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Well, I managed to get TvC working on my Wii so I figured I'd make a thread for those who have interest in the game. Naturally these are just first impressions and a bit of an overview of what the game is like; only time will tell how balanced the characters really are. Regardless of the outcome, I can assure you the game is aesthetically pleasing and sure makes for great fanservice/nostalgia fodder.
Although the game certainly has its own look and feel, the engine is closer to Marvel VS Capcom 2's than anything else. The controls have been minimalized even further, with only 3 Attack buttons - Light, Medium and Heavy - and 1 Assist Button (Compare to MvC2's already streamlined 2 punch button/2 kick button/2 assist buttons control scheme.) With only 3 attack buttons, the GameCube controller actually makes a good substitute for the Classic Controller. The R button is set to Light + Medium + Heavy, so you can use it to dash or to perform supers.
Things that've carried over from MvC2:
* Universal launchers and aerial raves. Down-forward + Heavy attack will do a launcher regardless of which character you're using, which you can follow up with an air combo (aerial rave.) Like in MvC2, every character's aerial combos link up the same way (Light x2 -> Medium x2 -> Heavy), which helps reduce the number of things you have to memorize. Needless to say, Super Jumps are also in.
* Advancing Guard aka "pushblock." Hitting all 3 attack buttons (or R) while blocking will push your opponent away and slightly reduce your block stun.
* Variable Counter aka Alpha Counter. Doing Back > Down-back > Down + Assist while blocking will cause your partner to switch places with you while coming in with an attack. Consumes 1 super bar, as in MvC2.
* Hyper Variable Combination aka team supers. Both characters will perform a hyper combo at the same time. To perform, you input a non-Lv.3 hyper combo on your current character, and hit the Assist button before the screen freezes from the hyper combo. You can choose the hyper combo for your current character, but your partner's is always the same.
* Snapback. A special attack that consumes 1 gauge, and forces your opponent to switch characters if it connects. Wikipedia claims the game has this technique but I'm starting to think it doesn't.
* Delayed Hyper Cancel. You can interrupt your super with your partner's super, switching out in the process.
* Variable Assist/Tag-in. Hitting the Assist button will cause your partner to show up on screen and perform a predetermined special attack. Like in MvC2, you can't call your partner during a Super Jump (though you can call him and THEN super jump) and getting hit before your partner starts the attack will cause the assist to fail. Unlike MvC2, the command to switch partners is Back + Assist button.
New techniques:
* Baroque. Similar to Guilty Gear's Roman Cancel, when you activate Baroque, your current attack will be canceled (which lets you perform combos you normally wouldn't be able to) and your character will begin glowing until your combo ends or you perform a Hyper Combo. Activating Baroque sacrifices the red (recoverable) portion of your health, and increases your damage proportionally to how much life was sacrificed until your character stops glowing (the damage boost doesn't apply to supers though.) Baroque doesn't diminish your super gauge.
* Mega Crash. Similar to Guilty Gear's Burst, hit all 4 buttons (or just R + Assist) to perform a special move that makes your character unleash a burst of energy, interrupting combos. It comes at a steep price - 2 energy bars and a small portion of your HP.
* Variable Assist Rave. A new method of tagging in. Down > Down-forward > Forward + Assist causes your character to perform a specific attack during aerials, and upon connecting, your partner will tag in, letting you continue the air combo with him/her instead. Consumes 1 bar if successful but won't cost you anything if you whiff the attack.
In addition to the above, almost every character now has a mid-air jump (even if you super jump) as well as 1 air dash per jump (e.g. you can't air dash twice in the same jump, but you can jump/super jump > air dash > mid-air jump > air dash.) Alex doesn't have a mid-air jump, Chun Li has two, which lets her do 8 hits + a special move in her Aerial Raves.
