Non STG Japanese 360 games?

cyprien · Post by **cyprien** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:21 pm

So I've ordered a Japanese 360 console for the STG but I was wondering if there were some other non-shmup games that aren't seeing a stateside release you could recommend?

I am very limited in my Japanese(I can only read the characters, hiragana and katakana, vocabulary hasn't begun forming yet) so something that isn't too dependent on reading long narratives is certainly a plus.

dcharlie · Post by **dcharlie** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:29 pm

So I've ordered a Japanese 360 console for the STG but I was wondering if there were some other non-shmup games that aren't seeing a stateside release you could recommend?

hmm, not really, there aren't that many Japanese exclusives as it is, let alone ones i'd recommend.

nope... just looked at the collection, can't see anything worth bothering with.

If you're getting a Japanese 360 , you could go abuse the Asia region games at Play-asia which are (99% of the time) the western version and almost always a fair bit cheaper.

For us in Japan they are ALWAYS cheaper than the Japanese version.

Rebel Ninja · Post by **Rebel Ninja** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:05 pm

The idolmaster: Live for You requires little to none Japanese knowledge to enjoy except for the extra dramas which you download. There are also alot of SRPG'S that are unlikely to see a release in the west such as "Agarest Senki" and "Apocalypse: Desire Next", however these do usually require a high level of japanese level to enjoy the story. Also for people in Europe they can get alot of english language jrpg's much earlier, such as Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean TLH.

dcharlie · Post by **dcharlie** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:41 pm

The idolmaster: Live for You requires little to none Japanese knowledge to enjoy except for the extra dramas which you download.

you'd miss out on the story/choices surely?

I did actually think of one game though.

Gundam Operation Troy.

Not that it's a great game, it's far far from that, but if you want something that's never going to come over to the west, then this is probably it. The single player is dire stuff, but online it's not bad (not outstandingly good either, but hey

) . Whether anyone still plays is another question of course

And there's always Wrestle Kingdom :/

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:40 am

I bought the JP version of EDF2017 but only because the US one is region locked, and it's pretty playable at your level of Japanese. I also bought Eternal Sonata when it came out in English for the Asian market, and played right through it.

Most of the JP-only RPGs are fairly poor, actually. Stuff like Diario and Apocalypse are just bad. Just because they're Japanese games doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to be enjoyable. Not every JP-only RPG is Tales of Rebirth.

E. Randy Dupre · Post by **E. Randy Dupre** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:55 am

Stab in the dark - I've asked this before and been met with silence - but have you played Absolute: Blazing Infinity, Elixir? Or anybody else, for that matter.

I'm almost entirely monolingual, but picked this up regardless - it was in a sale and I figured I'd played that many SRPGs in my life that I'd be able to figure out enough of what was going on in it to scrape through. Unfortunately, there's a bit right at the beginning where you enter a map, fight and win the battle that takes place on it, then get stuck on that same map and can't progress until you do... something. To date, I've not been able to figure or find out what that something is.

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:16 am

I haven't played it, but I can help. There's a walkthrough/playthrough on Nico:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm4737548

I tend to avoid Idea Factory games. Though I did buy Spectral Force 3 recenty (HEALERS CAN'T HEAL THEMSELVES AKGFJHGFKVJ)

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:06 am

There's a version of Tetris the Grandmaster for 360 in Japan. I'd want to buy that if I ever got an import system.

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:06 am

I actually heard that port wasn't very good. Don't know much about it though.

This reminds me. One of my JP friends told me Agarest Senki was "average" so I wouldn't go importing it unless you're specifically wanting it for something.

dcharlie · Post by **dcharlie** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:10 am

I actually heard that port wasn't very good. Don't know much about it though.

i have it, it's not that great - fairly no frills, but at least has two player online which seems a little quaint now for tetris

Post by **nZero** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:58 am

Most of the complaints I know are that it doesn't play like a TGM game because it follows the Tetris Company rules, with infinite rotation and SRS rotation by default and all that jazz. None of the level-up by dropping a block or being constantly ranked. Also if you don't have a Gold XBL account you're missing out on like 80% of the game. Used copies go for suitably cheap in used game shops.

