Here’s the fateful screenshot that has many fans, like myself, in a tizzy. As you can see, macho man Guy is using what’s been described as his ‘Saving Attack’ to deflect a missile. Scratch that, not just a missile… but a KUNAI. As in, a Ninja Throwing Knife. Now, WHO in the Streetfighterverse throws Kunai from the air? If this doesn’t pretty much scream at who the next fighter to be revealed for Super Streetfighter IV is, I don’t know what could.

Okay, if this actually turns out to be GEKI, I am going to go out and KILL someone. But that one-in-a-billion nasty prank aside, this is surely confirmation that Ibuki, the super-cute and deadly ninja schoolgirl from Streetfighter III, is going to be IN SSFIV. And if that’s so, chances are the two other SF3 fighters mentioned in the leaked list from months ago- awesome karate kid Makoto and gentleman boxer Dudley- will be in as well. Not sure though when they’ll actually reveal this, seeing as how the Alpha guys were just shown off, but I’m thinking very, very soon. If I get confirmation on my favorite babes from Third Strike this December, I’ll consider that a lovely Christmas Gift from Ono and Capcom. More on this as we get it.

If you haven’t already, go online with your copy of Tekken 6 console to download and install the spiffy new patch from Namco-Bandai. As previously posted about, the patch is supposed to improve online play, and so far… surprisingly it has! Word from forums is that gamers in Japan and Korea are raving about the improved play. I myself was able to play for quite a bit and I have to say, it’s a nice change to actually have some playable, mostly lag-free matches. I was able to fight matches from 4 to 1 bar connections, and all were far, far better than ever before (although most 1-bar matches are usually refused).

Anyway, this great stuff, and I look forward to actually playing more Tekken 6 online in the days, weeks, months and yes, years ahead. Kudos to Namco-Bandai for pushing through with this crucial after-release service, which may just give T6 a much-needed shot in the arm since the somewhat sluggish opening online performance. Hopefully more good stuff, like the Co-op patch and more will be forthcoming very soon.

Oh, and thanks to Ryuhza for helping me test out some long-distance Tekken 6 play. Good game, dude! Hahaha!

Alpha Males join the SSFIV cast.

IGN just posted this pretty cool trailer for Super Streetfighter IV, featuring the newly-added challengers. As previously revealed, returning Alpha fighters Cody, Adon and Guy will be available in 2010’s fighting sequel, along with T-Hawk, Deejay and Juri. The trailer also features the characters speaking in english, which shows that the dual language track feature started in the first SFIV will be back (I’ll be setting mine to Japanese, of course).

With about three to four months to go to release, I’m expecting a LOT more to be revealed before we get this brawler on our consoles. More as we get it.

If you haven’t already, go online with your copy of Tekken 6 console to download and install the spiffy new patch from Namco-Bandai. As previously posted about, the patch is supposed to improve online play, and so far… surprisingly it has, apparently. Word from forums is that gamers in Japan and Korea are raving about the improved play. I myself was able to play a couple of matches and I have to say, it’s a nice change to actually have some playable, mostly lag-free matches. I was able to fight matches from 4 to 1 bar connections, and all were markedly more playable than before (although most 1-bar matches are usually refused).

Anyway, this is pretty good stuff, and I look forward to actually playing more Tekken 6 online in the days ahead (and maybe over the weekend). Kudos to Namco-Bandai for pushing through with the after-release service. Hopefully more good stuff, like the Co-op patch and more will be forthcoming.

Oh, and thanks to Ryuhza for helping me test out some long-distance Tekken 6 play. Good game, dude! Hahaha!

You knew it had to happen, and it’s indeed here. The fourth installment of boobs-’n'-brawls anime Ikki Tousen was officially announced today, with a preview site now live. Titled Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor, the anime promises to introduce many characters from the manga never before seen in the previous anime seasons. The big attraction this season is Bachou (AKA Ma Chao), who will be voiced by Endou Aya (Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier) and, presumably, will spend a lot of her time having her clothes blown off in fan servicey fights. There will also be a special “Episode 0″ preview DVD available at Comic Market.

Ikki Tousen XX follows Dragon Destiny and Great Guardians in the Ikki Tousen tradition, which involves incredibly loose interpretations of characters from the Chinese epic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and a whole lot of large-breasted high school girls getting into fights with each other to see who’s the strongest.

Ikki Tousen makes no pretense at being anything more than it is – the official site refers to the series as a “Bakunyuu Bishoujo Hyper Battle” (“Busty Beauty Hyper Battle,” roughly), and the title of the episode 0 DVD is “Mochiron Misechau Mushuushou da yo!” (“Of course we’ll show you, it’s uncensored!”). So really, just from the character designs and the marketing, you’ll know exactly whether or not you’ll like it.

I’ve never gotten into Ikki Tousen myself, though I’ve often used it to torment Chinese friends who grew up on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms stories and have a hard time dealing with what the Japanese have done to their beloved heroes. But I have to say – it’s always tempted me, and I just might make it my guilty pleasure for the season, especially with near-porn shows like Queen’s Blade and Seikon no Qwaser making the no-holds-barred fan service of Ikki Tousen seem tame in comparison.

