Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

CAGiversary!
Feedback
163 (100%)
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!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 5 Downvote
Speaking of FFXIV, the starter pack is free on twitch prime right now (seems to be through May 3rd).

I played ffxi for 9 years and FFXIV for 4 years. Both great games, though FFXIV is much better for a casual experience (ffxi really required dedication after a while back in the day). I enjoyed FFXIV a ton, and if I enough time for an MMO I'd totally play it over any other MMO. Just like many MMOs, once you get through the missions it's a grind to get higher level gear, which is often just a fashion/show piece.

Edit: I do want to play the expansions starting with Stormblood. Really want to try RDM since that was my "main" on ffxi, aka I played it whenever my LS didn't need me as WHM.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah FF14 is free for a month on Twitch Prime.   But anyone who is too cheap to ever pay an MMO sub also wouldn't have a Prime sub either.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nothing- said:
Yeah FF14 is free for a month on Twitch Prime. But anyone who is too cheap to ever pay an MMO sub also wouldn't have a Prime sub either.
Click to expand...
Too cheap to have a friend or family member that has prime?

Like my post and I'll give out my code tonight. No guarantees it works because I never use twitch price games.
 
I really enjoy FF XIV and for me, it's worth the monthly fee for the hours of fun. The main problem with MMO's is that it's hard to play other games at the same time, at least until you reach "end game" and can slow down a bit. FF XIV is notorious for the story grind to catch up to current content. I made a new character for the Stormblood expansion launch and it took me several months to get to the starting SB content, although I enjoyed the journey there! Some parts of the story are awesome, and others are very "meh" - but I still think it's the best story in an MMO.

If you like to craft, XIV's crafting classes are a lot of fun. Lots of materials and crafting itself is kind of a game. I spend the majority of my game-time with crafting, selling, and housing :) I have both the PC and PS4 versions, and it's nice being able to fire up the PS4 to gather materials and do simple tasks when I feel like lounging on the couch.

If you like MMO's, definitely give FF XIV a try! The first couple hours are slow, filled with a lot of running back and forth type quests, but it's worth getting through those :)

 
Renzler said:
Too cheap to have a friend or family member that has prime?

Like my post and I'll give out my code tonight. No guarantees it works because I never use twitch price games.
Click to expand...
I think these guys have already made up their minds that they aren't interested. I'd be surprised if somebody actually uses this from you to start an account. You can tell that there is sort of a pushback from the non-CC# types. "then you have to create an account, and then I have to give out a credit card #, and oh lordy lordy".

Some people simply refuse to do MMOs. That's on them. They have chosen to ignore some of the most noteworthy experiences in the history of gaming (WoW, FF14) then they're not going to suddenly change now. Seems to be mostly a console gamer thing though. Anyone who buys digital PC games online wouldn't have a problem starting a game like FF14.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
motaku96 said:
I completely forgot Etrian Odyssey Nexus is coming out this week. The end of a franchise. Sad.
Click to expand...
I would be surprised if it was actually dead—it might be replaced with a “spiritual successor” that’s a sequel in all but name and some lore, to symbolize the end of the DS line; but it’s one of the most successful dungeon crawlers out there, isn’t it? I can’t imagine the team is going to just stop working on that sort of thing.
 
Renzler said:
(ffxi really required dedication after a while back in the day)
Click to expand...
Six hour fight against Tiamat for a dragon heart. Fun days. There was definitely a lot of "at least it's not Everquest" back then.

-Former FFXI RDM

Souffrir said:
I would be surprised if it was actually dead—it might be replaced with a “spiritual successor” that’s a sequel in all but name and some lore, to symbolize the end of the DS line; but it’s one of the most successful dungeon crawlers out there, isn’t it? I can’t imagine the team is going to just stop working on that sort of thing.
Click to expand...
It'll probably be a spiritual successor, but the whole mapping thing can't really exist anywhere else. Tablets/phone/Switch are all missing the default stylus.

