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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BoxPizzaBox said:
Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but on a Gematsu article I noticed they gave two codes for Play-Asia. One is listed as 'reusable'
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Thanks for posting the code! I'm pretty sure we all appreciate this kind of reminder/notification regardless if if they've been posted or not. It's good to know that they are doing a reusable codes again since most have become one time use.

 
Ymmv Pokémon arceus is still 30 bucks at bjs and they have a 10$ off in store purchase of 10$ or more coupon today. Coupon expires on the 28th. if you can find a store nearby that has it in stock that seems like a good deal. You can also buy it via the app but I'm not sure if there's a way to apply the coupon. Don't forget to stack with 5% cash back from discover via PayPal.
 
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nitrosmob said:
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes - Gamescom Trailer

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6kJMrfKZ8[/media]
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I’m sure I’ll get the game, but I wasn’t willing to back it; and that trailer didn’t show anything remotely interesting about the game. It might claim “unique” but there certainly wasn’t anything in that trailer to show it.
 
nitrosmob said:
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes - Gamescom Trailer
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That looks pretty good though I always hate where objects in the foreground completely block view of your character. Maybe that was mostly cut scenes? It was a minor nitpick I also had with octopath traveler (only played the demo) as it felt strange. Still this looks pretty nice and a little quirky with the animal characters.

 
PQube's reply doesn't even deny that they took and used the grant money without informing the devs, they just say that the amount they funded the game was well above the amount of the grant so it somehow doesn't matter.
I'm guessing the platform that offered the grant was Xbox.
 
BobbyTastic said:
PQube's reply doesn't even deny that they took and used the grant money without informing the devs, they just say that the amount they funded the game was well above the amount of the grant so it somehow doesn't matter.
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I feel like there's too much missing from this story... with most of the answers centering around the specific terms of the fund and what PQube promised to do with the money when they applied. If the promise was they'd use the money to fund a minority owned developer (naming this one as their intended use for the money) for a videogame... then they met the terms of the company offering the fund.

I'm not saying no one did anything wrong... I just don't believe the reaction by the dev makes much sense unless PQube forged documents pretending to be the dev's company to get the funds.

 
nightc1 said:
I feel like there's too much missing from this story... with most of the answers centering around the specific terms of the fund and what PQube promised to do with the money when they applied. If the promise was they'd use the money to fund a minority owned developer (naming this one as their intended use for the money) for a videogame... then they met the terms of the company offering the fund.

I'm not saying no one did anything wrong... I just don't believe the reaction by the dev makes much sense unless PQube forged documents pretending to be the dev's company to get the funds.
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I don't think that's the main contention.
The main contention is that PQube negotiated in bad faith by promising funds that included the grant without disclosing that some of the funds were from a grant that the developer was specifically entitled to, which is incredibly deceptive. The dev alleges that this deception allowed PQube the leverage to force them into a bad deal (taken out of necessity).
Based on PQube's statement, I'm willing to believe the dev, as all PQube needed to say was "The dev was made aware of the grant during our negotiations", but instead their focus is that they honored the agreement as written (aka we technically followed the letter of the contract, so too bad).
 
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BobbyTastic said:
I don't think that's the main contention.
The main contention is that PQube negotiated in bad faith by promising funds that included the grant without disclosing that some of the funds were from a grant that the developer was specifically entitled to, which is incredibly deceptive. The dev alleges that this deception allowed PQube the leverage to force them into a bad deal (taken out of necessity).
Based on PQube's statement, I'm willing to believe the dev, as all PQube needed to say was "The dev was made aware of the grant during our negotiations", but instead their focus is that they honored the agreement as written (aka we technically followed the letter of the contract, so too bad).
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If the Dev didn't apply for the grant, why should the dev be given the money they didn't apply to get? It sounds like they think they should get it simply because their name was attached as where the money would be spent and that they should be able to use it for anything and leverage more money with it from the publisher. This is the missing piece that the grant application and process would clear up. Really the main people that should be looking into this are those that setup the grant. If this is what they intended ... the dev should apologize and come back to finish their contract. If this wasn't, then PQube should have to return the grant money and the dev should still have to finish making the game they were contracted and paid to do.

I hadn't seen where they were claiming not being paid well to do the job... just where they spent everything and pqube invested more funds to continue the project.

I feel like this would be as if my kids came to me after I got the government stimulus money and demanded their cut since I got to claim them as dependents on my taxes. But then they got upset to find out I gave it all to them already for doing chores.

 
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BobbyTastic said:
... from a grant that the developer was specifically entitled to ..
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This is the part that's an unknown to me.

If PQube received a grant to publish more games meeting specific criteria, that makes them prioritize the project by giving the developer funding over someone else because they get money from the fund.

