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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It's USPS, the post office, their sorting and distribution centers, and mail carriers that cause most if not all of shipping damage problems. You either live in an area, or have a driver, where they kick around their boxes, or you don't.  UPS too.  They are generally worse and kick around packages all day.  Retailers have mostly the same standardized procedures everywhere.  You can be pretty sure that just about everything that leaves Amazon is in great shape.  It's what happens afterwards that destroys packages.  Them sending out things in bubble mailers is also a separate issue entirely.  Amazon stuff comes through USPS while everything Best Buy is tossed around by UPS. 

Anyways yeah, most of the damage is caused the by carrier providers.  That also doesn't excuse bubble mailers for limited editions.  But people would be doing A LOT more complaining if they were forced to pay the actual $6-25 shipping charge for every box that was delivered to their doorsteps. 

It's so hard for people to be thankful for the type of service they get these days.  USPS and Amazon do an AMAZING job when you consider all the complicated operations they have to go through, versus the value you get from their services.  If you want pristine services then shop at online boutiques or from resellers that take pictures of everything, and pay the premium. 

You don't shop at Walmart and then complain about the quality of your shopping experience lol.

 
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I ordered Bravely Second and Xenoblade X from amazon and Best Buy.  Prefect from Best Buy, and badly damaged from amazon.

 
Nothing371 said:
It's USPS, the post office, their sorting and distribution centers, and mail carriers that cause most if not all of shipping damage problems. You either live in an area, or have a driver, where they kick around their boxes, or you don't. UPS too. They are generally worse and kick around packages all day. Retailers have mostly the same standardized procedures everywhere. You can be pretty sure that just about everything that leaves Amazon is in great shape. It's what happens afterwards that destroys packages. Them sending out things in bubble mailers is also a separate issue entirely. Amazon stuff comes through USPS while everything Best Buy is tossed around by UPS.

Anyways yeah, most of the damage is caused the by carriers. That also doesn't excuse bubble mailers for limited editions. But people would be doing A LOT more complaining if they were forced to pay the actual $6-25 shipping charge for every box that was delivered to their doorsteps.

It's so hard for people to be thankful for the type of service they get these days. USPS and Amazon do an AMAZING job when you consider all the complicated operations they have to go through, versus the value you get from their services. If you want pristine services then shop at online boutiques or from resellers that take pictures of everything, and pay the premium.

You don't shop at Walmart and then complain about the quality of your shopping experience lol.
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No one is going out of their way to damage a package, that's just the nature of the beast. I've worked for USPS as well as UPS, and there is no concern or issue for package care. Delivery is the only objective, PERIOD!

I personally mail hundreds of packages a month, and while damages can happen, I would say I have a 1% damage rate, as I package items well. Putting a box in an envelope and not expecting it to get damaged is an exercise in pipe dreaming.

Anything shipped in the proper size box with proper packing materials will more often than not escape damage. I don't agree with most of the policies on Ebay, but the seller being responsible for a products safety is one I do subscribe to personally. Shipping companies are only moving products as fast as they can, and in no way is concerned with safety. That is why insurance is offered.

Almost anything can be mailed safely when proper care is taken. Yeah, Amazon is trying to move as many products as fast as possible, same as the shipping companies, but I'm not paying them, I'm paying Amazon, or BB, or GS. It is their job to insure an item that I paid for arrives safely, or it falls on them, and no one else.

Blaming the shipping companies for damaged packages is like blaming the shark for biting someone in the ass at the beach. It's what they do, they aren't going to change, as they have been doing what they do, a lot longer than Amazon, BB or GS. I don't expect them to change their operation. Amazon should be changing theirs.

 
chrislaustin said:
No one is going out of their way to damage a package, that's just the nature of the beast. I've worked for USPS as well as UPS, and there is no concern or issue for package care. Delivery is the only objective, PERIOD!
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uh, yeah. that's kinda what I posted lol.

chrislaustin said:
I personally mail hundreds of packages a month, and while damages can happen, I would say I have a 1% damage rate, as I package items well. Putting a box in an envelope and not expecting it to get damaged is an exercise in pipe dreaming.

Anything shipped in the proper size box with proper packing materials will more often than not escape damage. I don't agree with most of the policies on Ebay, but the seller being responsible for a products safety is one I do subscribe to personally. Shipping companies are only moving products as fast as they can, and in no way is concerned with safety. That is why insurance is offered.
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I understand this. I also sell on Ebay and haven't had a single problem because I take care to package and ship things properly. Not sure what's up with all these strawman statements that have nothing to do with what I wrote.

chrislaustin said:
Almost anything can be mailed safely when proper care is taken. Yeah, Amazon is trying to move as many products as fast as possible, same as the shipping companies, but I'm not paying them, I'm paying Amazon, or BB, or GS. It is their job to insure an item that I paid for arrives safely, or it falls on them, and no one else.

