Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

[shivan128]

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!

 

[Tothoro]

While it's a shame it's not more available as a series to people that newly discover the series, it's kind of surprising a lot of these games managed to survive being available for purchase this long after the death of those platforms.

The PS3 and Vita stores are still up and running, although they are annoying to use. I don't really think it's unreasonable to expect content to continue to be available on a storefront, especially when no announcement about delisting was made..

On the note of Tales fans having already bought the games, maybe? I have them all physical, but if I wanted to go back and grab some cosmetic DLC I'm SOL. It's possible people didn't have money at the time, didn't realize there were other titles, lost or damaged their physical copies, etc.

I do acknowledge most of those points aren't unique to Tales (more criticisms of a digital ecosystem broadly), but it's just another dash of salt in the wound for how Bamco treats the series and its fans. 5/30 titles in the series (including spin-offs) are available on modern systems, the quality of the recent ToS port was not great, and the pace of ports/localizations/new games has slowed to a glacial pace, etc. It's a sad state of affairs for a series that (decades ago) was in the same echelon as DQ and FF.

 

[nightc1]

I don't really think it's unreasonable to expect content to continue to be available on a storefront, especially when no announcement about delisting was made..

I think it was pretty amazing these lasted as long as they did for the Vita and PS3. I can't even get the free optional fast loading add-on for nine year old Xenoblade Chronicles X because the storefront for even getting free content with the Wii-U is already gone. For the PS3 stuff, it's been two generations of consoles since then and only now are some of the last remnants starting to get pulled.

I do acknowledge most of those points aren't unique to Tales (more criticisms of a digital ecosystem broadly)

This was always going to be a problem with Digital and worse having DLC sold separately as a nickle and dime experience. It's why for some series, I've just opted out of all the side content unless I'm actually playing the game and it adds some story/adventure to the game. I'm not buying character skins or costumes and stuff like that.

 

[nitrosmob]

I own all the Tales PS3 games physically so stonks, but yeah that is a lame delisting. I honestly wonder how long Sony will keep up the Vita/PS3 shops. I doubt too much longer honestly.

 

[Masterkyo24]

i own all the tales games as well. It's good physical copies value go up

 

[Vinny]

I own all the Tales PS3 games physically so stonks, but yeah that is a lame delisting. I honestly wonder how long Sony will keep up the Vita/PS3 shops. I doubt too much longer honestly.

i own all the tales games as well. It's good physical copies value go up

I think I have most, if not all of the North American Tales releases physically, but can't recall for sure. Might be missing one one the PSP and/or Vita. Are any of the Tales games outside of the PS1 releases actually worth anything? Like the standard editions or even the special editions? I know the PS1 releases are worth quite a bit.

 

[nitrosmob]

Honestly I don't think so yet. Tales of Hearts R (Vita one) seems to be the one selling for more. If you want to collect them, the prices for all of them are pretty good other than the PS1 ones.

 

[shadowysea07]

While it didn't get an na release I have the eu version of tales of Eternia psp. As well as all the English release titles besides tod ps1 top gba, toa 3ds and toe ps1.

I think the ps2 titles are starting to go up and tos obviously goes for a bit since Gamecube version plus it being still the definitive version of the game as all the other ports are crappy ps2 based ports.

 

[Tothoro]

Finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Platinum took me 173 hours. Everything I said earlier still holds true but I would emphasize that all of the AI shortcomings really flaunt themselves on Hard and especially the Brutal/Legendary VR challenges. Though again, it's hard to fault the game too much for difficulty on optional content. Solid 9.5/10 game. I think this is the most manically I've played a new game in quite a while - it's pretty much all I've done in March outside of work and errands.

 

[Nothing-]

Finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Platinum took me 173 hours. Everything I said earlier still holds true but I would emphasize that all of the AI shortcomings really flaunt themselves on Hard and especially the Brutal/Legendary VR challenges. Though again, it's hard to fault the game too much for difficulty on optional content. Solid 9.5/10 game. I think this is the most manically I've played a new game in quite a while - it's pretty much all I've done in March outside of work and errands.

dayam Tothoro. that's an incredible amount of work and dedication.

nicely done.

 

[blueweltall]

I am still stuck in Gold Saucer area. The game is amazing.

 

[Nothing-]

I am 98 hours in and just starting chapter 12. I'm exploring everything on my own, doing full map completions, stopping to smell all the roses, and avoiding online guides. (kids these days and their instant gratification amirite?) Game has several very minor flaws that make it an 8.5/10. Then the fan service and fun factor easily bump it back up to 9.5. And that's being VERY generous about recognizing the negatives. The game is significantly better than the sum of its parts. The things is does well, it does really well. The dialogue, music, minigames, and cinematic prodcution. It's the perfect jrpg, and the most Final Fantasy to ever Final Fantasy.

