The Wii is not normally known for its fighting game library; there are only a few titles that stand out as worth having. But Capcom may be poised to change that with their upcoming cross-over game “Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars”, and Seth Killian at Capcom USA kindly agreed to answer some questions about the game. Here’s what he had to say.

Jim Cook, GDN: A lot of your previous cross-over games have been from properties people immediately recognize, particularly Marvel and SNK. Yet when I speak with American gamers about this title many of them ask, “What’s a Tatsunoko?” Can you tell us a little more about the company’s works, and perhaps point out any famous Tatsunoko characters people would recognize but don’t know from just the company name?

Seth Killian, Capcom: Tatsunoko is a Japanese anime studio. They’re huge over there, and have been turning out iconic characters and franchises from the 1960s through today. Their stature is comparable to something like Marvel or Hanna-Barbera in the West. Their most recognizable franchise in the West would be Speed Racer, and I used to watch “Battle of the Planets” cartoons when I was a kid (which are also Tatsunoko). Japanophiles might also have seen a few of their great recent live action movies, like Casshern or Yatterman.


GDN: What about the controls? The Wii’s default controller is obviously ill-suited to a normal four or six button 2D fighter, but I’ve heard you have a new control scheme to work around that. Can you tell us more about it, and what other control options players will have?

Capcom: The controls are really elegant, and use only light, medium, and hard attack buttons, plus a button to call in your partner. The team has managed to still get the full range of Street Fighter moves with just a few buttons—I didn’t believe this myself, but after about 30 seconds of playing, I felt right at home. As far as control options, the sky is the limit. The game works great with the Wiimote, a classic controller, a joystick, or even a GameCube controller.


GDN: Fighting games usually set themselves apart from one another by their various engine features. We’ve seen footage of things like summoning your inactive fighter for an ’Assist Attack’, and the ’Advancing Guard’ system. What sort of features like these are in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and how will they be useful to players?

Capcom: Tatsunoko Vs Capcom has a very similar set of gameplay elements that people will remember from games like Marvel Vs Capcom 2, like superjumping, simple super combos, etc. It also has some unique features, such as Variable Air Raid (which lets you tag in a partner in the middle of your combo), or Baroque, where you can trade your ability to heal up for an extra offensive burst.


GDN: What about some of the characters exclusive to the US version? It’s easy enough to tell how veterans like Ryu and Alex fight, but what about relative newcomers like Frank West, Zero, and more? Most of these characters don’t seem to fit the ’fireball and uppercut’ design, so could you give us some examples of their game plans and what they focus on in order to win?

Capcom: Frank plays best when he’s setting up traps using his various zombie-based attacks—perhaps a bit like Guile, or maybe even Dhalsim? Zero is more of a bulldog—he’s got big, straightforward attacks with a lot of priority, so if you don’t want to try and trap anyone and just go for the throat, he’s your guy. Tekkaman Blade has a lot of tricks and a strong distance game, and Joe the Condor is pure style, with an overall balanced attack of offense (near and far) and counter-moves.


GDN: Are there any other general features you can discuss? For example, online play, any singleplayer modes of note, etc.?

Capcom: Yes, we’re very happy to be bringing the fighting online with Wi-Fi networking. Players will be able to compete against each other worldwide, playing in ranked or unranked matches, with additional online surprises to come.


GDN: Will this remain a Wii exclusive?

Capcom: This was designed from the ground up for the Wii. We have a lot of great fighting games on the X360 and PS3, and the team was excited to show that you could create a true Capcom fighter on a platform where traditional fighting action is very scarce.


GDN: Finally, can you confirm the release date and price?

Capcom: The price will be $49.99, and the game arrives in stores on January 26th, 2010.