Soma Bringer - New Import, Restock Soon

The world in Soma Bringer doesn't use crude oil or solar power. It uses Soma which is plentiful, easily harnessed, and is critical to industry in the land of Barnea. However, strange visitors have broken into the world and the equilibrium of Soma has become unhinged. To restore balance to Soma and crush a gang of monsters along the way, a formidable seven-member strike team called the Pharzuph (7th Division) is assembled to venture forth into the world and set things right once again.

Nintendo bought out Monolith (developer of the Xenosaga games) last year and the first game that the recently acquired crew releases is an action-RPG dubbed Soma Bringer which features music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda. «NCS Game Notes»

Tori no Hoshi: Aerial Planet - New Import, In Stock

Join the birds in the sky and embark on an action adventure that follows the journey of a lad who flies across a world primarily covered by water. Billed as a flight simulator without conflict, players fly and commingle with flocks of feathered friends that populate the planet.

In the intro to the game, a damaged spacecraft passes over a blue-tinted planet as it tumbles through space. The ship was meant to dock with a research station on the planet below but it has suffered a catastrophic hull implosion. The spacecraft eventually releases a capsule from an underside hatch which plummets into the planet. After a fiery descent, the capsule projects its landing gear and makes a safe landing. In the next scene, a lad in a protective suit emerges from the capsule and eventually takes to the air with a glider-like contraption. His mission is to locate the research station.

Aerial Planet is the kind of game that requires a dedicated time investment to get the controls down pat. A short tutorial starts the action off which is an invaluable starting point to learn the nuances of how the glider works and wings through the air. «NCS Game Notes»

Hokuto no Ken [The Best] - New Import, In Stock

Originally released for the Atomiswave arcade hardware in 2005, Sega by way of Arc System Works finally unleashes Hokuto no Ken for the home console market. Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, the fighters in Hokuto no Ken live and die by the fist. Kenshiro Kasumi is one such fighter who struts around in leather duds with chest bared and pectorals rippling. Sharing the doomed world with him are gangs of roaming biker gangs and bandits who prey upon an unprotected populace. To get a little law and order back into the mix, Kenshiro battles thugs with his mighty Hokuto Shinken martial arts skills. Ken's encounters in the wastelands of the future invariably end in tears and gore. Lots of chunky red gore as in exploding bodies, projectile blood ejection, and severe organ damage.

Despite the fighting nature of the Hokuto no Ken manga and animation, there's been more video games based on the purely Japanese phenomenon of pachi-slot than fighting. To balance the scales a little bit, Arc System Works of Guilty Gear fame creates a fast-paced 2D fighting game which features 10 brusque and bulging bruisers from Hokuto no Ken. There's the mighty Kenshiro, the conqueror Raoh, his brother Toki, Juda, Thouther, and five more muscle-bound combatants. «Game Notes»

PS2 Night Wizard: Denial of the World LE - New, In Stock

The limited edition of Night Wizard is packaged with two items:

1) Drama CD which features the actors who supplied the voices in the game.

2) A 16cm fixed posed Elis Shiho figure which is painted, assembled, and ready for display. Elis wears her uniform from the animated series.

Simple Wii Series 5: The Block Kuzushi - New, In Stock

After Taito's Arkanoid made its debut in 1986, we recall dozens of clones were released on computers such as the Amiga, Atari ST and C=64. Most of the clones were fed to a crazed fanbase in Europe but savvy importers got a chance to play games such as Giganoid and Impact as well. In 1999, D3 Publisher started making their own Arkanoid clone dubbed Block Kuzushi and the inaugural volume was released under the Simple 1500 Series for the original Playstation. Through the years, Block Kuzushi has been ported over to other major consoles and handhelds. It was only a matter of time before it reached the Wii.

By using both the Nunchuk and the Wiimote, players move the paddle on the bottom of the screen and bat a ball at bricks overhead. A new feature in the Wii version of Block Kuzushi is the "acceleration move" where the Wiimote is whisked upwards just as the ball is about to hit the paddle. The center of the paddle will bulge upwards and hit the ball with extra force so that it zooms through layers of bricks. The effect is temporary and only lasts for about 2 seconds but it's a nifty little power-up that adds an effective attack to the paddle's brick-breaking abilities. «Game Notes»

Simple Wii Series 6: The Wai Wai Combat - New, In Stock

The gaming genre that we affectionately know as "run and gun" has been around since the early years of the video game trade. One favorite that we remember fondly is Ikari Warriors and another is Commando. As the years passed and technology evolved, gamers were treated to ever more elaborate run and gun games such as Castle Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake. D3 Publisher's track record with the genre hasn't been good. Case in point: The Fuhyou from 2006 was an acceptable game but it just wasn't very good. With this in mind, NCS booted up Wai Wai Combat with a tinge of trepidation.