Rebel Ninja · Post by **Rebel Ninja** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:00 pm

dcharlie wrote:
The idolmaster: Live for You requires little to none Japanese knowledge to enjoy except for the extra dramas which you download.
you'd miss out on the story/choices surely?

I did actually think of one game though.

Gundam Operation Troy.

Not that it's a great game, it's far far from that, but if you want something that's never going to come over to the west, then this is probably it. The single player is dire stuff, but online it's not bad (not outstandingly good either, but hey ) . Whether anyone still plays is another question of course

And there's always Wrestle Kingdom :/

The first Idolmaster required choices in the story but Live for You is much more like Taiko no Tatsujin (gameplay wise) and has a much more heavy focus on the songs and how they are presented. The first idolmaster game requires you to manage the idols, you are often given a set of comments to make to the idol that range from negative to positive and of course these choices effect the overall outcome and end result. So a good level of japanese is needed for the first game.

Anyway do many people still play Operation Troy online?

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:39 pm

If you're into mahjong, there's a whole bunch of net-taisen mj games.

To whomever purchased Jaleco's properties... Suchie Pai 5 on 360 please.

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:36 pm

Kiken wrote:If you're into mahjong, there's a whole bunch of net-taisen mj games.

To whomever purchased Jaleco's properties... Suchie Pai 5 on 360 please.

Hell yeah, more Suchie Pai please.

I think most of the 360 releases that would be playable without much JP knowledge are the action-y titles that are probably going to see releases in other markets. You might be able to get a few things early (like Ninja Blade), but not a lot else, unfortunately.

You could work on your language skills some more and dive into the RPGs though if you're so inclined.

dcharlie · Post by **dcharlie** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 4:30 am

The first Idolmaster required choices in the story but Live for You is much more like Taiko no Tatsujin (gameplay wise) and has a much more heavy focus on the songs and how they are presented. The first idolmaster game requires you to manage the idols, you are often given a set of comments to make to the idol that range from negative to positive and of course these choices effect the overall outcome and end result. So a good level of japanese is needed for the first game.

oh cool, i didn't bother with the second because of a number of the timed response questions (coupled with my middling japanese skills) in the first game. thanks for the heads up

Anyway do many people still play Operation Troy online?

not played in a long while, we used to have no problem getting a game, but i would be surprised if it is still that active. Will check later today.

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 6:14 am

i highly recommend earth defense force for any region... it is great, i've sunk almost 30 hours into it so far.

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Sun Apr 19, 2009 6:46 am

the only good a jap xbox 360 is good for,are shmups .ok.case closed.

dcharlie · Post by **dcharlie** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 6:52 am

the only good a jap xbox 360 is good for,are shmups .ok.case closed.

pretty much, that and cheaper english language games from HK for JPN resisdents.

re: EDF , agreed - frame rate fans won't like it as , frankly, Sandlot don't particularly seem to bother about dropping a game to single digit frame rates. Fun factor remains very high regardless. Shame the achievements are so poorly thought out , could have made a fun game even more fun with some creativeness.

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:33 am

Is there any reason to get the Japanese EDF release rather than the domestic one?

For what it's worth, I also thought the game was fun, but I do feel it's been kind of overrated. It didn't grab me like it did others, but it's still worth playing.

dcharlie · Post by **dcharlie** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:11 am

Yeah, edf xbox is good but it is worse than the ps2 version edf2. The removal of the jetpak girl was a disappointment

cyprien · Post by **cyprien** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:45 am

Thanks for all the responses you guysY

I actually have EDF2017 for my US 360 already and it's definitely something that I keep going back to.

I tried on of the Idolmaster games on PSP and I had a tough time with it but I'll check out the one that is more like a music rhythm game while I'm still honing my Japanese.