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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sovereignNX-73811 said:
Speaking of loose ends, I finally got to the last dungeon of Trails 3rd. Oh man, I'm 55 hours in I think. Took it slow grinding and got through the "subplot doors." The 3rd also reminded me why I like the old battle orbment system better than the simplified Cold Steel one. I think this could be my favorite Trails game? I may have missed your post Drake but did you finish 3rd yet?
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Yeah I finished it. It's currently my GOTY. As a stand alone game, I'd probably rate it an 8/10 with several issues. However with it completely wrapping up the Trails in the Sky arc and setting up a metric fuck ton of lore for future titles, it rates a solid 9/10 for me.

The large cast of 16 playable characters worked well in Trails in the Sky the 3rd because they were pretty much all well established before hand except for a couple. If they do that to Cold Steel III... I'm kind of hesitant honestly. The original cast weren't established well enough for them to pull a Trails in the Sky the 3rd with the game. Unless they plan on making another direct sequel to Cold Steel III.

I also prefer the Sky orbament system to the simplified Cold Steel orbament system. I'd also tell your brother to fuck off because the writing is what sells the game and not knowing Japanese only gives you basics and not the full picture using a machine translation. Even people who are able to read Japanese to a certain extent have expressed that replaying through Trails in the Sky the 3rd in English for example helped clarify things and they spotted things they didn't before because they're not super fluent in Japanese.

EDIT: Besides Star Door 15 being insanely crazy and dark as hell, Star Door 14 is absolutely nuts as well. Also the ending is kinda crazy in TitS the 3rd as well.

 
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Draekon said:
Yeah I finished it. It's currently my GOTY. As a stand alone game, I'd probably rate it an 8/10 with several issues. However with it completely wrapping up the Trails in the Sky arc and setting up a metric fuck ton of lore for future titles, it rates a solid 9/10 for me.

The large cast of 16 playable characters worked well in Trails in the Sky the 3rd because they were pretty much all well established before hand except for a couple. If they do that to Cold Steel III... I'm kind of hesitant honestly. The original cast weren't established well enough for them to pull a Trails in the Sky the 3rd with the game. Unless they plan on making another direct sequel to Cold Steel III.

I also prefer the Sky orbament system to the simplified Cold Steel orbament system. I'd also tell your brother to fuck off because the writing is what sells the game and not knowing Japanese only gives you basics and not the full picture using a machine translation. Even people who are able to read Japanese to a certain extent have expressed that replaying through Trails in the Sky the 3rd in English for example helped clarify things and they spotted things they didn't before because they're not super fluent in Japanese.

EDIT: Besides Star Door 15 being insanely crazy and dark as hell, Star Door 14 is absolutely nuts as well. Also the ending is kinda crazy in TitS the 3rd as well.
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Oh man that door and Kevin's backstory. Definitely wasn't expecting that.
And we were also talking about whether all those kids in door 15 were actually real or not.

It was pretty upsetting how a lot of Class VII didn't get the usual Falcom story treatment. In which yeah...But jeez, if these characters are playable it makes me wonder if there will be like....32 characters or something like that. Lol. They'd have to wrap up a TON of subplots.

And sage advice as always regarding my bro. I did try to play a bit of Ys VIII on my Vita last year. The machine translation....oh. Dear. God. Needless to say that didn't turn out well.

 
Man $39.99 for Nurse Love Addiction.... I was going to pounce on it for $20 or less. I have to check the vndb about it and see it's length since I have a lot of longer VNs to complete (Libra of the Vampire Princes, Dies Iries, and soon Dal Segno). I'm also not much into yuri, which I think this is. I recognized the game since it came out on PC about a year ago.

 
sovereignNX-73811 said:
Oh man that door and Kevin's backstory. Definitely wasn't expecting that.
And we were also talking about whether all those kids in door 15 were actually real or not.
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I'd guess that
she underwent multiple personality disorder to escape the hellhole she was in. However it's hard to be certain because in that kind of situation, even though it was specified by the adults that they didn't exist that could be a lie to break her further.

