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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Today is the scheduled release for the fan-made localization patch for the pc version of  Ao no Kiseki.   In the original order of release for kiseki (Trails) games, Ao / Azure comes right before Cold Steel 1. In terms of ingame timeline, Ao covers concurrent events that happen along with those of Cold Steel I and II.   If someone is going in with no series knowledge, I would at least recommend starting with Zero no Kiseki, for which a similar fan-made localization has been available for one year now.

I'm excited as this is one of my very favorite games.  I think I've done ~4 playthroughs, all with a past fan translation (for which I am very thankful).  But the patch releasing today will be much more polished.

Edit:  The release is now live here.

 
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nitrosmob said:
I really need to get to the Trails series. Always seems daunting though I collect them all.
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I hope you’re planning on starting from [customspoiler=the beginning of the series.]
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[/customspoiler]
 
nitrosmob said:
I really need to get to the Trails series. Always seems daunting though I collect them all.
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I say: Get over the barrier!
..which is the name of the primary battle theme in Zero no Kiseki, in addition to a recurring theme in the development of the ingame characters. Personally, I find the 'struggling to overcome limitations holding you back' a superior motif than the stale 'my power is the strength of our bonds.'

 
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gospelman said:
Today is the scheduled release for the fan-made localization patch for the pc version of Ao no Kiseki. In the original order of release for kiseki (Trails) games, Ao / Azure comes right before Cold Steel 1. In terms of ingame timeline, Ao covers concurrent events that happen along with those of Cold Steel I and II. If someone is going in with no series knowledge, I would at least recommend starting with Zero no Kiseki, for which a similar fan-made localization has been available for one year now.

I'm excited as this is one of my very favorite games. I think I've done ~4 playthroughs, all with a past fan translation (for which I am very thankful). But the patch releasing today will be much more polished.

Edit: The release is now live here.
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Though you linked it, I will mention that the Zero patch was updated with the release of the Ao patch. It changes a fair bit of names and what not to coincide with the NISA translation of Cold Steel IV.

I was planning on posting this, but you've been watching the info much more closely than I have it seems. I should finally dig into Zero/Ao now that both are complete with a decent translation.

 
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Draekon said:
Though you linked it, I will mention that the Zero patch was updated with the release of the Ao patch. It changes a fair bit of names and what not to coincide with the NISA translation of Cold Steel IV.
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That too! Today I decided to try out the new patch and replay the ending of zero to hit azure running. There's small changes like the addition of a popup for the bgm title whenever it changes. Stuff falcom fans appreciate.

 
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I could never be bothered to buy the import trails games and apply a translation patch to them. Too much work.
 
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shadowysea07 said:
I could never be bothered to do the import trails games and apply a translation patch to them. Too much work.
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For Zero, at least, the digital purchase didn't seem like much work at all. I bought it when it was discounted - I think it was 50% off, which is unfortunately over by now. Ao's digital purchase is definitely more work, though.

Of course, I'd buy them again if official ports were released.

-[Unknown]

 
Kentaro Miura's passing really bummed me out.  I've been following Berserk since I watched low quality fansubs back in the 90's.  I enjoyed the Dreamcast game when it came out, despite its flaws.  Great soundtrack. 

Looks like the PS4 game (digital) was last on sale back in February 2020 for $24.  If it drops to that price again, I'll grab it and sell my physical copy.

 
My Kandagawa Jet Girls came in today. Played it for about 3 hours and it's strangely relaxing. The story is derpy, the game is easy, and there is a ton of stuff to unlock but it's all pretty easy to unlock. It's a game after a hard day of work to just take my mind off things. I will be playing it off and on since I got Biomutant coming tomorrow.

 
Well, I was pretty hyped for Nocturne HD.  Own the physical ps2 disc but never got around to playing it.  Bought the switch version at launch even after reading about the shortcomings of this version and the history of patches that followed the jp release.

Gotta say, the issue of audio quality is much more significant than I expected from that initial reading.  Might as well just be using the speakers on the nsw console.  Anything better than low-level headphones will expose an extremely low quality audio used, especially during battle bgm tracks.

Wishing I had waited and bought this on pc where hopefully mods/patches can correct this.

 
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gospelman said:
Well, I was pretty hyped for Nocturne HD. Own the physical ps2 disc but never got around to playing it. Bought the switch version at launch even after reading about the shortcomings of this version and the history of patches that followed the jp release.

