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 pretty similar in its core gameplay, but there are plenty of differences between the two. Most would probably describe Dragon Quest Builders as "Minecraft with actual direction/narrative/purpose."

 
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Draekon said:
It's pretty similar at its core, but there are plenty of little differences between the two. Most would probably describe Dragon Quest Builders as "Minecraft with actual direction/narrative."
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That sounds alright actually. I really dislike Minecraft because I become bored easily with no real goal in sight. I like goals in games, even if it's just conquer the world or earn so much money.

 
You have limited character creation options such as gender, skin color, hair color and eye color. You're more or less stuck with whatever hairstyle the gender shows. Other than that, armor/clothing can change your outward visual appearance. Which is probably good since you start out looking like a street urchin worse off than Aladdin.

So kinda like Link, if you wanted Link to be able to be a red-haired Latino chica.

(The female character's headgear is more similar to a head scarf than a Link hat. I honestly don't know if that changes or not, but the video makes it seem like it doesn't. Both have goggles too.)

 
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Draekon said:
DQ Builders Trailer came out the other day that I don't think its been posted yet. Gives you a bit better idea of what things to expect in the full game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw12Zg-6Ojo

It's a pretty decent trailer.

In an unrelated note, Amazon Prime users can now tie their account into their Twitch account and have free premium service if you're a Prime user. I don't think I could have really anticipated that.
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I have always been a Dragon Quest fan since the 80's when the series was known as Dragon Warrior but I am not a Minecraft fan. So I was skeptical about this game. However after seeing the video I am convince and will be getting the Asia(physical english) version. Thank you!

 
Got to say that trailer really makes DQB look cool. I'm still working through DQ7 myself so i'll wait, but it's a future pick up easily. Every time I hear that DQ theme my nostalgic blood boils. Same for the classic FF theme.

 
62t said:
Sympothia/Abyss/Vesperia are terrible with missable stuff. It got better with Graces where there are only 2 or 3 things you can miss for good.
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symphonia wise the only missables I recall are undead swordsman 1 and 2. Unless you are talking about stuff specific to routes in which case I wouldn't count it as missable.

Abyss is really the only one with a large number of missables. every other game has odds and ends but for the most part you won't miss much. I think the sad part is despite adding in the sidequest makers they still made them easily missed in every game from there on.

 
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Cloyd said:
. I thought Xillia was pretty boring as a whole.
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Yeah it was very poorly set up. Especially alvins sidequests line since they are important to the story, explain some of his reasons and even get brought up during the story as a major spoiler in a nonchalant conversation that a certain character is dead like nothing. Kinda major f up to have a missable sidequest that's that important to the plot. When My niece played through she followed the guide and the scene didn't trigger either so I imagine there's a glitch involved as well to make matters worse.

 
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I suppose Axiom Verge on the Xbox One could be added to the previous week section, but I'm going to be lazy about that again. Other than that it's a fairly uneventful week unless you really wanted the new Paper Mario. Next week will be a little heavier.

Other stuff that released without warning last week that are all on PC/Steam:
- Princess Maker 2 Refine (Simulation)


Weekly Releases (October 2nd - October 8th)

Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack
- Platform(s): 3DS
- Genre: Action Platformer
- Demo: Gunvolt 1 has a demo on the eShop.
- Online: N/A
- Comments: A dual-pack of Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 + 2 on a single cart. Second game is currently 3DS only while the first is 3DS and PC.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
- Platform(s): Wii U
- Genre: Action-Adventure
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A

Higurashi When They Cry - Ch.4 Himatsubushi
- Platform(s): PC
- Genre: Visual Novel / Mystery?
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A
- Comments: Assuming it's also part of the mystery genre like the previous ones.

Aragami
- Platform(s): PS4, XB1, PC
- Genre: Stealth / Action
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A
- Comments: Technically a Spanish developer, but has heavy Japanese influence.


Past Releases
September 25th - October 1st
September 18th - September 24th
September 11th - September 17th
September 4th - September 10th
August 28th - September 3rd
 

EDIT: Fixed Gunvolt info.

 
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Having played minecraft, & the DQ builders demo, they do not FEEL the same at all.
Minecraft feels more mysterious with zero direction on what to do & tons of trial n error. Like being stranded on a deserted island.
Builders feels like an epic rpg story unfolding while being guided into how to use the mechanic of crafting/building & given sidequests/goals to complete.

I like DQ Builders feels like a very good game just wish there was voices, like in DQ Heroes.
 
Draekon said:
You have limited character creation options such as gender, skin color, hair color and eye color. You're more or less stuck with whatever hairstyle the gender shows. Other than that, armor/clothing can change your outward visual appearance. Which is probably good since you start out looking like a street urchin worse off than Aladdin.

So kinda like Link, if you wanted Link to be able to be a red-haired Latino chica.