Blaming the shipping companies for damaged packages is like blaming the shark for biting someone in the ass at the beach. It's what they do, they aren't going to change, as they have been doing what they do, a lot longer than Amazon, BB or GS. I don't expect them to change their operation. Amazon should be changing theirs.
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"No" to everything else you wrote. I'm being realistic, whereas you're being idealistic. Amazon shouldn't "be changing their operation" unless you'd like to start paying real prices for your packages from them. In which case they wouldn't be Amazon anymore. Until you want to start paying $6-25 for every package then it's time to sit down. You should know this since you're an Ebay reseller.

You must have missed the part where I praised USPS for the value of the service they offer.

 
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Nothing371 said:
"No" to everything else you wrote. I'm being realistic, whereas you're being idealistic. Amazon shouldn't "be changing their operation" unless you'd like to start paying real prices for your packages from them. In which case they wouldn't be Amazon anymore. Until you want to start paying $6-25 for every package then it's time to sit down. You should know this since you're an Ebay reseller.

You must have missed the part where I praised USPS for the value of the service they offer.
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Well technically, every LE I've gotten from them was at release, and it was the same price everywhere, so when those items came damaged, I wasn't really saving any money either way. Years ago they where tax free, there was a slight savings, but that is no longer the case. I currently pay NISA for their games, as I don't mind paying extra for undamaged items.

So yes, I would gladly pay Amazon a premium for a better level of service. I would do the same at GS or BB if offered. I'm a realist, and I know, they can't afford to care for each package based on their current business model for the reasons you state, prices would go through the roof.

But considering how many items I have returned to them, or the ones they have given me credits on, I would say they may want to offer a service that meets the need that is obviously out there. But as I stated, I don't expect a shipping company to change, when if Amazon made a change, it could insure a packages safety.

I also personally have known several of my postmen over the years, and the packages are damaged long before they get to the last part of the delivery process, so I in no way blame them.

 
chrislaustin said:
I also personally have known several of my postmen over the years, and the packages are damaged long before they get to the last part of the delivery process, so I in no way blame them.
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Yep exactly. The point is packages change hands several different times from departing the Amazon warehouse to before they reach your mail carrier.

 
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whoknows said:
Best Buy always ships to me in a box and Amazon always uses bubble mailers.

Maybe it's just luck, but I've had waaaay better luck with Best Buy. A crease in the box doesn't really bother me though, so in the end it's whatever.
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Same. Best Buy tends to ship things in a box or those special cardboard envelopes (which works really well). Amazon sends most of my LE in bubble mailers.

 
I am a mailman and nothing is worse than getting a damaged package and bringing it to someones door. We get blamed most cause we are the last people to handle it. I've seen lots of videos of the morons that throw packages around and I'm not gonna end up on Youtube for that. I take care of everything the best I can cause I get lots of packages from USPS and UPS. The clerks can be pretty rough when sorting the packages though and I hate that too. My post office is on the other side of town but I work at the one that delivers to my dads house so if I'm getting something important, I get it shipped to him so I can intercept it.

It's fun getting to see what goes on in the back. Someone recently tried shipping a huge classic Transformer figure media mail. We got to open it for inspection and got a good laugh. Also, just the other day, three priority boxes full of pot. I can imagine how many times I've actually delivered some.

 
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Supplice said:
Tales of Berseria ‘DLC Catalog 01’ trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocRuNDZHfbY

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Coming to Wii U Tomorrow
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wow some of the alt costumes of the beach wear actually look good to better for those. too bad its dlc and per costume as if it was in game that'd be nice. jesus christ at all of magi's outfits if you can even call that amount of clothing an outfit.

smrpglotss not being on the wiiu until now seems odd considering they are somewhat late into its life. and by late I mean its not gonna be around much longer.

 
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Frosty The Batman said:
I am a mailman and nothing is worse than getting a damaged package and bringing it to someones door. We get blamed most cause we are the last people to handle it. I've seen lots of videos of the morons that through packages around and I'm not gonna end up on Youtube for that. I take care of everything the best I can cause I get lots of packages from USPS and UPS. The clerks can be pretty rough when sorting the packages though and I hate that too. My post office is on the other side of town but I work at the one that delivers to my dads house so if I'm getting something important, I get it shipped to him so I can intercept it.