Initially, I had a master plan to offer to trade my disc to an acquaintance on my friends list after completion in order to borrow and play his P3R. Good idea right? But I don't think that's going to work any longer. There's too much stuff to tie up and I don't think I can lose access to this game.

 

[gospelman]

I confess that I put the game down

Spoiler

in the middle of Corel. With the bias of strong love of the original game, I pretty much hated everything Remake did with Sector 6. Was not pleased to see all the cringey npcs, bad music, etc magically exported to CDS / Corel. There's enough good stuff in Rebirth without having to recycle those assets. I'll finish eventually, because I genuinely liked parts (Mythril Mine and Upper Junon probably are favorites so far).

 

[Starcrest]

Ultimate Party Animal quest is bugged, so no platinum for me.

 

[62t]

I played 50 hours and just started chapter 10 in Rebirth. Taking longer than I expected but I am having a blast.

 

[nightc1]

My Xseed order of Day 1 switch editions of Silent Hope, Akiba’S Trip U&U, and Trinity Trigger came in today, Nicely it was in a box and while the single big packing bubble didn’t survive, everything was mint. Hell of a deal, $59.97 all in.

 

[Xenogears]

Ultimate Party Animal quest is bugged, so no platinum for me.

This caught my attention, as that is exactly where I am right now, but was not aware of or experiencing a bug yet. I looked it up and apparently it’s the latest patch that bugged it. If you uninstall game, reinstall and play offline, finish whatever was holding you up on the side quest, then go back online, it should let you get through it. Or you can just save the side quest for later, they should have a fix soon. If you bought digital, out of luck till then.

 

[gospelman]

Haven't seen this posted yet. But there's currently a 1 day extra 10% discount at checkout for prime members using the woot app. This took the P5R CE below the point I was waiting for ($50) so I finally bought it. Rune Factory 3 Special LE around $28 is also good.

 

[beenaround]

Haven't seen this posted yet. But there's currently a 1 day extra 10% discount at checkout for prime members using the woot app. This took the P5R CE below the point I was waiting for ($50) so I finally bought it. Rune Factory 3 Special LE around $28 is also good.

Thanks for sharing, I got Silent Hope for $24 with that discount. Didn't want anything else from the XSeed sale so this was perfect.

 

[Vinny]

Man, all this talk of Rebirth and I'm just anxious to get going once busy season ends. In the meantime, I've bought a lot of random FFVII swag during my morning and evening train rides...

Also, Ryza 1-3 reprint incoming via VGP. Knew 3 was hard to find, but didn't realize there was demand for the other two as well since those were reprinted a few times already, I think?

ATELIER RYZA 1, 2 AND 3 - OPEN PRE-ORDER CLOSES APRIL 5, 2024

VIDEOGAMESPLUS.CA

videogamesplus.ca

Also checking my VGP open orders... no shipment for Ys 8, or the two Caligula reprints.../

 

[Starcrest]

Man, all this talk of Rebirth and I'm just anxious to get going once busy season ends. In the meantime, I've bought a lot of random FFVII swag during my morning and evening train rides...

Also, Ryza 1-3 reprint incoming via VGP. Knew 3 was hard to find, but didn't realize there was demand for the other two as well since those were reprinted a few times already, I think?

ATELIER RYZA 1, 2 AND 3 - OPEN PRE-ORDER CLOSES APRIL 5, 2024

VIDEOGAMESPLUS.CA

videogamesplus.ca

Also checking my VGP open orders... no shipment for Ys 8, or the two Caligula reprints.../

I know Ryza 1 was low US availability but UK version was plentiful.

 

[SephirothWF]

Ryza 1 has had so many reprints.

 

[srocky26]

Man, all this talk of Rebirth and I'm just anxious to get going once busy season ends. In the meantime, I've bought a lot of random FFVII swag during my morning and evening train rides...

Also, Ryza 1-3 reprint incoming via VGP. Knew 3 was hard to find, but didn't realize there was demand for the other two as well since those were reprinted a few times already, I think?

ATELIER RYZA 1, 2 AND 3 - OPEN PRE-ORDER CLOSES APRIL 5, 2024

VIDEOGAMESPLUS.CA

videogamesplus.ca

Also checking my VGP open orders... no shipment for Ys 8, or the two Caligula reprints.../

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1772995954632720524

 

[shadowysea07]

Ryza 1 has had so many reprints.

I know Ryza 1 was low US availability but UK version was plentiful.

