Neo Geo Battle Coliseum [Best]

Tussle with famous and a few forgotten Neo Geo fighters in tag-team action where two combatants face off against another duo. Famous and familiar fighters include Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami from King of Fighters while we throw Kisarah Westfield from Toukai Gan Gan and Cyber Woo from King of the Monsters in the forgotten pile. We still remember Fuuma and Hanzo from the World Heroes games but that's because NCS staffers still plug in the World Heroes Perfect MVS every once in a while. A total of 40 fighters from many SNK games are featured and we're thankful that no one from Ragnagard made the roster to stink up the joint. «NCS Game Notes»

Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi [Best]

Debuting in Japanese arcades on September 15, 2005, the latest and purportedly last Samurai Spirits game rushes to a home console in record time - a mere 4 months. Are Japanese arcade operators with costly Atomiswave investments angry and peeved at the potential loss of revenue? You bet, especially since the PS2 conversion quality is very good and satisfying. Speedy, responsive, and full of samurai slashing action, SSTK is best played with a joystick but the Dual Shock joypad is acceptable as well.

In addition to all of the fighters from the Atomiswave coin-op original, hidden characters in the PS2 conversion game include Champuru (Mina Majikina's pet critter), Paku Paku (Cham Cham's simian friend), a coiffed version of Gaira aka Kim Ung Che, Shikuru & Mamahaha (Nakoruru's pet wolf and hawk), Rasetsu Galford, Poppy, and EX versions of Mina, Kusaregedo, Yoshi, and Yunfei. The referee with red and white flags returns to the background, watching the action like a hawk. The running courier also reprises his role and throws goodies onto the battlefield. Along with the selectable fighting styles from the Atomiswave source game, the PS2 version also includes three new fighting styles - Beast style for all the pets in the game, Fiesta Style, and Evil Style. «NCS Game Notes»

Naruto Narutimett Portable [Best]

Naruto and friends dash into battle where they pummel each other and perform chakra attacks in free flowing motion. Along with the foreground which serves as a battlefield, the background may be leapt into for avoidance or for tactical maneuvering to mount a new attack. Along with fists and feet of fury, weaponry such as shuriken, bombs, and more may be picked up on the battlefield and then thrown by the fighters to spice up the attack repertoire. Naruto kicks and punches up a storm as he leaps, jumps, rallies, and runs through the varied levels which are inspired by key locations from the wildly popular animation series. The cast members include Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, Gaara, Rock Lee, and more for a total of 14 characters at the outset and unlockables as objectives are achieved.

The characters that are fought and usable in the first few levels of the adventure portion of the game are as follows below. Once they are beaten, they join your ranks. All of the fighters listed below are usable at the outset in the fighting portion of the game:

Chouji Akimichi, Gaara of the Desert, Gai Maito, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Kakashi Hatake, Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga,
Rock Lee, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, and Tenten.

Bonus Item: All orders will include a black Naruto pouch.

Square Enix Master Arms

Square Enix has started preorders for four "Master Arms" toys which are scaled replicas of recognizable weapons from Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. The four weapons are as follows:

» Cerberus (15cm length)
» Keyblade (18cm length)
» Squall's Gunblade (23cm length)
» Seifer's Gunblade (26cm length)

Pricing is set at JPY3800 each or US$39 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late May '07.

Chocobo Cushion

If you're bipedal and not standing, you're probably sitting or sleeping at any one moment. A biped can opt to plop down on a chair or a stool but we'd recommend a bright yellow Chocobo Cushion which measures 41 x 45 cm (16.14 x 17.71") in area. That's enough space to accommodate most posteriors and may even serve double duty as a mattress for a cat, dog, or a pet ferret.
The Chocobo Cushion is filled with a soft yet resilient material that should provide years of service. If you're afraid of scuffing up Choc's brilliant yellow patina, we'd recommend wrapping it in plastic before squatting down upon it. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late March 2007.

Transformers Music Label Convoy

Takara jumps on the iPod bandwagon by announcing a diecast Transformers Convoy + audio speaker for use with the ubiquitous iPod music player. In normal mode, the Convoy looks like a rig hauling a big load in back. Pop the top however and two speakers are revealed along with a receptacle which the iPod slides into. Once in position, play some James Brown and shuffle your feet across the linoleum like the man himself. The Music Label includes an AC adapter. Please note this item is NOT compatible with the iPod Shuffle. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late July 2007.

Transformers Music Label Soundwave

In the Transformers animation series, Soundwave was a high-level Decepticon who specialized in communications. To parallel his abilities, Soundwave was able to transform from a boxy robot to a cassette deck. That's right, a cassette deck which was the music player of choice about 30 years ago. In the Transformers Music Label Soundwave product, the Decepticon skips the CD-Rom generation and leaps right into SD Memory. Pop a SD mini card filled with MP3s into the center slot and Soundwave will play them in either robot mode of cassette mode. Batteries not included. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late July 2007.

Japanese Import Preorder Update

On the heels of last week's preorder update, the NCS import schedule has been updated again. Some notable new listings:
Nintendo DS
3/22	Crayon Shin-Chan DS	Banpresto
	Custom Beat Battle: Draglade	Banpresto
3/29	D.Gray-Man: Kami no Shitotachi	Konami
	Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! DS	Takara
	Tamagotchi no Appare! Niji-Venture	Namco
Playstation 2
3/29	Taito Memories 2 Vol. 2 Gekan	Taito
4/19	Persona 3 Fes Append Edition	Atlus
	Persona 3 Fes Complete Game	Atlus
Playstation 3
3/01	Gundam Musou	Namco
3/22	Mist of Chaos	I. Factory