It's fun getting to see what goes on in the back. Someone recently tried shipping a huge classic Transformer figure media mail. We got to open it for inspection and got a good laugh. Also, just the other day, three priority boxes full of pot. I can imagine how many times I've actually delivered some.
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How did you happen to find the pot, did they reek? What procedures, if any, does the post office use to catch this sort of thing? Just curious.

 
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ragnar14 said:
Regional distribution centers will all handle stuff differently. So Amazon being good or not is literally YMMV.

Hmm NISA stuff usually shows up perfectly, but we've had more than enough posts about how badong their customer service is. I'm currently waiting till Independence Day weekend, because I'm kinda sure they won't even notice me hit them with a Paypal chargeback on a long weekend.
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usually being the word here. on that note I wonder if flooding or something like what happened to ni no kuni ce was the reason for the watch issue? Or just one of those ding dongs not driving forklifts correctly you see in those gifs/videos. God those are scary.

 
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Nothing371 said:
How did you happen to find the pot, did they reek? What procedures, if any, does the post office use to catch this sort of thing? Just curious.
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I'm curious on this myself. Do guys just throw the pot in a box and let it fly, and hope for the best? Please tell me they didn't use their real address on the return label?

EDIT: Back in the early 90's when I worked at USPS, the worst thing I found was some ants in a busted package. In case anyone was wondering, my post office handled orders for Uncle Milton's Ant Farms, and a return got busted open, and some ants escaped. That was about as will as I saw during my time there, but it wasn't like I cared what was coming and going.

 
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Nothing371 said:
It's USPS, the post office, their sorting and distribution centers, and mail carriers that cause most if not all of shipping damage problems.
Click to expand...

chrislaustin said:
No one is going out of their way to damage a package, that's just the nature of the beast. I've worked for USPS as well as UPS, and there is no concern or issue for package care. Delivery is the only objective, PERIOD!
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I worked at a USPS sorting facility last year during the holidays. I can confirm this. Packages fall off conveyor belts, get crushed, thrown, poked a few holes in some myself. It's a miracle you get your packages in one piece. Even seen boxes labeled fragile getting thrown and tv/monitors getting manhandled. I would never recommend working there. The working conditions are bad so the workers don't give a shit.

 
shadowneko003 said:
Uchikoshi is gonna be at AX again? What days?
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He is signing 12-130 on 7/1, 130-3 7/2, Panel at 345-445 7/2, Sign 7/4 130-3.

chrislaustin said:
LOL. This is funny every time I read it. Going with Amazon is cheaper, but 9 out of 10 times, it is going to arrive damaged. How is anyone surprised by this happening anymore?

My GK LE should be out in my mail box in a few minutes, if not already, and it's coming from NISA, and I have zero concerns about it's condition. I did pay a premium, but it was worth piece of mind.
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The only reason why I went with amazon was the glitch price. In the matter of packing quality I pretty much gave up on amazon, best buy is 50/50 for me and I will agree NISA has their shit together my SOSC box got borked and they replaced it quickly without issue hense why at AX I will get psycho pass through them without tax.

 
D3 Publisher launches new PS Vita idol project countdown website

World’s Longest 5 Minutes system trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh8fLmdihOQ

Pokemon Sun & Moon: New official trailer confirms leaks + reveals types

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTt65qAkR84

Assault Suit Leynos launches July 12

A physical release of the PlayStation 4 version is also planned, but has not been dated.

Shenmue III Kickstarter celebrates one year anniversary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlS5qAoYX0Y

The Idolmaster: Platinum Stars Gets New Screenshots and Trailer Showing Day 1 DLC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4V9JG_sGQ

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Gets New Sexy and Cute DLC Bikinis

Final Fantasy XV Gets New Info and Gameplay; Bonus Content Showcased

Major Street Fighter V Update Coming Tomorrow Includes Highly Anticipated “A Shadow Falls” Story Mode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYIEKKrzJBM

 
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Everyone buying Japanese figures are troopers....I just got charged for my exclusive Winter Miku stuff and yowsa that's expensive. After these ones I think I have one more figuarts and done with figures till they start putting better discounts with the yen being stronger.

At least I got my Miku dollfie at the right time...

 
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nitrosmob said:
Everyone buying Japanese figures are troopers....I just got charged for my exclusive Winter Miku stuff and yowsa that's expensive. After these ones I think I have one more figuarts and done with figures till they start putting better discounts with the yen being stronger.

