On on international scale, Japan is quite famous for its video game industry. Many of the most known video game titles come out of Japan such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, Sonic the Hedgehog, Metroid, Resident Evil, and Pokémon. Those are a ton of impressive game series, and they are just the titles that come out of Japan. What about those that never leave?
There are plenty of video games that never leave Japan. Due to the sheer volume of games that are produced, not everyone is going to push for international success. Many companies make these decisions based off of how they think the games will do outside Japan. Focusing on local and niche audiences, they can make profits with far less risk.
However, there are Japan-only games that international audiences actually really desire (or at least are quite curious about).
10 Front Mission 5: Scars Of War
This Square Enix title is part of a big franchise that has been releasing games since 1995. The tragedy with the Front Mission series is that some games were released internationally while others were not. So if a North American picked up Front Mission 3 and 4 and loved it, they would be disappointed to find out about Front Mission 5.
Front Mission 5 never got an official release outside Japan, despite its critical success and awards. Luckily, the series had enough fans to create a fan-made patch for an English translated version of the game.
9 Tales Of Rebirth
Released in 2004, this RPG was published by Namco games. It is part of the Tales Of series, which made its first title in 1995 and had its latest in 2016. Some of their games were Japan-only releases. Titles that were released in North America include Tales of Eternia, Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of Legendia.
The series has many fans, so it was a disappointment for those outside Japan that this title never left its home country. Despite the success its predecessor, Tales of Symphonia, had for western audiences on the Gamecube, this title did not ever get localized outside Japan.
8 Dance Summit 2001 – Bust A Move
This game was the successor to Bust a Groove and its sequel, which were games released outside of Japan. However, the successor never left Japan. Part of this may be due to how different Dance Summit 2001 was quite different to the previous titles. This was a loss for gamers who love rhythm and music based games.
Dance Summit 2001 had over 30 characters to play as and up to four people can play together. It is pretty import friendly too, as the game menu’s are in English. What is not translated is character profiles.
7 DoDonPachi DaiOuJou
Originally, this was actually an arcade game. The Playstation 2 release came later due to its popularity. It is the fourth title from the DonPachi series, which are vertically scrolling bullet games. This is just one out of six sequels for the original Donpachi game, and they are known to get pretty difficult.
This title starts off easy but hits a difficulty barrier that not all players will enjoy. However, some players thrive off of that insane difficulty and are thus very attracted to this series. Some of the best games are the most difficult.
6 Chain Dive
This hidden gem was released in 2003 with 3D graphics and a 2D axis of combat. Players take control of the protagonist, Shark, who wields both a sword and grappling chain and protects planet Elm from invaders.
By just watching a clip of the game, its easy to see how satisfying the gameplay is. With the grappling hook, Shark can swing around like Spider-Man through the stages with a fast-paced momentum. The development team that worked on this title, Alvion, helped make well-known games like Bayonetta series and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
5 Shadow Tower Abyss
Released in 2003, this dark fantasy RPG was a sequel to Shadow Tower. Shadow Tower was released outside Japan and received mostly negative reviews. That played a huge part in why this sequel never got an international release. However, it appears the sequel is far better than its predecessor in terms of reviews.
Demons Souls has been known as the spiritual successor to this game and that is a big deal considering how popular Demon Souls was on an international scale. What sets this game apart from Demon Souls is that is takes place in one large dungeon that gets more and more odd the deeper in you go.
4 Kuma Uta
One of Japanese greatest sources of entertainment on the international level is just the weird and creative things their media teams come up with. It is part of what makes their video games and anime so well received. One example of these circumstances is a video game where the player is helping a polar bear become an Enka singer (Enka songs are Japanese ballads that typically explore themes of sadness and love).
Kuma Uta is wild, silly, and experimental, sort of like the popular Goose Game. The gameplay is to help the bear write songs. That’s it. It is quite simple and absurdist to the point that a lot of players would just want to experience the game at least once. However, it is likely that the creators thought it would be too weird to take outside of Japan.
3 Hungry Ghosts
In this game, the player find themselves in the afterlife. You take the role as a warrior who killed many people in life, and now you get to meet many of their souls in the afterlife. While waiting to be judged on whether you will be reborn or thrown into hell, the player must explore and connect with the ghosts they meet.
The fact that this game never left Japan is a sad tale for horror and dark-themed story enthusiasts. The games’ visuals are awesome and creepy, and have aged well.
2 Namco × Capcom
Released in 2005, this tactical fighting game has crossover magic. It features both characters from Namco and Capcom and was a best-seller in Japan. Due to the obscurity of these characters outside of Japan, they decided to never do an international release. That decision makes sense, but there are definitely fans out there who would love partake in this crossover game.
If you have a lot of knowledge of Capcom and Namco characters, then this game is a treasure. If not, it is probably not for you.
1 Shibai Michi
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