Japanese Niche Games Deals Thread: Atlus, NISA, Aksys, XSeed and More!

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kndy

kndy

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The following thread are for niche-based Japanese video games by smaller companies such as Atlus, NIS America, AKSYS, XSEED, D3 Publisher, KOEI/TECMO, SNK Playmore, Ignition, Natsume or any sweet deals for those who are passionate and hardcore about Japanese video games even from the bigger companies like SquareEnix, Sega, Bandai Namco, etc.

But to avoid any messiness of links everywhere, we'll focus on games within the last 2-3 years as opposed to the last five-ten. [although, if you do see older titles on sale, please post them regardless].

The theme of these deals are Japanese video games distributed in the US by the smaller niche companies. The thread is literally for those who love Japanese games. There will be a few Korean games that you may see on this list, such as the "DJ Max" games.

If you see a deal, please post!

NOTE: Please check the most recent page for the latest deals.

And I want to thank many of you in advance who submit their deals and their support!!!
 
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kndy said:
But when it comes to Japanese-based niche games, there is that group who will always purchase a game at full price to support the company. But for a lot of people who are CAG's, they wait for the better deal and lower price.
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Yes :( I was going to admit earlier that I feel a lot of guilt over that. I bought Yakuza 1 after a price drop, I think, got Yakuza 2 for cheap fairly close to launch, bought Yakuza 3 cheap from the UK, and I think did the same with Yakuza 4! :('

I still don't have a lot of money, and I'm still cheap, but these days I try to make a lot more day one purchases when it comes to stuff like this, and I wish I had done that with Yakuza 1-4, bought them on day one.

 
kndy said:
I wish they would have released "Yakuza"....since "Shenmue", I really missed the gameplay of visiting Japanese shops and kicking arse. I actually enjoy all the games, in fact, I've just recently purchased the second "Ryu ga Gotoku" game for the PSP since prices have finally come down this month on eBay.

But personally, I think that while there is a niche of gameplayers like myself who love games such as "Yakuza", the cost of localization is pretty high and while there are diehards who would pay full price on release day, because the games would go down in price within months or so, many would wait to buy the game when it was under $20.

But when it comes to Japanese-based niche games, there is that group who will always purchase a game at full price to support the company. But for a lot of people who are CAG's, they wait for the better deal and lower price.
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I love the series too,but I can't Sega expect to keep releasing them here when they lose a ton of money each time they do.The same was happening with the Tales of series a few years ago,but the fans finally started to support the titles so now were getting releases here.

 
themaster20000 said:
I love the series too,but I can't Sega expect to keep releasing them here when they lose a ton of money each time they do.The same was happening with the Tales of series a few years ago,but the fans finally started to support the titles so now were getting releases here.
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I wish there was some way to make Yakuza sustainable for Sega in the West. I'm amazed they didn't just give up after the first one. I remember thinking how lucky we were to get 2 and that that was probably it, then being so surprised 3 came out and thinking yep, that's the end, and then... 4! (Didn't notice Dead Souls ha.) Which all collapsed into sorrow at the lack of 5 and lack of the samurai ones.

 
Jesse_Dylan said:
I wish there was some way to make Yakuza sustainable for Sega in the West. I'm amazed they didn't just give up after the first one. I remember thinking how lucky we were to get 2 and that that was probably it, then being so surprised 3 came out and thinking yep, that's the end, and then... 4! (Didn't notice Dead Souls ha.) Which all collapsed into sorrow at the lack of 5 and lack of the samurai ones.
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Developers seem to find excuses a lot of times when it comes to Japanese games.

 
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I know Best Buy has the Y's Collectors Edition on their site, but any idea if it will be in store too? I tried to ask an employee today but he didnt seem interested in giving me an answer.

Don't really want to risk the shipping if it might just get cancelled (Plus I don't want the package sitting in the snow for the weekend)

 
C-Zero said:
It's sad to hear that when crappy Japanese games get brought over here and sell enough to warranty a sequel (e.g. Mugen Souls).
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Yeah, it's baffling what gets localized versus what doesn't, and also baffling what sells versus what doesn't. Depressing. I may eventually pick up Mugen Souls just out of sad desperation. I think Time and Eternity and a few other stinkers are even better examples than Mugen Souls. Last Rebellion is pretty bad, for instance. Sad to think of how many good games could have been localized instead.

