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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[quote name='vherub']Ragnorok64-

I think the plotline for Etrian Odyssey IV has to do with selectively imposing one's own hypocritical values on another group while at the same time scapegoating that group for personal deviant inadequacies and emotional baggage.

And there will be mapping.[/QUOTE]
That didn't really answer anything for me. I tried google and came up with nothing as well.

As far as my Code of Princess, I ordered from New Egg. It came in a padded envelope but it was fine.
 
[quote name='Zaku77']Anybody that's ordering a boxed game from Newegg with a discount should order a spare from Gamestop. That way you get a copy in perfect condition (Gamestop packs things brilliantly) and you can return the beat up one to Gamestop. If you don't agree with it, don't do it, but it certainly works well for me.[/QUOTE]The only problem with that plan is that unless you get free shipping on the copy from Gamestop.com, you won't get the shipping cost refunded; trust me, I know. :whistle2:#
 
[quote name='storino03']It's hard to say. I'm guessing it will NOT be a low print, because of the stupid censor backlash everyone is in an uproar over. I, however, will be getting it regardless.[/QUOTE]

hmm well thanks for the reply at least someone tried to answer lol.

[quote name='Zaku77']Separation of church and state refers to the church not running the government. That doesn't mean that the people that make the laws must all be atheist and agnostic, so that those things don't make their way in. lol[/QUOTE]

basically this and as paul ryan and joe biden said in the debate tonight someones religion will always influence them. and this is true but again let us stress the point this basically means the pope or any other head of church cannot run the government unless elected by the people as the president....even then that is only 1/3 of the power at least thats how it should be though thats not how it is now. of course the separation of church and state isnt actually found in the constitution as least not worded directly it is an implied concept brought about by the entire constitution itself more specifically the first amendment.
 
Does anyone know how large XSeed's print runs usually are for CE's? I have the Ragnarok Odyssey Mercenary Edition pre-ordered at Newegg right now, but I see that it's still in stock at Gamestop, Amazon, and Newegg. If there's going to be a decent amount of copies floating around, I might just cancel and hold off for a $30 price point.
 
[quote name='AFC']Does anyone know how large XSeed's print runs usually are for CE's? I have the Ragnarok Odyssey Mercenary Edition pre-ordered at Newegg right now, but I see that it's still in stock at Gamestop, Amazon, and Newegg. If there's going to be a decent amount of copies floating around, I might just cancel and hold off for a $30 price point.[/QUOTE]

Thats kinda a tough one. Some of them droped in price pretty good (solotobro and some of the Y's ones hit about 20 bucks i think) and others dont really drop that much. I think Y's I+II collectors edition is kinda expensive new these days, and some of their regular games like Avalon code go for a decent ammount sealed.

Kinda a gamble if you want to throw the dice, but it seems more often than not they do drop in price. This may be one of the games that dont though so its really up to you on if you want to bet on that or not. I got it when they had the $15 off promo at newegg so im all set. I dont even own a vita, hah.

^_^x KD
 
[quote name='anotherpoorgamer']I completely forgot about this game. I was at Gamestop yesterday as well! I kind of want this game just because of the controversy.[/QUOTE]

Controversy?

SI
 
[quote name='chicagocubsfan']Well IGN gave Mugen Souls a 3.9. Good thing I cancelled my preorder.[/QUOTE]

Doesn't IGN always rate NISA games really low? I wouldn't pay attention to that if you usually like NISA games. I cancelled my preorder too though. Not for that reason, but going by the level readings on their site, the CE doesn't seem to be flying off the shelves so ill pick it up later in hopes of price drop by then.
 
IGN's reviews are a pretty bad representative of all games that are not sports or shooters. It's clear that the reviewer was not the demographic that this game is for, which is basically everyone who has posted in this thread.

Some people are good at games like this, and some are not. I suck at shooters, while my roommate is pretty good. On the other hand, I was letting my roommate play with my FF Tactics for the first time ever, and it was really tough to watch him play. A guy who plays only a little bit of every game will not be able to give this game a full review. If Disgaea's post-story gameplay is any indication (main story = 25% vs. post game = 75%), then Mugen Souls will have massive replay value for those who are used to games like this, and will get over the "crappy visuals" and "deep and complex systems" this game offers.

In my opinion, this game is for those who think that a game like Dyad should not get a higher score on Metacritic (83) than Disgaea 4 (80).
 
[quote name='Jack_Frost']stopped reading there[/QUOTE]
haha yeah. But I didn't have really high hopes for this game in the first place. I may pick it up at like $15 if it drops that far.
 
