xillia 2 a 2.0/5.

So I guess it all depends on what crowd you talk to. Most people here seem to like Xillia 2 better. Another board I frequent prefers Xillia 1. Either are still worth purchasing though IMO, as much as I didn't enjoy Xillia 2. It's not a bad game by any means. I think Hearts might be more up my alley.

 
I hope Xillia 2 is $20 like Xillia 1 was last year at Gamestop. Going to pick up my Tales of Hearts R today though. Portable Tales games are far and few here in the US so i'll take what I can get.

 
shadowysea07 said:
Most games normally don't change names but keep jpn voice work in place in my experience. Closest I've come to that would be anime where they americanized the names and people stuck with them for the subbed version at times. Like case closed jimmy rachel serena and richard (which are improvements imo especially with all the dick the detective puns to be made buwahahaha)
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NISA would like to have a word with you.

 
nitrosmob said:
I hope Xillia 2 is $20 like Xillia 1 was last year at Gamestop. Going to pick up my Tales of Hearts R today though. Portable Tales games are far and few here in the US so i'll take what I can get.
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I worry that it won't because fewer stores have copies of the game (best buy carries very few copies of jrpgs these days and last year they had pre Black Friday sales on xillia that I think may have prompted the gamestop sale).
 
shadowysea07 said:
Most games normally don't change names but keep jpn voice work in place in my experience. Closest I've come to that would be anime where they americanized the names and people stuck with them for the subbed version at times. Like case closed jimmy rachel serena and richard (which are improvements imo especially with all the dick the detective puns to be made buwahahaha)
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Or Yakuza 2 and 3.

 
ShadowAssassin said:
Was looking through the Tales of Hearts reviews. Solid, but unspectacular seems to be the consensus.

Btw, the synopsis for RPGamer was something like "a solid entry that was nice after the disappointing Tales of Xillia 2." So I went to their site and they gave Xillia 1 a 4.5/5 and Xillia 2 a 2.0/5.

So I guess it all depends on what crowd you talk to. Most people here seem to like Xillia 2 better. Another board I frequent prefers Xillia 1. Either are still worth purchasing though IMO, as much as I didn't enjoy Xillia 2. It's not a bad game by any means. I think Hearts might be more up my alley.
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yah it depends on whoever, i loved xillia 1, very little grinding, a better reason to play new+ since it was a different story instead of just getting mulitple endings or the hard extra dungeon, easy battle system...havent started xillia 2 yet, trying to do some backlog, was flipping through the guide beforehand, was not liking how they talked about how the battle system controls worked plus alot of status effects with complicated solutions, i might just skip this all together, defiantely not looking forward to starting this, kinda get burnt out on rpgs as of late, very much enjoying senran as fantasy life was a heavy and slow repetived which just ruined it for me especially when i got to origin and saw how hard it was, lost all motivation to spend so much more time on it, last time i buy dlc before finding out more of the game, really hating the trend now with companies locking reviews from sites till release day if they get a copy at all, no copy means a crappy game and you want to hide it, same with no reviews till release day, stand behind your product if its quality

 
Picked my copy of ToHR today, but got a damn gutted copy. It's nice to know that you can preorder something about half a year ahead of release and still get a gutted copy. The dickwad manager seemed enthusiastic to sell me this copy. Probably because I've burned his ass on a survey, embarrased him in front of his district manager, and I know how to take advantage of their formerly fantastic promos. Apparently, there's a ton of Tales fans in my somewhat small town, for a Vita game nonetheless. Totally believable. According to this guy the other preorder folks went at midnight and there were "walk-ins". Funny, that they can get sealed copies over the preorder customers. I have to wonder the logic behind not getting up and preordering when you're aware of a game of this nature. Guess they'll just miss out on the costumes. My consolation prize was him removing the "NEW" sticker. I haven't had to take a gutted game I preordered in like half a decade, but with this being exclusive left me with little choice. fuck this company. No more GS preorders after this and the Ar NoSurge incident. Last time I stick my neck out for Scamco or any other publisher who decides to pull this GS exclusive crap.

