Subscribe to and follow T3ch H3lp
Brandon Davenport
Visit Brandon’s website
Ricardo Trejo
Nick Mahar
Kristen Perez
Daniel Carey
Alex Tretrop
Darryl Cobb
Jason Tsay
Sean Zahrae
Latest stories from T3ch H3lp
Latest stuff we wrote
Our top 5 commenters
Trending Tags
Exclusive Content
More exclusives
Featured content
How to do that
Subscribe via RSS
Editors on Twitter
Ricardo TrejoWii Review: Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars
Those familiar with Marvel Vs. Capcom won't need much of an introduction to this game since it offers the same style of play and expands on it. However, if you aren't well versed in your anime history, you may need to do a quick visit to Wikipedia to figure just who the heck Yatterman-1 and Tekkaman Blade even are.
Tatsunoko' is the newest addition to the 'Capcom Vs.' series, though not a lot of gamers outside of Japan are aware of who or what Tatsunoko even is. If you haven't figured it out yet, they're a Japanese anime studio that dates as far back as 1962, and are responsible for our childhood memories of Samurai Pizza Cats, and the ever popular Evangelion.
Originally meant to be an exclusive to its country of origin, it looks and feels pretty Japanese as soon as you hear the opening song and start kicking out of some special moves. The pacing is fast and nothing like I've ever experienced before - I loved every second I had with it, and I'll tell you why if you read the rest of the review.
Watch our video review of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom HERE
Story
Fighters aren't known for their stories, and this game is no exception. The only story you'll find is in each character's endings which vary and don't connect to form a coherent storyline. If you unlock the secret movie, which is just the Japanese opening video, you'll see that the anime characters somehow crossed over into the real world, which I suppose is the gaming world? The characters are aware that they are crossed between dimensions and they just gotta get back things to the way they were.
My Experience
I've had my fair share of time with the Capcom vs. Snk and Marvel games in the past, so I'd say I'm not a beginner, but I'm also not a pro at either of the aforementioned games - I'm more of a "if it's fun I'll play it" kinda guy, yet I'm a sucker for anything Capcom.
The game feels nearly identical to the Marvel games, as character switch ups, high jumps, and simultaneous supers all migrate over flawlessly, but with one major difference: presentation. Bright colors - rainbow colors to be exact - change the way it all feels, with anime stereotypes replacing gaming nostalgia, which is a nice change of pace. The characters are also no longer 2D sprites, but are now 3D models placed on a 2 dimensional plane - it's nothing new to Street Fighter 4 players. Getting to know and control characters that as are foreign as they are colorful made playing this game an adventure to look forward to whenever I picked up the controller.
And speaking about controllers, with this being on the Wii you may be curious which control schemes are possible. There are a total of four configurations: Wiimote, Wiimote w/nunchuk, Classic Controller, and even Wavebird. I'm more of an experienced fighter vet myself so I recommend going with the Classic Controller, since it's the best suited for this type of game – unless that is of course, you don't already have yourself a Madcatz Tournament arcade stick - which in that case I tip my hat off to you.
The total number of playable heroes making up the fuller roster is 26. One character was taken out of the localized version, but 5 new characters were added in its place. I say it's a fair trade. In the Tatsunoko line up we have legendary stars like Ken the Eagle, Casshan (Cashern), and Karas.
On the Capcom side of things we get Ryu, MegaMan Volnutt, and even Viewtiful Joe. As for the 5 new characters, they are: Zero from Mega Man X, Frank West of Dead Rising, Tekkaman Blade, Joe the Condor, and Tatsunoko tips the scales with Yatterman-2. I'm glad to see Zero finally get his shot in a game outside of Mega Man since he's been a fan favorite for years. I still would've loved for Dante from Devil May Cry to make it in, but alas it was not meant to be. I can only dream that Capcom is saving him for their quarrel in the inevitable "Vs. Sega" game where he'll be pit against his newest rival, Bayonetta.