And yeah, Kevin's backstory is a bit on the crazy side as well.

 
Man, Trails in the Sky is one of the top games for my back-log. I started playing the first 45 minutes, but haven't committed to digging into it deeper. The crazy thing is that I originally acquired the game for the PSP, so I've basically had it for as long as it has been available.

I think my reluctance is associated with how long those games tend to be, and how strong their stories are rumored to be. I love a good story, and have a very hard time stopping when I get into any such story. I just know that if I get into it, I'll be spending the next month and change doing nothing else.

 
Richard Kain said:
Man, Trails in the Sky is one of the top games for my back-log. I started playing the first 45 minutes, but haven't committed to digging into it deeper. The crazy thing is that I originally acquired the game for the PSP, so I've basically had it for as long as it has been available.
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haha exact same thing here man. It has become especially daunting now that I have five of them to play through from the beginning.

 
Richard Kain said:
Man, Trails in the Sky is one of the top games for my back-log. I started playing the first 45 minutes, but haven't committed to digging into it deeper. The crazy thing is that I originally acquired the game for the PSP, so I've basically had it for as long as it has been available.

I think my reluctance is associated with how long those games tend to be, and how strong their stories are rumored to be. I love a good story, and have a very hard time stopping when I get into any such story. I just know that if I get into it, I'll be spending the next month and change doing nothing else.
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Same. Imported FC Evo and still yet to open it. Just this series (FC/Planned SC EVO Import) and Sky 1/2 can extend my Vita life by at least a year after literally no games are coming out to the Vita.

Compound that with the Atlier series on Vita, which I'm currently finishing up Escha Logy, and YS series (Memories and upcoming VIII), and God Eater 1/2 import, along with preordered Danganronpa V3, I feel intimidated and happy at the same time.

 
Unless you're someone who takes 6+ months to play through one game that's 50-70 hours, I would just start it. You can easily take breaks after the games and longer ones in between the major arc plot lines (TitS FC/SC -> TitS the 3rd -> ToCS I/II). I mainly say that because the endings of Trails in the Sky FC & Trails of Cold Steel I basically kick you while you're down due to their endings. Some people have issues with breaks in between direct sequel endings that hit you in the face.

Also a lot of changes have been made to the Trails in the Sky SC & FC scripts in retrospect after finding out things in later games to help connect the wording better. One in particular even got their name changed entirely. Unfortunately the PSP version does not have these changes. Only the PC version does. Plus the PC version of Cold Steel will have a lot more voice acting. Particularly the main character who was silent in a lot of dialogue when other allies weren't.

EDIT: Also, the EVO versions were done by Chara-ani, which aren't great. Some people prefer them, but ehh, I'm not particularly keen on them and the changes they made to it.

 
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Richard Kain said:
Man, Trails in the Sky is one of the top games for my back-log. I started playing the first 45 minutes, but haven't committed to digging into it deeper. The crazy thing is that I originally acquired the game for the PSP, so I've basically had it for as long as it has been available.

I think my reluctance is associated with how long those games tend to be, and how strong their stories are rumored to be. I love a good story, and have a very hard time stopping when I get into any such story. I just know that if I get into it, I'll be spending the next month and change doing nothing else.
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Saaaaame. I'm finding it easier to start with Cold Steel so I'm just going with that, even though it's generally advised against for spoilers (but I don't really care about spoilers)

 
ARsignal11 said:
So what's everyone's verdict on this game? I'm still debating whether to grab it or not on release, or should I wait for a price drop (despite it already being $40 on release). I know it got a lot of hate b/c it wasn't a far departure from the Valkyria series norm, but as a standalone game itself? Anyone have any experience with it?
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Looks like a hot mess from what I've seen of the game play. I haven't played the Jap demo though. I'm thinking of it too, but already got too much for June, so it will likely have to wait.

 
I'll be picking up Valkyria Revolution on launch.

