Batman Kubrick and Bearbrick - New Import, In Stock

«©NCSX» Even though the new Batman Kubrick and Bearbrick toy makes the Gotham City crusader appear constipated, we're going to keep a set for our Kubrick collection anyway. Batman measures 7cm or 2.75" in stature and is decked out in the new battle armor from the recent Dark Knight movie. According to a short scene in the film, the new armor allows Batman to turn his head which makes it easier when "backing out of the driveway."
Along with the Batman Kubrick, Medicom also includes a translucent blue Bearbrick figure which features a golden bat silhouette across its chest. Sort of like a Bear Wonder sidekick of sorts. All preorders have shipped as of yesterday and new orders are welcome to ship today.

Joker Kubrick and Bearbrick - New Import, In Stock

«©NCSX» Whereas the Batman is straight-laced and numbingly sober, the Joker is loosey-goosey. If he were candy, he'd be two packs of Twizzler. Jokey doesn't need libations to get the party started and you can always count on the former Arkham inmate to sport a big red smile. Medicom's new Joker Kubrick measures 7cm or 2.75" in height and is dressed in a green vest that's covered by a purple trench coat. Thick eye shadow gives his face the raccoon look that Goth girls strive for while bright green hair provides a vibrant contrast to Joker's pallid complexion.

The Joker Kubrick figure is accompanied by a ghastly Bearbrick with a bloody smile and a body that's charred in select spots. The words, "Why So Serious" are etched across its chest in jagged red letters. In the Dark Knight movie, the Joker recounts a story from his childhood where his father says those words to him before performing minor surgery.

Gundam Giren no Yabou - Axis no Kyoui V - New Import

«©NCSX» Relive the events in the Gundam Universal Century timeline which chronicle the aggression of the Axis (Neo-Zeon) as they wage war against the Earth Federation and the AEUG. Continuing the strategic campaigns that kicked off in the earlier Axis no Kyoui game on the PSP, players choose a side from various factions including the Anti Earth United Government, Earth Federation, or the Axis. The chapters covered in the game cover the events in Char's Counterattack (Second Zeon War) to Hathaway's Flash which take place over a decade after the war. The game features tactical-strategy action where mech forces battle opposing forces on terra and across the reaches of space in a turn-based war game. Between battles, interactive scenarios move the story along and allow players to make choices that affect the course of the game and potentially change Gundam history entirely.

Previous Gundam Giren tactical simulations have invariably been highly challenging so Bandai gives casual gamers a fighting chance by including a special Very Easy Mode. Mech handlers in the game are equipped with their best robots early in the game so that their attacks are more formidable and do a lot more damage to the enemy.

Weekly Famitsu Vol. 1053 - New Import, Subscriptions

«©NCSX» The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu (Vol. 1053) contains coverage on the following games and events:

p20-24 - Famitsu previews Persona on the PSP which is a remake of the Playstation game originally released in Japan in 1996. Due on 04/29/09.
p28-29 - The original Growlanser is making its way to the PSP on 5/14/09.
p35-38 - Games reviewed by Famitsu include NDS Mario and Luigi 3 (9/9/8/9), Wii Another Code: R (7/7/7/7), and Street Fighter IV (9/8/8/9).
p43-47 - Street Fighter article which looks back at the chronology of the series, the different home conversions or yore, and the latest SF game.
p86-88 - Details on Musou Orochi Z for the PS3.
p106-114 - Famitsu tallies up the votes and presents their top 100 games of 2008. PSP Monster Hunter 2nd G leads the pack followed by NDS Pokemon Diamond, Wii Wii Fit, and Wii Mario Kart Wii. The top 10 are dominated by Wii and NDS with nary a PS3 or X360 title to be seen. In case you're wondering, Metal Gear Solid 4 comes in at #11.
p130-131 Retro article on the original Mother game from Shigesato Itoi.

General Updates

Japanese Xbox 360 Arcade System All backorders for the Japanese Xbox 360 Arcade System have shipped as of yesterday and new orders are welcome to ship today. The systems that arrived this week are fitted with the newer Jasper chipset.

Uki Uki Chocobo (Chocky) Restock NCS has restocked another batch of the Chocobo bath toy and backorders have shipped as of Tuesday. New orders are welcome but please note the price has increased to US$22.90 due to yen conversion and purchasing from a higher cost aftermarket Japanese supplier.

Buffy, Interrupted The European Nintendo DS release of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sacrifice has been delayed from February 12 to March 27, 2009.

Street Fighter IV - New Import, Partial Early Shipment

«©NCSX» An unexpected early shipment of the Japanese version of Street Fighter IV arrived today and roughly 2/3 of our customer preorders will ship this afternoon. Tracking numbers will be emailed before 6PM EST today. The remainder of our SFIV shipments are scheduled to arrive tomorrow and the remaining 1/3 of our preorders will ship on Thursday.

First impressions: Addictive game with solid controls as expected. SFIV plays nicer with the HRAP3 but the Dual Shock 3 isn't bad at all. It's tempting to sit down in front of the HDTV and play the game all day but alas, we have mass orders to process and shipments to dispatch. Last summer, Japanese coin-op suppliers sold the arcade version of SFIV in complete 4-unit kits for roughly US$25,000. It's a beautiful thing when gamers can get an arcade masterwork for under US$100. NCS is guessing that productivity will take a dip in Japan this week as salarymen, students, and even sushi chefs devote themselves to properly breaking in their copies of SFIV. We'll get down to breaking in our own copies after work.

Mario & Luigi RPG 3 - New Import, Restock on Friday

«©NCSX» Life in the Mushroom Kingdom is generally idyllic although Bowser raises a ruckus from time to time. As the third Mario & Luigi RPG opens up, contagion has come to the Kingdom. The population of toads has been infected by the Metakoro sickness which causes them to bloat up like beach balls. To address the emergency, Princess Peach assembles a meeting of the minds to find a cure. While the Princess is holding court, Bowser gets himself under the control of Fawful who suffers from little-man complex. By controlling Bowser and bestowing upon him the ability to vacuum anything and everything into his mouth, Fawful manages to capture everyone at Peach's meeting including the Mario Bros. Players get to control both Bowser as well as Mario and Luigi who are wandering around inside Bowser's body in an adventure of differing proportions.

Tenchu 4 - New Import, Restock on Friday

«©NCSX» Rikimaru and Ayame are back as stealth assassins under the employ of Lord Gohda who skulk in dark places and attack with sword slashes and one-hit killing blows. Tenchu 4 emphasizes the use of stealth and the game provides a bevy of shadowy places to hide, wait, and attack from. The environments are darkly lit which also attend to a ninja's need for stealth. Unsuspecting enemies who approach Rikimaru's general vicinity but are unaware of his presence may be killed with a single critical stroke. For example, when a hapless victim draws near, Riki can grab him and then perform a powerful blow to the head which kills him instantly. Rikimaru can also topple an enemy from afar by throwing a single shuriken which causes the victim lose his balance and fall to his death. Another killing attack allows Rikimaru to choke someone for about a second but that single second is all that it takes to induce the long sleep. Dead bodies may be stored in large urns or pulled behind bushes to hide them from view. That way, they won't alert any other guards to Riki or Ayame's presence.

As the story goes, a rival of Gohda has kidnapped his daughter Kiku-Hime and spirited her away to an unknown domain. Rikimaru and Ayame are charged with venturing forth and rescuing the Princess. Tenchu's original developer Acquire returns to the franchise that they built and Tenchu 4 was recently released on the Nintendo Wii. The port to the Playstation Portable takes away the Wii Remote functionality but the ninja skulking experience remains the same.