Kind of hard to tell how good the figures look. As NCS points out, advertising brown things on a dark background is not a good idea, no matter how much outer glow you apply. Still, they are living, breathing SackBoy toys, and that's exactly what we wanted. Yum.

SackBoy Plushie Pre-Order Page [National Console Support]

Five bucks that rubber ducky enthusiast Phil Harrison's already put in for a gross. Friends and relatives should never again moan that I'm too hard to shop for, for this is all one would need to make bath time fun again. That and bubbles.

Uki Uki Chocobo [NCSX]

RELIVE THE BIRTH OF A PHENOMENON WITH FINAL FANTASY & FINAL FANTASY II

London (19th December 2007) - Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that FINAL FANTASY® and FINAL FANTASY II will both be released in the UK and across all PAL territories on 8th February, 2008 on the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system.

Experience the classic gameplay, captivating storylines and unforgettable characters that gave birth to the FINAL FANTASY phenomenon. Completely re-mastered exclusively for PSP, FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II are the definitive versions of the epic games that established the biggest RPG brand in the world.

These new editions feature redrawn graphics and character art, exclusive all-new dungeons, full 16:9 widescreen visuals and an updated camera view that gives players a new perspective on these two timeless classics that defined the RPG genre.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, "FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II represent the foundations of the Square Enix success story. They are the first two imaginative steps in the long and distinguished history of the FINAL FANTASY franchise. With these beautiful new versions, fans can now experience the origins of FINAL FANTASY wherever they go."

NCSX is currently soliciting the Nintendo DS game for $49.90 American. Obviously, this includes an English language option for easy American-style reading. In fact, it includes multiple language options, as European releases are wont to do. The game ships to our across the pond pals on September 13th, so don't sleep on this one.

Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosey Rupeeland - Preorder [NCSX]

The childlike drawings of robots and crayons makes it sting that much more considering that (for now) the game has only been slated as a Japanese release, but methinks there will be some importing just to see what in the heck this new piece of plastic is all about. I've always found that when there's a chance that breaking something could be fun, people often take that chance. Kim Phu

Mag Kid DS Features Motion Sensing Peripheral [Portable Video Gamer]

Go! Go! for the Wii is a new game coming out in Japan where the toppling over dominos in various situations results in a wiimote victory. The game features six different stages, all with bizarre plots and ways to use the wiimote. Does it make a lot of sense? No. Will it be a totally engaging game? Perhaps not. But it looks like candy and I for one like shaking the wiimote uncontrollably to see if anything weird happens in each game before I play it.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Super Paper Mario, but I would love to have a game like this to distribute the carpal tunnel evenly between both wrists. Kim Phu

'Go! Go! Becoming [minon]' [minon], it will help the person where the town is troubled! [Famitsu]

お馴染み海外版の同時収録も! [Famitsu, Thanks bpmΩ!]

Not only can you dress up your taiko drum, but you can also put (disgruntled) animals in them too. Secondary only to the fact that there is some kind of drumming-slash-Super Mario Bros gameplay going on with an underwater taiko drum.

My head is exploding and I'm going to talk like a Pikachu for the next two hours.Kim Phu

Taiko No Tatsujin DS en Images [Jeux France]

Oh, it's just a robot-ball with wheels getting its head sliced off and spilling out baby blue blood. That screenshot was part of a flash loading page off the game site, Mizuiro Blood, and is proof that Bandai has let their developers eat too many sugary snacks in between meals.

Even though it's a Japanese import game, as we all know one of the benefits of owning a Nintendo DS is that (come on, say it with me) it's region free, which means anyone who wants to pick it up from outside sources can in fact play it. After doing a little research, it seems that even though Muzuiro is categorized as "action" game, it mainly involves mini-games that you can play up to four players with.

Come this June, all you have to do is seek out something adorable and attack it. That's not too hard to understand. Kim Phu

Muzuiro Chang [Bandai]

National Console Support is now taking order for a trio of Animal Crossing mugs from Banpresto that just might fit the bill. Choose from KK Slider, Celeste and Blathers, or that son of a bitch Tom Nook to brighten up your day, for a very pleasing $8.75 each.

