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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From the Persona Endless Night bundle I've played the Persona 5 and Persona 4 games. At first I was thinking Persona 5's was kind of dull, but I was playing on normal difficulty. After switching to hard and putting note speed to fast as possible I got more into it. It even made the songs more enjoyable.

The actual story for the story mode in Persona 4 isn't horrible, it's just there is so much story in between songs. If you feel like playing some songs story mode is kind of rough because you don't get to do that that much. I guess I could just skip all the story segments, but some of the interactions have been fun. I'll go through it again.

I haven't played Persona 3's game yet, but after seeing some of Persona 5's story it seems like it would be good to go back and forth between the two. A nice thing about having them digital is I can switch between all three pretty quickly.

I'll hold off on buying dlc until PSN does another 20%. Especially since I'll probably re-buy all the Persona 4 dlc I bought. Although, since there are dlc bundles it's possible those will go on sale someday. For Persona 5 and 3, at least.

 
deadofnight said:
From the Persona Endless Night bundle I've played the Persona 5 and Persona 4 games. At first I was thinking Persona 5's was kind of dull, but I was playing on normal difficulty. After switching to hard and putting note speed to fast as possible I got more into it. It even made the songs more enjoyable.

The actual story for the story mode in Persona 4 isn't horrible, it's just there is so much story in between songs. If you feel like playing some songs story mode is kind of rough because you don't get to do that that much. I guess I could just skip all the story segments, but some of the interactions have been fun. I'll go through it again.

I haven't played Persona 3's game yet, but after seeing some of Persona 5's story it seems like it would be good to go back and forth between the two. A nice thing about having them digital is I can switch between all three pretty quickly.

I'll hold off on buying dlc until PSN does another 20%. Especially since I'll probably re-buy all the Persona 4 dlc I bought. Although, since there are dlc bundles it's possible those will go on sale someday. For Persona 5 and 3, at least.
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Thanks for the review. I have yet to buy this as I'm hoping it will go lower soon so I can use my GCU on top of a cert but I can't justify buying it right now at its current price.

 
I'm a bit late to the Dragon Quest series, but I just started DQ11 last week to have something calm to play after Resident Evil 2 in the evening, and it turned out to be perfect for that.

I remember seeing DQ11 is coming to switch but I can't find any new information on this. I'd rather play it on Switch since I'm mostly on the go, but I am too interested now to stop for too long. Is there an expected timeline?
 
Renzler said:
I'm a bit late to the Dragon Quest series, but I just started DQ11 last week to have something calm to play after Resident Evil 2 in the evening, and it turned out to be perfect for that.

I remember seeing DQ11 is coming to switch but I can't find any new information on this. I'd rather play it on Switch since I'm mostly on the go, but I am too interested now to stop for too long. Is there an expected timeline?
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It's expected to release in Japan later this year, but there hasn't been any announcement of a US localization: https://gematsu.com/2018/12/dragon-quest-xi-s-launches-in-2019-in-japan-teaser-trailer [WARNING: There are some spoilers in the article, sandwiched between red text.]

 
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Persona Dancing 3 and 5 really don't have much of a story. Elizabeth and Justine/Caroline get into an argument over who can dance better after the events of Persona 4 Dancing and pull each team out of a dream. Little social events occur after a certain number of actions are performed but overall it's just banter they forget like the Persona Q stuff.

 
bappt said:
Persona Dancing 3 and 5 really don't have much of a story. Elizabeth and Justine/Caroline get into an argument over who can dance better after the events of Persona 4 Dancing and pull each team out of a dream. Little social events occur after a certain number of actions are performed but overall it's just banter they forget like the Persona Q stuff.
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It's mildly interesting to note when each game takes place with regards to their individual games' plotlines:

Persona Dancing 3 seems to occur before the final battle in the main game (i.e., before "The Answer"/FES) based on how several characters talk about being prepared for something big coming up, plus the protag is still there.

Persona Dancing 5 is less clear since no one references any of the P5 plot, unless I missed any such references.