Yeah there's the amazon/bamco joint thing, but almost everything in a plastic case from Amazon has come cracked for me in the past few years.

 
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ShadowAssassin said:
How do you get a gutted copy on launch?
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Like I said, the dick manager said the other preorder folks picked it up at the ACU/Halo Remaster Midnight release, earlier today, and there were walk-ins. I'm half tempted to return it. I don't even have a way to play it atm. I will definitely redeem the DLC first, though.

I'll also be taking advantage of the extended return policy for used games. Gonna dump em' all back at once. Was hesitant, but this made it easier to go through with. :razz:

 
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KingCountXero said:
Like I said, the dick manager said the other preorder folks picked it up at the ACU/Halo Remaster Midnight release, earlier today, and there were walk-ins. I'm half tempted to return it. I don't even have a way to play it atm. I will definitely redeem the DLC first, though.

I'll also be taking advantage of the extended return policy for used games. Gonna dump em' all back at once. Was hesitant, but this made it easier to go through with. :razz:
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umm you know vita games don't come with manuals right? So nothing is "gutted" out of it, only shrink wrap.

 
KingCountXero said:
Like I said, the dick manager said the other preorder folks picked it up at the ACU/Halo Remaster Midnight release, earlier today, and there were walk-ins. I'm half tempted to return it. I don't even have a way to play it atm. I will definitely redeem the DLC first, though.

I'll also be taking advantage of the extended return policy for used games. Gonna dump em' all back at once. Was hesitant, but this made it easier to go through with. :razz:
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double post

 
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Maybe he just wants the new plastic smell?

edit: Either way fuck Gamestop. Employees are free to gut copies and play the games, then still sell them as new. fuck that.

 
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KingCountXero said:
Like I said, the dick manager said the other preorder folks picked it up at the ACU/Halo Remaster Midnight release, earlier today, and there were walk-ins. I'm half tempted to return it. I don't even have a way to play it atm. I will definitely redeem the DLC first, though.

I'll also be taking advantage of the extended return policy for used games. Gonna dump em' all back at once. Was hesitant, but this made it easier to go through with. :razz:
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Yeah, I'd definitely return it. If nothing else, to stick it to them. I just hate the whole gutted thing.

If my Best Buy wasn't so far away I'd get all my games there just to not support the gutted policy corp.

 
KingCountXero said:
Picked my copy of ToHR today, but got a damn gutted copy. It's nice to know that you can preorder something about half a year ahead of release and still get a gutted copy. The dickwad manager seemed enthusiastic to sell me this copy. Probably because I've burned his ass on a survey, embarrased him in front of his district manager, and I know how to take advantage of their formerly fantastic promos. Apparently, there's a ton of Tales fans in my somewhat small town, for a Vita game nonetheless. Totally believable. According to this guy the other preorder folks went at midnight and there were "walk-ins". Funny, that they can get sealed copies over the preorder customers. I have to wonder the logic behind not getting up and preordering when you're aware of a game of this nature. Guess they'll just miss out on the costumes. My consolation prize was him removing the "NEW" sticker. I haven't had to take a gutted game I preordered in like half a decade, but with this being exclusive left me with little choice. fuck this company. No more GS preorders after this and the Ar NoSurge incident. Last time I stick my neck out for Scamco or any other publisher who decides to pull this GS exclusive crap.

Yeah there's the amazon/bamco joint thing, but almost everything in a plastic case from Amazon has come cracked for me in the past few years.
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Look at the bright side.. Mines hasn't even shipped yet from Amazon. Says I'm going to get it next week now.. ;~;
Yeah sucks though. I never take gutted copies if I have other options. Sadly for something like this we don't really have another option.
 
