Yattaman DS 2 - New Import, In Stock

«©NCSX» Yattaman has been part of cartoon culture since the 70's and the characters are still recognized by a sizable portion of the Japanese population. Earlier this year, Takara Tomy released Yattaman DS which was a side scrolling platform game featuring the heroes of Yattaman doing their thing. The wrinkle was in the gadgets and weapons from the popular animated series which were usable to overcome hairy situations.

The sequel to Yattaman looks a lot like the first game. Seven new stages are featured including a sprint across the African Savannah, the desert, ancient ruins, and even an underwater trek for a total of 54 areas to explore. Similar to the first Yattaman game, a bonus side game features mech-fighting action where a Yatta animal robot is piloted against one of six robotic adversaries.

Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces - New Import, In Stock

Namco's Ace Combat series of flight simulators have generally focused on modern jetfighters such as the F/A-18 Hornet, MIG-29 Fulcrum, F-22 Raptor, and F-16 Falcon. In Innocent Aces, the aircraft hearken from a previous generation when propellers were still situated on the nose of a fighter to provide thrust.

The game is partitioned into missions which start with a bit of dramatic intrigue and voice acting before the action starts. Controls are handed through a combination of the nunchuk and Wii Remote. The nunchuk acts as a flight yoke while the remote serves to thrust (point upwards) and brake (point down) the plane. When flying through the air and targeting multiple enemy bogeys in the horizon, they'll be outlined in green squares so you can get a bead on them. While the aerial combat is happening, communications from HQ appear on the upper-left corner of the screen which is accompanied by speech. On the lower-right, dials indicating speed and orientation are shown. On the lower-left, the overview of the local area is shown with enemy planes shown as dots. After every successful mission, a short interlude is shown which moves the story along before the next area of conflict is opened up. The game features 12 planes and 26 different parts that may be bolted on to enhance performance. Over 30 minutes of animation were produced for the game to bolster the story.

Little Big Planet [USA] - New Release, In Stock

Sony's LBP arrived yesterday afternoon and preorders have shipped. New orders are welcome to ship today. If you reside in the USA and order the game (with USPS Express Mail) before 4PM EST today, you'll receive the game tomorrow.

From the Publisher
Developed by Media Molecule, LittleBigPlanet is a new PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system community-based game with a hugely innovative concept behind it. Players meet on a blue and green planet scattered with individual plots - and use their character's amazing abilities to play, create and share what they build with other gamers throughout the world via PLAYSTATION Network.
The LittleBigPlanet experience starts with players learning about their character's powers to interact physically with the environment. There are places to explore, creative resources to collect and puzzles to solve - all requiring a combination of brains and collaborative teamwork.

Weekly Famitsu Vol. 1037 - New Import, Subscriptions

NCS Product Synopsis
Cover Date: October 31, 2008
«©NCSX» The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu includes coverage of the following games and/or events:

» Continued coverage on the Tokyo Game Show 2008 with more photos, notable games, and a short synopsis for each publisher's wares.
» Preview for Star Ocean: The Last Hope for X360 which ships on Feb 19, 2009. The main characters and the prologue are divulged.
» The Review Crew ranks Ketsui Death Label (7/8/8/6), Kimi no Yuusha (7/8/7/6), Akumajou Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin (7/8/8/7), Bleach: Soul Carnival (8/8/8/7) and Tenchu 4 (8/7/8/6).
» Famitsu covers the debut of the PSP-3000 and shows the specs.
» Tactical guide for Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2 which shows players how to carve out a dungeon so that certain monsters are created.
» Final Fantasy Dissidia preview with beautiful screenshots.

General Updates

Cyber Maid Alice in Stock (電脳フィギュア　アリス) All preorders for the Cyber Maid Alice PC-based Augmented Reality product will ship this afternoon. The shipment arrived too late in the morning to update for today but we'll post a writeup on Monday. To view the Cyber Maid Alice character in action, the manufacturer Geisha Tokyo has posted up a new Youtube video which shows the possibilities and the outfits that Alice can wear.

Pikmin Plushes Soon The long-awaited and once-delayed Pikmin Plushes from Sanei are scheduled to be released to Japanese distribution next week. NCS expects our shipments to arrive in the first or second week of November. All preorders submitted thus far are guaranteed and new orders are welcome to ship once the Pikmin are in stock.

Japanese Xbox 360 Arcade Packs The latest batch of Xbox 360s that arrived this week are from lot number "0837" which means the HDMI port and Falcon chipset are present.

Brain Trainers for Japanese PSP - Clearance

NCS Product Synopsis
Original Arrival Dates: October 20, 2005, May 24, 2006
«©NCSX» A couple of years ago, Nintendo ignited a new gaming genre which challenged gamers with arithmetic, mental exercises, and other interactions which required thinking and reasoning. Sega jumped on the bandwagon with Brain Trainer which sold relatively well...

Sale Offering: NCS' remaining inventory of the PSP Brain Trainers for the Playstation Portable is new, factory sealed, and in excellent condition. Pricing is set at US$39.90 for both titles which includes "free" shipping by USPS Media Mail within the U.S. «Full NCS Brain Trainer Synopses»