Man, all this talk of Rebirth and I'm just anxious to get going once busy season ends. In the meantime, I've bought a lot of random FFVII swag during my morning and evening train rides...

Also, Ryza 1-3 reprint incoming via VGP. Knew 3 was hard to find, but didn't realize there was demand for the other two as well since those were reprinted a few times already, I think?

ATELIER RYZA 1, 2 AND 3 - OPEN PRE-ORDER CLOSES APRIL 5, 2024

VIDEOGAMESPLUS.CA

videogamesplus.ca

Also checking my VGP open orders... no shipment for Ys 8, or the two Caligula reprints.../

Ryza was getting steady restocks on Amazon. And everytime Wario posted it sold out.

 

[Vinny]

Are the Ryza games that good/popular? I feel like the Atelier games were pretty niche but Ryza is one that seems to be talked about all the time.

I also had bit of time and played the Steller Blade demo... didn't really think it was that great, certainly not merit all the coverage at least (yes, I get the sexual aspect but come-on, there's tons of horny-games these days). Visually impressive at times (hair/cloths) but so lifeless (boring worlds, tons of foliage that's completely dead still outside of cut-scenes). Gameplay seems like it should be fun but it just feels too clunky, the parry system was great but the dodge felt off, not sure how to describe it (feels more like a Suda 51 PS3 game rather than something more modern like Nier Automata). Music sucks dong- almost put me to sleep.

 

[SephirothWF]

Ryza was getting steady restocks on Amazon. And everytime Wario posted it sold out.

And then VGP reprinted it at least 3 times.

 

[Mattiful-Joe]

Are the Ryza games that good/popular? I feel like the Atelier games were pretty niche but Ryza is one that seems to be talked about all the time.

I also had bit of time and played the Steller Blade demo... didn't really think it was that great, certainly not merit all the coverage at least (yes, I get the sexual aspect but come-on, there's tons of horny-games these days). Visually impressive at times (hair/cloths) but so lifeless (boring worlds, tons of foliage that's completely dead still outside of cut-scenes). Gameplay seems like it should be fun but it just feels too clunky, the parry system was great but the dodge felt off, not sure how to describe it (feels more like a Suda 51 PS3 game rather than something more modern like Nier Automata). Music sucks dong- almost put me to sleep.

Good to see VGP doing reprints. Always for publishers reprinting hard-to-find games so more players can access them at reasonable prices.

As for Steller Blade, I've got it preordered so am avoiding the demo. I feel like it's PS5's "Heavenly Blade," which was another one of those pretty-girl-with-sword games that Sony published (and coincidentally, also one Microsoft passed on as it Stellar Blade). I'm not surprised the gameplay is a bit rough around the edges; the reports thus far in the podcasts I've listened to have been pretty positive so barring news that the game turns out to be downright awful or not on the disc, I'll likely leave my preorder in place.

 

[Vinny]

Good to see VGP doing reprints. Always for publishers reprinting hard-to-find games so more players can access them at reasonable prices.

As for Steller Blade, I've got it preordered so am avoiding the demo. I feel like it's PS5's "Heavenly Blade," which was another one of those pretty-girl-with-sword games that Sony published (and coincidentally, also one Microsoft passed on as it Stellar Blade). I'm not surprised the gameplay is a bit rough around the edges; the reports thus far in the podcasts I've listened to have been pretty positive so barring news that the game turns out to be downright awful or not on the disc, I'll likely leave my preorder in place.

I'm guessing you mean Heavenly Sword- I don't get any Heavenly Sword (which was a CRIMINALLY under-appreciated game) vibes from this at all but I can see what you mean (flawed but still great). This honestly gives me more... P.N.03 vibes except with swords.

 

[nitrosmob]

The demo gives me more of Crymachina x Dark Souls/Sekiro vibe but that's just me. I'm very iffy for now, but I have a pre-order. I'm likely instead going to play Rise of the Ronin and hopefully have fun with it, even though I probably should have waited for reviews, but samurai!

Also just mentioning one thing since it's a surprise but PQube Games announced they would be bringing Mages SINce memories: Off The Starry Sky to the West. This is the newest iteration of the popular Memories Off series. I buy most visual novels that aren't otome games on consoles without a second thought, and I buy plenty of the otomes too. This is cool and I'll play it on release.

VNDB (NSFW)

Also very strangely Denpasoft just stealth released Re;Lord 3 ~The demon lord of Groessen and the final witch~. This is the third in the series and the other two are on Steam, but not this third one. This seems strange, but it may have gotten banned from Steam or something. It does have 10% off.