Yeah, actually. I do enjoy that smell. Not having some GS employee whose hands have been on some of the traded-in stuff that comes in there and god knows where else is a nice perk. Also knowing someone hasn't been playing my game is great too. Actually had that happen with Pokemon back in the day when I saw a save on the "new" copy. Unfortunately, Sony rather have their customers buy expensive proprietary memory sticks instead, so I really won't ever know.

ShadowAssassin said:
Yeah, I'd definitely return it. If nothing else, to stick it to them. I just hate the whole gutted thing.

If my Best Buy wasn't so far away I'd get all my games there just to not support the gutted policy corp.
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Yep. No other business does this to my knowledge. That recent GCU phone deal has made BB my go to for niche releases. Shouldn't have to worry about the stores not having the game on release day seeing as I don't live near one. I can wait a few days for shipping if it means not having to go to Shitstop anymore for preorders.

 
ShadowAssassin said:
Yeah, I'd definitely return it. If nothing else, to stick it to them. I just hate the whole gutted thing.

If my Best Buy wasn't so far away I'd get all my games there just to not support the gutted policy corp.
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that is why i cannot understand why people are still clamoring for gamestop black friday ad, most of the time, the game does goes on sale on black friday for gamestop are old games , and gutted. you will be lucky to find a sealed copy

 
YBX87 said:
that is why i cannot understand why people are still clamoring for gamestop black friday ad, most of the time, the game does goes on sale on black friday for gamestop are old games , and gutted. you will be lucky to find a sealed copy
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I can think of two reasons for wanting to see GS's BF ad:

1. B2G1 for all used games (though you could get a coupon for that now by renewing PUR, so I don't know if it'd be that good)

2. A repeat of last year's $30 1-year PS+ deal

 
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YBX87 said:
that is why i cannot understand why people are still clamoring for gamestop black friday ad, most of the time, the game does goes on sale on black friday for gamestop are old games , and gutted. you will be lucky to find a sealed copy
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For me it's because Gamestop.com generally offers the same games as the Gamestop BF ad and those are rarely gutted. Gamestop also is one of the few retailers that tends to discount a mix of big and niche games for BF.

 
The quality of GameStop varies a lot depending on the staff. I'm lucky that my local one is awesome. (There are also like 4-5 local stores.. They're everywhere here)

I prefer them because they're reliable. I don't have to worry about showing up for my Senran Kagura order and them having not received it, then telling me to go place an online order instead. I don't have to worry about Amazon dinging up my limited edition box because they shipped it in a bubble mailer.

I do have to worry about MSRP and gutted copies if I pick up a JRPG a while after release. If it's not sealed, GameStop stickers suck unless they're fairly newly applied.

I also prefer to pay stuff off in advance. It's not impossible to manage it myself, but it's worth the convenience of not subtracting $200 or so from my balance or a categories subcategory from my savings spreadsheet. That and my November - December purchases were all paid off months ago.

They were also handy for a situation like Neptunia Re;Birth 1. I had it pre-ordered, but wanted to try to get the LE - which didn't go on sale until the early morning of the release date. So I was able to have a backup ready for pickup if I didn't get an LE, or if I did get one I could just cancel rather than having to ship a return.

 
KingCountXero said:
Sounds like you don't know what the term gutted means. Gutted=new game taken out of factory sealing and being sold as "new".
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No, i understand what it means. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't know vita games didn't come with manuals, because otherwise you're a huge crybaby over plastic.

I got my copy today, and gutted the shit out of it myself in the parking lot.

 
KingCountXero said:
Like I said, the dick manager said the other preorder folks picked it up at the ACU/Halo Remaster Midnight release, earlier today, and there were walk-ins. I'm half tempted to return it. I don't even have a way to play it atm. I will definitely redeem the DLC first, though.

