Japanese Niche Games Deals & Discussion Thread 4.0

shivan128

shivan128

CAGiversary!
Feedback
163 (100%)
Welcome to the Japanese niche games deals and discussion thread!  Feel free to talk about local and import Japanese games here.  Our goal is to maintain a thread dedicated to active deals on niche games including RPGs, Visual Novels (VN), Shoot'em ups (Shmups), Musou, etc.  Also maintained are pre-orders for standard, limited and collector's edition games with key release dates provided.

I've wikified the thread to make it more friendly and open to others that can actively update with important information. You can find the wiki post directly below this one.

NOTE:  Please, leave the censorship discussion away from this thread.  It's common for japanese games to have questionable content outside of the country.  We want to keep discussions to the game itself and not about cultural/societal tolerance.

A message from Thorbahn:

Our CAG Japanese Niche Games Thread also has a community on PS4, where you can interact and game with other members of the thread.

Our moderators are: Draekon, Las_Hole, and Waffleswanton

You can basically friend any of our members, or any moderator, and you will be able to request to join the community under "Communities friends are in" tab, and a mod will approve your request.

You can also leave your PSN ID in the thread, saying you want to join, and we can invite you directly as well.

As always, have fun and enjoy your stay!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 4 Downvote
VGP got reprints of the switch versions of some Trails games.

https://twitter.com/videogamesplus_/status/1664678536760655896?s=12&t=XlGtAeZPN52IxZxbkKChMQ
 
srocky26 said:
VGP got reprints of the switch versions of some Trails games.

https://twitter.com/videogamesplus_/status/1664678536760655896?s=12&t=XlGtAeZPN52IxZxbkKChMQ
Click to expand...
They won't pull these early right, since they're open preorders? I'm def interested but also reeling from all the money I spent last month.

 
Since I did like the demo for Bravely Default II (Switch)... I decided to use my last $5 cert (as I don't have their CC and so they cashed out my remaining points) for it.  It's $30.99 on clearance and it qualifies for free shipping..  Ended up $28.59 after tax which it's kind of hard to get one for that cheap even on ebay.   I'm sure there will probably be a better sale later as other stores still have it but so far this is about as cheap as it's been (especially with using a $5 cert) other than for a short period at gamestop.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bravely-default-ii-nintendo-switch-nintendo-switch-lite/6352135.p?skuId=6352135

 
When my Loop 8 is delivered I can give a mini review after an hour or two of play if you all want it. I'm about to start playing Monster Menu myself, just getting it as I forgot to pre-order it. I love these rogue whatever games, and will give impressions as well. There is quite a lot of new visual novel announcements I'll post, so look forward to that.

From seeing impressions/reviews from those who got to play Loop 8 early I can tell this game looks like one of those life simulation games I talk about like Summer Memories, which I previously gave a mini review. This looks way, way, way, way more grindy. I'm used to those type of games playing probably 3-5 recently. Frankly it looks like a developers first game and was very likely overhyped. I'll let people know, because it's very likely to be poopy. What also looks like pure poop is how janky the guy moves. I've played some janky life sims and got through them in a few hours, but those are doujin games, and likely only made by a small team of developers. Just my two cents.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative COLLECTOR'S EDITION for PlayStation 4 is $59.99 at Amazon.  That is painful to see, I paid $119.99 for it.

 
scorponok said:
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative COLLECTOR'S EDITION for PlayStation 4 is $59.99 at Amazon. That is painful to see, I paid $119.99 for it.
Click to expand...
I guess they never sold the all the extras they made after the cancellation wave at release. I think I paid $75 for the Xbox CE. It's a decent CE if you like the flourecent shrimp statue. Sadly I found the writing to be significantly inferior to that of the first game.
 
TheKbob said:
Wait until you find out how many replays are necessary...
... without the ability to skip previously read dialogue.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for a game like this that is just bonkers. I'm wondering if they'll patch anything in to address it. In the meantime, I will happily wait/not buy for msrp.
 
TheKbob said:
Wait until you find out how many replays are necessary...

... without the ability to skip previously read dialogue.
Click to expand...
Yeah that is what soured me on it. Is there any VN that doesn’t allow you to skip previously read dialog? That is a necessity.

I returned my copy. I’m sure it’ll end up discounted down the line because of the reviews,

 
elessar123 said:
Wow, a lot of stuff dropped. I haven't paid much attention but
Soul Hackers 2 - $27.85
Star Ocean: The Divine Force - $29.97
Valkyrie Elysium - $29.99

I bought all those at launch with Target's B2G1, so it doesn't sting too much. Yet.

