Mini Sweets USA Candy Toy

As a nation, the USA loves sweets. Cake, donuts, and candy are all gobbled up with equal fervor. Japan sees this. A Japanese company named Rement celebrates the American love for sweets by announcing a set of candy toys that recreate American stalwarts and staples such as:

» Donut Drive-Thru
» Ice Cream Delights
» All American Apple Pie
» Strawberry Shortcake
» S'mores

Each toy consists of individual plastic food parts and container packaging if applicable. For example, the Donut Drive-Thru toy consists of a box of mini donuts, napkins, and a beverage tray which holds two miniature drinks. Pricing is set at US$45 per case which contains all ten toy variants.

Japanese Import Outlook

NDS Osu! Tatake Ouendan 2 leads preorders for the week. By a lot.
NDS	Custom Beat Battle: Draglade	Banpresto
	Duke Saraie no Kenkou Walking Navi	Dorart
	Osu! Tatake Ouendan 2	Nintendo
PS2	Odin Sphere	Atlus
	Shining Wind	Sega
TRC	Maria Ozawa Collection Card	Mint	X
TOY	Black Lagoon Revy 1/8 Scale Figure	Alter
Wii	Meitantei Conan: Tsuioku no Gensou	Marvelous

Domestic Release Outlook

DVD	Epic Movie	20th CFox
	The Good German	Warner
NDS	Code Lyoko	AGF
	Etrian Odyssey	Atlus
	Touch the Dead	Eidos
PS2	Shrek the 3rd	Activision
	Taito Legends 2	Taito
	Tony Hawk Downhill Jam	Activision
PS3	MLB 07: The Show	Sony
PSP	Hot Wheels Ultimate Racing	DSI
	Taito Legends Power Up	Taito
Wii	Shrek the 3rd	Activision
X360	Marvel Ultimate Alliance Gold Edition	Activision
	Monster Madness [Delayed to 05/29]	Southpeak
	Shrek the 3rd	Activision

Ochichi Meba Gashapon

In Japan, the word "ochichi" or "乳ちち" refers to breast. Oppai is another word that means "breasts"..... or "boobies" if you want to be adolescent about it. Toy manufacturer Epoch tests their audience's ochichi recognition skills with a set of 5 toy breasts. Two types are of the flattened variety which may be known as flapjacks while the other three are perfectly spherical with a protruding nipple. There's even one with cow skin camouflage, perhaps to indicate the totemic discharge of milk. The five styles are as follows:

» Flat cow-colored breast aka a cow-decor flapjack
» Flat flesh-colored breast that's shaped like a pancake
» Breast pacifier attached to a finger ring
» Round flesh-colored breast that's squeezable and bouncy
» Round cow-colored breast that's bouncy as well as squeezable

Pricing is set at US$16 for the complete set of 5 Ochichis and preorders will ship in mid-late April 2007. If ordered alone, NCS will automatically ship this product with USPS Priority Mail at a flat rate of US$5. «Photo Gallery»

New Super Mario Bros Solar Toad

The sun provides the energy for the process of photosynthesis which ultimately provides the food supply for most of the planet's inhabitants. But we're not interested in that. No, all we care about is making sure the sun hits the solar panel on the Mr. Toad toy to make it rock gently to and fro. If you're indoors, a fluorescent lamp or a 60W bulb is powerful enough to make Toad move as well. If all you have is a flashlight, you'll still be able to move Toad by shining the light on the solar panel. The toy measures 12cm or 4.72" tall from the base to the top of the mushroom cap. Also known as the Super Mario Bros Kinoko Solar Figure. «Photos»

Ragnarok Online Jumbo Poring Plush

Fans of the MMORPG Ragnarok Online are well aware of the species known as Poring. For everyone else looking at the photo to the left, the words, "Teardrop-shaped blob of fluff" might be an apt description. Here's where NCS comes in to school you - the game world of Ragnarok Online is populated by the Poring beasties who tend to ignore humans and have a voracious appetite. They'll gobble things up but if slain, the gobbled thing is released into the world once again. The Poring tend to be regarded as cannon fodder since they put up little resistance against the stroke of a sword. For enterprising adventurers, a Poring may be kept as a familiar of sorts to gather items in the game world.

Since there is much love for the Poring, Japanese manufacturer System Service has started preorders for a jumbo Poring plush which measures a whopping 35 x 38cm or 13.77 x 14.96" in dimension. Two varieties are on offer - a pink jumbo Poring and a lime-flavored Poring. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late September 2007 at US$39 per plush.

Wrestle Kingdom 2 + Partial Bonus

Bruisers from the world of Japanese professional wrestling enter the ring once again to grapple, slap, and growl at each other. A total of 73 bulky muscle-bound monsters from the New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling leagues tussle against each other and go to the mat with Freelancers such as Tajiri and Legends such as Bigbang Vader. The gang from Pro Wrestling NOAH is missing but a fifth category of wrestlers under the banner of "EX" is available in the game. There are a total of 13 EX wrestlers but they're all locked with the exception of a red-masked grappler named Masked Devilock.

The controls at first feint are simple - the D-pad moves a wrestler around the ring and the SQUARE button is used to slap and kick. To run around the ring and bounce off the ropes, press and hold the TRIANGLE button. The "X" button initiates a grapple which can progress into a leg lock, a body slam, or a throw move depending on the subsequent button combination. The depth in the controls is realized when exploring the grappling system which features a sizable number of attacks, chains, and even a power-up system. Early preorders will include a bonus DVD Video which contains legendary matches fought between marquee wrestlers such as Antonio Inoki vs Tiger Jeet Singh and Stan Hansen vs Andre the Giant. «Game Notes»

Final Fantasy Tactics Shishi Sensou

Return to the world of Ivalice and join a lad named Ramza Beoulve and his friend Delita Herial who find themselves embroiled in The Lion War. Princess Ovelia, the adopted daughter of King Omdolia, has been kidnapped and two mighty houses marshal for war. On one side is the Gallione Family ruled by Prince Larg who's family crest is a White Lion. Opposing them is the Zeltennia Family stewarded by Prince Goltana who's family crest is a Black Lion. Two lions clash and Ivalice suffers from their enmity.

Players take on the role of Ramza Beoulve who teams up with Delita Herial and cohorts in an adventure to beat back enemy hordes. The first chapter is titled, "The Meager" and the game starts in Magic City Gariland where Ramza's party is charged with defeating a group of brigands. The next mission takes place on the Mandalia Plains where the party may opt to save a warrior named Algus. In general, the goal of each mission is defeating all of the enemy units on the map but different objectives pop up from time to time.

Final Fantasy Tactics Shishi Sensou is based on the original Playstation game from 1997. The visual presentation of the game is a near 1:1 copy of the original but Square adds a cel-shaded introduction cinema and numerous animation sequences which play after each chapter. The PSP update of Final Fantasy Tactics also features two new playable characters: Balflear from FFXII and Luso from Final Fantasy Tactics A2. «Game Notes»