I'll also be taking advantage of the extended return policy for used games. Gonna dump em' all back at once. Was hesitant, but this made it easier to go through with. :razz:
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Take it back to another Gamestop if you try to return it. It's been my experience that they never take gutted copies back because you can't prove you didn't open it and play it. Sad but true. If the manager was a dick about the gut then he will surely be a dick about the return.

I had some idiot grunt call me some name under his breath that I couldn't make out when I walked out after refusing to buy a gutted copy of Valkyria Chronicles a few years ago. I was going to give him a rash of shit, but why bother, it's not like he would learn anything from it. Some employees are just complete tools. It happens.

 
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AukeySeven said:
No, i understand what it means. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't know vita games didn't come with manuals, because otherwise you're a huge crybaby over plastic.

I got my copy today, and gutted the shit out of it myself in the parking lot.
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When I pay full price for something new, I want it that way. Nothing else I buy new is ever open. This mentality allows GS exclusive practices to thrive.

Chrono Gear said:
Take it back to another Gamestop if you try to return it. It's been my experience that they never take gutted copies back because you can't prove you didn't open it and play it. Sad but true. If the manager was a dick about the gut then he will surely be a dick about the return.

I had some idiot grunt call me some name under his breath that I couldn't make out when I walked out after refusing to buy a gutted copy of Valkyria Chronicles a few years ago. I was going to give him a rash of shit, but why bother, it's not like he would learn anything from it. Some employees are just complete tools. It happens.
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Yeah that's one thing I'm worried about. The moron manager didn't put the stupid sticker on it either. Surveys don't seem to do much when it comes to managers, especially ones who've been around awhile. I don't want to make it more of a pain when I flip stuff for gift cards down the line.

 
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Last time I shopped at a GS I saw the employees making 2 piles of games. I asked are those for new and used games? The employee laughed and said NO one pile we rub our dicks on and the other is for our ass. I told him I don't plan to shop there in the future but if I did I'm bringing a can of Lysol to disinfect the whole store.

True story!
 
KingCountXero said:
When I pay full price for something new, I want it that way. Nothing else I buy new is ever open. This mentality allows GS exclusive practices to thrive.

Yeah that's one thing I'm worried about. The moron manager didn't put the stupid sticker on it either. Surveys don't seem to do much when it comes to managers, especially ones who've been around awhile. I don't want to make it more of a pain when I flip stuff for gift cards down the line.
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Next time you could call the day before and remind them that you preordered a niche game, and ask them to make sure it stays sealed. The last couple of niche games I preordered were gutted, so I called them on Monday to make sure ToHR would not be gutted.

 
Chrono Gear said:
Take it back to another Gamestop if you try to return it. It's been my experience that they never take gutted copies back because you can't prove you didn't open it and play it. Sad but true. If the manager was a dick about the gut then he will surely be a dick about the return.
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He got it without the New sticker, though, which means it should have counted as a used purchase which is good to return through the end of the holiday season (1/15/15 I think.)

 
Thermopyle said:
He got it without the New sticker, though, which means it should have counted as a used purchase which is good to return through the end of the holiday season (1/15/15 I think.)
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They have a different SKU code for used

 
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A lot of us want to know how non new can be sold as new also. But no one has challenged it in court. It's why I rarely shop there because I always get gutted copies. The last 5 games I bought for vita were all gutted except for tales of hearts r today. I usually buy on amazon unless I'm bored and want something to play right now. The worst is those idiotic stickers that ruin the damn case.
 
Gamestop has a few more niche games on "sale" (prices are new/used before any discounts):

:vita: Demon Gaze - $29.99/$24.99

http://www.gamestop.com/ps-vita/games/demon-gaze/112685

:vita: Disgaea 4 : A Promise Revisited - $29.99/$27.99

http://www.gamestop.com/ps-vita/games/disgaea-4-a-promise-revisited/113898

:ps3: Fairy Fencer F - $39.99/$34.99

http://www.gamestop.com/ps3/games/fairy-fencer-f/114990

:vita: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 - $29.99/$24.99

http://www.gamestop.com/ps-vita/games/hyperdimension-neptunia-rebirth1/114988

The ones from last week (Atelier Escha & Logy, Mugen Souls Z, Hyperdimension Neptunia PP, etc.) are still at their "sale" prices.

