Monday, January 15, 2007

DC Karous Preorder

Prior to Milestone's announcement of "Karous" for the coin-op market, the word "Karous" did not exist in Japan. Mutter "Karous" in Shijuku and no one will respond. In the USA, there's a word "Carouse" which means a drunken stupor but that's about it. Karous is a bastardization of the word "Karasu" which means a type of "Crow."

The crow reference may refer to the heroines in the game who are all decked out in black outfits that make them look like crows. Sort of. Maybe crow references the feather motif in the game as well where a heroine may ring her ship with a barrier that blows outwards into a radiating circle of feathers. Or maybe, just maybe, the main heroine who is named "Karasu" got lucky and got a game named after her.

The result of the union between a mortal man and a female angel, Karasu is a 13 year-old girl who lost her parents to war. Her best friend is named Shigi who's a techno-whiz with a pair of square-shaped glasses.

First Impressions
When NCS checked out Karous last year, we figured that Milestone had a Rajirugi Contruction Kit somewhere on the premises. Visually, the game is similar to that earlier effort but the game has enough wrinkles to distinguish itself somewhat. The control scheme looks like this:

Joystick: Movement
A-Button: Shoot
B-Button: Slash sword
C-Button: Special Attack

Press "A" and bullets will burst forward. Stop shooting and a shield appears which blocks oncoming fire. To attack with a swishing sword, press the "B" button to smack anything that meanders too close for comfort. Each weapon system and the shield has an experience level as indicated by three numbers on the upper left corner of the screen. Furthermore, a cumulative level of the ship's systems is tracked by a number on the upper right corner which acts as a score multiplier. We think the soundtrack for Karous is a keeper and we'll throw up some more details and a full review of the DC version of the game when it is released. Preorders are welcome today.

Updated Preorder Schedule

Nintendo DS
3/01 Bakegyamon: Ayakashi Fighting Takara

Super Robot Taisen W Banpresto
3/15 Survival Kids Lost in Blue 2 Konami

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love Konami
3/22 Front Mission The First SquarEnix

Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana SquarEnix

Shakugan no Shana DS MWorks
Playstation 2
3/08 GuitarFreaks & DrumMania Masterpiece Gold Konami

Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 29: Monster World Complete Sega
3/29 Rogue Galaxy Director's Cut Sony

Garouden Break Blow: Fist or Twist D3

Hokuto no Ken [Fist of the Northstar] Sega

Seaman 2: Peking Genjin Ikusei Kit Sega

Seaman 2: Peking Genjin Ikusei Kit + Microphone Sega

Shining Wind Sega
4/05 Naruto Shippuuden Narutimett Accel Namco

Naruto Shippuden Ningyoshu Collection

Bandai has started preorders for a collection of Naruto Shippuden Ningyoshu Collection candy toys which are scheduled to ship in mid-late February 2007. Each factory sealed case of 10 randomly packaged figures is priced at US$30. Eight characters are featured in the set as follows:

Top Row from left to right
Naruto Uzumaki
Sakura Haruno
Kakashi Hatake

Middle Row from left to right
Neji Hyuga
Rock Lee
Gaara

Bottom Row from left to right
Itachi Uchiha
Kisame Hoshigaki

Japanese Import Outlook

Please note that PS2 Ibara [Best] which was originally scheduled to ship this week has been canceled. Good bye. Seems there weren't enough preorders to merit the production. Ibara was one of our best selling games last year and we received a healthy amount of preorders for the [Best] version so this development is disappointing.
NDS Kaitou Wario the Seven Nintendo

Ochaken no Heya DS 2 MTO

Sekaiju no Meikyuu Atlus
PS2 .hack//G.U. Vol. 3: Aruku Youna Hayasa de Bandai

.hack//G.U. Vol. 3 8M Memory Card Hori

Detective Evangelion Broccoli

Detective Evangelion Premium Box Broccoli

Dragon Shadow Spell Flight-Plan

Shining Force EXA Sega
PSP Initial D: Street Stage BEST Sega

Talkman Shiki Shabe Lingual Eikaiwa SCEI

Talkman Shiki Shabe Lingual Eikaiwa with Mic SCEI
Wii Excite Truck Nintendo

USA Release Outlook

The sequel to Phoenix Wright leads preorders for the week.
NDS Fossil League D3P

Phoenix Wright: Justice for All Capcom
PS2 NCAA 07 March Madness EA
X360 NCAA 07 March Madness EA
Wii Wario Ware: Smooth Moves Nintendo

Martin Luther King Day

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. Fifteen years after Dr King's death in 1968, a bill was signed into law which made King's birthday a national holiday. Government offices, banks, U.S. markets, and the postal service are closed today.

Since the Post Office is shuttered, please note that postal shipment orders submitted over the weekend and today will be dispatched tomorrow. This includes international Express Mail and Global Priority Mail shipments. UPS and Fedex are operating normally and orders will be shipped this afternoon.