Sometime in 2008, Capcom decided to make a return to the gameplay of theMarvel series, except that they had no idea which company they should crossover with, until anime studioTatsunoko Productions phoned them in and asked them to make aLicensed Game based on their characters. Naturally, Capcom agreed... and merged the request with their own plans, thus resulting inTatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generations of Heroes, developed by 8ing (otherwise known for theNaruto Clash of Ninja series).

Initially starringKen the Eagle, Jun the Swan,Neo-Human Casshern,Tekkaman,Yatterman-1 and hisStripperiffic nemesis Doronjo, Hurricane Polymar,Karas and Gold Lightan in the Tatsunoko side; (plus Hakushon Daimaou and Ippatsuman in the Wii version) andRyu, Chun-Li, Alex,Batsu,Morrigan,Soki,Mega Man Volnutt,Roll (with a completely different moveset from herMarvel self) and the PTX-40AVital Suit fromLost Planet representing Capcom (plus Saki, fromQuiz Nanairo Dreams, andViewtiful Joe in the Wii version, and theBig Bad ofOkami as the game's boss in both the Arcade and Wii versions, for bonus fanservice), the game marks a return to the series' roots of frenetic two-on-two tag-team action - but with 3D graphics (though the game still plays on a 2D plane) and the combos ramped upbig time. New mechanics introduced include the Mega Crash, which is akin toGuilty Gear's Burst (although the term itself originated from Capcom'sPocket Fighter, the mechanics and cost are essentially the same) and Baroque, which allows you to sacrifice your red life to cancel your current attack and gain a proportional, temporary power boost. The story is even more non-existent and laid out to you by the anime intro sequence (provided by Tatsunoko, of course): The characters all live in a TV show and and only exist to (surprise, surprise) beat the stinking crap out of each other.

On January 26, 2010, anUpdated Rerelease to the game, entitledTatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, was released in North America, with an international release to follow. Among the changes are the addition of online play, character balance tweaks, the removal of Hakushon Daimaoh (because his European licensors were quite stringy over him), still endings done by UDON Comics rather then the animated ones from Tatsunoko (due to licensing issues; those outside of Japan were not happy about that) and the addition of five new characters:Tekkaman Blade,Joe the Condor andYatterman-2 in the Tatsunoko side, andFrank West andZero in the Capcom side. The plot has also been updated. Why the heroes have to fight in order to defeat theBig Bad is still a guess however.

The home port is exclusive to the Wii - at least for now - mostly because the arcade machine used Wii-based hardware.

If you want a quick information about the characters inTatsunoko vs. Capcom, Jew Wario ofThat Guy With The Glasses has provided avideo for a quick but informative information about the company and the characters. Also,GamesRadar compiled their stories and the Tatsunoko character's anime intros.

On a serendipitous note, Marvel has recently entered into an agreement with Tatsunoko to makewhat appears to be a crossover anime between the two companies. Capcom, you know what must be done...

