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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My virus stuff said that link had malware and junk in it just as a heads up for anyone else.  But yeah I'm totally down for rule of rose.

 
Has anyone seen any info anywhere about the standard edition retail North American release of the Samsho Collection?

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk
 
Zaku77 said:
Has anyone seen any info anywhere about the standard edition retail North American release of the Samsho Collection?
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It was supposed to be handled by Funbox Media, but then LRG said they might be doing it. SNK and LRG are currently trying to figure it out.

 
BD2 still has not shipped from Best Buy and I actually got an email that it's been delayed. I would just go to the store and pick one up curbside, but BD2 was one of the last pre-orders I got with GCU.

 
Neptunia Virtual Stars is out tomorrow on PS4. If you ordered the Steam limited edition the extra goodies shipped out already. Aside from the record it's a pretty standard IFI LE with a steel game case, soundtrack CD, and hard bound mini artbook. No code cards or anything inside.

 
I picked up Touhou Spell Bubble on a whim and it's fantastic. It has a really intuitive melding of puzzle and rhtyhm game. It's a bit expensive and the publisher doesn't really put deep discounts on their games and have expensive dlc. But I recommend it if you like touhou, or bubble bobble games.

 
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Games like Bravely Default 2 need to stop with the rocking camera.  What gives? What are they thinking??   It adds nothing to the experience and Nintendo jrpg devs keep doing it.  I have motion sickness and will not be buying the game solely because of this reason.

 
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Nothing- said:
Games like Bravely Default 2 need to stop with the rocking camera. What gives? What are they thinking?? It adds nothing to the experience and Nintendo jrpg devs keep doing it. I have motion sickness and will not be buying the game solely because of this reason.
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What other jrpg games do this on the switch?

 
Nothing- said:
Games like Bravely Default 2 need to stop with the rocking camera. What gives? What are they thinking?? It adds nothing to the experience and Nintendo jrpg devs keep doing it. I have motion sickness and will not be buying the game solely because of this reason.
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there hasn't been a good jrph on the switch in ages so you're not missing much

 
nightc1 said:
What other jrpg games do this on the switch?
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Octopath Traveler. I'm struggling to remember any others atm, but I've seen gameplay videos that try to do that with retro/16bit/chibi/sprite graphics during combat. They implement a rocking camera in order to try to make battles look more dynamic and less flat.

 
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Speaking of Death end re;Quest, the first one has an April 27th release date for Switch in the west:

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/03/death-end-request-for-switch-launches-april-27-in-the-west

Also, NISA just announced NIS Classics Volume 1, featuring Phantom Brave and Soul Nomad:

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/03/prinny-presents-nis-classics-volume-1-announced-for-switch-and-pc-includes-phantom-brave-and-soul-nomad

I've been waiting to play DE;RQ since they announced the Switch version, since I find visual novels more comfortable to play on handheld devices. Also, I absolutely adored Phantom Brave back in the day, so I'll probably pick up the collection just for that. Soul Nomad looks pretty good, too.

 
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super1upqueen said:
I've been waiting to play DE;RQ since they announced the Switch version, since I find visual novels more comfortable to play on handheld devices.
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I've been getting more into VN's lately and agree with that they're great on nsw. I would just say that this particular series is a hybrid with a lot of 3d rendering. So for that reason ps4 or pc would be the better option for me.

 
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/03/no-more-heroes-and-no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-switch-limited-print-physical-edition-pre-orders-open-march-12

I need that No More Heroes 2 steelbook. Feels silly to buy one CE and not the other since the spines match up, but whatever! May do that anyway.

No-More-Heroes-LRG_03-04-21_005.jpg

Neptunia Reverse got a June 8th release date, no LE mentioned yet though. There is a Mary Skelter Finale LE up on Iffy. I'm trying to figure out if the print on everything is placeholder. It all looks so same-y and uninteresting when it's plastered on every single item.

https://www.iffysonlinestore.com/mary-skelter-finale-LE/

 
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BoxPizzaBox said:
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/03/no-more-heroes-and-no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-switch-limited-print-physical-edition-pre-orders-open-march-12

I need that No More Heroes 2 steelbook. Feels silly to buy one CE and not the other since the spines match up, but whatever! May do that anyway.
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I really like the NMH collector's editions, but I just can't justify giving LRG so much money up front, just to wait a year to receive anything. If only they didn't ask for payment right away, I might go for it. I think I may just pick up the digital versions in the future.

 
Meh, I really like that No More Heroes 2 steelbook, but I don't want the rest of it. It'll probably end up costing me as much to buy it second hand.

 
I'm always tempted to go that route myself, but the few times I've tried in the past have had mixed results.

