By
Raymond Padilla |
Dec 15, 2001
The two titans of 2D face off in the final battle of the millennium!
The two biggest names in 2D fighting team up once again in
Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium. This port of the arcade hit features more than 44 characters from many of the companies' greatest hits like the
Street Fighter,
Street Fighter Alpha,
Samurai Shodown,
Fatal Fury, and
King of Fighters series. Best of all it takes the fighting styles of each game and implements them with all the characters. What you're left with is the deepest fighting game that Capcom has ever developed. However, this isn't the
Street Fighter II that sucked so many of your quarters at the arcades. The fighting system is so complex that this game is best enjoyed by true 2D-fighting masters.
The cast of characters is immense, with Capcom stars like Ken, Ryu, and Morrigan joining SNK stalwarts Joe, Mai, and Terry. The new characters added from its predecessor include Eagle from
Street Fighter, Yun from
Street Fighter III, Rock Howard from
Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, and Haohmaru from
Samurai Shodown. As big as the character list is, there are some redundant characters as well as questionable additions. Long-time Capcom and SNK fans may be disappointed that some of their favorites were left out.
Naturally, the core of any fighting game is its system. This game takes all the tried-and-true mechanics and let's you select your preference of "grooves." There are six grooves in the game, four more than its predecessor had. They are C-Groove, S-Groove, A-Groove, N-Groove, P-Groove, and K-Groove. Each mixes and matches certain moves and emulates a style of one of the arcade games. Fans of Street Fighter III will opt for the P-Groove, which includes the dash, safe fall, small jump, and parry moves. Gamers that prefer SNK defensive methods will go for the K-Groove, which features run, tactical recovery, small jump, and just-defense moves. The beauty of this game is finding characters that you like, mastering them with a groove, and knowing how to play against other characters and grooves. With more than 40 characters and six grooves there are a ton of combinations you can use and must know how to defend against.
As expected, the game plays brilliantly. Capcom has been making some of the best 2D fighters for years and they definitely have the gameplay down. The control scheme favors Capcom's six-button layout as opposed to SNK's four-button style. The first thing you'll want to do is put away your Dual Shock 2 controller. It's way too difficult to play this game with a standard gamepad and your thumbs don't need that kind of abuse. Besides, real 2D-fighting game masters use joysticks anyway.
In terms of modes there are Arcade, Survival, Vs., and Training modes. Arcade mode let's one or two players compete in ratio, three-on-three, or single matches. Survival mode is a single-player mode where it's one player with limited vitality against the world (the world of
CvS2 anyway). Training mode lets you master the timing of various moves and combinations. There are also a few nifty extras like color editing and replay, both of which require a memory card. Color editing let's you play dress up with your favorite characters by allowing you change the colors of their clothing. Replay let's you save your most outstanding match so you can show all your friends how utterly you've mastered this game.
One of the more interesting bonuses in the game is that it's possible to create your own groove. This is a 2D-fighting fan's dream. At last you can combine fighting system elements from
Street Fighter 2: Turbo Hyper Fighting,
Street Fighter Alpha,
King of Fighters, and
Samurai Shodown. Whether you prefer dashing to running, dodging to parrying, or air blocking to counter attacking, you can integrate all your favorite moves into the ultimate fighting style. This is a very interesting feature that's best appreciated by gamers that are familiar with all of the game's subtleties.