You know, I don't get a kickback from NCSX. I just want to enrich your life with more videogame branded crap! Enjoy! Michael McWhertor

Animal Crossing Ichiban Kuji - Mug [NCSX]

Play-Asia has announced that they've partnered with an American distributor to sell some sixty-odd Japanese popular "dating sims" with loads of adult content to eager (read: horny, shy and lonely) import gamers.

Make no mistake, this is pure porn gaming. It's less censored than its Japanese equivalent, so proceed at your own risk. But if you've ever wondered about the crazy, dirty world of Japanese hentai gaming, or needed more naked anime girls in sexy situations in your life, now's your chance. Michael McWhertor

Feeling lonely and bored? Play-Asia now features English translated Japanese Adult Dating Games [Play-Asia]

For those unfamiliar, Panel de Pon has come to the West as Tetris Attack for the Super Nintendo and Pokemon Puzzle League for the Nintendo 64. A Game Boy Advance cart featuring Puzzle League and Dr. Mario was released in 2005 as well.

The DS release looks to trump them all with stylus control, wi-fi multiplayer for four, and different puzzle themes. Oh God, I'm pre-ordering right now! Michael McWhertor

Panel De Pon DS [Impress Game Watch]

Thank goodness for Dan from Thebbps, who directed us to the Hori Dust and Nicotine Guard 3, available this April through Play-Asia. Several plastic pieces snap over your PS3 vents, filtering out dust and cigarette smoke while hopefully still letting the good air in and out. I love that the product is numbered, as if there were two before it that just didn't make the grade.

"Johnson, get in here! What is this? The Dust and Nicotine Guard 2? This is complete shit. Come back when you've got something to show me!"

Of course it is a Japanese product, and the Japanese don't have Johnsons.

Um.

Anyway, interesting product idea, though I'm not sure how much I care if my PS3 inhales a little second hand smoke. If only they made a version of this for my lungs. Michael Fahey

Protect your PS3 from getting smokers cough [bits, bytes, pixels & sprites]

With 16 chords to use at any time from a library of 120, users may strum out a song relatively easily if you're familiar with basic guitar playing. We were able to play the Main Riff I for "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman and "Torn" from Natalie Imbruglia this morning by following guitar tabs found on the web. In addition to its function as a guitar, the software also includes a library of 20 songs and a listening-then-repeating exercise."

"On the touch screen, a thick crop of vertical lines represent the guitar string. It's pasted against a black background so that the focus is the line itself. To play, strum the line with your touch pen or finger and you'll hear a twang. Change chords with the D-pad by moving it in the direction of the chords shown on the top screen and the tone of the twang changes every time you move the D-pad to another chord."

I'm not so sure about changing chords with the D-pad, but I'm loving the rest of this. Brian Crecente

Your DS Is Now A... Guitar? [GameSetWatch]

Filling the Void [Modojo, Thanks John!]

I've been hearing about Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! almost since the DS came out, and I've been meaning to pick it up for just as long. Procrastination is the name of the game, my simians.

Now I have no excuse, because Elite Beat Agents, the localized version of the rhythm game, is due out on Nov. 8th and it's not taking "maybe later" for an answer.

Some of the scenarios we've seen include a lost dog running back home, two girls fending for themselves on a deserted island and a babysitter trying to take care of a punk kid. Even though the cover art doesn't say it, Elite Beat Agents is rated E10 by the ESRB for cartoon violence, crude humor and suggestive themes.

Crude humor is the only type of humor I recognize. Eliza Gauger

Elite Beat Agents release date discovered [Siliconera]

Now he's taking that knowledge of Japanese and video games and finally doing something good with it. He's giving us impressions of the newly released DS game, Tingle's Freshly-Picked Rose-Colored Rupee Land.

