Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

"Akuma + Rugal = God Rugal and Shin Akuma"

This is by far one of the absolute best 2D fighting games I have ever played possibly even the best. As well as Third Strike of course. ^_-

Graphics: 7.5 / 10
The majority of the graphics in this game are quite good, especially all the SNK characters. Much like in SVC Chaos the developers got lazy and only recreated some of their company's characters graphics. This time Capcom is to blame. Although main characters like Ryu, Akuma, Bison and Chun-Li all have new graphics other characters mostly ones from the Street Fighter Alpha games have just been placed in the game how they all ready are. Morrigan from Capcom's Dark Stalkers series is by far the worst of the character roster. Her sprite is so old and washed out not to mention she literally looks like a sticker. On the bright side the majority of the large cast look great. The backgrounds are also 3D which is a nice effect on this game. Especially the burning city stage where you fight either Shin Akuma or God Rugal it looks awesome.

Sound: 8 / 10
The sound in this game is decent. Many of the tracks played during the stages are great. It totally sets the hyped up mood for this fast paced combo-launching fighting game.

Storyline: 8 / 10
The basic story outline is that a great martial arts tournament is being held between two fighting game companies (Capcom and SNK) to see which company prevails over one another. Also a side story between Akuma and Rugal also takes place and depending on whom you fight and defeat it will reveal the different fate of that boss.

Characters: 9.5 / 10
The Capcom vs. SNK 2 character roster improves a whole bunch over the original Capcom vs. SNK. It is no longer just Street Fighter vs. The King of Fighters. We now have characters from Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade, Street Fighter III (sadly excluding Gill :( ), Dark Stalkers, Art of Fighting and maybe a few others I forgot too. We have old fan favourites returning like Ryu, Chun-Li, Mai Shiranui, Akuma, Bison, Kyo, Athena and Iori and we also have new characters well not entirely new but new to this game. Such as Hibiki from The Last Blade and Yun form Street Fighter III. The main boss characters Akuma and Rugal also have alternate more powerful versions of each other Shin Akuma which most of us should know quite well and God Rugal (or Ultimate Rugal in the English release) who is also a very unforgiving and violent character. Evil Ryu and Orochi Iroi are also exclusive to console versions of the game as they never appeared in the arcade version and you can choose them from the roster without having to unlock them. Not to mention certain characters have special intros with each other such as Hibiki and Rolento and Athena and Sakura.

Gameplay: 10 / 10
The best part of Capcom vs. SNK 2 is the gameplay. In CVS2 you have six different grooves much like the “Ism” fighting options in SFA3 the grooves are different power bars and provided different combat options for you characters. The first three grooves are from Capcom fighting games and have special options such as air blocking and parrying. The last three grooves are from the SNK fighting games and feature options such as super bar charges and dream cancels. Also you unlock two custom grooves in which you can set up the options however you want combining the different combat skills from both companies to make a totally unique fighting style. However I prefer to use the grooves already available myself. Out of the six grooves I would have to say the “P Groove” is by far the most effect and easy to use. It is the same combat style from Street Fighter III and includes all the parrying and evasions Third Strike gamers have come to love. Also you have the option to play in a single match using only one character in the trait of Street Fighter or you can have a party of up to three players like The King of Fighter's games. Another option which is called ratio match allows you to chooses one, two ore three characters and adjust their different fighting ratios to share our their unique abilities and create a suburb fighting team. Once you've unlocked both God Rugal and Shin Akuma you can play a match called boss fight in which you fight all the bosses in Capcom vs. SNK 2 from the mini bosses right up to the secret ones. It acts like survival mode, which is also present in this game so once you die that's it. The gameplay in CVS2 is “A” standard.

Replay Value: 9 / 10
Like most addictive fighting games Capcom vs. SNK 2 will have hardcore fighting game fans coming back for more.

Overall: 9 / 10
If you consider yourself a fan of 2D fighters and don't own this game buy it. You'll enjoy it trust me. This game is very fun to play especially against friends and family.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/09

Game Release: Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 (EU, 11/30/01)