Capcom vs SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium, the definitive battle between the two titans of arcade fighting

There was a time when Capcom was the absolute benchmark of the fighting game genre, which does not mean that there were also no rivals at its height . And despite the fact that in recent years we have seen the Street Fighters measure themselves in popularity with the Mishima clan or the saiyans of Akira Toriyama, during the 90s and the explosion of the genre, their great rival was the legendary SNK.

A rivalry between the two colossi that led to loads of internal and completely blatant taunts, including the creation of Dan’s character to openly ridicule the Art of Fighting saga. And if Capcom has always been a key player in home systems, SNK’s arcades marked an era . Of course, we had to wait for the change of the millennium to witness the impossible: the historic crossover of both in the same game.

The very idea of a Capcom vs. SNK blew the heads off the conflicting fans of both companies, although it would be with the sequel, Capcom vs SNK 2: Mark of The Millennium , where we would really see in all its splendor the magnitude of this true event in the history of video games.

Because Capcom vs SNK 2 is much more than a classic among fans of arcade games and individual and team battles; He is also consecrated as one of the greatest exponents of his own genre.

An experience that, even two decades later, is still a joy at the controls and the Fighsticks . A love letter to those who are passionate about the classics, full of details that make it even more special. And, as we will see, a turning point in the history of both companies and the legacy of fighting games itself.

A bit of context for Capcom vs. SNK, the first great event of the millennium

It could be said that, after decades of tension and competition, the fall of the Berlin Wall unified the world, dissolving differences and tensions between the two halves of the planet. Of course, that same year new rivalries will emerge that fragmented the planet on new scales. That of Capcom and SNK , without going any further, began to take shape in arcades.

The year in which Germany began its unification came the Mega Drive, and with it the beginning of the console war between Nintendo and SEGA. Meanwhile, in any venue with two or more arcade furniture, two large corporations originally from Osaka were called to collide . A rivalry that lasted throughout the 90s and whose climax, as we will see, will coincide with the arrival of the new millennium.

It is beyond doubt that Street Fighter II was a global phenomenon . The arcades experienced a new youth, swirling small groups of players around the same machine. All impatient to put down the coins to see how Ryu, Guile, Chun Li and company left their knuckles. Eager to compete with each other.

That was quite a phenomenon in the world of video games and, as such, it did not take long for clones and substitutes to appear.

It would be totally unfair to say that SNK was limited to slipstream from the success of Capcom’s World Warriors. In November 1991, the same year that we were blown away by Blanka’s flickering and flipping, three heroes returned to the iconic South Town bringing fresh ideas to one-on-one fighting games. And while Fatal Fury: The King of Fighters fell far short of matching Street Fighter II , the truth is that it laid a strong foundation for the spectacular legacy of the Bogard clan in fighting games.

That was just the beginning of the rivalry: On the wrestling arena every year, and for nearly a decade, both SNK and Capcom collided in both arcades and home systems . And if the first offered the lucky owners of a Neo Geo the glorious experiences of the arcades, the second also blew our heads year after year, and consecutively, with its brutal console conversions of its successes.

Including in both cases what will become its celebrated annual crossover sagas: from 1994, The King of Fighters would bring together the protagonists of the SNK fighting sagas and new heroes created for the occasion in a spectacular tournament of Martial Arts. Meanwhile, and as a result of the success of X-Men: Children of the Atom, the creators of the Blue Bomber forged a strong alliance with the House of Ideas, giving rise to the Marvel vs. Capcom.

Raising, in both cases, both the tone and the epicity of that rivalry that already went beyond the video games themselves.

The funny thing about all this is that, while the popularity of Capcom and SNK wrestlers continued to grow throughout the 90s, life in the arcades was dying off . Removing very specific territories, such as Japan, those huge pieces of furniture that contained a thousand and one adventures began to experience a deep decline.

It was then, just before the end of the millennium, that an absolutely unexpected alliance was announced: the characters of Street Fighter and The King of Fighters will fight together. Side by side and with each other, in a series of games produced by both Capcom and SNK. And while that was the dream of every fighting game fan, it was also time to answer the big question: who is stronger: Ken Masters or Terry Bogard?