Guess these aren't really that great of deals.
Click to expand...
Theyre also mostly b1g1 during GS Pro Weak. But free shipping requires $80 now. The SE titles will all inevitably be $20, so might just wait further.

elessar123 said:
From what I played of the first game, the dialog was already ass.
Click to expand...
There's actually a well written plotline that serves as a backbone in the first game. The second game is mostly pointless nonsense. Just more innuendo and no backbone behind that same kind of dialogue to hold it up.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
elessar123 said:
Wow, a lot of stuff dropped. I haven't paid much attention but

Soul Hackers 2 - $27.85

Star Ocean: The Divine Force - $29.97

Valkyrie Elysium - $29.99

I bought all those at launch with Target's B2G1, so it doesn't sting too much. Yet.

Guess these aren't really that great of deals.
Click to expand...
Was wondering if was gonna pick anything up and SO and Valkyrie seem like good options. Local store has like 5+ copies of each... can't help but wonder if these are gonna go on clearance.

 
Monster Menu mini review after probably 10 hours...maybe more. TLDR I'm thinking of dropping it.

I'll probably be honest and say this is one of the worst NISA games they have released. It's not pure terrible, but it has a weird gameplay loop.

First of all the gameplay consists of going around dungeons a level at a time getting ingredients, running into monsters getting into mini turn based strategy fights and surviving till the next floor where you can craft and must feed your party. Feeding the party is where most of the action is as it's how you get your passive skills and buffs and how you get hydration/calories to keep going. This is a relatively neat system, but very very grindy and has so many moves to craft some things. You keep going and every 10 levels there is a boss that hopefully you can beat. When your main character dies your party starts at level 1 again keeping some stuff (equipment, some items, class/weapon skills). It is a true rogue formula.

First of all this is massively grindy with very little actual story. The graphics are average at best and navigating menus and the level can be annoying. The battles themselves are not exciting at all and the endless feeding gets old quickly. I've gotten to level 30 and I know there is a lot more than that. It gets old pretty quickly and frankly is just not very exciting to play.

I've given it chances and died quite a few times now. Every now and then you enter an overrun monster level that usually equals defeat or barely winning. Since you die to level 1, it's better to start from level 1, but it's so slow and grindy, and you can still die to a cheap shot from a powerful monster making it all a waste of time. That's the main thing. It feels like a massively grindy waste of time. I see the good parts, but frankly I'm about to tap out. This isn't a fun dungeon crawl like Etrian Odyssey that keeps you going with fun level ups and all. It's more bland than that, and frankly feels unpolished. It's not a terrible game, but I would recommend you check out videos before buying, as it's likely going to my sell pile. A disappointment for sure. 5.5/10 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I gave up on Monster Menu after finishing the tenth level and Googling to confirm that the story was nonexistent. The initial premise was interesting, but they put zero effort into following up with any substance whatsoever. Glad I rented it. 

 
TheSupremeForce said:
I gave up on Monster Menu after finishing the tenth level and Googling to confirm that the story was nonexistent. The initial premise was interesting, but they put zero effort into following up with any substance whatsoever. Glad I rented it.
Click to expand...
It's interesting because so many reviewers gave it 7+/10 saying stuff like turn your mind off gameplay and very satisfying and addictive. I really don't think the game is passive enough to turn your brain off, and it can be addictive. Also didn't help I just choose all the women characters so I ended up with a weird set of fighters/off fighters. I actually love myself a dungeon crawl, but it has to lead to awesome bosses, fun loot and probably cool skills. Even the animations feel unfinished and cheap like the throwing up animation. I wish I had rented it, but it is what it is. It's much worse to waste time on something you don't enjoy than just say it wasn't for you after trying and move on.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
https://twitter.com/Squarehard/status/1666590036723380224

Gots me my Crisis Core finally. Now to see how long it takes to get into my impending portion of the backlog.

 
Finished trails from zero. Overall not a bad game but they really didn't do much with the cast, and holding the murder plot hostage to a second game and it supposedly being in a missable sidequest chain is just terrible. Definitely someone on the team is a sadist.
 
Picked up a few Switch games on sale over at Bestbuy.com ...

Harvestella ($35), Octopath 2 ($45), & Tactics Ogre ($30).

So that's 5 games so far for the year and the family version of NSO. The other two games are Zelda TotK and Bravely Default 2 (which should arrive today).

nitrosmob said:
Monster Menu mini review after probably 10 hours...maybe more. TLDR I'm thinking of dropping it.
Click to expand...
I appreciate you taking one for the team. I had been eyeing this one as maybe a budget buy if a deal popped up but it sounds like an easy avoid.

 
shadowysea07 said:
it supposedly being in a missable sidequest chain is just terrible.
Click to expand...
I'd eschew spoilers as much as possible. That part of Azure isn't easily missable, especially if you're one to do all quests available. And the game eventually tells you no matter what, but you can unlock the answers earlier on your own by means of those missable scenes if you do diligent detectivework.

