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Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Hands-On

We took Capcom's next "vs." fighting game for a spin at GamesCom, Cologne.

The "vs." Capcom series has seen the developer go up against both Marvel and SNK, and now Japanese anime outfit Tatsunoko is next. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom has been released in Japan in both the arcades and on the Wii, but Capcom is set to bring it to Europe and the US with new characters and features. We got to play the game at Capcom's GamesCom booth, as well as talk to producer Ryota Niitsuma.

The headline feature for the Western release is four new characters, two from Capcom and two from Tatsunoko. These characters will be revealed in full at the Tokyo Game Show, and despite how hard we tried, we couldn't get Niitsuma-san to reveal the lineup. He did, however, say that the online matchmaking will be improved over the Japanese release, with better filtering according to skill, and US/European players will be able to play against all other territories around the world.

Niitsuma-san fully admits that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is more accessible than Capcom's other fighters. "We wanted to do something really wacky," he said in our interview, "and fill in the space for a Wii button masher." That actually does the game a disservice in our eyes--after playing it, it's clear there's a lot of depth to the characters and the way they interact. We love the fact that you can either have two characters or go all out and have one huge character with double the energy. "It's ballsy--it allows players to make a statement," admitted Niitsuma.

The game was built using a new engine that allowed Capcom to get the most out of the Wii, and the results speak for themselves. It's a supremely well-animated 2.5D brawler, moving at what appears to be a solid 60 frames per second, and the special moves are explosively spectacular. We particularly liked Viewtiful Joe, whose trademark movie-framed special moves appear intact. We also liked Roll, the tiny cleaner girl from the Megaman series, who throws buckets of water at her enemies.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is launching exclusively on the Wii, and a release date will be announced by the third quarter of 2009. We'll bring you any new info we get on the game in the run up to release.

66 Comments

  • hobo_wrath

    Posted Sep 3, 2009 1:58 pm PT

    I'm excited. i just hope the game has game cube or classic controller support. im not fond of wii remote & nunchuck controls in fighting games. either way ill almost definitely be getting this game.

  • gyrro-techkidd

    Posted Sep 3, 2009 7:13 am PT

    i hope they add another capcom grappler to team up with alex. calling zangief or hugo! yuhooo!

  • NinjaKey

    Posted Aug 31, 2009 7:41 pm PT

    im not sure how a fighting game like this on the wii would work but ther was marvel vs capcom so i have my faith. i hope its good

  • SorrowSnake

    Posted Aug 31, 2009 5:43 pm PT

    Nice game ,reminds me of snk v.s capcom.
    Capcom still wins although Tatsunoko looks promising.
    Gonna get This!!!

  • Bobobored13

    Posted Aug 30, 2009 10:02 am PT

    should put in megaman (nt warrior)

  • kazuyafan94

    Posted Aug 28, 2009 10:38 pm PT

    bring Gouki!!!!!

  • zell1

    Posted Aug 28, 2009 10:17 pm PT

    two ppl will be zangief and Zero idk just a thought

  • mariomarandi

    Posted Aug 28, 2009 7:57 pm PT

    They should have Amaterasu

  • manicmanEXE

    Posted Aug 28, 2009 6:12 pm PT

    THis is going to be so hard core!!!

  • Joeker96

    Posted Aug 28, 2009 3:46 am PT

    Awesome, i cant wait for this game. Heres hoping one of the capcom characters is Dante or Nero!

  • Leo-Ace

    Posted Aug 27, 2009 2:20 pm PT

    "We also liked Roll, the tiny cleaner girl from the Megaman series, who throws buckets of water at her enemies."
    Really? Probably funny (especially when done to certain people), but I was expecting a bit more.

  • Iciomura

    Posted Aug 27, 2009 11:45 am PT

    Finally, I thought that it would never come to America

  • SuperLuigi65

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 7:26 pm PT

    Looks like it'll be good. Definitely looking forward to it. Hopefully we get the answer to those mystery characters soon.

  • probabilityzer0

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 6:57 pm PT

    Viewtiful Joe is in this game!! c'mon it dosnt get any cooler then that

  • superapo

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 7:08 am PT

    the two secret capcom characters should be strider and dante

  • superapo

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 7:06 am PT

    @megapyroflame capcom can't make antoher m vs c because they don't hold the rights to marvel, activision does

  • nate1222

    Posted Aug 26, 2009 2:04 am PT

    This one looks like a damn good reason to keep my Wii. @MegaPyroFlame - I agree. I loved "Marvel Vs Capcom" on the Sega Dreamcast (THE most underappreciated console EVER). I think Capcom has a "MvsC3" coming to PS3/360. It'll fail on those 2 consoles, though, due to their demographic and a $60 price tag on a game that's visuals (cartoonlike) would look just as good for $40 on PS2/Wii. Think about it: PS2 and Wii both have the "Old School" demographic that would appreciate a cartoon styled, 2D brawler. Plus, the development costs and price would be lower. And PS2 and Wii both have HUGE installed bases to begin with.

  • MegaPyroFlame

    Posted Aug 25, 2009 3:35 pm PT

    Why didn't they just make another Marvel vs. Capcom? The second one was awesome.

  • black_ice23

    Posted Aug 25, 2009 2:43 pm PT

    online is in? thats it first day buy. and will be in my Wii often along with smash bros

  • Tri-Enforcer

    Posted Aug 25, 2009 1:49 pm PT

    "He did, however, say that the online matchmaking will be improved over the Japanese release, with better filtering according to skill, and US/European players will be able to play against all other territories around the world."

    ---So that pretty much confirms online play!!! (I don't know if this was confirmed already or not? So don't bash me...lol.)