As you would expect, the Tatsunoko characters have some pretty over-the-top specials and supers, which really contributes to the game's charm and appeal. The character roster is relatively small compared to the behemoth rosters seen in MvC2 and CvS2 - it's a lot closer to MvC1's. So much, in fact, that like in MvC1, stages don't have themes - the BGM is always the theme song for one of the fighters, changing during tag-ins (unless you change characters twice in quick succession, because such abrupt BGM changes would be jarring.)
Mega Man/Rock Volnutt is like an improved version of his Marvel VS Capcom incarnations. He still shoots a single, relatively powerful buster shot with his Heavy attack button, except that the uncharged shot is the appropriate size. Despite the fact that he doesn't charge his buster in the Legends series, he retained the ability to charge it in the MvC2 -> Tatsunoko vs Capcom transition. In fact, charging while fighting is made easier by the fact that the L button is set to your Heavy attack by default. Another major difference is that he'll shoot diagonally upwards while crouching, and has the option of shooting diagonally downwards while airborne.
The real beauty of his new design is his weapons, though. Unlike MvC2, changing weapons has been made quick, easy, and safe. All you need to do is enter a quarter circle back/forward motion or down-down and one of the 3 attack buttons. Each attack button corresponds to a weapon (and "changing" to that weapon while you have it on will unequip it.) If you used the quarter circle motions, he'll change weapons while performing a short dash forwards or backwards (even in the air!) Using down-down instead will cause him to change weapons in place. To use your weapon, you just have to hit Forward + Medium attack.
Without a weapon, he performs a punch with insane stun time. His Light button weapon is the machinegun, which fires four rounds and can be aimed in the same ways as his buster. His Medium button weapon is the energy shield. It's slow to come out but reflects projectiles, and if it hits an enemy, it'll blow them away with insane force and slam them into the other side of the screen. He'll also use it when blocking, preventing him from taking damage from projectiles. His Heavy weapon is the drill arm, which he uses to rush forward or, while crouching, perform an uppercut. He has a level 1 super with the machinegun, where he fires 40-something rounds, and he can aim it up or down as needed. He also has a Level 1 super with the drill arm, where he attacks straight up with it like Ken, and a Level 3 Super with the Shining Laser, where he grabs you, throws you up, and shoots the laser upwards. Shining Laser does pretty bad damage for a Level 3 though.
Interestingly, Roll is no longer a joke character. With the game's realistic proportions, her small size gives tall heroes like Tekkaman, Ken the Eagle or Ryu a major headache, yet her broom gives her the range needed to trade blows with unarmed opponents (others like Karas or Tekkaman have insane reach with their weapons...) Her attacks actually do decent damage, and her Supers are something to fear. Her first Level 1 super causes her to rush you with a series of broom sweeps, then finishes it with a strong swing of the broom. It causes very respectable damage for a Level 1 Super, doing more damage than some of the game's "average/bread-and-butter" supers like Shinkuu Hadouken, Ken the Eagle's level 1 super, Chun-Li's super Kikousho thing (the large energy ball) or Mega Man's machinegun super. These do 9k-10k damage, while Roll's will do 14k-15k easily. Granted, there some Level 1 supers that are just as or even more damaging than that (like Mega Man's drill arm super,) but Roll's isn't particularly difficult to do or connect with.
Her other Lv.1 super makes her summon an energy pellet directly above her, that heals a decent chunk of her health (somewhere between 1/6th to 1/8th from what I can tell) when it touches her. The catch it's a bit slow to start, leaves her open, and other characters (including enemies) can grab the pellet. It'll only heal robot characters, though, and it'll actually cause 1 damage to humans. Still, there's some very easy setups to heal safely with it - start a ranged/beam super with your partner, then cancel into Roll's healing super, or start Roll's healing super, then cancel it into your partner's super to heal him instead. Finally, her Level 3 super is quite possibly one of the strongest attacks in the whole game, outdamaging Ryu's Shin Shoryuken and Mega Man's Shining Laser with ease.