On one hand, I agree with this sentiment and it's part of the reason I say Zero isn't an amazing standalone experience compared to the best Trails games. But on the other hand, that's at least partially the point behind the character of Lloyd Bannings. He doesn't directly & immediately get all the answers/results/success but through all the struggle (theme: overcoming barriers) he ends up with unexpected, new things to care about & realizes what's most important to him.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
If they removed the murder plot (or you know addressed it in the first 70+ hour game :whistle2:  ) I'd almost say zero could make for a decent stand alone title.  I didn't play sky trilogy (started with cold steel 1 an 2) and didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. But I get it that isn't their operating procedure and they have to make money off them engines.  It's just a shame though.  

I will give them props that despite zero being 13? years old it's not super dated feeling. And I played the ps4 version which doesn't have the added enhancements the switch version got.  I will admit that having a chat log would be nice though especially when the game just randomly advances/skips text boxes and voiced scenes for no reason.

Party wise it felt like the game focused only on tio with randy getting some mentions on stuff here and there and ellie just existing to be upset every time lloyds harem fusses over him. Ellie could have gotten more screen time and had at least some basis for it due to her grandfathers stuff with the government but for whatever reason they couldn't be bothered to do anything with her character.

Funny enough Wald could have easily been a party member given how much screen time he was getting. He certainly had more stake in the plot than the others given that outside Noelle he's the only other person that is born and raised in crossbell. Lloyd and Ellie lived outside of crossbell so they don't really count as much to me. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
NISA announced they are delisting these from digital storefronts over the next few months:

Demon Gaze, Demon Gaze II , GOD WARS: Future Past, GOD WARS: The Complete Legend, The Lost Child, NAtURAL DOCtRINE, Demon Gaze II 
 
gospelman said:
NISA announced they are delisting these from digital storefronts over the next few months:

Demon Gaze, Demon Gaze II , GOD WARS: Future Past, GOD WARS: The Complete Legend, The Lost Child, NAtURAL DOCtRINE, Demon Gaze II
Click to expand...
you said demon gaze 2 twice ;) Lucky for me I think I already own all of those besides maybe god wars.

 
Yeah officially dropped Monster Menu after 21 hours. I figured out that you could load each level if you die going back to the point (not really rouge at all), and frankly I was bored out of my mind already. I think if it was just 1 character and simple attacks and moves going around at a quick pace, this would be average. You can do that, but the game intends you to have a party of 4. The simple turn based combat is just way too repetitive, as are the crafting for cooking and equipment/items. It's not easy to compare items either or see their skills easily. Just a messy game, and is officially on my to sell list. Just a bad game IMHO, and I like repetitive genres like first person dungeon crawlers. This one just lacks the magic and polish of so many other of these games. 5.5/10 still stands.

I will be playing Loop8 soon, and I'm the right fan for these games (visual novel, simulation, RPG), so I hope I'll see something good in it. It could very well head into my for sale pile as well. I'll give an impression likely after about 2 hours.

Dungeon Travelers 2 and 2-2 are out ONLY on Johren for PC. This site sucks and is hard to get funds for, but I love Dungeon Travelers 2 and I'm sure the sequel is good. That was one of my favorite first person dungeon crawlers especially on the Vita. 10 percent launch discount right now.

Dungeon Travelers 2 (NSFW)

Dungeon Travelers 2-2 (NSFW) 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Leaked trailers to two new Atlus games have surfaced on twitter. I won't detail them but one is a game many here have been asking for / waiting on for a long time. Happy day, cags.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
shadowysea07 said:
Seems like it wont have any p3p content or fes content so I dunno seems useless.
Click to expand...
I'll wait until it's officially (and also not accidentally) revealed before assuming that, but it not being in the trailer is a little concerning as it seems like an easy win of thing to mention.

I really hope they aren't planning to try base game and then DLC for P3P and FES stuff later :|

 
BoxPizzaBox said:
I'll wait until it's officially (and also not accidentally) revealed before assuming that, but it not being in the trailer is a little concerning as it seems like an easy win of thing to mention.

