Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Boku no Natsuyasumi 4 - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Summer vacations are generally relaxing, somewhat interesting, and if you're lucky, filled with tons of stuff to do. The preceding sentence is descriptive of the summer vacations in the Boku no Natsuyasumi (My Summer Vacation) series of games. In case you've never enjoyed a video game vacation, here's your chance to take one on your Sony PSP.

The destination in the latest Boku no Natsuyasumi is an island in Japan which features a modern city but is also brimming with nature so that there's lots of things for a young boy to occupy himself with. The year in the game is 1985 when life was a little simpler than it is now. Activities including fishing, swimming, beetle battling, toy collecting, dancing, sumo wrestling with toys, insect catching with a net, and much more. The island is close to other islands which may be visited by swimming short distances. There's also a drumming mini-game that's somewhat evocative of Namco's Taiko no Tatsujin. Sort of. Coin-op video games of the day may also be enjoyed including a faithful rendition of QIX from Taito. Occasionally, family members will visit and the entire clan from at least three generations will get enjoy a hearty meal together.

To chronicle the good times and record them for posterity, a picture book diary is gradually filled with scrawled images of events and activities experienced over the course of the vacation.

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva - New Import, Partial Arrival


NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Hatsune Miku is a merchandising superstar who started her career representing a piece of software called Vocaloid2 from Yamaha. The Vocaloid software gives amateur musicians the tools to compose songs that are sung by a computerized voice. In the case of Miku, a voice actress named Saki Fujita provides her high-pitched and highly ebullient vocals. From relatively humble beginnings, Miku went on to inspire manga episodes, promotions, and numerous toy figures that have sold very well and probably better than their makers anticipated. When the summer rolls around, Miku appears in her first leading role as a video game .
heroine

Hatsune Miku Project Diva isn't a 2D fighting game as we had hoped nor is it a shooter. Project Diva is a rhythm action game where the PSP's face buttons are tapped in time to the flying cues on screen so Miku sings, dances, and swirls on stage like a generic J-Pop idol. A diva, if you will. In addition to the rhythm action, there's also a dress-up feature where Miku can be adorned in 39 different costumes including the Space Channel 5 Ulala costume, devil girl cosplay, cat girl (with paws), and a pirate outfit where she wears knee-high boots and a pirate hat. There's also a decoration mode where Miku's room is designed with furniture and other touches per your preference. The room is viewed from an 3/4 overhead perspective so that the entire space is shown at once. The first production of the game includes a bonus Nendoroid Puchi Hatsune Miku toy in 1:1 ratio.
The Nendoroid measures approximately 2" tall.

Project Diva Accessory Set - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Sega's Hatsune Mike Project Diva for the PSP is a big deal in Japan this week. Hori wants some of that action so they've shipped an accessory set for the PSP which dovetails with the release of the game. Three items are included as follows:
» Green-colored PSP carrying pouch which holds a PSP-3000 and a pair of UMDs
» Protective clear case with flip-top lid for the PSP-3000. The lid features a silhouette of Miku.
» A pair of UMD storage slipcases decorated with full color Hatsune Miku imagery and logos.

Star Wars Kubrick Boba Fett Collection - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Boba Fett is the son of Jango and the two are/were fearsome bounty hunters. Boba has inspired numerous toys over the past few years but Medicom shows him love and devotion by announcing a Star Wars Kubrick collection dedicated to the "Legendary Bounty Hunter." Six regular variants of Boba are featured in the set as follows (from the left of the top photo and undulating to the right):

(1) Boba Fett (Mcquarrie) w/ Blaster Rifle
(2) Boba Fett (Holiday Special) w/ Blaster Rifle
(3) Boba Fett (Black & White) w/ Blaster Rifle
(4) Boba Fett (Droids) w/ Blaster Rifle
(5) Boba Fett (Vintage Toy) w/ Blaster Rifle
(6) Boba Fett (Mcquarrie Alternate) w/ Blaster Rifle

According to product details from Medicom, the ratio of the figures in each factory case of 4 boxes (48 pieces total) are as follows:

(1) Boba Fett (Mcquarrie) Ratio: 4/48
(2) Boba Fett (Holiday Special) Ratio: 8/48
(3) Boba Fett (Black & White) Ratio: 12/48
(4) Boba Fett (Droids) Ratio: 8/48
(5) Boba Fett (Vintage Toy) Ratio: 12/48
(6) Boba Fett (Mcquarrie Alternate) Ratio: 4/48

The ratio allocation means that every box of 12 Bobas only contains one each of the Boba Fett (Mcquarrie) versions, two each of the Holiday and Droids variants, and so on. Preorders will begin shipping today at JPY15360 per factory box of 12 figures or US$165.90
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figma Drossel von Flügel figure - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Japanese animated serials come and go every year. Some become legendary like Evangelion but most just serve their primary purpose (ad revenue), tell an engaging story, and then lay dormant for future generations to rediscover. Along the way from birth to retirement, an anime might engender gobs of merchandising for additional revenue.
Disney cracked into the Japanese animated serial market earlier this year with a little number called Fireball which is designed to appeal to Japanese tastes. The main character is a robot-girl named Hatsune Miki who also goes by "Drossel" and she's accompanied by a spidery robot named "Gedächtnis" which is the German word for "memory." Drossel is a mech-girl, speaks with a strong yet feminine voice and wears a twintail "hairdo" which is the similar to the one that's planted on the popular Hatsune Miku of Vocaloid2 fame. Drossel should have ruled Japan by the 13th episode but we're guessing she won't be gain much traction now that the series has concluded unless season 2 is announced.

Despite the obvious design conventions that appeal to lovers of robo-anime, Drossel doesn't really have a likable personality. Maybe she's too curt, too forgetful, and too discourteous. The episodes we've watched are dry with subtle jokes and Japanese wordplay involved. Either you get the humor or the jokes will fly over your head at 90mph. Every episode begins with Drossel calling Gedächtnis a different name such as "Sancho Panza" and Gedächtnis correcting her. From there, Drossel and Gedächtnis banter about various subjects for less than 2 minutes until the abrupt conclusion of the episode. Despite our doubts about Drossel becoming a superstar, Max Factory starts the merchandising ball rolling with a Drossel figma figure which looks pretty good. The design is clean and the figma
articulation allows the figure to be posed and tilted into various action poses. An assortment of accessories is also bundled in the package including a flight attachment called the Obruchev as seen in episode 3 and the Prospero reference book which Gedächtnis used in episode 7 to demonstrate some examples of human salutations which included a snippet of Ebonics.

General Updates

PS3 BlazBlue First Print Limited Edition in stock
The North American version of BlazBlue is shipping to all preorders and new orders today. The bonuses are nice to have but we haven't had a chance to check them out thoroughly yet. The next production of the game which is expected within the next 10 days will be the regular edition without the extras but at the same original price.
NEWS Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 Friday
All remaining backorders for the new batch of Hori's RAP3 will ship this coming Friday. The new shipment of the Hori RAP EX for the Xbox 360 is on schedule for mid July 2009 at US$139.90 each.
NEWS Hori Real Arcade Twinstick Last Call
Preorders for the Hori Twinstick will close tomorrow at about 11PM EST.