The greatest fighting game of all time. An astounding game that rekindles the spirit of why we play games.
Let's start with the minor problems with the game shall we? Firstly, this is ultimately a Street Fighter game, so the music is laughably, laughably bad. It ranges from laid back lounge jazz to... well thats pretty much all there is. It doesn't feel right here, but luckily you can always turn it off. Second, the majority of characters on the Capcom side are from Street Fighter, no bad thing, but for those wanting to play as characters from some of Capcom's other superb games, they had best look elsewhere, Marvel VS Capcom is a perfect example. That said, one or two do make the line-up this time round, including Rolento from Final Fight. It would have been nice to see some characters instead of others, K' is missing, and it would have been nice to have the option of using the Garou version of Terry. Online play for this version is absent too (at least in the UK) but then bearing in mind this is best played side-by-side over a few beers and salted snacks, it's not really a problem. One other thing is that it doesn't have the intros to the stages that the Dreamcast version of Capcom VS Snk 2000 had. All of these are minor, minor things, and really don't detract from the gameplay one bit.
And now the positives. This version does away with the rather limiting ratio system of the original, wherby some character combinations simply were not possible. This time round, you can have a team consisting of Shin Akuma (or Gouki, hello NTSC-J format players!), Evil Ryu and God Rugal if you so choose. The limitation this time round is the way that you have to effectively weight the power of your line up. It's also possible to just choose one character and try to defeat the game that way, a sometimes risky gamble, that at higher levels simply is not advised with some characters (I'm thinking Dan mainly). Also this time round, instead of choosing SNK or Capcom as grooves, different fighting systems from nearly the entire Capcom and SNK games can be found. Want to use Haohmaru as he would be in Samurai Shodown? Go ahead! Think Ryu was best in the Alpha series? Prove it. Each groove has distinct advantages and limitations, and whilst not always being immediately obvious, after hours of play they become apparent.
The graphics of this game are superb, with just the right level of flashes and kapows without going over the top or obstructing the game. Whilst the animation may not be as good as, say, Street Fighter 3 or Garou: Mark of the Wolves, it is fluid, moving well even when the PS2 has to handle many effects at once. The Playstation 2 is always a mix bag when it comes to handling 2D, the awful port of King Of Fighters '02 will attest to that, but Capcom seem to have got it right. The sprites have been redrawn for many of the characters, and a more adult theme seems to course through this fighters veins. Ryu looks gritty and determined, Ken brash and arrogant, and God Rugal just looks terrifying.
As I mentioned before, the music is cheesy nonsense, but impacts crunch, punches whistle through the air, and special moves have excellent accompanying sounds. Terry's super move Buster Wolf, is excellent and at times it really gets the adrenaline pumping. A pseudo commentator accompanies the intermitant moments of non-fighting, and this adds to the gameplay somewhat.
The game structure is as broad as most 2D fighters can be, with Single, Versus, Survival and Practice modes available. A colour edit mode is included but is absolutely useless unless you really care what colour Zangiefs tattoos are, or you have a penchant for a Mai kitted out entirely in black.
There are, like any good fighting game, extras to discover. Firstly, there are two main characters to unlock, and to do so requires specific achievements in the one player game. Second there are extra stages to unlock for two player battles. Thirdly, and most excitingly, there are secret moves not listed in the well thought out manual. For example, many of the King of Fighters crew have level three specials that will only be known, by players of SNK's games. Lucky me. Kyo has the best of these (that I have seen), and it's "chargeable" too which just adds to the spectacle.
Controls are spot on, unlike some of the other versions of the game that really do need an arcade stick to get the most out of them.
If you like fighting games, or games in general, you should own a copy of this. If you've loved 2D fighting since the beginning then get it, or if you played Street Fighter 2 once a few years back, this deserves to be in your collection. More refined than it's previous outing, it is a serious fighter for serious players, and once you get two player going, it's endless. A near flawless game. If they make a sequel and fine tune it just that little bit more it will be a perfect game. I really cannot recommend this highly enough.