Sword of Mana is Square Enix's second title for the GBA and, like Final Fantasy Tactics before it, it's a remake of one of their earlier classics. The...... more

Sword of Mana is Square Enix's second title for the GBA and, like Final Fantasy Tactics before it, it's a remake of one of their earlier classics. The original version, on the old black and white Game Boy, was sold as The Final Fantasy Adventure in the West--although it was actually the first game in the Japanese Seiken Densetsu series (which also includes the highly regarded Secret of Mana) and is nothing to do with the Final Fantasy franchise at all. In fact the game plays a lot more like The Legend of Zelda, because there's no turn-based combat--just real-time action. With such an illustrious pedigree you'd expect a lot from Sword of Mana and at first you won't be disappointed: the graphics are gorgeous and the sword- and magic-based combat is immediately engaging. However it soon becomes clear that the game lacks the variety of Zelda and instead replaces it with Square Enix's usual finicky role-playing elements. More problematic is the complete stupidity of the various computer-controlled characters that are supposed to help you out throughout the game, but instead just get in your way. Neither element is enough to ruin the game, which is still a superior action RPG--but they do make it fall a little short of the portable classic it could've been. --David Jenkins

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Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory McGrath is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man--a man betrothed to the woman of...... more

Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory McGrath is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man--a man betrothed to the woman of Rory's dreams. In possession of the secrets of his past, his family, and his identity, she is his doom, his salvation and his destiny.

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Matching folio to the ultimate collection of songs, picked by Leonard Cohen himself, to give the fairest representation of his career. Arranged for piano, voice...... more

Matching folio to the ultimate collection of songs, picked by Leonard Cohen himself, to give the fairest representation of his career. Arranged for piano, voice and guitar with guitar chord diagrams. Titles are: â??A Thousand Kisses Deepâ?TM, â??Ain't No Cure For Loveâ?TM, â??Alexandra Leavingâ?TM, â??Anthemâ?TM, â??Bird On A Wireâ?TM, â??Chelsea Hotel #2â?TM, â??Closing Timeâ?TM, â??Dance Me To The End Of Loveâ?TM, â??Democracyâ?TM, â??Everybody Knowsâ?TM, â??Famous Blue Raincoatâ?TM, â??First We Takeâ?TM, â??Manhattanâ?TM, â??Hallelujahâ?TM, â??Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbyeâ?TM, â??If It Be Your Willâ?TM, â??I'm Your Manâ?TM, â??In My Secret Lifeâ?TM, â??Love Itselfâ?TM, â??Night Comes Onâ?TM, â??Sisters Of Mercyâ?TM, â??So Long, Marianneâ?TM, â??Suzanneâ?TM, â??Take This Longingâ?TM, â??Take This Waltzâ?TM, â??The Futureâ?TM, â??The Guestsâ?TM, â??The Partisanâ?TM, â??The Stranger Songâ?TM, â??Tower Of Songâ?TM, â??Waiting For The Miracleâ?TM, â??Who By Fireâ?TM.

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From the makers of Retro Gamer magazine, this bookazine is packed with in-depth articles on some of the greatest games and franchises that the videogames world...... more

From the makers of Retro Gamer magazine, this bookazine is packed with in-depth articles on some of the greatest games and franchises that the videogames world has ever seen. You'll discover the origins of Lemmings, how Jet Set Willy 2 came to be, learn the full history of Road Rash and Secrets of Mana, and get exhaustive, in-depth interviews with Sid Meier and Allan Alcorn, and plenty more.

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Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory McGrath is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man--a man betrothed to the woman of...... more

Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory McGrath is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man--a man betrothed to the woman of Rory's dreams. In possession of the secrets of his past, his family, and his identity, she is his doom, his salvation and his destiny.

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A collection of four short stories from the famed mangaka Arina Tanemura! Short-Tempered Melancholic: Kajika Yamano is a female ninja whose job is to protect...... more

A collection of four short stories from the famed mangaka Arina Tanemura! Short-Tempered Melancholic: Kajika Yamano is a female ninja whose job is to protect her family's legendary weapon. But when a boy she has a crush on tells her she should be more ladylike, she vows to give up all ninja deeds. This Love is Nonfiction: Yuri sends her pen pal Ryo a picture of herself--but it's really of her best friend Karin, who is prettier than she is. Now Ryo wants to meet her, so she has no choice but to send Karin instead! Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines: Minori falls in love with Takato, a boy who shared his umbrella with her one rainy afternoon. Now she "forgets" her umbrella every time it rains in hopes of becoming closer to him. The Style of the Second Love: Mana secretly likes her friend's boyfriend, but Nakamura, a younger boy, is determined to win Mana's heart.