If you thought the title was bizarre, you might not be prepared for the gameplay and the story. According to Kohler, Tingle's on a quest to get to Rupee Land where he'll gorge on food and spend time with tons of lovely ladies. Yeah, ladies. *cough*

There's a bizarre battle system and a bargaining calculator and all sorts of middle-aged fairy wackiness. Let's hope Nintendo of America brings this stateside so we can all get together in the desert, ingest copious amounts of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and sort out this whole Tingle thing. Michael McWhertor

Tingle's Rupee Land: First Impressions!

In a wild bid for "Worst Name for a Videogame Ever", Love Hamster is due on the Japanese DS scene on November 2nd.

Players can design six rooms for your hamster to run around in. You can also play dress up and teach your hamster words by speaking in the microphone.

There is currently no North American released planned, but if you really feel like your DS experience is incomplete without talking hamsters that throb and twitch like the freshly-extracted organs of your vanquished foes, I'm sure Bashy will be taking orders. Eliza Gauger

Love Hamster [Siliconera]

One of the cheap bastards at Cheap Ass Gamer has compiled an amazingly informative guide to importing. CAG forum member Chacranajxy originally wrote this how to for Gamespot, but has dumbed it down for all of us! He gives us the lowdown on how to mod consoles, a full list of import recommendations, which games are actually import friendly and how to buy them. Think of it as "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Importing (But Were Too Afraid to Ask)." Brian Ashcraft

More Here [CAG]

Bit Generations is Nintendo's swan song to the GBA. The first batch beautiful, simple puzzle and music games have gone on sale, with Series II hitting later this month. The games retail for 2,000 yen (about US $16), and no American release has been announced.

Any good, though?

Yes, says Kotaku reader Kevin, who picked up the Boundish bit Generation at his local Yodobashi Camera in Japan. He reports that the other bit games, Dialhex and dotstream, were being snapped up by customers, with dotstream actually selling out. Kind Kevin not only took photos, but provided us with a detailed description of Boundish's mini-games. Good news foreigners, the English language menus means this game is definitely import-friendly.

Hit the jump for pics and Kevin's blow-by-blow account. Brian Ashcraft

The first game option is Pool Flower. This is basically Pong with a few twists. Your player is red and the CPU is blue. Whenever the ball hits a paddle, it changes to the color of the paddle. During play, different colored circles move through the playing field: red, blue and gray. If the ball passes through a circle that's the same color as it or a gray circle, it speeds up. When it passes through a gray circle, the circle turns to the color of the ball. If the ball hits a circle of the opposite color, it changes the circle to the ball's color but the ball bounces back. You can move in all directions on your side of the screen. This makes for some pretty fun and unpredictable matches since the the circles are of random sizes and movements.

The second game is Box Juggling. You control a stick figure-like man at the bottom the screen and a red box starts falling. You can hit it with your head or your arms. If you hit with your arms, the box will go the opposite direction (left arm sends the box to the right). If you hit it with your head, the box goes basically straight up but your guy is stunned for a little bit. Each juggle this way is 1 point. You can also press A to do a jumping juggle. This gets you 2 to 6 points depending on how solidly you hit the box. Since the guy jumps you have to time it well to get 6 points. At about 20 points some blue boxes fell from the top. I didn't know if they were good or bad so I avoided them. Later in the game I accidentally hit one and found out that you can juggle them for 3 points per juggle - up to 6 with the jump. The blue boxes are heavier than the red boxes though so they don't go too high and it's hard to maintain them and the red box, which is the primary objective. At 50 points a second red block materializes and you have to juggle them both. The second box is a little heavier than the first so you have to juggle it differently than the first one to try to line them up and make it easier on yourself. At 100 points a third box materializes and it's significantly heavier than that other 2 boxes. Not as heavy as the blue boxes (this is when I accidentally hit one) but a lot heavier than the other 2 red boxes. This is when it got really hard for me since I couldn't get a good rhythm with all 3 boxes. I got to 131 before one of the red boxes fell to the floor; which ends the game. I would imagine that getting to 150 and/or 200 add more boxes. There are also power-ups in this game which seem to be triggered by good jumping juggles. The only 2 I've seen are a helmet that lets you get a head juggle without being stunned and a shadow guy that will give you a free juggle on a box while you concentrate on another one.