• Airborne Aircraft Carrier: TheGesselschaft. To some extent, theOrbital Ring Systems Cargo Bay is an off-ground carrier... because it's in outer space.
• Anime Theme Song:
  • InCross Generations of Heroes, the Tatsunoko characters have their shows' theme song astheir theme song, except for Karas, whose OVA/film has no such thing to speak of so he instead gets theCrowning Music of Awesome that blares during the first scene of it. The way Capcom worked over those songs actually makes some of them counting asCrowning Music of Awesome and/orEar Worm as well.
  • There's also "Across the Border", which has two different arrangements forCross Generations of Heroes andUltimate All Stars.
• Badass Normal: Most of the Tatsunoko heroes, for whomClothes Make the Superman, consider the Street Fighters this.
  • Ryu himself seems to think of Frank as this.
• Beam Me Up, Scotty: For some odd reason, a lot of people think that Daigo Temple is named after amazingStreet Fighter player Daigo. Kinda shows a lot of people don't playOnimusha, which based it from thereal temple.
• Beam-O-War: Can occur with many projectile weapons and supers.
• The Cameo: A large amount of old-school Capcom characters appear in the game's endings. Hell, even Hakushon Daimaou's ending has him being warped into the world of theWorld War IIshmup1942!
  • Devilotte (or Devilot?)Dave and Xavier in Doronjo's ending.
  • Hauzer in Karas' and Saki's endings.
  • Fiona, Hewie and Debilitas in Joe the Condor's ending.
  • RollactivatesHuitzil andVector in her ending. This is a longDevelopment Gag, asHuitzil's first design was that of a robot housekeeper. In that same ending, we also see Dr. Light andMega Man.
  • The pilot of PTX-40A isinvited to the Super Robot Tournament bySantana in his ending.The cameos of the robots includeG-Kaiser,Blodia, andBaby Head/Hoover. InUAS, they addedZero and Vile in the mix too! AndFrank is in the bleachers taking photos.
  • Hayato (who previously was a playable character inMarvel vs. Capcom 2) saves Tekkaman Blade in his ending inUAS.
  • Sokiand his gang pick the wrong interdimentional portal inUAS, andend up helpingArthurstorm Astaroth's castle.
  • If you playUltimate All Shooters mini-game, some of the stages (referred as Blocks) have Akridssporting black color/gi with a Ten symbol on their backs and move in a manner similar to the Ashura Warp...
  • In Yatterman-2's ending,Doronjo and her two henchmen get reinforcements in the form theirexpies from the otherTime Bokan series.
  • Fellow characters from the firstDead Rising game, Brad and Jessica, chat with Frank in his ending. The ending also seems to imply thatin theTatsunoko vs. Capcom universe, this game's story happens before the original Dead Rising game.
• Combination Attack: Double and Triple Supers.
• Combos: The game encourages smaller combos due to its damage scaling (which triggers pretty quickly). Expect to hear "YES!" (the game's call-out to three-or-four-hit combos) a lot.
• Combo Breaker: The Megacrash.
• Comeback Mechanic: The more damage a character has taken, the more damage that character will do when they activate Baroque.
• Creative Closing Credits
• The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: Both games are full of many small details in the endings, pre-fight chats and win quotes.
• Dialogue Tree: If certain characters fight or are picked as the same team, the victory quotes and intro quotes will be different.
• Dynamic Entry: Most of the tag-ins.
• Enemy Mine: It's pretty hilarious seeing theScience Ninja Team fighting inside of Galactor's base, orMega Man Volnutt fighting aboard Bonne's Gesselschaft.
• Feelies: Do you live in Japan or do you want to importUltimate All-Stars? You might want to check outthis, which includes both the game and a bonus Audio CD containing 4 songs - 2 new for this game (English versions of "Across the Border" and "Kaze Yo Tsutaete") and 2 songs from the previous version (Japanese versions of those two). Still want more loot?This one contains not only those two, but also Capcom's Secret Files, a collection of arcade flyers and promotion materials. This one is Volume 27th, containing game stuff.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: The player type online uses Fire (offensive), Ice (defensive) and Lightning (speedy) symbols to describe the opponent's play-style.
• Flawless Victory:

PERFECT!

• Free-Floor Fighting: TheUncharted Region of China has a breakaway floor, andGalactor's base has a path that can be adjusted. Both of these are affected by attacks that damage the ground.
• Funny Background Event: Some stages have odd things happening in the background.
  • In the background of theOrbital Ring Systems Cargo Bay, over the course of the battle, human soldiers are battling giant aliens. It doesn't seem to be going too well.
  • The zombies taking over theWillamette's Parkmall View.
  • In bothLes Vagas and Washinkyo, Amehon, cars run fast, there are tanks... of course, the combatants are fighting in the middle of the street.
  • In theYatterman Workshop, Omotchama flies everywhere, and after some time, Yatterwan or Yatterpelican exit the stage.
  • The Servbots try to keep the calm and keep everything well inthe Gesellschaft when it's raining. They can be spotted running everywhere when it's not raining.
  • TheAensland Castle features a screen of the fight.
• Gratuitous English: TheCross Generations of Heroes announcer.
• Idiosyncratic Combo Levels: Features the "word" Tatsunical, but also marks the debut of Viewtiful, as this is the firstCapcom vs. Whatever game to includeViewtiful Joe.
• Immune to Flinching: Giant characters Gold Lightan and PTX-40A areMighty Glaciers; extremely slow and unwieldy compared to the rest of the cast, but in exchange they are nearly impossible to flinch, and can stomp through even the strongest special moves from other characters easily.
• Invulnerable Knuckles: Played straight normally, but subverted in these winquotes.

