Thursday, December 10, 2009

NDS Luminous Arc 3 - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Somewhere in the Kingdom of Baldia, a gang of sprites who call themselves "Felicia" are searching for citizens who possess a latent force dubbed the "Eye of Power." The Felicia intend to exploit that power but the affected individuals protect themselves by activating their gifts and subsequently becoming "Magi Knights." One of the gifted is a lad named Refi who decides to hone his power by attending the Ugart Academy of Magic. Inside the school, Magi Knights from across the kingdom gather together and gird themselves for war. Refi interacts with fellow students at the school and also wanders the world on missions with strategic battles.
Early preorders for the Luminous Arc 3 Eyes will include an illustration book and animation DVD that's being given away by the publisher in 50% ratio. The DVD contains the opening cinemas for the three Luminous Arcs.

NDS Monokuro Boo & Baby Boo: Kururin Boo - New, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The black and white oinkers from Monokuro Boo have been tapped to appear in a puzzle game which is all about color matching action. The touch screen of the Nintendo DS features an 8x8 array of Baby Boo piglets which are rendered in 7 different colors and must be matched in sets of three to wax them from the screen. Direct color matches are simple to do but the magic of Monokuro Boo lies in the chain combos that occur when masterful color matching leads to six or seven or more chain reactions that clear out a chunk of piggies. The gameplay is reminiscent of Zooo which featured animal heads that also had to be swiveled and matched in vertical or horizontal groups of three.
Early preorders will include a bonus Monokuro Boo pouch which features the black and white pigs on either side.

PSP Bleach Soul Carnival 2 - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The characters in Bleach are generally lanky, tall, and athletic. Constant sword swinging and action-packed lifestyles do wonders to tone the muscles and keep the flab away. The physiology of the Bleach cast took a turn towards the childlike when Sony released the original Soul Carnival in October 2008. Ichigo was reduced to a squat munchkin who looked like a Pocket Fighter and Rukia could've been mistaken for a dwarf. They became little people. Little people who leapt, slashed, and rambled across 2D stages in a campaign against Hollows and their bosses.

Bleach Soul Carnival 2 plies more of the same side scrolling action where kid Ichigo and his compatriots run from left to right and attack Hollows. A slash meter on the lower-right corner of the screen tracks consecutive attacks that have been chained together. Ichigo grunts and makes animal noises with each attack to ensure that players are aware of the effort he puts into his Hollow-killing escapades. Special attacks are available to Ichigo and friends which dispatch enemies with more efficacy than sword slashes. New characters join the game as playable protagonists as the levels are conquered. Sony touts the appearance of over 120 Bleach characters in the game but most appear only as supporting cast members to move the story along.

Note: Bleach Soul Carnival 2 was originally introduced as a bonus in the PSP Bleach Heat the Soul 6 game.

PSP Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimett Accel 3 - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The Naruto Narutimett series graduates from the PS2 to the PSP with Bandai's new Narutimett Accel 3 which is a conventional 2D fighting game that takes place on two planes. The foreground is the primary area to battle opponents but when strategy or the flee instinct beckons, ninja combatants may leap into the background for a change of scenery. In addition to the one-on-one fighting mode, there's also an action-adventure mode with accompanying story line which involves the sinister Akatsuki organization.

Narutimett Accel 3 features a cast of ~50 fighters which include stalwarts such as Hinata Hyuga, Sakura, Itachi, and Sasuke who are joined by Kakashi Hatake, Jiraiya, Kabuchimaru, and Akatsuki members such as H
idan and Kakuzu. Bouts may be fought in 1-vs-1, 1-vs-2, and 1-vs-3 competitive fighting modes where players can hook up for a Naruto battle royale. Conventional attacks and projectile throws are available for the bulk of the fighting but special ninjutsu techniques may also be activated by hammering out button cue combinations that appear on screen. Devastating ougi attacks which are accompanied by short animation sequences are also available to the combatants

Early preorders will include three bonus Icha-Memo booklets which contain game secrets and techniques which were given away by Bandai in 50% ratio. Please note the booklets have all been allocated to customers today.

PSP R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Choco - New, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Shooters such as R-Type aren't normally genre-twisted into real-time strategy games but that's exactly what Irem did with their classic shmup. In the original R-Type Tactics (R-Type Command for us Yanks), players marshaled a contingent of fighters into the heart of the Bydo Empire to enact heavy damage on the alien race. The game was played on tactical grids with turn-based battle sequences. In the sequel to R-Type Tactics which is subtitled "Operation Bitter Chocolate," humanity has amassed an impressive arsenal of weapons after their war with the Bydo.

With all those weapons at their disposal and no one to use them against, man starts bickering against his fellow man. The bickering leads to battles which leads to further full-on military engagements where armadas are arrayed against opposing armadas. The Bydo were threatening the extinction of the human race and they were alien empire that could be eradicated without remorse. When man battles against man, the agenda isn't extinction but domination. Maybe some people are just plain mean.

In Operation Bitter Chocolate, players marshal R-Type ships once again on tactical grids where weapons are blasted, ships are deployed, and the units are used in an intelligent manner so as to guarantee success against the enemy. In addition to attack ships, repair vehicles and refueling vessels are available for well-rounded tactical strategizing and lengthy campaigns where attrition may be used as one means to win the war.

