A.W.: Phoenix Festa is the latest
Japanese niche title to be localized in the American and European markets.
Not exact matches
Video game magazines that I read regularly would cover
Japanese imports and
niche titles, but dating sims were merely a curiosity and nothing more.
All of the
Japanese company's games are based on more or less popular anime and manga series, so they're rather
niche titles with dedicated but limited public.
The games I like to play... JRPG's or
niche Japanese titles... typically aren't broken on release, and while I have a massive backlog as well... probably more than yours spanning 30 years of gaming... I still get stuff day one.
The development team at Nihon Falcom has always been something of an underdog in the JRPG race for the last few decades — while Square and Enix thrilled the world with massive franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Falcom was building its own
niche titles for
Japanese PCs, ranging from the long - running Ys franchise to cute experiments like Gurumin.
Sega Sammy Holdings, as it is called, announced that it will acquire Index Corporation which is the the parent company of Atlus known for publishing and developing many
niche Japanese titles.
PC retains the addictive qualities of battling and team - building we love in tactics
titles while fully embracing everything strange about
niche Japanese titles like this one.
There are some portions where the writing gets to be a little eccentric, but the good thing about Akiba's Beat, much like Trip before it, is that the game is self aware in what it's doing, and considering Akiba's Trip was very much a fan service
title, and this one continues on the
Japanese niche theme, I think the developers and localization team understand that they can get away with a lot of goofiness and that the game itself shouldn't be taken too seriously - certainly not when it doesn't take itself as such.
While it's a pleasant surprise to see a
niche Japanese title getting a physical release (a first for the Project DIVA series in Europe), it shouldn't be a surprise to learn that the basics of the main rhythm game haven't greatly changed from the previous installments.
Nyu Media has done great good work in the past in bringing over
niche Japanese titles so I hope this kickstarter exceeds their wildest expectations.
Despite this, the Vita has maintained a steady following in Japan thanks to its diverse collection of JRPGs and other
niche Japanese titles (including indies).
The mention of Atlus is especially nice, as they are a company recently acquired by SEGA who knows how to release
niche Japanese titles in the West.
It's increasingly becoming a platform for cross-buy
titles,
niche Japanese games, and a slew of mobile ports.
Xenoblade Chronicles manages to mix modern gameplay features with the classic
Japanese role - playing formula, achieving what recent Final Fantasy
titles have been unable to accomplish: modernizing a once cherished
niche genre.
Between big hits such as Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Persona 5, the PS4's exclusive offerings include a healthy mix of AAA blockbusters,
niche Japanese titles and notable indies.