I haven't unlocked Viewtiful Joe yet, but I'm guessing he's a lot like Roll in terms of gameplay and size.
P.S. The character list can be found on Wikipedia.
P.P.S. Durahansolo beat me to it.
Although the game certainly has its own look and feel, the engine is closer to Marvel VS Capcom 2's than anything else. The controls have been minimalized even further, with only 3 Attack buttons - Light, Medium and Heavy - and 1 Assist Button (Compare to MvC2's already streamlined 2 punch button/2 kick button/2 assist buttons control scheme.) With only 3 attack buttons, the GameCube controller actually makes a good substitute for the Classic Controller. The R button is set to Light + Medium + Heavy, so you can use it to dash or to perform supers.
Things that've carried over from MvC2:
* Universal launchers and aerial raves. Down-forward + Heavy attack will do a launcher regardless of which character you're using, which you can follow up with an air combo (aerial rave.) Like in MvC2, every character's aerial combos link up the same way (Light x2 -> Medium x2 -> Heavy), which helps reduce the number of things you have to memorize. Needless to say, Super Jumps are also in.
* Advancing Guard aka "pushblock." Hitting all 3 attack buttons (or R) while blocking will push your opponent away and slightly reduce your block stun.
* Variable Counter aka Alpha Counter. Doing Back > Down-back > Down + Assist while blocking will cause your partner to switch places with you while coming in with an attack. Consumes 1 super bar, as in MvC2.
* Hyper Variable Combination aka team supers. Both characters will perform a hyper combo at the same time. To perform, you input a non-Lv.3 hyper combo on your current character, and hit the Assist button before the screen freezes from the hyper combo. You can choose the hyper combo for your current character, but your partner's is always the same.
* Snapback. A special attack that consumes 1 gauge, and forces your opponent to switch characters if it connects. Wikipedia claims the game has this technique but I'm starting to think it doesn't.
* Delayed Hyper Cancel. You can interrupt your super with your partner's super, switching out in the process.
* Variable Assist/Tag-in. Hitting the Assist button will cause your partner to show up on screen and perform a predetermined special attack. Like in MvC2, you can't call your partner during a Super Jump (though you can call him and THEN super jump) and getting hit before your partner starts the attack will cause the assist to fail. Unlike MvC2, the command to switch partners is Back + Assist button.
New techniques:
* Baroque. Similar to Guilty Gear's Roman Cancel, when you activate Baroque, your current attack will be canceled (which lets you perform combos you normally wouldn't be able to) and your character will begin glowing until your combo ends or you perform a Hyper Combo. Activating Baroque sacrifices the red (recoverable) portion of your health, and increases your damage proportionally to how much life was sacrificed until your character stops glowing (the damage boost doesn't apply to supers though.) Baroque doesn't diminish your super gauge.
* Mega Crash. Similar to Guilty Gear's Burst, hit all 4 buttons (or just R + Assist) to perform a special move that makes your character unleash a burst of energy, interrupting combos. It comes at a steep price - 2 energy bars and a small portion of your HP.
* Variable Assist Rave. A new method of tagging in. Down > Down-forward > Forward + Assist causes your character to perform a specific attack during aerials, and upon connecting, your partner will tag in, letting you continue the air combo with him/her instead. Consumes 1 bar if successful but won't cost you anything if you whiff the attack.
In addition to the above, almost every character now has a mid-air jump (even if you super jump) as well as 1 air dash per jump (e.g. you can't air dash twice in the same jump, but you can jump/super jump > air dash > mid-air jump > air dash.) Alex doesn't have a mid-air jump, Chun Li has two, which lets her do 8 hits + a special move in her Aerial Raves.
As you would expect, the Tatsunoko characters have some pretty over-the-top specials and supers, which really contributes to the game's charm and appeal. The character roster is relatively small compared to the behemoth rosters seen in MvC2 and CvS2 - it's a lot closer to MvC1's. So much, in fact, that like in MvC1, stages don't have themes - the BGM is always the theme song for one of the fighters, changing during tag-ins (unless you change characters twice in quick succession, because such abrupt BGM changes would be jarring.)
