''Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001'' is a 2001
fighting game
The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
developed and published by
Capcom
is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
. The sequel to ''
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000'' (2000) and an entry in the ''
SNK vs. Capcom
''SNK vs. Capcom'', or alternately ''Capcom vs. SNK'', is a series of crossover video games by either Capcom or SNK featuring characters that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are fighting games, and take on a similar fo ...
'' crossover series, it was originally released on
NAOMI hardware in
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game
** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware
** Arcad ...
s, with
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
handling the American arcade release.
As in the original, players select a team of fighters from various Capcom and
SNK
is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as
by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...
games then fight other teams, winning each battle by defeating all the opponents from the other team.
Aspects of the first game were tweaked, including the Ratio system. In contrast to the fixed system of the original, players can now freely select characters and assign each of them a number from one to four (or "Ratio") determining their relative strength, adding up to a maximum team ratio of four. Teams can now consist of a maximum of three characters, as opposed to four in the first game. Additional characters were added, including more characters from Capcom and SNK titles outside of the ''
Street Fighter
is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...
'' and ''
King of Fighters'' series, for a total of 48. The Groove system from ''Millennium Fight 2000'' has been augmented to include four new systems of play based on various Capcom and SNK fighting games. In addition, the number of buttons has been increased from the
Neo Geo
The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...
standard of four to the six button system first seen in Capcom's ''
Street Fighter
is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...
''.
The console versions of the game were first released in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
for the
Dreamcast
The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
and
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
on September 13, 2001 (a month after the initial arcade release). Players from both platforms could compete against each other online via
KDDI
() is a Japanese telecommunications operator. It was established in 2000 through the merger of , , and . In 2001, it merged with a subsidiary named Au, which was formed through the merger of seven automotive and mobile phone companies from t ...
's Multi-Matching service, making ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' the first game ever to support
cross-platform play
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of Gamer, players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. ...
between two competing game consoles. The PlayStation 2 version would be released a bit later in other regions, but without online support. The
GameCube
The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
received an updated version titled ''
Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO'', where "EO" stands for "Easy Operation" in Japanese releases and "Extreme Offence" in European releases, referring to a game-mode intended for novices. The PlayStation 2 version was later released as a downloadable
PlayStation 2 Classics game for the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
in July 2013. The arcade version was re-released in 2025 as part of ''
Capcom Fighting Collection 2
''Capcom Fighting Collection 2'' is a fighting game compilation developed and published by Capcom. It is the third entry in Capcom's ''Fighting Collection'' lineup and a direct sequel to the original ''Capcom Fighting Collection'' (2022), compri ...
''.
Plot and characters
A year has passed since the original tournament known as ''Millennium Fight 2000''. This time, the political conflicts of the Garcia Financial Clique and the Masters Foundation have a rematch once again by releasing a million dollar fighting tournament called ''Mark of the Millennium 2001''/''Millionaire Fighting 2001'', all of the original fighters from both powers clash once again, but with more fighters both legends and newcomers. Endings change depending on the player's performance, taking final score and certain conditions into account:
* In the bad ending, the celebration goes is uninterrupted, as the camera zooms out of the stadium to a shot of
Akuma or
Rugal's foot.
* In the first true ending, Akuma or Rugal interrupts the celebration, demanding a match against the winners on top of Osaka Castle. If the player wins, they comment on their strength before challenging their true rival (the other boss), as a large bombing occurs. The fates of everyone are left unknown.
* In the second true ending, the celebration is interrupted by the fight between Akuma and Rugal. Depending on the player's Groove, one of two scenes play. In first, Akuma mortally wounds Rugal, only for the latter to infuse his Orochi force into Akuma, who is driven insane by the power and turns into Shin Akuma. In the other, Rugal kills Akuma and absorbs the Satsui no Hadou from his body (his special intro has him throwing away Akuma's corpse), transforming into God/Ultimate Rugal. The winning team goes on to fight the bosses in the Osaka Ruins in Flames. Defeating Shin Akuma has him being swept into the sky by the Orochi force while God/Ultimate Rugal's defeat results in Akuma and Rugal's spirits merging, turning into one being disappearing, before walking away. The following newscast coverage depicts Osaka being rebuilt, the critical reception to the Mark of the Millennium/Millionaire Fighting tournament, and the (text-messaging) fates of the champions.
Playable characters
''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' features a total of 48 playable characters, including the entire returning roster of ''Capcom vs. SNK''. The arcade release features 44 playable characters, while an additional four characters are exclusive to the home console ports. New characters to the franchise are listed below in bold.
Capcom characters
SNK characters
;;Notes
Gameplay
Because ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' features a roster composed of characters from numerous games and hardware eras, the appearances of several of Capcom's characters have been considered substandard in comparison to the newly drawn SNK characters. Instead of choosing to redraw its characters, Capcom took the approach of reusing old character sprites from previous games and inserting them in among the other characters. The result created a significant disparity, particularly in the case of characters like
Morrigan Aensland
is a character and protagonist in Capcom's '' Darkstalkers'' series. Having debuted in 1994's '' Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors'', she has since appeared in every game in the series and in various related media and merchandise, as well as in ...
, whose sprite from the ''
Darkstalkers
''Darkstalkers'', known in Japan as , is a fighting game series and media franchise created by Capcom. The series is set in a pastiche gothic fiction universe with characters based on monsters from international folklore, and features a stylized ...
'' games appears retro and lacking in detail when compared to Capcom's newly drawn characters, such as Maki, Eagle, Ryu, Ken, and M. Bison. Just like the first game, the Dreamcast release of ''Capcom Vs. SNK 2'' also links up to the
Neo Geo Pocket Color
The Neo Geo Pocket series is a line of handheld game consoles developed and manufactured by SNK between 1998 and 2001. It began with the monochrome released in Japan on October 28, 1998 as SNK's first handheld system and a direct competitor to N ...
and ''
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash'' using the Neo Geo Pocket Color link cable. Doing so will enable the player to unlock all the secrets on the Dreamcast game.
