Princess Crown [Atlus Best]

In front of a fireplace, a black cat roams around while a grandma sitting in a rocking chair decides to read a story to a young girl munchkin. Take control of the little girl, pick up the book on the floor and hand it over to 'gamma. Leave the scene alone and the cat will meow and lick its paw while pacing back and forth. Leave it alone for an hour and the kitty will pace around while grandma sits around like a stone golem.

As the story begins, a mighty blue muscled demon is seen in a hall full of dead soldiers while tufts of flames flicker briskly. Three knights arrive to beat back the creature but are quickly bounced backwards to groans. A knight and a blue-cloaked wizard remain and the magic user calls upon lightning to strike the creature. No good. More soldiers arrive but are beaten back also. The Queen decked out in armor enters the fray and splits the creature, leaving it a mass of bones. Women hold the power in Princess Crown.

Twenty five years later a new princess is crowned by the wizard to take over the reign of the kingdom. After the coronation, colored paper falls from the sky and Gradriel's assembled court is at attention. Before the actual game starts, Gradriel will have a practice fight against one of her knights. This would be a good time to practice the Princess' moves since the knight isn't particularly aggressive in his attacks and is akin to a dummy trainer who acts as a punching bag. «more»

Mana Kazama Reversible Huggable Pillow

Toys Planning released a Ren Nanase Reversible Huggable Pillow last year which featured the infamous nurse of the Yakin Byouyou animation. This year, the company follows up with a Mana Kazama Reversible Huggable Pillow where the Ren look-alike lies prone and seemingly positioned in a defenseless posture.
The "Reversible" bit in the product title refers to the two different images on each side of the pillow. On the top side, Mana is in her crisp nurse uniform. On the flipside, Mana's bosom is revealed and her nurse uniform has been hiked up a tad to reveal white skivvies underneath. Similar to the Ren Nanase Pillow, the Mana version measures 107cm x 45cm or 42.12" long by 17.71" wide. It's also thick and fluffy and filled with stuffing inside.

Star Wars: Luke vs Darth Vader

Kotobukiya celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars with a limited edition "Star Wars: Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader PVC Figure Kit" which pits father against son in a dramatic battle scene. Darth appears to have the upper hand with his saber drawn and cape flowing. Luke's wearing a Tie-Fighter pilot's breathing apparatus, perhaps in an eerie homage to poppy. The kit is set to 1/7 scale and only 1977 units will be produced.
Pricing is set at JPY20000 or US$229 from NCS and preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late May 2007. Please note that pricing takes into account the dimensional weight shipping costs to import the kit into the United States.

Tachikoma Yellow Soft Vinyl Figure

Tachikoma are usually painted blue and speak with squeaky voices. However, in episode 12 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, two color variants were shown: A silver-painted Tachikoma which was eventually destroyed and a yellow-painted model which was also wrecked in an all-out assault against the Umibozu.
Fewture Model has started preorders for a Tachikoma Yellow soft-vinyl figure which is scheduled to ship in May 2007. The toy measures 24cm in height and looks resplendent with its golden hue and bumblebee-themed stripes on its legs. The Tachikoma is posable and may be arranged in different positions that show off its versatility and combat readiness. Pricing is set at JPY6500 or US$65 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late May.

Xenosaga Legend Episode 2

Preorders are welcome for the second series of Xenosaga Legend trading figures which ship in mid-late June 2007. The product solicitation mentions that 5 figures are featured in the set (+2 secrets) and each factory sealed box contains 8 randomly-packaged figures. Pricing is set at JPY700 per figure or US$65 per factory sealed box of eight from NCS.

General Updates

Virtua Fighter 5 HG Stick Update A batch of fixed HG joysticks are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday of next week and all preorders will ship from that first shipment. We may have surplus stock for new orders and if so, we'll contact customers who have inquired about availability by Wednesday afternoon. Please note that pricing was hiked to US$109 and we've asked customers to re-confirm their preorders by email request earlier this week. If you have a Hotmail or Yahoo email account and didn't receive our message, please check the Trash folder if your spam settings are set to a high filtration level.

Next Week Looks a little slow. We'll do good numbers with PS2 Garouden Break Blow: Fist or Twist but there's nothing else import-wise that looks viable for the domestic market. We'll list some sale items next week and an interesting Gameboy cartridge that we found in storage.