Mega Man/Rock Volnutt is like an improved version of his Marvel VS Capcom incarnations. He still shoots a single, relatively powerful buster shot with his Heavy attack button, except that the uncharged shot is the appropriate size. Despite the fact that he doesn't charge his buster in the Legends series, he retained the ability to charge it in the MvC2 -> Tatsunoko vs Capcom transition. In fact, charging while fighting is made easier by the fact that the L button is set to your Heavy attack by default. Another major difference is that he'll shoot diagonally upwards while crouching, and has the option of shooting diagonally downwards while airborne.
The real beauty of his new design is his weapons, though. Unlike MvC2, changing weapons has been made quick, easy, and safe. All you need to do is enter a quarter circle back/forward motion or down-down and one of the 3 attack buttons. Each attack button corresponds to a weapon (and "changing" to that weapon while you have it on will unequip it.) If you used the quarter circle motions, he'll change weapons while performing a short dash forwards or backwards (even in the air!) Using down-down instead will cause him to change weapons in place. To use your weapon, you just have to hit Forward + Medium attack.
Without a weapon, he performs a punch with insane stun time. His Light button weapon is the machinegun, which fires four rounds and can be aimed in the same ways as his buster. His Medium button weapon is the energy shield. It's slow to come out but reflects projectiles, and if it hits an enemy, it'll blow them away with insane force and slam them into the other side of the screen. He'll also use it when blocking, preventing him from taking damage from projectiles. His Heavy weapon is the drill arm, which he uses to rush forward or, while crouching, perform an uppercut. He has a level 1 super with the machinegun, where he fires 40-something rounds, and he can aim it up or down as needed. He also has a Level 1 super with the drill arm, where he attacks straight up with it like Ken, and a Level 3 Super with the Shining Laser, where he grabs you, throws you up, and shoots the laser upwards. Shining Laser does pretty bad damage for a Level 3 though.
Interestingly, Roll is no longer a joke character. With the game's realistic proportions, her small size gives tall heroes like Tekkaman, Ken the Eagle or Ryu a major headache, yet her broom gives her the range needed to trade blows with unarmed opponents (others like Karas or Tekkaman have insane reach with their weapons...) Her attacks actually do decent damage, and her Supers are something to fear. Her first Level 1 super causes her to rush you with a series of broom sweeps, then finishes it with a strong swing of the broom. It causes very respectable damage for a Level 1 Super, doing more damage than some of the game's "average/bread-and-butter" supers like Shinkuu Hadouken, Ken the Eagle's level 1 super, Chun-Li's super Kikousho thing (the large energy ball) or Mega Man's machinegun super. These do 9k-10k damage, while Roll's will do 14k-15k easily. Granted, there some Level 1 supers that are just as or even more damaging than that (like Mega Man's drill arm super,) but Roll's isn't particularly difficult to do or connect with.
Her other Lv.1 super makes her summon an energy pellet directly above her, that heals a decent chunk of her health (somewhere between 1/6th to 1/8th from what I can tell) when it touches her. The catch it's a bit slow to start, leaves her open, and other characters (including enemies) can grab the pellet. It'll only heal robot characters, though, and it'll actually cause 1 damage to humans. Still, there's some very easy setups to heal safely with it - start a ranged/beam super with your partner, then cancel into Roll's healing super, or start Roll's healing super, then cancel it into your partner's super to heal him instead. Finally, her Level 3 super is quite possibly one of the strongest attacks in the whole game, outdamaging Ryu's Shin Shoryuken and Mega Man's Shining Laser with ease.
I haven't unlocked Viewtiful Joe yet, but I'm guessing he's a lot like Roll in terms of gameplay and size.
P.S. The character list can be found on Wikipedia.
P.P.S. Durahansolo beat me to it.
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