Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

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Welcome to the Japanese niche games deals and discussion thread!  Feel free to talk about local and import Japanese games here.  Our goal is to maintain a thread dedicated to active deals on niche games including RPGs, Visual Novels (VN), Shoot'em ups (Shmups), Musou, etc.  Also maintained are pre-orders for standard, limited and collector's edition games with key release dates provided.

I've wikified the thread to make it more friendly and open to others that can actively update with important information. You can find the wiki post directly below this one.

NOTE:  Please, leave the censorship discussion away from this thread.  It's common for japanese games to have questionable content outside of the country.  We want to keep discussions to the game itself and not about cultural/societal tolerance.

A message from Thorbahn:

Our CAG Japanese Niche Games Thread also has a community on PS4, where you can interact and game with other members of the thread.

Our moderators are: Draekon, Las_Hole, and Waffleswanton

You can basically friend any of our members, or any moderator, and you will be able to request to join the community under "Communities friends are in" tab, and a mod will approve your request.

You can also leave your PSN ID in the thread, saying you want to join, and we can invite you directly as well.

As always, have fun and enjoy your stay!

 
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A cool extra plushie will almost always get me to order said version over others if the price difference isn't crazy. It's the reason I ordered Touch Detective Switch from the website. Persona/SMT games really should come with plushies more often like they did back then. Those 3DS Atlus launch editions generally had extra garbo IMHO. It was generally music samplers, tiny artbooks and like maybe a sticker sheet or key chain if you were lucky. I mean I think I own them all, but I wanted the games haha.
 
62t said:
I am going to assume this is a mistake as there is no way they will make a physical PS4 version but not for Switch.
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I dunno, the UK can have weird releases sometimes. I'd definitely be interested in a physical PS4 version of MHS Collection from somewhere.
 
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Pheria said:
A lot of ATLUS launch editions on 3DS were also $10 more than most other 3DS games, at least later in the gen. I recall 'FATLUS' being thrown around here.
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Because of fatlus tax. Especially on Stella glow which they didn't do any work on and had translation errors but they had the gall to charge "atlus tax" on
 
Vigilante said:
According to the official site, Monster Hunter Stories Collection (both remastered games) will get a Switch physical release on 6/14:

www.monsterhunter.com

MONSTER HUNTER STORIES｜CAPCOM

Get the latest information about MONSTER HUNTER STORIES.
www.monsterhunter.com www.monsterhunter.com
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Screwing over people that bought 2 physically because the only way to get 1 physically is to buy 2 again.
Of course the games will require a big download - 2’s is like 15 Gb with the current cart.
Hopefully 1 isn’t just a code in the box, but you never know.
 
Twilightsparkle said:
Screwing over people that bought 2 physically because the only way to get 1 physically is to buy 2 again.
Of course the games will require a big download - 2’s is like 15 Gb with the current cart.
Hopefully 1 isn’t just a code in the box, but you never know.
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So Monster Hunter Stories 1 is on cart, 2 is a code.
 
Rebirth is finished after 74 hours of play time. Great game & much longer than I anticipated. It took me longer to beat than Xenoblade 2 (65 hrs). So much extra stuff I didn't even touch either. I wanted to beat the main story as fast as possible to avoid spoilers. Now have to decide if I want to knock Star Ocean 4 or Ys 9 off the backlog next.

Also R.I.P Akira Toriyama. My buddy text me the news Thursday. It sucks, but his works are timeless and I will continue to enjoy them for the rest of my life. Looking foward to Daima & Sparking Zero.
 
An easy pass on the MH Stories combo. It's strange how many times I've resisted stuff like that. I didn't bother with the Bayonetta 1 & 2 combo either for the same reason. I buy physical for the physical games and not needing to manage storage space very often.
 
Speaking of Fatlus, listings for the Persona 3 Reload Expansion Pass have gone live on Steam and PSN and they want 35 fuck you dollars for it. I was hoping for $20 and expecting $30, but they managed to defy expectations and rip us off even more. Worst of all, aside from The Answer, all it includes is a bunch of music from the previous games that we've all already heard 147,856 times and those typical Velvet Room costumes they do for every game. And of course, you can't buy just The Answer. BUT THE MUSIC TRACKS ADD SO MUCH VALUE!!!!!!1

This is just like Splatoon 3 charging $25 for its expansion pass and justifying that $5 price increase over Octo Expansion by giving you just another area to walk around between matches. You don't give a shit about Inkopolis and just want Side Order? Tough luck, asshole. So sick of developers cobbling together useless crap to inflate the price of their expansion/season passes.

