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Review: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
In bringing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom to the US, the latter company is taking a pretty big risk -- but fighting game fans get an even bigger reward. Even if you've never heard of half of the characters in it, or don't really care about the amount of resources put into releasing it stateside -- complete with new characters, modes and online play -- you can't help but appreciate this oddball fighter because it's just so damn good. Looking at its roster and the fact that it's on the Wii, it would be easy to dismiss Tatsunoko vs. Capcom as a gimmicky fighting game, but it's an honest-to-goodness hardcore entry that is among the very best Capcom has made in recent years. It's easy to get into, yet surprisingly deep and steeped in fan service. It's also one of the nicest looking games (so far) on Nintendo's console. %Gallery-82031%
Report: Samurai Pizza Cats, Speed Racer once considered for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Even though Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is already bordering on the legal limits of how many characters are simultaneously allowed in a single game, Capcom thought about adding others. We all knew (and are very depressed about) the almost-inclusion of Phoenix Wright, but according to a web chat with producer Ryota Niitsuma (via Siliconera) the Samurai Pizza Cats were once considered for the game. "We at Capcom too, wanted to see the Samurai Pizza Cats in the game. We were in discussion with Tatsunoko Productions to try to get them in the game. It went right up the last minute, but it didn't go through," revealed Niitsuma. It didn't end there, either -- Capcom even considered putting in Speed Racer. Niitsuma commented that the hurdle with him was putting his race car into the game, something we find a bit odd considering the game has characters who are far larger and comprised of far more complicated mechanical parts than a stinkin' race car! In other news: Joystiq finally has a Samurai Pizza Cats tag. May it console you in your time of need.
Niitsuma: Capcom-developed games starring Tatsunoko characters 'a possibility'
Speaking to Joystiq, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom producer Ryota Niitsuma has said that the prospect of future Capcom-made games based on Tatsunoko properties is indeed a possibility. "The reception of the game by Tatsunoko was quite positive," Niitsuma told us. "[Tatsunoko] saw how we were able to incorporate the characters very successfully into a fighting game, so I think that, in the future, that could lead to us using Tatsunoko characters in other ways." "I can't say there's any concrete information, or there have been any steps in that direction yet, but I think the possibility is there," he said. Niitsuma added that sales of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, which ships next week, will influence that possibility, saying, "if the sales of this game do good in the States, then I think that will open up many doors." Furthermore, Niitsuma said he feels that the game's status as a "Versus Series" title will likely sell more copies here than its inclusion of Tatsunoko characters. If there above image wasn't a dead giveaway, we'd certainly be up for a Capcom-developed Gatchaman action game. Let us know what you'd like to see in the comments.
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate Box Art of All-Stars
Capcom has finally uploaded the massive box art for its latest Vs title onto the internet: Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. It's very similar to the Japanese box art for the original release, in that it's a bunch of the game's characters set against a white background. The difference between the two is that our localized version shows the characters staring each other down, likely thinking about how they're going to kick the crap out of each other. What a violent world these folks live in, eh? Head past the break for the full box art. %Gallery-32421%
Rumor: Frank West, Zero to be in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Shoryuken forum user mumu recently went snooping around the Japanese site for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and uncovered some interesting items. Within the source code of the character section of the site, mumu found lines of code hinting towards the remaining secret characters: 'images/oncharactor_btn_zero.jpg' 'images/oncharactor_btn_frank.jpg' 'images/oncharactor_btn_yatter02.jpg' 'images/oncharactor_btn_joe.jpg' 'images/oncharactor_btn_tekkabla.jpg' So, aside from yesterday's Tekkaman Blade, mumu postulates that Dead Rising's Frank West and Zero from the Mega Man series are also going to be in the game and, on the Tatsunoko side, we'll get Yatterman #2 from Yatterman and Joe Asakura from Gatchaman. If you'll excuse us, we'll be crying in the corner, objecting once again to the lack of Phoenix Wright.[Via Siliconera]
Confirmed: no genie character in North American Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Hardcore Hakushon Daimao fans: in case you haven't already, you should probably import Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Producer Ryota Niitsuma confirmed to Siliconera that Hakushon Daimao, the big genie character, won't be in the North American version. This is the "minor pruning" to which Capcom previously alluded."We had some licensing issues with him so we weren't able to obtain him for the American version," Niitsuma told Siliconera. Apparently, the original Hakushon Daimao show ran across the world in the '70s, so the holdout could be any number of companies. Niitsuma said that "new characters" would replace Daimao -- confirmation of the "five new characters" promised on Capcom's press release (which was later reissued with no mention of new characters)? We can only hope that one of those characters will feature Daimao's math minigame. Or not, actually.
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.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom won't leave Wii, sales could spur sequel
Capcom has squashed the dreams of those hopeful its newest cross-over fighter, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, will come to PS3 and/or Xbox 360. Speaking to VideoGamer.com, the game's producer, Ryota Niitsuma, stated that the effort required to port the heavily Wii-optimized title would be considerable. "If we were to port it to PS3 or Xbox 360 we would have to make the game from scratch, and in that case we might as well just make a sequel of the series on those consoles rather than porting it," he told the site.Not confirmation of a sequel, but a promising comment nonetheless. Niitsuma said that "we would like to see the reaction of the western market when we release the game on Wii," with regard to bringing the series to other platforms. Since Niitsuma wouldn't say it himself, we'll go ahead and do it for him: "Buy the first one if you want to see a sequel." See, that wasn't so hard.
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 gets online play, 5 new characters for North America [update]
Update: Capcom sent out a release the following day, redacting the mention of online play and five new characters. Did someone at Capcom jump the gun?The release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom in North America will change a bit from its Japanese counterpart, Capcom has announced. The North American release eliminates one character from the Tatsunoko side of the roster and adds five new fighters not found in the original game. Not only that, but the North American version of the game will also have online play, a feature the original Japanese release cannot boast.[Thanks, WiiNinja!]
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%
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: Huge, awesome spoiler
"Huge." "Awesome." Hugesome. That's how we'd define the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom SPOILER that just hit the 'net, so we're taking appropriate action and filing this one after the break.If you do intend to import the 2D fighter, you're best off NOT clicking the blue text below. If you couldn't care less about spoiling not one but potentially two games for yourself, go forth and click, young warrior, and prepare to go slightly weak at the knees as we unveil Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's final boss ...%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%
