"Fighting giants collide....on GameCube? Yes."

Capcom is the fighter KING, and SNK is known for being unique as well as having a remarkable depth. Put them together, add a sequel with refined features, add on top of that a few twists made in the GCN port, and that's the game.

PRESENTATION: 8/10

IGN gave this area a rather low score. I think the presentation perfectly fits the game. The ''yellow square layout'' sytem is perfect. There is some great SNK-style art, focused on realism, for each character. When you win a bout, you can see the portraits much larger than you usually do....and boy are they high-res. The announcer is a bit...out there, and the loading times are unnacceptable for GameCube, but you have to think about it. You're loading up to 6 different 2D characters + 3D arena + kickass sounds = up 3 different fights per....umm....fight. I'll cover that in gameplay later. After a fighter is defeated, the new round transfer is seamless: almost no loading. Initial bootup loading isn't much of a bother, it's much less than Agent Under Fire. But the pre-fight loading time is PS2-like, and unacceptable for the GCN.

GRAPHICS: ?

With an art style only similar to Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (both produced by Capcom at around the same time :p ), CvS2EO is very unique. 2D sprite characters are mapped onto an animated 3D background. Here's a subtle Capcom influence: pre-rendered 3D animated backgrounds, a-la the Resident Evil remake for GCN. These backgrounds all don't look shabby, with well-crafted 3D models and some 2D stuff that isn't bad in itself. The background designs go the SNK route for emphasizing the natural environment and scene around the fighters.

The 2D sprites themselves are the most confusing. On one hand, you have some delicious sprites that flow with movement. The SNK characters, from their various games, all seem to be given the better graphics treatment. That one girl from Samurai Showdown, the one with the owl sidekick, is truly the standout in detail. On the other hand, you see the Capcom characters. Almost all of them are relatively above-average, and if you didn't see the well-drawn Cammy's buttox in the gameplay, almost all of her taunts flaunt it. But the standout in poor quality is Morrigan. OH GOD, she looks terrible. VERY Pixelated, with a NES-quality color pallette. She looks to have been re-ripped from a 16-bit game, instead of transferred to look better than her PS2 counterpart. What a shame for such a character with a high ability in this game to kick ass.

SOUND: 8/10

THE VOICE ACTING BURNS......just kidding. It's just the same as the Japanese version, so the ''English'' voices like Guile and Cammy are going to sound a bit wierd, but you get used to it. The SNK characters sound true as ever to the originals with the Japanese vocals. If you can tell Ryu's Hadoken from his Shoriyuken uppercut without looking on the screen, I am satisfied.

The music itself is upbeat, with a SNK-style charm. I like it, but I can see it getting repetetive in the future. Some tracks are really nice, too. Props for a Sound Test mode. ^_^ The little things please me. Oh yeah, some Street Fighter 2 music is hidden as an Easter Egg. Hint: put a match-up between two classic rivals, one being Sagat.

The sound effects do their job well. A hit feels like a satisfying hit from the controller to your ears. Landing a combo only makes it better.

GAMEPLAY: 7/10 (being nice about the controls)

Oh boy. Sit down, this is gonna take a while.

44 different characters. WOW. Some secret ones you have to unlock, mostly different versions of existing characters. Yes, they play differently enough. However, every Ryu clone is there, including Dark Ryu, the Ryu clone nobody bothered to make a new sprite for. Even the Ryu and Dark Ryu artworks don't look that different. (look at the eyebrows...yes...that's it)

You get grooves in this game. Grooves are good. Grooves make the fighting genre more customized than ever. There are C, A, and P grooves from the Capcom side; and S, N, and K grooves on the SNK side. Some give you more attack options, some let you build up supers (to different lengths), some let you roll to dodge, etc. Let's not forget the unlockable CUSTOM GROOVE. Oh yes, fighting games are slowly becoming chess games before you even fight your opponent. Each groove is rooted in systems found in previous Capcom and SNK fighting games, so all you Street Fighter people will be at home in the C, A, and P grooves. But you should definitely experiment.

The ratio system is nice. You get stat points, per se. If you have 2 characters you selected, you can divide it between a level 3 and a level 1 character. If you have 3, have one level 2 and 2 level 1 characters. Confused? It will make sense when you see it in action, promise. The higher the level, the better the fighter in all regards except the player. A level 3 Ryu can own a team of 3 of his clones lickety split. ^_^ Again with the Ryu clones...bear in mind I'm not counting Ken even. Ken has been made unique enough to be his own character, thankfully. But Akuma.....*sigh*

There is your Arcade Mode (which seem to short to me, but if you count how many actual fights you can have, it's not), a Survival Mode, a Training Mode, a Character Color Edit Mode (want a blue Blanka with a new name? Go ahead!!), options, etc. Even a Boss Mode, but you didn't hear that from me. ;-)

A decent gameplay variety.

But the controls are the true EO factor. EO = Easy Operation. The GCN pad was NOT made for old-school fighters. The small D-pad is exaggerated as a problem, but button placement is definitely one. Having the L-button for kicks, and R-button for punching, leaving the face buttons virtually unused, is a crime that makes baby Jesus cry. And I'm Jewish. Luckily, this problem is only on certain grooves, and you can customize which buttons do what. You can kill the use of the L-button at all, give it Taunt. Just remember that you set the Z-button to something else.... :(

Get an arcade stick if you can. This was an arcade game, you know.

Oh yes, onto Easy Operation. After selecting your groove, you are given a choice of using a GC-ism or an AC-ism. AC means no EO. GC-ism means yes EO. Argh. With GC-ism, you have destroyed the fighting genre as we know it. Actually, it plays much like Super Smash Bros. Melee, if you think about it. The aforementioned L and R to punch and kick happens, which is VERY BAD. Also, the D-pad stops working. Boo. All the special moves, including supers, are then mapped as directions on the C-stick. This is actually quite nice, if the fugged up button placement didn't come with it. Some special moves take too much effort to memorize and plug in these days, esp. supers. -1 Karma points for not allowing special moves to be performed outside the C-stick in GC-ism.

REPLAY?:

Huge. 44 characters, unlockables, grooves, custom grooves, custom color sets.....much more than you would find in a fighter. And the joy of fighting a real opponent will bring you back.

You won't find replay value here if you didn't like SSBM, and that means you are stupid.

Overall: 8/10

Buy or Rent:

A definite rent. Arcade games always have the rental going for it. But for you hardcore fighting people, or people who have simply missed most of the classic games that came together to form this game, you need to buy it. I picked it up at a modest $39.95, a good price for a good GameCube game a month after release. Rogue Leader only reached that price in what...a year?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/02, Updated 12/02/02