As far as I can tell Best Buy, EBgames, Wal-Mart, and probably any other non-game-exclusive stores will not be carrying Nanostray PERIOD. Gamestop can order it from Majesco directly, but it takes awhile, and apparently it only happens if the game is pre-ordered.
I called around town today and lo and behold, that magical used game store called RHINO actually got in TWO copies of Nanostray. That means that aside from my pre-order which will come in to Gamestop tomorrow sometime, there are only 2 copies of Nanostray in Huntsville Alabama (trust me, I've looked). Therefore, if you think you're ever going to want Nanostray, buy it now... because it seems Majesco's current financial troubles have killed the number of units that will actually ship for this game.
Now, for the impressions!
Graphics:
Guys, I swear to you, the videos we've seen and the pictures they've put up do not do this game justice. This game is insanely beautiful, and it really shows what the DS is capable. What little slowdown there is is incredibly smooth and brief, and it really isn't even a problem. Bullets, ship designs, etc. are all well done and it seems Shin'en has really gotten better since Iridion II as far as enemy design goes. Once again, THIS GAME IS BEAUTIFUL!
Gameplay:
Yes, switching weapons using the touch screen is annoying, at least at first. I still haven't grown accustomed to it, but I can see myself learning the levels, knowing when to switch, and switching my shooting to the L trigger while I switch weapons. No biggie. The invisible wall... is inexcusable. On each side of the screen there's just an invisible wall the ship cannot pass... and its a major fucking pain in the ass. Especially during boss fights, as they tend to get incredibly crowded because of this. Really, there's no excuse for it, and it is a major design flaw in the game.
Other than that though, the game is pretty fecking awesome. The bullet/enemy patterns are incredibly well done, the bosses are very challenging, unlike Iridion II you actually have to weave through some fairly complex bullet spreads, and the weapons are all useful.
You have 5 weapons: Forward shot, Lightning gun (beautiful weapon... ), Forward-homing shot, side shots, and one more I'm not remembering...
At any rate, you can use A or L to fire, and I think its X that shoots the charge shot. By collecting blue coins your weapon powers up, and whenever you use the charge shot your weapon's power meter goes down (a lot like Border Down actually). The power shots are all pretty fecking awesome, in fact, Cave-nuts would probably love the main forward shot's power attack as its very similar to the death beams from the 'Pachi games.
Also, this game is considerably harder than their previous games. I died twice at the first boss I fought, and two more times at the next boss. Yes... you have a life bar (though its weaker on the higher difficulties), but if you run into an enemy you die instantly. Kind of annoying in the level where giant battle cruisers are flying in from behind you, but I guess its one of the "memorization" type things some of us love and some of us hate.
The scoring system is fairly simple, and mostly focuses on killing "waves" of enemies. This number multiplies, and happiness is had by all. If you manage to collect blue coins while your power meter is full, this will also start chaining and a multiplier will start going up. Other than that, score is focused on lives left, smart bombs left, etc.
Music:
Reminded me of Iridion mixed with Panzer Dragoon... needless to say, I love it, and its pretty damn awesome. The sound effects are solid as well, nothing to spectacular, but their good.
Replay:
3 modes. I think the main game has 8 levels? Maybe more... I'm not sure as I only made it to level 3 on one credit. Also, there's a challenge mode which seems pretty cool, as well as the 2player co-op... but I'm sure you guys know all about that stuff already. ^_^ (that, and I haven't messed with it much).
Final thoughts:
If it wasn't for the damn invisible walls I could see this game being a shmup classic. But those walls are just too big of a flaw to overlook, so I'm going to have to agree with the majority and give it a B (thus far, I've only seen 3 levels and these are only impressions after all.
). But yes, definitely a rock solid game that any shmupo should *try* to find. Hopefully they do another pressing or something as this game really deserves it. Best game I've played on the DS yet.
Edit:
Hype: If you combined Radiant Silvergun, Iridion II, and DonPachi... you would get Nanostray.
Sucks Gamespot and others not carrying it, though. WTF's up with that?! 
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