Japanese game developer Capcom is rightfully seen as the king of fighting games. Its stable includes the venerable Street Fighter franchise, as well as other titles such as the horrifying Darkstalkers and the academic brawler Rival Schools. Its Marvel Vs. Capcom crossover series is legendary, but those are not the only crossover fighting games Capcom has developed.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, released for arcades and the Wii, pitted Capcom characters against various heroes from classic Tatsunoko anime. While it may have flown under the radar to gamers, the Capcom mash-up is an absolute must for fans of old-school anime franchises from decades past.

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Ultimate All-Stars

Games Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom Ultimate All-Stars

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars originally came out in Japanese arcades in 2008, before finally finding its way onto Western Wii consoles in 2010. The tag-team battle mechanics are very similar to previous Vs. games, with players being able to build up a meter to engage in super attacks. On the Capcom side were characters like Ryu, Chun-Li and Alex from the Street Fighter franchise, Mega Man Volnutt, Frank West from Dead Rising, Viewtiful Joe and, strangely enough, Saki from the Quiz Nanairo Dreams dating game.

The Tatsunoko characters included Ken, Jun and Joe from Gatchaman, two versions of Tekkaman, Karas, the heroes and main villain from Yatterman and the gigantic Gold Lightan. All of the Tatsunoko characters in the game were accompanied by music from their series' respective soundtracks Aside from the Gatchaman characters and arguably Karas, almost all of the Tatsunoko heroes were unknown to American audiences. Speed Racer, easily the most recognizable Tatsunoko property worldwide, was notably absent from the game. This, along with the game's Wii exclusivity, was likely what caused it to go unnoticed. Nevertheless, anime fans wanting to play as some of the genre's most classic characters should definitely try the game out.

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A Guide to Tatsunoko's Anime Classics

Toonami G-Force Guardians Of Space Gatchaman Team Sunset

Gatchaman is treated as the game's main Tatsunoko franchise, directly opposing Street Fighter as the main Capcom franchise. This anime received three different dubs in the United States: Battle of the Planets in '70s syndication, the somewhat more faithful G-Force on TBS in the '80s and an uncut version from ADV Films in 2005. This sci-fi series about a team of five heroes inspired everything from Voltron to Power Rangers and continues to be popular to this day.

Yatterman is the silly second entry in the Time Bokan trilogy, featuring two superheroes and their giant robot dog who fight against the bumbling Dorombo Gang. The original series came out in the late '70s; two anime adaptations and a live-action movie were released in the 2000s and 2010s. Not only are the titular heroes Yatterman-1 and Yatterman-2 playable, but so is the villainous Doronjo.

Other anime represented in the game include the superhero Tekkaman, as well as Tekkaman Blade, the title character from the darker and more popular second series. Karas, from the 2005 OVA series of the same name, and Gold Lightan, a giant robot who transforms into a cigarette lighter from the 1981 anime Golden Warrior Gold Lightan, are also playable. The former was perhaps the most well-known newer Tatsunoko character, while the latter was a huge hit in Hong Kong but never made it to the West.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's nostalgic appeal was lost on most Westerners, but for anime fans who have seen these shows in their original formats, there's a lot to love about this game. Sadly, Capcom has yet to rerelease it, but those who still own a Nintendo Wii can find the game online and pop it back in to play as these classic anime fighters.

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