Denpasoft (NSFW)

 

[Mattiful-Joe]

I'm guessing you mean Heavenly Sword- I don't get any Heavenly Sword (which was a CRIMINALLY under-appreciated game) vibes from this at all but I can see what you mean (flawed but still great). This honestly gives me more... P.N.03 vibes except with swords.

That's right. Heavenly Sword is what I meant. The game was okay -- the storyline was kinda meh but the graphics/technical merits from Ninja Theory were phenomenal. Not liking the P.N.03 analogy for Stellar Blade -- IMHO, P.N.03 is not at all a good game; I would call that one below average. Will keep the pre-order but will definitely watch some reviews to see if I hold onto it at launch.

 

[Vinny]

That's right. Heavenly Sword is what I meant. The game was okay -- the storyline was kinda meh but the graphics/technical merits from Ninja Theory were phenomenal. Not liking the P.N.03 analogy for Stellar Blade -- IMHO, P.N.03 is not at all a good game; I would call that one below average. Will keep the pre-order but will definitely watch some reviews to see if I hold onto it at launch.

I meant more in terms of style/setting (sci-fi) than gameplay. I'm not saying SB demo was bad by any means, I enjoyed it and will likely get the game eventually. I just don't get why it seems to be everywhere... it doesn't seem like a marketing thing.

Hard disagree with you on Heavenly Sword though- I thought story/characters were great, but the visual were ass just like every early PS3 game (screen tear/slowdown fest). But honestly the way you described Heavenly Sword, if that's what you're comparing Stellar Blade to, then I'm not sure why you'd want it. If the visuals/technical aspects are what you're after, there's much more technically impressive PS5 games than this (Ratchet, Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man 2), unless there's massive upgrades from the demo to the final release.

 

[shadowysea07]

Are the Ryza games that good/popular? I feel like the Atelier games were pretty niche but Ryza is one that seems to be talked about all the time.

I also had bit of time and played the Steller Blade demo... didn't really think it was that great, certainly not merit all the coverage at least (yes, I get the sexual aspect but come-on, there's tons of horny-games these days). Visually impressive at times (hair/cloths) but so lifeless (boring worlds, tons of foliage that's completely dead still outside of cut-scenes). Gameplay seems like it should be fun but it just feels too clunky, the parry system was great but the dodge felt off, not sure how to describe it (feels more like a Suda 51 PS3 game rather than something more modern like Nier Automata). Music sucks dong- almost put me to sleep.

Ryza sold about a million copies much like persona 5 yakuza 7? And nier automata around that time period. So unlike the other atelier games it's not remotely niche anymore. Whether they properly handle the popularity and capitalize on it is up in the air. It could also just be a flash in the pan.

Time will tell. Look at tales of series for one that is mishandled. Its had multiple million sellers now with Symphonia being past 2 million between combined versions according to bamco and vesperia is around there as well despite the beta 360 version being the only one we got till "definitive edition" and both are poor ports.

Though vesperia de is significantly better off than symphonia minus the dub being papermache sp? Since they were too cheap to get Troy back. They chopped it up then removed some voiced sections and replaced them with the new va so it's very noticeable. Some lines bounced between the 2.

 

[scorponok]

ANONYMOUS;CODE SteelBook Launch Edition PS4 $39.99 at bestbuy. It's been out of stock at amazon and gamestop for a while. I wonder if it's time to pick it up?

 

[zenamako]

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion - Ayame's Mercy Limited and Standard Editions up for preorder:

S https://ow.ly/gJyX50R5xVW
PS4 https://ow.ly/JYbr50R5xVY
Deluxe Ed. $79.99
PS4 https://ow.ly/43Wt50R5xVU
S https://ow.ly/4sTL50R5xW3
Best Buy https://ow.ly/nBFC50R5xVV

 

[nitrosmob]

ANONYMOUS;CODE SteelBook Launch Edition PS4 $39.99 at bestbuy. It's been out of stock at amazon and gamestop for a while. I wonder if it's time to pick it up?

I doubt Anonymous Code had the production numbers of the last ones. It's your choice to get it or not but I don't think it will be available for as long as most games.

 

[scorponok]

H2 Spring Sale Asian Games On Sale playasia

 

[Nothing-]

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion - Ayame's Mercy Limited and Standard Editions up for preorder:

S https://ow.ly/gJyX50R5xVW
PS4 https://ow.ly/JYbr50R5xVY
Deluxe Ed. $79.99
PS4 https://ow.ly/43Wt50R5xVU
S https://ow.ly/4sTL50R5xW3
Best Buy https://ow.ly/nBFC50R5xVV

what's with the weird links?? no idea what those redirects are. Please be careful, and don't click things which look like that.