Namco-Bandai today released further details about the forthcoming free downloadable update designed to improve the online game experience for players of Tekken 6 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The update is scheduled for release on November 26. The update is separate from the online co-op Scenario Campaign mode download which is scheduled for release separately this winter. Online gameplay enhancements in the update include the following:

Improved input response: improvement of the game’s responsiveness to button / command inputs;

Selectable search priorities for ranked matches: players will be able to set search priorities for opponents in ranked matches based on comparable rank or connection quality as well as location;

Optimized data transmission between fighters and spectators: fight data will be optimized in order to reduce the bandwidth load on the host’s console;

Signal strength bars: the signal strength bar will reflect connection quality more accurately;

Chance to cancel match: players will be able to cancel the match before it begins once the opponent’s signal strength has been displayed on ranked matches.

Hopefully this will remedy the so-far lackluster to really bad online performance of NB’s fighting game sequel. We’ll see later this week then.

As teased by last week’s entry on the SSFIV Developers’ Blog, this week’s Famitsu of Japan revealed the latest new challengers for the upcoming Super Streetfighter IV, and then some!
Somewhat foreshadowed by a pic of Chun-Li getting walloped by someone in an urban setting (Metro City, natch), the new fighters shown are Cody, Guy and Adon. Streetwise brawler Cody is still sporting his jailhouse stripes from Alpha 3 and is probably bringing his unorthodox tactics (and dirty weapons) into the mix. Meanwhile, Sagat’s rival and kickboxing ruffian Adon is still as nasty-looking as ever. Finally, Bushin-style ninjitsu master Guy still looks bad-ass and fierce in 3D form. You can check the Famitsu scans here and here.

Anyways, so far the leaked list of new challengers to SSFIV released months ago has proven to be accurate- so we may expect a few more additions to be announced later on. Perhaps as an early precursor to this, note the pic in the upper-right corner of Guy’s page, where we see him deflecting what appears to be a mid-air kunai…

Super Streetfighter IV is set for release in Spring 2010 on PS3 and Xbox360. More on this as we get it.

It’s hard to describe Chu-Bra! in terms that don’t make it sound like it’s highly suspicious, so let’s not bother with that and get straight into the premise: Hayama Nayu, a naive and impressionable middle school girl, knows nothing about underwear and it’s up to her friends to educate her about the wide world of women’s underwear.

Yeah, that’s really all there is to it. It’s actually pretty educational in its manga form, if you’re interested in learning about underwear, but it gets by based on its cuteness and its frequent panty shots. Are you excited yet? Actually, there are a few reasons to watch this aside from the obvious.

Starchild, as they tend to, has gathered up a stellar cast, with Chihara Minori in the lead and some up-and-coming stars like Hikasa Youko (AKA “The chick who played Mio in K-On!”) and Yahagi Sayuri taking on the main roles. They’ll obviously be singing the opening and ending themes as well, so you can at least count on good acting and decent music.

We’ll see what happens with the underwear, I guess…

Image from Insidears via Seiyuu3

It was a busy weekend in anime news, with the new year looming and the winter anime season on the horizon, as well as the New Moon release bringing the New York Times’ attention to the Vampire Knight manga. But the big news for me was Kouhaku Uta Gassen, which finally put out its list of performers and included my favorite singer in the anime business, Mizuki Nana. You can be sure that the Tuesday Tunes will be more from her selection! In the meantime, enjoy the other news.

Mizuki Nana announced for Kouhaku Uta Gassen

Thanks to my friend houkoholic over in Japan, I got the good news this morning – late afternoon Japan time – that Mizuki Nana is going to be a performer for the red team this New Year’s Eve. Included in his post at seiyuu3 was a link to Mizuki Nana singing the Uta no Chikara (“The Power of Song”) theme for this year’s Kouhaku, which was written by famed composer Joe Hisaishi, who is best known for his work on pretty much every Ghibli movie ever, including My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. Check out the highlight reel of her announcement, including a clip of her song for the new White Album season.

FUNimation announces 4 anime licenses at AnimeUSA

Over the weekend, FUNimation announced what should be its last titles of the year, including a license rescued from the ruins of ADV and hopefully bound for a return to glory.

The three licenses announced by FUNimation are: Sekirei, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode, Full Metal Panic!, and my personal favorite off of this list, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. You can find official descriptions of each show over at the official FUNimation blog, but I’d like to make sure you guys have seen Fumoffu, which is my favorite anime comedy of all time. So, you know – pick it up! It’s super-cheap on Amazon…

Meanwhile, Sekirei is a decent harem comedy – you’ll be able to tell if you like it within five minutes of watching the season 1 summary. And as for Tetsuwan Birdy, I think I’ll talk about the manga today.

Vampire Knight makes the New York Times

In the wake of New Moon kicking up a new wave of vampire-mania, the New York Times highlighted the Vampire Knight manga in its best-seller list. It’s a nice little article, which begs the question – if it’s going to be so popular, why isn’t it on TV yet?

Youtuber NYCTekken was apparently lucky enough to score an early copy of Tekken 6 for the PSP, and he’s posted a ton of gameplay vids showing off the second portable Iron Fist Tournament chapter.

