| Import
Carriage Delays |
FFX |
|
A shipment of GBA and PS2 stock expected today was delayed and
we'll now take delivery on Monday. An important notation
regarding the Final Fantasy X Special CD that was due
this morning - Due to vendor misinformation, the CD is not a
preview disc of the FFX game but rather a BGM Music CD.
In other words, we have 800 copies of a music CD on the way
rather than a demo. Of course, we can't return or refuse any
of it despite our Japanese vendor's mistake....everything's
pre-paid. C'est la vie. |
|
|
Final
Fantasy X arrives next Thursday and all pre-orders shall
ship on that day. New pre-orders and requests placed up until
next Tuesday will still ship with the first batch of the
game. |
|
| PS2
Yanya Caballista featuring Gawoo |
Scans |
|
Yanya originally arrived earlier in the week after a flight to
Denver. |
As dabblers
in word etymology, NCS was determined to decipher the title of
Koei's damnable game name. Here's what our sleuthing
uncovered. Yanya is the Turkish equivalent of "Janina"
(French origin) or "loannina" (Greek), which are
formal names of people and places in Albania, Turkey and
Greece. In other words, it has no place in this game. The
meaning of Caballista came a little easier. Spanish was
a mandatory course in NYC elementary schools back in the day
and the word translates into "horseman". Again,
meaningless to the game. Then we have Gawoo. They're the
aliens invaders in the game but why Gawoo? We haven't a clue
but here's a word whose origin sprouts from New York. Fuggedaboutit.
Useless and dysfunctional name aside, Yanya spins
a tale of marauding, marshmallow-ish aliens who must be
stopped. The fate of the planet rests firmly in the
skateboarding skills of a couple of slackers riding their
ratnuts-wheeled boards and tricking about. As you rage through
a looming gotham, aliens are uncovered and your spins, aerials
and special sk8r moves unleash laser blasts upon the hapless
alien. Perform tricks and special moves in steady staccato and
you'll destroy it. Challenging game play and cel-shaded looks
reveal it's inspiration from Sega's Jet Set. The controls take
a little practice to perfect but therein lies a rewarding
learning curve for a perfectly stimulating skating simulation.
Stodgy Koei appears to have the wherewithal to move into
gaming genres outside of historical sims. |
|
|
|
|
Yanya Caballista US$63 |
|
The Yanya package includes
a skateboard piece which plugs into the Dual Shock analog
knobs for tactile virtual skating. |
|
| DC
Shenmue 2 Import Details |
Shenmue 2 |
|
Sega ships the Japanese release of Shenmue 2 Normal Version
and Limited Version on Sept. 06. The two versions
are priced at Y7800 but the Limited Version will only be
available in the first shipment. LE contains a Virtua Fighter
4 demo and what appears to be a music CD, perhaps similar to
the Shenmue Jukebox from the original Shenmue. So, here's the
score: Shenmue Normal includes 4 discs and Limited houses
6 discs. Due to the lack of pricing disparity, NCS will only
import the Limited edition of the game and price it at
US$68. Pre-orders and e-mail
reserves are welcome.
|
|
|
|
|
Shenmue 2 US$68 |
|
| ASCII
Strikes Again; 3Q Imports |
Zero Gunner
2 |
|
To mark the release of the PS2 version of Capcom vs SNK 2
on September 13, ASCII helps Millionaire Fighting champions by
releasing the ASCII Pad Fighting Type 2 (Y3200) and the
ASCII Stick Fighting Type 2 (Y6500). Attempts to
procure product photographs were in vain overnight but we
should have them soon. Similar to the DC version of the ASCII
Fighting Type, Capcom and SNK iterations of both controllers
will ship on Sept. 13. No plans are on the table at this time
for a DC production of FT2. |
|
All listings for DC, GBA, PS, and PS2
imports due in the third quarter will see updating on Monday
morning. Some notable September import additons are Zero
Gunner 2 for the DC from the mighty Psikyo and Kings
Field 4 on the Playstation. Over in the portable arena, Everybody's
Puyo Puyo jiggles onto the Gameboy Advance with Arle,
crew, and indomitable Puyos. |
|
|
|
|
Zero Gunner 2 US$53 |
|
| Neo
Geo Metal Slug 3 Update |
Suggestions? |
|
NCS has reached our pre-order allocation for the reproduction
of Metal Slug 3 AES (home cartridge version) and the
offering is now closed. Thanks to all the devoted Neo faithful
who submitted pre-orders and reservations over the past month.
Thanks also to European and Asian vendors who took up the
remaining quantity of our stock this week. As announced
earlier, the reproduction of MS3 is due on September 03. It's
a lock and production is underway.
|
|
|
Feedback from customers are
welcome on future Neo reproductions. If we receive enough
interest on certain titles, we'll submit suggestions to SNK. |
|
| Friday
the 13th |
Doom |
|
If ever you should reach the seat on "Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire", here is NCS' gift to you. When Regis
intonates the million dollar question of "What are
people who possess a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the
13th called?", think back to this day and mutter
"Paraskevidekatriaphobics". Please remember
NCS with a generous donation once you nab the loot. |
|
|
According to scholars of wacky statistics and useless
knowledge, as many as 21 million American suffer from a fear
of Friday the 13th. |
|
| Frequently
Asked Questions |
Protocol |
|
Common
questions, rotated on a weekly basis, are now posted online
for perusal. Please check the FAQ before sending an
e-mail message
that may already be answered on the page. It's not that we
mind (well, maybe sometimes we do) the voluminous daily e-mail
queries but very common questions come up very often. It's our
way of addressing redundancy and consequent inefficiency. Thank
you. |
|
|
Questions received henceforth already answered in
the FAQ
won't be ignored. You'll
still receive a reply within 48 hours. |
|
| C-Bot
Daily Journal... Day Four |
July
13, 2001
Yesterday evening, I brought C-Bot home with me.
He's still inexplicably temperamental and changes moods from
joy to anger in the space of minutes. Sort of like a woman. I found out why
Sega programmed a clock inside C-Bot - at about midnight, I
tapped the "A" button to check up on him but he was
sleeping. It's LCD eyes were closed and a snooze animation floated.
I left it alone.
An unexplained occurrence in the middle of the
night awoke me to the electronic barrage of
C-Bot. It randomly erupted with a cacophony
of blithering chatter. Just as I had disturbed him at
midnight, it now took vengeance on my slumber. Thoughts of
throwing it out the window danced about but I listened for a couple of seconds,
turned over and rejoined the Sandman. The adage
"Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em"
doesn't quite apply yet but I'll see what the next couple of
days brings.
To be continued....
Order your own, online
|
|
