Up until the creation of this post, I had never played Capcom vs. SNK 2 or any of the games in its lineage. By the time of its release, I was long gone from the scene. However, there was a brief moment in time where I wanted this game in the worst way. As an owner of a Gamecube, Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO was something I wanted to try. Unfortunately, lukewarm reviews and the thought of having to play it on that Gamecube pad ultimately drove me away.
Many years later, when I started taking fighting games seriously, I discovered that this a favourite among fighting game snobs. With it having come out recently on PS3 as a PlayStation 2 classic, I finally decided to see what the hype was all about.
Capcom vs. SNK 2 has an interesting mix of characters. I was expecting this to simply be Street Fighter vs. King of Fighters, but I was surprised to see Morrigan from Darkstalkers, and Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown here too. Heck, even Eagle from the original Street Fighter is here! Beyond that, each character has 6 different variations based on the Groove you set them to. In my first session, I went with a mix of my favourite characters from each side and went with the C groove. I have no idea if C is any good, but it looked familiar to me so I ran with it.
The standard method of play is to go with the 3-on-3 format, which is the KoF standard. I played the game like this against the computer, since I don’t have anyone to play against locally. While I own King of Fighters XII and XIII, I have not been able to get much out of either because I have a really hard time coming to grips with the SNK ‘feel’. This is Capcom’s take on that formula, which feels a lot easier to understand. Not as a slight to KoF, but I felt like I got more out of CvS 2 in an hour of play than I ever have playing KoF, simply because it’s framed with a Capcom feel.
In the hour or so that I played against the computer, I can kind of see why people like the game so much. The game moved fast and fluid while providing some solid action. I feel like I could get a lot out of this game if I put in the effort. However, without online play combined with the fact that players have moved well past this game, I probably won’t play it much beyond the novelty. Should Capcom and SNK partner up for a sequel, I’ll be there on day one.
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In Third Person 
C-Groove is, in fact, great for beginners as it is very rewarding with its subsystems (e.g. air-blocking, rolling, and tactical recovery). It’s pretty much like using one of the grooves or modes from the Street Fighter Alpha series. N-Groove is also pretty good too, if you’re used to playing old-school K.O.F like ’98.
And sadly, it doesn’t look like there will ever be a CvS3 due to licensing issues and the fact that Capcom would need to renew their contract with SNKP.