Alex when winning against Gold Lightan:"Gonna need to ice my hands after punching you so many times. You made of steel or somethin'?" Kaijin No Soki when winning against Gold Lightan:I... WIIIIIIIN! Owww! My hands still quaver with pain!

• Just for Pun: Combos longer than 74 hits are Tatsunical.
• Lampshade Hanging:The victory quotes in Ultimate All-Stars.
• Mad Libs Dialogue: Many winquotes are like this, with your character referring to his partner by name.
• Mini Game:Cross Generations of Heroes has unlockable mini-games.Ultimate All-Stars has the almost eponymous "Ultimate All-Shooters" and the credit sequences in both games serves for that purpose.
• Mirrored Confrontation Shot: In theUltimate All-Stars coverart.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: TheScience Ninja Team are ninjas who use technology to fight alien invaders with mechas! This ismocked by Tekkaman Blade:

(after winning against Ken The Eagle)"So you guys are ninjas who use science? I don't get it. What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

• Non Dubbed Grunts
• One Steve Limit:Viewtiful Joe andJoe the Condor. Ironically, this game, while being the first Capcom crossover to featureKen the Eagle, is the first one not to haveKen Masters.
• Panty Shot: Lampshaded by Frank's victory dialogue to Jun the Swan.
• Pinball Scoring: BILLIONS of damage done... by combo?
• Power Creep, Power Seep: How the (mostly)Badass Normal characters from theStreet Fighter-verse can last more than five seconds against powerhouses like Casshern, how Frank West can throw Gold Lightan or the PTX-40A, spin them above his head and hit them with a bat, how normal humans can take on someone likeTekkaman Blade and Tekkaman's 'SPACE LANCE!, and how Alex can grab Gold Lightan or the PTX-40A's legs to slam them around like ragdolls.

Gold Lightan:You threw me! You really threw me! Are you human?! PTX-40A pilot:Never thought I'd meet a person that could throw Ivan here. I don't know whether I should laugh or cry...

• Practical Taunt: Polimar can charge up his attack power by taunting. This is represented by three Polimar emblems on the bottom of the screen; one lights up each time he taunts.
• Public Domain Soundtrack: A remixed version of Offenbach's "Can-Can" plays during the credits roll of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (except when you win as Roll).
• Rage Quit: Perhaps a bug of the game, but if someone ragequits a match online, it counts for a loss for the person who didn't quit.
• Reunion Show: Or rather, reunion game for the Tatsunoko VAs. Come on, nearly all of the actors on the Tatsunoko side are the original cast! Heck, with Hakushon Daimaou (who voiced Dr. Nambu), Ken the Eagle and Jun the Swan (all of them inCross Generation of Heroes, the genie gets replaced by Joe The Condor inUltimate All-Stars), you pretty much have aGatchaman reunion of sorts!
• Rickroll: Referenced in the training stage rap song in the Japanese version. "I keeps it real, son! Not the type to Rick Roll ya."
• Ryu and Ken: Averted. Playing withName's the Same, Ken the Eagle plays differently from Ryu but he still serves as the poster boy for his company. Let's not forget about the Tekkamen. Very similar movsets, butwildly different executions.
• Shout-Out: Checkthe page.
• Spiritual Successor: This series is pretty much a follow-up to theMarvel vs. Capcom series.
• Super Move Portrait Attack: The game has a special case where the portraits are really zoomed-in images of the models that actually move in accordance to the hyper move being done.
• Tag Team
• Title Scream
• Trapped in TV Land: What seems to be the premise behind both games.
• Updated Rerelease:Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars, as detailed in the opening paragraphs.
• Video Game 3D Leap: This game is the first 3D fighting game of the wholeCapcom vs. Whatever series.
• Videogame Dashing
• Wrote the Book: Joe The Condor's victory quote against Zero:

You've got speed, I'll give you that. But your textbook fighting style isn't gonna work on the man who wrote the book!

• Work
• Eighting Raizing
• Capcom vs. Whatever
• Fighting Game
• Licensed Game
• Wii
• Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
• Video Game
• Capcom
• Arcade Game
• Video Games of the 2000s
• Video Games of the 2010s