Gotta say, the issue of audio quality is much more significant than I expected from that initial reading. Might as well just be using the speakers on the nsw console. Anything better than low-level headphones will expose an extremely low quality audio used, especially during battle bgm tracks.

Wishing I had waited and bought this on pc where hopefully mods/patches can correct this.
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There is an audio mod for PC and Switch

https://www.reddit.com/r/Megaten/comments/nivfut/mod_release_smt3_nocturne_hd_hd_audio_for_hd_ears/

 
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Not niche I know... but tonight (pending time zones) is the big Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary event.  It starts at 11:30ET for the English version.  Here's the youtube stream where it'll run so you can bookmark it if interested:

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

I'll be staying up to watch this.  DQ is my favorite RPG series and the main one I follow these days (and I love all the spinoffs too).

 
Surprised no one has given their thoughts on the DQ stream yet, but from what I saw, I think DQ3 remake looking mighty fine and is probably the most exciting news for me coming out of this stream.

 
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It looks like they're using a modified version of the Octopath Traveler engine for the DQ3 remake. I approve. The underlying visuals for that engine look great, and all that was really needed to adapt it to DQ was to dial the color saturation up. Looking forward to that one.

 
My take on hearing that is a bit different as I thought octopath was poorly optimized on nsw.  Chugging framerates due to environment sparkles seemed very unnecessary.  I hope it's better optimized for continued use.

 
Yuji Horii seemed to let slip that I & II was going to be remade in that style too, but he wasn't supposed to talk about it. I would love to see the whole series redone in the style to be perfectly honest.

Interesting that DQXII will be "for adults" and may potentially alter the command system. Not sure how I feel about this. We already have an adult Dragon Quest, it's called Yakuza: Like A Dragon.

Really hoping they localize DQX Offline though.

 
gospelman said:
My take on hearing that is a bit different as I thought octopath was poorly optimized on nsw. Chugging framerates due to environment sparkles seemed very unnecessary. I hope it's better optimized for continued use.
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It likely will be. Octopath went a bit heavy on shader effects, like bloom. The expectations for Dragon Quest's traditional art-style are much more modest. They will likely dial down the shadow calculations and use of bloom effects considerably.

I do believe they will continue using the same engine though. It is a common, and honestly a very efficient, approach. One of the real benefits of the Octopath engine was that its stylistic approach was a good fit for blending 3D environments with 2D pixel-art character sprites. With the screenshots we've seen of this DQ3 remake, it's clear they're going for the same look, but tweaked to better suit Dragon Quest's bright, colorful visuals.

Also, it wouldn't surprise me to see ports of this remake come out across the board. While Octopath was a Switch game, the engine itself is likely cross-platform. I have no doubt it will likely target the Switch initially, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it arrive on PS4/PS5 at some point, and possibly even on XBox. (and if it goes to XBox, it will almost certainly show up on PC) Square Enix has been getting much more cross-platform in recent years.

 
DQ3 in Octopath's engine was definitely the biggest surprise. I'll definitely be picking it up. I hope that it does well enough for all the classics to be remade that way.

 
Covnam said:
DQ3 in Octopath's engine was definitely the biggest surprise. I'll definitely be picking it up. I hope that it does well enough for all the classics to be remade that way.
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Dragon Quest XII was a welcome announcement, but it wasn't even remotely surprising. It's been long enough from Dragon Quest XI for the sequel to be announced. And it's not coming for a while, so there's considerably less excitement.

I'm hoping they don't charge $60 for DQ3. With a full remake / graphical overhaul, they can definitely charge higher than budget prices. But given the age of the game, it would probably not be a good idea to charge full price. If they charged $20 for it, they could sell a huge number of copies very quickly. Given the pedigree of the series, I would expect no less than $30 - $40, though. I can't help but feel that anything in the $50 - $60 would significantly damage the sales potential. Something in the $30 - $40 range would be more realistic, and would likely significantly boost demand for additional remakes for the older titles. Given the sheer quantity of those titles they could crank out, it would be a license for printing money for the next six or seven years.

 
Closed GAME for PC was released today by JAST USA. The game is from Sei Shoujo who was responsible for the art in Bible Black and Starless. JAST Store page and Blog post (both NSFW).

