Thursday, July 02, 2009

Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono 2 - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The USA version of Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono was released recently in North America under the title of Class of Heroes and it's been one of our better domestic sellers over the past few weeks. While stateside players are getting into the first game, the Japanese have been exploring the sequel for about a week now. Classes are back in session at another Academy where aspiring adventurers form a team at the school office and lurk out into the world to battle monsters and earn experience. The first area outside the school features a maze-like map where winding paths provide places for monsters to wait for prey. Encounters are randomly generated and the battles are turn-based.

Up to six characters may be created at the outset of the game and given sex, class, attributes, and names. Gakuen Mono 2 plays like old-school dungeon exploration games where the world is viewed head-on and the party moves in stutter-step motion. When an encounter starts up, the monsters first appear in shadow but after a few blows and counterattacks, their full color forms are revealed. The original Gakuen Mono featured dungeon crawling as its mainstay and the sequel has that in spades but also throws in outdoor roaming. A communication function in the game allows players to connect to other players and trade special items between each other. Some early preorders will ship with a bonus promotional DVD which contains animation sequences from the game.

Time Leap - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Originally released as an adult-themed interaction game for Japanese PCs in 2007, Time Leap makes a sanitized and censored jump to the family-friendly Xbox 360 this summer. In the adventure, players adopt the role of a cookie-cutter protagonist who interacts and finds potential romance with a cast of characters which include a ginger named Ayumu Nagase, Ayumu (a younger version from the past), a brown haired gal named Yuu Hayama, a glasses-wearer named Haruka Kawasumi, young maid Komomo Shinonome, and a waif who goes by Sakura. The digital cel-shaded girls in Time Leap are unique in that they're their expressions are relatively realistic and more emotive than their love-interaction-game forebears. We see fear, trepidation, angst, and even an occasional thoughtful reflection in the faces of the girls during the course of the game.

The Xbox 360 update features a longer introductory cinema and none of the scenes of copulation found in the PC original. The dancing 3D models of the girls and musical sequences are retained however. Some early preorders will ship with a bonus Time Leap Soundtrack CD which was given away by the publisher in 30% ratio.

R2-D2 Roll Tissue Cover - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» After the spate of R2-D2 products from the past year such as the Soy Sauce Bottle, the Laundry Basket and the Pepper Mills, we rightfully assumed that the next Japanese Star Wars product would again be a houseware item of some stripe.

Japanese manufacturer Ensky ships a plush R2-D2 Roll Tissue Cover which measures H22 x W20 x D12.50cm (H8.66 x W7.87 x 4.92") in dimension. The height of the cover isn't tall enough to accommodate a roll of Bounty paper towels which measures 11" tall but maybe if it's sheared by roughly 3" off the top, we can shove it into the R2 Tissue Cover.

All preorders have shipped as of yesterday and new orders are welcome.

BE@RBRICK Darth Vader & Stormtrooper - Preorder

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» We never got into the whole BE@RBRICK series of toys. Blame it on our general reluctance to accept a bear into our collective hearts. We're innate bulls by nature especially when it comes to trading. With that in mind, NCS' reluctance to love BE@RBRICK broke down a little when we saw the Batman and Joker variants from earlier this year. We're going to have to give a little more leeway to the bear when the the Darth Vader and Stormtrooper BE@RBRICKS reach market later this winter.

Measuring 7cm or 2.75" tall, the Darth Vader and Stormtrooper are crafted from standard BE@RBRICK models which have been etched with "Star Wars" stencils so that the bears become an imposing Sith Lord and an average armored Grunt. Preorders ship in late November 2009.

Ikkitousen GG Kakoen Myousai - Import Preorder

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Kanu Unchou has gotten most of the attention when it comes to the toy market's obsession with Ikkitousen but Kakoen Myousai has appeared in a few resin kits and ready-for-display figures. Alter's got her this October with a dynamic rendition where Kakoen kicks up her right leg and twists it like a recently deceased pop idol once did with style and grace.

Kakoen is sculpted to 1/8 scale and measures 20cm or 7.87" tall. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late October 2009 at JPY6800 or US$78.90 from NCS. Please note this item will incur dimensional weight so we recommend UPS Ground shipping for USA customers.

Ikkitousen GG Kanu Unchou Ribbon Lingerie Ver - Preorder

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» When Kanu Unchou is alone in her boudoir, she dresses herself in ribbon-width undergarments and proceeds to cup her own bosom with both hands. It has to be true because that's what Taki Corporation has wrought with their latest interpretation of the Ikkitousen superstar.

The "Ribbon Lingerie" version of Kanu Unchou is set at 1/8 scale and measures 22cm or 8.66" tall. Kanu is dressed with hosiery on her legs, lacey armlets around her biceps, a whisper of frilly underwear, and a thick black ribbon which covers her bosom and terminates into a bow on front. It's sort of like a gift presentation or something to that effect.

Preorders are welcome to ship in late August 2009 at JPY7800 or US$89.90. Please note this item will incur dimensional weight so we recommend UPS Ground shipping for USA customers.

Watchmen - New Release, In Stock and Ships in 24 Hrs

From the Publisher
Someone's killing our super heroes. The year is 1985 and super heroes have banded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. They soon uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. The super heroes fight to stop the impending doom only to find themselves a target for annihilation. But, if our super heroes are gone, who will save us?

Special Features
The Phenomenon: The Comic that Changed Comics; "Music Video: My Chemical Romance Desolation Row"; "Watchmen: Video Journals"; Digital Copy of the Feature Film (Theatrical Version).

Cast
Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Mathew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino

Rating: R
Run Length
: 128 minutes
Studio: Warner
Format
: DVD NTSC Region 1
Release Date
: July 21, 2009

Haunting in Connecticut - New Release, In Stock

From the Publisher
Based on a chilling true story, Lionsgate's "The Haunting In Connecticut" charts one family's terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Con
Add Imagenecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover. Now, unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family. Presented in Full Frame and Widescreen Formats.

Cast
Virginia Madsen, Elias Koteas, Martin Donovan, Kyle Gallner, Amanda Crew, Erik J. Berg.

Rating: PG-13
Run Length
: 102 minutes
Studio: Lionsgate
Format
: DVD NTSC Region 1
Release Date
: July 14, 2009

General Updates

PSP Project Diva second shipment tomorrow
The remainder of our shipments of PSP Project Diva didn't make it in today as expected but they have been re-scheduled for tomorrow. As mentioned earlier in the week, the Postal Service is on a half-day schedule on Friday but UPS and Fedex are working normally.
Please note the first printing of the game with the Miku Hatsune Puchi Nendoroid is currently all sold out through Japan distributors. Vendors have been offering the game by itself but the Nendoroid is gone. We'll update our product listing by Monday or Tuesday morning if we're able to locate any additional stock but we have closed orders for Project Diva + Nendoroid at this time.
PS3 King of Fighters XII delayed to August
SNK has delayed the Japanese release of PS3 King of Fighters XII from July 23, 2009 to August 20, 2009. The King of Fighters XII USB Joystick has also been delayed from July 16 to an undetermined date in July.
Consequently, the USA release date for KOF XII has also been delayed to August TBA. If there are any further delays, we'll update our product preorder listings accordingly.