Boku no Natsuyasumi 3

It's the summer of 1975 and Mama's about to have another baby. She already has a 10-year old named Boku who's becoming a handful and is beginning to fray her nerves. Mama decides to send Boku to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in the countryside of Hokkaido so she can relax and prepare herself for the birthing process.

One day, a train takes Boku from the city to the country. Aboard the train, he peers out the window at the greenery while poppy keeps a watchful eye over him. At one point, he leans out the window (clearly illegal and dangerous) and symbolically looks forward to the summer of fun that awaits him. Upon disembarking, he's greeted by his uncle at the train platform and the two travel by car to the ranch he'll be staying for a few weeks. Boku can engage in various activities such as catching insects, flying kites, swimming, enjoying the summer festival, skipping stones across a river, and even pitting beetles against each other. Sony boasts over 100 diversions that may be played in the game. «NCS Game Notes»

Super Robot Wars OG 8M Memory Card

Hori is the undisputed master of memory cards in Japan. Over the years, the company has licensed games such as Seiken Densetsu 4, the Biohazard games, the Onimushas, the Sakura Taisen games, the Growlansers, and pretty much every other notable game that's been released for the PS2. The company captures the magic of Super Robot Wars OG with a nifty memory card which includes the following items:

» White 8M Memory Card. The front of the card features a recreation of the artwork from the SRW Original Generations game cover.

» Transparent 8M Memory Card holder with label stickers which may be affixed to the front of any other standard PS2 memory card.

» A sheet of four Super Robot Wars decals. Paste them on your PC, on your PS2, or on your arm if you're into temporary tattoos.

» The cardboard backing of the blister packaging is a glossy placard with an image of the Earth that can be used as a mini poster or a place setting when you're eating dinner.

Jeanne D'Arc [The Best]

In Domremy, France, a village is burning and blue orcs are on the attack. All that stands before them is a blonde maiden in haus frau clothing who's capable of laying down some serious damage. In the early goings in the first mission, brilliant fireflies flit upwards from the flames in the village and course through the air in straight trajectories. Battles are fought on 3D tactical arenas where players move three characters at the outset and attack the orcs and their leader. The game is based on the legend of Joan of Arc and mixes fact and fiction for an engaging experience with crystalline graphics and brilliant visual effects.

When its time for action, players highlight the active character with a blue square and tap the "O" button once. A menu appears with movement and attack options. To move, press "O" on the top menu option and lighted blue grids overlay the countryside or town which shows the range of movement. Sidle up next to an enemy and attack with the usual tactical conventions where your attack is more effective from the side or behind the target than if you face it head-on.

When attacking, the camera zooms in on the blow being meted out and the enemy is given a chance to automatically counterattack. If he misses, an animation will show Jeanne or another character leaning back and swerving to avoid the blow. Attacking the enemy from behind will avoid a counterblow. Once killed, the orc seemingly gives up its last breath and heaves forward before collapsing into a clump on the ground. «g-notes»

Famitsu Wave DVD [August 2007]

The August 2007 issue of Famitsu Wave includes magazine and DVD-based cinema coverage of the following software titles:

Wii No More Heroes / Capcom
PSP Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories / Rockstar Games
PS2 Growlanser VI / Atlus
PS2 Final Fantasy XII International: Zodiac Job System / Square Enix
X360 Saints Row / THQ
NDS Rockman ZX Advent / Capcom
WIN Monster Hunter Frontier / Capcom
PSP Monster Hunter Portable 2nd / Capcom
PS2 Final Fantasy XI / Square Enix ...

and the usual assortment of interviews, faming challenges, and on-the-street features with the editors of Famitsu.

ASCII Stick Engine

Before Hori took over de-facto production of third party controllers, memory cards, and accessories in Japan, ASCII was the king of the realm. In the 80s and 90s, the company commanded a healthy market share for Famicom, PC-Engine, and Super Famicom accessories.

Today, we offer PC-Engine joysticks that were originally released by ASCII in November 24, 1990. The base of the controller measures 7 3/4 x 6 5/8" and the lollipop-style joystick rises up about 2" from its foundation. Similar to a standard PC-Engine control pad, the ASCII Stick Engine features a turbo-fire function for the buttons but the level of turbo may be adjusted with by twisting two dials for button 1 and 2. «photo gallery»

Famicom 3D System

Nintendo's answer to Sega's Master System 3D glasses was a device called the Famicom 3D System. Back in the day, the gaming houses tended to match each other tit for that like that. Similar to Sega's own 3D peripheral effort, the 3D System uses a liquid crystal shutter mechanic to produce a 3D effect. Due to market conditions (read: poor sales), not many games were created for the accessory and it slowly faded into obscurity and disuse. The Famicom 3D System plugs into the 8-bit console's expansion port and supports games such as Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally and Tobidase Daisakusen for the Famicom Disk System. «photo gallery»

Famicom System Rack

If you're the fortunate owner of a working 8-bit Famicom console and a functional Famicom Disk System, there's a way to bolt both pieces of hardware into one cohesive unit. Sort of. Feast your eyes on the Famicom System Rack which is four pieces of red metal that literally rack and lock the Famicom and Famicom Disk together. Once properly fitted, both pieces of hardware become a single Famicom monstrosity that's heavy and somewhat odd looking. We only found one of these in storage and the packaging is pretty beat up. There's also some label residue on the lower right corner of the front side of the box which looks bad but the item is new. «photo gallery»

General Updates

Independence Day
NCS will observe the July 4th holiday tomorrow but normal trading will resume on Thursday of this week. Despite the holiday, please note that this week's new import shipments should probably arrive on Thursday.

USA Wii Console
The USA version of the Wii console is still at US$350 from distributors. They're readily available... at that price. We'll update when the price drops.