 
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ElectricStarshine said:
A lot of us want to know how non new can be sold as new also. But no one has challenged it in court. It's why I rarely shop there because I always get gutted copies. The last 5 games I bought for vita were all gutted except for tales of hearts r today. I usually buy on amazon unless I'm bored and want something to play right now. The worst is those idiotic stickers that ruin the damn case.
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Not everything sold as new is expected to be sealed. Probably the only industry as picky about sealed products would be food and medicine, for obvious safety precautions. Even in the video game industry there are instances of products lacking seals - many Wii U models and their bundled games are sold like this, for example. While a lot of stuff is handled by machines, even some sealed games might end up with fingerprints or scratches because it was defective in some way (i.e. missing the manual or the disc was dislodged, etc.) and had to be fixed manually.

If taking it to court, I imagine you'd have to prove that the item was in fact used previously. Which is practically impossible unless it has extensive scratches or evidence of disc cleaner or buffing applied to it, which most stores would be willing to replace. It might come as a shock, but not everyone is like us, with the OCD expectation that "new" = "flawless".

 
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Asmith906 said:
I always wondered how gamestop could get away with selling games that their employees have played as new? Isn't that false advertisement?
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Whenever they offer to sell me one of those as "New," I say no and they act like I just told them they're ugly. I don't shop at Gamestop often (except for when i have trade credit) but I'd say it happens 50% of the time I go to buy a game. It annoys me, but it doesn't sound like it will change any time soon.

 
I would argue there is a big difference between games being in a Wii U/Vita/3DS as included, versus Gamestop opening up a brand new game, putting it out on the shelf, and then trying to sell it as new. My VIta bundle came with a loose Assassins Creed game, but I don't consider that used. I do consider something that was shrinkwrapped, and then opened, pieces removed, and thensold as new as used though. Who knows how many people played that game before selling it to me as "new" or how many hands touched the game with their germy fingers. (Thankfully the staff at the GS near my house are all clean, professional, and nice folks which is why I give them a pass).

 
wind_break said:
:vita: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1
Is this game worth it for 29.99? Never played any of them but I'm interested in trying this one
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I'm in the same boat. I want to try this series but the first one on the PS3 looked boring. I heard Rebirth 1 has better improvements.

 
Witch and The Hundred Knight is $17.99 used and $19.99 new at gamestop.

I'm hoping gamestop will do a buy 2 get 1 free for black friday. There's a few niche games that have finally dropped to $20 that I want.

 
Pheria said:
I also prefer to pay stuff off in advance. It's not impossible to manage it myself, but it's worth the convenience of not subtracting $200 or so from my balance or a categories subcategory from my savings spreadsheet. That and my November - December purchases were all paid off months ago.
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I don't. I've lost money this way to pre-orders at both Game Crazy and Gamestop. Orders conveniently disappeared cause the releases were significantly delayed or canceled. And you can't dispute it on your credit card, cause it's a year ago when you put the money down.

 
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If anyone's wondering, Sekai Project posted an update on the Physical release of Clannad, for those already backed on the Physical version of Clannad, you'll get it the same way as the JP LE as an upgrade, free! X3

(Note: They mention they'll do a Mock up of the English LE if and when available, and its only available from their KS during the KS time period. Though the Digital version and items stay seperate in the Digital Versions, as mentioned.)

 
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Asmith906 said:
Witch and The Hundred Knight is $17.99 used and $19.99 new at gamestop.

I'm hoping gamestop will do a buy 2 get 1 free for black friday. There's a few niche games that have finally dropped to $20 that I want.
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Have they patched it yet? Last I heard it was still unplayable.

 
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