Who's who in Tatsunoko VS Capcom? N-Europe brings you a full character guide...

Here at N-Europe, we're big fans of our beat'em-ups, and the rather awesome Tatsunoko VS Capcom is no exception. If you've yet to discover the title, it comes highly reccomended - we first played the original Japanese version last year, before confirming our early expectations by finally getting impressions of the English language version later on.

Here for you now is N-Europe's definitive character guide to the Tatsunoko cast, written by our very own Mark "Tapedeck" Lee.

Frome left to right: Ken the Eagle, Tekkaman Blade, Tekkaman, Doronjo, Polimar, Ippatsuman, Joe the Condor Yatterman No 1, Casshan, Jun the Swan, Karas, Yatterman No 2. Gold Lightan hulks at the back.

Ken the Eagle

A stereotypical hero and a member of the Superhero Ninja squad from the anime 'Science Ninja Team Gatchaman' (also known as 'Battle of the Planets' and 'G-Force'). Ken the Eagle develops as a character throughout the shows going on to become a more mature, rebellious character. The show is based around science fiction action scenes with philosophical, environmental and technological messages and Ken usually flies in the face of what you would consider a true leader to be like. He shuns all female advances and always errs on the side of doing what he wants with reckless abandon.
As you can see from TvC, Ken wears a bird-themed costume with a cape (like the rest of the team) as he is primarily an air-based attacker. And if that cape isn't tough enough, these Superhero's have various mechs too. And just to prove the teamwork ethic even more, all of the team's mechs can be joined into a super mech called the God Phoenix. (What else?) Ken's GodPhoenix Kick is a real thing of beauty � difficult to land but certainly worth the practice!

Jun the Swan

The only female member of the Science Ninja Team, Jun is the explosives expert, computer hacker and general technical pro. Originally a strong-willed girl with a crush on Ken (although this could be seen as a brotherly facet � it was always taboo), she was later to become a somewhat weakened character that would rely on the rest of the team to protect her - thus becoming the stereotypical damsel in distress.
In the American translations of Gatchaman she again became a stronger character due to the translation (phew!). Don't be surprised if she kicks your ass in TvC. She's a great character to use with a lot of flexibility for both aggressive and defensive players. Her GodPhoenix Kick Flip special is also instantaneous � making it an instant combo filler.

Joe the Condor

Ok, spoiler alert! Joe is a cyborg after the first series of Gatchaman. Yes, he dies and comes back as a cyborg. Isn't the future grand!?
Joe is an extremely popular character from the Science Ninja Team. The real man's-man. He's always fraternizing with the female enemy and using his marksman skills to usually cover Ken's backside when he goes off on one. As Joe's popularity grew during the first series he become a more defined character who would always be out to seek revenge over his parent's deaths but would always do it in a face-smacking, ass kicking way � never getting emotional. In TvC Joe has some good distance attacks calling upon his trusty feathers and gun to do a lot of damage from just about anywhere.

Casshan:

The 'Neo-Human Casshan' anime series focuses on Tetsuya Azuma (Casshan) who turned himself into a cyborg to hunt down other robots that had taken over the world.
Casshan's biological father Dr. Azuma was the creator of the robots who were originally there to serve human kind, but one robot was struck by lightning, became self aware and later concluded that human kind wasn't fit to manage the earth's eco system so created an army of robots. Casshan is accompanied by his robot dog Friender, who helps him out and makes an appearance in TvC. (His hard attack = fire breathing doggy!)

Doronjo:

Doronjo is a villain from the Yatterman anime series. She's an intelligent, blonde, vain mistress who has two henchmen, Tonzura (purple suit) and Boyacky (Green suit). Hilariously, they are as comical and foolhardy as Doronjo is about finding the Dokuro Rings.
These rings are wish granting and were introduced in 2008 after the original 1970's show's cult following saw a re-release in Japan. The original treasures Doronjo and the other two teams of villains were seeking were skull stones.

Yatterman No 1:

Yatterman No. 1 is the central hero of the Yatterman anime series. In his regular life he is a 13yr old called Gan-chan. Gan-chan is a genius mechanic who's making is gained through his father's failure at completing the 'Yatter-Wan' mech. Gan-Chan completes the mech, "pwning" his own father in the process.
The 'Yatter-Wan' robot, which looks like a dog, is an all-terrain rescue vehicle which can be seen in some backgrounds of TvC. The Yatterman will also jump out to help Gan-Chan with some of his Hyper moves. Especially when fighting the Doronbo gangs!

