In 1994, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise was waning in popularity. As it would soon go dormant for a while, Konami decided to make one last attempt to cash in on the franchise by releasing a trio of fighting games for the SNES, Genesis, and NES. In an era where the difference between multiplatform releases meant more than simple graphical upgrades, the three games were vastly different.
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In 2001, the last thing anyone would imagine is Final Fantasy characters running around with Disney characters. Then Square’s Kingdom Hearts came, and it’s action RPG gameplay, deep plot, and high production values made it an instant classic amongst gamers. When the game concluded however, there were many questions that had been left unanswered, and even more were left over from the Game Boy Advance spin-off, “Chain of Memories”. Of course like any good series, this merely left players anticipating this eagerly awaited sequel even more.
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IGN has posted a preview of the pair of Transformer DS games. Sounds pretty interesting, the games are completely different and will feature levels and playable characters unique to each version. Perhaps the most intriguing detail is that it will support Nintendo WiFi Connection for “Allspark War” with up to 4 players in Team Deathmatch and other gametypes. Considering there is no online multiplayer in the console versions, this is a very welcome surprise!

Speaking of the console versions, today you can put $5 down on any of these games at GameStop (yeah, I know) and they’ll give you the movie poster. I placed my reserve on Transformers Collector’s Edition on Xbox 360, weighing in a $69.99. If past Collectors Editions are any indication, I should get a second disc full of concept art and documentaries in steel book packaging.

While arcade perfect and enhanced for online play, Capcom’s release of Street Fighter II Turbo on Xbox Live Arcade was not without faults. The dated graphics and lack of widescreen support didn’t hinder the timeless gameplay, but it didn’t add anything.

Capcom is now committed to beefing up their support of Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network with new releases of Super Puzzle Fighter II in the summer and Super Street Fighter II Turbo in the fall. But they won’t be ports, they’ll be completely remade and redrawn from scratch to take full advantage of 1080p High Definition displays. The masters at Udon comics will handle the artwork and designs, while Backbone Entertainment will recreate the games.

1up got some comments from Backbone’s Christian Svensson that you can read here.

So the full title is Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix… wow, what a mouthful. A pity its not a fully new Street Fighter IV, but if Capcom insists on milking their classics, at least they’re not being lazy about it and giving the games the full on Mario Allstars treatments!

In related news, a not online, not enhanced, not arcade perfect, SNES port of Street Fighter II Turbo is coming to Wii Virtual Console soon. It will be $8, just like the regular Street Fighter II you just bought.

A trailer has surfaced for the forthcoming Transformers Movie this summer. This version has a bit more action in it, but most importantly, we get our first listen at Optimus Prime speaking. Watch for yourself.

UPDATE – The YouTube video has been taken down. Once we find a new one, we’ll be sure to post it for you, but until then you can access the file directly right HERE. Watch out dial-uppers, it’s about 2 MB.

Mark your calendars!
7/4/07

Thanks to Elysa for the tip!

Speed Racer

Emile Hirsch has already been cast as Speed. Susan Sarandon and John Goodman have already been cast as his parents. And the newest member to join this awesome freakshow? Christina Ricci as Trixie! You know, the girl from Casper and The Addams Family! (I haven’t seen any movies since 1995.)

Fantastic Four 2

Totally unconfirmed, but I just thought the rumor that Laurence Fishburne may be the voice of Galactus was pretty entertaining. Let the Ba-lack-tus jokes commence!

Starting with issue #13, Gail Simone will be the new ongoing writer of Wonder Woman. When it was announced she was ending her career-shaping run on Birds of Prey for a new project, all speculation pointed (with geeky, hopeful hearts) to this, and after weeks of waiting, fanboys (and girls) everywhere can breathe their collective sigh of relief. And maybe even celebrate!

After all, after a year of misfires with the book, leaving us with way less than a book per month and positioning the character WELL below flagship status, we have only 6 issues until we get to see Wonder Woman punching a monkey off a waterfall. The wait will be worth it!

Newarama reports that Ultimates 2 is finally heading to the printers, and that it’ll be in stores on May 16th. How late does that make it? 6 years? Anyway, there’s a massive 8 page spread in the book (take that, unweildly 3 page fold-out in JLA #7!), and you can click on the image to see it in all its gigantorness.