So far, what I can gather is that the game looks- well- impressive! Though early vids show otherwise, the PSP does indeed show off a DR-or-better level of graphical quality and apparently moves at a solid 60FPS, with all characters and moves from the console and arcade versions present and accounted for. However, as expected there are several shortcuts and cutbacks from making this an exact port. Here are but a few…

There is a 300++ MB Install, which goes well to make loading times faster than DR.

No Scenario Campaign mode. In it’s place is a new Story Mode, although it’s apparently still the same as the Arena in the console modes- Prologue illustrations, 4 matches, CG ending.

New Modes. PSP game sees the return of Story Mode (as mentioned above). A Challenge mode menu contains the following play modes- Survival, Time Attack and Gold Rush (the last one wherein every hit on your opponent nets you cash).

No more real-time character models in the Select screen, it’s back to using illustrations as with DR.

No slow-mo replays of the knockout at the end of a round. During victory animation screens, no music plays for some reason.

Customization Shortcuts. Not all the items and clothing made it in- customs for the PSP have been simplified, fusing arm items with upper garments and tops, while bottoms have been fused with leg and foot items. This has to be delved into more to see every little detail retained or lost, but suffice to say, if you loved customizations in the console versions, prepare to lower your standards.

Apparently the 3P extra outfits are NOT in the PSP game.

Practice mode is same as the console versions, but you always train on the same blank, polygon stage (no stage select).

Yes, Lars and Alisa have Story Mode endings. Unfortunately if you have the console versions, you’ve seen them. SPOILER WARNING! Lars’ ending is the SC Intro CG, while Alisa’s ending is her cutscene battle with the helicopter in SC as well- it’s just given a different spin (Alisa stays with Lars and becomes part of his new PMC, fighting the chopper in the course of her first mission). Well, at least they have all-new prologue art…

Well, it seems that Tekken 6 PSP isn’t an exact port- which we all knew going in anyway. But really, I have to say that the cutting back of options in the Character Customization really hurts this version for me- that’s where most of the fun and replay is! All things considered though, Tekken 6 PSP still looks great and is a no-brainer purchase for anyone who enjoyed DR on the portable. At the very least, it’s a great way to practice your combos and up your skills even if you’re far away from your console and HDTV. More on this as we get it then.

Suda 51’s irreverent action game is coming to PS3 and Xbox360.

No More Heroes, the sword-swinging, suplex-throwing, toilet-sitting M-rated Wii title from Japan’s Goichi Suda, is coming to Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles early next year. Based on the first title in the series, the redone NMH will feature a host of new features, including HD visuals, new advanced modes and something called ‘Erotic Portrait’ (ooh). According to IGN, the game will have something called ‘Sweet Mode’ where the game’s hotties will be dressed in swimsuits and other sexy outfits (as if their default costumes weren’t already hot). The redone title will be renamed No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise and will see release in February 2010 in Japan.

I’ve been interested in Suda 51’s work since Killer 7, so I’ll be keeping my eyes out for this one. Sounds SWEET. Heheh…

YUP! Used the same image episode from episode 1 for episode 6, whatever, I’m liking it even though there are tons of other images out now for Kämpfer. You may be wondering why I went from reviewing episode 1 to just skipping ahead to 6, right? well… I dunno really, didn’t think too many episodes in this series were worth reviewing, going over, very much like Railgun sadly which I thought would be awesome but is turning into a complete flop(I don’t know what else to say…) The screenshots taken from the Sweet Lovely anime blog~! as usual…

Mikoto jumps off the building she’s standing on and attacks Natsuru. She destroys a water tank sending all of the water spewing out, Mikoto after finished her first attack says that during her worldwide travels she’s practiced her fighting skills.

SUMMARY

At the start of the episode our main charcater Natsuru begins to daydream about kissing Sakura(the lesbian), and having some sort of romantic moment,while hes really kissing Shizuku, but he wakes up and it turns out to be a dream. While he’s up(bullying his little tiger messenger)he smells curry coming from his kitchen.He looks outside and a girl is suddenly knocking on his room’s door.He turns around and finds his childhood friend ,Mikoto, who has made breakfast for him…

and is naked, well except for an apron, HADAKA APRON!!!XD 

 Natsuru asks how she got here in the first place but Mikoto completely ignores his question and just mentions that she has now returned. And shementions that she came about 2 days ago,she didn’t see Natsuru at school so she decided to come to his house.But Natsuru asks how she actually got inside his house, she picked the lock, its essential for any archeologist…

Censorship…

 And Natsuru tells her to do something about her clothes since they’re”embarassing”

Mikoto thought Natsuru would like this.

Natsuru has had enough so he takes off his shirt, and then Mikoto’s apron falls to the floor.And the scene cuts off to Mikoto and Natsuru who are both waiting for a bus.Mikoto begins to talk to Natsuru as Akane stands behind a light pole and watches the two talk in jealousy. UH-OH…

Mikoto notices Akane glaring at them and Akane walks over to the two of them.Mikoto “introduces” herself to Akane, but when Natsuru tells Mikoto Akane’s name they both realize they know each other, they used to live in the neighborhood and were also good friends. However Mikoto mentions that her and Natsuru have been friends since they were little(which in the harem world puts her ahead of Akane…), and that they ate breakfast together this morning, leaving Akane shocked.

