Blue Dragon is a game for Xbox 360 I’ve had my eye on for a while. Why?

The original game is the first time that Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest character designer and Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, and Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu have collaborated since the classic roleplaying game Chrono Trigger. The game debuted in Japan on December 7, 2006, and will arrive in America on August 15, 2007.

Yes, while Chrono Cross never met my expectations for a sequel, and Chrono Break never happened, this is as close to a follow up as I may ever get to one of the greatest games ever made. This is not opinion, this is fact.

Anyway, Blue Dragon is getting fleshed out with a matching anime series thats just started airing in Japan this month. VIZ Media has announced they’re bringing it to the US, though theres no timetable as to when we can expect subs&dubs to be released. I’d imagine that given the Toriyama pedigree this show has and the push Microsoft has already made for the game that TV airings may be possible. I don’t know if this will be more of an afternoon kids show or something we’d have to leave for Adult Swim though.

So do you like anime based on games? Will Blue Dragon possibly meet Chrono Trigger fans expectations? Can the world possible resist more Toriyama character designs? Leave a comment below.

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.

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 news roundup for Guitar Hero Fans

First, on Red Octane’s knowledge database yesterday they accidentally revealed Guitar Hero III is coming to PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii this winter. Kotaku has the info before it was pulled from the site.

Good: 9 Tracks from Guitar Hero have been made available on Xbox Live Market Place for Guitar Hero II!
Bad: They’re in three packs of three, costing 500 points each.
Ugly: At this rate, to make the entire songlist of Guitar Hero available, it would cost over 7800 points, $98 US Dollars.
We’re off to a bad start if this is the way it goes, because 47 old songs shouldn’t cost more than a full game of 78 with a guitar. Hopefully future packs won’t be quite as steep, or they’ll balance it with some sponsored content or even brand new songs. Pile this on to the numerous defective guitars, and Guitar Hero on next-gen is off to a rocky start.

This is the first official video of Halo 3 multiplayer. You can either watch this embedded version, download it from Bungie, or grab it from Xbox Live Marketplace. As with the previous looks at the Halo 3 Trailer and the Brute video, this one goes about 7 minutes and if you aren’t paying close attention, you’re going to miss a dozen cool things. Also, we’re looking at Alpha build gameplay, which isn’t going to be the same level that will be available in the Beta, which also will be less polished than the final game.

Oh yeah, about that Beta test. It starts May 16th at midnight and will run through June 6th at midnight. Thats 3 short weeks, but more than enough to get a taste of the game. There will be 2 new guns, 3 new maps, and lots of new features. Watch the video for more. If 3 weeks isn’t a long time, keep in mind that this is only a beta test so that Bungie can try putting the game dynamics and the online functionality on a more diverse testing group, its not supposed to be a demo of the game.

Pop Gears of War into your Xbox 360 right now and you’ll be able to download the latest game play update and bug fix, but also the the new game type “Annex” which is depicted in the video above. Skip past the cut to see the full press release with the bug fixes listed.

Annex is a variation on King Of The Hill, where players struggle for control of one spot on the map. Sounds fun already, since KotH was my favorite Halo gametype, but its sweetened by adding respawns. Yes, Gears Of War finally has a gametype where you can die and respawn.

Also on this week’s 1UP Yours Podcast, Epic’s Mark Rein stated that their team has 4 new multiplayer maps ready to go, and has been trying to get Microsoft to release them free. MS thinks charging is the way to go. Ultimately they’re going to comprimise with maps going for sale to start and going free after some time has passed. I’m fine with paying or getting them free, just as long as they get here soon!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Hot on the heels of the Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update leaking from GameSpot, they posted and removed images of an Xbox 360 controller with a full qwerty keyboard placed between the handles.

This is no doubt coming in anticipation of Live Messenger support, but it may also encourage development of my social elements in games, like MMOs.

UPDATE! The keyboard is now official. It will be bundled with its own headset since it will plug in the headset jack, and the keys will be backlit. No word of price or release date, though its expected in the summer.

This video (leaked from GameSpot) shows off some of the new features coming our way, and even mentions a date of May 7th. Marketplace will get its own blade, integrating Friend lists with Windows Live Messenger, and new download options are on the way.