Trailer (SFW):

https://youtu.be/K_qJ3JD82xU

 
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I haven't had a lot of time to play it, but the Asha in monster world remake seems to have fixed the framerate issues seen in the trailer. Amazon or whoever is shipping the physical game won't have it out for another two weeks.

 
bappt said:
I haven't had a lot of time to play it, but the Asha in monster world remake seems to have fixed the framerate issues seen in the trailer. Amazon or whoever is shipping the physical game won't have it out for another two weeks.
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My Amazon order of the Switch version is supposed to be delivered this afternoon.

 
I ended up just cancelling and going digital after they told me it was coming on the 11th. I already have the Genesis original on Xbox and the mini so it's not like I'm missing out on that part.

 
dragonx said:
Closed GAME for PC was released today by JAST USA. The game is from Sei Shoujo who was responsible for the art in Bible Black and Starless. JAST Store page and Blog post (both NSFW).
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I don't think I can handle that right now. Empress game are interesting for sure. I don't think I can stomach that right now. These games are very niche even in the VN world.

On another note I forgot to mention but Mangagamer announced all-ages Distant Memorajo a sequel to The Expression: Amrilato. This and the previous game I believe do teach some Esperanto.

Mangagamer Blog (NSFW)

 
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yuck those character designs are pretty terrible for closed game. 

Trailer tells me nothing as well.

Played the scarlet nexus demo.  It's a little rough around the edges but otherwise pretty good.  I need a better optimized controller layout though and I feel like the buttons all being mapped to multiple stuff and combinations is probably too much. Overall I am satisfied enough with the demo to feel safe with the preorder I made. Plus it was $36.00 so there's that. 

 
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I like the designs honestly in a way, though I always liked the art for like Starless and Bible Black. The material of them though, that's another story. Still kind of weird designs. Supposedly this game is a bit more tame than the usual Empress VN. I'll still pass until a good discount I'm sure.

 
Has anyone heard if the Scarlet Nexus demo is coming to PC? I have a PC-only friend who really enjoyed Code Vein who’d probably be interested.
 
nitrosmob said:
I like the designs honestly in a way, though I always liked the art for like Starless and Bible Black. The material of them though, that's another story. Still kind of weird designs. Supposedly this game is a bit more tame than the usual Empress VN. I'll still pass until a good discount I'm sure.
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Personally I love his art style. Wasn't 100% on board with everything Starless threw at you but the art made me stick with the game. Very niche for sure.

Got the digital version for Closed GAME since the physical didn't really have anything in it that I consider a must have. Almost seems like they outsourced the LE release to Limited Run Games. An artbook similar to the Starless release would have been nice but at least I'm saving money with the digital and it's DRM free.

 
Souffrir said:
Has anyone heard if the Scarlet Nexus demo is coming to PC? I have a PC-only friend who really enjoyed Code Vein who’d probably be interested.
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Last I saw they haven't said anything, the trailer they made for the demo only had dates for Xbox and PS (as Xbox got it a week early, so dates were different.)

Those games are pretty different though unless your friend just enjoys the anime aesthetic. Scarlet Nexus is a more traditional action game, launcher/air combos, perfect dodge mechanics, really interesting and obtuse technical things that aren't explained at all. The usual stuff.

I already had it preordered anyway, but the demo really surprised me in a good way. Looking forward to the full game.

 
Zenax said:
Those games are pretty different though unless your friend just enjoys the anime aesthetic.
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One of the things he really likes about CV is in fact how over the top edgy anime it is. I feel like he's gonna be a little disappointed if the demo doesn't make it to PC.

Also gotta say I'm getting a little annoyed by how often your name breaks CAG's implementation of BBCode. :joystick:

keyblader1985 said:
I don't really know anything about the series. I just assumed it was a little risqué.
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Empress makes straight up eroge, not just risque VNs, featuring some relatively alternative kinks.

 
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dragonx said:
Personally I love his art style. Wasn't 100% on board with everything Starless threw at you but the art made me stick with the game. Very niche for sure.
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I was okay with it until they brought in all the poop. Even then I just fast forwarded. But once they started sticking metal rods down the pee hole I had to call it quits. *shudder*

 
shadowysea07 said:
Played the scarlet nexus demo. It's a little rough around the edges but otherwise pretty good. I need a better optimized controller layout though and I feel like the buttons all being mapped to multiple stuff and combinations is probably too much. Overall I am satisfied enough with the demo to feel safe with the preorder I made. Plus it was $36.00 so there's that.
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How'd you snag $36 for it? Having played the demo I agree with your take on the controls but it was still rather enjoyable. Have no idea why but I breezed through Kasane's run but was getting my teeth kicked in repeatedly on Yuito's run.