At least I got my Miku dollfie at the right time...
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I know what you mean. I ordered a figure from the amiami ebay page like a week ago, and I checked yesterday to see any new stuff they have. They added another listing for the figure I bought, but for $20 more than I paid for it. Glad I got it when I did, these current exchange rate spikes are brutal... :cry:

 
Supplice said:
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ Gets New Screenshots; Side Stories and Furniture Collection
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TokyoXanadu-11-4.jpg

Towa_herschel_sen1.jpg

Mirror Universe Towa from Sen no Kiseki confirmed. All that's missing is a beard <- (guess where that one comes from)

 
nitrosmob said:
Boo first of all they took forever to open pre-order for moe crystal asia and chinese only....not cool!!!
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I've been checking on this daily for the better part of a year and saw this change this morning. It's quite disappointing since I was really looking forward to it. I thought that Moe Chronicle sold well enough to garner the sequel. I only hope that it ends up that there's an English release at some point.

 
Nothing371 said:
How did you happen to find the pot, did they reek? What procedures, if any, does the post office use to catch this sort of thing? Just curious.
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Someone noticed the smell from one of the boxes. There were three of the same box going to the same address so they opened them up, confirmed what we all knew and called the postal inspectors. Those guys are like the FBI. There is a secret tunnel that goes through the back area so with little mirrored windows so they can come watch us and we would have no idea they were there. I don't know what happens after the inspector picked them up.

 
For those wondering about the pot via post.

The boxes have air tight glass jars in them & stuffed inside them are vacuum sealed bags with the stuff.

It seems to be pretty safe for most cases.

 
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Watch out, I'm about to give my TMS impressions.

I'm enjoying Tokyo Mirage Sessions quite alot. It started off a bit slow, but what rpg doesn't. The characters started off cliched, but theyre growing on me. The story I like well enough. It covers the entire entertainment industry and even includes vocaloids which was nice. I rank the difficulty below your standard SMT game. You can easily hop out of a dungeon get a full heal and hop right back in. You earn so much money that you can always get the newest equipment and stock up well on supplies. Boss battles still get rough if youre not preprared though. There is never a need to grind though, which I always appreciate in an rpg. I am well versed in SMT style battles so that makes it easier for me even on hard mode. The battle system is a different take on the classic SMT system where you try maximize damage through combo attacks. The amount of skill customization started off pretty disappointing to me as you have so much room for skills and a slow trickle of new skills to learn, but 20+ hours in the amount skills you can learn opens up wide so now I have to think carefully about how I want to build my characters, which is an integral part of SMT games for me.

It should have been fairly obvious that the Fire Emblem influence isnt as strong but its there. They added the weapon triangle to the battle system. The mirages are fire emblem characters. Honestly it feels like I get more Tharja from this game than I did from Awakening lol. I only recognize the awakening characters, but their personalities shine through in this game, theyre not just there in name only.

All in all, I would rate this as a great game. I can't stop playing it.

 
I'm really enjoying TMS as well especially the characters. The only things I don't like are that you have to exit a dungeon completely to get more weapons and that there isn't a list or menu to check requests. Exiting the dungeons isn't that bad since there a few things that alleviate it, but so far I had to do it a couple of time per dungeon, so it can get annoying. The request thing is dumb though, P4 had one, so why wouldn't they put one in this game? The only way to check requests is to go back and talk to the person who gave it to you, and there's always a few at a time, so if you forget, you always have to go back.

 
Cloyd said:
I've been checking on this daily for the better part of a year and saw this change this morning. It's quite disappointing since I was really looking forward to it. I thought that Moe Chronicle sold well enough to garner the sequel. I only hope that it ends up that there's an English release at some point.
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I can't imagine there being a separate release just for us, and if they release a DLC, I'm not even sure how to hook my Vita to a Japanese PSN account to download it. Basically, we're shafted. I guess we really are that important a market afterall.

 
godofwar7 said:
There is never a need to grind though, which I always appreciate in an rpg.
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I disagree if you want to actually craft weapons to unlock skills as well as all your radiant skills. I find that it slowly starts to rear its head after the first chapter. Here's an except on what I dislike about it from elsewhere:

1) If you are someone who skips a fair amount of normal enemies like I do in games and tend to approach things a little underlevel then this game will be rather frustrating at times. Mostly because the bosses are set to be several levels ahead of a normal persons progression and damage is very much primarily level based. This leaves you with either grinding to get past hurdles, skipping no enemies (and still probably grinding some) or using the DLC dungeons (Which also came with the SE) to help mitigate it. This also translates into drops after Chapter 1 as well since you begin to need a lot more of the higher tier stars to craft carnage weapons and learn radiant skills. Oh and Stage Level is determined by how many battles the character has been in (or is it sessions? Which is at 8 or 9, sub-cast can join sessions and not sure if that counts) which means fight or don't get useful passives. (Too many times I've gone 5 battles and not a single god damn star dropped even with 4 or 5 people in sessions getting extra drops from overkill)

2) Sidequests aren't recorded anywhere which is kinda stupid. I have no idea how many more people I need to recruit on this mission unless I go and find the stupid quest giver and talk to him. Annoying, especially if you don't finish a quest before you save and quit, then proceed to forget it when you pick it back up.

