Many wondered why Capcom chose Nintendo's Wii as the exclusive platform to launch Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, the latest fighter in the over-the-top Versus series. Surely, a multiplatform release would reach a broader audience, critics argued. Capcom saw the situation differently. According to TVC producer Ryota Niitsumae, the dearth of Wii fighters was an influencing factor, and the console's casual quality matches the Versus' series trademark of accessibility. Opposing console supporters may scoff at Capcom's decision, but let them argue all they want on the messageboards. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom clearly stands above its competition as one of Wii's finest fighting game.
The Versus series is unlike, say, Capcom's other flagship fighter, Street Fighter. Its signature tenet, the team aspect, stresses the importance of finding teammates who complement each other's strengths while filling out each other's weaknesses. Whereas Street Fighter emphasizes a methodical approach to engaging your opponent, balancing conservatism with aggression, the Versus series, especially TVC, favors the extreme: either unbridled offense or impenetrable defense.
TVC emboldens you to attack constantly, supported by a robust movement system including air and ground dashes and double jumps, and a flexible combat engine. From confusing mix-ups to tricky reset combos to annoying block strings, skilled players can use these fundamentals as powerful strategies to maintain constant pressure on their opponent, forcing them to make careless mistakes. Baroque, a new mechanic in the Versus series, is a tool for creativity, opening combos unimaginable by normal means. By trading in the recoverable parts of your health, you instantly cancel an attack to continue a combo. In other words, it's a risk/reward mechanic that calls for immediate assessment of an opportunity. Intelligently applying and executing Baroque takes time to master, which may scare casual players from applying it in their games. But astute players will relish in the opportunity to maximize their damage.
Of course, there will be concerns over Baroque's potential for exploitation. Baroque can set up some nasty situations, like infinite combos -- a series of uninterrupted attacks that can kill the opponent unless the attacker messes up on their execution. For this reason, Capcom developed Mega Crash to offset the chance of an infinite combo, which drains your Hyper Combo bars and health in exchange to break free from a combo. Mega Crash's strict requirements won't let you use it as a crutch, but at the very least, you have the option to escape.