''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' combines
characters and
gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
elements from various
Capcom
is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
and
SNK
is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as
by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...
fighting games, mainly the ''
Street Fighter
is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...
'' and ''
The King of Fighters
''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of ''The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was initially developed for SNK's Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware and received ...
'' series. Other elements, most noticeably different fighting styles, incorporated elements from other games as well, such as ''
Street Fighter III
is a 1997 fighting game in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game. The game, which was designed as a direct sequel to ''Street Fighter II'' (1991), initially discarded every previous character exc ...
'', ''
Garou: Mark of the Wolves'', and the ''
Samurai Shodown
''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat.
Plot
The stories in the series take place i ...
'' series.
In contrast to the original ''Capcom vs. SNK'', characters no longer have a specific "Ratio." Instead the player can select up to three characters in a team and give an amount or ratio (up to four) to each as desired. Strength are altered accordingly based on the number of players. For example, a team of three fighters will be weaker and have less individual health than a one-man team. Rounds are fought one against one, with the winner being the first to defeat their opponent's team. In console versions of the game, players in Arcade Mode can also choose a 3-on-3 game or a 1-on-1 game with the Ratio System removed.
Unlike the first game, which was based on a ''King of Fighters''-style two-strength, four-button system of punches and kicks, ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' is based on the three-strength, six-button system of punches and kicks native to the ''Street Fighter'' series, and the SNK characters have been tweaked to fit the six-button style. The overall system is derivative of
Street Fighter Alpha 3
''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', released as in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1998 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the third and final installment in the '' Street Fighter Alpha'' sub-series, which ...
. However, a number of different fighting styles called 'Grooves', which mimic other Capcom and SNK games, are included in the engine. These dictate both the character's Super Gauge system, and special techniques, such as dashes, running, and guard cancels, called "Subsystems." There are six in total, each designated with a letter, along with custom grooves that can be programmed in home versions of the game. Each player designates prior to the match which groove his or her team will use.
''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO'' has minor changes in gameplay and the inclusion of an EO ("Easy Operation") system that allows the player to perform specific attacks by simply moving the right analog stick in a certain direction. Like all other home versions of the game, ''CvS2: EO'' also contains four bonus characters: Evil Ryu, Orochi Iori, Shin Akuma (Shin Gouki in Japan), and Ultimate Rugal (God Rugal in Japan), powered-up versions of four regular characters. Before selecting a team, the game offers a selection of "Grooves", which change the way the game is played, as well as "AC-ism" or "GC-ism" Grooves; GC-ism simplifies the control scheme, originally designed for the GameCube gamepad. In the Xbox version it is called EO-ism. ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO'' also removed the Roll Cancel glitch that was in the original versions. In addition, the Xbox version of ''CvS2: EO'' also included online play for up to two players on
Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...
as well as
progressive-scan (480p) support.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' on their September 15, 2001 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the month. It was a runner-up for ''GameSpot''s annual "Best Fighting Game" award among
console game
A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connec ...
s, losing to ''
Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' for Dreamcast and
16-bit
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...
Neo Geo AES
The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...
.
The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' received "favorable" reviews, while the GameCube version received "average" reviews, according to the
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
[ The GameCube version received lower review scores due to the native control scheme of the GameCube controller, not designed for traditional fighting games. '']AllGame
RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...
'' gave the PS2 version a score of three stars out of five, saying, "Those who haven't played a fighting game in a long time might also be impressed, but the weak visuals will be a major turnoff for the average gamer." In Japan, ''Famitsu
, formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' gave it a score of 35 out of 40 for the Dreamcast and PS2 versions, and 31 out of 40 for the GameCube version.[ '']GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' named ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO'' the best Xbox game of February 2003, and It was later a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Multiplayer Game" award, losing to '' Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne''. Its GameCube version was a runner-up for ''GameSpot''s annual "Most Disappointing Game on GameCube" award. It was also a runner-up for "Outstanding Fighting Game Sequel" by the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, losing to ''Dead or Alive 3
is a 2001 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox (console), Xbox console as one of its launch titles. It is the third main entry in the ''Dead or Alive (franchise), Dead or Alive'' fighting series following ...
''. During the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards
The ''6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards'' was the 6th edition of the Interactive Achievement Awards, an annual awards event that honored the best games in the video game industry during 2002. The awards were arranged by the Academy of Int ...
, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
nominated ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO'' for " Console Fighting Game of the Year", which it ultimately lost to ''Tekken 4
is a 2001 fighting game developed and published by Namco for arcades. Initially released for Namco's System 246 hardware, it was then ported to the PlayStation 2 home console in 2002. As the fourth main installment in the '' Tekken'' series fol ...
''.
In 2010, Marissa Meli of UGO.com
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
listed ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' among the top 25 fighting games of all time. In 2011, Peter Rubin of ''Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked it as the 11th best fighting game of all time. In 2012, Lucas Sullivan of ''GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' included it among the little-known classic fighting games that deserve HD remakes, adding that "every fighting game fan needs to play ''CvS2'' at least once". Rich Knight and Gus Turner of ''Complex'' ranked it as the fourth best 2D fighting game of all time in 2013. The recycled art has led criticism of Capcom's art department.
References
External links
* for ''Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001'' (Japanese)
* for ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO: Millionaire Fighting 2001'' (Japanese)
* for ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO: Millionaire Fighting 2001'' (Xbox) (Japanese)
*
*
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