Where can I buy...

Haha - that "are you human?" question is awesome!

Anyway, I would like to know if there is a way I can buy an authentic copy of Narcissu (Japanese) - or should I be waiting for some kind of collection package to come out? I hear that the "normal edition" (?) is of better quality in terms of music+graphics.

わああああああ～！ I'm sooo hooked.


Much appreciation for the translations! Thanks! Y'all make me wanna become a translator/hacker/whatever it is that you actually do! (Maybe it's just a phase, but contact me at iseeugly at yahoo dot com!

Yeah, I definitely would want to get a game CD, along with the music CD...if my guesses are correct.

(Man, I hope I remember that I posted here - I have a bad habit of forgetting to check back!)

[AstCd2]

Originally Posted by Anonymous

I would like to know if there is a way I can buy an authentic copy of Narcissu (Japanese)

Yahoo Auction or a similar service (through an agent).

Originally Posted by Anonymous

Should I be waiting for some kind of collection package to come out?

I wouldn't hold my breath.

Thanks! Now I know where to start!

...

Checked the site you sent for me...unfortunately I can't read it all. The part that I could read was "(Seller will not ship internationally)." I hope the other websites I'll be looking at can ship to Canada....

Or perhaps a trip to Japan is in order - In that case, I'll have to research on lots of stuff to buy there.

[Haeleth]

Originally Posted by Anonymous

Checked the site you sent for me...unfortunately I can't read it all. The part that I could read was "(Seller will not ship internationally)." I hope the other websites I'll be looking at can ship to Canada...

Very, very few people selling on Japanese auction sites will ship internationally. That's why the standard thing for foreigners to do is use a proxy service like Akibado, where a company based in Japan enters the auction on your behalf and then sells you the goods if they win them.

[cyborg_alberto]

Huh... A little break...

Aren't Narcissu Freeware?

Or we have two game versions, the "basic" (Freeware and such) and the "Ca$hware" (A better game someway)?

Narcissu is available for free via a web download, but some collectors like to have an actual CD and booklets/packaging for their collection. As far as I know, the game itself is the same, though.

[Haeleth]

The CD version's advantages are:

• Packaging (includes lyrics and maps)
• Higher-quality assets (the web version's graphics, voices, and music were heavily compressed)
• Mini-soundtrack (the CD doubles as an audio CD with a few remixes on)

However, the CD version is only available in Japanese. If you want English, you're stuck with the web version. ^^

[cyborg_alberto]

It explains everything...
Haeleth and Roto, thanks for the explanation!

But a little (maybe idiot) version...

Alrright, I know the free Narcissu modified version is already translated, but are there any patch for this CD version, or something like copy the translated one/file replacement/delete the others who doesn't replaced any file?


In the moment, I didn't get the Web version - and plains for this are few - but the history seemed good for me.


See ya!

[Agilis]

"Patching" the CD script is probably non-trivial.

At the very least, you would need to batch change the translate script's picture/music/voice references to the CD version's higher quality ones.

The original CD version's script was also slightly different from the web version, but that might've been corrected in the later CD-ver patch available.

Wow, that Akibado is really something.

I'm a little prudish when it comes to monetary interactions online - but I'm getting better. Has anyone ordered off of Akibado? (How's the service - delivery time - product quality - etc?) I guess it is not a good question for reassurance as anyone could just say yes....

Being I had a big order (if you'd like to do a search, I don't have the link...though I think I titled it Victory Mk. II) it took me a while with them, but that's more that with a lot of stuff, it gets expensive.

It takes about 1.5 days for a deposit to go in for either bidding or item search. From there, once you win the item, if it's an auction, it may take a week or two for it to actually arrive at Akibado's warehouse in Japan. From there, you get your choice of shipping, the fastest of which being EMS, which also happens to be the most expensive. When you put in for a shipping request, it may take up to a week or two for them to give you your final fees (between shipping within Japan, final value fees, auction fees, and the international shipping fees). Akibado's a decent proxy service, but as with any, money does tend to add up.

[GreatSaintLouis]

I ordered the Clannad first print edition from them a while back, and I was pleased with the results. After the auction and their fees, plus EMS shipping, it was still cheaper than Himeya's price for the normal edition before shipping.

One thing though, that I would imagine holds true with ANY proxy bidding service like this, is don't order from them if you want the game in a hurry. It takes a few days for the seller to ship to the proxy service, then a few days for them to send you your invoice and process your full payment, and then whatever shipping time you've selected. Keeping that in mind though, I think you'll be quite happy with their services.

I'd recommend them, definitely. If you have patience. Used three times without issues.

Can someone tell me, wrt Akibado:
I'm planning to try and get hold of a few games that aren't widely available anymore from Himeya and such. I'm new to understanding Japanese, you see, so i have a large backlog of good games to play =)
Is it a good idea to put them all in the same Akibado request, or do they prefer to have a separate request for each item? I don't want to bombard them.

For titles like 銀色, is there any chance of Akibado finding it in a second hand store and the like, or should i just go straight to YAJ?
For titles like 天使のいない１２月 which are still (barely?) available from Amazon but not Himeya, is there any other shops i should try first that will let me direct-order? I'm not that familar with the Japanese online stores at this point...

It depends, if you're having them search for the items, just put them all in one request. If you've found them on Yahoo Auctions JP, you can bid yourself, or have them bid for you.