I played the Japanese demo and thought it was interesting. Definitely does not deserve to be considered part of the 'Valkyria' name since the gameplay is so different, but I think it'll be cool as it's own thing. Plus at $40 ($32 GCU), it's at a good price for me.

 
 
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To those who don't pay attention to the Steam thread, just so you're aware the Steam Summer Sale has started. It will last until July 5th. So check your wishlisted games for discounts. Probably will not go through and list games at any point during it like I have in the past except a select potential few.

http://store.steampowered.com/

Expect usual heavy load for a while today still and around every day when the store updates at noon central time.

 
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I feel like people forget what the word "spinoff" is.
valkyrie revolution is just trying out a different genre in its spinoff, just like dragon warrior, neptunia, ect did.
 
Draekon said:
Unless you're someone who takes 6+ months to play through one game that's 50-70 hours, I would just start it. You can easily take breaks after the games and longer ones in between the major arc plot lines (TitS FC/SC -> TitS the 3rd -> ToCS I/II). I mainly say that because the endings of Trails in the Sky FC & Trails of Cold Steel I basically kick you while you're down due to their endings. Some people have issues with breaks in between direct sequel endings that hit you in the face.

Also a lot of changes have been made to the Trails in the Sky SC & FC scripts in retrospect after finding out things in later games to help connect the wording better. One in particular even got their name changed entirely. Unfortunately the PSP version does not have these changes. Only the PC version does. Plus the PC version of Cold Steel will have a lot more voice acting. Particularly the main character who was silent in a lot of dialogue when other allies weren't.

EDIT: Also, the EVO versions were done by Chara-ani, which aren't great. Some people prefer them, but ehh, I'm not particularly keen on them and the changes they made to it.
Click to expand...
Fortunately I can actually mathematically plot out my game time, since the only time I have to play games is on my Vita during my commute, which is 90 minutes round trip per weekday. So a 60 hour games is about two months if I play it on every trip.

I should finish Escha Logy this month, then will probably do a short indie game to refresh, and decide to play Disgaea 5 (still sealed, sigh) on my Switch or start FC EVO next.

 
saw Y's VIII deal  for $45 on amazon it also on the front page posted by pjgamer007

it now trending lower when i check at little over $44 i also posted a review i found on his deal page sound worth it to me so i pre ordered but if $$$ a issue am sure it trend down to $20 sooner then later as their lot good game coming out but it worth it if you want it day 1 an did not feel $100 is worth it for the CE on nisa site

 
 
jimmywolf said:
saw Y's VIII deal for $45 on amazon it also on the front page posted by pjgamer007

it now trending lower when i check at little over $44 i also posted a review i found on his deal page sound worth it to me so i pre ordered but if $$$ a issue am sure it trend down to $20 sooner then later as their lot good game coming out but it worth it if you want it day 1 an did not feel $100 is worth it for the CE on nisa site
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Does your review have punctuation? I'd like to read it.
 
 
Richard Kain said:
Man, Trails in the Sky is one of the top games for my back-log.
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Nothing371 said:
haha exact same thing here man. It has become especially daunting now that I have five of them to play through from the beginning.
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TooPoor said:
Same.
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Pheria said:
Saaaaame.
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Yes and you all should. The Trails series is one of the most unique experiences in JRPG gaming.

ARsignal11 said:
So what's everyone's verdict on this game? I'm still debating whether to grab it or not on release, or should I wait for a price drop (despite it already being $40 on release). I know it got a lot of hate b/c it wasn't a far departure from the Valkyria series norm, but as a standalone game itself? Anyone have any experience with it?
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I dunno, can this game really be THAT bad? I was listening to some of the music and it's just beautiful. Curious to see where this piece gets placed:

https://youtu.be/gCnjbmRQN9c

NeoMonk said:
Hatsune Miku Project Diva DX Details & Boxart.
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Considering I did spend a freak ton of money on the digital version, and some weird reason taken a liking to Kz's works should I feel bad?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzX03r1ai2g

Didn't realize that the game version was cut in half.

 
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sovereignNX-73811 said:
My bad double post but I missed this...