So Akane really does like(want) Natsuru.

Akane says that she doesn’t fell good and heads off to school by herself. Mikoto asks Natsuru is Akanes girlfriend which he of course tells her no, and then she asks if she’s the girlfriend of the female Natsuru(LOL). Mikoto asks Natsuru next if he still has a crush on Sakura(the lesbian), but like most boys his age when he gets asked that question, he says “mind your own buissness. Mikoto begins to confront(?) Natsuru but his Kämpfer bracelet being to glow and he runs off before he can transform in his female form. But Mikoto looks inside of a bag she has, it turns out she’s got a messenger(like Natsuru’s, Akane’s, Shizuka’s) inside of it.

Natsuru while in “his” female form arrives to school and finds a group of “his” followers, who are all girls… Natsuru asks the group of girls what’s going on, they grab “her” shoulders. It turns out that it is the second day of the cultural festival, and Natsuru’s class is doing a maid cafe, which involves “her” dressing up as well.

And it turns out that “her” costume has the shortest skirt…

There are no guys in the cafe, it turns out that the only people lusting(and looking) at Natsuru are the girls… and it turns out that from the previous beauty contest that Natsuru-san is the most popular of all the girls. Natsuru goes to serve the first person and it turns out that it’s one of his friends(so there was A guy).

The guy eventually leaves after drinking the “coffee” and the VIP guest madam(Shizuku) arrives. Shizuku is here to see her maid, and it turns out that she paid the other girls running the cafe just to see Natsuru.

Shizuku takes a seat and Natsuru recommends that she order the “coffee”, but one of the other maids arrives with black tea instead.Natsuru tells shizuku to just take her time, but Shizuku insists that Natsuru sit down next to her. While sitting down Shizuku tells Natsuru that the new Kämpfer will be arriving soon(wonder who that could be…). Shizuku interrupts Natsuru and another person arrives to see Natsuru, Sakura(the lesbian).

Click for a larger image of them wearing their maid costumes~! sorry can’t find a swimsuit one, but I’ll make one soon!

Outside the cafe there is a LONG line where people are waiting JUST to see Natsuru,Shizuku, and Sakura sit together…since they are the 3 “beauties” of the school.

Sakura-san begins to compliment everything Natsuru-san does, acting like a complete suck-up. Sakura tells Natsuru that she’s perfect and she asks Shizuku if she agrees. Shizuku says she looks perfect, but would look even better in a magican’s costume or something. Shizuku begins to mention things that would make Natsuru-san cooler, mainly things that she already has and is already able to do, teasing/hinting at Natsuru’s abitlities.Shizuku tells Sakura to comand Natsuru to do anything she wants her to, since Natsuru is a maid. Sakura thinks hard about what she wants Natsuru to do, and Shizuku insists that Sakura command Natsuru to kiss her.Sakura say she’s fines with a kiss, that is if Natsuru is. Sakura get’s ready to kiss, but Natsuru asks if it’s okay if they did something else.

Sakura(happily) decides that instead of a kiss the two could go out together for the rest of the day.

They go out(for the day) and enjoy the festival. One of Sakura’s friends across the room calls her over and Sakura goes off to say hi to her. While waiting for Sakura Natsuru notices a girl looking at her from across the hall. Sakura comes back out and wants to go into a haunted house attraction that’s open at the festival. When they enter the “haunted house” they find that it’s pretty dark inside, scared, Sakura grabs Natsuru’s hand and tells her not to let go. While they’re looking around a tool or something comes out of nowhere almost hitting Sakura, however she doesn’t notice. more objects come flying out of nowhere and Natsuru manages to dodge them all. Natsuru attack the person who’s throwing things at the two knocking the person out for a while, as the person falls Natsuru notices that the person is a Kämpfer and has a red bracelet instead of blue(blue means it’s an ally while red indicates an enemy). The person runs away and Natsuru leaves Sakura alone in the haunted house. While chasing the “person” they jump out of a window and Natsuru follows behind. it turns out that the Kämpfer is actually Mikoto (*GASP*) and has now figured out that (female) Natsuru is a Kämpfer (I’m assuming Mikoto doesn’t know Female and Male Natsuru are the person).

Natsuru tries to tell her to not fight, but Mikoto tells her to just ,SHUT-UP! and MIkoto says that she Never like her in the first place and want’s her to die(that’s cruel…). While she begins her second attack Mikoto says the Natsuru is full of herself, having all of the boys and girls fall in love with her, even Natsuru(male). Right when she splits a tree that Natsuru is in front of in half Akane (comes to the rescue~!) saves Natsuru before it’s too late. Akane points her gun at Mikoto ready to shoot and say that “I’m the only one allowed to kill this stupid faggot!” which leads to Mikoto comenting on Akanes foul mouth(after Akane called her bitch and a fuck…), and then Akane says (about her language) that it’s not as ugly as (Mikoto’s) your face! The two begin to fight and Natsuru interrupts them by shooting fire in the middle of their battle. Shizuku shows up and traps Mikoto using her chains. She shows Mikoto her red bracelet and Mikoto asks if they’re supposed to be allies.

