Ncs Daily Journal for March 05, 1998 [800x600]

ncs daily journal © NCS 1998

The domestic version of Bloody Roar arrived yesterday for the Playstation. NCS is glad that Hudson, by way of Sony, kept the original title of the game instead of changing it to Beastorizer. Bloody Roar has been one of the better fighters on the Playstation during the past 6 months with great control, impressive visuals and a huge array of moves and special attacks. Bloody Roar is available from NCS at US$39.

Import fans may want to note that Punky Skunk shipped last week domestically for the Playstation. This game was known in Japan as Cool Skunk with a rodent that was able to let loose some major flatulence. The design of the game gives Cool, or Punky, a number of accessories that allow him to glide, skateboard and parachute through pastel colored levels. Cool Skunk has been in stock at US$39.

Bloody Roar

Next week's Saturn releases have been settled and we will take delivery of the following titles on March 11 (Wednesday).

Eve the Lost One	C's Ware/Imadio	Adult adventure
Savaki	Micro Cabin	Action

Eve is the sequel to Eve Burst Error from last year with the sassy red-headed woman detective. Eve features a large number of personalities who have unique traits and quirks. The game is played like a dating simulation where you encounter various people whom you have to get information from. From these conversations, you'll have to deduce your next action or question. Since every character in the game is unique, each one will require different tactics when you question and interact with them.

Bloody Roar

The crop of Playstation releases expected next week have been confirmed and we should have everything in stock by next Friday.

Bushido Blade 2	Square	Sword battle
Clock Tower: Ghost Head	Human	3-D horror
Dead or Alive	Tecmo	3-D fighting
Gundam Battle Master 2	Bandai	2-D mech battlin'
Zero Pilot	EAV	Flight combat

NCS can guarantee all Bushido Blade 2 pre-orders to retail and wholesale that are received by next Tuesday. Dead or Alive pre-orders are now closed due to extreme demand.

Square will re-release Final Fantasy V on the Playstation this April. A 32-bit rendered introduction with the usual Square quality special effects and drama will grace the beginning of the game. Inside, you'll find the same 16-bit graphics and gameplay found on the Super Famicom version from 1992. Pre-orders may be submitted to NCS starting today. We will close pre-orders on March 28. In our picture to the left for FFV, we have a low-res picture of a purple colored Chocobo. Below, we have a sequence of pictures featuring the modern day version of Chocobo.

March looks like the month that will break the NCS purchasing budget. With SONYPS Bushido Blade 2, Dead or Alive, Tekken 3 and SATURN King of Fighters '97 all coming to market in the next couple of weeks, we're just relieved that SATURN Vampire Saviour has been delayed until April 09. Add one more big fighting game to the mix: Samurai Spirits 1 & 2. This title brings the venerable Samurai Spirits and Shin Samurai Spirits over from the Neo-Geo to the Playstation. Shin Samurai on the Neo-Geo is still one of the best fighting games ever. The characters were great, most of the fighters were balanced evenly and the control was perfect. The demo compilation that we received earlier this week shows some smooth animation and near 1:1 graphics to the original. The controls were a tad off in the preview but we expect them to be tweaked in the final version to match the Neo's level of responsiveness.

Samurai Spirits was one of the early arrivals in the fighting game scene. It was the first one to introduce weaponry to 2-D fighting and it's innovative zoom-in/zoom-out feature made distance fighting and avoidance a cheesy player's mainstay. The crowds waiting for the game in the arcades were usually massive so the availability of the game on home cartridge was much appreciated. The Samurai Spirits license is still wildly popular today with Samurai Amakusa Kourin being the latest addition to the series. Saturn and Playstation fans have since received their own doses of Samurai 3 and Samurai Amakusa. With the exception of SONYPS Samurai 3, all of the conversions have been of excellent quality. Along the way, we also got to see the Samurai in an RPG that spanned the Neo-CD, Saturn and Playstation. NCS expects Samurai 1 & 2 for the Playstation on March 26 and pre-orders may be submitted to NCS until March 14. No Saturn version has been announced at this time.

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