Closest thing we'll get is like Persona Qs auto mapping. Probably.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nothing- said:
Seems to be mostly a console gamer thing though. Anyone who buys digital PC games online wouldn't have a problem starting a game like FF14.
Click to expand...
I buy pc games semi frequently. I don't have an interest in mmo's mainly because of the cost to play them and other things. Also ff14 exists on consoles sooo yeah.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nothing- said:
Some people simply refuse to do MMOs. That's on them. They have chosen to ignore some of the most noteworthy experiences in the history of gaming (WoW, FF14) then they're not going to suddenly change now. Seems to be mostly a console gamer thing though. Anyone who buys digital PC games online wouldn't have a problem starting a game like FF14.
Click to expand...
As someone has already said, my main problem with MMOs isn't the monthly price, it's the time sink. It's pretty counterintuitive to commit to one when I've got dozens of games piling up in the backlog. Not to mention the obligation you feel to play them when you are paying for them, because if you're paying $15 a month for the service, it's essentially just throwing your money away if you don't log on and play as much as you can in your spare time.

 
FFXIV has always looked cool to me, but I'm just not an MMORPG person. Between the social pseudo-requirement and time commitment, it just isn't something that's super compatible with my normal workweek. If I had a few months off I'd love to dive in, but unfortunately that doesn't really happen in corporate America. I guess that's just part of the melancholy of adulthood, though.

 
Josef said:
I preordered this months ago at Best Buy and still no movement on my preorder. This is annoying as I actually wanted to play this as soon as I got it.
Click to expand...
Just got my pick up notification from BB.

While I enjoy the series it has definitely earned a break. Factoring remakes, Mystery Dungeons, and even Persona Q there’s been consistent stream of titles. I still remember playing the first game on DS and thinking it would be neat if it caught on and got a sequel. Yowza.
 
The Dead Texan said:
As someone has already said, my main problem with MMOs isn't the monthly price, it's the time sink. It's pretty counterintuitive to commit to one when I've got dozens of games piling up in the backlog. Not to mention the obligation you feel to play them when you are paying for them, because if you're paying $15 a month for the service, it's essentially just throwing your money away if you don't log on and play as much as you can in your spare time.
Click to expand...
This is a really fair way of looking at it. That said, if you wanted to play a month a time here and there (and really focus on it a fair bit during that month) then you'd make good progress, not break the bank, and not have to forsake all other games for it. It just need to be 'worth it', and that's quite subjective.

 
Renzler said:
My deed is done.
Click to expand...
All good, it will be used.

Question for all the resident VN connoisseurs here. I haven't played many VN's, though the last I played was SteinsGate (and its sequel - really enjoyed them). Looking at muvluv on steam as I have some space to fill to hit the $5 off $30 discount. The variance among reviews is confusing - some bombing it while others heralding it as the greatest VN of all time. You guys recommend it?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
gospelman said:
All good, it will be used.

Question for all the resident VN connoisseurs here. I haven't played many VN's, though the last I played was SteinsGate (and its sequel - really enjoyed them). Looking at muvluv on steam as I have some space to fill to hit the $5 off $30 discount. The variance among reviews is confusing - some bombing it while others heralding it as the greatest VN of all time. You guys recommend it?
Click to expand...
I finished Muv Luv Extra and Unlimited at the end of the year. I found Extra to be such a drag until the end. Nothing happens and the story doesn’t draw you in. I only finished it because The game sets up Unlimited.

Unlimited was better. It had a great story that kept me going.

I haven’t started Alternative yet.
 
gospelman said:
All good, it will be used.