Shizuku tells both Natsuru and Akane to both transform back, and Akane says… “Damn. Fuck you, you snobby-ass bitch!(LOL). but Natsuru is confused and doesn’t knowhow to transform back. Natsuru yells at her bracelet to change back, it glows, and there goes…his male form…in a maid costume…(change back please!!!!)

Shocked,Mikoto faints.

It’s the end of the day and Mikoto brings out her Messenger dog-like-thing, Choking Stray Dog (whose voice by Mamiko Noto oddly…)who introduces itself. And Akane comments on the Messenger’s voice saying it’s “Soothing, Just like Mamiko Noto’s”… Shizuku mentions that Natsuru has forgotten something.

Natsuru begins to apologize to Sakura, who is upset that Natsuru let go of her hand(yuri~!). Natsuru says that “she’ll” make up for it, and will do anything Sakura wants her to. So Sakura says that she wants Natsuru to come over to her house.

THOUGHTS

So it seems as though there trying to get back to the main story, as opposed to episodes 3-5 which focused mostly on yuri, especially episode 3. The story in this series though is a bit of a problem as it seems to move to fast or rush through things. The first two episodes seemed so rushed in terms of story, two new Kämpfers are shown in those episodes, and there a fights in both. I wish it would take some more time explaining and going through things as opposed to rushing. And things are getting to be a bit to predictable at this point. They kept mentioning another Kämpfer over and over in this episode and it was very obvious who would end up being, Mikoto. Mainly since they’d already foreshadowed it in the end of the last episode or so and the start of this episode.And it seems as thought tha fanservice at the start wa just thrown in to try and get people to buy DVDS or something, a marketing strategy(?), and they didn’t really give Mikoto a proper introduction in my opinion(Similar to Nmph’s in Sora no Otoshimono)and just rushed her intro to get to the fanservice. However if there’s one thing that’s saving the show (for me) it’s female Natsuru, and Akane’s dirty mouth(hence why I threw in some of her lines). And the humor isn’t good her either, it’s just cheap references to seiyuu which most of the time aren’t even funny, like the one in this episode, but there are some funny moments, just not laugh out louds.

And speaking of a decline in quality, the art sure is jumping around in terms of its quality, one episode it looks fine, next it looks like crap, this episode looked OKAY, but it seems as though the next one will be the next crap one. And the battles aren’t getting any better either, they’re just stale, nothing really going on but a bunch of talking, and the animation really isn’t helping out much either.

The series was enjoyable at the start but now it’s quality(if it had any to start with) is declining, almost to the point where there is almost nothing good about it. And the fanservice, what fanservice? if there was just a slight bit more fanservice it would all be good, but sadly it’s not, however there’s plenty of yuri to be found here, just not all that fanservicey.

Was there anything really good about this episode? hmmm not really, nothing but Akanes foul mouth really. As for the story, there’s nothing for me to talk about here honestly.

So not too good of an episode really, I’ll probably continue to watch, and hopefully things get better, which seems unlikely, it’s very mixed here…

I’m curious about the manga, so I think I may give it a try. But I sure do hope the new Negima chapter is out by now…

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

OH! Whod’ve thought, the next episode has even more yuri.

Just found this cool vid from Youtube showing off a minute of Tekken 6 gameplay on the PSP. Just a minute, but quite a few things- Character Customization Interface, a DR-like Practice Mode (read: Better than the console games?) and a look at the new PSP-exclusive Gold Rush mode, which lets you earn tons of fight money without needing to go Scenario Campaigning. The PSP version is lookin’ good indeed.

Hang onto those PSPs, Tekken-heads.

It’s gonna be a Happy New Year for fighting game fans this January.

Tekken 6 arrives on the PSP for Japan this January 14.

Expect some slowdown or pauses when fighters break through the level barriers.

Famitsu of Japan just posted a batch of Tekken 6 screens from the upcoming PSP version. Yeah, the portable Iron Fist Tournament 6 is still on the way, and I have to say, it looks pretty good. Apparently the basic game will be pretty intact even from the arcade and console versions, including the multiple stage levels and character customizations. What has me wondering now is the stuff they’ll be throwing in to make up for the version’s cutting back on the graphics and the Scenario Campaign. A more classic Story Mode? New cinematics? New customizations? We’ll find out soon enough. The PSP version of Tekken 6 is set for a November 24 release in the US, while Japan is still set for early January. Check out the Famitsu article here.

Customization in the PSP version looks to be just as robust as the console versions.

With the Tekken live-action film coming hopefully in the near future, I got to thinking about the past beat ‘em up movie adaptations that have graced the silver screen. Some have been bad, some have been very bad, and some actually kinda decent. Here they are, as I recall…

Double Dragon. Based on the classic side-scrolling beat ‘em up. It starred Mark Dacascos, Alyssa Milano, and Robert Patrick slummin’ after his high point as the T-1000. This was TV movie-bad. No, worse… it was 80s TV movie-bad.

