The announcement of upcoming video game Kiki Kai World from developer Starfish SD and publisher UFO Interactive definitely generated a lot of of excitement among fans of the classic Pocky and Rocky. Kiki Kai World, for the uninitiated, is being considered as the "spiritual successor" of the SNES scrolling shooter.

Starfish Producer and Senior Project Controller Chong Ahn, in an interview, divulged that the Playstation 2 version of the game will no longer be released. The official wouldn't explain why the project was canceled but reiterated that the Wii version will push through early next year.

Aside from minor changes in the story and the addition of new attributes, Chong Ahn said that Kiki Kai World is very similar in essence to its predecessor. She mentioned:

Anyone who is a fan of the original Kiki Kai Kai/Pocky and Rocky series will be immediately familiar with the play style and feel of this title. We have the same development team that worked on the original version working hard at this title and they know the feel/style better than anyone else.

The producer continued and said that the game will be utilizing Nintendo Wii's motion-sensing capabilities. When asked whether the game will have co-op multiplayer mode and if it will use other online features such as WiiConnect24, Chong Ahn said that the developers "do not want to venture there unless they have something really fun and unique" to offer.

Intense curtain fire-dodging action and world-tilting Wiimote malarkey headed for you in this gameplay video of UFO Interactive's Monkey King: The Legend Begins. We get you up-close and personal with the Wii-make that's inspired from the colorful Journey to the West legend, giving it a cutesy horizontal shooter twist in glorious 2D.

In this gameplay video clip that clocks in at around a healthy three minutes and 41 seconds, we see our cloud-riding hero battling everything from wizened sages to flying bowls of food. We also get a peek at how exactly the Wii's motion-sensing capabilities come into play, specifically how the world itself tilts as you do the same with your wiimote. At the tail end of the video, a boss fight ensues, and it's crazy projectile dodging from here on in while continuously hammering the boss with your own projectiles.

Monkey King: The Legend Begins certainly looks to be an intense experience for those of us hankering for a solid horizontal shooter. Enjoy the video!

With the Virtual Console proving to be a big hit for retro fans all over the world, it's not very hard to see why next-gen remakes of classic arcade games are also heading for the Nintendo Wii. We updated you earlier on a certain Shinto shrine maiden's makeover by UFO Interactive, now we have another game for you that's also being touched up the same company. It's Shin Chuka Taisen, or Monkey King: The Legend Begins.

This deceptively-difficult horizontal shooter with cute 2D graphics, in contrast to Kiki Kai World's Japanese mythology setting, has that Journey to the West deal going on with it. It's still a shoot-em-up, but with motion-tilt controls to deepen the intense bullet-dodging, boss-blasting experience just a bit further.

Now, a little bit of bad news. Shin Chuka Taisen has been delayed for a bit, as it previously had August as its release date. There's a few guesses as to when it will actually come out, ranging from next week to sometime before 2008 - but until we get word from UFO Interactive, we're crossing our fingers that it gets out and fast.

The good news is that a North American version is practically confirmed. There's no release date for THAT yet, but there's already a title for it - Monkey King: The Legend Begins. So for those of us who've always wanted to take the intense arcade experience home, this should be right up your alley. While we're all waiting for more updates, though, here are some screenshots to tide you over.

The other screenshots after the jump!

Anticipation grips the Nintendo Wii owners here in North America, as Mario Strikers: Charged schedules for its retail punt this Monday. For the PSP owners, we've sighted Brave Story: New Traveler making the trip, while the PC owners get some serious luvin' by way of Combat Mission: Shock Forceand Attack on Pearl Harbor. We have the list of games on shelves this week.

Mario Striker Charged. Making its first appearance over in Europe, this latest installment of the Mario Strikers franchise will now be kicking into North America. Play as any of your favorite Mario characters in Nintendo's take on the ball game that's taken the world by storm.

• Nintendo Wii - July 30, 2007
• US$ 49.99
• ESRB E 10+ (Everyone aged 10+)
• Nintendo

Of course, that's just a teaser of the games that will be landing in your local retail stores this week as July moves into August. Click on the Full Article link below for the full list, and make sure to call your local stores to confirm if your local shop's got stock.

If you still have some savings after purchasing the final installment in the Harry Potter book series last July 21, you might want to check up on this week's game releases. It's quite a big library to stir into your gaming cauldrons. In this week's On Shelves lineup, we find Square Enix's Final Fantasy II: Anniversary Edition for the PSP. That game's got a story epic enough to match the events at Hogwarts.

Console gamers can live on the fast lane this week with NASCAR 08 on the the PS3 and Xbox 360, while Wii owners get the thrills and horrors found in Escape from Bug Island - you might want to take some tips from Hagrid first though.

Those who want to go casual can pick up handheld games the likes of Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition and Chameleon: To Dye For! on the Nintendo DS. PSP owners though, who want to do an Ellen Ripley impersonation ("Get away from her, you b*tch!"), might want to opt for Alien Syndrome.

PC gamers could either take the high road or the low road, with intense action in the latest Combat Mission installment or a baseball game with Charlie Brown.

Get your checklists done; we're heading off to Diagon Alley for some shopping this week!

Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition. Decades since its original release, this PSP remake clocks the 20th Anniversary of the FF franchise. With improved graphics and CG cinematics from the FF Origins release, this iteration of the much re-released classic will revisit the story of orphaned Firion, Maria, Guy, and Leon in their quest to overthrow the power-hungry emperor. FF fun-fact #18274: FFII is the first FF title to introduce the staple "Cid" character and the recurring chocobos.

• PSP - July 24
• US$ 29.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Square Enix

Check out this week's "On Shelves" list by clicking on the Full Article link below!

Buy: [Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition (PSP)]
Buy: [Alien Syndrome (Wii)]
Buy: [Alien Syndrome (PSP)]