So yeah, Fatlus gonna fat. Paid $200 for the Aigis edition? You don't even get Episode Aigis with it, you pay pig.
 
Game pass was the best way to play that game. I get people want to own their games and shit but.. everyone saw this coming. Game pass was and still is still the only way to play Persona 3 Reload without getting ripped off. Otherwise wait for the complete edition in another year or so to buy it.
 
With no justification for the pricing implied, just to mention for those that have it: If you have Game Pass Ultimate, and want to play P3R on Xbox (Or the Windows Store Windows version for some reason). You can buy the expansion pass for free as a Game Pass Ultimate perk (And only available to Ultimate as a perk - regular game pass doesn't get it). I don't think it's just temporary access like a game pass game, as it went through a full 'buy/get' transaction for it.

Buy Persona 3 Reload: Expansion Pass | Xbox

Dive deeper into the world of Persona 3 Reload with this expansion pass featuring new costumes, BGM, and extended story content “Episode Aigis -The Answer-”.
www.xbox.com

I have Ultimate from doing the 'get discount gold for 3 years and convert that to Game Pass Ultimate' trick, but don't intend to renew it when it runs out in November. I may play P3R on Xbox though when I do since Episode Aigis was 'free'.
 
gmsick said:
Rebirth is finished after 74 hours of play time. Great game & much longer than I anticipated. It took me longer to beat than Xenoblade 2 (65 hrs). So much extra stuff I didn't even touch either. I wanted to beat the main story as fast as possible to avoid spoilers. Now have to decide if I want to knock Star Ocean 4 or Ys 9 off the backlog next.

Also R.I.P Akira Toriyama. My buddy text me the news Thursday. It sucks, but his works are timeless and I will continue to enjoy them for the rest of my life. Looking foward to Daima & Sparking Zero.
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having played star ocean 4 its playable the gameplay opens up a little after you get better characters like Reimi bacchus and meracle but the story is really really REALLY bad. and mages are prettymuch unusable and worse than the other entries before (12 and to a lesser extent 3) and after (5). Bacchus basically functions as a mage without spell casting times. Since his attack skill blackhole sphere is near full screen.

Edge is pretty bad to play with due to more restricted skills and his one later one is basically his only good move. Its a huge version of demon fang sorta similar to aurora blade or whatever from tales of graces. Its off since he's the main character but of them he's easily the worst physical attacker.

Reimi is who you want to use as soon as possible as she plays much more flexible and has really nice combos. Meracle an to a lesser extent edge can be really good once you figure out how to juggle targets and meracles far better suited to that and fast pugilist gameplay. Arumats middle of the road and I mainly liked his one long ranged skill that targets under an enemy wherever they are on the map.

As A warning there are bugs/glitches though. the secret dungeon is prone to crashes at complete random making that unplayable. And there's a crash around the purgatorium inner door that's cracked open. The cutscene starts then the game derps out. Sometimes finishes sometimes crashes before it even starts. I don't believe they ever fixed the secret dungeon issue but the purgatorium one seems to be random as I got a second copy of the game and using the same save got past it. Interestingly the first copy still worked perfectly fine for every portion after the crash area.
 
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shadowysea07 said:
having played star ocean 4 its playable the gameplay opens up a little after you get better characters like Reimi bacchus and meracle but the story is really really REALLY bad. and mages are prettymuch unusable and worse than the other entries before (12 and to a lesser extent 3) and after (5). Bacchus basically functions as a mage without spell casting times. Since his attack skill blackhole sphere is near full screen.

Edge is pretty bad to play with due to more restricted skills and his one later one is basically his only good move. Its a huge version of demon fang sorta similar to aurora blade or whatever from tales of graces. Its off since he's the main character but of them he's easily the worst physical attacker.

Reimi is who you want to use as soon as possible as she plays much more flexible and has really nice combos. Meracle an to a lesser extent edge can be really good once you figure out how to juggle targets and meracles far better suited to that and fast pugilist gameplay. Arumats middle of the road and I mainly liked his one long ranged skill that targets under an enemy wherever they are on the map.

As A warning there are bugs/glitches though. the secret dungeon is prone to crashes at complete random making that unplayable. And there's a crash around the purgatorium inner door that's cracked open. The cutscene starts then the game derps out. Sometimes finishes sometimes crashes before it even starts. I don't believe they ever fixed the secret dungeon issue but the purgatorium one seems to be random as I got a second copy of the game and using the same save got past it. Interestingly the first copy still worked perfectly fine for every portion after the crash area.
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Thanks for the heads up. I have a physical PS3 copy of SO4, but bought the 4k remaster when it was $6 on PSN recently. So I'll play it on my PS5. Hopefully those technical issues were fixed.
 