Street Fighter. So bad it’s good! This campy epic tried it’s best to cram in all of the Streetfighter roster into the running time, resulting in lots of abrupt cut-aways to show every fighter’s reaction to every little situation. Hollywood-ized to the extreme, everyone had a new background story to make it all seem more plausible- Chun Li was a reporter, Guile was an army officer in charge of a UN peacekeeping force, while Ken and Ryu were a bunch of hustlers. Oh, and Dhalsim was a pacifistic scientist who only eventually gets to look like he does in the game when he gets burned. Bison (Raul Julia) didn’t have psycho power but instead used gadgets, his ultimate attack consisting of flying around and punching people. Laughably bad now but I have to admit to whoopin’ in the theater when I first saw Cammy do her frankensteiner. Heheh…

Mortal Kombat. Has the distinction of perhaps being the one fighting game/videogame movie generally considered to be ‘good’. Was it because it had Christopher Lambert? Who knows. There was as much exposition and babble about how Mortal Kombat is really about life instead of death as much as there was stunt kung-fu fighting that felt more like lotsa posing than actual impact, and after all this time it hasn’t really aged that well (check out those really funny bright-colored ninja outfits), but this is still a nice watch every now and then.

Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Whatever progress the first MK movie achieved, the sequel tore it all down and shit on its grave. An incomprehensible script seemingly written by a two year old, horrific acting and dialogue, Power Rangers-magnitude costumes and action scenes and really bad CG are just a few of this stinker’s special moves. Master your Animality!!!

Dead or Alive. Despite being sold off on the strength of having tons of sexy chicks with kicks, this actually kinda disappointed in terms of fan service (not hot enough). The story was simple enough and the fighting good enough to make this not a big train wreck and actually be a decent dumb action flick. Still, having a final boss whose power rested in his rad pair of sunglasses was pretty hilarious.

Streetfighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. As if I really needed to add anything other than my exhaustive review on this stinker. The first SF live-movie was a masterpiece compared to this. Nuff said.

With MK, SF and DOA having their movie adaptations, it’s about time that Tekken got a film to complete the fighting game film set (I don’t think Virtua Fighter will ever get a movie). Apparently the T-movie is vaguely set for sometime in 2010, so we may have a bit of a wait till we see Nina and Anna tusslin’ in the flesh. Maybe it’s something to look forward to. Or maybe the PSP version of Tekken 6 is the better thing to look out for. We’ll just have to see.

The experienced eye can take one look and identify every single character cliche.

All you really need to know about Omamori Himari is that creator Matra Milan only has one published work suitable for audiences under 18, while the producer’s most recent anime is Sora no Otoshimono, AKA “That anime with the flying panties.” So, the safe assumption is that there’ll be cute girls, comical/sexual misunderstandings, and a plot that is mostly an excuse to get the gaggle of girls more nekkid.

What, you want more than my gross overgeneralization? Well, okay.

The girls are almost all magical, with the main girl Himari (that’s her with the sword there) being a cat spirit in human form, and many other characters being similarly magical. The main character, who’s so unimportant that he doesn’t even appear on any of the manga covers, is supposedly from a demon-hunting family, so the girls flock to him to protect him as the last of his line.

Happy now? I’m sure that I’ll watch maybe one or two episodes of this before I get bored and move on…

These moves can change the course of the game… not.

Youtube user Byakokoko just posted this cool video showing off most of the Item Moves in Tekken 6 (give or take one or two). In case you didn’t know, Item Moves are ‘unlocked’ by equipping certain items on a character. Some of them are pretty cool and are actually viable attacks, some are less so, while some are quite useless aside from being chuckle-worthy. Thankfully, Usable Items aren’t that expensive so it shouldn’t be hard to get the ones for your particular fighter and have some fun. So check out the vid and start buying those items!

No, it’s not a review of the actual movie- just the trailer. Still, it beats no review of anything at all, plus the word seems pretty positive. I still can’t get over the apparent fact that a Tekken movie EXISTS yet is as yet still not generally out. It seems so low profile, like it’s an afterthought to the whole Tekken marketing blitz. Oh well… in any case, we all have to take into account that trailers are often better than the actual movie, but who knows- for some reason, I am feeling quite a bit of hope for the Iron Fist film. I’m definitely looking out for this fighting game adaptation. More as I get it. For the IGN trailer review, check here.

The Bonus Round is back, cars all over the world tremble.

The upcoming Super Streetfighter IV looks to be a real fan service title so far. Aside from expected fan favorites making their 2.5D debut, Bonus Rounds have been confirmed to return. So SF fans who missed the ability to smash cars and falling barrels will probably be in a tizzy. Also revealed are some online modes- Endless Battle, Team Battle, Replay Channel and Tournament mode.
The SSFIV official Japanese site was also updated with a bunch of SFIV fighters’ bios, and a new bit on each fighter’s entry lets you hear a voice sample- Juri, the new Eeh-vil female TKD fighter, definitely sounds more provocative than the usual… I like. Heheh…

This new trailer shows off what modes players can expect in SSFIV.

