Release Date: January 26, 2010
It’s hard to believe that I’m reviewing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, since I never actually thought this game would be localized for the American market. This was A) because Tatsunoko isn’t necessarily a well-known among Americans (especially the more mainstream audience the Wii targets) and B) because of licensing issues. But I’ll get to that later.
The Capcom Versus series is a hardcore 2D fighting franchise that pits fan-favorite Capcom characters from Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and any number of other Capcom series (including Megaman) against favorite characters from other universes, such as SNK (King of Fighters) and Marvel. Yeah, that’s right; in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (the last title in the series released in the US) you could pick a team with Gambit, Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine, and the Servbots from Mega Man Legends. The rosters were always huge, odd, and a ton of fun. As for the mechanics, they were what you’d expect from a stubbornly 2D fighting series that appealed to hardcore gamers: fucking ridiculous.
Incidentally, I have never met anybody who could actually execute those mechanics. Like all franchises of this genre, there are two tiers of player: the people who know everything about how to play these games, and the rest of us (who sucked).
But I’ve always made it a point to pick up every title I can in the Capcom Versus series, because even if I do suck at them they’re still a blast to play. Particularly over a few drinks with some friends.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a different sort of beast, however. Yes, drawing characters from the Marvel and SNK universes is an obscure move, but they were always treated as fairly obscure titles: fairly limited-run games on consoles known for attracting hardcore gamers. For example, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 would never have been ported to the Gamecube. The PS2 was the optimal choice for that title, and its cult status means that copies of it still go for truly obscene sums on eBay (i.e. above the original list price), despite it being available as a downloadable game on the PlayStation Network for something like $10.
As for Tatsunoko: a lot of the awesome old-school anime I grew up with, such as Gatchaman (AKA Battle of the Planets/G-force), Macross (Robotech) and Speed Racer were all the product of Tatsunoko. But herein lies the rub: all of these different shows were brought to the US at different times, and by different localization studios. So when this game was released in Japan, a lot of American fans despaired: in order to release Tatsunoko vs. Capcom here Capcom would have to negotiate with each of them to secure licensing rights. And while Capcom was pushing Wii development very heavily at the time, the consensus was that the company was focused on casual games for the platform: i.e. ones with a broader appeal than to the demographics of Otacon and the San Diego Comic Con. The fact was that all the different cultural and legal junk just made it easier for Capcom to keep in Japan, so I treated any noises I heard about a US release as bunk.
Then I actually got confirmation that it was coming to the US, and immediately halted plans to sell my Wii. I even bought it on release day, along with Mass Effect 2.
So, all that background out of the way, how is the actual game?
Well, if I’m being honest, that depends completely and entirely upon how much of a nerd you are. If you love Tatsunoko, you probably already own this game. If you love the Capcom Versus series, you probably already own this game. If you love either and don’t already own it, you must A) not own a Wii, B) be a moron, or C) be highly offended by something dumb, like maybe your favorite character wasn’t included or Megaman Volnutt’s hair is one pixel out of place and as a result you have to boycott this game while you go do foul things to your Cammy love doll. So all those people might as well just depart now.
For those who remain: this game is absolutely fantastic. Yes, it’s button-mashy unless you play pretty much nothing but 2D fighters. Yes, you may not recognize all the characters unless you are as pathetically devoid of a life as I am (in which case, again, you probably already own this game). And yes, the online component doesn’t work too well since the Wii’s wi-fi is horrible (I have yet to complete a full match online, and my router is an AirPort Extreme less than five feet from my Wii).
But here are the upsides. You get a huge roster of fighters, including two US exclusives. Yes, that’s right, US exclusives. While you lose the party-style minigames for each character that the Japanese got, you gain a much more fully-featured version of the schmup that was a brief
You also get a proper, hardcore 2D fighter: my biggest complaint with the Wii is that pretty much every game that gets made for it forces the player to use the Wiimote in some bland, unoriginal, played-out way. Yes, you can use any configuration of Wii controllers you want (Wiimote, Wiimote + nunchuck, Classic controller, Gamecube controller), but there's no motion control at all. The very concept of this genre is by nature old-school and retroish, and to not try to attach new tech to it unnecessarily in order to appeal to a broader audience is refreshing.
If you were to cut out all the fanboy drooling and reminiscing, then the above two pages or so would actually be the previous four paragraphs. It would be the shortest review I’ve ever written for anything, except Fantastic Four (“Like getting cockslapped by Stan Lee”). Hell, I can shorten my review for this game even more: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a game I absolutely adore, but might have trouble recommending to anybody who doesn’t at least sometimes feel a strong retroish, nostalgic tint to their nerdiness. But to keep a review for this game so short feels like I’m doing it a disservice.
And that’s the thing: this game’s mere existence in the US is an act of love. And all the different tweaks, the possibility of DLC (yeah, for the Wii [!], and I hear it might be Phoenix Wright [!!]), the translations, everything… this is a gigantic work of love by some very dedicated people in Capcom’s US staff. This game just oozes a certain sort of joyous pluck, an odd sort of character that highlights the odd sort of character already present in the Capcom Versus. And as anyone who has ever heard me mention the British auto industry knows, I am a total slut for pluck and character.