I think I was on the lookout for Tales of Berseria and Project Zero steelbooks for a while. Admittedly I didn't keep it up for long.

Have you had much success tracking down any specific ones in the past secondhand?

They are usually the only thing I want for an LE. Sometimes an artbook is nice, but anything else probably won't be used.

 
In addition to what was already said here (launch date Neptunia ReVerse (June 8th), Death End re;Quest on Switch (April 27th) and NMH LRG, NISA Classic Volume 1) here are the other announcements:

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MnE17o-U58[/media]

Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 launches in 2022

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1i1GYafV54[/media]

Blaster Master Zero III announced for PS4, Switch, and PC out July 29th

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bog3dFx4WdQ[/media]

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani launches this fall in the west

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfE_SHghQY0[/media]

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny launches June 29 in the west

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-jLEXywq0g[/media]

Mary Skelter Finale coming west this fall

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KkDsOw7Acw[/media]

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined launches this fall for PS4, Switch

Pups & Purrs Animal Hospital coming west this summer

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x98avjpaXo[/media]

The Sealed Ampoule now available Launch discount of 10% on Steam

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKPBvn-mLh8[/media]

The Silver Case 2425 for Switch coming west on July 6

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an3qxGtTfkQ[/media]

Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi coming west for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC this fall

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX26-GVbovs[/media]

Most excited for Mary Skelter Finale, Pocky and Rocky, as well as Azure/Blaster Master Zero sequels. Will likely get and give impressions of The Sealed Ampoule.

 
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The Sealed Ampoule sounds very interesting. Hope it comes to the Switch.

Most excited for Undernauts, I guess. Could tell right away it was from Experience (Demon Gaze/Stranger of Sword City people).

 
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nightc1 said:
Whoah, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined... that's cool to see the franchise get some attention.
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What exactly is this? A remake or sequel...? Not super familiar with the series, only know it because I ended up buy the GBA version for a pretty penny last summer as I was on a GBA collection clean up phase.LOL

Destructiod says it's a new adventure but looks a lot like the GBA game with better graphics.

 
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nightc1 said:
Whoah, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined... that's cool to see the franchise get some attention.
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Natsume hinted at LRG doing repros of some of the older Pocky & Rocky games (in a Twitter response back when Shadow of the Ninja was able to be preordered). We'll see if the repros come to fruition. Makes perfect sense now if they are reviving the franchise (nice franchise to revive, by the way...great shooters).

 
Vigilante said:
Play-Asia put up listings for "exclusive" Asia English physical releases of Saga Frontier Remastered, each priced at $39.99 before shipping:

PS4

Switch
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Did people actually like either one of these games? From what I remember, they were pretty meh... but it might also be because they came out during SE's golden days so they didn't seem as impressive relative to everything else.

 
I had a heck of a time with Saga Frontier back then. It was so obtuse and the story was weak if I remember. I tried a few people and remember thinking the robot's story was the most vague and the worst of those I tried. I'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole on release. Once it is on sale for $14.99 or less, I'll likely try it and say oh yeah this thing still frustrates me. I have a similar probably unpopular opinion on Legend of Mana. Gorgeous though I felt the battles were shallow, it was hard to trigger some events because of the balancing of elements system, and was extremely bugged 2 player co-op regarding skills. I think that last point will be fixed, but the rest of it wont change. Felt like such a step down after the excellent Trials of Mana. This is not nostalagia clouding my thoughts, though I haven't played either in 20+ years. I'm also a gamer who hates using guides. If a game needs a guide to get the full experience, I likely wont enjoy it as much.

 
I love Saga Frontier as a kid, but I am not sure it if has not how well it has aged over the years.  Might get it on PS4 finish it with 1 or 2 characters as it is not that long.  Never finished Legend of Mana, but it is only a 20 hours game so I will probably give it another shot

 
Vinny said:
Did people actually like either one of these games? From what I remember, they were pretty meh... but it might also be because they came out during SE's golden days so they didn't seem as impressive relative to everything else.
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If you compare them to other RPGs of the era and expect a similar experience you're only going to be disappointed. I've talked to death about SaGa at this point but I don't mind at all because it's a series I have a lot of passion for. The games are intentionally made to be open ended experiences where it's up to the player to figure out not only how to progress but also the actual systems in the game as well. Very little is actually explained in a tutorial form but that is very much the appeal.

The series never sold that well outside of Japan but a few years ago they remade Romancing SaGa 2 and it ended up doing way better then they expected overseas. So because of that they've been bringing all the games to modern platforms. This will technically be the 7th SaGa release (not including f2p mobile stuff) in the past 3ish years.

