Capcom Fighting Evolution Hands-On

TOKYO--Capcom's newest 2D fighting game, Capcom Fighting Evolution, is on display at the 2004 Tokyo Game Show. The concept behind the game is to bring together characters from some of Capcom's different 2D fighting series. Four characters represent each of the five series, so you'll see fighters from Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III, Street Fighter Alpha, Darkstalkers, and a little-known CPS3 fighter called Red Earth, or Warzard in Japan. Additionally, one character stands alone.

The lone character is Ingrid, who was originally slated to appear in Capcom Fighting All-Stars, a previous Capcom fighting game that was shown publicly at an arcade trade show, but canceled before release. Other characters in the game include Ryu, Guile, Zangief, M. Bison, Alex, Urien, Yun, Chun-Li, Hauzer, Nool, Mukuro, Leo, Guy, Sakura, Felicia, Demitri, Anarkis, and Jedah.

The characters are designed to play like they played in their original games, so you'll see different super meters depending on which series the character comes from. The game is played using the standard Capcom six-button fighting setup. You'll choose two characters at the start of each battle, and like the 3D fighter, Rival Schools, you'll be able to pick either fighter prior to the start of each round. The game's backgrounds seem mostly standard at this point, but one in particular stood out, thanks to the inclusion of Sagat and Adon standing by and watching the fight.

Overall, the game does a good job of duplicating the feel of the games from which it takes its characters. The Street Fighter II characters have their moves from Super Street Fighter II Turbo, so, for example, Ryu has his red fireball. Most of the game's sprites are taken from previous Capcom games, and the look of the game is, as you might expect, a lot like all of Capcom's other fighters.

Though only the arcade version is on display at TGS, the game is also scheduled to appear on the PlayStation 2 later this year. For more updates, be sure to check GameSpot's coverage of the Tokyo Game Show 2004.