Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Preview

Fear not Wii owners - your fighting game fix is coming!

Fighting games are back in vogue. With the incredible success of Street Fighter IV still ringing in our ears, the genre that was king in the early 90s has reclaimed its crown. 2009 will see the release of King of Fighters XII, Tekken 6, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and, hopefully, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars.

Hold on…. what vs. Capcom? I said Tatsunoko. What? Tatsunoko. Eh? I SAID TATSUNOKO! Oh right. What’s that then?

Sigh. I shouldn’t be surprised. On these shores Tatsunoko means about as much to people as the Georgian Eurovision Song Contest entrant, but in Japan, it’s the shiz. It’s an anime production company of huge reputation - most Japanese have grown up loving its superhero-fuelled, Power Rangers-esque television shows in one form or another. Brand Tatsunoko is big business, which makes it perfect for the Capcom vs. treatment.

So, it signed up Bloody Roar developer Eighting for development duties and released Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes in Japanese arcades and on the Wii in December. Included from the Capcom side were Ryu and Chun-Li (from Street Fighter), Viewtiful Joe (from Viewtiful Joe) PTX-40A (the giant robot from Lost Planet: Extreme Condition) and Roll (from Mega Man), among others. From Tatsunoko came Ken the Eagle and Jun the Swan (from Gatchaman), and Yatterman-1 and Doronjo (from Yatterman), again among others. Obscure isn’t strong enough a word.

Still, the coming together of Tatsunoko and Capcom proved irresistible to Japanese gamers. I remember seeing and hearing the game blasted from countless Tokyo game store televisions when I visited the city in November last year. Crowds gathered around to see the game pre-release, obsessing over its character roster and hyperactive combat. Here, I thought, was a fighting game worth further investigation. Here, I thought, was a fighting game that’s going to be big.

Tatsunoko isn't known in the west. Yet.

It wasn’t until last week, however, some eight months after the event, that I finally got to sit down and play the game. Capcom understandably itched its beard over whether it would bring the game to the west – not only were there complicated licensing issues to iron out, but resources would be required for localisation. Would it be worth it? After all, who cares about Tatsunoko?

Thankfully, Capcom’s decided it is worth it. I say thankfully because I’ve played it and had an absolute blast doing so. So much so that it’s stealthily climbed up my most anticipated Wii game list and perched itself next to Capcom’s own Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles and Team Ninja’s Metroid: Other M.