If you're a fan of American role-playing games from the 80s such as Wizardry, Bard's Tale, and Alternate Reality, you're in luck. Publisher Success recreates the look, feel, and format of those ancient games on the Nintendo DS and takes gamers back to the olden days. Players create a character class (Fighter, Thief, Mage, or Priest) and venture into a dungeon which is viewed from a first-person perspection. To move, push the D-Pad upwards and the onscreen adventurer moves around in step-by-step fashion where the walls sweep past in stuttering motion. Heroes may battle monsters, collect items, and complete missions to proceed further and deeper into the game. Enemies include brigands, gremlins, humanoid-like creatures, pitchfork-wielding devils, and fire-breathing thugs.
Back in the mid to late 80s, a host of Japanese publishers were eager to release their own RPGs after witnessing the success of Zelda no Densetsu and Dragon Quest. Between the years of 1987 and 1994, Data East released five Hercules no Eikoh (Glory of Hercules) games on the Famicom, the original Gameboy, and the Super Famicom. Data East went out of business in 2003 and their Hercules property was sold to a company called Paon. To capitalize on their investment, Paon releases the sixth Hercules game on the Nintendo DS.
The story follows Hercules as he grows from a young lad to a strapping adventurer who's ultimate goal is gaining entry into Olympus. Hercules no Eikoh makes use of the NDS stylus for combat and magic blasts.
The leaf-eared canines of Ochaken no Heya are back and ready to romp in another collection of 36 mini-games. The challenges include:
» Swish the stylus in a circular motion to help puppy swim
» Create hamburgers by stacking ingredients to match a target burger
» Grab the maracas and play a rhythm action game where dogs dance
» Throw darts at a green-colored target board to earn big points
Players may also help his/her onscreen dog decorate a multi-story house with various items and furniture from a virtual inventory of over 550 different adornments. NCS particularly treasures the aquarium prop.
Facing an extreme form of persecution in their homeland of Transylvania, Vlad Dracula scoops up his two children and takes them to the calmer shores of Japan. In their new home, the family of vampires won't find any proverbial villagers with pitchforks and torches... yet.
Dracula's two children are Radou and Little - both look very young for their age but Little is 114 years old. Many years ago, Little was an orphan girl who was turned into a vampire by Radou and Dracula took her in as his own. Little has never killed a human and she's never turned anyone into a vampire. As the family acclimates to life in Japan, Little attends night classes at a local academy where she makes new friends and acquaintances. Things are hunky-dory for a while but one day, a warning arrives which alerts Dracula and his younglings to imminent danger.
Princess Nightmare is a visual novel that was originally released for Japanese PCs last year. At the outset of the game, Little escapes from a bounty hunter of sorts and dreams of an encounter with Dracula. He asks her three questions that test her honesty and acceptance of violence. Note the PC game was an adult adventure with graphic nudity but all of the mature content has been scrapped from the family friendly PS2 conversion.
The Fire Pro Wrestling Z game has been removed but the limited edition items remain. Each bundle includes a 336-page hard-cover history book which covers the Fire Pro Wrestling series, a metal bottlecap opener, and a cell-phone strap with an attached gold-colored ring bell.
Please note that this item only includes the FPWZ Box shown and the bonus items mentioned in the paragraph above. The FPWZ game is not included. All of the items are new, never used, and only the game was removed from the packaging.
We have a little over 100 sets remaining in our inventory. If you want to buy 5 sets (for whatever reason), we'll lower the price to $24.90 each.
Sale Offering: NCS' remaining inventory of the Fire Pro Wrestling Z Limited Box Items is new, in the original factory box, and in mint condition. Pricing is set at US$29.90 per bundle which includes free shipping by USPS Media Mail within the U.S. Larger Photos
In the early goings of Shirow Masamune's Ghost Hound, a lad named Nakajima Masayuki gathers together two more lads named Komori Tarou and Ogami Makoto for a trip to a hospital underneath a dam. Eleven years ago, Komori and his sister were kidnapped and held for ransom at the hospital.
When the trio reach their destination inside the hospital, Komori has visions of his lifeless sister's body and starts heaving. The other two boys also start breathing hard. Far away, a shrine maiden named Miyako mimics their heavy huffing. In the next instance, the souls of all three boys have left their bodies and stand around in wonderment. In their discarnate form, they're able to see other spirits and explore the "Unseen World."
The upcoming Nintendo DS game 神霊狩 Ghost Hound DS is an interactive adventure which follows the events of the animated series and views the story from the perspective of the three boys. Preorders are welcome to ship on July 31, 2008 at JPY5800 or US$53.80 from NCS.
Hello Kitty? Domokun? Fuggedaboutit. The new day is all about Koma-Neko which is a brown cat who sews, takes photographs, and creates stop-motion movies. The kitty-cat's creator is Tsuneo Goda who won an award at a French film festival for his work on the Koma Neko short film. Since that time, Koma-Neko has been making the merchandising rounds and this summer, her new Nintendo DS game reaches market. Players will get to engage in mini-games that involve Koma-Neko's vices and vocations. Preorders are welcome to ship in July 24, 2008.
Kids in Japan can buy Kuwagata Beetles (Stag Beetles) in pet shops for the equivalent of US$15-US$250 depending on their size and species. Along with the beetle, the pet shop also peddles a beetle homes, substrate, food, and breeding tools. It's a cottage industry without equal anywhere else in the world. For beetle fans outside of Japan, Kabaya offers the Kabuto X Kuwagata PVC trading figures which pit ten pairs of beetles against each other on their respective 11cm logs. Preorders are welcome to ship in late June 2008 at US$29.90 per box of 10.