So you're telling me...that I threw $75 at Sega in January for...no reason? fuck . Better use that for Sonic Forces.

And I should have waited on PDX. Really didn't feel like it had $50 worth of content in it. Definitely my (NOT) favorite moments were when they'd be asking for stuff that I didn't have after I finished a song. I'm like...Stop bein' a gold digger way down in town and dig on me. -_-
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Agreed on Diva X, it's kinda disappointing coming from F2nd (and having already played Future Tone it was obviously gonna not live up to that). I still haven't played all the songs - Future Tone spoiled me!

Considering I did spend a freak ton of money on the digital version, and some weird reason taken a liking to Kz's works should I feel bad?
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I just looked up a list of Kz/Livetune's songs because I couldn't remember which ones are his and yeah I think Kz is my favorite. Packaged, Yellow, Weekender Girl, and Tell Your World are all awesome

 
Off-topic, but I'm not planning on using it.

I have a 10% off coupon for HLJ. I am unsure if it is valid still, but PM if you want it. No newbies, must be a regular. 

 
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vic_x51 said:
wait... they are releasing a ps4 miku version?! or did google translate troll me. ...
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There's already a PS4 Miku game, but digital only (both Japan and here). There's an enhanced version that game getting a physical release in Japan (nothing confirmed for here yet)

Here's the.. un-enhanced?- Game if you're interested. It came out earlier this year for us.

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/addons/hatsune-miku-project-diva-future-tone-bundle/cid=UP0177-CUSA06093_00-DIVAFT39BUNDLE00

 
Pheria said:
There's already a PS4 Miku game, but digital only (both Japan and here). There's an enhanced version that game getting a physical release in Japan (nothing confirmed for here yet)

Here's the.. un-enhanced?- Game if you're interested. It came out earlier this year for us.

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/addons/hatsune-miku-project-diva-future-tone-bundle/cid=UP0177-CUSA06093_00-DIVAFT39BUNDLE00
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I wondered whether they meant they didn't know about future tone or that the article talks about a Miku themed PS4 console
 
The Dead Texan said:
I got my Nier: Automata OST today from Square. Hacking Disc case is cracked, though.
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Better than not getting one at all :(

You might try contacting Square. I remember one time, my FF13 CE slipcover got torn by a sticker and I emailed them about it, they sent me a replacement for free. Was really cool.

 
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Not much this week that's particularly new and interesting. Steam Summer Sale is still going on, so PC releases are scaled back and typically if you release on Steam during this time, you're just gimping yourself from sales. Also the Steam Summer Sale carries streaming video as well. Noticed someone in my activity feed bought a recent anime season for less than $5. The selection is fairly sub-par, but it's still there for those interested.

Other stuff that released without warning last week (Assume PC unless otherwise noted):
- Your Smile Beyond Twilight (Visual Novel)

Weekly Releases (June 25th - July 1st)

RPG Maker Fes
- Platform(s): 3DS
- Genre: Creation Tool / Development
- Demo: N/A
- Online: Upload creations.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
- Platform(s): PS4, PC
- Genre: Visual Novel / Mystery
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A
- Comments: Previously released on the Vita.

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto (DLC)
- Platform(s): PS4, XB1
- Genre: RPG
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A

Valkyria Revolution
- Platform(s): PS4, Vita, XB1
- Genre: Action RPG
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A
- Comments: I'd be a bit wary of this title until more opinions come in or it's cheaper.

Tokyo Xanadu
- Platform(s): Vita
- Genre: Action RPG
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A
- Comments: The enhanced edition (eX+) of this game releases on the PS4 and PC later this year. I recommend waiting for that one. [customspoiler='Differences between Vita and eX+ versions']
- 60FPS (Vita was 30FPS with drops) at 1080p. (PS4 version, obviously. PC will depend on the port quality)
- New Playable Character.
- New Side Stories for the main cast other than the MC, Kou.
- After Story that's available post-game which takes place several months after the main story.
- New dungeons.
- New music.
- Changes to Asuka character after she unlocks something via story.
- Re-balances difficulty across the board. (Vita was considered 'too easy', even on the hardest difficulty)
- Adds a new, harder difficulty, Calamity.
- Adds Time Attack & Boss Rush modes.[/customspoiler]

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Master Trials (DLC)
- Platform(s): Switch, Wii U
- Genre: Action-Adventure
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A

Dal Segno
- Platform(s): PC
- Genre: Visual Novel
- Demo: N/A
- Online: N/A
- Comments: MangaGamer published, so MangaGamer has the 18+ version. Their site is NSFW.

