Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan

Namco's Mojipittan releases have sold over 500,000 copies in various forms over the past few years. The game finally reaches the stylus tapping mechanics of the Nintendo DS with a jam-packed and fun-filled upgrade. The main game mode features over 400 different Japanese language puzzles and a versus mode pits two players against each other wirelessly. In our travels within the software this morning, we also checked out a map feature. The first map is of the Middle East with Iraq in the center and colored aqua-blue and Iran is to the right in bright red. Studying the maps will come in handy when playing the Quiz Mode of the game.
Mojipittan is a Japanese word creation puzzle game where a 100,000 word dictionary tracks legal and proper words. «more»

Garouden Break Blow: Fist or Twist

The story of Bunshichi Tanba continues in the second Garouden Break Blow game for Playstation 2. Bunshichi is a hardened brawler who's always searching for a challenge against elite fighters. To this end, he visits different schools to find the top fighter in each discipline and expertise. When Bunshichi is handily defeated by a warrior named Toshio Kajiwara, he retreats for a few years and eventually returns as a much more powerful fighter who's ready to brawl once more.

The second Garouden game introduces the Region Damage System where attacks to specific parts of an opponent's body will affect how he performs in the battle. Concentrating your attacks on another fighter's head, arms, legs, and chest will cause brain concussions, broken bones, and assorted fractures which limit the fighter's abilities. As a body region takes on damage, it'll show up on the body indicator which turns different colors to indicate trauma. New game modes include "Tournament" and "Team Battle" to mix up the standard 1-on-1 bouts in the "Story" and "Arcade" modes. For fighters who need a little practice, the "Training" mode gives players a chance to test special attacks, grapple moves, and rocket-powered combos. New characters are also introduced to join the original cast. «more»

Sonic to Himitsu no Ring

From the publisher

Sonic brings his trademark speed and attitude to the Wii in his first solo adventure since 1991. In Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic finds himself in the colorful and vibrant world of the Arabian Nights tales. When Sonic reads the book of Arabian Nights, a Genie comes out and tells him the last few pages are missing! Using his magic, the Genie transports Sonic into the world of the Arabian Nights. There he embarks on his most outrageous journey to date through an expansive 3D world brought to life with realistic water reflections, light bloom, and lifelike physics.

Sonic and the Secret Rings makes custom use of the innovative Wii remote to create a truly immersive gaming experience. Mimicking the energy and movements of Sonic, players actively perform specialized moves with the controller, bringing their stamina and wide range of motion into the action! Players will hurtle Sonic forward by rotating the controller from side to side and perform combo moves with a flick of the wrist. This, combined with a dizzying sense of speed, will quickly draw players of all ages into the action!

General Updates

PS3 Virtua Stick High Grade All preorders are shipping today but our suppliers gave us the wrong box dimensions for the individual sticks. We didn't realize measuring a box would be so difficult but alas, that's how it is. We're going to scramble for proper-fitting cardboard shipping boxes today but we should be able to get everything out this afternoon. Additional supplies of the VFHG are expected for next week but the high shipping costs + fuel surcharges to import the sticks are making us reluctant to bring them. As such, we will likely only order enough to fill any remaining backorders. Please note that the Virtua Stick High Grade only works with PS3 games. It is incompatible with PS2 software played on the PS3.

TOY Shipments Some toy shipments arrived earlier today but we haven't had a chance to break down the boxes yet. We'll check them out later today and post the new arrivals on Thursday's website update.

Mario Hats and why they haven't shipped yet One of the most frequent questions we've received in the past few weeks goes something like this: "Why hasn't my Mario Hat order shipped yet? I paid for overnight delivery and I need it quickly!" Please note that the product title for the Mario Hat reads as follows: Super Mario Bros Hat [JPN Preorder]. The words "JPN Preorder" means that the item is a Japanese Preorder item. We define a preorder as an item that isn't in stock yet but is expected sometime in the future. If we look at the product description, the following words may be found: "Pricing is set at US$29 per hat and preorders are scheduled to ship in mid-late April 2007." This sentence means that the item is expected to ship in April 2007 which is next month. We will also post an update once the hats are in stock. Thanks.

Wayback Machine NCS We thought this was trippy.