Shiravune announced a new visual novel coming out Amanatsu ~Perfect Edition~ from Azarashi Soft. This is written by the same write of Making*Lovers. In this one the main character leaves the city to come to the country (seen this a bunch of times) because of city competition. He goes to go school here and is dealing with a new challenge of living here and meets 3 girls who change his life and also confess. This game also has the e-mote system which shows the characters breathing and moving and such instead of static images. It looks pretty high quality and seems like a highly regarded moege. It's coming to Steam with the usual 18+ patch, which I'll link to around whenever it is coming out.

VNDB (NSFW)
Steam

Harmonia Full HD edition is also coming to Steam. I believe this is based on the current console release.

Steam

Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi Tsuzuri came out on Steam and also Switch. This is a complete version of an older PSP game with a new prequel and ending as well. This one is about some guy who was raised at a shrine. One day there is a festival and he is out in the world for the first time and meets 2 other guys. I don't know much about this, but it's popular enough and also is fully priced, which will lead me to waiting for a better sale.

Steam
Switch
VNDB (NSFW)
 
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shadowysea07 said:
having played star ocean 4 its playable the gameplay opens up a little after you get better characters like Reimi bacchus and meracle but the story is really really REALLY bad. and mages are prettymuch unusable and worse than the other entries before (12 and to a lesser extent 3) and after (5). Bacchus basically functions as a mage without spell casting times. Since his attack skill blackhole sphere is near full screen.

Edge is pretty bad to play with due to more restricted skills and his one later one is basically his only good move. Its a huge version of demon fang sorta similar to aurora blade or whatever from tales of graces. Its off since he's the main character but of them he's easily the worst physical attacker.

Reimi is who you want to use as soon as possible as she plays much more flexible and has really nice combos. Meracle an to a lesser extent edge can be really good once you figure out how to juggle targets and meracles far better suited to that and fast pugilist gameplay. Arumats middle of the road and I mainly liked his one long ranged skill that targets under an enemy wherever they are on the map.

As A warning there are bugs/glitches though. the secret dungeon is prone to crashes at complete random making that unplayable. And there's a crash around the purgatorium inner door that's cracked open. The cutscene starts then the game derps out. Sometimes finishes sometimes crashes before it even starts. I don't believe they ever fixed the secret dungeon issue but the purgatorium one seems to be random as I got a second copy of the game and using the same save got past it. Interestingly the first copy still worked perfectly fine for every portion after the crash area.
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I had fun with SO4's 4K remaster a year or two ago as well. Agree the story in terrible, and I really don't like Edge as a character. In spite of that, it was still a pretty fun journey. Definitely had a few "okay F you, I'm going to go grind in the desert for a few hours and then I'll be back" moments.
I even played on Earth difficulty, I can't imagine trying a harder one (I'm also generally not great at action games, though)
 
Pheria said:
I had fun with SO4's 4K remaster a year or two ago as well. Agree the story in terrible, and I really don't like Edge as a character. In spite of that, it was still a pretty fun journey. Definitely had a few "okay F you, I'm going to go grind in the desert for a few hours and then I'll be back" moments.
I even played on Earth difficulty, I can't imagine trying a harder one (I'm also generally not great at action games, though)
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Even if you aren't there's options for set and forget like reimi and Bacchus. Arumat has the auto target skill I mentioned as well that also would work. But given the join time it's probably not even worth mentioning.

But yeah item creation plus synthesis generally are the ways to break the games. Though I don't recall off hand if it was as simple and early as in 3. But anywho there's ores that add 100 or so attack. You can stack those on a weapon along with the accessories that increase stats by 10%. So after stacking 6-8 plus the 10% accessories your stats are bonkers higher. And generally until the second half you'd be one shotting everything.
 
What visual novels, jrpgs, and other japanese games would you guys recommend in the steam spring sale? Have $250+ steam funds and eyeing umineko
 
Accidie said:
What visual novels, jrpgs, and other japanese games would you guys recommend in the steam spring sale? Have $250+ steam funds and eyeing umineko
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Do you have a built up library already? Almost all the price points on my wishlist are just "the usual" for steam sales. But it's definitely worth investing into some of the greats if you don't own them.
 
gospelman said:
Do you have a built up library already? Almost all the price points on my wishlist are just "the usual" for steam sales. But it's definitely worth investing into some of the greats if you don't own them.
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I have 377 games on steam and I might have some recommended games on switch and playstation but willing to take recommendations
 