I really hope they aren't planning to try base game and then DLC for P3P and FES stuff later :|
Click to expand...
It'd be pretty disappointing if the FES content (The Answer) wasn't included. I wouldn't put it past them though to have a P3 Remake Golden version down the line of course.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkD8BCCYsS0&ab_channel=FINALFANTASY

https://twitter.com/ScrambledFaz/status/1666935792403468288

 
Last edited by a moderator:
gospelman said:
NISA announced they are delisting these from digital storefronts over the next few months:

Demon Gaze, Demon Gaze II , GOD WARS: Future Past, GOD WARS: The Complete Legend, The Lost Child, NAtURAL DOCtRINE, Demon Gaze II
Click to expand...
They just had Demon Gaze II cheap recently. I picked it up to maybe sell my physical copy. Too bad.

 
nitrosmob said:
Yeah officially dropped Monster Menu after 21 hours. I figured out that you could load each level if you die going back to the point (not really rouge at all), and frankly I was bored out of my mind already. I think if it was just 1 character and simple attacks and moves going around at a quick pace, this would be average. You can do that, but the game intends you to have a party of 4. The simple turn based combat is just way too repetitive, as are the crafting for cooking and equipment/items. It's not easy to compare items either or see their skills easily. Just a messy game, and is officially on my to sell list. Just a bad game IMHO, and I like repetitive genres like first person dungeon crawlers. This one just lacks the magic and polish of so many other of these games. 5.5/10 still stands.

I will be playing Loop8 soon, and I'm the right fan for these games (visual novel, simulation, RPG), so I hope I'll see something good in it. It could very well head into my for sale pile as well. I'll give an impression likely after about 2 hours.

Dungeon Travelers 2 and 2-2 are out ONLY on Johren for PC. This site sucks and is hard to get funds for, but I love Dungeon Travelers 2 and I'm sure the sequel is good. That was one of my favorite first person dungeon crawlers especially on the Vita. 10 percent launch discount right now.

Dungeon Travelers 2 (NSFW)

Dungeon Travelers 2-2 (NSFW)
Click to expand...
I haven't used Johren, but do plan to pick up 2-2, at least. Their FAQ says you can buy games outright with a credit card.

...What kind of a mess am I getting into with this site?

 
62t said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkD8BCCYsS0&ab_channel=FINALFANTASY
Click to expand...
Holy balls the overworld looks insanely detailed for an "overworld" map. I'm genuinely curious how they'll handle it, can't imagine it'll be the full overworld. I'm pretty amped for this even though I know they're going off the rails from the original story.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
BoxPizzaBox said:
I haven't used Johren, but do plan to pick up 2-2, at least. Their FAQ says you can buy games outright with a credit card.

...What kind of a mess am I getting into with this site?
Click to expand...
My card worked at one point and failed at another. I just buy points on the other site. The other site uses Paypal. It sucks and they even added a take a selfie bull even though I had 2 previous purchases. This site is just a mess and there is loads of DLC. They are trying to get on other game sites, and whenever ANY of them gets approved I'll put both the games links again.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rumor:

P3 Reload will have physical edition

Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name won't have physical edition for ESRB version

Sent from my SM-N970U1 using Tapatalk
 
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Target Buy 2 Get 1 Free is live again, but nothing is really jumping out at me worth posting a direct link to. They did a pretty decent job excluding most pre-orders this time.

https://www.target.com/pl/3249-1457555964098587?marketing_id=3249-1457555964098587&sortBy=newest&category=5xtg5&moveTo=product-list-grid&nrtv_cid=fca8662dc3c54cbe7e681f395b26f55a1cf47a057b240414a62e1e08e4c7ce90&ar=1810832039743964516&clkid=0302b71fNab1311eb8f6742010a246d22&cpng=PTID3&lnm=201333&afid=Narrativ&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002

If Persona 3: Reloaded is expected to be announced at the Xbox showcase today (Sunday), I'd keep an eye on Target throughout the week. Usually when they add a new game B2G1 works on it, however I fear they're learning to exclude better.

 
BoxPizzaBox said:
Target Buy 2 Get 1 Free is live again, but nothing is really jumping out at me worth posting a direct link to. They did a pretty decent job excluding most pre-orders this time.

https://www.target.com/pl/3249-1457555964098587?marketing_id=3249-1457555964098587&sortBy=newest&category=5xtg5&moveTo=product-list-grid&nrtv_cid=fca8662dc3c54cbe7e681f395b26f55a1cf47a057b240414a62e1e08e4c7ce90&ar=1810832039743964516&clkid=0302b71fNab1311eb8f6742010a246d22&cpng=PTID3&lnm=201333&afid=Narrativ&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002

If Persona 3: Reloaded is expected to be announced at the Xbox showcase today (Sunday), I'd keep an eye on Target throughout the week. Usually when they add a new game B2G1 works on it, however I fear they're learning to exclude better.
Click to expand...
Not only that, they made sure to exclude a lot of niche titles.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top