Up third is Power Slider. This is another Pong variation. This time you're confined to moving up and down along a circular path. The ball is more of a disc in this one and it's all about putting some spin on it. When the ball hits a paddle it does in the air and gains spin depending on how the paddle struck it. When it lands, it moves in the direction of the spin. You can press the A button charge up your paddle and if you time it right you can give some extra oomph to the ball. Getting the added power and good spin is pretty hard to do and the AI is pretty good at it on higher levels. The field gets marked where the ball lands but I haven't noticed those marks affecting the ball's movement at all.

Game number 4 is called Human League and is best described as a kind of crazy 2 paddle Pong. You control the 2 paddles on your side, one in front and the other in back. You have full control of the front paddle and can move it up, down, left and right. The back paddle loosely follows your vertical movement. The twists here and that 1) the ball moves faster after hitting any paddle 2) if the ball hits the back paddle it gets "stunned" for a half second and 3) pressing up or down along with the A button, puts your back paddle on a beeline to the corresponding corner. However this "stuns" your back paddle for a good bit longer than when it hits the ball and you have to rely solely on the front paddle until it "recovers". Also, when the back paddle hits the ball the front paddle can get in the path of the ball to give it extra speed sending it to the other side (that is, you don't have to worry about the front paddle messing up you back paddle save).

The last game is Wild Go Round and honestly... I haven't really figured this one out yet. You're playing Pong on the edge of a record and you can move around the entire edge. The ball moves based on how your paddle hits it but your movement also influences the spin of the record which in turn influences the movement of the ball. It gets pretty crazy and I have a hard time beating the easiest level AI. Though this really stems from the fact that I find the controls a little wonky. Even though you move on the edge of a circle like Power Slider, you can't rely on just up and down to move you in the right direction. You have to roll around the d-pad as you move and I just couldn't get into that groove. Pressing A button looks like it gives some extra speed to the ball but I haven't been too successful at it. There are also some meters on the sides of screen that I haven't been able to figure out. My best guess is they determine how much you can spin the record.

Love Live bit Generations [Kotaku]

Like Xbox 360 games, but don't like Xbox 360 prices? It's no secret that software prices have been sliced in Japan, making the country 360 shopping heaven. CheapyD from game site Cheap Ass Gamer has compiled a list of US $40 Asian Xbox 360 games that ain't region protected and have full English support. Games include: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII, Call of Duty 2, FarCry Instincts Predator, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Gun, Hitman: Blood Money, MotoGP '06, Quake 4, Tomb Raider: Legend and X-Men: The Official Game. These games are being imported via PlayAsia, patron saint of cheap bastards like CheapyD. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [CAG] via Opposable Thumbs

Jim's question and initial, exploratory findings after the jump. Joel Johnson

Jim writes:

Hello Gawker demi-god of Games and Gadgets, I have a favor to ask— I was wondering if something could be posted on Gizmodo or Kotaku to tap the collective knowledge of the readers on where in the bi-state area (ny, nj) a gamer might purchase import games.

Trawling the various sites online is both tedious and pricey, especially if you want to receive anything in less than 3-4 weeks. Ebay is a gamble for import games, usually taking at least as long with only slighly better prices, and sometimes hidden costs of sellers mandating $5+ shipping insurance and sometimes never sending anything.

Anyway, assistance is much appreciated.

Because I'm a lazy hag and hadn't posted this yet, Jim wrote back after a couple of days:

Since trying to send this the first time, I took a ride into China Town NYC and have some results of my own to share: 15 Elizabeth street, the Elizabeth St. Center. and 28 Elizabeth St, J&L Game Traders. Both have very limitted selection, maybe 15+ titles, but they seemed to be some of the more popular games. $50+ for all games. J&L also offered to order items, but at those prices, if they are going to order you're better off paying for 2-3 days shipping online, or waiting for longer shipping and getting it cheaper.

Peter from J-list rang the red Kotaku phone, letting us know that he's banging the pavement and trying to round-up as many Final Fantasy Potion premium sets as possible. These special sets contain a collector's bottle and card. Needless to say, they are selling out pretty dang quick. Each set goes for $28.50, and stock probably won't last the weekend. Even if J-list sells out, Peter assured us that he'd keep looking high and low for the popular potion.