 
To me Sega I know it costs a lot to bring Yakuza games over...but yeah they never seem to sell well. They're so unique it's hard to place them and I happily bought every one including Dead Souls...which I almost regretted since it went down 15 dollars or so at launch. I wish they would at least bring one over every 3-4 years even...at least to keep fans happy. I think what I'm missing the most other than Yakuza is The Shining games series. They just look like excellent RPGs and the last one I remember being released was a horrible one for PS2. The new ones look excellent and it's a shame we may never see them.

 
I haven't read about a Shining game since Shining Force III.  I didn't know there were new, good ones coming out.  I'd love to play them.

I think after Shining Force III, they were all kinda cruddy, and arguably Shining Force II is better than III.

You'd think if there was a good one on 3DS at least, that would be able to at least break even in the West...

 
ShadowAssassin said:
I say this partially tongue in cheek, but anyone who gets that Persona dance game is what one would call a "Japanophile"
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I'm not getting it, but I do have a curious question.

What would you call someone who buys Just Dance or Dance Central? Games where you have to...actually dance...instead of just pressing buttons.

 
Kazaganthi said:
I'm not getting it, but I do have a curious question.

What would you call someone who buys Just Dance or Dance Central? Games where you have to...actually dance...instead of just pressing buttons.
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A 13 year-old girl

Just kiddin, just kiddin. I think they do skew "casual" though (i.e. non-gamers and some gamers).

 
kndy said:
I wish they would have released "Yakuza"....since "Shenmue", I really missed the gameplay of visiting Japanese shops and kicking arse. I actually enjoy all the games, in fact, I've just recently purchased the second "Ryu ga Gotoku" game for the PSP since prices have finally come down this month on eBay.
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Not releasing Shenmue 3 was the biggest travesty ever for fans. Didn't help that Suzuki left Sega and they still hold the IP rights. Yeah, it was all financial since the previous games bombed, and Yakuza is relatively more popular. But Shenmue was the obvious pre-cursor to Yakuza and they continue to churn out Yakuza games in Japan, but refuse to make one more Shenmue game to complete the story.

 
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Jesse_Dylan said:
I wish there was some way to make Yakuza sustainable for Sega in the West. I'm amazed they didn't just give up after the first one. I remember thinking how lucky we were to get 2 and that that was probably it, then being so surprised 3 came out and thinking yep, that's the end, and then... 4! (Didn't notice Dead Souls ha.) Which all collapsed into sorrow at the lack of 5 and lack of the samurai ones.
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I purchased all the non-released USA games from play asia after they were reprinted as the Best Series (significantly less expensive), just to have the full collection (Yakuza:Kenzan and the Black Panther one for psp) Also, I will be getting Yakuza 5 when it gets cheap as well. I figure that a fan translation could theoretically be released in the future, so I wouldn't possibly want to miss out. That's also why I bought Policenauts way before the fan translation was ever released (also own the still not translated Saturn version as well)

 
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themaster20000 said:
I love the series too,but I can't Sega expect to keep releasing them here when they lose a ton of money each time they do.The same was happening with the Tales of series a few years ago,but the fans finally started to support the titles so now were getting releases here.
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no it was the company learning how to budget along with handling localization and release times better and not having absurd expectations without advertising the games even exist. Not to mention tales of is a safe bet unlike the crap they gambled on that they thought would sell that only put them in the hole.

Tales of graces sold like crap. Xillia only did marginally better. Only like 2 games sold less than graces did and they were the first two titles released in the west on ps1 with limited prints. I honestly expected them to drop the series after graces terrible performance but lo and behold they finally see even if its minor the safe continual profit the series can make here.

It's possible they could get back up to vesperia numbers by the time zestiria releases if tos and tox2 continue to increase the install base like xillia had.

 
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shadowysea07 said:
no it was the company learning how to budget along with handling localization and release times better and not having absurd expectations without advertising the games even exist. Not to mention tales of is a safe bet unlike the crap they gambled on that they thought would sell that only put them in the hole.

Tales of graces sold like crap. Xillia only did marginally better. Only like 2 games sold less than graces did and they were the first two titles released in the west on ps1 with limited prints. I honestly expected them to drop the series after graces terrible performance but lo and behold they finally see even if its minor the safe continual profit the series can make here.

