Game REVIEWS
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
System: Nintendo Wii
Publisher: Capcom
Category: Fighting
Available Nowl
Capcom versus titles have always been one of the top fighting games for more than a decade. The last titles: “Marvel vs. Capcom 2”, in 2000, and “Capcom vs. Snk 2”, in 2001, (not counting “Snk vs. Capcom: Chaos” as it was made by SNK) have left fans wanting more. At the end of 2008, Capcom released “Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes” on the Wii and for the longest time it was believed the game would only be released in Japan, because many of the characters in the Tatsunoko universe were not as popular in the states. So fans were going as far as buying Wii Freeloaders and importing copies of the game just to play what would be considered the most entertaining and visually stunning fighting game on the Wii. In 2009 it was announced the Wii exclusive title would be localized and released in the states and some changes would be made for the American audience, then the game was released.
Last year unWIRED TV reviewed “Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars” (2009 review ) giving it 4 out of 5 for its visual graphics, gameplay, and overall performance. This was one of Capcom’s best titles in its series of fighting games and what made it a surprise that it was made for the Wii and Arcade only. The original title featured 22 playable characters from both series and the new version increases that number to 26 by removing one character from the Tatsunoko world and adding 3 more. Capcom adds two more characters to its lineup for one of the best experiences on the Nintendo Wii.
The fighting system resembles that of the Marvel vs. Capcom series, allowing you to choose one partner and tag in and out and call them to assist you. Super to super cancels are available, but here you can link as many supers as you can (max 5). Each Character has 3 Supers included to their already deadly arsenal which include 2 level 1 supers and 1 level 3 super combo. If you are looking for a straight up fighting game, this isn’t the game for you, as it is unbalanced where combos can be infinite, but really fun to do against the AI. New Abilities to this series are Burst Out and Baroque which, if timed well and trained, can make a big difference in your battles.
*Burst out allows one to cancel out of a combo (not super combo) at the expense of 3 super bars and regenerated life which can save one from tons of damage being dealt.
*Baroque at the cost of your characters regenerated life allows you to enter a rainbow mode which allows you to quick start from your last combo to start another combo to
deal even more damage to your opponent.
*Finally a Tag out system which allows you to tag out mid combo either if you are in the air or the ground and allows your partner to continue a combo or even toss in his super combo to destroy your partner as well as double team supers and partner counters which switches characters out for the cost of one bar. For regular tags tapping back and the partner button allows a quick tag.
The game is playable via the Wii mote by itself or Wii mote/nunchuk combo or for those more accustomed with fighting games the GameCube controller, Wavebird, classic controller or Arcade stick may be used to play this game. My weapon of choice is the Wavebird controller.
Changes from the Japanese title:
For the American version Tatsunoko combatant Hakushon Daimaō (a genie) was removed, and added to Team Tatsunoko are the characters: Joe the condor joins Ken and Jun from team Gatchaman (aka G-force and Battle of the Planets), Tekkaman Blade, and Yatterman-1’s partner and love interest Yatterman-2. Joe plays more of the power house and nasty of the Gatchaman force with strong combo’s and quick priority and some powerful supers. Tekkaman Blade is a combo crazy character with the ability to link combos, crossover and projectile like crazy which is great for beginners and even more dangerous for skilled players and finally Yatterman-2, she is a quick character with a lot of tools at her disposal and with practice and timing can be very fun to play with.
Capcom’s 2 added characters are actually fan pleasers, adding Zero from Megaman X series and Frank West from Dead Rising. Zero is a quick powerful fighter taking moves from Megaman X4 and X5 and many of his techniques link to create powerful combos that make him very deadly, the downfall is his supers, his level 3 technique is powerful and very useful but his 2 level 1 supers are not so useful as most of the time you will probably ignore them to connect his level 3. Frank West takes many of his Dead Rising items to battle with him such as: baseball bat, golf club and his trusty camera, he can call forth zombies from behind, or the air to momentarily stun your opponent or even send a shopping cart with a zombie inside to knock your opponent down. His supers are fun and creative being able to turn into a Megaman X-ish look alike and use the Megabuster to attack his opponent, toss around his opponent and the two different level 3 supers depending on the situation. All of the added characters really fit in quite smooth with the game adding a new challenge to those who have already played this game along with some more characters to use.
Endings have been changed, before an illustrated ending was given and linked to a cut-scene ending for all characters. For the American localization all the illustrations were redrawn by Udon (famous for many of the Street Fighter images, comic books and localization of art books), the in game cut-scene endings were removed and all of the endings have been changed accept for 2. Online play is added to give fans more challenge, play with friends or just play in ranked or non ranked matches, and the leader board shows who are some of the top characters. For the online mode the game monitors yours playing style and, as opponents play each other, 3 different icons appear dependent on the fighters play style. A person with a fire symbol is more aggressive and attacks head on where as an ice symbol means a character is more cautious and defends a lot, and lastly thunder means a well balanced character.
As a special bonus, by completing the end game mini game, collecting the golden letters spelling out “Thank you for playing” unlocks Ultimate All-Shooters, a “shooting game” featuring characters from both Tatsunoko and Capcom gives a fun extra to actually scroll through the end credits rather than skipping it all together, luckily it only has to be done once.
“Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars” actually improved quite a bit with the addition of the characters, online play and the extra mini game All-Shooters. With new endings it gives more replay value to those who already spent 60+ dollars for their Japanese copy, and the addition of online play gives them a chance to take on other pro players or even new players who will rise to the top.
The only downfall to the game is really a few small gripes: The music of the game is at times annoying and doesn’t fit well into the game. The original songs aren’t available which is understandable since there are licensing issues with Tatsunoko characters, but the intro song being translated isn’t well done I find myself cringing hearing it but love the original Japanese version, The removal of the ending cut-scenes is kind of a letdown but the animation done by Udon really is well detailed and awesome.
“Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars” is a must have for fighting game fans, a plus for Wii owners and definitely a Wii seller for Capcom fans, the game can lead up to more vs. games and maybe a future sequel for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom with tons of characters for both series to use. This really gives fans the vs. Capcom series fix they want.
**Written by Christopher Del Castillo
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