Japanese Wii Launch Shipment Arrives

The first batch of Japanese Wii consoles arrived today and all re-confirmed preorders at the higher price will ship this afternoon. The packaging is the same size as the USA Wii and nearly as heavy. As NCS mentioned in our Monday update, there is no shortage of Wii consoles in Japan. Vendors are loaded with stock and supplies are -/-massive-/- but distributors have to get their gouge-on since it's a tradition and every console must endure the high-priced rite of passage. It just wouldn't be natural if the Wii escaped the gouging tactics....

Please note that only four Japanese Wii games arrived with today's shipment but every other launch game will arrive on Monday morning. The following games are available to ship with Wii preorders today:

» Wii Sports «View back cover»
Play tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing with waving arm action
» Ennichi no Tatsujin «View back cover»
Mini-games galore including ring toss, fish catch, food prep, and more
» Odoru Made in Wario «View back cover»
200 fast-paced mini-games - wok food, drive, hula hoop, pump, etc
» Zelda no Densetu Twilight Princess «View back cover»
Link embarks on a new adventure in the world of Hyrule

If your Wii console preorder has at least one of the games listed above, your order will ship today and any remaining games will ship on Monday. If your order consists of only the Wii console and a component video cable, we will still ship the Wii console today and fill the order for the cable once supplies arrive in the next few days.

NCS only imported enough Wii consoles to fill confirmed preorders but we will update our website when Japanese Wii prices return to normal in the next 1-2 weeks.

Famitsu Wave DVD [Jan 2007]

The inaugural 2007 issue of Famitsu Wave DVD features magazine coverage and video footage of the following games:

NDP Akumajou Dracula: Gallery of Labyrinth
NDS Bokura Taiyo DS: Django & Sabata
PS2 Super Robot Wars Original Generations
PSP Disgaea Portable
PSP Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops
Wii Red Steel
Wii Necro-Nesia
X360 Blue Dragon
X360 The Idol M@ster
X360 Earth Defense Forces 3

and the usual assortment of general interest features, video reviews, gaming challenges, on-the-street reporting, and more.

Pokemon Connector Protection Cap DS Lite

Dust and other airborne motes are the enemies of gamers who want their toys forever shiny² and sparkling. In order to keep assorted NDS ports clean and free of dust, Keys Factory ships the Pokemon Connector Protection Caps which plugs up the exposed receptacles of the Nintendo DS Lite unit. Couple the caps with a carrying case and your NDS Lite should stay fairly free of dust, pollen spores and other unsightly particles that waft through the air and alight on everything. On the NDS Lite, the plugs stopper up Slot-1, Slot-2, the headphone hole, and the trapezoidal AC port.

Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Spirit Summoner

Take a slow boat to Duel Academy as a freshman who has passed the required entrance exams for admission. Players adopt the role of an original character who meets up with Jaden Yuki and Syrus Truesdale on the trip to the school. After arriving at the venerable institution, the three are inducted into Slifer Red, the lowest rung of the student body's hierarchy. Above their group: Ra Yellow and higher still, Obelisk Blue. From lowly beginnings, Jaden Yuki and the protagonist work their way up to the top echelons of Duel Academy by holding their own in card battles and ultimately defeating all challengers. Before any dueling starts, players may visit the school library and read up on the rules of engagement, card types (Monster, Trap, and Spell), and winning conditions. «NCS Game Notes»

Digimon Savers: Another Mission

The popularity of the Digimon series continues unabated in Japan with Bandai and Fuji TV kicking off the fifth television series earlier this summer. In the first episode, Agumon meets up with a young thug named Daimon Masaru who hails from Otori Municipal Junior High School. After a heated battle, the two find themselves evenly matched and become friends. The new dynamic duo eventually teams up with a couple of DATS operatives named Yoshino Fujieda and Tohma Norstein.

