Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is one of the best fighters out there.
Before you even turn on the game, you have to pick one of the many control schemes that you want to use when playing this game. For new fighters, you have the Wii Remote or Wii Remote plus Nunchuk options. This gives you a very simply way of talking the game. Then there's, for the more advanced players, the Clas-sic Controller, GameCube Controller, or the third-party joystick. These feature the low, medium, and high attacks that led to some "over the top" combos that are the life blood of this game.
The characters in the game come from all over the board. The Capcom sides features characters like Ryu, Chun-Li, and Alex from Street Fighter series, Frank West from Dead Rising, Zero, MegaMan Volnutt, Roll, and Zero from the Mega Man series, Viewtifull Joe, and more. The Tatsunoko roster features Ken the Eagle, Joe the Condor, and Jun the Swan from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and more. Each character has their own unique move set, even ones that would seem to play alike (the ones that share the same name). When you do fight, you pick from two characters, unless you have one of the giants, Gold Lightan or PTX-40A. They take up so much room as it is that they fight by themselves. More on that in a bit, though.
If you're running it solo then there are four different modes you can tackle. The first is Arcade Mode. This is your main mode where you unlock different things for beating the mode with different characters. You run through seven different fights, one being against one of the giants, and then a three part final boss fight against Yami from Ōkami. Whoever makes the last blow on him gets the rewards. You see an ending of that person which is some stills and some text. You earn Zenny to spend in the shop to really unlock whatever you got. There is also Survival Mode, Time Attack Mode and Training Mode to keep your skills sharp and earning some Zenny. Training doesn't give you Zenny though. Why should it?
Fighting it alone can get boring though. So bring a friend and challenge them in Verses Mode. Not enough for you? You can get your Wi-Fi battling on in ranked or none-ranking matches with people anywhere. Most fights are smooth sailing if the other person has a good connection. And if you find someone who you like, you can add them to your rival list and fight them whenever you want to. You can also exchange Friend Codes if you have a friend already and you don't want to wait for fate to bring to two together in an online fight to add them. There is a weekly leader board that show whose good and who isn't.
As this is a fighting game, be ready for some flashy finals and combos doing damage in the billions. There is a tag team system in that game that lets you use two characters, as long as you're not a giant. You can use the "resting" character to attack the foe. You can also switch your characters out so they can heal some life up. This becomes important if you want to win. You can pull off "Hyper Variable Combination" to use both your characters Hyper move at once or you can use "Delayed Hyper Cancellation" that cancels the current one and brings out your other character's Hyper move. There is also "Mega Crash" that's a defensive measure to break up your opponent's combo at a cost, "Baroque Cancel" which extends your combo at the cost of heath you could revive, and "Variable Aerial Rave" which lets you switch in mid air.
The visuals are great. Everything is bright and colorful. Moves are flashy and bring life to the game. The music is also a plus. All the songs are fitting to the stage they are paired with. My favorite songs would have to be Orbital Ring Systems Cargo Bay's song due to its techno club like sound.
Overall, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is a game that any Wii owner should pick up and try. It has much to do and then some. Besides, it has Zero in it. He's reason enough.
Pros:
+Smooth Wi-Fi battles
+Over the top Hyper moves
+Zero
Cons:
-Not being able to pick your opponent in Wi-Fi matches that are not against a rival or friend
Scores:
Gameplay: 9.0
Graphics: 9.0
Story: N/A
Sounds: 8.0
Replay Value: 9.0
Fun Level: 9.0
Overall: 9.0