Capcom vs. SNK 2, an explosive collision that had to earn its cult game status

The first and long-awaited fight between Ryu and Kyo Kusanagi was neither in arcade nor in table-tops, but in a small but very attractive 16-bit portable console: on November 30, 1999, the title SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium brought together the chibi versions of the top standard bearers of Street Fighter and The King of Fighters (along with exceptional guests) in Neo Geo Pocket.

A modest title in presentation, but generous in content. And, at the same time, an aperitif of the call to be the great event.

Almost a year later, and running on SEGA’s mythical NAOMI board, Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 from Capcom. The true great crossover between both companies and, nevertheless, a title that did not quite meet the enormous expectations placed on it.

Not that there were few fighters: the number of 33 characters was (and still is) generous. However, there were too many nuances to consider. While Capcom had rescued the nearly entire cast of Street Fighter II, nearly all of their character sprites had been pulled from Street Fighter Alpha 3 , making them pale in terms of finishes in front of the brand-new, newly created SNK fighters.

In the playable, it also had two curious nuances:

• From the beginning we are given a choice of fighting style : if we bet on Capcom we will have a game system and mechanics typical of the Street Fighter Alpha series, while if we opt for SNK we benefit from the mobility options of The King of Fighters and a manual power charging system.
• Although it is a team fighting game, each of the characters had a rating system of ranks from 1 to 4 , so that the player must distribute their four points in choosing up to four fighters based on their potential .

And the truth is that limiting the use of specific characters or putting others at a clear disadvantage was more of an obstacle than a nuance that gave depth to the experience. Which did not prevent the arcade from being the most successful in Japan in its first year.

Luckily for everyone, those would not be the only collaborations between the two titans. After the home reviews of Capcom vs. SNK (with extra modes, new fighters and a flawless Dreamcast conversion) is coming to what will become a timeless classic among Capcom’s fighting games: Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of The Millennium.

Those of Osaka took note of everything that did not finish working, and wrapped it completely in menus and an aesthetic that radiated its own character . With a terribly catchy soundtrack and a commentator who, very aptly, reminded us in every fight that we were facing a great event.

Of course, where the B lue Bomber company was truly crowned was in its sensational playable section. Proving, for the umpteenth time, his seniority and ambition.

Much more than a gathering of stars: a classic among fighting games

Play Capcom vs. SNK 2 two decades later is still a true joy . It is reencountering a classic for which the years do not pass, but also with a title that pays tribute with remarkable success to the spectacular legacy of the two titans of 2D fighting.

First of all, because its panel of selectable characters is simply overwhelming. 44 characters that not only make us not miss anyone, but also included characters that were so successful in the face of the proposal as they were unexpected.

Surprises that, in addition, are nice to control, such as Eagle from the original Street Fighter , Everything from the first Art of Fighting, the triumphant return of Maki from Final Fight 2 , Haohmaru from the Samurai Shodown saga, Kyosuke from Rival Schools or Garou’s own Rock Mark of the Wolves, among many others.

Featuring more than four dozen fighting superstars . To which we must add that Capcom gave a huge push to the animations, gameplay and the catalog of movements of each character, with special emphasis on a new version of Chun Li created for the occasion and that, unlike the previous game , it moved wonderfully.

Giving us lots of special introductions in the process that are pure fanservice.

For its part, the two weaknesses of Capcom vs. SNK , so that the team play format was preserved based on an open rank system for all characters , but now it is the player himself who decides how many fighters he will have in his team and, in turn, the rank of each one of them.

That did add a new layer of depth to the whole, although the real genius was the rethought system of fighting styles: in Capcom vs. SNK 2 offers us six Grooves that represent three types of mechanics, mobility and use of the energy bars typical of the best fighting games of each house:

• The Groove C follows the vein of the Street Fighter Alpha series, with three-level energy bars, counter-alphas and the ability to take cover in midair.
• The Groove A recovers Capcom’s dizzying Custom Combos , allowing us to chain incisive successions of attacks that we can prolong for the duration of the charge.
• The Groove P fuses the two classic styles of Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter III , bringing parrings and a more aggressive, technical and powerful play style to the table.
• The Groove S inherits the style of the first The King of Fighters allowing us to manually recharge the energy bar, giving interesting options to get rid of and accessing powerful combos when health is at critical points.
• The Groove N allows us to accumulate and manage energy and special techniques based on contemporary installments of The King of Fighters , being able to improve or expand the offensive capacity at the cost of a stock of power.
• Finally, the Groove K carries over the mechanics of Samurai Shodown , so that we gain strength and force as we take damage, but perfect blocks are also rewarded.

