gorocco's Full Review: Capcom Vs SNK for Dreamcast
Once upon a time, there were two companies vying to be the king of 2D fighting games. They fought mercilessly, launching game after game, sequel after sequel. Capcom used its primary weapon, the Street Fighter series – the one that started it all. SNK responded with its beloved King of Fighters games. Fans from either camp clamored for a brawl between the two superpowers. Alas, these battles would only be staged in the form of fan fiction (and for those with M.U.G.E.N.).
But after many years, the cries of the masses have been answered. It is time for the Millenium Battle: Capcom versus SNK! Now the many burning questions can be answered… Who is stronger? Ryu or Kyo Kasunagi? Who is cuter? Chun-Li or Mai Shiranui? Who is the cooler rival? Ken or Iori?
The Millenium Battle Begins
CvS features 28 immediately selectable fighters, 14 from each camp. Many fan favorites are available, including Ryu, Ken, and M.Bison (each sporting completely redrawn animation) from the Capcom side. SNK enlists the aid of classic characters such as Terry Bogard (Fatal Fury), Kyo Kasunagi (King of Fighters), and Ryo Sazaki (Art of Fighting). Each of the 28 characters have unlockable EX versions, plus there are three hidden fighters (Morrigan from Darkstalkers, Nakoruru from Samurai Shodown, and the ever-present Akuma/Gouki).
The Capcom camp is transferred from the CPS-2 titles (i.e., Street Fighter Alpha ). With the exception of the above named three characters, all of the Capcom combatants arrive with little change. A couple of frames are added here and there, but if you played the Alpha series, you know what to expect. Stalwarts such Ryu, Chun-Li, and Zangief come with no additions to their repertoire in this go-around. Unfortunately, all of the characters (except for Morrigan) are Street Fighters. Darkstalkers, Jojo, Justice Schools, and the Versus series got shafted in this one.
After so many reiterations of KoF, the SNK participants get a facelift, each completely redrawn in the Capcom anime style. However, each of the SNK fighters retain their unique flair and personality. Ryuji looks and moves like a homicidal maniac. Rugal looks majestic yet completely terrifying with his tuxedo. And Mai still bounces her “assets” as fan service. Beloved series such as Samurai Shodown are not well represented here. (Maybe they should have named this game Street Fighter versus King of Fighters?)
While the visuals for the SNK characters are refreshing, everything is not quite right. SNK characters are known to have many special attacks (fireballs and such) to compensate for their fewer regular attacks. To balance the SNK characters with the Capcom characters (who average three special moves), the designers opted to divide the attacks between the regular version and their EX counterpart. For example, regular Terry has the “rising tackle” anti-air attack, but EX Terry will have the “power dunk” special instead. Besides the lame attempt to double the number of characters by having hidden EX versions, this diminishes the SNK characters. Why couldn’t they have just developed more moves for the Capcom crew, most of whom are using the same movelists from the original Street Fighter II! Guile still only has the sonic boom and the flash kick. Hasn’t he learned some new tricks a decade later?
With the joining of these two camps, changes needed to be made to the gameplay to accommodate both the Street Fighter and the King of Fighter engines. First off, CvS uses a four button layout, which better suits the SNK fighters and the Dreamcast gamepad; the L and R trigger buttons are now used for two punches and two kicks, respectively. Sweeps are now performed by pressing a direction and the hard kick button. This takes some getting used to, but it is a good compromise, making the game much easier to play than Street Fighter 3 and Marvel versus Capcom.
Instead of merging the SF and KoF gameplay into a weird (and potentially diasterous) hybrid, you are given the choice of two grooves. The Capcom groove gives you Street Fighter Alpha style mechanics. You get a three level super meter that builds up when you attack and defend. Super attacks come in three levels based on which button you press (level 3 supers are done with both attack buttons).
The SNK groove plays like King of Fighters ’94. You get one long meter that slowly builds up as you attack. You can also manually charge up your meter, but that leaves you open to attack. Once your meter is maxed out, it slowly depletes. During this time, you do extra damage and can perform a desperation attack (equivalent to a Capcom level 1 super). Also, once your life meter reaches a critical state (generously placed at about 1/3 life), you can perform unlimited desperation attacks or super desperation attacks if your meter is also maxed.
