Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Update - New Character Reveal Yatterman 2

With Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars almost out, Capcom recently stopped by to show us a final addition to the roster: Yatterman 2. For those who never followed the popular Tatsunoko Productions anime back in the '70s or its 2008 update, this may sound like some kind of lame palette swap roster addition, but it's actually not. Yatterman 2 is actually Ai-chan, Yatterman's special lady, and she comes packing a unique move set. We had a chance to see the perky, baton-wielding addition to the roster and are pleased by what she brings to the party.

Yatterman 2 is the final unlockable character in the game. The specifics of how you unlock her are being kept under wraps, but we don't expect it's going to be too complicated. Yatterman's better half comes rocking a matching outfit to her man, with some strategically placed hearts, an energized baton, and an enormous robotic pelican. Yatterman 2's moves are unique and, based on our play time, brutally effective for combos. She can spin her baton into a shield to block attacks, dash at an enemy and segue into one of three attacks, or fire off a series of quick strikes with her baton a la Chun-Li's lighting kicks. However, one of the most useful and sneakiest moves is her energy burst, which comes from her baton. When triggered, Yatterman 2 will toss out a heart-shaped energy burst that she'll bat at her opponent with her baton. The sneaky bit to the attack is that the bursts bounce off surfaces in the level for a bit so it's possible for an enemy to dodge your initial burst but get hit by the rebound.

Yatterman 2's hyper and ultra combos feature the same quirky but powerful characteristics as her regular moves. The super passion attack is a souped-up version of her energy burst that you can charge to ridiculous proportions, that is, practically half the screen. The massive electrical heart is pretty tough to dodge because it also bounces off surfaces for a bit. Omotchama's Roll calls Yatterman 2's robot helper into the fray to trip up opponents up to three times. Finally, Yatterman 2's ultra combo summons the Yatter Pelican, a massive pelican-shaped mech, that shoots a series of mini penguins (which are naturally explosive) at an opponent. This Pelecanus robotus-centric attack ends with a mighty slam from the mech. While the attacks may look a little laughable, the damage they deal out is all business, especially when mixed into a combo.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is slated to ship later this month for the Wii, alongside some much needed arcade stick peripherals for the platform.