Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

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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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Dead_Batteries said:
I really hope they do a LE or CE with the soundtrack.
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That would be nice.

You can also pre-order the game at Dell for a $15 Gift Card, I'm mentioning this because they don't usually put niche games up. (Nier Automata)

Mighty #9, Kirby Planet Robocop, World of Final Fantasy (both), Star Ocean, Bravely Second also $15 GC.

Kingdom Hearts 2.8, No Man's Sky with $25 GC.

All credit goes to WNYX585AM, his/her thread is here with additional listings:

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/347958-dell-promo-deals-25-or-15-gc-pre-orders-bravely-2nd-mighty-9-nier-hitman-deus-ex-no-mans-sky-dishonored-2-uncharted-4-doom-etc/page-1

 
motaku96 said:
No you cannot use the touchscreen to target and shoot. But there is a special attack where you can tap the girls rapidly on the touch screen. The vita had pretty long load times, dunno if the same is true for PS4. Also vita thumbsticks are pretty shit for precise aiming.
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Oh wow, so not being able to tap on the vita touchpad and shoot is kind of a big surprise to me...im not really down for using the Vita's thumbsticks for things like shooting....i know its an on rails shooter, but even trying to play games like killzone was a pain on the vita so....as much as the completionist in me wants both versions....I think im just going to stick with the PS4 Happy Edition as of now. Thanks for that info.

 
daveydarko said:
Stranger Of Sword City Review – A Gorgeous, Rewarding Retro-Gridder


http://nichegamer.com/reviews/stranger-of-sword-city-review/
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Hmm, sounds ok. Maybe I'll pick it up when it's on sale. This bit at the beginning though caught my eye:

"Demon Gaze is very flashy and modern with a very funny storyline and characters, Elminage is a straight up oldschool crawl, Mind Zero is the “casual” one, Class of Heroes is for min/max’ers, and Dungeon Travelers 2 is all about massive (sometimes maddening) dungeons."

I can agree with that comment about Dungeon Travelers 2, I enjoyed what I played and found it humorous, but those dungeons were starting to get way too big. I think I would have moved on to something else even if there wasn't a game I really wanted to play. I still want to go back and finish the predictable story as I did enjoy the writing, but the size of those maps might keep me away. It was just getting tedious.

On that note, anyone have any thoughts on Demon Gaze? I don't remember anything too positive being spoken of it here, but I could be mistaken. I wouldn't mind playing another funny dungeon crawl.

 
Covnam said:
On that note, anyone have any thoughts on Demon Gaze? I don't remember anything too positive being spoken of it here, but I could be mistaken. I wouldn't mind playing another funny dungeon crawl.
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I personally fell in love with Demon Gaze. I knocked it out super fast.

One of these days I'll get around to Operation Abyss, and the Strangers of Sword City I have coming (Couldnt resist it, especially since I lucked out and got the double 20% off the LE at Amazon)

 
SgtWiggles said:
I personally fell in love with Demon Gaze. I knocked it out super fast.

One of these days I'll get around to Operation Abyss, and the Strangers of Sword City I have coming (Couldnt resist it, especially since I lucked out and got the double 20% off the LE at Amazon)
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I played to the halfway point in Operation Abyss and petered out. I'll finish it one day, but it just wasn't doing it for me at the time. Of course, Moe Chronicle came in around that time and I spent all of my free time playing it. Mind Zero wasn't bad, but I (again) petered out. I've owned Demon Gaze the longest and its still in its LE wrapping. I had to pass on Strangers of Sword City, even though I thought the name was cool...and I having a LE purchasing problem. I am excited for Moe Crystal to finally have a release date so I can pre-order it.