(The female character's headgear is more similar to a head scarf than a Link hat. I honestly don't know if that changes or not, but the video makes it seem like it doesn't. Both have goggles too.)
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Perfect. First time I saw the game I was disappointed the MC wasn't a red-haired Latino chica, but now...

 
I'm tryin' to decide if I wanna pick up Galgun, Princess Maker, and Nep zombies on their first week discount or wait for it to drop in price down the line. Well Nep is probably gonna drop in price. But it's a hard call on the other two publishers.

 
I played the DQ Builders demo. It feels more like Rune Factory than Minecraft to me, but of course there's a lot of the Minecraft block aesthetics.

 
motaku96 said:
I'm tryin' to decide if I wanna pick up Galgun, Princess Maker, and Nep zombies on their first week discount or wait for it to drop in price down the line. Well Nep is probably gonna drop in price. But it's a hard call on the other two publishers.
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Everything drops in price esp digitally. I will pick up the first 2 under <10 likely.

Also good to know about DQB. I'm glad it's nothing like Minecraft, as I strongly dislike that game and its clones. I will put the game on my radar and get when cheap.

 
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BlackRockWaifu said:
It's been posted on the front page that :ps4: God Eater 2: Rage Burst is $40/32 at Best Buy, but Amazon price matched it as well :ps4: God Eater 2: Rage Burst $40.

Was checking out some of the Best Buy Clearance items and found these:

:ps3: Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax - Launch Edition $32/$26

:ps4: Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth $36/$29

:ps4: Megadimension Neptunia VII - Launch Edition $45/$36

All available for shipping and has their bonuses, /price = after GCU.
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You can buy Cyber Sleuth for 29.99 new at Gamestop

 
reaperztoll said:
And it's 28.79 new at Best Buy. What's your point?
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1c83e1c0388b35d43f2401543c9e214fb31892cec0d3966c7fe11955b5efe18f.jpg


 
Well, I know it hasn't been mentioned yet, but for fans of Umineko, there's going to be an English Localization of the 2011 PC fighting game Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross, localized as Golden Fantasia (Cross). As announced by MangaGamer not too long ago from AWA 2016. It will be available on MangaGamer's store and on Steam. No set date or price unveiled yet.

A cast of 19 characters are playable in this, such as Battler (and his Black version), Beatrice, some of the Ushiromiya family and others here in the image seen here, and more.

T2yowVE.jpg


 
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The other Mangagamer announcement is Go Go Nippon 2016...so i'm guessing 2015 will be bundled soon. Really not so great announcements from Mangagamer for me. This closes their con season I believe. I don't mind fighting games, but I strongly prefer VN announcements.

 
Was there ever an update of the PC version after the 360 release? And if not, did MangaGamer mention if they were going to port back the updates?

 
JohnnySako said:
Thanks. Not sure if I should buy now and avoid missing out on a Day One edition of wait until it hits $20...
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If you don't mind buying used games from Gamefly, that will probably be a good option to get a day-one edition for ~$20 with an unused code eventually.
 
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artego said:
Was there ever an update of the PC version after the 360 release? And if not, did MangaGamer mention if they were going to port back the updates?
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Yeah, Cross is the Updated PC port (which was an append disk that you need the original version disk copy installed). And I'm not sure about the update versions, but its most likely to be the current "2.31" version with all characters in the game so far. So far, IIRC, the lists of versions were, as follows, besides balancing and bug fixes.

Golden Fantasia - 1.00 PC/Playable Characters: Battler/Ange/Beatrice/Lucifer/Shannon/Kanon/Eva-Beatrice/Virgilia/Ronove/Chiester410

1.10 PC: Adds Jessica

X (360 version): Adds George and Rosa

Cross (2.00 PC): Adds Erika/D'lanor/Black Battler (unlockable)

2.10: Adds Willard

2.20: Adds Lambdadelta

2.30: Adds Bernkastel

2.31: Current Version (no additional characters)

 
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Speaking of God eater resurrection, is there much to do after the end game. I see that there are "story missions" still available but the difficulty completely dropped.
 
kickalillas2 said:
Speaking of God eater resurrection, is there much to do after the end game. I see that there are "story missions" still available but the difficulty completely dropped.
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Sounds like you finished the first story arc of God Eater Burst. Keep playing to actually complete the story.

 
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I need this:

Story of Seasons will be discounted to $29.99 and the newer game will be $29.99 and come with a Capybara plush. I will have this as my pet in the game too.

Link

Good job Xseed and I love these games.

 
nitrosmob said:
I need this:

Story of Seasons will be discounted to $29.99 and the newer game will be $29.99 and come with a Capybara plush. I will have this as my pet in the game too.

Link

Good job Xseed and I love these games.
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If I'm reading the link correctly Rune Factory 4 is the other game being discounted to $29.99. The new Story of Seasons game coming out in 2017 will likely still be $39.99.