Accidie said:
I have 377 games on steam and I might have some recommended games on switch and playstation but willing to take recommendations
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Ok, you happened to ask about my favorite genres on my favorite platform, so I couldn't help skim my library to see some of my favorite titles that are priced well in the current sale. For the most part, they're series-starters that I'd recommend across the board to anyone.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC & SC
Ni No Kuni 1 Remaster
Persona 5 Royal
Steins;Gate (original or elite)
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception & Mask of Truth
Valkyria Chronicles
Yakuza 0
Ys Origin
Ys VIII
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
I also have Umineko on my wishlist but am somewhat unsure about the different titles and arcs. I guess my plan to play through a free episode first. There are other VN cags here who know much more about them.
 
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I've been gaming my whole life and I have all of those. Puts things into perspective. I'm an jrpg avid fan but only played the generic recommended visual novels so I want some visual novel recommendations. and the niche japanese games. Thank you for taking time to make your list though
 
I myself have played many visual novels on and off of Steam. If you have any questions about most JAST USA, Mangagamer, Shiravune, Nekonyan, etc... visual novels I can answer and say if I recommend it if I've played it. I haven't played Umineko or Higurashi games, but I know they're probably some of the stronger horror visual novels, with likely the more recommendations I've heard for Umineko. For some of my favorite visual novels that would be likely Nukitashi is one of my newer favorites and I really enjoyed Funbag Fantasy and it has some sequels and side games (Side Boob story 1 I found meh). For a more traditional recommendation (I know those 2 have a lot of 18+ content) Da Capo 3 R was just great to me and had some of the better characters in it. The story was really touching though and it is quite long as well and I wish more Da Capo stuff was translated. For a moege type game Nekonyan generally release those and I really liked Kinkoi: Golden Loveriche. It was my VN of the year when it was translated (2021). Fureraba ~Friend to Lover~ also had one of the more simple but nice somewhat realistic (not always true for VNs) relationships. Most people like Making Lovers a lot as the comedy is there, and I do like it too, but it's not a favorite of mine.

I generally play those kind of life simulation type doujin games. A lot are under baked or terrible, but I did like Summer Memories which has an 18+ patch. You generally go around meeting people and enjoying the summer. Winter Memories is the sequel (and also was on Wario64's Twitter haha) but I find a lot of that game is less exciting and I only got like 1/2 the endings in it.

But for real if you have any questions just ask here or if it's about some 18+ game and you don't want to reveal you play those message me.
 
Took a short break from FFVII Rebirth to try Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes beta. I think I read the beta is between 5 to 8 hours long. In my short time, I do like the art style and presentation of the game. The battle system and formation does feel like the classic Suikoden I & II games. Save mechanic is very old school where you can only save at designate spots or places. Right now you cannot make a save on the world map which is weird because the Suikoden games allow you to do so there, hopefully that change with the full release. So far I liked what I played but would rather wait for the full release to put more time into it.
 
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Finally finished FF7 Rebirth over the weekend. I'm at about 125 hours, having done everything except the Brutal/Legendary Challenges and Hard Mode. I'd say a solid 9/10, possibly GOTY. The game is really, really good but there are a few quirks that annoyed me:
  • The audio balancing is bad. There are times the voices are super low in the mix and there are times I was deafened by sound effects. I don't have a fancy audio setup (LG C2 TV speakers), I don't know why it was this bad. It's not consistent either, so messing with the sliders for master/SFX/voices at the beginning of the game won't fix the issue.
  • The enemy AI is annoying. It very obviously prioritizes whoever the player is controlling, which means it's balanced toward you playing tankier characters like Cloud/Barrett or ranged characters who can dodge. Playing as Aerith means you're going to get juggled and need a second healer. You can kinda-sorta use this to your advantage (switch to a character to heal then switch away to draw aggro) but it's still a pain.
  • The friendly AI relies on materia to dictate its behavior - i.e. using materia or weapon skills. A strategy menu like Tales has would be very welcome, because a bunch of your materia slots end up being taken up for this. Or you can just manually manage everyone's ATB (which is the better way to win the harder fights anyway).
  • They went a bit overboard with the volume of boss fights. Most chapters end in boss fights (like Remake) but when these chapters end in boss fights it tends to be multiple bosses.
  • The open world is a bit repetitive, but that's more of an issue with my gameplay style (you don't have to do everything).
  • The enemy variety is a little sub-standard. It's a handful of enemies with reskins and showpiece bosses, similar to Remake.
  • Chadley won't shut the fuck up.
Most of this is patchable, so I imagine the game will only get better as it gets updated.
 
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