You can check out a detailed report here at Andriasang.com.

Super Streetfighter IV is set for release on consoles in early 2010.

Not enough of this...

A show like Kampfer reminds me why I hate anime just as much as I love it. All of the pieces are in place for it to be a very enjoyable and solid show – an interesting cast of superpowered teenagers, an excuse to get them to beat each other up, and… really, that’s all you need (see: Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, and 75% of all Shonen Jump properties).

But, instead of the hyper action interspersed with school-age comedy that we should expect from a show like this, Kampfer throws you a lot of lesbian fan service, mixes in some more lesbian jokes, and calls it a day.

Too much of this.

The premise of Kampfer is interesting enough – a young man named Natsuru finds himself in the possession of a magical stuffed animal which turns him temporarily into a flamethrowing young woman. According to the little stuffed animal, Natsuru is now a Kampfer (German for “fighter”) and is supposed to fight other Kampfers for some unknown purpose. He meets his first Kampfer minutes later, a foul-mouthed, gun-toting firebrand named Akane, and the two of them tear up the streets in a pretty exciting opening fight before realizing that they’re actually on the same side.

It all goes downhill from there, though – after episode 2, the characters just stop fighting and become more interested in jumping up and down in short skirts than actually trying to figure out what’s going on. There hasn’t been a single explanation as to why the Kampfers exist and just who they’re fighting for. Even in the presence of an honest-to-goodness enemy in the form of student body president Shizuku doesn’t lead to more than one decent conflict before the characters go right back to their girl-on-girl hijinks. If that’s all you’re looking for, you’re golden. If you want anything more than that, you’re out of luck.

What redeeming qualities does Kampfer have? Well, the cast is pretty spectacular. Starchild has gathered up pretty much every famous female seiyuu available, but they’re mostly wasted. The endless parade not-quite-pornographic moaning and squealing gets tired fast, and beyond that there isn’t any substance to the show at all. If you find any real reason to keep watching, let me know, but I’m not very optimistic.

The Good:
- Cute characters who can be genuinely funny when the writers aren’t busy making lesbian jokes.

The Bad:
- Just about everything else. Every scene just gets dumber and dumber as time goes on.

The Ugly:
- Who would ever want a disemboweled bunny as a stuffed animal? Wait, don’t answer that.

Here’s a look at the poster for the live-action Tekken movie. Coming up on the tail end of the Tekken 6 marketing efforts, the film premieres today, Nov. 5, in Sta. Monica, CA. Luke Goss (Hellboy 2, Blade 2), who plays Steve Fox, will be present at this red carpet event along with some of the other actors.

I’m really not expecting much from this adaptation, given how burned I have been by fighting game-based flicks. Who knows, though… this may turn out to be entertaining. At least they seem to have made an effort to make the characters look like their in-game counterparts, as opposed to the horrid-looking King of Fighters movie that pretty much throws out all the character designs out the window. Still, if Lateef ‘Eddy Gordo’ Crowder himself apparently said to ‘not expect much’, how good can it be? Well, keep your expectations low so you don’t have too high a fall. I will definitely see this when I can, so I’ll leave this at that for now.

Get into the mind of the world’s deadliest marsupials.

While we were all waiting for the release of Tekken 6, one of the more unusual bits of marketing for the game was the Roger-centric online comic from the makers of Penny Arcade. The art style was far more cartoony than you’d usually expect for the Iron Fist crew, and it didn’t help that the pages were few and far between. Well, it’s a bit late now but the whole thing’s done and the finished comic is a nice little footnote for Tekken fans, and the art has actually grown on me- this would have been even better as an animated short. I particularly like how they managed to slip in some of the other Tekken fighters (Nina is hot! Leo and Bob got their asses kicked by a Kangaroo!). It was brief but after all’s said, very much worth seeing. Good stuff! Check the whole comic out here.

Which Tekken endings best leave you with a satisfied smile?

As important as cinematic intros are as a tradition in the Tekken series, even more vital to the enjoyment of fans are the CG Character Endings. Tekken may not have started the trend of giving players a visual resolution as a reward for their struggles, but it has since become synonymous with pre-rendered cutscene epilogues since the original home version of the first game. Every console part has provided these usually brief but engaging bits of storytelling (or non-story, as many turned out to be), with each chapter progressively getting better and more expressive with improvements in graphics and animation.
There are literally dozens of character endings that have made us laugh, cry and go “WTF??!” in the course of the franchise’s 15-year career, and here are my choice picks that go beyond the rest among the endings in Tekken.

The Top 10 Best Tekken Endings Why are they the best? Mainly because I just love seeing them over and over. Maybe it’s animation. Maybe it’s the storytelling. Or something else. Whatever the reason, these endings rule in my book.