3) I hate how it forces you to use the Wii U Gamepad for main story and side story progression. Oh and how the only map is located on the Wii U Gamepad. That's not to say it doesn't house useful information and would be nice as a completely optional thing, but the mini-map only being located there is an absolutely terrible design choice that forces me to switch screens too often. Especially since I like to map out everything when fog of war is used.

4) Being a primarily PC gamer running SSDs, the load times for everything can be slightly irritating as it's longer than your average console game and how frequent you encounter load screens (Menu/Battle/Map Transition/Scene Transition). I've had a couple times where I initiated a skill and the camera just stared at the character for an extra two seconds before it finally went off. It can get rather irritating at times.
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I can't really see it as great, but otherwise it does a decent enough job gameplay wise. I'm also surprised at your gameplay time and yet I don't think you're far off from me in time. Not to mention it doesn't sound like you've even reached Master Seals yet. Makes me think that you naturally grind a bit in your progression and just don't see it as such. I've also done every sidequest and side story up to where I'm at too except for one that recommends me to be level 47, which I'm not quite to yet.

 
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Draekon said:
I disagree if you want to actually craft weapons to unlock skills as well as all your radiant skills. I find that it slowly starts to rear its head after the first chapter. Here's an except on what I dislike about it from elsewhere:

I can't really see it as great, but otherwise it does a decent enough job gameplay wise. I'm also surprised at your gameplay time and yet I don't think you're far off from me in time. Not to mention it doesn't sound like you've even reached Master Seals yet. Makes me think that you naturally grind a bit in your progression and just don't see it as such. I've also done every sidequest and side story up to where I'm at too except for one that recommends me to be level 47, which I'm not quite to yet.
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My playstyle is to do everything, and fight all the enemies that pop up as I progress So I already differ from point 1 in that respect. I do skip enemies sometimes, but usually not. Grinding to me(you are right in that grinding means different things to different people), is requiring me to fight more enemies than just enemies that pop up in my path in order to be strong enough to beat bosses. I have always been strong enough to win and I have always had enough materials to craft the new weapons.

For point 2, the sidequests are highlighted on the map. If you forgot what sidequest you're on, its easy enough to find the quest giver. I'm never overrun with quests anyway as I do them as they pop up. Having a better sidequest tracking would be an upgrade though.

Point 3, yes there should be a minimap on the tv screen. I agree.

Point 4, yes theres a bit too much loading, but they are generally short loads. Nothing like Fallout 4 ugh.

I used a master seal already. I am in the middle of the TV show filming chapter. I'm certainly not that far off from you if your only sidequest is the level 47 one, as I'm around level 40.

 
henry32689 said:
I'm really enjoying TMS as well especially the characters. The only things I don't like are that you have to exit a dungeon completely to get more weapons and that there isn't a list or menu to check requests. Exiting the dungeons isn't that bad since there a few things that alleviate it, but so far I had to do it a couple of time per dungeon, so it can get annoying. The request thing is dumb though, P4 had one, so why wouldn't they put one in this game? The only way to check requests is to go back and talk to the person who gave it to you, and there's always a few at a time, so if you forget, you always have to go back.
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Agreed on those negatives.

 
JCAll said:
I can't imagine there being a separate release just for us, and if they release a DLC, I'm not even sure how to hook my Vita to a Japanese PSN account to download it. Basically, we're shafted. I guess we really are that important a market afterall.
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Yeah, unless there's going to be a NA PSN release, I can't see it happening at this point. I was trying to be patient since it took about a year after Moe Chronicle was announced before it was finally set to release. I just was hoping for the same with Moe Crystal. Ah well...guess that money will go to something else.

 
nitrosmob said:
I really don't like Monopoly as much with a decent amount of diving done into many other board games and designer games, but I will likely procure a copy sometime, esp if it reaches $25 or so. I have my Pokemon Monopoly still from when I was younger, and I hope this one does something cool like that one. I liked the powers for rolling doubles.

Also hopefully tonight i'll be able to try the new Mana game and the new Star Ocean. I had to buy the Star Ocean, since i've been waiting for it for a while. I hope it just isn't terrible at least...anything better than Trillion is a big win in my book. Still can't believe I used like 40 hours on that game....
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I am trying to plat Trillion right now and it is a grind, but it is at least better than XBlaze Code Embryo and Amnesia Memories of recent games I've played.
 
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