Whenever Chocobo's out in the wild, the feathered beast generally runs, pecks, and squawks up a storm. Add one more activity to Chocobo's to-do list: reading.
With Square Enix's new Chocobo plush, the big bird apparently enjoys reading from a magic book of spells. Measuring 18cm tall, Chocobo kicks out its legs and uses them as a book holder to prop up the thick tome. By using its wingtips, Chocobo flips through the pages of the volume to find the spell that it needs to cast... Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late November 2006 at US$23 per plush.
Masculine Virtuaroids populate the ranks of Virtual On and its sequels. The male-laden theme continued in PS2 Virtual On Marz but one fighter has always stood out from the rest - Fei-Yen. Fem-bot. Decked out in frilly armor and fitted with pink fronds atop her helm, Fei-Yen looks the part of a fainting lassie until one realizes that she weighs a few tons and would decimate a city block in the space of a few minutes. Regardless of her power however, she still sports a pair of red shoes and is naturally pretty in pink.
Hasegawa starts preorders for a Fei-Yen kit which features ABS and PVC pieces to assemble together and paint in order to create the mighty Virtuaroid. The figure is set to 1/100 scale and based on the detail of the promotional image from Hassy, appears to be an arduous task to construct and complete. Pricing is set at JPY3000 or US$29 from NCS and preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late November 2006.
In the early 80s, Voltron was the $#!T. Gullible kids rushed home every day to nosh on toaster pizza and watch five component lions mesh together to form a massive robot which struck down foes with a massive sword. Phrases such as "Activate interlock" and "Form blazing sword" became mantras. Or something like that.
Over two decades after the Voltron heyday, Yamato announces a limited edition diecast Voltron figure priced at JPY398,000 or approximately US$365 from NCS. The robot is fully posable and includes a "blazing" sword which may be clenched betwixt the maw of a hand-lion. Details were sparse as of last night with regards to Voltron's dimensions and scale but we'll add more information once we receive further details. Preorders are welcome today to ship in mid-late November 2006.
What NCS learned from this weekend's Tokyo Game Show:
» The PS3 launches in Japan on November 11 . We're likely going to import the 20gig model. Pricing from distributors is still up in the air but we're anticipating a 1.25X multiplier on the retail price of JPY49,980. The USA version of the PS3 with 20gig HDD ships on November 17 at US$499. All iterations of the PS3 will include an HDMI port.
» Pink and Silver Japanese PSPs are scheduled to ship sometime in the fourth quarter. Preorders will be opened soon.
» Kojima's stock market trading game for the Nintendo DS will use historical price data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. No word yet on whether traders will be able to write covered calls on positions that are underwater or purchase TOPIX 150 puts to protect a net long portfolio.
» D3 Publisher proved that Oanechan Bara cosplay is possible.
After a two year hiatus, NCS resumes our scrap heap scramble sales from early 2004 this week. MOTD will resume next week.
The slimmer Saturn pads were impossible to find in new condition for the past year or so... until NCS found them in Japan. Today's inventory of original USA Saturn controllers were exported to a vendor in Tokyo sometime in the late 90s. Nearly 10 years later, NCS imports them back into the USA for our sales. Perhaps it's an indication of how the trade winds blow in our business.
The inventory is new but note that the cardboard boxes are somewhat aged and may feature surface features such as dimples, slight creases, and some weathering. The controllers inside are however fresh, new, and free of cosmetic defects in their respective plastic baggies. Their cords are still wound and wrapped from the factory in that special way. Pricing is set at US$40.50 shipped with USPS Priority Mail anywhere in the contiguous United States in a sturdy cardboard box with adequate packaging material inside.
Please note that our shop does not process transactions in real time and orders will be charged US$40.50 only. Please disregard the shipping quotation on the order form. Thank you.
To ensure that the male heir to the throne experiences life as a normal human to better himself, the family of God and his godlings go slumming on Earth. Samatarou Kamiyama is the eldest son of the Almighty and attends high school like an average teenager but is accompanied by an angel named Tenko. Samatarou's every whim is granted by his father Osamu, which Tenko tries to prevent since Sam must experience human life as a mortal. Joining the cast are goddess sisters Meme and Misa along with an overly flirtatious mom named Venus.
One day, a new transfer student named Kumiko Komori catches Sam's eye and he resolves to win her hand on his own and without intervention from poppy. God tries to interfere initially but his omnipotent hand is soon slapped out of the scene and things progress at their natural pace. Since Tenko has an attraction to Samatarou, a bizarre love triangle plays out with hilarity and hi jinx. The PS2 game follows the storyline of the animation series closely where players take control of Samatarou and interact with Tenko and Kumiko. To add another love interest to the story, a third girl named Akane Himura is introduced. «NCS Game Notes»
Akane Motomiya returns to the world of Ryo in another Harukanaru Jikuu game where the teenager interacts with a group of male handlers and assists them in another conflict against the Oni. At the outset of the adventure, a half-breed member of the Oni named Sefuru appears and challenges the Seiryuu. The boys dispatch his quickly and send him on his way but he'll be back... with reinforcements. The Harukanaru series diverges from conventional romance games by mixing a fairly substantial battle system with the interaction scenarios where attacks and techniques are used to beat back evil hordes of creatures.
In the first battle scene of the game, Minamoto no Yorihisa (aka Seiryuu of Heaven) with his leopard print shawl and Morimura Tenma in his muscle shirt battle a spider with the face of a demon. Yorihisa attacks with trademark volleys such as the Koufuuranjin which is a wind blast and Tenma ignites Shouraigeki where lightning strikes attack the target. The other Seiryuu such as Inori, Suzaku of Heaven and Nagareyama Shimon, Suzaku of Earth appear early in the game but they're eventually joined by all of the other familiar faces such as Takamichi, Tomomasa, Eisen, and Yasuaki who all have their own special attacks to beat back adversity. «NCS Game Notes»
The limited edition of Harukanaru Jikuu no Ichi de Mai Ichi Yoru includes two bonus items as follows:
1) A hardcover book which contains artwork of the main characters in the game, hero and heroine sketches, and images of the characters in various interaction scenes.
2) A 4-page fold-out artwork scene which depicts a number of the heroes in action sequences.
Akane Motomiya returns to the world of Ryo in another Harukanaru Jikuu game where the teenager interacts with a group of male handlers and assists them in another conflict against the Oni. At the outset of the adventure, a half-breed member of the Oni named Sefuru appears and challenges the Seiryuu. The boys dispatch his quickly and send him on his way but he'll be back... with reinforcements. The Harukanaru series diverges from conventional romance games by mixing a fairly substantial battle system with the interaction scenarios where attacks and techniques are used to beat back evil hordes of creatures.
Whenever Chocobo's out in the wild, the feathered beast generally runs, pecks, and squawks up a storm. Add one more activity to Chocobo's to-do list: reading.