It's possible they could get back up to vesperia numbers by the time zestiria releases if tos and tox2 continue to increase the install base like xillia had.
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I thought Graces F actually had decent numbers and Xillia had a high number of pre-orders (likely cause of the CE) that they announced Xillia 2 right away after that. Though they were pulling decent though obviously not COD numbers....I don't see Namco Bandai complaining too much about these more recent releases compared to how they were before.

 
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The important thing is people who are pushing for localization within the company.  Hideo Baba has been supportive of western release of Tales games.  The former president of Sega (can't remember his name) was supportive of Yakuza in the West.  It is not a coincidence that they stop releasing them once he left. 

 
shadowysea07 said:
Tales of graces sold like crap. Xillia only did marginally better. Only like 2 games sold less than graces did and they were the first two titles released in the west on ps1 with limited prints. I honestly expected them to drop the series after graces terrible performance but lo and behold they finally see even if its minor the safe continual profit the series can make here.

It's possible they could get back up to vesperia numbers by the time zestiria releases if tos and tox2 continue to increase the install base like xillia had.
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Source?

 
WhirlwindMonk said:
I have never played an Ys game before. If I were to get just one of these, which one should I go for?
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You should pick up Oath in Felghana too, it plays differently from SEVEN and Celceta, and gives you a taste of what Ys was like in the past. I&II is pretty old school and uses a bump into enemies battle system, it's kind of hard to get into if you're not already a fan of the series.

All the games are stand alone story wise though.

 
umbry said:
Ys Seven.

Its the easiest to get into and the most fun,

And its sequelish is out right now.
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aerozero said:
You should pick up Oath in Felghana too, it plays differently from SEVEN and Celceta, and gives you a taste of what Ys was like in the past. I&II is pretty old school and uses a bump into enemies battle system, it's kind of hard to get into if you're not already a fan of the series.

All the games are stand alone story wise though.
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Awesome, thanks for the advice. I'll read a bit about the stories and pick up whichever of those two sounds more interesting, and depending on how much compensation Sony gives me for sending me a broken replacement PS4 for my broken launch PS4, I may pick up the other as well.

 
I'm going to play Ys I&II, Oath in Felghana, Memories of Celceta, read a synopsis of V (or just skip it in case it gets a remake), play VI, play 7, then play Origins on Steam.  Exciting!

Or, wait.  Maybe I should play them in release order instead.

Hm.

 
Dark_Sage said:
Source?
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neogaf sadly I can't find A link. I did screenshot the thread though and it sold 63k which puts it as the second worst selling mother ship title to date just above eternia (destiny II) at 57k.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=39273491

that's a link to the thread I googled and somewhere in there b.k. posted the sales for all the games but xillia at the time. edit he posted the rest on page 8

I'll list them anyway though

tales of destiny 68k

tales of eternia 57k

tales of symphonia 470k

tales of legendia 83k

tales of phantasia 88k

tales of abyss ps2 72k

tales of vesperia 144k

tales of symphonia 2 136k

tales of abyss 3ds 45k

tales of the world radiant mythology 39k

 
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Jesse_Dylan said:
I'm going to play Ys I&II, Oath in Felghana, Memories of Celceta, read a synopsis of V (or just skip it in case it gets a remake), play VI, play 7, then play Origins on Steam. Exciting!

Or, wait. Maybe I should play them in release order instead.

Hm.
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For story, it doesn't matter what order you play them in. If you play in order, keep in mind I-II are pretty dated.

 
Atlus is having a nice sale!  One thing about Atlus and Xseed, and I think maybe Aksys to a lesser degree, they know how to discount their stuff (and NISA, but I wish they'd do it more).  Thing is, I always buy the Xseed and Atlus stuff as soon as it comes out, often NISA and Aksys, too, because I want to support them.  
 
Anyway, I got an e-mail about their huge sale.  I'll try to paste it in (although probably everyone in this thread already got it, and it's probably being posted in the main section hopefully):
 

Edit: deleted it and made a separate thread​

 ​
 
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Oh, that worked pretty well!