 
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Renzler said:
I'm a bit late to the Dragon Quest series, but I just started DQ11 last week to have something calm to play after Resident Evil 2 in the evening, and it turned out to be perfect for that.

I remember seeing DQ11 is coming to switch but I can't find any new information on this. I'd rather play it on Switch since I'm mostly on the go, but I am too interested now to stop for too long. Is there an expected timeline?
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I might be alone on this, but I wished the Switch version was an upscaled 3ds port with some updated textures and models from the PS4/PC game, as oppose to being a port of said PS4/PC game. I heard there was some additional content.

 
lutz said:
I might be alone on this, but I wished the Switch version was an upscaled 3ds port with some updated textures and models from the PS4/PC game, as oppose to being a port of said PS4/PC game. I heard there was some additional content.
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Yeah, I agree, as Square is always at their best when they try to do more with less. Plus, unless a fan translation comes along, there is no other chance for anyone to ever play the 3DS version in English. From the business side, I understand their choice, as it's more cost effective to downscale the PS4 game, and avoid any extra cost in regards to a lengthy translation. Since this game took so long to come to market, it's very little chance they would have made any money to offer it in the US, once the 3DS was on it's last days.

 
lutz said:
I might be alone on this, but I wished the Switch version was an upscaled 3ds port with some updated textures and models from the PS4/PC game, as oppose to being a port of said PS4/PC game. I heard there was some additional content.
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I completely agree. I also really hope that any additional content makes its way back over to the console/PC version. I've got the PC version setup to run at 4k 60FPS with the orchestral score modded in. I'm not giving that up for the crappy Switch version, but I want the updates and additional content.

Man, video games is complicated.

 
About the direct leaks... I guess the only thing I'm looking forward too are Zelda and maybe the pokemon game depending on how much they've changed it. Pokemon really needs an overhaul. I hope the Zelda game, which is reportedly a 2d game, is in the vein of Zelda 2 and not alttp. Albw was pretty mediocre. I don't really care about the wii u ports they're going to announce. I owned a Wii u and already played those games. I'm personally tired of hearing about Fire Emblem games. I'd like to see Retro's game. Hopefully not that dumb Star fox racing game. Why not just make it F-zero?

 
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Just a word of warning for these last 3DS releases and i'm sure Vita too, that it might not be the smartest to wait for sales. Youkai Watch 3 is sold out on Amazon temporarily currently and Best Buy as well except in stores. I'm going to get it when it comes back in stock, since I don't want to risk it out. I would recommend similar for those getting Persona Q 2 and probably Etrian Odyssey Nexus as well.

 
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nitrosmob said:
Just a word of warning for these last 3DS releases and i'm sure Vita too, that it might not be the smartest to wait for sales. Youkai Watch 3 is sold out on Amazon temporarily currently and Best Buy as well except in stores. I'm going to get it when it comes back in stock, since I don't want to risk it out. I would recommend similar for those getting Persona Q 2 and probably Etrian Odyssey Nexus as well.
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Plus, if you still have GCU, $32 is close enough to whatever sale price one could hope it will hit. If it goes $25 for a day at Amazon in 4 months, I'm not going to be upset over $7 and not risking it lol.

 
nitrosmob said:
Just a word of warning for these last 3DS releases and i'm sure Vita too, that it might not be the smartest to wait for sales. Youkai Watch 3 is sold out on Amazon temporarily currently and Best Buy as well except in stores. I'm going to get it when it comes back in stock, since I don't want to risk it out. I would recommend similar for those getting Persona Q 2 and probably Etrian Odyssey Nexus as well.
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I had completely forgotten to preorder EO Nexus and by the time I remembered it was sold out in my area. I kinda hate ordering stuff like this off amazon, since I have awful luck with it coming in decent condition, but I don't think I have much choice atm.

 
nagpo said:
About the direct leaks... I guess the only thing I'm looking forward too are Zelda and maybe the pokemon game depending on how much they've changed it. Pokemon really needs an overhaul. I hope the Zelda game, which is reportedly a 2d game, is in the vein of Zelda 2 and not alttp. Albw was pretty mediocre. I don't really care about the wii u ports they're going to announce. I owned a Wii u and already played those games. I'm personally tired of hearing about Fire Emblem games. I'd like to see Retro's game. Hopefully not that dumb Star fox racing game. Why not just make it F-zero?
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Link to leaks?