Question for all the resident VN connoisseurs here. I haven't played many VN's, though the last I played was SteinsGate (and its sequel - really enjoyed them). Looking at muvluv on steam as I have some space to fill to hit the $5 off $30 discount. The variance among reviews is confusing - some bombing it while others heralding it as the greatest VN of all time. You guys recommend it?
Click to expand...
Muv-Luv (which is really two games - Muv-Luv Extra and Muv-Luv Unlimited) is a very mediocre rom-com, but gets better with Unlimited. Its sequel, Muv-Luv Alternative, is the one that commonly gets high praise. Muv-Luv sets up the stage for Muv-Luv Alternative, so I'd really recommend toughing it out through the original to get to MLA.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
just prordred Fate/EXTELLA Link - Fleeting Glory Limited Edition for switch on amazon after get my free amazon giftcards from doing aome surveys that gave out amazon credit as insensitive for doing them  

 
Has anyone received the $10 bonus from amazon for preordering KH3? I know the terms said 65 days or something but wanted check
 
Koro plush is worth it! 

koromaru-p4au-stance-animation.gif


 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ugg I feel stupid have 2 copies of Etrian Odyssey coming in today. Though Best Buy didn't combine them in my cart....so WTF Best Buy too. Yeah try not to order things right before bed when sleepy haha. Least it's an easy return.

 
I will be looking forward to that. It looks a little rough in the video on the page, but i'll take an impression any day. Seems like the Best Buys around me don't have a lot of stock for the Youkai Watch 3...and none for Etrian Odyssey (i guess one will get 1 copy since i'm returning one of mine heh). Not sure I want Youkai Watch 3 yet since i'm still going through 2.

 
Weekly VN news:

Sol Press has put up a Kickstarter for Irotoridori no Sekai by Favorite. This company also released the very good Hoshizora no Memoria. This has physical copies and items, but also is just for the localization. The goal is a pretty hefty $85,000, so it needs all the help it can get. There is stretch goals for the other 2 games in the series, but it needs to get closer to funding before that pipe dream becomes a reality.

Kickstarter Link

VNDB Link (NSFW)

Prison Battleship 3 from Anime Lilith was translated by RunQ. This has a mother and daughter team acting headstrong by day on a ship, while at night they are brainwashed and put to perform many tasks by a guy trying to get revenge. This is not my type of eroge, but I know someone will like it out there.

VNDB Link (NSFW)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Final Fantasy XIV Twitch Prime code is the starter edition for the game. It gives you the base game (up to level 50) and gives you thirty days of free game time. I do not believe it includes either the Heavensword or Stormblood expansions. Here's a second code for anybody interested:

R4WU H2JJ 64ZN DAM5 DB24

EDIT: The codes are for the PC version.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is somewhat on topic, For those Ni No Kuni fans out there, they just announced and anime film to be released this summer. It's not animated by Ghibli but it does have some Ghibli staff.

 
Jurai said:
Is this any good? tempted to check it out
Click to expand...

nitrosmob said:
I will be looking forward to that. It looks a little rough in the video on the page, but i'll take an impression any day. Seems like the Best Buys around me don't have a lot of stock for the Youkai Watch 3...and none for Etrian Odyssey (i guess one will get 1 copy since i'm returning one of mine heh). Not sure I want Youkai Watch 3 yet since i'm still going through 2.
Click to expand...
Played about an hour and a half.

The story is silly nonsense but the characters are kind of cute. There's a decent amount of dialogue between the characters so you feel like you get to know them.

The gameplay is not the smoothest side scroller I've played, but it's not terribly janky either. It's good enough. You always have a sword, rifle and launcher type weapon. You can switch between them with the direction buttons on a controller. You can dodge, if you do a perfect dodge it does a bullet time thing.

There's a decent variety of weapons I've seen so far. A few different sword types(katana, rapier, greatsword) with different attack styles. For guns, so far I've seen assault rifles, sniper rifle, shotgun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher. There's a limited amount of ammo and weapon durability but it gets refilled whenever you reach a save point. Also it's kind of hard to aim the guns with the right thumbstick but it does have a bit of an autolockon.

It's quite heavy on loot collection. You'll pick up a lot of the same weapon but with different abilities attached.

The best part of the game imo is the UI. There's a lot of neat touches like the skill screen is the main character checking things off on a chalkboard. Little bits of animation here and there. Even the loading screens are stylish.

I think it's a good buy for $12. It still has a bit of that unpolished indie feel to it. But I've played worse and this has a good concept. Plus points if you like metroidvania and loot collecting.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top