 
Photophonic said:
How'd you snag $36 for it? Having played the demo I agree with your take on the controls but it was still rather enjoyable. Have no idea why but I breezed through Kasane's run but was getting my teeth kicked in repeatedly on Yuito's run.
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gamestop fucked up last saturday

they let loose their memorial buy 3 get 2 promo 19.99 and it somehow also included preorders and figures

rZtziRo.png


lasted like at least a day and a half before they noticed.

 
I played a bit of the demo, and it seems interesting, but my fingers definitely keep getting tangled up on all the button combinations (seriously, you couldn’t have a single input for changing locked on targets?), and movement feels weirdly heavy for an action-heavy game like this. Dodge feels pretty useless outside of a perfectly timed dodge, and even just changing directions can take an irritating amount of time.

I also hope the combos get more interesting as your character gains new skills, they’re really repetitive right now. Or maybe I’m missing something.
 
Yeah, the more I thought about it post demo, the more I wasn't super bowled over by it. I'm going to put it on my "Get it at $40 or less" list. It's not bad by any means but doesn't really make me want to drop $65 day one. 

 
I’m playing Kasane first, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to take care of those enemies in the boxes. Saliva Santas or whatever. I can muddle through by using invisibility and using a charged attack to sometimes knock them over and perform a finisher, but when there’s more than one or the first attack doesn’t get them ready for the finisher, I have to go hide until I can use invisibility again. That doesn’t seem like it’s supposed to be the only way to deal with them, but nothing else I try does anything like significant damage before they hide in the box. Am I missing something, or are they really that slow and inflexible to take care of?
 
It's kinda hard to say since you can't see your entire skill tree in the demo but it doesn't seem like a game that is going to have a bunch of combos or anything like that. The focus seems more on meter and throw management since they allow you to extend a combo infinitely.

The game does not really explain it at all but when you throw you reset your combo, including the triangle/Y attack which builds a bunch of meter. It doesn't matter too much on the ground but what they also don't tell you that you can do all that in the air as well. Once you get the hang of it you can do infinite air combos. And if you're in an area with a lot of throwable objects you can basically machine gun them in the air as there is a skill where you generate more meter with aerial attacks.

So far my experience with the demo is that it's one of those games where the more aggressive you play the safer you generally are. After playing through it a few times I don't even bother with dodging outside of the boss or if I want to reposition. Better off just locking an enemy into a combo until they're dead. Few enemies you can't do that too but in the demo at least you don't run into them much.

Those box enemies are an example of that, dunno what you can do other then just charge up the stealth attack all the way and then finish them off when they're stunned. Though tbh I haven't played the female character that much as I prefer the moveset of the male character. He doesn't encounter them so not sure if there is some other trick.

 
Tried the demo. I didn't hate Scarlett Nexus, but I didn't love it either. $60 is a hard sell on this game for me, and while I'm not a graphics snob I wish it looked better on the Series X. I will pick it up on the cheap, and since it's Namco, it will go on sale.

 
Rahxephon91 said:
https://www.target.com/sp/gamequest/-/N-10005300

Has anyone ever come across this?

Didn't know Target.com had 3rd party sellers.

This seller has some niche games. Not the most amazing prices, but a little bellow others.
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Yep, I actually used them last week for Demolition Racer: No Exit (Dreamcast) for $14.99.

https://www.target.com/p/demolition-racer-no-exit-sega-dreamcast/-/A-81943267#lnk=sametab

Quick shipping, free shipping with red card, it was nice.

Looks like they are Game Quest Direct, a fairly well known game retailer that I mostly remember from the early 2000's.

 
Josef said:
Yep, I actually used them last week for Demolition Racer: No Exit (Dreamcast) for $14.99.

https://www.target.com/p/demolition-racer-no-exit-sega-dreamcast/-/A-81943267#lnk=sametab

Quick shipping, free shipping with red card, it was nice.

Looks like they are Game Quest Direct, a fairly well known game retailer that I mostly remember from the early 2000's.
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I wish they had a dedicated website like they used to, I got my imported PS1 Dragonball Z games from them years ago along with a gold finger.

 
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