If PQube was just supposed to forward all of the fund to the developer, and still provide just as much funding support- what is their incentive and why would PQube be eligible?

I mean to say, if a valid goal of the fund was 'getting publishers to prioritize more specifically targeted developers' then PQube did that.

Consider if Valve offered you money to buy games from certain developers on Steam or something, you're more likely to buy them because they gave you that incentive. Then imagine the developer is like "what the heck this was subsidized for you? You should've paid more if you were getting a deal"

^That's what I'm hoping the situation in which the developer making this post isn't, but without knowing the details I don't know which side it lands on.

If PQube wasn't supposed to benefit from the grant they shouldn't have been eligible, their eligibility makes me think "publish more stuff like this" was an acceptable goal of the fund.

If PQube was supposed to just forward the money that's a little weird, why not just let the developers pull from the fund directly? but yeah I guess they should have.

That's why I tend to agree with the "I don't have a clear picture of this" stance.

 
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I don't know about you but if I was a publisher, I'd probably communicate to the developer I was attempting to receive a grant for, that I was doing so, even if the grant was a reward for financing such projects (developers are business partners, not children so that's a bad analogy). If it was the case that the developers weren't entitled to the money, why wasn't that mentioned in their response?
Just doesn't pass the smell test for me.
I've seen developers self-immolate over stupid stuff before but given they found out in March and they waited this long before taking to Twitter says to me that this isn't one of those times.
 
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BobbyTastic said:
I don't know about you but if I was a publisher, I'd probably communicate to the developer I was attempting to receive a grant for, that I was doing so, even if the grant was a reward for financing such projects (developers are business partners, not children so that's a bad analogy). If it was the case that the developers weren't entitled to the money, why wasn't that mentioned in their response?
Just doesn't pass the smell test for me.
I've seen developers self-immolate over stupid stuff before but given they found out in March and they waited this long before taking to Twitter says to me that this isn't one of those times.
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You could be right. I'm just not comfortable saying definitively one way or the other, personally. I'm curious to see how it unfolds if the developments remain public.

I had a personal experience where my card didn't charge something my roommate and I both individually bought that we each wanted (Two of the same item, separate accounts, separate payment methods, separate orders) and she demanded I pay for half of hers since mine was 'accidentally free'. I think it may have been a generous move of me to do so at my choice, but I didn't feel like I had to- bank error in my favor on my transaction not hers. I was probably better off just not saying it happened and keeping my personal banking to myself.

Obviously not the same situation, accidental money vs intentional and different relationships. I suspect my personal experience is skewing my view here and I should probably abstain. Haha.

 
Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood double Kickstarter launching August 29th. These are spiritual successors to Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts. This is pretty cool, but I likely wont back unless they need help. I am excited for whenever they release though.

Gematsu

 
nitrosmob said:
Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood double Kickstarter launching August 29th. These are spiritual successors to Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts. This is pretty cool, but I likely wont back unless they need help. I am excited for whenever they release though.

Gematsu
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This is likely like Eiyuden Chronicles which didn't need the funding to finish the game but to demonstrate consumer interest and secure a publisher. I'm definitely preordering both of these from whichever publisher ends up with them.

 
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Did anyone get the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid game? I saw the Japanese version had a limited Weiss Schwarz card inside. Just curious if the English version does as well
 
two KS in one = budget titles,  it won't be the next wild arms nor shadow heart we were waiting for. we already forget the spiritual successor to mega man? that game is simple and they still screwed it up.

i understand self fulfilling prophecy, if nobody try to help nothing gets made but i feel if they had a good enough concept of a game, they would not need KS or to group them. for the wild arm game there biggest goal is a big world to explore, sounds ok but i promise it going be empty or a lot of repeating scenery you will forget about. i rather they said there biggest goal was a good story > game play > music > graphics > then  explorable world. it is very low, if the storyline is bad or it boring combat .

i'll  still check out the KS but till games exist i don't have much faith in the revival.

 
jimmywolf said:
two KS in one = budget titles, it won't be the next wild arms nor shadow heart we were waiting for. we already forget the spiritual successor to mega man? that game is simple and they still screwed it up
i understand self fulfilling prophecy, if nobody try to help nothing gets made but i feel if they had a good enough concept of a game, they would not need KS or to group them. for the wild arm game there biggest goal is a big world to explore, sounds ok but i promise it going be empty or a lot of repeating scenery you will forget about. i rather they said there biggest goal was a good story > game play > music > graphics > then explorable world. it is very low, if the storyline is bad or it boring combat .


i'll still check out the KS but till games exist i don't have much faith in the revival.
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For every MN9,you get a Bloodstained or a Wasteland 2. It all depends on they plan to use the funding,and MN9 was just a prime example on how not to run a Kickstarter (maybe don't promise your game on every single platform available). I have some faith this will turn out well since you git a lot of people who worked on those games (unlike MN9). As long as they don't promise a ton.
 