All I'm really interested in for the short-term would be ports of Xenoblade Chronicles X / Tokyo Mirage Sessions to Switch.

 
Tokyo Mirage was a pretty awesome title. I fully completed it, so I'm not going back, but I'd love to see it have a second chance at life. This would also make the possibility of getting a sequel someday... a possibility? Even if it's not likely, there was no way in hell it was happening if based solely on how the Wii U release did. 

 
Yeah, what makes for solid rumors, is the hint of plausibility, and most things I've seen, all feel likely, but I'm not getting my hopes up. We're overdue for a 2D Zelda, so that would be beyond cool, especially if it's a upgraded form of "Link's Awakening"(My favorite Zelda title). Mario Maker 2 seems a given, but that title was lost on me, as it came 20 years after I could have used it. LOL

Metroid Prime Trilogy seems another given, especially with Prime 4 having been due, so what better way to sell some games, and get fans hyped. The Star Fox racing I let myself get hyped for that last E3, and I shouldn't have, but I just want a good SF so bad, and having the rumor that Retro was doing it, pushed me over the edge. I think they would have done the franchise justice, as well as making a killer racing game, that isn't MK.

SNES games coming to online seems logical, but "N" has probably one of the best past libraries in all of gaming, and the most clueless ideals in how to get it to fans. Which most of us gave up generations ago and just emulate at this point, but that would be cool to see, as my son would get to finally play some of the greats(officially anyways). And of course, we should be getting some dates and more info and footage from some past announced games, so it should be a good direct(fingers crossed).

 
People don't pay for old NES and SNES games.   They just don't.  You've been able to download complete .rom sets for two decades.  Sure a few thousand people buy each occasional title, but the amount is negligible. 

Nintendo's problem is finding a way to monetize their old catalogues.   They've only just been succeeding at that lately.  It's not an easy problem to solve.  Just look at all the other mini console brands that have completely floundered. 

Unless they sell compilations as hardware minis, measurable sales only really come on the 12 to 25 individual noteworthy titles on each platform.  That's just the way it is. Which is why Virtual Console existed in the form it was in. 

 
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Nothing- said:
People don't pay for old NES and SNES games. They just don't. You've been able to download complete .rom sets for two decades. Sure a few thousand people buy each occasional title, but the amount is negligible.

Nintendo's problem is finding a way to monetize their old catalogues. They've only just been succeeding at that lately. It's not an easy problem to solve. Just look at all the other mini console brands that have completely floundered.

Unless they sell compilations as hardware minis, measurable sales only really come on the 12 to 25 individual noteworthy titles on each platform. That's just the way it is. Which is why Virtual Console existed in the form it was in.
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It helps if there’s been significant work done in remastering the title (e.g., the Sega 3D Classics on 3DS) or if they’re being sold in a compilation. They can also be a noteworthy, if not a truly significant, incentive as extras in newer games.

But yeah, for some reason, games really don’t have the saleable longevity of other forms of media in public perception.
 
I'd actually have already given Nintendo a significant amount of money for older titles if they handled it more like Sony does. When I buy a PS1 game from PSN it works on PS3, PSP, and Vita. It was a pisser that PS4 doesn't support those (We can hope for the PS5). But that gives me a modern console and two handheld options for using that same purchase. That's awesome, and it makes me more than happy to buy some older titles that I already own, as I'd rather play a lot of PS1 JRPGs on the Vita. Nintendo has had you separately repurchase titles on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. There is no cross over, no shared library, no consistency. fuck that. They'll have an easy time monetizing when they prove that they can unify accounts and make digital purchases not be temporary and throw away. 