The two grooves are well balanced. The Capcom groove gives you access to more supers as your meter builds up faster. The SNK groove allows for more come from behind victories. You really cannot go wrong following your personal biases here.
CvS also introduces the Ratio system. Characters are given a score of 1 to 4 based on their overall effectiveness. Ratio 1 characters include Blanka and Cammy from Capcom and King and Benimaru from SNK. The largest ratio (Ratio 2) includes many heroes and rivals such as Ryu, Guile, Terry, and Ryo. Ratio 3 is reserved for boss characters (i.e. M.Bison, Sagat, Rugal, and Geese). Akuma stands alone in Ratio 4. You can build a team with a total of 4 Ratio points. That means you can have four ratio 1 characters, two ratio 2 characters, one ratio 1 and one ratio 3 character, etc.
The distribution of characters in the ratio system seems to have been somewhat arbitrary. For example, some level 1 characters such as Yuri seem to outclass the other members of her ratio.
Battles are played out KoF style. Each member goes mano-a-mano until every member of the opposing team is disposed of. There are no strikers/helpers here, no air-blocking (although dodging is available), no chain combos, no air recovery, no insane 50+ hit monster combos where your foe doesn’t touch the dirt for a looong while. What you get is old school fighting, SNK style.
This also means that regular attacks are amongst your best weapons. Successful throws deliver heavy damage and play a prominent role in matches, unlike in recent Capcom games. Special moves remain useful, but most come with a hefty price if used incorrectly. Projectiles especially have diminished utility, especially with the universal dodge ability. Super attacks fare even worse. While they may deal a good chunk of damage, all of them have terrible priority, leaving you much more open to a counterattack. There’s a reason why they are called “desperation attacks” in SNK games.
The end product is a fighting game that pays homage to the original fighting games where skill rule. Button mashers are the equivalent to bait, and there are no supers that consume the entire screen to save you. Even with the unlimited supers in the SNK groove, you still have to pick and choose your spots carefully. Knowledge of the characters, their attack ranges, and their attack priorities is key to winning matches, especially against a skilled human opponent.
When playing solo, it is hard to appreciate the depth of the fighting engine. The computer AI is slightly smarter than the average pet rock and will not use most of its arsenal.
The game also features a Game Replay and Training modes. More options can be bought through the secrets menu. And CvS features a lot of secrets to unlock. Just as in Marvel versus Capcom 2, you can trade in points earned through the various gameplay modes for secret colors, stages, and characters (including the EX version for the 28 selectable characters). This is a poor attempt to prolong the life of the game as points take a lot of time to accumulate. If you want to unlock everything in this game (without a Game Shark), you will be playing for a very long time.
More on Graphics and Audio
Characters are animated with the style and flair of Capcom’s Street Fighter Alpha series. The sprites are all nicely detailed. While they do not move with the movie-like quality of Street Fighter 3, I cannot complain about the effort that went the graphics. Backgrounds are also nicely detailed with some providing nifty effects to enhance the experience. Probably the best visuals come from the alley stage where a spotlight shines on the right half of the stage; large silhouettes of the characters duking it out appear on the wall. With other effects such as golden outlines when characters are standing in front of the fire on the highway stage, CvS shows that 2D still has some tricks left up its sleeve.
The music in CvS is above average. It is hard to really get into the tunes as they are stage rather than character specific. At least it is not the horrible elevator music that was used in Marvel versus Capcom 2. The voice samples are heard very clearly. In CvS there is a lot more voice used. And I mean more than just a lot of grunting as there are some characters who do some trash talking prior to matches (most of it is in Japanese, so I cannot understand it).
Final Thoughts
Capcom versus SNK is a great fighting game for fans of old school, 2D fighters. Those looking to get away from the button mashing insanity and flash of recent fighters will be right at home here. At $20, CvS is an excellent addition to the Dreamcast’s library of fighting games.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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