Yatterman No 2:

The next hero of the Yatterman anime series, Gan-Chan's girlfriend, (real name: Ai-Chan) is as loyal as they come. She is as keen an engineer as Gan-Chan and they work together alongside Omotchama, Gan-Chan's robot. They are collectively known as the defenders of justice. Ai-Chan and Gan-Chan battle against the Doronbo gangs with Ai-Chan using her electric baton and in TvC, Omotchama, to great effect.

Tekkaman:

Tekkaman is from the Tekkaman: The Space Knight, the 1970's anime series, (as opposed to the remakes in the 1990's.) The anime was set against the backdrop of 21st century Earth where the planet is fast becoming uninhabitable. Scientists send mankind's dying hopes to space aboard the 'Space Angel'. Its sole mission: to find a new hospitable planet for mankind. Unfortunately, the ship is destroyed by Aliens called 'Waldaster's'.
With a new threat found, Dr. Amachi creates 'Pegas' and the 'Tekset' system (think giant flying robot with the 'Tekset' system being a process in which you are transformed into a Tekkaman.) The series originally focused on the battle between the Waldaster's, Tekkaman and Earth's safety. Later remakes in the 1990's led viewers to believe 'Tekkamen' are leaders of an alien force called the Radam. As in all great battles though, a minority side with the humans, going on to focus on the war on their former companions.

Tekkaman Blade:

Tekkaman Blade is the reworked 1990's model of Tekkaman and Tekkaman Blade is the key warrior who squares up against the Radam army of Tekkamen. Referred to as D-Boy in the anime (D for dangerous, obviously), Tekkaman Blade escaped the Radam and their brainwashing programme through his father's assistance. As revenge drives him onwards he faces many dramas from his past and with the inability to transform at will (due to a shattered crystal � clearly) Tekkaman Blade eventually suffers detrimental neurological effects creating memory loss amongst crippling physical disabilities at later, pivotal, universe saving parts of the story.

Polimar:

Most of us have a strong sense of justice and Takeshi Yoroi was no different. Working as a detective and randomly rescuing a professor from some thugs, the professor introduces Takeshi to a substance called 'polymar'. The substance is shape-shifting, memory plastic and so is used to make a suit which enables 'Polimar' (as he is now known!) to change shape, increases his speed, become stronger, fight longer all whilst offering a few other super powers. Naturally based around shape shifting. And note: Polimar has a brilliant Hyper move which can remove 60% of your enemy's health!

Gold Lightan:

Seriously, you couldn't dream the following: Gold Lightan sounds and looks like one of those posh lighters that slick-haired 'geezers' would have. And that's because Gold Lightan IS a lighter. Genius! Yes, Gold Lightan starts out as a small lighter yet transforms into a 200 ton and almost 100 foot tall robot. No wonder they say smoking kills you... Lightan is owned by a young boy named Hiro and the anime follows the plot of defending earth from an alien robot invasion. What else? Nicely, Gold Lightan is SO big and strong that you can't have a secondary character.

Karas:

Factoid: The 'Karas' is a suit of armour that is animated solely by human souls. Nicely, the designers realised that human souls don't exactly 'look' hard so a Karas has parts resembling a raven or crow. (But this 'aint no Chicken suit!) In Karas the story of Otoha is the focus. Otoha is a former Yakuza member who is trying to stop his corrupt predecessor (Eko) from taking over a fictional Tokyo. As expected from a Yakuza member, Otoha is pretty lethal and with revenge at the forefront he uses the Karas to fight the Yakuza organisation he once so feverishly dedicated his life to. Karas was created as a 40th Anniversary release of Tatsunoko productions melding traditional 2D and 3D techniques to astonishing affect.

Ippatsuman:

Working for the Time Lease company, Ippatsuman and co. lease practically anything for the right price. However, an alternative company going by the name of Skull Lease are looking to take away Time Leases business. When Skull Lease take their threats too far and actually show themselves to be a three-way CEO bracket out for world domination, Time Lease's employee, Ippatsuman dons his suit and gets ready to dish out the justice!

Mark "Tapedeck" Lee
- Staff Writer, N-Europe.com