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Zero and Joe the Condor are the last two Tatsunoko vs. Capcom characters
IGN revealed today that the leaked Tatsunoko vs. Capcom character roster update was almost 100% accurate in predicting the characters added to the North American version (and the upcoming Japanese re-release). Joe the Condor (yet another Gatchaman character) and Mega Man X's pal Zero have joined the lineup. Only Yatterman #2 is unaccounted for. This isn't Zero's first appearance in a fighter; he appeared in his Mega Man Zero style in SNK vs. Capcom: SvC Chaos and Onimusha Blade Warriors. This is, however, his first appearance in a good fighting game.Check out footage of both new characters in action after the break. Rather than being a simple palette swap of Mega Man Volnutt, Zero's attacks use his trademark energy sword. And Joe has a grappling hook/gun combo.
Capcom rolls out Fate/Unlimited Codes on PSN next week
Capcom's latest downloadable title, Fate/Unlimited Codes, is set to drop on the PlayStation Store on September 3. Developed by Eighting (the team behind Tatsunoko Vs Capcom), Fate/Unlimited Codes is a fighter specifically designed for the PSP Go, based on a popular Japanese anime franchise. Originally a PlayStation 2 title in Japan in 2008, Fate/Unlimited Codes has been available for the PSP in the Far East since June, but the pseudo-3D fighter hopes to make a splash when it lands on North American and European shores next week. The story of Fate/Unlimited Codes goes like this: Seven masters and servants battle for control of a small Japanese town's "Holy Grail," which can grant the winner anything they wish. What would we wish for? For it to be September 3, so we can get our hands on Capcom's latest. Oh, and a pony!%Gallery-51294%
Comic-Con 2009: New Tatsunoko vs. Capcom footage
Capcom released new media for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom today, including videos featuring Tatsunoko characters Karas and Ken the Eagle, and Capcom characters Alex and Viewtiful Joe. We were really impressed with the fighting game translation of Joe -- it looks just like Viewtiful Joe from his own game. We're very glad Capcom didn't give up on putting Joe in a fighting game after, you know, the Viewtiful Joe fighting game.Head past the break at mach speed to see another video of these four characters in action. And check our gallery to zoom into new screens and artwork.%Gallery-68616%
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom clips cause billions in damage
The best part of Capcom's Vs. fighters isn't the character roster, though of course Vs. games tend to have awesome selections. No, it's the ridiculous, super-fast aerial combat. Unfortunately, if you're not directly engaged in said combat (or even if you are), it can be way too frantic and flashy to understand. The Tatsunoko vs. Capcom clip above, and the other after the break, demonstrate this issue. Yatterman and Doronjo (from the Yatterman anime), and Saki and Morrigan (from Quiz Nanairo Dreams and Darkstalkers, respectively) go into battle, and then ... a bunch of stuff happens, causing billions of unspecified units of damage, and then suddenly it's over. We don't really know what happened, but we know we want to be involved in it.
So who are these 'Tatsunoko' characters anyway?
One major issue with marketing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom in North America is that nobody but old-school otaku knows who the hell half of the characters are. It took a few months of watching matches on YouTube to realize that all the Tatsunoko characters looked really fun in gameplay, but the name recognition wasn't there for us like it is in Japan, where Tatsunoko Production anime is an institution.Seemingly in an attempt to combat that handicap, at least among the hardcore blog-reading audience, Capcom Unity has started a series of posts introducing the characters. The first, "Dragon vs. Eagle," provides a fairly detailed bio of Gatchaman's Ken the Eagle, with background about the character and the Gatchaman show, and supplementary video clips. There's also a bio of Ryu, but everyone knows Ryu: torn sleeves, headband, likes fighting.%Gallery-32421%
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom roster may change for North American release
GameSpot's preview for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars contains some rather troubling news about the localized version of Eighting's cross-company fighter. According to the site, "talks are ongoing," but Capcom may not have been able to secure all the rights to the Tatsunoko characters. As a result, there "may be some minor pruning done to the Tatsunoko side of the roster."It's not all bad, though: GameSpot said that Capcom is working to keep the roster balanced for the updated version, "so any pruning done will require some addition to keep things balanced." Maybe Capcom can grab 3D models of random Capcom characters and stick the missing Tatsunoko characters' movesets in. Or maybe whoever the last holdout is on the Tatsunoko side will realize that there's really not anything else going on in North America with these characters.%Gallery-32421%
Capcom: Don't count out a US Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Capcom's US branch is keeping hope alive for a Western release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, the Versus fighter featuring Capcom faves and Tatsunoko creations including Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. (Yes: Science. Ninja. Team.)Christian Svensson, Capcom's bizdev and strategic planning VP, told VideoGamer.com, "Do not rule [a Western release] out. That is all I can say right now," adding, "We are still actively working on having that happen. I can't say it's happening definitively. I couldn't give you a time frame, but as badly as the fans want it, we want to bring it."According to Svensson, a combination of licensing issues and reassembling the dev team at Eighting to make any necessary changes are the major hurdles. "The Tatsunoko rights are split as far as how they are held in the west," he explained. "Tatsunoko obviously holds all of the rights in Japan so they can grant all of those characters usage through Japan very easily.""To be fair, the team that did it is working on something else now," Svensson added, "so actually also clawing back the resources to do a localised version, to make any changes that are needed to get through those licensing issues, these are all things that need to be aligned before we can actually profit from this happening."%Gallery-32421%