 
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Zaku77 said:
I'd actually have already given Nintendo a significant amount of money for older titles if they handled it more like Sony does. When I buy a PS1 game from PSN it works on PS3, PSP, and Vita. It was a pisser that PS4 doesn't support those (We can hope for the PS5). But that gives me a modern console and two handheld options for using that same purchase. That's awesome, and it makes me more than happy to buy some older titles that I already own, as I'd rather play a lot of PS1 JRPGs on the Vita. Nintendo has had you separately repurchase titles on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. There is no cross over, no shared library, no consistency. fuck that. They'll have an easy time monetizing when they prove that they can unify accounts and make digital purchases not be temporary and throw away.
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Completely agree. They need to fix their account shit; get something like PSN or XBL. Until then people are sick of renting their old titles for $5-15.

 
The account issue with Nintendo has always been around. Nintendo is just very, very slow at figuring out how this whole internet thing works. Sony haven't been flawless in their implementation either. I'm still waiting to be able to play my PS1 digital classics on my PS4. Not exactly happy that still hasn't happened yet. (and definitely not going to ditch my PS3) But yes, the platform crossover for the PSP-Vita-PS3 on digital legacy titles was great. Phenomenal even. I've hit up numerous sales on PSN because of how many platforms I could access those games on.

Legacy digital titles sold like hot-cakes on the original Virtual Console. But once people twigged to the fact that they would have to re-buy those titles on the 3DS and Wii U, most fans soured on the proposition. And it is easy to see why. All other digital storefronts keep their offerings as platform-independent as possible. Legacy titles have timeless appeal. There will always be a demand for them. But Nintendo has to figure out how to monetize and provide access to those titles in a more effective fashion.

And of course, maniac collectors like me never really have to rely on Nintendo themselves for digital offerings. I have an Analogue Super NT sitting on my entertainment system, and I have a pre-order in for a Mega SG. I can always fall back on the original copies.

 
Seeing the graphics for Persona 3 Dancing just makes me want a revamped Persona 3 for PS4. 

Tbh, if Tokyo Mirage Session gets a Switch port, I'll rebuy the game and start over. 

 
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I own smtxfire emblem but I wasn't able to play it due to my wiiu being stolen last year.  I'm just glad that was the only thing taken though I question why anyone would steal a wiiu.

I'm not sure if I would buy it again on the switch unless they provide ample extras for it.

 
Olengie said:
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=N-KjFyhWQs8[/media]

This is pretty cool
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Now that is neat. I wonder if atlus will ever remake the older titles using stuff from smt4/p5's mechanics but keep the aesthetics and art from them just upgraded to modern standards?

Coincidentally I have the original openings on my phone for both 1 and this since I like to listen to them at work. I've always wanted to do a legend of korra opening with 2's music in the background since I think it would be very fitting with her and asami going through to the spirit world at the end of it. But I lack the skill for such.

 
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Olengie said:
Seeing the graphics for Persona 3 Dancing just makes me want a revamped Persona 3 for PS4.

Tbh, if Tokyo Mirage Session gets a Switch port, I'll rebuy the game and start over.
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A TMS port would be astonishing given how poorly the game was received not just in North America, but in Japan, too (the only place the Wii U actually sold). Among Wii U ports, it's easily the LEAST likely to get a port treatment (it would require some substantial work by Atlus/Nintendo). Better chance of seeing Xenoblade X, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, or -- heck -- throw in Fatal Frame.

At this point, a Wii port of Galaxy would be far more exciting and make more sense. Why bother porting a niche game from a niche console that doesn't even have any name/brand recognition to begin with - TMS isn't Mario, Donkey Kong, or even Kirby. What's the gain for Nintendo?

I've said this before, IMHO TMS is among the top games most likely to stay stranded on the Wii U. Other top candidates being Devil's Third, Game & Wario, and of course, Nintendoland.

It's always hard to pinpoint the stranded games - but those few I mentioned may be the Wii U equivalent of DC's Canon Spike and Project Justice.