Order Here [J-list]

Today, Osaka's Suntory Limited released the Final Fantasy XII potion. The convenience store near my house had already been ransacked when I stopped by. The premium boxes with the special bottles were sold out, leaving one sole six pack. Another store turned up plenty of bottles, but no premiums. Well, how did it taste?

It's no accident that the elixir was placed among the other vitamin packed health drinks. The smell was rather pungent and medicinal, and the drink tasted like, well, medicine. It is a potion after all and and that is precisely what imbibing it is like. Truth in advertising.

Worth an import? Just maybe.

Drink Up [Kotaku]

Nintendo DS import favorite Ouendan [Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan] will be getting a Euro release. A Nintendo of Europe team member slipped word to game journos that the game will be heading to the UK sometime in the future. No word on a U.S. release, but it should be in the cards.

The rhythm game follows a troupe of cheerleader like helper dudes that go around encouraging people who are stuck in difficult situations. Weekend Editor Mike McWhertor picked this game as a best of 2005.

Story Here [GoNintendo]

Poll after the jump.

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DS Lite Contest [Kotaku]

As promised here's your chance to win your very own DS Lite. Brian Ashcraft is standing by to go stand outside a store in Japan for you.

So here are the rules for the giveaway:

I ve constructed a challenging little game, so be warned—you re going to have to put some effort into winning. I call it a trivia scavenger hunt. If you're an old-school reader of Kotaku, you know all about it. If not, read on.

All you have to do is read the question below, search Kotaku using our faithful search engine and find the answer. The news item with the answer will have the next clue at the bottom in italics. The final clue, number 11 to be exact, will be a question about Nintendo lore.

To be entered in the contest send an email to kotakucontest@gmail.com with the word Contest in the subject line followed by the final answer. So your subject line would be: Contest XXX with the Xs being the correct answer to the final trivia question. In the message body put the headlines to all of the correct news stories that led you to the final question.

Keep in mind that ALL the questions, except the final one, must be found within Kotaku s webpages. The final one can be answered with Google, your friendly neighborhood encyclopedia or a friend.

I know this is tricky, but you are playing for a brand new DS Lite straight from Japan, where it goes on sale on March 2.

One entry per a household, please, and no sharing answers. The contest will run through March 2. I ll randomly draw a winner from the people who answer the question properly. I ll announce the winner on March. 5.

So to kick things off, here s clue number one:

What's the name of the group that decided to act out old-school video game Paperboy and catch the thing on video?

I still love Guitar Hero, but I have to admit that Konami's recent announcement about Guitar Freaks has me intrigued. Import store NCSX, by way of GameSetWatch, says that a new arcade-style controller for the game has been green-lighted by Konami. The guitar, which will be a close replication of the one used in the arcade, will cost a whopping $200 plus another $89 to import. Crap. I guess I'll stick with Guitar Hero.

Guitar Controllers That Cost More Than Consoles [GSW]

List Here [Next-Gen]

There are two ways to deal with importing and exporting games. You can take what I call the "Sony Approach" and sue the living crap out of anyone who tries to sell games, accessories or hardware to countries you're not prepared to deal with or you can embrace the grey market like Nintendo.

Here's a prime example: The Japanese remake of Gyakuten Saiben for the DS (Better known as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in the U.S.) will actually have a full English option in the game. Click this option and the language, logo, splash screen, everything turns English. Famitsu says the game will hit Japan on Sept.15 and the U.S. in October.

Japanese Phoenix Wright DS to Have Full English Option [GameBrink]

The Sony lawsuit against Lik-Sang may not stand a chance in court, but it is having a chilling effect on the European import market.

According to a bunch of GameBrink posters, game exporter Play Asia no longer ships PSP games or consoles to Europe. Nice, maybe Sony should try filing some frivolous lawsuits against Microsoft to prevent them from shipping the Xbox 360.

Play Asia Stops Shipping PSP Stuff To Europe [GameBrink]