Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Cross Generation Of Heroes (Wii) Review
It’s a shame that licensing is such a barrier to some games being released outside of Japan. It’s also a shame when that particular game is something that appeals not only to the hardcore demographic of that genre, but also offers the ability for someone to pick up and instantly “feel” like a pro. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes is the title in particular that I am talking about, and it’s a real shame that it will probably never get a release outside of Japan, because it is quite possibly one of the best fighting titles on the Nintendo Wii.
There isn’t really a story to Tatsunoko vs Capcom, but there are some pretty nifty cutscenes that are provided entirely devoted to fan service. For those not in the know, though, Tatsunoko vs Capcom is the latest installment in Capcom’s critically acclaimed “Vs.” series, in which Capcom pits their own characters against characters from a previously existing company and / or franchise. Up until now, Capcom has only made productions with Marvel for their X-Men and associated franchises, however, a whole eight years later, Capcom have joined up with a brand new partner, Tatsunoko, a very prominent production company of anime in Japan. Although the characters are great ones with a wide variety of designs and interesting moves, it wouldn’t be surprising if you’ve never heard of them before (though, remember, this game was not meant for release outside of Japan!).
The first thing experienced players of the Capcom Vs. titles will notice are that the graphics are no longer two dimensional sprites, but instead are fully three dimensional models, albeit with some cel-shading applied to them to ensure they fit in with their original anime art styles. This model, surprisingly, fits the Capcom related characters too; making them look just as good as, if not better than, their original assets on which they were based. Environments are nice too, looking just like the games they were originally taken from, except slightly tweaked to match the art direction of the game. Capcom contracted 8ing to “update” the characters into this look, and it’s very safe to say they’ve done a fine job, getting the game running at a very smooth 60 frames per second regardless of what is going on in-game.
Gameplay in Tatsunoko vs Capcom is pretty straightforward and similar to other games in the Vs. series. Players will be able to choose two characters to fight with, with three buttons being used for attacks and the fourth being used as a “partner” button. The gameplay has, in this regard, been noticeably “dumbed down” for people as most moves can be performed irrespective of which button you press after inputting certain directions, but it still works and allows most of the gameplay to be quite fast paced and engaging. As players input special moves, a meter at the bottom of the screen fills up and stores itself up to five times.
The energy in this meter can then be used to perform special moves or, if three bars have been saved, an ultra move, which are usually attacks that do in excess of 50 hits and take up a whole screen. But within that somewhat simple gameplay lies a few more complex techniques. Seven techniques found in the old Vs. games are evident in Tatsunoko vs Capcom, with four new ones joining the game. These techniques are referred to as “universal techniques” as they are the same inputs for all the characters in the game. The original techniques include three different “Variable” attacks, which involve the partner of your character entering the battlefield and assisting in the battle (but also opening themselves up to damage). ’Snapback’, as it is referred to, is an attack that will, upon connection, force the enemy to tag with their partner and remain in battle.
Finally, you have Hyper Combinations, which are attacks in which both your character and their partner perform their super moves at the same time for some devastating damage, while Aerial Rave is the term given to airborne combos performed during battle. The new techniques are a little bit more different, though. Variable Aerial Rave allows players to switch characters during a combo in mid-air to extend it, something that takes a little bit of extra skill, but also pays off in the long run. Mega Crash is one of the most useful techniques in the game, and allows players to sacrifice a little bit of their health bar and energy meter in order to cancel a hyper combo or attack being laid down on them. Finally, there’s Baroque, a mode that’s used among the most competitive of players that allows you to artificially extend combos and deal out extra damage. In addition to the fighting modes, you have your typical versus, survival and time attack modes. Players can also continually play through the arcade mode in exchange for points, which can be used to purchase items from a store.
This is where you’ll find the Wii exclusive characters as well as costumes, background music and much more. Finally, an exclusive to the Wii version is a bunch of Wii-remote only mini games. Each character in the game has a mini-game dedicated to them, and although they are somewhat fun, they aren’t amazingly fleshed out and only extend the experience in a minor way. All in all though, Tatsunoko vs Capcom is far from a bare bones release and will keep you busy for quite a while, depending on how much of a completionist you are. That being said, Tatsunoko vs Capcom is a game that the developers really wanted you to play, no matter which method you want to use. The game supports the classic controller, Gamecube controllers, the Wii remote itself and even a special arcade stick released specifically for the game. All methods work pretty well and, though I personally prefer the Gamecube controller, everyone may have a different favourite.
On the talk of methods – there is a big selection of characters to choose from all of Capcom and Tatsunoko’s series, although some are pretty obscure choices (like a mech from Lost Planet and Soki from Onimusha 4, the worst performing Onimusha title to date) but regardless, the characters are somewhat balanced and you shouldn’t see any “major” outnumbering skills while playing. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the game itself is fairly (and I say this with caution as I am not a massive tourney player) balanced. Being a game filled with characters from different series, Tatsunoko vs Capcom utilises this by providing a very varied soundtrack. Music from each characters respective series plays whenever they are tagged in, with minimal to no load times between – which is a very nice touch. The music itself is pretty much copied over 1:1 from it’s original source material, but there’s just something really nice about being able to recognise almost every piece of music when your character chimes in. It’s definitely something that makes you happy to be a fan of either (or both) Capcom and/or Tatsunoko.
Once again, if you are importing, there will be some unfamiliar tunes and you’ll probably be culturally positioned to find them annoying or gut wrenchingly high pitch, but overall it’s a very good offering. Finally, is it import friendly? Well, Tatsunoko vs Capcom is a game that was designed for a Japanese audience first and foremost, with no plans to announce the game for localisation yet at the time of writing. In saying that, it IS a fighting game and as such there aren’t really any things that you’ll find prevent you from enjoying the game. That being said though, the text intensive parts of the game (namely the Shop) may deter you as they are heavy in Japanese, but it’s fairly easy to work things out thanks to the visual icons next to each item.The instructions for the Mini-games are also in Japanese but as previously, the visual cues usually should give you an idea of what to do. All in all, it’s quite import friendly, I would say. All in all,
Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes is a brilliant fighting game (possibly the best) on the Nintendo Wii. It combines some really fast paced and balanced gameplay with some familiar faces to provide a brilliant experience for any Capcom (or the rare Tatsunoko) fan. It’s a shame this game doesn’t have online, with the developer previously doing a brilliant job on Castlevania Judgment’s online system, as it really lets the game down in lastability. That being said though, the game is a really enjoyable romp that I can, without hesitation, recommend to any fan of Tatsunoko, Capcom or fighting games in general. And plus, where else can I see Ryu shoryuken an Akrid from Lost Planet? No where else. An absolute gem!