 
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It's all relative to how much work it takes to port it over to Switch.   If it doesn't take much work or time then anything is possible. 

 
TMS #FE sold about what any other Niche game would do in Japan. The narrative that the game failed is largely pushed by people upset over the changes for the western version of the game.

 
bappt said:
TMS #FE sold about what any other Niche game would do in Japan. The narrative that the game failed is largely pushed by people upset over the changes for the western version of the game.
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Something to consider is that both the SMT and Fire Emblem series are long running and beloved. The game was also backed and published by Nintendo. I think that between all of those factors, the expectations for its performance would be elevated--and rightfully so--over some other random, niche JRPG.

 
romeogbs19 said:
Among Wii U ports, it's easily the LEAST likely to get a port treatment (it would require some substantial work by Atlus/Nintendo).
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I wouldn't say that. Atlus/Sega and Nintendo have had a pretty close relationship over the past decade or so. And those companies continue to publish some of their output to Nintendo platforms. I do agree that there are other titles more likely to be ported over, but I don't think Tokyo Mirage Sessions is the LEAST likely. It got enough attention that I think it would be considered for a port. I just wouldn't hold my breath on it. It seems like the type of game to port over later in the Switch's life, to fill in a release schedule that is getting a little anemic. It's the kind of port that I would expect to drop between major Sega/Atlus releases.

The more directly tied into the gamepad a title is, the less likely it is to get a Switch port. If a game can be adapted to a design that doesn't involve the gamepad, it's solid. Thanks to the versatility of the Switch's Joycons, wii-mote heavy games can still be ported, so Wii-specific titles like Mario Galaxy would be easy choices.

 
TMS might have been a niche/cult hit on a different system.  We're talking about the Wii U here. 

That's like using a Vita game as any sort of evidence for future sales projections on another console. 

 
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Regardless if it is possible to port it to the switch they might if nothing else for the extra sales they could get from a significantly larger audience that didn't own a wiiu.  And we all know the switch is the biggest port magnet with hundreds of ports as is in its library.  

It would help if they touched up the game some more like many have said such as a fast forward/skip animations feature during sessions.

 
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Watching the Nintendo direct.

Super Mario Maker 2 confirmed. Hardly surprising, but welcome.

A lot of good news for Dragon Quest fans. 11 is coming to the Switch in the fall, and will have basically everything that Japanese fans could want. No real additional news for Dragon Quest Builders 2, just further reminders that its coming.

Rune Factory 4 port confirmed, and Rune Factory 5 is in development. Whether or not RF5 will be exclusive is yet to be known, so PS4 fans may not have to despair.

SquarEnix bringing a game called Oninaki, not exactly sure what that will be like, but it's Japanese as hell.

Final Fantasy 9 out today! Final Fantasy 7 out later in March.

Astral Chain looks like it could be pretty good, and extremely Japanese. Platinum has a fairly solid track record.

Oh snap! Link's Awakening remake with 3D graphics.

 
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I called fire emblem switch getting pushed back.  Don't know why anyone would think it was releasing in spring of this year when it didn't even have a qtr date let alone a solid release date or place holder.

 
Sad there was no Joker gameplay or anything on Animal Crossing. Looking forward to that x Machina demo, though. 

Thank fucking GOD DQXI is fixing the music issue. 

 
Yeah, no info on Luigis Mansion either, so not hopeful that will make it this year but it might. I figure that or Zelda will be the big holiday release this year. Icould see Zelda getting pushed to spring, but it looked pretty far along, so fingers crossed.
 
It's also a re-make of a GameBoy title. Not exactly the most challenging framework to labor on top of. It is likely that they could crank a Zelda Links Awaking re-make out fairly quickly, especially if they don't mess around with the design much. I would expect some of the other titles they announced to be bigger risks for delays. Dragon Quest 11 is the biggest question mark. It's Japanese release was scheduled for around the same time. With some of the features they are adding, it wouldn't be that surprising if it got pushed later into the 2019 holiday season, though a push to 2020 is unlikely. (it is a port, after all)

 
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