ETC FFVII AC Cloud Strife eau de toilette - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» The FFVII AC rendition of Cloud Strife is a tormented sort of soul. Look at his gloomy eyes, the pallid complexion, and the pouty mouth which invariably turns downwards into a frown. If you issue the command, "Turn that frown upside down, girlfriend," in Cloud's direction, he won't do it. He'll just look away petulantly as a tear escapes from his left eye. Despite Cloud's somber inner being, he's not beyond freshening up his essence of doom with a floral and woodsy scent that evokes images of citrus fruit instead of a bubbling moat. According to the preorder details, Cloud's unisex fragrance is made of mandarin, lemon, bergamot, melon, peach, and apricot which is backed by Lily of the Valley, jasmine, rose, freesia, carnation, and cyclamen. The base of the scent is cedarwood, sandalwood, amber, musk, oak moss, and vanilla. Each nickel-plated glass bottle holds 50ml of liquid and a zinc strap is included as a bonus. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-August 2010 at JPY6800 or US$85.90.

TOYS Mario Trading Cards - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» Like other forms of craftsmanship such as furniture-making and artistic endeavors, the design and creation of videogames is/was an evolutionary process. Cavemen art consisted of stick figures and coarse geometric shapes. Compare that to a Degas. The one with the ballerinas dubbed "Petit Rats." When Nintendo started their trade in videogames, their designs were limited by the hardware of the day. In the case of the original Super Mario Bros game on the Famicom, the graphics were blocky, chunky, and the pixels were visible. Pixel-images are called dot-graphics nowadays and they're the design standard for a pack of playing cards which is shipping from Nintendo in July.

Along with the dot-graphics playing cards design, Nintendo is also releasing a version which features "Standard" animation artwork of the Mario cast of characters. The third deck of cards sports "Neo" CG renditions of the Mario crew which are polished and modern. Despite the gloss of the third variant, we think there's going to be a surfeit of love for the original dot-graphics design since that's classic styling. Preorders for the playing cards are welcome to ship in late July 2010 at US$12.90 per pack.

OST W/F：Music from FINAL FANTASY XIII -Gentle Reveries-

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» Square's recent love affair with vinyl continues onwards with another release which relies on Final Fantasy XIII for its inspiration. Eight tracks are recorded onto the LP's grooves as follows:

01) Prelude to FINAL FANTASY XIII
02) Saber's Edge
03) Serah's Theme Overseas Version
04) Fighting Fate
05) March of the Dreadnoughts
06) Sulyya Springs
07) The Yaschas Massif
08) Will to Fight

Preorders are welcome to ship on or around June 20, 2010 at US$58.90 from NCS. Pricing reflects purchasing arrangements from Square's shop.

OST Xenoblade Original Soundtrack - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
Update: June 4, 2010
«©NCSX» The upcoming Xenoblade RPG for the Wii is going to be epic and perhaps even awe-inspiring. Preorders for the game have been flowing in at a galloping clip. Such a grandiose adventure wouldn't feel "epic" and "awe-inspiring" if the music wasn't also matching of those descriptors.

Enter composer Yoko Shimomura who started her career at Capcom but currently weaves her melodies at Square Enix. The Xenoblade OST is parceled out onto four CDs and is being published by Dog Ear Records (distribution by Sony). Preorders are welcome to ship on June 23, 2010 at JPY3500 or US$39.90 from NCS.

MAG Weekly Famitsu Vol. 1122 - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The June 17, 2010 issue of Weekly Famitsu includes print coverage of the following games and events in the Japanese marketplace:

» The Express News section reveals the Club Nintendo exclusive Super Mario Galaxy 2 Original Soundtrack which spans two discs.
» Famitsu reviews NDS Rockman Zero Collection (8/8/7/7) and Wii Xenoblade (9/9/9/9) which are both shipping in Japan on June 10, 2010.
» Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 game guide which is accompanied by maps and screenshots of the action. This is a continuing feature in Famitsu.
» Prepackaged snacks such as Caramel Corn, chocolate-covered almonds, and shell-shaped crisps are featured in this week's PICK UP FOOD.
» Preview for Sega's Vanquish for the Xbox 360 and PS3 which is a first-person shooter with sharp visuals.
» Wii The Last Story preview which features a feathery-haired hero who might fit in well with anything from Square Enix that pits the attractive cast in a world-spanning-adventure capacity.
» Famitsu previews the upcoming E3 show and they'll present their coverage in the Famitsu Wave DVD magazine for July-August.

