Friday, September 01, 2006

Phoenix Wright's Fifth Production

Capcom released the fourth reproduction of Phoenix Wright last month but today, NCS received copies of the game from the fifth reproduction of the game which shipped earlier this week. Needless to say, Phoenix Wright has ruled our domestic sales this year and is still going strong. The game features the courtroom antics of the title character who jousts with opposing counsel in dramatic screen shaking action. With sharp legalese and testy determination, Phoenix parries false accusations, uncovers perjury, and occasionally even schools the judge on case law. In the first case, Phoenix defends his friend Larry Butz against a murder charge where the lead witness has questionable intentions...

Eve: New Generation Deluxe Pack

The Deluxe Edition of Eve: New Generation includes three bonus items which are packaged in a laminated cardboard box as follows:

» A "Pictorial Stories" novella which features artwork by Eve series character designer Takashi Hashimoto.
» An Eve: New Generation drama CD which features an original scenario.
» Eve: New Generation temporary tattoos.

Five years have passed since Kojiroh Amagi and Marina Houjou tackled the adventure that took them to the Kingdom of Eldia as told in the original Eve game. Kojiroh's still a detective with trademark hair covering his eyes and Marina continues her work as a national intelligence agent. In addition to the deluxe edition of Eve: New Generation Zero, a regular edition is also in stock and shipping today.

Valhalla Knights

In an alternate reality where cities float and magic weaves through the world, humans, elves, dwarves, and hobbits populate the land and live in harmony. That is, until the monsters arrived. Led by a mighty horned dragon known as the "King of Monsters," paradise was lost and strife touched all corners of the world. The races of the world all marshaled for war and years of conflict raged across the land. The bloodshed endured until the hero Rastil led a party of warriors and beat the King of Monsters down in a climactic battle where the beast was sealed away. As it was contained, the blood of the King of Monsters seeped into the soil and cursed the world. From this dreary scenario, a young hero suffering from amnesia enters the world and hopes to recover his memory. Perhaps along the way, the hero will find a way to bring paradise back to the land.

Valhalla Knights plies the 3D role-playing trade with adequate visuals and conventional adventure game basics such as quests, character classes, level raising, and party members. The character creation system allows four primary classes - fighter, mage, priest, and thief. From these four foundation archetypes, other classes may be created such as archmage and samurai when a character levels up and attains skills and attributes. At the outset of the game, players may only select a male or female human as the protagonist but elves, dwarves, and hobbits are available for new characters that are created in the guild.

Mogitate Tingle no Barairo Rupee

The impish Tingle is a rupee collecting jester who travels around the land collecting coin. Light-footed and blessed with a joyful disposition, Tingle evokes feelings of revulsion love and appreciation from all who witness his greedy antics. In the NDS game Mogitate Tingle no Barairo Rupee Land, Tingle roams around the world collecting rupees in a bid to elevate a tower to the heavens where lovely ladies are generous with kisses and libations flow like Deer Park Spring Water. Rupees may be collected directly or obtained by trading in valuable items. Tingle may also go on missions to earn generous amounts of the shiny gem-like rupees. By throwing rupees into a magic pool of water at the center of the cylindrical tower, the spire rises ever higher into the sky to reach the paradise that Tingle so desires.

Super Operation Machine MG

Giant robot games such as Alchemic Drive and Tetsujin 28-go have enjoyed sizable audiences in recent years. Nintendo takes the concept to task in their interpretation of the robot controlling game with stylus control for a more hands-on approach. The robots in Super Operation Machine MG are called Marionette Gears which measure 30 meters tall. The MGs differ in look and function as well as the operation and control scheme. Once the handler steps into the cockpit of an MG, the controls are laid out on the touch screen with the ability to move the robot and attack by manipulating the levers, yokes, modified control pads, buttons, and other controls based on the type of MG at hand. Missions may consist of simple skirmishes while others feature races where an MG vehicle is used to beat competitors.

Jet Black NDS Lite

Jet black joins the Nintendo DS Lite rainbow of crystal white, enamel navy, ice blue, and noble pink. Slightly slimmer and sleeker than the swarthy girth of the current Nintendo DS, the Lite measures 133 x 73.90 x 21.50 mm (L x W x H) or 5.23 x 2.90 x 0.84" for us yanks. For comparison's sake, the original NDS rang in at 148.70 × 84.70 × 28.9mm or 5.85 x 3.33 x 1.13" stateside.

The NDS Lite tips the scale at 218g or 0.48 lbs compared to the original NDS' 275g or 0.60 lbs. In addition to its smaller size, the NDS Lite also features four adjustable levels of screen brightness. The clarity and bright crispness of the NDS Lite screen has probably been the biggest selling point - it's a marked improvement over the dull glow of the original DS.

FFIII CE, Net Cash Updates

All confirmed pre-orders for the Final Fantasy III Crystal Edition will ship today at the lower price of US$318.47. NCS will post another update next week if the price drops again but the new price level has found bulk buyers through NCSX.

The Phantasy Star Universe branded Net Cash Cards are scheduled to arrive to our vendor in Japan on Monday. Due to the Labor Day holiday in the USA on Monday, we will compose NCC code emails and send them out on Tuesday morning. NCS will observe the holiday on Sept. 4 and return to normal operations on Tues.