Mega Man 9 is official and surprisingly only confirmed for WiiWare for now (No PSN or XBLA versions??). If this stays WiiWare, this could be the service's biggest game in terms of hype and excitement (Nintendo finally doing something right??). Capcom has been the ambassador in terms of Japanese publishers for downloadable games and their first WiiWare game could be really big. Honestly, I'm not that a fan of the Mega Man games, but respect its legacy (not its downfall in recent years). This could be the official rebirth of the franchise that is good compared to how other developers ruin old school franchises (I'm looking at you Sega for Sonic even though Sonic Unleashed is okay so far). Thanks to fansite, Mega Man Network, (not the GBA series of games), they were able to reveal some scans of the game. Yes, this one is staying 8-bit and hopefully it will be awesome (For more, check the link above).
I have been messing around with the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Online Beta ever since it came out yesterday and it is pretty good despite its issues and limited options available. Capcom's purpose for this beta is to test the netcode and so far it is way better than the netcode in Street Fighter II HF on XBLA. Most of my matches have minimal lag compared to the matches during the hot stretch of HF sessions back in Summer 2006 being laggy throughout. Of course, connection plays a factor to the whole thing and usually I would rather have no Internet browsers up and running when I play this online (Having FireFox 3 open does cause some lag on my part). At least this beta can also be played locally rather than just online as I use it for practice mode. The big problem with this beta so far is the game freezing when trying to join matches. Apparently, the selection of matches when searching via custom match or quick match are a little old, which is one reason the lock ups happen and u have to restart your 360. The solution for me is just creating matches and hopefully people join up. I have been playing ranked matches, but I'll eventually check out the quarter match and tournament options.
Ryu and Ken are the only two characters available for this beta with Ryu's stage being the only stage there. Sure, u can still browse through the character selections to check out the other art for them, but the shotos are the stars of this beta. For Ryu and Ken players, this beta will be played throughout its 2 month period trying to mess around with their remixed versions. Ryu's key addition is the Fake Hakouken (same motion but short kick instead of any punch) which can trick up an opponent if used correctly. Other than that, Ryu is pretty much the same with his arsenal of moves with the Shinkuu Hadouken as his super (Doing it online may cause it to lag). Ken, on the other hand, is significantly improved over his SSFIIT version and maybe a bit broken (hence the video below). Sirlin did mention that the Shoryuken (Dragon Punch) juggle will be toned down damage wise and maybe not be in the final game at all. Then again, doing SRK juggles is pretty cool when timed perfectly, but I can understand how cheap it its and getting it on the receiving end against opponents. His super is still the same and his special kicks have new movements (Hadouken motion, any kick, etc.), which sets up easy combos. Plus, Hurricane Kicks for both Ryu and Ken have increased in movement (Ryu's RH Hurricane Kick takes the whole screen while Ken's is faster than what it used to be). Just for the fun of DP juggles, I usually use Ken online (I'll go back to Ryu when I get tired of him).
With the full game hopefully coming out this fall, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is still one of my most anticipated games this year because its Street Fighter for crying out loud and the new graphics and art Udon has added is pretty good (screw the haters who complain every day about Chun Li's thighs or Guile not looking right). The new music I think is done by OC Remix folks, which is cool and I'm anticipating new remixes for the other stages. Other than the remixed mode, the original ST is still playable, old graphics and all, in the final game if the "HD Remix" is not your thing. I'll conclude with this video of Ken's SRK juggle courtesy of YouTube user CigarBob (check out his other HD Remix Beta videos especially matches with the mastermind of this remix, David Sirlin).
