Honestly, I didn’t think it would be this good.

Those were the words I silently spoke to myself as my Alex took a nasty Ryu super from a Capcom representative during one of many rousing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars matches I played on Friday evening. Capcom, gamingverse, please forgive my early skepicism. But know that it was born from a loving place.

The Nintendo Wii has achieved a level of success with the average person that console makers have dreamed of since the inception of the hobby. Lil’ Johnny loves it. Gramps loves it. You wacky next door neighbor loves it. When an item achieves that level of success, its perceived as being a pop culture icon and not rough, rugged, and hardcore–it’s not unlike the music industry in a way. Certainly, a kick ass fighting game, a staple of the hardcore, wouldn’t fly on the Wii, right?

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars blends everything that fighting fans have loved about the “Vs.” series (high-octane action, flashy attacks, and tag play), and merged it with a unique control scheme that only the Wii could deliver, to stand tall as one of the most fun fighters I’ve played in recent months.

Having been well-trained in the ways of fighting during my grueling stints in New York City’s mid-’90s arcades and pizza shops, I approached Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars control set up with a raised eyebrow. There were no four or six buttons button layouts – - we had to make due with the Wii’s funky setup (you can, however, play with a classic controller).

Despite the perceived limitation, I was able to execute deep combos. Supers are handled in a very unique way; you can execute them manually, or you can shake the Wiimote, which allows causuals and newcomers to get in the mix. According to a Capcom representative, each character has multiple supers, but shaking the Wiimote will only release the first one in their arsenal (you’ll have to learn the others)

In my first bout, I selected Viewtiful Joe from Viewtiful Joe,  and Joe the Condor from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (Team Joe, if you will). My opponent, selected the PTX-40A from Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, a mech so huge that it a) fills the screen and b) takes up two character slots so combo attacks are null and void. The big freaking robot gave me Nam-style flashbacks to Marvel vs. Capcom 2′s Sentinel with its insane range (one of the attacks included the mother of all chainsaws) that brought me down rather quickly. It’s difficult to ascertain in a half hour play session if a particular character is broken, but PTX-40A is one to keep an eye on.

Tatsunoku vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars represents the first game in the crossover series to use polygons instead of sprites. The character models were well designed, but were a bit rough around the edges. Still, the action moved at break-neck speed. The backgrounds didn’t move me, but the music was decent and far better than Marvel vs. Capcom 2‘s  jazztastic score.

My early verdict? The gameplay and mechanics appear to be in place. My main question is, still, if this title would be better suited on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. As evidenced my SEGA”s foray into bringing hardcore gaming to the Wii (House of the Dead 2 & 3, Madworld), it may not find as big as audience as it could, especially with a name/license that may be unfamiliar to the  current crop of gamers. Still, it looks to be a very solid Wii release, and one that we’re looking forward to playing when it’s released stateside in mid-January.