 
Ys VIII Details Dana’s Childhood Friends Olga and Sarai
http://gematsu.com/2016/04/ys-viii-details-dana-childhood-friends-olga-sara

 
Final Fantasy IX Now Available for PC via Steam at a Launch Price of $16.79
http://gematsu.com/2016/04/final-fantasy-ix-now-available-pc-via-steam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5A9wSvpoSk
 
Pre-Orders Have Opened for the Zelda Nendoroid
http://www.siliconera.com/2016/04/13/pre-orders-opened-zelda-nendoroid/
 
Sailor Moon Drops Falls Onto iTunes and Google Play in North America


http://www.siliconera.com/2016/04/13/sailor-moon-drops-falls-onto-itunes-google-play-north-america
 
Square Enix Teases Project: RISING, New Mobile Game Revealing on April 19th
http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/04/14/square-enix-teases-project-rising-new-mobile-game-revealing-on-april-19th/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siy-F4UL9Fc
 
ClaDun Sengoku Demo Launches April 28 in Japan, Ys and Trails of Cold Steel Collaborations Announced
http://gematsu.com/2016/04/cladun-sengoku-demo-launches-april-28-japan-ys-viii-trails-cold-steel-collaborations-annouced

 
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shadowysea07 said:
Hmm I don't think its a normal thing for voice files to burst into flames spontaneously... I will likely pass on cold steel 2. 1 was so so but it was too easy and alot of chapters were just repetitive side quests. Plus the game was obscenely long. I prefer if a games gonna be a trilogy they should be short and sweet like .hack gu vol 1, xenosaga 1 or ff13-3 were.

"After twenty lengthy days, Trails of Cold Steel's English voice recording is complete! There's still plenty to do--checking all 11,000~ voice files to make sure they sound awesome, be sure none of them are on fire, that sort of thing"
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I will give you that; the length was just E - V - I - L. Even Falcom admitted they've dragged the Sen story/games out too long. I'll have to go find it; I think that was in the announcement of Sen III.

I'll also give you that the sidequests did little to develop characters like in Sora...and there never was a moment like that drinking contest in Second Chapter...

Josef said:
So, there is just going to be a standard release of Cold Steel 2 and not an LE like the first one, correct?
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No LE I'm afraid.

Supplice said:
I really enjoyed that game as well. Here is to hoping this one and the others possibly getting remakes. But like you said, AC4 would make a lot of people happy.
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I still need to go back and finish 5 and Zero before 7 comes out. Freaking backlog.... :wall:

 
daveydarko said:
Square Enix Teases Project: RISING, New Mobile Game Revealing on April 19th


http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/04/14/square-enix-teases-project-rising-new-mobile-game-revealing-on-april-19th/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siy-F4UL9Fc
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daveydarko said:
New Valkyrie Profile Game Valkyrie Anatomia Is for iOS and Android

http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/04/14/new-valkyrie-profile-game-valkyrie-anatomia-is-for-ios-and-android-gets-first-teaser/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5XsnZJe9NY
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Square-Enix, STAHP

 
Supplice said:
Final Fantasy XV Director Says It's 'Make Or Break' For Franchise
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No crap. That's what happens when a game becomes a money pit. This game has been in development for a decade, it's sucked up untold amounts of resources. Nobody knows what they're doing in the production team, it wasn't until a year ago that you finally decided if you want airships and moogles to make an appearance. And that could change at any time, since in that time you've coded a completely new combat system for some reason. I'm pretty sure the old combat system is what they're going to use in FFVIIR just to recoup the costs somewhere, and they have to split FFVII into 2-3 full price games just to do that.

There is no one in charge here, there's no way this game can make a profit. They've already announced years worth of FFXV spinoffs, and the game isn't even out yet. This game is hemorrhaging money, they even had to hit the "Emergency FFVII Remake" button because nobody knows where all the money is disappearing to.

So yeah, it's do or die time. Make this game good and get it out fast, because live or die Final Fantasy depends on this one.

 
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Comes to the Americas Summer 2016
The latest in their demon-filled RPG series will arrive sometime this summer in the Americas, as Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. When the game does launch via the eShop and retail stores, it will cost $49.99 / CA$64.99.
 
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival location test tutorial video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOfqqSpIdg
 
Head-to-head with Hajime Tabata and Takeshi Nozue about FFXV - Making FF Great Again
 
New Kirby: Planet Robobot Screens Showcase Boss Battles, Powers and More
 
Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report set for April 21
The broadcast will look back at the “Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV” event held in Los Angeles on March 30, as well as report on other things.
 