PSP Fairy Tail Portable Guild - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis

«©NCSX» Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail is a Shonen Magazine manga serial which has been made into an anime and this week, it dives into the woolly world of video games. In the source material, the heroine is a spellcaster named Lucy Heartfilia who joins the Fairy Tail Guild and goes on assignments with a friend named Natsu Dragoniru. Natsu appears dead center on the PSP game cover and he's a naive lad who's nevertheless mighty and suffers from motion sickness.

Fairy Tail Portable Guild is a 2D action-adventure with a 4-player ad hoc mode. At the outset, players start the game inside the Fairy Tale Guild along with a female barkeep, a mousekeep, and a silver-haired patron who's standing by a wooden table. All the way to the left stands a girl in a miniskirt. Ignore them and head towards the job postings board to the left of the bar where missions are granted. Assignments are ranked by difficulty level with a letter grade and the first mission is ranked "C" class. Once the mission is selected, head north towards the swinging saloon doors and a carriage takes you to the destination. The initial quest partners Natsu with a blue cat with wings named "Happy" who provides interactive foil, companionship, and occasional magic.

Natsu explores the towns that he taken to and he'll encounter friends and foes along the way. When ruffians appear, the fighting takes place on the overworld without any break in the action so that Natsu punches, kicks, and throws flames at thugs posthaste and without delay. When fighting, Happy tags along for the action which is somewhat comical since he's so small and puny amidst the fighters. Upon defeating all the thugs in the first mission, the quest is cleared and Natsu strikes a winning pose while Happy appears... happy. After the mission stats are tallied up, Natsu is transported back to the guild where another mission awaits. To keep track of Natsu's whereabouts when questing, a map overlay appears on the right side of the screen. The 4-player ad hoc mode pits the player-fighters against an assortment of large "WANTED" creatures that are too formidable for one adventurer to tackle. That's why four are needed to put the hurt into the beast. All preorders will ship with a bonus Fairy Tail poster which is a larger and expanded version of the game cover.

PSP Bleach Heat the Soul 6 [The Best] - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Few game series' nowadays have the staying power to endure for six volumes but Sony's Bleach Heat the Soul reaches that number this week. From the first Bleach HTS to the most recent one, the character roster has consistently grown, new game modes have been presented, and the game play has been refined with each successive release. Bleach HTS6 is a 3D fighting game that runs fast, fluid, and features a number of modes that include Soul Championship, Arcade Style, VS CPU, and a Story Mode that takes players through a Bleach tale that's specially tailored for the game.

The sixth Bleach HTS game features a total of 74 characters for an ample amount of fighters to face off against. The core cast of Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, and others are joined by Sojiro Kusaka, Lisa Yadomaru, Masahiro Kuna, Zommari Leroux, and many more.

TRC Benchwarmer 2010 Signature Edition - Domestic Preorder

From the Publisher

Update: June 03, 2010
BENCHWARMER 2010 SIGNATURE EDITION T/C BOX (Net) (RES) (C: 0

Guaranteeing an authentic autograph in every pack, Benchwarmer 2010 Signature Edition features a 72-card base set with parallel autographs of each base card inserted 1 per pack, as well as randomly seeded authentic "Kiss" cards, Swatch cards, Prop Cards, and the return of the insert chase set "BenchWarmer Locker Room." 8 cards per pack, 10 packs per box.

The model in the aqua-blue bikini featured in the promotional material for the Benchwarmer 2010 Signature Edition is Jennifer Korbin.

Preorders are welcome to ship on or around August 25, 2010 at US$109.90 per factory box.