Nocturnx99 said:
Did anyone get the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid game? I saw the Japanese version had a limited Weiss Schwarz card inside. Just curious if the English version does as well
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I preordered it from Best Buy, but it has been delayed. However, I got an email from Aksys the other day that said:

Exclusive Weiß Schwarz Card!
All first run copies of the game will include this exclusive trading card inside the case for both Nintendo Switch™ and PlayStation®4 games - only while supplies last!
 
For every MN9, you get a dozen games that don’t even come out and maybe 1/10 of one that’s actually acclaimed and well remembered a year or two after release. I’m not saying good games never come out of KS, but it’s a rarity, and more often you get games that are pretty decent with significant caveats, games that completely fly under the radar, games that are pretty disappointing or more limited than the initial advertising implied, or most frequently, endless delays.

Crowdfunding was an interesting footnote in game development history, but little more than that. It works better for lower budget projects with quicker turnarounds than video games.

ecwfan said:
I preordered it from Best Buy, but it has been delayed. However, I got an email from Aksys the other day that said: Exclusive Weiß Schwarz Card!
All first run copies of the game will include this exclusive trading card inside the case for both Nintendo Switch™ and PlayStation®4 games - only while supplies last!
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What’s so exciting about a black and white card? I would prefer something in full color.
 
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Even the good games like Bloodstained (and potentially Eiyuden Chronicles?) get scummy publishers so I can't say I'd really be excited if Armed Fantasia/Penny Blood get 505 as a publisher. I am interested in the games themselves though.
 
Souffrir said:
For every MN9, you get a dozen games that don’t even come out and maybe 1/10 of one that’s actually acclaimed and well remembered a year or two after release. I’m not saying good games never come out of KS, but it’s a rarity, and more often you get games that are pretty decent with significant caveats, games that completely fly under the radar, games that are pretty disappointing or more limited than the initial advertising implied, or most frequently, endless delays.

Crowdfunding was an interesting footnote in game development history, but little more than that. It works better for lower budget projects with quicker turnarounds than video games.


What’s so exciting about a black and white card? I would prefer something in full color.
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I've backed 11 Kickstarters and so far, haven't been screwed out of any of them but you are right that, most of the KS games I backed have been forgettable. I have to that I backed that are still in development though (Sea of Stars and Eiyuden).

I will say, the 7 KS games I backed/received- I think each one has been significantly delayed or has had significant "changes" from what was originally promised. I feel like with no publisher oversight, most of these publishers either lose sight of their goal since there's nothing locking them to what was originally approved (they already have the funds) or get lazy as there's no publisher breathing down their neck to finish on time.

The 2 non-videogame KS I backed though, I was happy with- first one was as advertised/on time, second one was as advertised and only slightly delayed.

 
Kickstarter seems like one of those relics from 2010 era, where people thought skinny pinstripe suits, tiny ties, mom jeans, and frazzled girl hair were super duper cool.  Now those kids are 25 years old+ and dress just as lame as everybody else.  I see you with your no-show socks and casual canvas loafers looking super uncomfortable and un-cool, Kickstarter. 

 
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Nothing- said:
Kickstarter seems like one of those relics from 2010 era, where people thought skinny pinstripe suits, tiny ties, mom jeans, and frazzled girl hair were super duper cool. Now those kids are 25 years old+ and dress just as lame as everybody else. I see you with your no-show socks and casual canvas loafers looking super uncomfortable and un-cool, Kickstarter.
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[attachment=37236:Clip1.png]

 
I only Kickstarter things I really want like deluxified board games (which do take years usually to get to you....usually averages about 1.5 years+) and stuff that needs my help to fund like indie games or a visual novel localization. I've been screwed before (indie games never coming out, visual novel localizer running off with money), but stuff usually delivers long after I really care. This happened with Eiyuden Chronicle, which which Kickstarter ended August 2020, and I never cared to fund any of it. We finally get it in 2023 so only 3 years or less after the Kickstarter is over, which is not amazing. These games I doubt will need help, so I'll just get them when they release and decide if they're any good. Kickstarter/Gamefound/Whatever other backing the things you like, that may need help, and hope they get to you in some timely manner. Just think of them like LRG and you'll get your stuff eventually.