10. Paul Phoenix (Tekken 4) The epilogues for the American Bad-ass are, admittedly, usually stupid. Punching a Wall? Punching a Rockslide? Getting a Speeding Ticket? What the heck? Thankfully Paul’s bad ending streak ended in Tekken 4, with a poignant and ultimately satisfying finale. After winning the T4 tournament, Paul sinks to a depraved life of debauchery and parties. But one night, a chance look inside Marshall Law’s dojo and a glimpse of his former glory awakens the fire within the old fighter, bringing the true road warrior back into the world. Too bad since then, his endings once again sucked…

9. Gun Jack (Tekken 3) At first seemingly one of the most disturbing endings ever, this showed an older Jane finally reunited with her beloved robot and then walking off together to a happy future… before being blown to atoms by a satellite death ray from Doctor Abel (easily one of the biggest SOBs in Tekken). However, upon unlocking the true end, we see Jack and Jane alive and well, protected by the upgraded robot’s force field. The sigh of relief felt at that moment made this truly one memorable and satisfying finale.

8. Ganryu (Tekken 5) Though he also has one of the WORST endings in the series, Ganryu’s epilogue in T5 is memorable, slickly animated and hilariously tragic. With a grand harbor set with bright city lights, it almost seems like a scene out of some classic romance movie- that is, until you see the half-naked fat guy wearing a bow tie. Of course, we all know where this rendezvous will lead… an expression of utter and absolute dismay on the sumo’s face, which is both hilariously and tragically priceless.

7. Kazuya Mishima (Tekken 2) This non-canon What If ending portrays what would have happened if somehow, Kazuya resisted the Devil and fought back. As Kaz turns his back on the seemingly defeated foe, the Devil rises up and launches a deadly attack- only to be thwarted by a surprising sacrifice by Heihachi. Kaz’s stunned reaction of his father’s altruism soon gives way to a sly smile, and one human shield later, Kazuya wins the day with a final punch and a satisfied smirk. Nicely action-packed, sadistically funny and strangely satisfying, and once again keeping consistent Kazuya’s anti-hero bent.

6. Nina Williams (Tekken 2) The love-hate relationship between the Williams’ sisters is by now about as taken for granted as anything else in the series… but way back then, this emotional and poignant scene between the two warring sisters summed up everything perfectly. The music, the animation and emotion (even for such early, relatively simple CG) was perfect and truly memorable. Oh, and Nina going for a gun under her skirt was cool too…

5. Jin Kazama (Tekken 3) The shocking canon resolution to the 3rd King of Iron Fist Tournament is pretty awesome- there’s some hard-hitting violence in the form of an execution via firing squad and a pretty brutal head shot, some much-deserved payback and of course, the introduction of Devil Jin. The horror movie lighting and music as well contribute to a truly memorable and epic finale.

4. Ling Xiaoyu (Tekken 3) The first ending for the petite debutante in T3 was striking in that it was done mostly in anime-style instead of the usual pre-rendered CG. Showing a victorious Ling claiming her prize from Heihachi- her very own amusement park. Of course, Tekken’s Dick Dastardly can’t resist giving the prize his own twisted spin, and it merits him a pretty heavy beating (Ling beats him up so much, I kinda felt sorry for him though). Amusing and truly unique.

3. Jin Kazama (Tekken 5) Short and simple but impactful, this canon ending to T5 showed the once-embattled fugitive hero now taking his place at the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu- something once unheard of given Jin’s hatred of his bloodline. The dark grandeur of the moment- complete with a sinister throne room lined by armies of Agent Smith-like followers, coupled with Jin’s sinister smirk at the end was a portent of things to come. Great and terrible things…

2. Asuka Kazama (Tekken 5) The first CG ending for the new holy maiden was a refreshing change from previous epilogues involving Jin and the Devil Gene, which are usually dark, depressing and brooding. Seen from the perspective of a brash and clueless newcomer in Asuka, this unusually light-hearted skit is a breath of fresh air, particularly for Tekken’s emo pretty boy who actually gets to do a bit of comedy. Aside from all that, the ending is of adequate length to tell the story, wonderfully animated and just so damn cute. Let’s just disregard that it also started the rash of Asuka X Jin shipping nonsense…

1. Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch (Tekken 6) Yeah, this is probably the Best Ending yet seen in the series- the long, multi-staged finale to the Scenario Campaign mode in T6. No other ending is as long, detailed or emotional as the finale with these two got… hell, not bad for two newcomers to the series! One gets a dramatic death scene (kinda) while the other seems set as the next big protagonist of the series. THEN we get an intriguing epilogue that bodes lots of things for the next Tekken. Awesomeness! The events in Scenario Campaign are hopefully canon- if this is so, then I can’t wait to see what happens next in the Iron Fist Tournament.

The most dedicated fighting game site I know, The Fighter’s Generation, finally posts their Tekken 6 review. Judging the game from an earnest perspective of a player who knows what he’s talking about and with little of the jaded nonsense of so many mainstream game reviewers, this should be a refreshing read. Check out the review here.

Lili says, “Boo!”

Happy Halloween from The Lone Gamer and, of course, the lovely Lili Rochefort from Tekken 6, who looks all dressed up for Halloween. It’s her Goth Makeup customization, something I posted about months and months ago, and recently I was able to buy it for the Monaco-based babe. I guess it’s something cool to have in this time of spooks and spirits. Anyway, I’ll be trying to earn more money so I can play Trick or Treat with all the rest of the Iron Fist crew. Happy Playing, people!