Newsflash: the Wai Wai Combat won't sell any Japanese Wii consoles. It will however cement D3 Publisher's mediocre record in the run and gun category. Players take control of an agent who explores three expansive stages and shoots at the enemies within. A gun is regulation issue equipment but different weapons may be picked up including a hammer, bombs, a laser rifle, and even a bazooka. In the first level of the game, a space station serves as the setting where ten enemies must be blasted away before you're able to proceed to the sea platform. «Game Notes»

Uchi Tsuri Sega Bass Fishing - New Import, In Stock

Get Bass! for the Dreamcast was Sega's first foray into the world of virtual fishing. That was nine years ago. Back then, Sega released a special Dreamcast fishing controller which featured a reel that one spun to bring in the big bass.

Today's successor to Get Bass! also uses a special controller for fishing - the motion sensitive Wiimote which allows fishermen to stand in front of their televisions and reel 'em in with intuitive flicking motions. The game features 40 stages on which to fish such as the marshes, near a dam, in front of a canal, and in an idyllic country setting. Twenty types of lures of different stripes may also be used to attract the bass including one that's shaped like a frog and another which mimics the movement of shrimp. Factors which change in the different stages include terrain, time, temperature, season, and assorted variables in the setting.

For champion-level fishermen, the SBFA tournament mode allows players to test their mettle against ardent rivals who are champions in their own right. Other modes in the game include the default Get Bass Mode and the Nature Trip Mode where players get to enjoy a fishing jaunt on their own time without the onerous condition of competition. «Game Notes»

The Idolm@ster Live For You! - New Import, In Stock

Japan is a land of idols. Year in and year out, the public appetite for idols is sated with a constant stream of fresh new faces who join their more seasoned cohorts. The shelf life of an idol is generally fleeting and turnover is rapid due to the fickle nature of the fan base and their constant hunger for newer, younger, and/or different.

Computer-generated idols and the games dedicated to managing such idols are not new. On the Playstation, there was Debut 21 and Dreamcast fans got to manage talent in Super Producers. Namco's Idolmaster from last year has been one of the more popular idol management simulations in the past few years and the sequel released today looks to repeat a commanding performance.

In Idolmaster: Live For You!, players get to manage a troupe of idols who are all invariably chipper, lively, and somewhat lovely. As a producer who's goal is to create entertaining shows, your duties include playing a button-tapping rhythm game that's evocative of Taiko no Tatsujin where the onscreen cues must be hit as they reach the target area so that the girls dance with spirit and verve. «Game Notes»

The Idolm@ster Live For You! LE - New, Restock Soon

When the original Idolmaster shipped last year, consumers were given the choice of a regular edition and a limited edition. The latter was an overly elaborate affair which included a faceplate, a music video DVD, an art booklet, and the biggest bonus in gaming history - a toy replica of a performance stage and eleven idol figures which were all decked out in matching pink outfits.

For the limited edition sequel to Idolmaster, Namco tones things down by a couple of notches. There's no new faceplate nor an updated stage populated with figures but what buyers will receive are:

» An 84 page art booklet which contains illustrations and idol portraits
» Visual Music DVD (Please note: The disc is Region 2)
» A laminated slipcase with variant artwork which stores everything

Bonus Schwag: All preorders will ship with a bonus prepaid card which contains a scratch-off code. By using the card, players will be able to download the first new append song free of charge.

Hellboy UMD - Clearance

Sony's Playstation Portable UMD-Video format was so promising in the beginning (not really, but work with us here for the sake of today's sale) and retailers stocked up on discs. When sellers buy inventory, the hope is that the inventory will eventually sell and rake in profits. At the outset, UMD-Video sales were surprisingly tepid for an "exciting" new format that could potentially revolutionize the way humanity watched movies. PSP games were selling by the boatload but UMD movies were trickling out in meager quantities. Maybe the prices were too high and maybe there were alternative ways to watch movies on the PSP.

NCS didn't stock up on too many Japanese UMD-Videos. We can count our complete library on one hand. However, for the titles that we did bring in, we were obligated by our supplier to order fairly large quantities. One of those UMDs was Hellboy. We'll be keeping a copy for our private collection only for the cover artwork which is different from the American UMD-Video. We hope to shovel out sell the rest at a reduced price.

NCS Sale Offering
Pricing per Japanese Hellboy UMD is set at US$15.90 which includes free shipping by USPS Media Mail. Inventory is new and factory sealed. Please note Japanese UMDs only play on Japanese PSPs. [Larger photos]