PSP Fuun Shinsengumi Bakumatsuden Portable - New, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» After Commodore Perry "encouraged" the Japanese to sign the Treaty of Kanagawa on March 31st, 1854 and therefore opened up trade with the United States, Japan was thrown into chaos. Japan's 200 years of self-imposed isolation ended and the samurai ranks began to question the power of the Tokugawa Shogunate and its ability to defend Japan. In his second trip to Japan, Perry had threatened to shell Edo if his demands were not met and the Shogunate had buckled too easily to his whims. Journeying from the whole of Japan, marauding bands of roshis (masterless samurai warriors - not ronins or rurounis) gathered in Kyoto and sought to topple the perceived weak Shogunate and repel the western invaders who had arrived on the black ships.

Taking place from 1860 through 1869 and reversing the roles of the prequel (Fuun Shinsengumi), players join the ranks of the roshi and battle the Shinsengumi who are policemen hired by the Shogunate to keep the peace. Walk around town, interact with fellow conspirators and engage the team-tactics of the Shinsengumi who beat down on insurgents in squads of four or more. Instead of being limited to Kyoto like the original, the new action-slasher takes place across Japan as organized gangs seek to cause ruckuses throughout the land.

Historical recreations in the game include the Ikeda-ya slaughter where disgruntled Ishin Shishi (imperial swordsman) gathered in 1864 to plot the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogunate. After the meeting, many of the Ishin Shishi stayed in the Ikeda-ya inn and drank until they fell asleep...

Wii Tales of Graces - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Three disparate kingdoms rule the world of Efinea - Fendel, Strata, and Windol - all of which vie for supremacy over the other. In the land of Windol sits a city named Lhant which is governed by a lord named Aston Lhant. Aston's first-born is a lad named Asbel who goes off to become a knight but upon his father's death, returns home to rule the principality. Namco's latest Tales game follows the story of Asbel and a girl named Sophie who helps him fend off an attack perpetrated by troops from Fendel. The mysterious Sophie suffers from amnesia which is a regularly used plot device in Japanese video games since it adds intrigue to the character.

Tales of Graces features the "Style Shift Linear Motion Battle System" which is just a convoluted way of saying "Slashing with two attack styles"
where Asbel and company can switch between two types of combat skills. Namco touts Nintendo DS linkage where mini-games may be downloaded from the Tales software for portable play.

Early preorders will ship with a bonus Tales of Graces Special DVD and a Costume DLC card in 50% ratio. The 50% ratio means that Namco will give away one set of bonuses for every 2 copies of the game.

Wii Toshinden - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» When the first round of 32-bit console wars kicked off roughly 15 years ago, the Playstation had Toshinden in its corner and the Saturn had Sega's very own Virtua Fighter. If we were to judge a console's potential success solely on the quality of its first fighting game, we would have awarded the trophy to the Saturn. Toshinden was decent for its time but Virtua Fighter had depth. As it turns out, depth didn't mean squat.

Fast forward a few years and Toshinden reached four volumes in its canon along with a couple of gaming adjuncts but it was just one face in a crowded field of fighting games from every publisher. Even Square released a fighting game (Tobal) to test the genre. In those years, the Playstation became the 800-lb juggernaut of the gaming industry which mowed down our beloved Saturn like a combine slashes innocent stalks of wheat.

Fast forward many more years and Toshinden's making a re-appearance on the Wii. We're somewhat puzzled by its revival since the game never attracted the hardcore player and it never stood out once everyone started making fighting games back in the day. The new Toshinden is described as an "Easy Operation" fighter which means the controls are rudimentary without complicated moves or combos to bog down casual gamers. A new cast of characters is featured in the game including a blue-haired lad named Toji Shindo who slashes at foes with an ornate tapered blade...

Wii PokePark Wii - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Take a ride to the Pokepark amusement paradise and step into the padded paws of a red-cheeked monster named Pikachu. By romping around the natural splendor of the park, Pikachu befriends other monsters and engages in mini-games that involve fighting (Rhyperior's Heat Up Fight), racing (Salamence's Super Sky Race), athletics (Venusaur's Rope Swinging), and others.

Between the mini-games, players may also take snapshots of the environs and store them to memory or online repository for posterity. At the outset of the action, players take control of Pikachu and gallop through a few simple exercises such as leaping over a log, opening a chest, and performing a blazing electrical attack on a sleeping Snorlax who's blocking an entrance. Since there's no way Pikachu can move the monster himself, press the "A" and "B" buttons simultaneously on the Wii Remote to zap Snorlax with a bolt of electricity and he'll wake up, lumber over to another spot, and then doze off once again.

All preorders shipping today will include a bonus Wii Remote Pikachu 3D sticker that's being given away by Nintendo in 1:1 ratio.
While supplies last, NCS will also include the bonus decal with new orders.

X360 Samurai Spirits Sen - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» In our opinion, some games work well in 2D while others are perfectly realized in 3D. The Samurai Spirits series of games belong in the former category while an adventure such as Metal Gear Solid 4 is only possible in a 3D world. Despite Samurai Spirits' perfectly unbroken 2D formula, SNK has nevertheless launched four 3D renditions of the game already. Four of them. The most recent 3D interpretation was released last year in Japanese arcades on Taito Type X hardware. Titled Samurai Spirits Sen, the game features Haohmaru with hair that is rooster-like in all its glory and a cast of 26 fighters that includes new characters such as Takechiyo, Angelica, and Gallows who join familiar faces such as Nakoruru, Galford, and Charlotte. The fighters bout on beautifully rendered battlefields that swivel around the combatants as they slash, sidle, and jump. The action runs fast and fluid although it can skew towards the generic.

Early preorders will ship with a bonus "Bastard Sword" toy that's being given away by the publisher in 50% ratio. The toy is a a miniature recreation of the weapon that a blonde warrior named Suzuhime uses in the game. She's the butcher seen on the center of the game cover wearing a billowing red dress that's hiked behind her like a peacock train.