[quote name='chicagocubsfan']Well IGN gave Mugen Souls a 3.9. Good thing I cancelled my preorder.[/QUOTE]

Have a damn opinion, man! Could've at least rented the game. Game$pot gave Wild Arms 2 a 5.4/10, but did that stop me from liking the game a ton? Hell no. Didn't one guy in EGM give Final Fantasy III (6j) for SNES a freakin 6.0 when the game came out? Scores are completely useless when it comes to video games, where average is 8.8 and garbage is 7.0. Mugen Souls looks like one of those either "love it or hate it" games, with scores as low as 1/5 and two scores of 86 and 87/100 and one 7/10.

I can't STAND Wild Arms 4, and IGN gave it a 7.8. I think the Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed is tolerable, but the Wii version is a piece of crap. What does IGN say? Xbox 360, 4.5/10. Wii, 7.2/10. What the entire hell.

tl;dr Don't ever trust a score from IGN, or any other site for that matter, unless there's a huge consensus on metacritic or gamerankings that it's just a giant turd like Haze or Ninja Gaiden 3 any other "next AAA title" that every stupid child flamed critics over for daring to give a low score to on a game that wasn't even released to the public yet. Canceling a preorder because of IGNorant makes you no better than them.
 
[quote name='C_A']Have a damn opinion, man! Could've at least rented the game. Game$pot gave Wild Arms 2 a 5.4/10, but did that stop me from liking the game a ton? Hell no. Didn't one guy in EGM give Final Fantasy III (6j) for SNES a freakin 6.0 when the game came out? Scores are completely useless when it comes to video games, where average is 8.8 and garbage is 7.0. Mugen Souls looks like one of those either "love it or hate it" games, with scores as low as 1/5 and two scores of 86 and 87/100 and one 7/10.

I can't STAND Wild Arms 4, and IGN gave it a 7.8. I think the Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed is tolerable, but the Wii version is a piece of crap. What does IGN say? Xbox 360, 4.5/10. Wii, 7.2/10. What the entire hell.

tl;dr Don't ever trust a score from IGN, or any other site for that matter, unless there's a huge consensus on metacritic or gamerankings that it's just a giant turd like Haze or Ninja Gaiden 3 any other "next AAA title" that every stupid child flamed critics over for daring to give a low score to on a game that wasn't even released to the public yet. Canceling a preorder because of IGNorant makes you no better than them.[/QUOTE]
Well to be honest I cancelled my preorder like a month ago, and the review just made me glad I didn't get it. I know sometimes reviews can be unfair but I thought this game would be much better then it was reviewed. Especially the technical aspects brought up in the review.
 
[quote name='DarkSageRK']IGN sucks, sure, but let's save the venom for a game that's actually good and gets an unfair rep.[/QUOTE]

Since you've played the game, could you tell us what wasn't good about it?
 
[quote name='C_A']Have a damn opinion, man! Could've at least rented the game. Game$pot gave Wild Arms 2 a 5.4/10, but did that stop me from liking the game a ton? Hell no. Didn't one guy in EGM give Final Fantasy III (6j) for SNES a freakin 6.0 when the game came out? Scores are completely useless when it comes to video games, where average is 8.8 and garbage is 7.0. Mugen Souls looks like one of those either "love it or hate it" games, with scores as low as 1/5 and two scores of 86 and 87/100 and one 7/10.

I can't STAND Wild Arms 4, and IGN gave it a 7.8. I think the Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed is tolerable, but the Wii version is a piece of crap. What does IGN say? Xbox 360, 4.5/10. Wii, 7.2/10. What the entire hell.

tl;dr Don't ever trust a score from IGN, or any other site for that matter, unless there's a huge consensus on metacritic or gamerankings that it's just a giant turd like Haze or Ninja Gaiden 3 any other "next AAA title" that every stupid child flamed critics over for daring to give a low score to on a game that wasn't even released to the public yet. Canceling a preorder because of IGNorant makes you no better than them.[/QUOTE]

Man, it must be nice to have all that money Compile Heart is paying you to defend that game you played absolutely no part in creating, producing or distributing!

...oh, they're not paying you? Well, at least maybe you got a free copy of the game for being such an ardent defender!

...oh, you didn't, you paid for it like everyone else?

...oh.
 
[quote name='Schildkrote']Man, it must be nice to have all that money Compile Heart is paying you to defend that game you played absolutely no part in creating, producing or distributing!