Gameplay
Personally, I hate short battles in fighting games; I mean what's the fun in starting a match and having it end within 20 seconds? Maybe there are a couple of you out there who are into that, but not me. So I was relieved to see this new idea of regenerating health in action. Let me explain how it works. When you get hit you'll lose some life, however, most of it will become a red bar - over time your health will begin to fill up that red bar and give you a shot for a longer life. This regeneration can be put into your strategy since switching out give your tired character a chance at resting, while your other is out doing the fighting for you. I noticed the AI do this numerous times right when I was about to take down their first character.
Also, making their debut in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom are the following mechanics:
Mega Crashes - Are you being wailed on in a corner with no way to escape? Time to make one! Mega Crash to stop his combo and create some distance between the two of you; I loved this new addition but I can't help but compare it to "Burst"-ing from the Guilty Gear series.
Air Dashes - Jump in the air and dash forward to close the gap without sacrificing time; Another feature borrowed from Guilty Gear.
Baroque Cancels - Give up the red bar from your regenerating health to string together a longer combo and put the beat down on your opponent. It also makes your character turn a rainbow color, signifying you can now begin a whole new chain of attacks.
All of the newest additions were pretty simple to learn and execute - though getting them to work all together takes some practice, but it'll come in time. Just take a look at some of the moves in the review video for some ideas. Since the game is optimized for the Wii's controllers, the fighting styles and buttons were all simplified as well. Instead of having the usual 6 attack buttons, in Tatsunoko you'll only be met with 3: low, medium, and high. Going into the Training portion of the game can do wonders for your skills, as they helped me conquer some nasty Baroques ending with multiple alternating supers.
The game itself, either versus the AI or a friend is raw and fast paced. It's light hearted and never feels like it's meant to be something other than a means to just get you to smile, as well as kick butt at the same time. But if you find yourself in an online match don't be surprised if you get your butt handed to you.
Tatsunoko may very well be fun and not all that serious, but the way it was designed makes room for battles that can be set up for tournament styled action. If you're a player who knows the in's and out's of fighters then this could be a whole new outlet for you to get your rep. up. I wouldn't suggest going all out on the Wii's WiFi Connection however, since it can lag something fierce if you don't have that good of a connection - and even if you do it can still be a pain to get things on an even playing field.
Besides the main game there are a ton of unlockables, but they're all mostly consolation prizes for playing. I mean I doubt people will play hours on end in the single player mode just to buy up the dioramas of all the stages. Plus, the only way to unlock characters or gain money to purchases images and such is by finishing the game on single player mode - which isn't that much fun when you've got yourself siblings, friends, or room mates who want a piece of the action. Though, I would recommend beating the game with Roll and collecting all the yellow highlighted letters in the credits' mini game since you'll rewarded handsomely with Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate Shooter Stars - a shoot'em up game that originally was only 3 levels long in the Japanese version, but can now be played for up to 15 stages on Lost Planet as its setting. Oh, and did I mention the "Sh'mup" can be played with up to 4 players? No one will miss out in there.
Final Thoughts
Whether you're a pro Street Fighter player, or just a beginner wanting to experience what all the talk is about, if there ever was a game that was accessible for to both the old and new it's this. If you play with the Wiimote alone you can be cracking out some massive combos just by tapping the 1 and 2 buttons over and over again - heck, you might give an experienced player a run for their money. I wouldn't recommend doing it in the arcade though, you might get schooled.
Anime fans, or even those who just remember the good ol' days of stereotypical long heroic monologues and funny looking costumes - if you're in the mood for a game that can be enjoyed for its over the top absurdity and overall style, as well as a robust fighting system that draws from other successful games in the genre, then Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom deserves your attention.
More Articles Like This One
Enjoy more gadget news
Follow T3ch H3lp Gadgets
Become a Fan on Facebook
Subscribe to Gadget news via RSS
Enjoy more Mac, iPod, iPad and iPhone news
Enjoy more web videos
Enjoy more T3ch H3lp reviews
Enjoy more Gaming reviews, news and previews
Reader Comments