While on paper that might seem like chaos, for less competitive players Capcom struck an exquisite balance between the various Grooves . Of course, it didn’t take long for veterans to find interesting ways to take advantage of the Custom Combos system, creating real wonders decades later in the form of successions of attacks.

The plot of Capcom vs. SNK 2 is, in essence, a collection of clichés from both companies. The megacorporations of the Masters and Garcia families have organized a spectacular global tournament that has aroused the interest of the most virtuous fighters, heroes and villains of their time, including the four kings of Shadaloo and Geese Howard himself.

Of course, as expected, the final will be interrupted by a being with a devastating combat potential: both Akuma and Rugal sneak into the event , and if our skill throughout the previous rounds is enough, they will wait for us premiering a new level of almost limitless power.

Of course, Capcom rounded off the experience in the domestic versions with new modes, including a character editor with which we could alternate the colors of each fighter, a survival mode or a Versus that allowed us to experiment with all the playable options at our disposal. Which was and still is awesome.

However, the most striking milestone of the Capcom vs. It was SNK 2 that enabled something revolutionary: cross-play between the Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2.

An achievement that was basically limited to Japan, but that further extolled the character of transcending impossible rivalries between video game titans.

A turning point for the two giants of fighting games

It didn’t take long for Capcom vs. SNK 2 came to consoles: Capcom betting on SEGA’s recreational boards made its conversion to Dreamcast as simple as it was faithful to the original experience. An exceptional detail for a system that, unfortunately, was facing its most critical moment.

And in fairness, in 2001 the landscape around the fighting game genre itself was very different from the boom that Street Fighter II had started a decade ago. Fighting games in three-dimensional settings were now the standard of the genre and now the general public played them directly from home.

It’s not that the Osaka Titans didn’t bet on bringing their sagas to 3D years before. Without going any further, Kyosuke debuts sprites in Capcom vs. SNK 2 , as it comes from the Rival Schools saga. To which must be added the curious -and concise- polygonal catalog of Neo Geo 64 itself , the console with which SNK wanted to adapt to modern times.

All in all, Capcom was aware of just how powerful Capcom vs. SNK 2 at the playable level and – unlike other games like Street Fighter III – the good reception it received led to the creation of new versions with extra pampering, including a highly celebrated Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001 EO for the recently released Xbox and GameCube that polished several aspects and, incidentally, was a decade ahead of the genre itself by introducing simplified controls.

And after that? The turn of the millennium swept away several legendary companies from the 1990s, and sadly SNK was one of them. Thanks to the support of external investments, it managed to give the expected replica to the crossover saga with SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos in arcade and later consoles.

And while it was not as polished and was as ambitious in content and playable level as the Capcom game, giving fighting game fans some brand new sprites with Capcom icons reimagined in the style of SNK. Being, seen from the outside, a slight push into the beginning of a complicated stage for the creators of Fatal Fury or Samurai Shodown.

For its part, Capcom gradually moved away from the fighting genre to give priority to other sagas that had exploded in popularity, such as Resident Evil , Devil May Cry or Monster Hunter . And seeing how far each of these licenses have come since then, they cannot be blamed for anything. Which does not mean that there was a strong internal interest in returning to one-on-one and crazy crossovers.

Animated opening of SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos for recreational

It took until 2008 for Street Fighter IV to relight the fuse at Capcom. And it wouldn’t take long to see how little by little the great fighting sagas made their triumphant return: new installments of Marvel vs. Capcom, the essential arcade classics were rescued and SNK took the opportunity to reissue its acclaimed classics , giving everyone the opportunity to know them beyond arcade games, Neo Geo and -of course- emulators.

For its part, Capcom has not stopped making crazy crossovers in and out of the fight. Daring to put the World Warriors in front of the Tekken fighters or venturing into RPG proposals with the standard bearers of Bandai, Namco or SEGA. And, through the Street Fighter V themed costumes, reminding us that DarkStalkers isn’t quite dead.

Will we see a new Capcom vs. SNK? Well, we are clear on two things: since The King of Fighters XIV, SNK has returned through the big door to video games. And the truth is that Capcom is more than willing to take back its key licenses, including its fight saga with SNK, as long as the fans are really interested.