...oh, they're not paying you? Well, at least maybe you got a free copy of the game for being such an ardent defender!

...oh, you didn't, you paid for it like everyone else?

...oh.[/QUOTE]

Man, it must be nice to have all that money IGN is paying you to defend their Web site!

...oh, they're not paying you? Well, at least maybe you got a free copy of the games they review!

...oh, you don't?

...oh.
 
[quote name='barrit']Man, it must be nice to have all that money IGN is paying you to defend their Web site!

...oh, they're not paying you? Well, at least maybe you got a free copy of the games they review!

...oh, you don't?

...oh.[/QUOTE]

Oh don't get me wrong, his point was absolutely right - game reviews, like reviews of pretty much any sort of subjectively enjoyable entertainment, are completely useless. Game reviews are particularly bad because there's several proven instances where publishers have been caught paying for good reviews - see: how Giant Bomb was created.

He's just going to embarassing lengths to try to make sure someone else buys a video game.
 
[quote name='Kenshindono']Damnit. Anyone got their Code of Princess in yet? I got a padded envelope in today and to my dread it had code of princess in. With the cover ripped and smashed to hell.

I think im just going to stop buying from Amazon. Their only bonus was lack of tax ans they dont even have that anymore. I dont know what their problem is but they have been shipping collectors editions in completely inadequate packaging far too often lately.

^_^x KD[/QUOTE]

Mine came in a box via UPS. Do you have Prime?
 
[quote name='delainez']Mine came in a box via UPS. Do you have Prime?[/QUOTE]

Mine came in a pouch as well and was dented and dinged. I have Prime. The packaging they use has nothing to do with being Prime or not. Each warehouse has a pre-set packaging formula for each item and unfortunately, living in California, we always get screwed as the Las Vegas and sometimes Kentucky warehouse always send collector's edition stuff in padded envelopes. I am down to my last five preorders on Amazon and after that, I am buying everything from Gamestop or Best Buy. I'm sick of having to go to the post office or UPS every week to return damaged stuff.
 
[quote name='bojay1997']Mine came in a pouch as well and was dented and dinged. I have Prime. The packaging they use has nothing to do with being Prime or not. Each warehouse has a pre-set packaging formula for each item and unfortunately, living in California, we always get screwed as the Las Vegas and sometimes Kentucky warehouse always send collector's edition stuff in padded envelopes. I am down to my last five preorders on Amazon and after that, I am buying everything from Gamestop or Best Buy. I'm sick of having to go to the post office or UPS every week to return damaged stuff.[/QUOTE]

I ordered CEs like Batman Arkham Asylum, Darksiders II, BlazBlue, Dark Souls... every one has arrived damaged or dented. The worst was the Darksiders II since AMZN did not have enough stock for a replacement and it was sold out everywhere. So I am in a similar boat, after my last preorders arrive, I will no longer be using AMZN as my source of CEs.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention how this damage occurs with boxes or envelopes. In addition, I have also received PAL versions of some games with the comment: Well they're region free so what difference does it make?[Square enix point codes are not region free]
 
[quote name='chicagocubsfan']Well IGN gave Mugen Souls a 3.9. Good thing I cancelled my preorder.[/QUOTE]

Always brings to mind when gaming magazine I subscribed to a decade ago (EGM, GamePro, Game Informer...can not remember) blasted Grandia II and gave it 4/10.

That is one of my favorite games of all time, so from then reviews became read content, know own tastes and make independent judgment.
 
[quote name='blinknot4']I don't mean to interrupt the bickering, but do you experts think that the Limited Edition will be worth anything down the road? In eBay terms, anyway... ? I just don't know if NIS games are truly 'limited'.

http://store.nisamerica.com/Exclusives/Mugen-Souls-Limited-Edition-plus-Figure-Set[/QUOTE]

Most of NISA's LEs are worth a lot down the road. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. I don't think this will be the case for this game.. at least not for a while. Most of NISA's LEs are sold out weeks before release. This game is a new IP and has the whole censoring issue as well.

As you can see on their site, both the $99 figure set and the $65 LE still say 'less than 50%' of stock remaining. Both LEs have been at that level for weeks now. I usually buy NISA's LEs on release, but I cancelled mine and will buy this one down the line before they run out. If it doesn't sell out for a while, then I'm hoping they'll have a sale so I can grab it for cheaper.
 
[quote name='gettinmoney662']Not sure what that has to do with my point, unless you were just bringing it up as an interesting fact.[/QUOTE]

You said "there is nothing next" when there obviously is. I didn't think I'd need to spell that out for you. It's just human nature to fight until there's nothing left to fight for; we call it "entropy."
 