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Supplice said:
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Comes to the Americas Summer 2016 - 404/page removed (nichegamer)
The latest in their demon-filled RPG series will arrive sometime this summer in the Americas, as Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. When the game does launch via the eShop and retail stores, it will cost $49.99 / CA$64.99.
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that's huge if true
 
Final Fantasy XV is 'make or break' for the franchise?  Well... they sure do see gung-ho about releasing the Final Fantasy VII remake regardless so I doubt everything hinges on XV. 

 
From the reviews I have read so far on steam it looks like Final Fantasy IX is certainly a good port even if it originally was taken from the mobile port it looks to have been adapted from what people are say and looks great, but take that with a grain of salt I suppose.

Still if the reviews hold up I might grab it myself .

 
Undeadcow said:
Final Fantasy XV is 'make or break' for the franchise? Well... they sure do see gung-ho about releasing the Final Fantasy VII remake regardless so I doubt everything hinges on XV.
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If FF XV doesn't do well that means FF VII Remake is getting turned into a mobile game :whistle2:

 
Cloyd said:
I played to the halfway point in Operation Abyss and petered out. I'll finish it one day, but it just wasn't doing it for me at the time. Of course, Moe Chronicle came in around that time and I spent all of my free time playing it. Mind Zero wasn't bad, but I (again) petered out. I've owned Demon Gaze the longest and its still in its LE wrapping. I had to pass on Strangers of Sword City, even though I thought the name was cool...and I having a LE purchasing problem. I am excited for Moe Crystal to finally have a release date so I can pre-order it.
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I concur. All these dungeon crawlers look awesome. But I have the patience and time to play about 1-2 of these per year. Who the hell plays all of these games?? Etrian Odyssey fatigue is real.

The real reason these games are en vogue right now is that they are popular with developers. We are getting a bunch of dungeon crawlers because they are easy to make, low budget titles that will sell well.

 
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JCAll said:
No crap. That's what happens when a game becomes a money pit. This game has been in development for a decade, it's sucked up untold amounts of resources. Nobody knows what they're doing in the production team, it wasn't until a year ago that you finally decided if you want airships and moogles to make an appearance. And that could change at any time, since in that time you've coded a completely new combat system for some reason. I'm pretty sure the old combat system is what they're going to use in FFVIIR just to recoup the costs somewhere, and they have to split FFVII into 2-3 full price games just to do that.

There is no one in charge here, there's no way this game can make a profit. They've already announced years worth of FFXV spinoffs, and the game isn't even out yet. This game is hemorrhaging money, they even had to hit the "Emergency FFVII Remake" button because nobody knows where all the money is disappearing to.

So yeah, it's do or die time. Make this game good and get it out fast, because live or die Final Fantasy depends on this one.
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They have really forgotten what makes Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy. It's not next-gen grahpics. It's fun gameplay with world exploration, some sweet Amano art direction, loot collection, and awesome memorable music. Those pop-star ballad themes are solid evidence that shows how disconnected they've become with their audiences.

 
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aketo said:
From the reviews I have read so far on steam it looks like Final Fantasy IX is certainly a good port even if it originally was taken from the mobile port it looks to have been adapted from what people are say and looks great, but take that with a grain of salt I suppose.

Still if the reviews hold up I might grab it myself .
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While it may run well, it's still a poor port. They've done the same thing from 3-6 and now 9. That is where they develop a mobile version, which that in itself is fine but then they do a direct port from mobile to PC without any changes. That means you're stuck with whatever was on the mobile port. When you port something to a platform, you need to take into consideration what the platform requirements (and strengths) are and add them in. Those would be graphic options, framerate that goes above 30, keyboard & mouse controls and changing minor game elements to support these things (such as the UI).

For your general person that's probably fine and hell, even people who care about these things can put up with a few minor inconveniences. However when they implement all of these at a minimal level or a very poor level it's a shit port regardless of how it runs. I can forgive an indie studio and they often learn after the first game or two they put out, but I can't really forgive Square who's done this for nearly all their ports. 7 and 8 are different in that they were on PC originally, but the rest up to 9 are all piss poor mobile ports. All of them have a very basic resolution setting, locked at 30FPS (15 in battle I think for at least some?) and there are only keyboard controls (no mouse) that are only configured outside of the game itself. Then to top it off, you're still stuck with that god awful touch screen UI in the menus and battle that take up way too much space.

