Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001

"2d fighting at its best"

In the Dreamcast's extremely short life cycle, it has gained a reputation for being the greatest fighting game console of all time. The primary reason for this is simple: you have Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive 2, perfect ports of Neo Geo favorites King of Fighters '98, '99, Last Blade 2 and Garou (and soon King of Fighters 2000), Capcom's brilliantly over-packed Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and the entire Street Fighter 3 collection (one of the most animated brawlers of all time). But what really put the system on the top tier with fighting game enthusiasts was Capcom's very own Capcom Vs. SNK. Sure the game had plenty of short comings, but no true gamer cannot but feel a bit overwhelmed when offered the opportunity to put Bison and Akuma in the same ring with Rugal and Geese. The almost guaranteed success of the first game made a sequel inevitable (especially that we're talking about Capcom here). Enter Capcom Vs. SNK 2, the pinnacle of 2-d fighting excess and depth. There are over 30 fighters from both the Capcom and SNK universes, but the roster isn't just limited to Super Street Fighter 2 and King of Fighters anymore; the creators have drawn warriors from Street Fighter 3, Samurai Shodown, Last Blade, and even Rival Schools, making for a pretty eclectic roster.
The big debate now a days is whether 2-d fighters can hold there own against the graphically more phenomenal 3-d ones. Even a game like Guilty Gear X, packed with thousands of animations and glitzy special effects, cannot compete with the visual power of, let's say, Dead or Alive 3. It is in this category that Capcom Vs. SNK 2 falls a bit short. While the characters are all animated well with much attention to detail, the fact remains that two dimensional sprites just aren't that appealing anymore. I'm sure the SNK crowd is in there glory to see that Terry, Mai and the rest of the Fatal Fury gang no longer look stuck in 1994, but in other words your not going to be coming back to watch Haomaru walk a five frame shuffle. The game environments are composed 100% of polygons, which makes for a surprisingly nice effect. Compared to the first game, the backgrounds are pretty forgettable, though the carnival scene with the flying sumo wrestlers and the rotating palace arena blend very nice with the action; gone is the the back alley with the awesome cast shadows on the wall and the gorgeous street scene with the golden dragon in the background. The music and sound has been considerably improved; the electric funk and jazz tunes that play through out the game actually adds to the action this time around rather than just being some background noises. The sound effects are equally good, with every smack, grunt and special attack chant being in crystal clear stereo sound.
Graphics and music aren't everything, it's all in the game play and playability, and my god, that's where Capcom threw all their efforts. The first game was extremely fun to play with lots of good things such as 2 in 1 combos, 2 different grooves for the gamers' fighting preference, and the secret shop (which was a place to unlock alternative character colors, types, backgrounds and so on); but the team system was way too limiting and seemed outrageously unbalanced. Capcom has answered all of our prayers and then some. There are now several play modes: 3 on 3, ratio team, single, and 2 different survivor modes. For those of you that hated the ratio system of the first game just jump right into the 3 on 3 and all the characters will be balanced the way a good fighting game should be (fighters like Blanka and Cammy can finally put up a fair fight with the likes of Vega and Yamazaki). The ratio match shouldn't be ignored however, Capcom has actually made created a system where you determine character ratios! How the system works is you must create a team using a ratio system of one, two or three points (two being average strength). You can create a team of two with two two point characters or a three point character and a one point character or a team of three one point characters. Sorry if this sounds confusing, but if you play the game it will become much clearer and is extremely simple to work. Now on to selecting a groove. There are six different fighting grooves to select from this time around (C,A,P,S,N and K)and selecting one doesn't simply affect your power bar, but it dramatically affects how you can play your characters, such as the ability to dash, use small jumps, and so on. Gone is the super shop and in its place the much welcomed groove edit. After completing a certain task in the game you will be able to open the groove edit mode and spend time customizing your on play style! Use the Samurai Shodown special bar and use Street Fighter 3 parrys all in the same style; it felt almost surreal when I opened this option.
Capcom has tinkered with the controls a bit and added two medium attacks for a total of six buttons to use, like the classic Street Fighter set up. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact the DC pad shoulder buttons are extremely awkward to use to set up combos and for even pulling off special moves. This is the only area where the PS2 version has an edge over this version, because the PS2 shoulder buttons are much more comfortable to use with a game like this. If this really gets you down, I recommend you assign the medium attacks to the shoulder buttons because you'll probably never use them to set up combos in the first place.
Except for the minor control issue, Capcom Vs. SNK 2's rich gameplay and exceptional character roster make it one of the best 2-d fighting games to date. If your one of the few people who are sticking with their now defunct DC despite the availability of the PS2, I commend you and strongly recommend you find an import copy and buy this game. Nothing compares to Capcom Vs. SNK 2 (Capcom Vs. SNK 3 maybe?) and judging by today's 3-d obsessed game industry, nothing will probably top this game anytime soon. I guess Capcom is the king of 2-d brawlers after all.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/16/02, Updated 05/16/02