[quote name='Blade']You said "there is nothing next" when there obviously is. I didn't think I'd need to spell that out for you. It's just human nature to fight until there's nothing left to fight for; we call it "entropy."[/QUOTE]

Using other countries as examples is stupid. Other countries don't allow women any rights. Other countries have allowed polygamy for years. Are we going to follow in their footsteps too? No major organization here is petitioning for the right to marry a horse and nome will start if gay marriage is legalized.
 
My Code of Princess came in a box, the folded cardboard type, which is still better than bubble mailers. I've complained enough times through partial refunds and replacements that they seem to finally be listening and notating individual accounts for the proper packaging. Trust me, not everyone is as anal as me.
 
I haven't played Mugen Souls yet, but I thought it was a well known fact that sites like IGN (or most review sites, really) are worthless for JRPG reviews. They will wax on and on about random battles, too much exposition, not Unreal 3 graphics, etc. They are a joke and deserve to be treated as such. I'm not at all surprised that something as niche as this got a bad score from them.

It could also, of course, be a shitty game. I would just need to hear that from somewhere else to believe it... lol
 
the compile heart games have been getting better. mugen souls looks like it has some interesting combat at least.

I ordered the crazy edition, supposed to ship on the 17th I guess.
 
[quote name='storino03']My Code of Princess came in a box, the folded cardboard type, which is still better than bubble mailers. I've complained enough times through partial refunds and replacements that they seem to finally be listening and notating individual accounts for the proper packaging. Trust me, not everyone is as anal as me.[/QUOTE]

Actually, they didn't annotate your account. You just got lucky that the warehouse that shipped yours designed the fold over mailer as the right way to send it. Amazon refuses to do special handling and has zero ability to override packaging selection for individual buyers.
 
[quote name='Zaku77']I haven't played Mugen Souls yet, but I thought it was a well known fact that sites like IGN (or most review sites, really) are worthless for JRPG reviews. They will wax on and on about random battles, too much exposition, not Unreal 3 graphics, etc. They are a joke and deserve to be treated as such. I'm not at all surprised that something as niche as this got a bad score from them.

It could also, of course, be a shitty game. I would just need to hear that from somewhere else to believe it... lol[/QUOTE]

http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/ps3/mugensoul/reviews/mugensoulstrev1.html

What about RPGamer?
 
[quote name='bojay1997']Actually, they didn't annotate your account. You just got lucky that the warehouse that shipped yours designed the fold over mailer as the right way to send it. Amazon refuses to do special handling and has zero ability to override packaging selection for individual buyers.[/QUOTE]

This is, unfortunately, 100% true. Many CS reps will lie about this and say they have annotated it, or will send over a note, but that is 100% false.
 
[quote name='Soma_Cruz']http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/ps3/mugensoul/reviews/mugensoulstrev1.html

What about RPGamer?[/QUOTE]

I think they score games far too harshly, but who really cares about the score? The content of their reviews is usually quite good. They seem to really dislike this game! haha

[quote name='bojay1997']Actually, they didn't annotate your account. You just got lucky that the warehouse that shipped yours designed the fold over mailer as the right way to send it. Amazon refuses to do special handling and has zero ability to override packaging selection for individual buyers.[/QUOTE]

This is, unfortunately, 100% true. Many CS reps will lie about this and say they have annotated it, or will send over a note, but that is 100% false.
 
[quote name='deadkode']here are some of the positive reviews, obviously the game isn't for everybody. it's like hyperdimension neptunia, most will hate it, some will like it. you know what you're getting into with a compile heart game though.

[/QUOTE]

Yep, I'd buy it now if there weren't other games I want coming out. Since there are, Mugen Souls will have to wait.
 
[quote name='barrit']Most of NISA's LEs are worth a lot down the road. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. I don't think this will be the case for this game.. at least not for a while. Most of NISA's LEs are sold out weeks before release. This game is a new IP and has the whole censoring issue as well.

As you can see on their site, both the $99 figure set and the $65 LE still say 'less than 50%' of stock remaining. Both LEs have been at that level for weeks now. I usually buy NISA's LEs on release, but I cancelled mine and will buy this one down the line before they run out. If it doesn't sell out for a while, then I'm hoping they'll have a sale so I can grab it for cheaper.[/QUOTE]

Didn't the Atelier Meruru limited edition not sell out until the last day and then immediately start being sold for double price on Ebay?
 