 
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nitrosmob said:
I only Kickstarter things I really want like deluxified board games (which do take years usually to get to you....usually averages about 1.5 years+) and stuff that needs my help to fund like indie games or a visual novel localization. I've been screwed before (indie games never coming out, visual novel localizer running off with money), but stuff usually delivers long after I really care. This happened with Eiyuden Chronicle, which which Kickstarter ended August 2020, and I never cared to fund any of it. We finally get it in 2023 so only 3 years or less after the Kickstarter is over, which is not amazing. These games I doubt will need help, so I'll just get them when they release and decide if they're any good. Kickstarter/Gamefound/Whatever other backing the things you like, that may need help, and hope they get to you in some timely manner. Just think of them like LRG and you'll get your stuff eventually.
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1.5 years isn't too bad for games. A game I Kickstarted in 2012 is just getting released next month. Still looking forward to it, but 10 years is a long wait. Luckily LRG isn't this bad. Yet.

 
general rule of thumb is to think of kickstarter as an investment and don't actually expect to get anything from it.  But at that point you might as well just set the money on fire. 

Personally I'd love for there to be spiritual sequels to dead series (or for se and other companies to just fork over the  fuck  :censored:  :censored:  :censored: licenses since they aren't fricken using them anyway) if they are good. Paper mario (yes there's the everlasting sapling and the steven universe series and adventure time pirates that play similar)  is one I'd love to get spiritual sequeled. 

 
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Remember all of the Kickstarters for Vita games that never came out? Heart Forth Alicia, Bloodstained, Grisaia, Sharin no Kuni, etc. And Skullpirates may as well have not come out considering it was essentially an hour tech demo (not that any of Arcade Distillery's games are good, but I digress).

At this point the only things I really back on Kickstarter are books and those seem to have a much higher completion rate.

 
Board games also generally come out if they're funded. I have 4 game Kickstarters that will never come I believe (Irotoridori no Sekai (100% not coming), Cryamore, Delver's Deep, and Soul Saga) and some that have been a bit disappointing (many board game Kickstarters I did back in the day, Dead State). It's all risk and if you can just wait, and the thing will be funded, just do that. I have a few board games coming eventually (Blade Rondo, Everdell complete edition and Knizia stuff (new Ra and Amun Re)). Not funding anything else there for now at least.

 
Tothoro said:
Remember all of the Kickstarters for Vita games that never came out? Heart Forth Alicia, Bloodstained, Grisaia, Sharin no Kuni, etc. And Skullpirates may as well have not come out considering it was essentially an hour tech demo (not that any of Arcade Distillery's games are good, but I digress).

At this point the only things I really back on Kickstarter are books and those seem to have a much higher completion rate.
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For Sharin No Kuni, they did at least give people a full refund or the option for another version.

 
Vinny said:
For Sharin No Kuni, they did at least give people a full refund or the option for another version.
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Same for Bloodstained, but I'd still rather have what I pledged for at the end of the day. :/

elessar123 said:
I'm 0/2 on books, so eh.
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Oof. I've backed something like ten or twelve books on Kickstarter and I've gotten them all. A few are still pending because they're recent but I have no reason to believe I'll get shafted. From the games I've backed, it's about a 50/50 and the pending ones either announced they weren't happening or went completely dark.

 
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I've never gotten around to either game (though I do have a some of the Wild Arms games on PSN I'll get to at some point I hope), so I'll be passing on this one. Plus I'm already waiting on Hundred Heroes, so I think one spiritual successor at a time is good lol

Music was good though, so I'll keep an eye on these releases in the future =)

 
Covnam said:
I've never gotten around to either game (though I do have a some of the Wild Arms games on PSN I'll get to at some point I hope), so I'll be passing on this one. Plus I'm already waiting on Hundred Heroes, so I think one spiritual successor at a time is good lol

Music was good though, so I'll keep an eye on these releases in the future =)
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I loved the original Wild ARMs... it was like a swan song to 2D JRPGs at the time (even if the battles were fully 3D). Plus the intro track is just plain jamming- still one of my favs to this day.

But... I'm not sure I want to back this. After seeing how Hundred Heroes is going, and how some other KS projects of famous developers have gone, I'm hesitant to back any more KS.

 
Any chance you are getting Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes mixed up with the companion spin-off game Eiyuden Chronicle Rising?

I might be bias but Hundred Heroes looks fantastic to me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6kJMrfKZ8

 
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blueweltall said:
Any chance you are getting Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes mixed up with the companion spin-off game Eiyuden Chronicle Rising?

I might be bias but Hundred Heroes looks fantastic to me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6kJMrfKZ8
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When I said "how Hundred Heroes is going", I wasn't talking about how the game looked because I agree with you, it does look good. I more or less meant its development. For a game that was originally supposed to take 2.5 years, after 2 years... we really haven't seen much. The delay is fine but still, after 2 years I was hoping we would have seen more.

I didn't back one of the tiers with Rising and I haven't played it but based on the impressions/videos I have seen, it honestly doesn't help my waning faith in the development of Hundred Heroes.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

 
leaks of upcoming NISA release

https://twitter.com/screwyclassic/status/1564984075311521793?s=21&t=DMx5n3ZnfMGbcKBYabxWfg

 
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