Continue to vicariously enjoy Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Several of you reported importing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and you may be playing it right now. If so, this post isn't for you, and instead, you may have a steaming pot of jealousy on us. If, like us, you are not pounding face right now, you can kick back and watch what happens when you pound face really well. As in, you can check out the endings for all the Capcom characters. So go ahead. Treat yourself. Watch the fruit of someone else's fun. We'll be over here with the tissues. Gallery: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes
Wii Warm Up: Tatsunoko vs. Envy
While some of us are hesitant to commit to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (not because of questions of game quality, but for financial reasons, and concern for the safety of our Wiis), we are quite certain that some of you either totally imported it, or live in Japan and just bought it. And we are jealous. We're getting by for now on YouTube combo demonstration videos, but it's tough going. If you're now a proud owner of a fighting game about obscure Japanese television characters, let us know! Was this your first time importing? And if you're holding off on the purchase (and you like Capcom fighting games), is it for the stated reasons or others?%Gallery-32421%
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom available to importers early
Here's the animated introduction sequence to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, found on the official website. Right now, people are watching this mindblowing intro on their Wiis -- and not just in crummy YouTube windows. Importers are receiving their copies of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom before the ship date! In fact, it's available at Play-Asia right now!The good news for the rest of us is that the early buyers are taking videos of the game. And after the break, you'll find several, including the training mode (with adorably narrated menus) -- in which you can hear Roll's Rockman Battle & Chase theme song "Kaze yo Tsutaete" as her background music. Also available after the break, playthrough's of Chun-Li, Check out Dengeki for new screens of minigames, including: Rock Volnutt's "How Many Servbots?", Hakushon Daimao's math game, Batsu's "Batsu Style Street Dance," and Polymar's drilling game.%Gallery-32421%
Two Rocking Tatsunoko vs. Capcom videos
We don't have to wait until Wednesday for this week's Tatsunoko vs. Capcom video update, thanks to the intrepid fan who found the file on the Japanese website and uploaded it to YouTube. We'd say this fight, featuring Rock Volnutt and Rival Schools' Batsu vs. Hakushon Daimao and Hurricane Polymar is exceptionally wacky, but pretty much every battle is exceptionally wacky, thanks to the hyperspeed gameplay and the cartoon cast. We'll just have to wait until Wednesday for new minigame screens.A 4Gamer interview linked in the same NeoGAF thread as the Rock video brings slightly bad news: there aren't any unlockable characters. So the roster we've seen is it -- no Dante, Gene, Captain Commando, Strider, Trojan, or Chip 'n Dale to be found.As for the one still-secret character -- the final boss. If you don't want to be spoiled by seeing new, higher-quality footage of this character in action, do not click past the break. If you already have, don't scroll down past the gallery. But if you do decide to check out the footage, how awesome is that footage? %Gallery-32421%
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Lost Planet's mech finds trouble
Capcom released two new Tatsunoko vs. Capcom gameplay videos today instead of the usual one per week, and around here, that's cause for celebration! Let's celebrate by watching the videos. The first, above, features Tatsunoko heroes Yatterman no. 1 and Casshern vs. the giant PTX-40A from Lost Planet. That mech is surprisingly agile! And Yatter-Wan the dog is surprisingly huge! After the break, look at some footage of the same Tatsunoko pair facing off against last week's stars, Chun Li and Morrigan.The characters' minigames include: Yatter-Wan Chicken Race, in which you propel the jet-powered robodog towards, but not across, a line; Raging Wind Friender Intensive Training, in which button presses translate to increased speed for Casshern's own dog, Friender; and Akrid Destroy Mission, a Lost Planet-themed vertical-scrolling shooter.We couldn't be more thrilled about the impending Japanese release of this game. Well, we could be a bit more thrilled if we didn't have to import it and use homebrew to run it.%Gallery-32421%
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Girls vs. huge robots
The latest gameplay footage from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes features a ridiculous-looking bout between a Morrigan/Chun Li team and the enormous Gold Lightan. The outsized robot seems to have little difficulty with the pair, as he grabs Morrigan out of the air and spikes her, performs deadly belly-flops, and even reflects one of Chun Li's projectiles with his hand. We suspect, of course, that the game's balance actually keeps the giant character from having any unfair advantages -- but he sure is intimidating.As usual, the update includes a look at each character's minigame. Keeping Gold Lightan looking his best, and most intimidating, is the focus of his minigame, in which you polish his golden exterior. Morrigan's game involves grabbing a hero (Ryu in the screenshots), lifting him miles into the air, and then piledriving him into the ground. Chun-Li, in her minigame, chisels a statue from stone with her Lightning Kicks.%Gallery-32421%