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Matching folio to the ultimate collection of songs, picked by Leonard Cohen himself, to give the fairest representation of his career. Arranged for piano, voice...... more

Matching folio to the ultimate collection of songs, picked by Leonard Cohen himself, to give the fairest representation of his career. Arranged for piano, voice and guitar with guitar chord diagrams. Titles are: â??A Thousand Kisses Deepâ?TM, â??Ain't No Cure For Loveâ?TM, â??Alexandra Leavingâ?TM, â??Anthemâ?TM, â??Bird On A Wireâ?TM, â??Chelsea Hotel #2â?TM, â??Closing Timeâ?TM, â??Dance Me To The End Of Loveâ?TM, â??Democracyâ?TM, â??Everybody Knowsâ?TM, â??Famous Blue Raincoatâ?TM, â??First We Takeâ?TM, â??Manhattanâ?TM, â??Hallelujahâ?TM, â??Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbyeâ?TM, â??If It Be Your Willâ?TM, â??I'm Your Manâ?TM, â??In My Secret Lifeâ?TM, â??Love Itselfâ?TM, â??Night Comes Onâ?TM, â??Sisters Of Mercyâ?TM, â??So Long, Marianneâ?TM, â??Suzanneâ?TM, â??Take This Longingâ?TM, â??Take This Waltzâ?TM, â??The Futureâ?TM, â??The Guestsâ?TM, â??The Partisanâ?TM, â??The Stranger Songâ?TM, â??Tower Of Songâ?TM, â??Waiting For The Miracleâ?TM, â??Who By Fireâ?TM.

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When her irresponsible brother rents the family home, Langston Manor, for the duration of the Royal Ascot races to Valient, Earl of Trevarnon and his wild...... more

When her irresponsible brother rents the family home, Langston Manor, for the duration of the Royal Ascot races to Valient, Earl of Trevarnon and his wild gentleman friends, lonely and innocent young Demelza is afraid. Although married to a woman who has lost her mind and is in an asylum, Trevarnon is a well-known â??ladiesâ?TM manâ?TM â?" and, for her own safety and modesty, Demelza agrees to hide among The Manorâ?TMs maze of secret passages. As she watches, though, through the old houseâ?TMs ancient peepholes, she sees another, very different, side to the notorious Nobleman. Suddenly one moonlit night, under a honeysuckle arbour, Demelza realises that she has lost her heart utterly to this dashing stranger. But her love is wrong. Valient Trevarnon can never, ever be hers! Then, when she secretly foils a sinister plot against her beloved, she triggers a chain of events and an overwhelming passion far beyond her control â?" and perhaps now she dares to hope for her heartâ?TMs desire â?"

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A collection of four short stories from the famed mangaka Arina Tanemura! Short-Tempered Melancholic: Kajika Yamano is a female ninja whose job is to protect...... more

A collection of four short stories from the famed mangaka Arina Tanemura! Short-Tempered Melancholic: Kajika Yamano is a female ninja whose job is to protect her family's legendary weapon. But when a boy she has a crush on tells her she should be more ladylike, she vows to give up all ninja deeds. This Love is Nonfiction: Yuri sends her pen pal Ryo a picture of herself--but it's really of her best friend Karin, who is prettier than she is. Now Ryo wants to meet her, so she has no choice but to send Karin instead! Rainy Afternoons are for Romantic Heroines: Minori falls in love with Takato, a boy who shared his umbrella with her one rainy afternoon. Now she "forgets" her umbrella every time it rains in hopes of becoming closer to him. The Style of the Second Love: Mana secretly likes her friend's boyfriend, but Nakamura, a younger boy, is determined to win Mana's heart.

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Contains three films from director François Ozon: Swimming Pool, 8 Women and 5 x 2.Swimming Pool - In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a...... more

Contains three films from director François Ozon: Swimming Pool, 8 Women and 5 x 2.Swimming Pool - In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star Charlotte Rampling to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie. What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant, perhaps jealous fascination. These two women, generations apart, share in Ozon's delicate dance of trust, curiosity and gradual understanding until a twist ending that forces you to re-evaluate everything you've seen. Only then are the mysteries of Swimming Pool fully and tantalisingly revealed. --Jeff Shannon, amazon.com8 Women - The cream of France's cinema sirens star in the deliciously candy-coloured 8 Women, a murder mystery speckled with ornate performances that play up the public image of the actresses themselves. Eight women find themselves snowbound in a house with a dead man--a man each of them (his wife, sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, daughters, housekeeper, and chambermaid) had reason to kill. Secrets tumble forth, accusations fly, catfights flare, and confrontations turn steamy, all accompanied by campy performances of 1960s French pop songs. At first, these musical numbers seem like pure kitsch, comic and entertaining, but over the movie's course, they become strangely touching. Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Virginie Ledoyen, Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Beart, Isabelle Huppert, Ludivine Sagnier, and Firmine Richard are all superb, investing their cardboard characters with a strange emotional resonance--and their costumes are exquisite. An entrancing piece of giddy fluff. --Bret Fetzer5 x 2 is a haunting and realistic evocation of the evanescence of love and how adult relationships evolve over time. Returning to a more intimate scale following his international smash, Swimming Pool, Francois Ozon's chamber drama is an anatomy of a failed marriage told in reverse chronology, starting with the finalization of the couple's divorce and concluding, literally, as they walk off into the sunset for their first encounter. Subverting the conventions of cinema romance along with audience expectations of happy endings, Ozon focuses on five key chapters in these two people's lives -- including the first blush of sexual attraction, the wedding night, and the birth of their first child -- that reveal the inextricable emotional ties between them, while at the same time exposing the inevitable seeds of discord.

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