Past Releases
June 18th - June 24th
June 11th - June 17th
June 4th - June 10th
May 28th - June 3rd
May 21st - May 27th

 
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Just to mention Mangagamer is supposedly providing the 18+ patch to those who get Dal Segno on Steam. I'll still likely get the non steam version so more money goes in their hands (plus I have about 5 dollars in extra credit on their site to knock the price down lower).

 
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Steam sale doesn't have too many standout deals but here's some that I found. I'm not listing everything. Just stuff that I noticed, and I'm skipping things that go on sale every other month since it's nothing to write home about.

Atelier Sophie + Nights of Azure bundle $33.58 - good price for both games if you're interested in Gust titles

Caladrius Blaze $14.99 - Lowest price1

Disgaea $7.99 - Lowest price1. Disgaea 2 is also available at $13.39.

Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force $9.99 - Lowest price1

Little King's Story $9.99 - Lowest price1

Material Girl $1.19 - RPG Maker Hentai game. It was cheap already and it was just released.

Megadimension Neptunia VII $13.99 - Lowest price1 There are a ton of other IF titles but I won't go through them all

Mystery Chronicles One Way Heroics $.99 - Really Great Price! 90% off. There's a lot of negative reviews about the port quality but I didn't find the 30fps to be that bothersome. A few annoyances here and there but new art, voiced dialogue(this is actually part of the annoyances), more classes. I would say it's the highlight of the sale.

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4: Road to Boruto Expansion $11.99 - First time it's gone on sale since release earlier this year. Also the complete bundle with base game and all dlc is available for $21.41

Way of the Samurai 3 $7.99 - Lowest price1

Way of the Samurai 4 $9.99 - Lowest price1

Some VN's

A Kiss for the Petals: Remembering how we met $4.79 - Lowest price1

Fruit of Grisaia $15.99 - Lowest price1

Muv-Luv $17.49 - Lowest price1

Nurse Love Addiction $19.99 - Lowest price1. Recently announced for the vita.

1All time lowest price according to steamprices.com

Draekon said:
Also the Steam Summer Sale carries streaming video as well. Noticed someone in my activity feed bought a recent anime season for less than $5. The selection is fairly sub-par, but it's still there for those interested.
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I saw Prisma Illya Drei!! for $4.08. I have no interest in streaming and will likely buy the bluray when Sentai gets around to it but not a bad price.

 
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elessar123 said:
The Tokyo Xanadu thing is really weird. Why didn't they just release the eX+ straight off?
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My guess would be they had the Vita version planned from the beginning but waited until they secured the eX+ rights to announce it. Japanese developers have a bad habit of announcing enhanced editions within a week or two of localization releases.

 
elessar123 said:
The Tokyo Xanadu thing is really weird. Why didn't they just release the eX+ straight off?
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To satiate those people who say "No Vita, No Sale."

Honestly I have no idea. If it was XSeed, I'd probably buy both versions. Since it's not, then I'll stick with just the eX+ version. Still unsure about PS4 or PC at the moment though. Worried a bit on the translation since I believe it's a bit more text heavy than most other RPGs these days.

Granted I probably have more worries over the NISA Ys VIII translation currently. Particularly after playing ClaDun Returns and seeing its atrocious translation even though the game doesn't have that much text to begin with. I feel like it's almost as bad as a standard fan translation. Plus the few screenshots I've seen for Ys VIII don't give me much hope either, but I'm sure they'll put more effort into it than ClaDun at least.

 
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