Tatsunoko vs. Calendar: Store Promotion of Heroes
To promote the release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, Capcom is offering an exclusive Tatsunoko vs. Capcom 2009 calendar to retailers. The calendar will feature original artwork on each two-month page, as well as a Shinkiro cover that varies by store. The limited-edition calendars will be handed out with purchased copies of the game starting on the December 11 release date.The Bic Camera/Sofmap version of the calendar features a group portrait, the Geo version features Ryu and Ken the Eagle, and the Imagine version's cover features Doronjo and Morrigan. And the exclusive "JC" edition features these preview images printed out and stapled together with some calendar pages from Word.%Gallery-32421%[Via Famitsu]
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom vs. eight of your minutes
This promotional video for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom has a little of everything. There are introductions of many of the characters, with voice clips and brief gameplay footage; demonstrations of the gameplay, including the various kinds of combos that can be executed, like the Hyper Combo special attacks; and even footage of many of the minigames, including Ryu's fireball game, Ken the Eagle's shooting gallery, and Hakushon Daimao's math quizzes!We'd expect a nice overview from an eight-minute-long promo, and this footage does not disappoint. We were especially glad to see the two giant robot characters, Gold Lightan and PTX-40A, singled out, because hey, that's a pretty weird thing to have in a fighting game.%Gallery-32421%[Via NeoGAF]
New Viewtiful Joe (mini) game (in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom)
First off, there is a new video of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes at Famitsu, featuring Saki from Quiz Nanairo DREAMS and Viewtiful Joe vs. Ippatsuman and Doronjo. Joe's Mach Speed super combo is expected, but delightful.In addition, screens reveal another set of character-specific minigames. For free extras included in our cool fighting game, they all look pretty excellent -- and there are now more minigames in Tatsunoko than in many dedicated minigame collections. Saki has an enjoyable-looking asteroid shooting gallery game, Ippatsuman has a baseball pitching game, and Doronjo has some kind of bomb-throwing platformer in which her and her goons Boyacky and Tonzler ride through a valley on unicycles. Viewtiful Joe's minigame is the standout of the group: a sort of "shooting" game in which you attempt to snap photographs of a running Joe, with the ability to take three photos in rapid succession.%Gallery-32421%
Wii Warm Up: Vs. Capcom
For a long time, we mostly saw the Tatsunoko Productions characters in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom as a necessity: there because Vs. fighting games needed to be vs. somebody. Basically, they were there to give the Capcom characters some new people to fight, and it didn't really matter who. But as we've followed the game, we've started to pay attention to the Tatsunoko characters and realize that they seem like they're going to be fun to play. They look cool and/or hilarious, and all those superheroes seem perfectly suited for high-speed aerial combat. How about you? Were you already a fan of any Tatsunoko properties? Have you even noticed any of the Tatsunoko characters?%Gallery-32421%
Two wonderful Tatsunoko vs. Capcom videos
These two clips suffer a bit from their conversion to embeddable Web formats, but that seems inevitable for something so quick and dynamic as Tatsunoko vs. Capcom footage. First, we have the commercial for the Japanese Wii release, narrated by Yatterman villains Boyacky and Tonzler.After the break, we have extended gameplay footage, featuring a tag-team fight between Ryu and Street Fighter III's Alex vs. Ken the Eagle and Jun the Swan from Gatchaman. This amazing clip can be seen in higher quality at Famitsu. The super high speed and air combos help cement this game as a Vs. series game!%Gallery-32421%
Henshin a-go-go, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom!
Capcom held a special event today to show off upcoming titles, and here's part of what made it so special: the unveiling of three new characters for their blazing hot, currently-Japan-only fighting game Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. One of whom is Viewtiful Joe, seen here punching the kid from Onimusha in the junk. Joe happens to be the perfect Capcom character for this game. He's a parody of exactly the kind of superhero characters that make up most of the Tatsunoko lineup! Also, he's really awesome. The other new Capcom character is Saki from Quiz Nanairo DREAMS, who previously appeared as a "partner" in Marvel vs. Capcom, and now makes her debut as a playable character. On the Tatsunoko side, Ippatsuman has been added to the roster. %Gallery-32421%
Tatsunoko vs. Controllers
Thanks to a Siliconera writeup of the TGS demo of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, we have a better idea what to expect from the fighter's controls, both with the Classic Controller and the Wiimote. The Wiimote was designed as sort of an all-purpose controller, but fighting games are not something it can handle without modifications. According to Spencer, one button is mapped to combos, and the other to special moves. Holding the D-pad in any direction will change the command mapped to the button. For example, Ryu's special attack button throws a fireball, but up+ special or down+ special will release other moves like the Dragon Punch and Hurricane Kick. It's a pretty admirable attempt at making a fighter playable with the Wiimote.The "real" control scheme on the Classic Controller is simplified, as well, compared to other Capcom fighters. Attacks are mapped to three buttons, weak, medium, and strong, with no distinction between punches and kicks. In both control schemes, the B button calls the assist character.%Gallery-32421%
