A game that works better on paper than in reality...

I've been playing Capcom and Snk fighting games since each respective company debuted games like StreetFighter 2 and Fatal Fury. For me, fighting games encompass two leagues: laid back and hard core. It's a bit like graduation. I consider most capcom fighters to be the more laid back, less hardcore outings that everyone can get into, while Snk's games seem to reach out to a more mature fighting audience. Snk fighting games have always taken much more skill to learn than the typical streetfighter. In the end, I've always felt that Snk fighting games, while harder to get into, are always more rewarding when mastered. Few things can compare to the harrowing feeling one gets from mastering the obscenely hard combos that grace the KOF (king of the fighters series).

So, yes, I prefer Snk fighting games, mainly Kof and Fatal Fury series. That doesn't stop me from getting down and dirty with Capcoms efforts, because make no mistakes about it, I love streetfighter, especially 3.

Capcom Vs Snk is second fighting game to be released based on the theme of these two licenses battling it out.

The first game, Snk vs Capcom, was for the neo-geo pocket, and is considered to be the best portable fighting game ever made. The first game was made by Snk. Now Snk was smart. They didn't alter the game play one bit. The streetfighters played and looked like SF's, and Snk characters likewise. Snk vs Capcom was great because it felt like the ultimate mix up, without things being toned down to please either side. The KoF characters had tons of moves, and SF character had their smooth combos. The game just worked on all levels.


Sadly, the Naomi port (dreamcast hardware) pales in comparison to the portable original. Created by Capcom, Capcom vs Snk is proof that some things are just too good to be true.


First off, if you are an avid Snk Fan, like myself, this game may turn you off. Despite using characters from a number of different games, Capcom saw fit to alter the game so that it plays like SF Alpha. Now, I like SF Alpha, but that form of gameplay just doesn't compliment the KOF fighters. All of the critical timings learned on KoF games will seem useless as everybody has the typical jump in, medium to super combo's that have plauged Streetfighter since SuperTurbo. This game is just SF in a different wrapping, and that angers me because it's just not fair to have the Snk characters be as watered down as they are in this game.

First off, the Snk squad is missing a ton of moves. Capcom choose to delete several moves to compensate for the SF's lack of moves. Worse, the snk characters seem to be older versions, like Terry Bogard who should have played like in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, but instead plays like the KOF 98 version with a new super. Kyo from Kof, my favorite all time character, is missing so many moves it was embarassing. While I agree that Snk characters usually have more moves than really needed, I still think it's a shame to neuter these characters the way Capcom did.

So the game plays nothing like KOF, and the characters are missing moves, which lessens the classic characters depth and appeal, like Ryo, who now seems to be nothing but a straight ryu clone, instead of the powerhouse he was in KoF 99. This game doesn't even use the most recent version of the Snk Characters. These are no-no's in my book.

Then you have the graphics. Now, for me, this is where the game totally falls apart. Snk and Capcom have totally different animating techniques and styles of art, characters, etc. Snk characters tend to be more realistic looking, while capcom usually goes for the cartoony characters.

I really felt that Capcom should have took their SF characters to a new level by drying to realistic looking, but I guess that idea was for the fools. All of the gritty Snk Characters have been redrawn to look like Cartoony SF characters. Now, I could have lived with that had the cartoon versions been as good looking and fluidly animated as the originals, but that aint the case. Most of characters look downright silly, with watered down animation. Compare Kyo or Ryu in this game to their previous versions and you'll see that the difference is night and day. This is supposed to be capcom! Where's the animation? Why does Kyo look so retarded? Why does Geese Howard look like a bald fat man?

With the exception of Mai and Terry, most of the Snk characters look pathetic, and this is supposed to be a next gen fighting game. I can honestly say that Ryu from Street Fighter 2 had more animation than the one present in this 2000 game. That's sad.

But it doesn't even begin to end there. Instead of redrawing all of the characters, Capcom took the lazy route of just pulling certain character art directly from Alpha 3. Blanka, Guile, Cammy, Chun-li, Balrog, etc, are just direct rips from the alpha series. Only M-bison got a decent upgrade, with a cool new look and 'masterbating hand' animation from StreetFighter2. Other wise, the characters in this game are......ewwwwwwww.

Capcom also went the extra mile to make A**es of themselves in the Art department by including some of the worst character profiles I have ever seen in a fighting game. See, every character has two profile. One is drawn by Snk, the other is drawn by Capcom. Let me tell you, the Snk pics are raw! The streetfighters look cool as heck with their new real look done in the classic Snk style. Seeing Sagat and Zangief in Snk style was a real eye opener. Those guys can draw.

Then you see the capcom pics, and you just want to die. They're terrible. It seems that capcom has been drawing cartoon style for so long that they forget how to draw traditional realistic people. The result is some of the most laugh out loud art I've ever seen. Look at Kyo's Capcom rendering and try not to laugh. It's impossible. Even their own characters look like trash, like Sakura and Guile. Words cannot describe how truly poor the Capcom pics look. It's a sad state of Affairs.


Another big problem with this game is ratio system. Every character comes with a number assined to them in term of their effectiveness. The way the game is played, you can only have a total number of four. So you could effectively pick 4 level one characters, or one level 3 character and one level 1 character. Problem is, you just can't do this. Giving every character a score is silly, because it's always about who's controlling the character, not the image or stats on the screen. An expert Benimaru player can destroy anybody, and he's one level 1. You four of these so called ' weak' characters on one squad, and you know how to use them all, then it's totally unbalanced. Characters like Ryu and Terry are only slightly strongre than most LV1 characters, and if you pick them, you loose two whole slots. It just leads to very unbalanced teams because everyone has the potential to be a powerhouse, so 4 against 2 will never be fair. Thankfully, an option presents itself later to let you alter the ratio numbers. However, until you get that option, things will very unbalanced when you have to take out four guys with just your Saget and Chun-li.

The high points to the game are in the Backgrounds and the music. The music just kicks butt. It's high energy Techno music, and that typical Capcom fanfare crap. This game has some amazing tunes that don't really seem to even belong to this crappy game. The music is deservent of a higher calibur product. Ryu's new theme is just incredible, and when you hear the beats on the Pao Pao cafe, your head is sure to start boppin.

The backgrounds are amazing as well. They're done in high resolution, meaning they are crystal clear with perfect coloring and art, like when you look at images on a computer monitor. Notice how sharp and detailed the difference is? Well, that's the case with the backgrounds. They are all High res, meaning they look ten times better than the washed out low res characters. The characters and the backgrounds don't even really match. It's like they filmed dingy sprites fighting in front of magnificant art pieces. I was really hoping that Capcom would have done everything in High res, mimicing the incredible Guilty Gear X, the best looking 2d fighter ever (also on dreamcast). As it stands, only the backgrounds really compare to X.


I've talked too long. There is more, like the Different company grooves and secret characters, but they don't really make the game better or worse. As a 2d fighting junkie, I was very disappointed by this game. The graphics are poor, it's unbalanced, and it just plays like another streetfighter. Had it played like a perfect melding of both franchises, as the portable version did, I would have loved it. AS it stands, it's SF Alpha with a new set of wheels. If you live and die by Capcom fighters, you'll probably like this game a whole lot. However, once you've ventured into the deeper Snk Fighters, it's just impossible to say that this game does the Company justice. A very poor show. Hopefully the sequel will make ammends for the travesties committed here. I sure Capcom has heard the cries, and are not eager to disappoint again.

Bye