Fantasy Zone Complete Collection - New Import, In Stock

Sega has already released Fantasy Zone under the Sega Ages (Vol. 3) banner. That was 5 years ago when the Sega Ages series was still young in the tooth and its footing was unsteady. Thirty volumes later, Sega has marked Vol. 33 as Fantasy Zone Complete Collection which compiles six Fantasy Zone games and "gaidens" as follows:

» Fantasy Zone
» Fantasy Zone II Opa Opa no Namida (Original and Remake)
» Fantasy Zone Gear Opa Opa Jr no Bouken
» Super Fantasy Zone
» Opa-Opa: Fantasy Zone In the Maze
» Galactic Protector

Most of the Fantasy Zone titles include a Gallery section which include bonus artwork and scans of the original game manuals. A few games such as the System E version of Fantasy Zone II and the System 16 version of Fantasy Zone also include Super Play footage. Similar to all other Sega Ages 2500 games, a one-page leaflet is included which features historical data and details on the game. «NCS Game Notes»

Infinite Undiscovery - New Import, Split Shipments

From the Publisher

Since ancient times, people have believed the moon to be the throne of God, and have prospered by harvesting its energy. This is the story of a world where the destiny of man is bound to that of the moon. One fateful day, the moon was chained to the earth by an army of men calling themselves the Order of Chains. Led by a man whom the awestruck people christened the Dreadknight, the Order proceeded to ravage the land, and all lived in fear.

Our story begins deep within a forest, inside a prison governed by the Order of Chains. A boy named Capell is being held captive having been mistaken for a hero of the people... Suddenly, a girl named Aya comes to Capell’s rescue, helping him to escape. She is a companion of Sigmund, a hero dedicated to ending the tyranny of the Order of Chains. When they meet soon after, Capell and Sigmund discover to their astonishment that they are virtually identical in appearance... like twins.
Capell’s life is about to change forever. Unbeknown to him, he is destined to decide the fate of the world.

NOTE: Due to split import shipments from Japan, please note that we'll process and ship 1/2 of our reservations today and the remainder on Fri.

Quiz Magic Academy DS - New Import, In Stock

Konami's Quiz Magic Academy was originally released in Japanese arcades where the coin-ops found plenty of players who were willing to spend hard-earned money to take multiple choice quizzes. Part of the attraction was in the bouncy anime maidens who reacted to your answers on the lower part of the screen.

Konami has released five Quiz Magic Academy games in arcades thus far so it's only proper that they adapt the game for the home market. Important critical mass now lies in the Nintendo DS so that's the platform of choice for a game which features 70,000 questions (in Japanese) and Wi-Fi compatibility for online play against other connected gamers. Special events may be triggered to unlock animated sequences and a new "Academy Mode" features new characters who were designed exclusively for the DS conversion.

Tenchu 4 - Japanese Preorder

Tenchu celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with the fourth canonical game in the series. There's been numerous Tenchu adjuncts on the NDS, PSP, mobile phones, and the Xbox 360 but only three games in the Tenchu canon thus far. The first three Tenchu games were all on Playstation consoles but the fourth game is a Wii exclusive.

Rikimaru and Ayame are back as stealth assassins 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. Unsuspecting enemies who approach Rikimaru's general vicinity but are unaware of his presence may be killed with a single killing stroke. Tenchu's original developer Acquire returns to the franchise that they built and is developing Tenchu 4 with Wii Remote and Nunchuk waving controls so players can eviscerate enemies with realistic stabbing motions. Preorders are welcome to ship on October 23, 2008 at JPY6800 or US$63.90 from NCS.

General Updates

Pokemon Platinum Tomorrow Our shipment of Nintendo's latest Pokemon game will arrive on Friday and we'll process and ship preorders tomorrow. The official street date is Saturday in Japan but vendors were able to ship the game last night.

Japanese Supplier Update Last week, we posted a bit of troubling news about one of our Japanese suppliers whom we assumed had gone out of business. We had been dealing with the company since 2001 so the lack of communication since early August was unexpected. Since our tidbit, we were able to contact an employee. Actually, only one employee remains at the company. Based on our short conversation, business had been tough for them and Japanese manufacturers have changed credit terms for certain (or perhaps all?) distributors and sub-distributors in the supply chain. In other words, undercapitalized companies won't be able to procure the credit they need to purchase inventory and maintain operations. As such, the company is for all intents and purposes, bankrupt. Sadly, our bank deposits won't be refunded. Their closure will cause some supply disruptions for NCS in the short term but we've been moving preorders and restock orders to other vendors so that upcoming preorders won't be impacted too severely.

EBay Suspension We didn't think we had much of a following on Ebay but once they suspended us yesterday, a volley of email came in asking if our account had gone the way of the dodo. We didn't know the account had been suspended until the first customer email arrived on Wednesday morning. Ebay suspended "ncsxshop" because our listing for the Japanese Gamecube version of Donkey Konga Jungle Beat contained a reference to the Datel Freeloader boot disc. Apparently, advising prospective customers that a USA Gamecube requires the use of the Freeloader to play Japanese imports is considered encouraging copyright infringement in Ebay's eyes. At least we weren't accused of racketeering. The suspension will be for seven days from yesterday so our account will be active again on September 16. Perhaps the suspension will allow NCS' Ebay customers to seek out our shopping sites directly.

J-League Sakatsuku 2 for Japanese Saturn - Clearance

NCS Product Synopsis - Original Update: Sept 14, 2007

«©NCSX» Soccer team creation and management simulation featuring J-League teams, players, and even announcers. Up to 8 players can join in the action via 2 multi-taps. NCS has thousands of copies of this particular game in stock but we're not ready to dump them into a landfill yet.

Sale Offer: NCS' remaining inventory of J-League Sakatsuku 2 for the Japanese Sega Saturn is brand new, factory sealed, and in excellent condition. Price: $8.90 per copy which includes "free shipping" within the U.S. by USPS Media Mail Service. «Photos and volume discount details»