It sold out maybe a week or two before release. While Meruru LE may not be double/triple the price right now, it most likely will never be its actual retail release price ever again (same with most of the others).
 
Mugen souls is not as good HDN or the Atelier series. I remain skeptical that scalpers will benefit greatly from this investment. Cheezy JRPG has a niche just right for this kind of market, but Mugen Souls is a niche within a niche with all the pedo related stuff.
 
I decided to pass as well, I barely even touched HDN and HDN2 yet, and I'm STILL sitting on Trinity Universe too lol. Plus the reviews and controversy are making me think this one might be a flop (Plus I have 0 hype ever since it was announced).

Might change my mind, but theres other stuff I see myself playing more.
 
[quote name='Zaku77']I haven't played Mugen Souls yet, but I thought it was a well known fact that sites like IGN (or most review sites, really) are worthless for JRPG reviews. They will wax on and on about random battles, too much exposition, not Unreal 3 graphics, etc. They are a joke and deserve to be treated as such. I'm not at all surprised that something as niche as this got a bad score from them.

It could also, of course, be a shitty game. I would just need to hear that from somewhere else to believe it... lol[/QUOTE]

RPGamer gave it a 1 our of 5. Not sure how much I place my value of their opinion since I haven't even thought of that place since I used to frequent RPGFan and LunarNET back in 1999/2000 era.

IGN is notorious for giving people some of these niche games to review who are either: A. Not a fan of the genre or B. Who dislike anything that doesn't have superb graphics. In fact, it kind of reminds me of X-Play. Who would completely trash an RPG, just because it had sprites instead of "realistic" characters. I mean, it's no different than someone who only listens to Death or Epic Metal, to give them a country music CD to review and expect a fair review from it.

I haven't played Mugen Souls yet, NIS took the money out of my account for the $65 version already, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be the "Brutal Gaming Massacre" IGN made it out to be. I mean it could be god awful, but most of the NIS games I've played haven't been atrocious. Battle systems are usually funky, but for the most part they've been pretty decent. I'll find out whenever it gets here next week I suppose.
 
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having read some of the mugen soul reviews it seems there are some valid complaints.

terrible loading, terrible framerate, a battle system that apparently gives little reason to peon people and use moves because the basic ones work fine and a late game difficulty spike....granted this game might not be IGN terrible but it probably isnt fantastic either....though i could be wrong. and i admit i would probably like this game more as i am an anime fan.

that said i think im waiting on this game this holiday season has entirely too many other things i know i am getting and will play immediately.
 
[quote name='delainez']Mine came in a box via UPS. Do you have Prime?[/QUOTE]

nope, but dont think that matters. Seems like some distribution centers just suck ass. I guess a lot here in California are garbage. Mine came from Vegas it seems. Im actually pissed. After calling Amazon they said they cant even guarantee the replacement wont be shipped out in the same package! Theres no way to change it at all... seriously? Thats ridiculously crappy customer service. I think ium pretty much done getting any special editions from Amazon ever again at this point

and @ those talking about IGN's review of Mugen Souls.. its possible the game is indeed crap but please dont rely on them for RPG reviews (real rpgs, not the latest Final fantasy or some crap like that) As mentioned they seem horribly biased against them. They always bash them for not changing enough or being stale.. then go ahead and give the next and latest madden or whatever generic FPS is out that month a friggin 9.0. I guess a turn based battle system is derivitive and stale, but the new gears of war game is totally new and fresh because it has 2 new enemy types to shoot! YAY! *eyeroll*
 
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What is all this "censorship stuff" that I keep seeing. It seems to have sparked a ridiculously off topic debate, but with those posts being deleted I have no idea what anyone's talking about.
 
[quote name='storino03']My Code of Princess came in a box, the folded cardboard type, which is still better than bubble mailers. I've complained enough times through partial refunds and replacements that they seem to finally be listening and notating individual accounts for the proper packaging. Trust me, not everyone is as anal as me.[/QUOTE]

I don't think getting partial refunds/replacements actually goes through to the packaging department itself. You should (also) submit packaging feedback in the actual section for it http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200325950
 
^i live in cali too and had the same prob as him. packaging feedback doesn't help and neither does complaining. if you request a 2nd replacement they will say "it's going to be shipped the same way so I won't trouble you with a replacement, just return for refund"... I don't order from amazon anymore if it's something I'm worried about getting damaged

does anyone know when in 2013 HDN3 is coming out? beginning of year or later?
 
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