Yes folks, the Capcom VS. series is alive and well. It's just been a long time, and this time, it returns with a bunch of the craziest weirdos imaginable. It's pretty much a miracle this game is coming to North America. This one really proves Capcom USA's commitment to their fanbase, but it had to be licensing hell to get this game localized. Tatsunoko owns all the licenses to their own characters in their native Japan, but in North America (and beyond), all their properties are sub-licensed to different companies who had to give clearance to get this game across the Pacific. Needless to say, Capcom did it. Now, does it stand up to the VS. Series classics?



At first you think that perhaps this is an inferior fighter that Capcom is just dropping on Wii to take advantage of the Wii's chronic lack of fighters (just like GameCube and N64 before it). Not even close. Just like the Marvel license before it, Tatsunoko provides nearly endless potential for over-the-top specials thanks to the obscurity of its stock of icons. Capcom stand-by classics like Ryu, Chun-Li, Soki, Mega Man Volnutt (Legends style baby!) and more go up against classic Tatsunoko faces such as Yatterman, Tekkaman, Jun the Swan, and Ken the Eagle (all with original voice actors). There's 23 in total for the Japanese version. The US version is going to lose one Tatsunoko character (Hakushon Daimaō from The Genie Family) to licensing issues, but it's said we'll gain five US exclusive characters in trade.

"Tatsunoko vs. Capcom throws us back to an era of over-the-top arcade extremity that the world has been missing for far too long."

The controls are smooth and precise, just as a good fighter should be. The button count has been dropped from 6-button to 4-button, presumably to lower the difficulty level for entry levels, but it doesn't really seem to have a major influence on the complexity of the experience for those who have been around since the old days. The decision to lower the button count cuts down on the dual button presses for specials and tagging your partner character in and out of the action. It's also a LOT easier to cancel supers than in past VS. games. Every character also has access to universal air dashes and double jumps.

This time, the 2D sprites have been dropped in favor of 3D renders for everything, and the character designs are beautiful. One thing that you notice pretty quickly is the fact that still shots do Tat vs. Cap a disservice. It doesn't look all that impressive in screenshot form. Only when you see the game in motion do you realize how vivid and colorful this VS. fighter is. The artwork is stylized like classic comic book pencil art in motion. Its like a blend between 2D art styling, and cel-shading but in full polygonal 3D.

The only real flaw has to be the fact that the unbelievably over-the-top Tatsunoko characters tend to overshadow the Capcom stock in terms of style (but not game balance), but that's pretty much how it's been since the beginning of the series. You could fault the Wii for its lack of the awesome Saturn inspired controllers available for XB360 and PS3, but then again the Classic Controller's Nintendo D-Pad is so vastly superior to either of the other two default D-pads, there really is no comparison. Tat Vs. Cap isn't nearly as fast as Marvel vs. Capcom 2, but it isn't nearly as slow as Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (the slowest in the series), but only the most anal of 2D fighter fans is going to find anything to complain about.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom throws us back to an era of over-the-top arcade extremity that the world has been missing for far too long. Really, the only thing that could potentially turn off a fighting fan is the unfamiliarity of the Tatsunoko stock of characters, but that really isn't much of an issue. Lots of people who dug Marvel vs. Capcom 2 didn't know half of the more obscure Marvel characters. They just knew fun. That's all that matters really, and that's what Tatsunoko vs. Capcom provides in bulk quantities.