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Review: Capcom vs. SNK PRO |
“I think this review sucks”
“Whoever wrote this was on crack”
Just two of the reactions to my Capcom vs. SNK review I wrote back at the end of last year.
Yes, and playing it again recently, I feel I have to agree; at least partially. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still flawed and lazy…. light years behind Capcom or SNK’s greatest - but it’s not as bad as I said. I feel I overreacted - the shock of the recycled graphics coupled with the castrated SNK characters and unsatisfying play mechanics pissed me off, and looking back at my whining - it’s clear I was far from impartial. But I’m better now, so please don’t hate me (even more.)
Consider this my penance.
So let’s leave the past behind us and talk about Capcom vs. SNK Pro. Sadly there isn’t really much worth talking about, because as expected, it’s nowhere near worthy of being called a sequel, or a “special edition” … it’s just a tweaked CvS. I guess that it was never advertised as being anything else - so it’s no real surprise or shock, and the greatly reduced price (my copy AND shipping from the US cost less than buying normal CvS in a store) softens the blow somewhat.
If you’re going to own any version of CvS1 - I recommend this one. Trade, sell or melt your old version, because owning both is just not an option. There are plenty of differences, but most of them are incredibly subtle; and having both games on my shelf would make me gouge my eyes out in disgust.
In fact seeing as you, the reader, have probably been following posts at Shoryuken, Madman’s, GameFAQs etc. to see what’s new - I’m going to skip over the little things and focus on the more obvious ones. This is good for me, as A) I probably don’t notice 96% of the changes in priority, lag etc. B) I don’t really care anyway, and C) I’m sure you don’t want to read forty paragraphs about how Balrog gained an extra pixel of hit distance on his crouching fierce.
There *are* changes to characters that are obvious, even to me. Kyo’s R.E.D kick goes much higher - Ken’s “fall over” attack changes it’s command and gains height too. Guile’s ‘boom has more lag etc. Whether this tweaking is in response to “tha fans” - or Capcom’s own devices I do not know, but there’s enough change to create plenty of new tactics and combos, as well as shifting the ‘tier’ balance. Probably
Talking of balance, the ratios (gah… I keep typing “rations” … can of creamed corn please) have been altered - the weaker ratios have been made weaker, and the strong stronger. Now you really feel a R3 or R4 (like all the CvS secrets - unlocked and available from the start) character could plow though a whole bunch of R1s no problem. Getting pelted by Sagat’s Tiger Shots as Dan - the damage is like World Warrior levels. I’m still not in love with the whole concept of artificially weakening and strengthening characters … but never mind - Genocide Cutting the little fags to death is fun.
It’s nice to see the CPU AI has been given a boost as well — playing it on level 8 is almost a challenge at times. And I actually lost a character to Balrog… the shame. They’re not up to the 3rd Strike level of smarty-man-ness, but they try to lock you down, pressure you and counter what you’re doing a whole lot better. CPU Bison is still pitifully easy though, and Geese only beats me by apt use of his Raging Storm. Getting to the last stage with over 80 Groove Points means you fight “Shin Gouki” — just normal Gouki with two air fireballs actually.
There’s also a ‘turbo’ option - which you set at 1-4 in the options screen. To be honest, it didn’t seem much different really, but it’s nice to have a choice.
And finally the most obvious change of all - the addition of two new characters, Joe Higashi and Dan Hibiki. Woo. They’re both ratio(n) 1, and are both pretty weak in other areas too. They’re not bad characters — no, I’ve had much fun playing as both of them and they look good enough, it’s just they lack… well … everything.
Joe has three moves. His Hurricane Upper (goes full-screen), his Slash kick (looks lame) and his rising knee thing (looks l33t). That’s it. No golden heel kick, no dynamite punches … his single super combo (in which he shouts what sounds like “SCREW YOU UPPER!”) is … OK. I don’t like the term usually, but he’s been raped, poor guy.
Dan’s weak too - although you have to expect it really. He can’t combo his Gale Kick, his C. Fierce is gay, taunting doesn’t built meter (;_;) and he automatically taunts after both of his throws. That really annoyed me.
But the biggest crime of all - despite the comedy potential the introduction of these two wacky funsters brings… there are absolutely no new intros or animations or anything new for the rest of the cast. Think about it … the Ryo/Dan/Yuri hilarity potential is iummense … and Joe/Sagat or Joe/King … blah. I’m sure these will all be fixed in CvS2, and I realise that animations like that add little to the actual game - but still.
I can’t help but wish more had been changed. Why not do a “Champion Edition” on the backgrounds for example? At least add new music for Danny and Joey for god sakes … blah. The only cosmetic differences are the title screen (it’s blue!) and the images in the news bulletin) And without the secrets to unlock - its shallow gameplay won’t hold that much attention, especially if you’ve played the original to death. (Which I haven’t, BTW)
If CVSPRO was intended to keep people interested in the franchise … it could have done with a bit more …interest. They could have put some hidden CvS2 stuff in (like DC KOFDM99) - or something … anything. From what I’ve seen, the internet reaction to this has been lukewarm at best - and personally I could happily live without it.
It’s still a fairly decent fighter - though it lacks the huge scope for personal improvement I sense when playing a KOF or SF3 game - there just doesn’t seem to be huge hidden depths to the fighters. And the invincible rolling is still annoying, and the recycled characters still look lame (Morrigan nooooooooooooooooo!)
CvS has gone up in my opinion since my review late last year (hell it couldn’t really go down much further) - and this is certainly THE version to own. There are still many things I feel were left out, but I’m content enough and just hope CvS2 delivers this summer.
Oh, and it has the worst cover ever.
