Super Paper Mario

From the publisher

Mario and Luigi are enjoying a lazy afternoon at their house when they hear the terrible news: Princess Peach has been kidnapped! The two brothers head straight for Bowser's castle to get her back, but Bowser is just as surprised about Peach's kidnapping as they are. At that moment, a strange top-hatted villain warps in and abducts everyone but Mario. The mysterious villain then forces Peach and Bowser to get married, creating a rift of dark energy that threatens to tear the universe apart. Only Mario can save the day ... but he can't do it alone.

The newest chapter of the Paper Mario story isn't just out of this world ... it's out of this dimension. What at first glance appears to be a 2-D side-scroller ripped straight from the stylized pages of the Paper Mario universe soon turns into a hilarious dimension-shifting platformer possible only on Wii. Players run through vibrant 2-D worlds, stomping on enemies and breaking blocks ... then, with the press of a button, they flip into 3-D. In the third dimension, they'll find hidden paths, battle foes and uncover secrets as they explore the previously invisible depth of the 2-D landscapes.

Xenosaga Ep. III 1/8 scale KOS-MOS v4 Figure

In the Xenosaga games, KOS-MOS is an android sculpted in the form of a blue-haired, crimson-eyed goddess. Despite her feminine appearance however, KOS-MOS is a battle-hardened war machine capable of impacting widespread damage. NCS suspects that despite the Xenosaga series ending with episode III, KOS-MOS will continue to make appearances in Japanese toy culture. She'll be as pervasive and enduring as Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley of Evangelion fame.

A new collaborative effort between Happinet and Atelier-Sai (Chord-G7) was announced a couple of days ago which features another KOS-MOS toy variant. The color scheme of the figure is blue, white, and black against flesh-colored visions of thigh and shoulder. KOS-MOS' shock of blue hair neatly frames her face and feather-like armor appendages on her arms make her look somewhat jagged and dangerous. KOS-MOS stands in quiet repose but we generally prefer figures that are sculpted in energetic contortions that are full of vigor and vim. There's none of that here but at least she's wearing well-defined garters and white thigh high hosiery. In addition to the gun shown in the photo, a beam-blade weapon will be included in the package. The Chord-G7 KOS-MOS is at 1/8 scale or roughly 22cm tall. Preorders are welcome to ship in late July 2007.

Transformers Zippos

An NCS Dramatization: There you are at the 2007 International Transformers Conference where the craziest most dedicated Transformers fans congregate. Some attendees dress up in a makeshift Megatron suit while others dawdle around in a color-correct G1 Prowl suit made of rubber. To compete with the attention-seekers, whip out your serially numbered limited edition Transformers Zippo - the Bumblebee version with the shiny, silvery shell. The glint of steel, the embossed Bumblebee relief, and the sweet crisp sound when you flick the Zippo conspire to create an object of affection that no true fan can resist. Preorders ship in mid-late June 2007.

Juicy Honey Authentic Visual Collection 6

Trading card purveyor Mint flies four Japanese AV actresses to Bali and takes thoughtful photos of the gals in scenic locales, against lush backdrops, and in obligatory bikinis. A total of 186 cards are featured in the new collection as follows:

72 Regular Cards
18 Juicy Special Cards
10 Autograph Cards
4 Message Cards
37 Jersey Cards
4 Kiss Cards ... and more

The new cards are scheduled for release on June 16, 2007 and NCS is pricing each factory retail box at US$55. Each box contains 12 packs of cards which each contain 7 cards inside for a total of 96 cards per box. Pricing is set at US$55/box and preorders are welcome today.

