Their Final Frontier

January 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Last month Majel Barrett Roddenberry, widow of the man himself Gene Roddenberry, and long time Star Trek cameo goddess died at the age of 76. She is most remembered as Nurse Chapel from the original series, Diana Troi’s party animal mom from The Next Generation, and the ever-pleasing voice of all federation computers. More here. Before her death, Majel was able to complete her final voice-overs for J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek film. RIP.

khanThen only this last Wednesday Ricardo Montalban died at age 88. The ever-suave star lent his talents to the classic TV show Fantasy Island, a couple Planet of the Apes flicks, and most famously the half-mad Nietzchian warlord Khan from the original Trek series and the  Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan. Captain Kirk never faced a more formibable foe. KHAAAN !!! RIP.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Quickies 

A New Year - A New Era for Street Fighter

January 14, 2009 | 2 Comments

After a holiday marathon of sniveling, bribing and good ‘ol fashioned throat-slitting, I finally weaseled my way onto the Email list of those jolly old elves over at OCReMix.com. It’s been a busy time (no posts during X-Mas, sorry), but  Tweek’s new “Holiday Frappe” re-arrangement of a classic Mario Kart 64 song kept me, friends and family in the festive mood. sfgroup

So  here we are now, bulldozing into a new year, and I’ve come up with a resolution that I’m actually gonna try and stick too this time. It’ll be tough, and there will be blood, but the payoff is totally worth it. This year I’m going to become a Street Fighter master.

Yeah Street Fighter! You know, the old 8bit game and it’s legendary genre-creating sequel Street Fighter II ? No, not Mortal Kombat Vs. Superheroes, not Soul Caliber, Tekkan, or whatever else is out there roundhouse kicking and uppercutting these days. Just old fashioned 2D arcade throwdowns between pixelized kung-fu warriors, yoga masters, sumo wrestlers, green dudes, and whatever the hell Vega is suppose to be.

Circa 1991 brother and sisters.

I was all set to dig out my SNES and battered Super Street Fighter II cartridge, or track down an arcade machine with a left joystick that sticks just a little into the block position (just how I like it), when OCReMix.com jingled my bells again! In a good way… like, not in a weird way… ummm… That sounded better in my head… Anyway yeah, thanks to rabid fanboy demand, Capcom’s benevolence, and the magnificent talents of Overclocked ReMixers from all across the universe, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has arrived to remind fighting gamers what a formidable force The World Warriors are. HADUKEN !!!!

akuma

“Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix’s extra bells and whistles include a complete graphical overhaul and a stellar soundtrack, and doesn’t disturb the delicate gameplay balance of the arcade classic.“ - Andrew Podolsky, Game Revolution soundtrackpic

The OverClocked ReMix crew worked tightly with Capcom’s team to re-work the original Street Fighter II’s soundtrack so that it would simultaneously smoke eardrums and massage the nostalgia-cortex of it’s gamers. The Soundtrack is available FOR FREE over HERE !!! GO GET IT NOW !!!

Plus, all the graphics and between-bout animations were stripped and given a fresh coat of awesome! The classic fighting mechanics that made kids with thick wrists and palmfulls of quarters into legends and reduced the unworthy into tearful, gibbering wrecks are still just as fast, hard and unforgiving as I remember.

Damn you Dhalsim, and your extendo-low-kick  cheapness !!!

So I’ve got the soundtrack, I’ve got desire and the will to win, and it just so happens that I have an Xbox. A quick click to the Xbox Marketplace and a new era for Street Fighter begins. I gotta practice man. By the time that Street Fighter 5 hits my Xbox next month, I hopefully won’t completely embarrass myself. Maybe I’ll even earn myself one of MeatBun’s Street Fighter Club T-Shirts, if I say my prayers and drink my milk just like Hulk Hogan taught me. TIIIIIIIGER UPPERCUT !!!!

What if I told ya that the hideous ghost of Jean Claude Van Dame and his un-watchable  Street Fighter movie has risen from the celluloid grave ? The chic from Smallville (y’know the Superman TV Series?  No, I don’t watch it either) has joined Michael Clarke Duncan and the silent guy from the Black Eyed Peas to make a movie called Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li. It should Hurricane Kick theaters February 2009. God help us all.

Raul Julia can almost feel the face-shattering power of Van Damme's magical army boots in the uber-cheesy, and under-rehearsed Street Fighter (1994)
Raul Julia can almost feel the face-shattering power of Van Damme’s magical army boots in the uber-cheesy, and under-rehearsed Street Fighter (1994)

All the best in the new year ! Much love.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Film & TV, Music, Video Games 

In Between The Pages

January 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Remember those X-Ray glasses you ordered from the backside of a tattered ‘ol Warlord comic when you were eleven? You paid half a buck and they didn’t even work! The Comic Vine remember well the golden age of Comic Books and their superhuman abillity to get kids to buy the weirdest stuff.  They have collected together decades of comic book advertisements into a mesmerizing gallery over HERE.

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | Filed Under Quickies