In the PS2 Digimon Savers game, Daimon and Agumon lead the cast of characters with Fujieda teaming up with her Raramon and Tohma is coupled with Gaoman. The original storyline in "Another Mission" follows the adventures of the heroes as they tackle the machinations of the Seven Great Demon Lords. In Digimon mythos, the Demon Lords are comprised of Digimon which represent the Seven Deadly Sins of man: Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Sloth, and Wrath. Players start the game with Daimon and Agumon who are trekking around on a sunny island where dangerous enemy Digimon roam and attack in randomly generated encounters. The first battle is against a purple tadpole. «NCS G-Notes»

Homura [The Best]

Countless games have been set during the Warring States period of Japan when clans fought for control of the entire country. Taito's vertical shooter Homura is also set in the fractious period with but the historic backdrop is secondary to the shooting action which is reminiscent of Psikyo's Sengoku Blade where the hero is capable of blasting shots and attacking with a sword. The original arcade hardware was based on a Taito Type X which sports a Celeron running at 2.5GHz and pipes video through a stock AGP Radeon 9200SE with 128MB of onboard ram. Overkill specs for a 2-D vertical shooter? Absolutely... but Homura shows no slowdown despite the amount of enemies and shots that roll, rotate, and swirl on screen. Even on the PS2 conversion, there's no slowdown for an excellent home conversion of the coin-op original.
The game mechanics are fairly routine with players controlling an airborne hero who battles wicked generals which are all capable of morphing into mighty demonic alter-egos. The "O" or "SQUARE" button blows out shots while the "X" or "TRIANGLE" button swings a sword. The sword may be used to reflect and deflect enemy shots right back at them for a added bit of strategy and high scoring tactics. «NCS Game Notes»

Bleach Heat the Soul 2 [BEST]

Ichigo and Rukia return to the fighting game fold once again for blazing bouts against fellow Soul Society shinigami captains and lieutenants. Whereas the original Bleach Heat the Soul game only featured six characters as follows:
● Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado,
Abarai Renji
The sequel adds four more fighters as follows:
● Byakuya Kuchiki, Gin Ichimaru, Toushiro Hitsugaya, Kisuke Urahara
for a total of ten fighters at the outset of the game. Bleach 2 features a standard 1-on-1 fighting where players choose a fighter from the aforementioned 10 possible combatants. There's also a 13th Corps Team Division mode where one fights through the ranks of top shinigami captains and lieutenants. The shinigami use Soul Cutter sword attacks as well as Kido or magic spells to topple foes. Before each battle, the camera pans around the surroundings to give an idea of where the encounter is taking place. Chain combos are available where a sword slash is followed by more sword slashes or a punch and a kick. Chain them close enough together and the game will keep track of how many hits have been dealt. For those who need a little help with which combos are available to a character, press the "START" button and then highlight "Combo List" to view the special attacks. Guarding in the game is automatic - stand still and your onscreen champion will guard against all oncoming physical blows. «NCS G-Notes»

Bruce Lee Real Masterpiece

From the manufacturer

Enterbay's debut product series BRUCE LEE Game of Death utilizes its proprietary newly designed BL-1 type body. The main objective of the newly designed BL-1 body was to simulate the actual muscular physique of Bruce Lee while the aesthetic representation of Bruce's physique is important, during the design and development phases, the consideration of a harmonious balance between representing the aesthetic and the joint-articulation of the BL-1 body was essential. All the BL-1 bodies are individually serialized with matching numbers along with the certificate and the packaging.

Enterbay also made the revolutionary effort in designing the Interchangeable-Eye System (IES). The design eases the control of the eye placement by simply removing the hair unit. Enterbay also went through extensive research to replicate the most accurately represented models for the accessories. The Nunchaku and Shoes are both made from realistic materials to enhance the overall realism. The bamboo stick (Bako) and the adjutable bracelet which Bruce wore in the movie were also replicated, along with a laser etched wooden diorama for display.