Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Review

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January 22, 2010 - Right now you're reading a review for a game that shouldn't have ever existed outside of Japan. Mainstream gamers -- and most hardcore gamers, at that -- don't know the Tatsunoko brand. With very little promise of a commercial success, Capcom would be crazy to bring the latest in the Capcom Vs. series to U.S. shores, right?

Not necessarily, no. You're reading about a "dark horse" game, no doubt. But you're also reading a review for one of the best games on the Wii.

If you're anything like me, you didn't know the Tatsunoko brand before you started seeing shots of some super hero dudes locking it up with the likes of Ryu and Chun Li in the Street Fighter arena. If you take one thing away from this review though, it's that it simply doesn't matter. Any way you slice it -- be it the modes, balance, character diversity, depth, or ease of entry into the game itself -- Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is one of the best fighters we've seen since Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and it's a testament to good, old-fashioned 2D ass-kickery.

While players might not know the Tatsunoko brand outright, they can have faith in the brand to deliver unique characters, each with their own style, swagger, and strengths. It's a shame there's no real history section within Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's shop/collection system, but even without much backstory, the game is strong enough on its own to inspire fans to read up on the characters after going a few dozen rounds.

Capcom's goal with Street Figher IV was to rebirth the fighting world, bringing in new players by going back to what's truly fun about 2D fighters. After taking both games through the paces though, I've had a much more rewarding and downright entertaining time with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom than I ever did with Street Fighter IV. Street Fighter IV is without a doubt a top-tier fighter, and the true rebirth of 2D arcade fighting. But I'd argue that Wii fans are getting the true "return to excellence" with Tatsunoko, as the game offers more instant appeal and pure entertainment value than its more serious Street Fighter counterpart.

Wii fans may bicker and complain that they don't have Street Fighter IV in Nintendo's library, but fighting fans that cut their teeth and dropped a fortune on Marvel vs. Capcom 2 back in the arcades might -- just might -- consider Wii's exclusive fighter to be the true ace up the sleeve. The similarities between Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Capcom's latest fighter are pretty impossible to ignore, and that's a very good thing. Bottom line: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is just downright fun, and an amazing catch for the U.S. market.

Obviously people are going to come from different camps as to what they want from a fighter, but as a guy that takes comfort in the high-speed, juggle-centric gameplay of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, I found myself instantly enjoying what Tatsunoko has to offer. At its core, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a three button fighter, mixing all basic moves up by allowing each attack button (light, medium, and heavy) to pull off different techniques with the same motion. Sometimes the change is minimal, like having different speeds for Ryu's fireball based on what button you use.

Okay... that's been around since, well, forever. Look at other characters, however, and you'll find a lot of hidden depth. Casshan's "Friender Call" sends out his robotic wolf to attack his opponent, but each button used to execute the technique will pull off a different move. Friender will come in and attack with a quick physical pounce, jump to mid-field and spit a flamethrower attack, or even latch onto Casshan's opponent and hold them in place for an easy combo. That's one move, executed with three different buttons.

The basic tag format of previous versus games still applies, so players will bring in two fighters from either the Capcom side, Tatsunoko side, or a mix. Tags can happen at any time and there's a short recharge period after assist attacks or switches so that players can't just spam the tag button over and over. All the combined super combos you'd expect are alive and well. You can cash in your super meter for single-fighter attacks or you can stack them so that you and your tag partner jump in at the tail end of each other's supers and leapfrog from gigantic attack to gigantic attack (assuming you've got the super meter filled enough to do it). When tagged out, fighters also slowly heal themselves, refilling the red part of their damage meter over time.

The combat is simple enough to get you playing and having fun from the first match, but after a short time the more hardcore players out there will discover the barouque combos, crossover combos, air crosses, mega crushes, and other higher level techniques. What's nice: those aren't required to enjoy the game, and overall Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is extremely intuitive and "newbie friendly," without sacrificing depth.