Personally I see it as an indicator of how the times have changed. People are much more open to experiences like this now. The idea of a game not really explaining a lot of its mechanics and not guiding you through the main path of the story is actually considered a selling point these days. Like I always say these are not games for everyone but there is an audience for them and that audience has been seeing steady growth these last few years which is why they keep releasing them.

 
Does the sealed ampoule have a compelling story, or is it just tacked on as the excuse to have a rogue dungeon crawler? I’m generally not a fan of that gameplay, but I’m kinda curious about the story.
 
Starcrest said:
Does the sealed ampoule have a compelling story, or is it just tacked on as the excuse to have a rogue dungeon crawler? I’m generally not a fan of that gameplay, but I’m kinda curious about the story.
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Tacked on. This is a very doujin like game. Simple gameplay with a story cutscene at the beginning and very little story for the hour I played. It has about as much story as any other rogue-like game I've played. I put my impression in the Steam thread for it. In other words don't play for the story because it's barely there. Already got my Steam refund for it.

 
Bravely Default 2 is so odd. It's like they took what they improved in Octopath Traveler, and said, na.

Story aside, there's some glaring QoL that I'm not a fan of.

1) The fucking tooltips. Why do they have floating windows that often cover up what you need to see underneath? It's a PITA to look at equipment stat changes when the tooltip covers the character's stats. And pressing L stick on the joycon to toggle isn't the most comfortable thing when you play handheld.

2) There's no maps in dungeons. WTF.

3) Enemies respawn so damn fast. This goes back to no maps in dungeons. You take a wrong turn to a dead end, turn around, and there's enemies in the hallway again.

4) You can use an item to make enemy aggro range really short, which mitigates #3. But there's no message when it wears off, which is pretty frequently. So if you're playing handheld and don't pay enough attention (or it's bright outside because you're playing while waiting in the car) to your translucent aura disappearing, things aggro you from like a mile away.

I'm going to keep playing it, but damn, these are weird decisions that's going to be hard to make this game even a 7/10.

 
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elessar123 said:
Bravely Default 2 is so odd. It's like they took what they improved in Octopath Traveler, and said, na.

Story aside, there's some glaring QoL that I'm not a fan of.

1) The fucking tooltips. Why do they have floating windows that often cover up what you need to see underneath? It's a PITA to look at equipment stat changes when the tooltip covers the character's stats. And pressing L stick on the joycon to toggle isn't the most comfortable thing when you play handheld.

2) There's no maps in dungeons. WTF.

3) Enemies respawn so damn fast. This goes back to no maps in dungeons. You take a wrong turn to a dead end, turn around, and there's enemies in the hallway again.

4) You can use an item to make enemy aggro range really short, which mitigates #3. But there's no message when it wears off, which is pretty frequently. So if you're playing handheld and don't pay enough attention (or it's bright outside because you're playing while waiting in the car) to your translucent aura disappearing, things aggro you from like a mile away.

I'm going to keep playing it, but damn, these are weird decisions that's going to be hard to make this game even a 7/10.
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Can you still turn random encounters off like in the other ones? That's probably what I'll do to mitigate the annoyance of navigating dungeons.

 
cloudmd23 said:
Can you still turn random encounters off like in the other ones? That's probably what I'll do to mitigate the annoyance of navigating dungeons.
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It's not "random" encounters like in classic RPGs. You can see them on the map. They just respawn too fast and have a pretty long aggro range. They respawn in like 10-15 seconds, it seems like. If it took them a game day to respawn (which is still pretty fast), that would have been a lot more tolerable.

Does make me miss Lufia's "only move if you move" method though.

 
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Anyone here have experience with Sakuna on :switch:? I wasn't paying attention at its release. But I've been considering it recently. However I've read in multiple places that there is an issue with audio compression/quality from the localization.
 
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Vinny said:
What exactly is this? A remake or sequel...? Not super familiar with the series, only know it because I ended up buy the GBA version for a pretty penny last summer as I was on a GBA collection clean up phase.LOL

Destructiod says it's a new adventure but looks a lot like the GBA game with better graphics.
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Missed your post before somehow... but yeah, it's a completely new game in the series. I like that they kept the overall look of the series while still modernizing it. Hopefully it turns out to be fun.

 
nightc1 said:
Missed your post before somehow... but yeah, it's a completely new game in the series. I like that they kept the overall look of the series while still modernizing it. Hopefully it turns out to be fun.
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Taito and Natsume seem to be doing a good job on their modern versions of 16 bit games so far. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Wild Guns Reloaded, and I have zero complaints about The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors beyond the pointless rename. I’d imagine Reshrined will be of similar quality, though I do question whether they couldn’t have at least finally started calling Rocky a tanuki.
 
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