If you've ever described yourself as "The World's Biggest Sora no Kiseki Fanboy," then Falcom is your God this week. The company ships a special Playstation Portable UMD which is jam-packed with the following data collections:
» The entire contents of four Sora no Kiseki soundtrack CDs for a total of 147 selections of music from the two games. Put it on REPEAT>ALL, slap on the headphones, and you're basically in Sora no Kiseki music nirvana. The four OSTs featured in the virtual jukebox are:
● Sora no Kiseki FC Original Soundtrack,
● Sora no Kiseki SC Original Soundtrack,
● Looking Up at the Sky ~ Sora no Kiseki Vocal Version
● Sora no Kiseki Super Arrangement Version
» Five user themes to populate your PSP menu screen with Sora no Kiseki backgrounds, icons, and color schemes.
» A total of 76 pieces of wallpaper and character illustrations. A 2008-2009 calendar with widescreen artwork is also viewable.
» Movie collection with cinemas from the PSP and PC Sora no Kiseki games.
Originally released on the Japanese PC in February of 2006, Piacci designates the PS2 as the next recipient of their latest waitress interaction adventure. For the uninitiated, the Pia Carrot series began on the PC and PC-FX console in 1997 where gamers played the part of a worker at poppy's Pia Carrot restaurant and interacted with the female wait staff. It usually isn't a good idea to date someone you work with but there are no such restrictions in the wild world of gaming.
Similar to previous games in the Pia Carrot series, players associate with 15 waitresses who work in the Pia Carrot establishment under the auspices of the Summer Fair season. Interaction is handled through simple menu-based commands where an action or conversation snippet is chosen and the results are played out on screen. In order to glean information about the girls, a lot of reading is required to gather together clues about the girl's likes, dislikes, and pet peeves. The PS2 version of the game features a new scenario written especially for the console conversion and updated CG scenes to view. A special fan disc will also be included as an added bonus for first production buyers.
Originally released on the Japanese PC in February of 2006, Piacci designates the PS2 as the next recipient of their latest waitress interaction adventure. For the uninitiated, the Pia Carrot series began on the PC and PC-FX console in 1997 where gamers played the part of a worker at poppy's Pia Carrot restaurant and interacted with the female wait staff. It usually isn't a good idea to date someone you work with but there are no such restrictions in the wild world of gaming.
Similar to previous games in the Pia Carrot series, players associate with 15 waitresses who work in the Pia Carrot establishment under the auspices of the Summer Fair season. Interaction is handled through simple menu-based commands where an action or conversation snippet is chosen and the results are played out on screen. In order to glean information about the girls, a lot of reading is required to gather together clues about the girl's likes, dislikes, and pet peeves. The PS2 version of the game features a new scenario written especially for the console conversion and updated CG scenes to view. A special fan disc will also be included as an added bonus for first production buyers.
The 2007 Japanese professional baseball season concluded a couple of months ago and Konami has been working diligently since then to collect all of the year-end data for the "Ketteiban" (translation: "Definitive" or "Final") edition of Powerful Pro Yakyu 14. Player stats, team winnings, and player rosters have all been updated to reflect real world numbers and names at the end of the 2007 season.
Checking out the game this morning, there's not a lot of discernible differences between Ketteiban and the original Powerful Pro Yakyuu 14 that we tested a few months ago. There's a new scenario mode dubbed "Dream Japan" where players guide a Japanese baseball club to the top of the world rankings. The other modes hearken from previous games in the series including the "Success Mode" and a helpful "Practice Mode." Fans of the Pro Yakyu series will find the game familiar with a play-by-play announcer, a password feature, updated team uniforms, and improved player AI for fielding. The Pro Yakyuu games utilize a comical visual style but the action is solid and the controls are top notch. They're our preferred vehicle of choice whenever we get a yen for some video baseball.
A snow maiden (aka Yuki Musume) teams up with a bunny-like familiar and her sister to beat back an onslaught of spirits, snowmen, mummies, and their overlords. Why is a mummy shuffling across the snow with both arms raised? No one knows but there are sights even stranger than the wrapped undead in Yukinko Daisenpuu including huge grubs that fall from trees and purplish imps that pop out of nowhere.
The snow maiden uses the power of winter to meet her goals where oversized snowflakes and pointy icicles are shot at enemies to dispatch them. Power-ups may be picked up to enhance firepower or gain speed. The nunchuk is used for maneuvering and the Wiimote serves as the launching mechanism for snow projectiles. The enemy generally attacks in waves where they'll approach Yuki like a mob. During certain points in the game, the action stops and a warning indicator appears on the screen. That's your cue to take cover or start firing shots because a powerful wave of enemy attackers are on the way where they sweep through the screen with destructive force. In addition to a single player game, up to two players may collaborate for a concerted attack.
Preorders were opened up a couple of days ago for the Naomi version of Akatsuki Denkou Senki, the latest doujin 2D fighter to make the transition from humble PC to full blown coin-op glory. The game features a motley assortment of characters, lots of blood, and fast-paced action fraught with juggles, combos, cancels, and EX attacks. To cap it all, the cast includes a leggy ginger named Marilyn Sue along with a gun-toting nun dubbed Anonym who's bullets ricochet for added attack strategies.
The game looks great but we're still undecided if we'll order a copy for our own collection. First off, the PC version can be had for about $30 nowadays and there's a bunch of recent boards we've acquired that still haven't been plugged in yet. Ever have one of those buying binges where you scoop up games that catch your eye but then you never have the time to play them? That's how we are at this point.
Pricing for Akatsuki Denkou Senki is set at JPY188,000 or US$1795 from NCS which includes shipping directly from Japan to any location in the world by way of Express Mail Service which is trackable and insured. Delivery is expected on or around February 28, 2008 and preorders are welcome.
We got an eyeful of Hotaru Akane in Juicy Honey 6 earlier this year but adult trading card purveyor Mint wants to give us more. Much more. The JAV idol has been given her very own collection of Juicy Honey Special Edition cards which are scheduled for release on February 23, 2008.
Some Hotaru Akane stats
DOB: October 25, 1983
Height: 157 cm
Measurements: B83-W58-H83 (cm)
Aliases: Anna Akitsuki, Akii Hotaru
The images from the Juicy Honey SE cards feature Hotaru in a number of swimsuits, in the nude, and in various situations. The trading cards are priced at US$58 per factory sealed box. Each box contains 12 packs which in turn contain 7 cards each for a total of 84 cards in every box. Preorders are welcome today to ship to preorders on or around March 15, 2008.
Due to the events of last Tuesday, we have a few thousand Shooting Historica ships to sell. Thanks, Yujin. Without further ado, here they are - three ships from the Shooting Historica Gashapon set as follows:
Gradius featuring Vic Viper T301
Gradius 2 featuring Metarion
Darius Gaiden featuring Silver Hawk (Note: Either Blue or Red Version)
Pricing is set at US$12.50 + default media mail shipping at $2.55. Photos