EDIT: I'm sure he is well-meaning and intended. I don't mean for this to sound harsh.

When you highlight over anybody else's links on this page you can directly see the website it is about to take you to, from the text in the hyperlink.

 

[Tothoro]

ow.ly is a link shortener, I see it used relatively often. My guess is they just grabbed the link from a tweet or something to share here. But in general, yes, it is a bad idea to click shortened links from untrusted sources.

 

[Souffrir]

H2 Spring Sale Asian Games On Sale playasia

Don’t suppose they have any kind of free shipping promotional code right now?

 

[kevers7290]

Don’t suppose they have any kind of free shipping promotional code right now?

No. Free shipping starts at $100 purchase.

 

[Masterkyo24]

I missed Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (S) pre-order

 

[shadowysea07]

What year is it?

 

[zenamako]

ow.ly is a link shortener, I see it used relatively often. My guess is they just grabbed the link from a tweet or something to share here. But in general, yes, it is a bad idea to click shortened links from untrusted sources.

I grabbed the links from a post on CAG's Facebook page. My understanding is that they are affiliate links, and that using these links helps support this site. But if you don't want to use the links, you can find the game on Amazon and Best Buy by doing a search.

I mainly wanted to alert people who might be interested in the game about the LE in case it sells out. I was glad I picked up the Corpse Party 1 LE on the 3DS when I did.

 

[Tothoro]

IIRC links stemming from the forum automatically get CAG's affiliate stuff appended to it, whereas on social media they have to manually append/redirect and all that fun stuff. Either way, appreciate the link and explanation!

Also, H2 Spring Sale at Play-Asia: https://www.play-asia.com/search/h2springsale2024

Not a ton of games on sale, but some more popular stuff like SaGa on Switch is listed.

 

[Souffrir]

What year is it?

Every morning I wake up and hope it’s 1997.

 

[Vinny]

Can someone tell my why copies of Star Ocean 2nd Story R on NS says they require a 3GB download..? A post on Reddit says it's for subtitles but that seems like a LOT for subtitles. Was that always there? Is the PS5 version the same?

 

[Masterkyo24]

Can someone tell my why copies of Star Ocean 2nd Story R on NS says they require a 3GB download..? A post on Reddit says it's for subtitles but that seems like a LOT for subtitles. Was that always there? Is the PS5 version the same?

I returned my switch Walmart copy for that. End up got PS4 and PS5 copy from BestBuy

 

[gmsick]

Just finished Star Ocean 4. Good game overall. I liked it quite a bit more than SO3. Even though it didn't have a crazy plot twist like the former. Gonna take a break before starting Star Ocean 5. Since I know its the low point of the series. Really enjoying the series playthrough so far.

 

[jimmywolf]

Can someone tell my why copies of Star Ocean 2nd Story R on NS says they require a 3GB download..? A post on Reddit says it's for subtitles but that seems like a LOT for subtitles. Was that always there? Is the PS5 version the same?

can't say for sure but was told in past even a small change of 1 mb can be 1 gig, if the file they replace is 1 gig, even if it just adding text to the file. least that what i was told when we would get CoD updates that where 20+ gigs and just minor changes like sound or cosmetics updates.

 

[super1upqueen]

Everyone playing the crap out of FFVII Rebirth and I'm the only one playing P3R lol I think I hit 90 hours last night, been totally no-lifing it. I think I have a good chance of hitting max social links, but I always think that and then fall short lol made it halfway through November, so a lot of the major story twists have happened. Was not happy about the October event (you all know it, you all hate it), despite of course knowing it was coming. The new (and voiced) night hangouts and linked episodes for the characters made that event hurt even more.

Anyway, once I'm done with P3R, I'll probably give the Stellar Blade demo a try. I thought I was sold enough on the game to not bother with the demo, but I'm hearing it's less like Devil May Cry/Bayonetta/Nier Automata than I'd like, so I want to make sure it's something I'll enjoy. I pre-ordered it at Target with a 20% off coupon, bringing it down to $56, but I can always cancel if I don't like the demo. After that, maybe I'll give Princess Peach Showtime a try. Might not be a good idea to jump from one 100+ hour game (P3R) to another (FFVII Rebirth) so soon.

 

[Tothoro]

I've seen a bunch of people elsewhere talk about P3R, but I think leading up to launch there was a lot of skepticism about how they'd handle The Answer and general reticence to buy-in given how quickly a lot of Atlus games drop in price. I'm still looking forward to it, but I'm not planning to pick it up until after The Answer is out (hopefully as a complete on-disc edition but we'll see).