I apologize for the rant, but I'm just tired of shit ports from Square & Koei Tecmo on the PC and can't recommend supporting any of their poor ports. It's a disservice to their fans and customers. Since it 'works', you probably won't see the game below 70% Steam ratings but it will 'play' fine and most negative reviews will probably be nastier versions of what I wrote. If they actually released a proper port, all of these earlier games would more than likely be at 90%+.

(For the record, I really like Final Fantasy IX and do recommend playing it in some fashion if you haven't before.)

 
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It is so obvious that the FF main line development teams need to strip away all the BS.   People don't need nor want AAA graphics, motion capture, fully voiced games.  Look back to what made you successful in the first place and try to replicate that success with just a few modern tweaks.  The current corporate structure over there has incredible delusions of grandeur regarding this franchise.  Square Enix would be best off firing all of them and making fan-made FF games at this point. 

 
Nothing371 said:
It is so obvious that the FF main line development teams need to strip away all the BS. People don't need nor want AAA graphics, motion capture, fully voiced games. Look back to what made you successful in the first place and try to replicate that success with just a few modern tweaks. The current corporate structure over there has incredible delusions of grandeur regarding this franchise. Square Enix would be best off firing all of them and making fan-made FF games at this point.
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Agree 100%; personally I think Final Fantasy X was a huge letdown and turning point away from world exploration and towards onwelcomed glossy cinematics (it was hard to play because far too often you'd lose control to cut scenes). One of the best things about early Final Fantasy games was the thrill of solving environmental puzzles (those accursed towns you could see on the world map but not yet get to) or hunting elusive monsters. I'm optimistic about XV but it is disappointing to perceive them focusing more on real time action than combat strategy.

 
Hold on a second here. Which Final Fantasy game(s) lacked top end graphics for the time? I'd wager the majority of current players wouldn't prefer decades old graphical technology. Take off your nostalgia glasses. They've also constantly tinkered with combat systems, so I'm not going to buy the "this is the correct combat approach" argument either. 

 
TheSupremeForce said:
Hold on a second here. Which Final Fantasy game(s) lacked top end graphics for the time? I'd wager the majority of current players wouldn't prefer decades old graphical technology. Take off your nostalgia glasses. They've also constantly tinkered with combat systems, so I'm not going to buy the "this is the correct combat approach" argument either.
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The development cycles were much shorter back then. Creating 'top end graphics' took a fraction of the amount of time it takes now. If people were getting new FF games at the same rate they used to release then much of the current discussion goes away. Most players WOULD PREFER to be getting new FF games.

 
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      Oh I can agree with on that, shoddy ports irk me like no other, had to go through hell and back again to get Final Fantasy Type 0 to work with my pc controller (seeing as I do not like xbox controllers nor have one in my place) and still to this day you can only change the the resolution in window mode to 1920x1080 or 1080x720 which just confounds me.

Still its better then not having any port at all and if I was to even get a shoddy pc port like that I wait until a big sale which I did for Type 0.

Some comapnies care and put the effort in to do it right without trying to get a quick cash grab..

I feel that SE can be hit or miss depending on the game they release onto PC so I always give reviews on several sites and youtube a look before I even considering buying, that goes for any games i buy on steam or console.

I certain everyone can remember the pc port of Batman Arkham Knight where you were lucky if you would even be play the game at all due to poor coding and optimization, and only due to steam refunds just recently being implemented shortly before its release was warner bros forced to pull the game, still I agree in the end crappy ports are not desirable.

I just through the reviews so far especially some of the features the reviewers listed with this port to pc looked promising, still I am going to wait it out and see and if I am uncertain I'll just wait for a sale sometime in the future.

 
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Nothing371 said:
I concur. All these dungeon crawlers look awesome. But I have the patience and time to play about 1-2 of these per year. Who the hell plays all of these games?? Etrian Odyssey fatigue is real.

The real reason these games are en vogue right now is that they are popular with developers. We are getting a bunch of dungeon crawlers because they are easy to make, low budget titles that will sell well.
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That is pretty true. It's not like they have to pump a lot of money into the graphics when the characters, and the enemies barely move, if at all. It's the old Speed Racer method of animation. Inner monologue with slightly moving squiggly lines in the background, and camera panning.

 
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