Back to the "ATLUS ROX N SEGA SUXXXX" topic, this sale reminds me of how many turds Atlus has published in the U.S.  Don't get me wrong, I adore Atlus, but their foray into Western publishing has not exactly been the best.  For every Trine 2, it seems there are several RIPD, Cursed Crusade, God Mode and Game of Thrones stinkers.

 
shadowysea07 said:
Tales of graces sold like crap. Xillia only did marginally better. Only like 2 games sold less than graces did and they were the first two titles released in the west on ps1 with limited prints. I honestly expected them to drop the series after graces terrible performance but lo and behold they finally see even if its minor the safe continual profit the series can make here.

It's possible they could get back up to vesperia numbers by the time zestiria releases if tos and tox2 continue to increase the install base like xillia had.
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Actually it seems Xillia did very well for its first month. It did just over 100k by early September which is not marginally better than Graces or much worse than Vesperia.

 
I just started Graces F tonight. I have to say the audio quality is really low and annoying. I'm not sure if they just messed up the recording somehow or if it's overly-compressed, but the speech just sounds really bad in general.

Good-looking game, though. Right now I'm trying to figure out the combat...the whole attack pattern thing is a bit odd.

 
Thermopyle said:
I just started Graces F tonight. I have to say the audio quality is really low and annoying. I'm not sure if they just messed up the recording somehow or if it's overly-compressed, but the speech just sounds really bad in general.

Good-looking game, though. Right now I'm trying to figure out the combat...the whole attack pattern thing is a bit odd.
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I felt the exact same way for a while; give it time and hopefully you'll get the hang of it. It might not help, but I think of Graces f's battle system as more of a fighting game with the greater emphasis on combos.

 
mask-air-raid said:
There's no hide button.

You want me to ignore you? That will make me sad.
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Nooo don't ignore me! I guess the "hide" button must just be for one's own posts or something. Cause I don't see a hide button anywhere either. I'll try hiding my own post.

Yeah, the hide button does something else entirely. Sorry about that.

 
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Jesse_Dylan said:
Nooo don't ignore me! I guess the "hide" button must just be for one's own posts or something. Cause I don't see a hide button anywhere either. I'll try hiding my own post.

Yeah, the hide button does something else entirely. Sorry about that.
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Don't ever worry me like that again!
 
graces f is less about combos and more about dodging using around/back step then counter attacking and hitting the weakspots. do what the game wants and it rewards you with more cc.  You can't approach it like a typical tales title since the characters are alot more fragile especially cheria and hubert -_-

 
shadowysea07 said:
graces f is less about combos and more about dodging using around/back step then counter attacking and hitting the weakspots. do what the game wants and it rewards you with more cc. You can't approach it like a typical tales title since the characters are alot more fragile especially cheria and hubert -_-
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This is actually my first Tales so it's completely new to me. I have noticed that guarding charges up CC pretty quickly, seems like? My copy didn't come with a manual so I might try to find one online for a quick look-through.

 
Thermopyle said:
This is actually my first Tales so it's completely new to me. I have noticed that guarding charges up CC pretty quickly, seems like? My copy didn't come with a manual so I might try to find one online for a quick look-through.
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I thought guard used up CC, but it's been awhile. Dodging will quickly raise your CC though. I wouldn't bother with the manual.

 
I always so badly want to enjoy the Tales games, but I can't stand the combat.  Although I played and loved Symphonia.  Why would that have been different?  I couldn't even get into Tales of the Abyss, which everyone says is so awesome, so why I enjoyed the Symphonia battle system is a mystery.  Maybe I've gotten crotchety.

 
The only people who like Tales of the Abyss are low-tiers.

If you don't like the combat in a Tales RPG, there's not much that will keep you playing. Tales of Vesperia is the only exception, because it's the only Tales game that wasn't excessively generic in terms of plot/characters.

Though I can't imagine how you'd find the battle system in many RPGs to be interesting either, since Tales follows the industry standard of "mash X and hope for the best".

 
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The combat is typically the best thing about Tales IMO. So more involving than turn based systems where you stand around and watch the AI do the attacks for you. Also, with grinding, turn based combat can be such a grind and so tedious.

 
ShadowAssassin said:
The combat is typically the best thing about Tales IMO. So more involving than turn based systems where you stand around and watch the AI do the attacks for you. Also, with grinding, turn based combat can be such a grind and so tedious.
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The combat is fun, but I think Star Ocean tops it.

 
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