Evolution 2008, Part 4: Capcom vs. SNK 2

Been a while since I typed something. I guess I'll continue my coverage (if you really want to call it that) of Evolution 2008. (Refer to my older articles if you don't know what I'm talking about.)

The next game I'll talk about is Capcom vs. SNK 2. Yeah, there is only two games in the series, and yet it has a rich history behind it.

When Street Fighter 2 came out, people were blown away. And when something new and popular comes out, others try to capitalize on it. So began the fighting game wars of the 90's. Many clones came out, not being so successful. But there a were a few that managed to be popular. In the U.S. it was Mortal Kombat (as terrible a game that is). Everywhere else, it was the company SNK.

SNK is an acronym for "Shin Nihon Kikaku, which translated stands for "New Japan Project." They rose to challenge Capcom's hold on the fighting game market. They never actually beat Capcom, but many of their games rivaled Capcom and stood up very well. Particularly their series "Fatal Fury", "King of Fighters", and "Samurai Showdown." Fatal Fury did well in the U.S. and Samurai Showdown was extremely popular in the U.S., while King of Fighters caught on in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Eventually SNK went bankrupt, but revived as SNK Playmore.

So being Capcom's greatest rivals, people started wondering what if would be like having Capcom's characters clash with SNK's. In 2000, that happened with the release of Capcom vs. SNK. People picked their characters, with each character having a "ratio" score attached them. You could pick characters that had their ratio score equal up to four. Four example, four ratio 1 characters, two ratio 2 characters, a ratio 1 and ratio 3 character,you get the idea. Then you picked a super meter based on Capcom or SNK, called Capcom groove or SNK groove.

The game was different, as Capcom opted to mix the Street Fighter and King of Fighter play styles into a hybrid system, and only using four buttons. This was strange to many players.

The next year saw the release of Capcom vs. SNK 2, a more refined game. They changed the system to the traditional six-button style. Also players could now pick from six different grooves, each based on a system from different Capcom and SNK games. The C, A, and P grooves and the S, N, and K groves. (See what they did there?)

The community for this game is sadly dying out. There are very few top players, and no new blood seems to be showing up. Its always the same named in the top ten. This year may be CvS2's last hurrah. As for who I think will win, no idea. But it won't be anyone new.

I'll leave you with a match video. This is a casuals match from Evolution 2006, between the players Buktooth and Gene Wong. Enjoy!