Import Schedule Updates

Another batch of preorders were opened up in Japan a couple of days ago. Most notable perhaps is the sequel to Osu! Tatakae Ouendan which ships on May 17 and features 4-players cooperative action, a storyline that forks depending on your actions, and 19 pieces of snappy music.
Nintendo DS
5/17	Osu! Tatake Ouendan 2	Nintendo
6/21	Itadaki Street DS	Square
	Nana Live Staff Daiboshuu! Shoshinsha Kangei	Konami
	Zelda no Densetsu: The Phantom Hourglass	Nintendo
Playstation 2
6/21	Growlanser VI	Atlus
	Mana-Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsu Shitachi	Gust
	Mana-Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsu Shitachi LE	Gust
6/28	Getsumento Heiki Mina: Futatsu no Project M	I. Factory
	Getsumento Heiki Mina: Futatsu no Project M LE	I. Factory
Playstation Portable
6/28	Secret of Evangelion Portable	Gainax
	Secret of Evangelion Portable Limited Edition	Gainax
	Super Robot Taisen MX Portable - Best	Banpresto
Nintendo Wii
6/14	Mahou Sensei Negima!? Neo-Pactio Fight!!	Marvelous
6/21	Hajime no Ippo Revolution	AQ Inter.
6/28	Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race	Nintendo

King of Fighters NESTS Saga

In a three part arc of the King of Fighters games, the NESTS Saga chronicled the machinations of a secretive mercenary cabal known appropriately as NESTS. Following the events of King of Fighters '97, Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami have gone missing after they defeated Orochi. As KOF '99 starts, invitations fly out to the world's greatest fighters summoning them to a new underground battle royale. SNK revisits the NESTS Saga by collecting all three games on one DVD as follows:

» King of Fighters '99 Evo (Dreamcast conversion and Neo Geo original)
» King of Fighters 2000 (Playstation 2 conversion and Neo Geo original)
» King of Fighters 2001 (Playstation 2 conversion and Neo Geo original)

KOF '99 introduced Strikers to the fighting action and KOF 2000 and 2001 built on that system where special characters could be called into battle for a momentary burst of muscle power. Along with the games, the PS2 compilation features a character color-edit function, selectable BGM (normal and arrange), and a Multi-Matching Online BB fighting mode where players link up through the internet to bout it out. «more»

Persona 3 Fes Complete Edition

Fuka Yamagishi opens up the new storyline in Persona 3 Fes where she phones Yukari Takeba on her pink phone. At the conclusion of the call, Fuka walks further into the room where the camera peels back to take in the Special Extracurricular Activities Club at Gekko High School. Seated at the top is Student Council President Mitsuru Kirijou and she's ringed by Junpei Iori, Ken Amada, and Koromaru. As they chat, they're joined by Aegis - a blonde android who battles Shadows with adept skill. Aegis is the focal point in the new chapter of Persona 3 and players take control of her throughout the adventure.

Persona 3 Fes is both an old and a new game. It contains the entire original Persona 3 adventure along with an append segment which follows the events after the conclusion of Persona 3. In the title selection screen, the original adventure may be played by selecting "Episode Yourself" while the new segment is indicated by "Episode Aegis." Persona 3 Fes features a new cinematic introduction, new Personas to use, new uniforms, and a hard mode for gamers who enjoy a good challenge. Please note the version of Persona 3 Fes that we received today is the Complete Edition. The Append Disc is scheduled to arrive tomorrow or Friday. «more»

Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary [ASN]

Way back in 1987, Final Fantasy was supposed to be a one time game. Final. Fantasy. As in, it's the last one, buddy. However, destiny had other plans for Hirobonubu Sakaguchi and his seminal creation. Twenty years and twelve canonical games later, the franchise is still going strong and reaping the rewards of a property that pays big dividends.

Booting up the game this morning, we enjoyed the cinematic introduction which features a blue-armored warrior fighting a massive red dragon. Upon starting an adventure, players may select the language - Japanese or English. The game also features improved graphics, the bonus dungeons from the Gameboy/Wonderswan versions of the game, and an entirely new dungeon dubbed "The Labyrinth of Time" which enforces a time limit within which you can explore its dank depths. Another bonus is an unlockable Yoshitaka Amano Art Gallery which contains beautiful color work from the artist who has provided the illustrations for the series. A bestiary and a BGM music player (unlockable) rounds out the feature set in the game.

Since we've played through the game a few times through the years, we're not going to play this one again this week but we'll give it a go in the near future so we can check out the updated sights and sounds. Early impressions are favorable - the graphics are delightfully crisp and bright on the PSP screen and the music is rich and resonant. One downside is the lack of analog control - only the d-pad is usable for movement. «more»