 
Supplice said:
XSEED Reveals Huge Sale Numbers For Story of Seasons and Rune Factory 4; Celebrates With Official Price Drop
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Reminds me I should go back and finish up a story arc in Rune Factory 4...I just spent hours doing nothing but roaming around and doing random stuff and didn't progress the story much. Fantastic game.

But I did manage to cram in a couple of hours of Cold Steel II. Life's been so busy I almost forgot how much fun it is (for me). It also helped I was also running it on a new TV that has a feature called "MotionFlow" that fakes out a refresh rate of 60Hz (60fps). And yes the textures are better than CS I. Just a little.

Then I played the older PS3 Miku games...um...next post.

 
sovereignNX-73811 said:
Reminds me I should go back and finish up a story arc in Rune Factory 4...I just spent hours doing nothing but roaming around and doing random stuff and didn't progress the story much. Fantastic game.

But I did manage to cram in a couple of hours of Cold Steel II. Life's been so busy I almost forgot how much fun it is (for me). It also helped I was also running it on a new TV that has a feature called "MotionFlow" that fakes out a refresh rate of 60Hz (60fps). And yes the textures are better than CS I. Just a little.

Then I played the older PS3 Miku games...um...next post.
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I started ToCS II as well. I did something I rarely do with games and that's go from the first game straight into the direct sequel. I platinumed ToCS and then tried to play something else as a buffer between games, but I had to play it. I wanted to see what happens next. I only hope we don't get Valkyrie Chronicled and get the first two, and not the last one.

 
Cloyd said:
then tried to play something else as a buffer between games, but I had to play it. I wanted to see what happens next.
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That ending. I wish it wasn't a staple for the series, but alas all the Trails multi-game arc stories seem to have them.

Unfortunately Rean still doesn't measure up to the writing that Estelle has by far in my opinion. That's probably my number one complaint of the Cold Steel series. I should probably stop there before I go on a rant of the series even though I did enjoy the game a lot.

Cloyd said:
I only hope we don't get Valkyrie Chronicled and get the first two, and not the last one.
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I'm sure we'll get it since it'll be on the PS4. My main concern is the Zero/Azure games that are PSP (Original) & Vita (Evolution) only. You'll probably feel the same way after fully beating this game (All the way to the Clear Data save).

 
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Cloyd said:
I started ToCS II as well. I did something I rarely do with games and that's go from the first game straight into the direct sequel. I platinumed ToCS and then tried to play something else as a buffer between games, but I had to play it. I wanted to see what happens next. I only hope we don't get Valkyrie Chronicled and get the first two, and not the last one.
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Yeah my younger bro even went as far as going to Youtube and trying to read Japanese. Needless to say that went well. :lol:

Draekon said:
That ending. I wish it wasn't a staple for the series, but alas every multi-game arcs seems to have them in Trails.

Unfortunately Rean still doesn't measure up to the writing that Estelle has by far in my opinion.

I'm sure we'll get it since it'll be on the PS4. My main concern is the Zero/Azure games that are PSP (Original) & Vita (Evolution) only. You'll probably feel the same way after fully beating this game (All the way to the Clear Data save).
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Agreed and agreed Drake...

This is the Amazon.com ranking of Cold Steel II on PS3:

[attachment=23930:ColdSteelRankPS3.PNG]

And this is for Vita:

[attachment=23931:ColdSteelRankVita.PNG]

While obviously not AAA levels of sales, it's doing pretty well and I get the notion it's - Xseed-ing expectations. After all, remember the time when Xseed was saying Sora the 3rd's launch was "dependent on sales of SC"? Yeah...that nail-biter was put to bed relatively quickly.

I'm going out on a limb to say it's a matter of "when" and not "if" Sen no Kiseki III will be out in the US. That goes for Ys VIII too, although I'm taking it Xseed is waiting on Falcom to finish the PS4 version. No biggie; I'll just keep trying to use my phone and Google Translate to slug through a playthrough. Did I mention Ys VIII's graphics looked pretty good on a TV?

 
I haven't posted in here in a while -  but wanted to jump in and say how blown away I was with Dragon Quest Builders. Immediately preordered it after playing the demo. Aside from Minecraft and DQ proper, it also gave me hints of 3D Dot Game Heroes. Not sure why, maybe the vast green fields. Either way, day one.

Also, I see that Star Ocean I&F is dropping on Amazon. Currently, under $26. Did you guys enjoy this one? I know it got mediocre reviews.

 
Draekon said:
I found it very mediocre. My thoughts can be found here:

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/354094-japanese-niche-games-deals-discussion-thread-40/page-653#entry13395517
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Your thoughts helped me decide to wait until this drops to around $15. I own a few of the games, but honestly can't remember much from any of them other than a gun that instantly kills you as soon as you try and use it. I had hopes that SO5 would be a success, but 3/5 average ratings is going to keep me from adding it to my collection anytime soon.

 
I have no regrets about getting SO5 at launch, but I would recommend waiting until it at least hits $20, even if you're a big fan of the series. 

 
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