This game I was exposed as a kid back in 2006. I saw it on the Xbox and was instantly hooked due to knowing what the characters were and seen it somewhere in tv before. I haven’t been able to play it until I’ve gotten a PS2 physical copy in 2014 but since it’s cracked, I can only play through emulation. This game is a sequel to the first one I’ve recently reviewed a while back and this one is more so the same but with new features. Is it worthy of a sequel or did it falter? This is Capcom vs Snk 2 : Mark of the Millennium 2001 for PlayStation 2 by use of emulation. 

Story : 8

The game starts with another tournament hosted by both the Masters Foundation and the Garcia Financial Clique. With this fighters from the previous tournament re-enter once more with new fighters coming in from all over the world to challenge each other and win the coveted prize of cash and being named the best fighter in the world. 

The series is basically the same as the last game before with evil hidden within the tournament, except with different bosses this time as the game focuses more on an expanded roster of fighters and such. 

It’s an 8 out of 10. The game is still interesting but it’s reusing the same plot as last year’s game which dulls a bit. 

Graphics : 8

The intro starts off pretty good to attract people to play the game with thunderstorms and volcanic eruptions and Ryu and Kyo in the area ready to fight. 

Again, let’s draw the negatives. Character designs are lazy for half and good for the rest. Capcom again reusing assets for most of the characters while the more popular characters get a redesign to fit the game. Some don’t even look good at all and using the same model as the 90s (Morrigan) and they just don’t fit the game’s aesthetics. Snk are completely redrawn and look stunning. The character models are one of the best I’ve seen yet for an Snk game and it shows the quality that they did to the fighters. The pics differ from what type of groove (later) that you choose. Some look weird while others look great depending on the art style of the pics and just like the originality of the work. 

Animation is super smooth and no frame dips from most of my gameplay. No cut animations are anything noticeable that I saw from playing. 

The stages are well designed with a lot of them using three dimensional models in the background and the crowd is a mix bag. Some are lively while others are rather static. The depth of the stages are there which gives the arena a bit of personality (cars jumping over dunes to a ship approaching in the arctics). It’s one of the best stage designs from the Capcom vs SNK series. 

With the game it has a bit of a tv perspective when playing with screens of news and announcements during the gameplay to simulate a live tournament which is a nice touch. 

Overall with the graphics, it’s a 8 out of 10. The stages and character designs from Snk are pretty great and very eye pleasing. Capcom however only designing a few characters while most are reused is pathetic from them at this point. 

Sound : 9

The game’s quality of sound is top notch for the PlayStation 2. The audio is really crisp with the music being energetic once more with some more mellow themes to make it a more complete soundtrack. It brings the liveliness of the stages and game play as a whole. 

Sound effects and audio voices are also crisp without much issues. While some sound like fresh recordings, bits of Capcom’s voices seem to be also reused from previous titles, lazy again. 

Sound is a 9 out of 10. Soundtrack and sound effects are pretty good but reused audio for some characters are just lazy. 

Difficulty : 8

The game is like any other fighting game. It’s difficult but more manageable than let’s say… marvel vs Capcom 2. Characters don’t block as often but more so depending on the groove can dodge, parry, roll their way out of danger which gives more variety of game play. The opponents also don’t feel cheap and more balanced than the previous game (later on that). Final bosses if requirements are met, do give some challenge but they don’t feel cheap or cheated. Things feel more enjoyable with the difficulty. 

It’s an 8 out of 10. Game is difficult but not cheap. 

Depth : 9

This game is what the last game was supposed to see. The developers should’ve done this instead. 

The game gives you a choice of options with Ratio, 3 vs 3, or Single Battle for arcade mode. With Ratio you can choose up to three fighters and adjust their ratios to each of your characters, 4 ratio total spread to the characters. The higher the tier the more powerful they are. It’s more tactical and gotta put some strategy into this mode to play without a game over if you want a challenge. 3 vs 3 is a King of Fighters style fight where you choose three fighters and battle it out on a 1 vs 1 in a team setting. Every player is on equal ground as ratios aren’t used in this. As for the last game mode Single Battle, it’s a 1 vs 1 battle as you go through the arcade. As for all the modes, you battle it out until one person loses all the teammates, health goes to zero, time is up and player with the least amount of health loses. Depending on the requirement (accumulating groove points during the gameplay) you may have a chance to fight Shin akuma or Regal. 

Survival mode is basically a 1 vs 1 as you can fight infinitely or the whole cast once until you lose health or defeat every one. Great way to test your skill with a player and learn to stay in the fight longer. 

Characters in the game is basically the whole roster of the first game with additions of new characters from different franchises. With Capcom, new characters include Maki, Kyosuke, Eagle, Rolento, Yun, and Morrigan (kind of, she was a hidden character from the previous game). For SNK you have introduced is Athena, Chang, Haohmaru, Hibiki, Rock and Ryuhaku. Most of the characters are redesigned sprites, all from SNK with a few from Capcom (again, lazy). Then with character select you also have a choice of 6 groove styles ranging from Street Fighter Alpha 3, Alpha 2, and Street Fighter II (C, A, and P grooves in that order) and Kof 94, 98, and Samurai Showdown grooves (S, N, K grooves in that order). Each have their own unique abilities and weaknesses and it helps you choose what best fits your style. You can also create your own groove once you beat the game and do what you can to customize your own style if you wish. 

Other than that there is a color edit mode and a replay mode that allows you to edit character colors and watch old replays you saved. As for this… 

Depth is a 9 out of 10. So many possibilities to choose your dream team and styles that has near endless possibilities. They did well to make up for the restrictions of last game’s installment. 

Addictive : 9

With many different combinations of the game and game modes, you can easily have hours of fun playing this game. Being a bit more balanced it can be played more suitable for competitive play. This game is a lot of fun and can get a few mileage from single player and a lot of hours playing with other people in a friendly match. 

Addictive is a 9 out of 10. The game offers many hours of replay ability that you can lose time from time if into fighting games.

The game is one of the best well made crossover games I’ve played yet. With SNK and Capcom making this, and fixing the issues that plagued the first console game (Capcom vs SNK : Millennium Fight 2000) this game is a great sequel that is worth playing. With iconic characters in the fray and some that you’ve never expected to see in play from franchises like Samurai Showdown or Rival Schools, this game blew my expectations away and it’s really one game worth playing at least once a day or once in a while if into fighting games. I would definitely get the physical copy if you can. I know I am right after playing this on emulation. 

My rating : 8.5 out of 10. 

Review rating : 8.5 out of 10.