Capcom vs. SNK 2/Gameplay

Controls
One player may compete against the computer, or two players may simultaneousy compete against each other. Each player has an 8-way joystick and 6 buttons.

Buttons
The buttons on the arcade are typically laid out in the following fashion: The L, M, and H stands for light, medium, and hard respectively. In general, light attacks are less powerful and faster, and hard attacks are more powerful but slower, with medium attacks in between.

Joystick
The joystick works intuitively in that pressing left will generally move your character left, and pressing right will generally move your character right. But it is more important to think in terms of relative direction. For this reason, all instructions are given with respect to forward and backward since the left and right directions change purpose when your character switches directions.
 * If your character is facing to the right, then pressing left on the joystick means backward, and pressing right on the joystick means forward.
 * If your character is facing to the left, then pressing left on the joystick means forward, and pressing right on the joystick means backward.

The following directions assume that your character is facing right, the starting direction of every fight for player one, who begins on the left side:

For more information about specific home console versions, please see the Controls page.

How to Play
This walkthrough assumes that you understand the basics of how to play a typical fighting game. If you are unfamiliar with these rules, you may read more about the basics of how to play in the first Capcom vs. SNK "How to Play".

Match Play
At the start of each game, a player must select a Groove (see below), and then select a team of fighters. Your team may number between one and three fighters. If you wish to select less than three fighters, you must indicate this by selecting "END". Once you are done, you must assign ratios to each character such that the ratio of your team totals 4. If you chose only one fighter, he will automatically be assigned ratio 4. If you have two fighters, you must choose between one ratio 1 and one ratio 3, or two ratio 2s. If you have three fighters, one must be ratio 2 while the others are ratio 1.

Before a match, each player will select the order in which the team's character will fight. If you simply press start, the order in which you chose your fighters will be the default order in which they fight. If you wish to rearrange the order, you may do so by pressing for the first character,  for the second, and  for the third until all characters have been assigned an order.

For consoles, three buttons will be shown at the top in numbered fashion and the character portraits will have a small, colored area with a corresponding number in it. For GameCube, the top shows "1)B 2)A 3)X," which coordinate with the colored areas as well as the numbers, as 'B' is red (#1), 'A' is green (#2), and 'X', being the odd one out, matches with blue (#3).

For the home console versions, there are alternate rules that you may select. A 3-on-3 match treats every fighter equally as a ratio 1 character. You must select three fighters, and you will always face three opponents. This setup is most like The King of Fighters series. Single match is strictly a one-on-one match in a best of three round battle. The first player to win two rounds proceeds to the next match.

Rules
Each battle consists of an elimination match between your team and your opponent's team. At the start of each battle, the first fighter of both player's team begins with a full health bar. When one player drives the other player's health bar to zero, that match is over, and the losing player's next fighter takes over. The winning fighter regains a segment of health in proportion to the remaining time. The first player to defeat the entire opposing team wins the match and moves on to the next battle. If a single player loses to the computer, the game is over and the player must continue to rematch the recent opponent. If two players knock each other out at the same time, a double K.O. occurs and both fighters are eliminated.

While a fight is in progress, a timer counts down from 99 to 0 (roughly one minute in duration). If the timer runs out, the fighter with the most life is awarded the win.

Grooves
There are a total of six different Grooves for you to choose from, identified by the letters C, A, P, S, N, and K. The table below will summarize the differences between the Grooves, and the differences will be discussed in greater detail below.

C Groove
This groove is most similar to the A-ISM mode of Street Fighter Alpha 3. You have a three tiered-meter that fills up rather quickly as you attack and take damage. In order to perform a Super Combo, you must have at least one tier of the meter filled. For every tier filled, you can perform that level of Super Combo. To execute a Level 1 super, use the or  buttons. To execute a Level 2 super, use or. And to execute a Level 3 or MAX super, use or. C Groove also has two exclusive abilities. Only C Groove players can block attacks in mid-air. And you may also cancel a Level 2 super move into a Level 1 super, or a special move. This is a very good groove for beginners.

A Groove
This groove is most similar to Street Fighter Alpha 2. You get a two tiered-meter, and you are restricted to Level 1 Super Combos only (but you can store up to two of them at a time.) However, once the meter is full, you also gain access to Custom Combos. Press to activate a Custom Combo. Your meter will slowly deplete until it is empty. During this time, you may cancel any attack into any other, including Super Combos. Until the meter is completely empty, you may perform as many Level 1 Super Combos as you like. You will be unable to perform MAX Super Combos. This groove is a good groove for people who are experts of the V-ISM mode of SFA3.

P Groove
This groove is most similar to the Street Fighter III series. You get a single meter, which fills up slowly in comparison to the other Grooves, and when it is full you must use the entire meter on a single Level 3/MAX Super Combo. However, this Groove also has the ability that many players consider to be the most advantageous ability in the whole game: Parrying. In order to parry an attack, you must press forward just as an attack is about to hit you, or press down if the attack is going to connect low. If you successfully parry, the attack will be prevented, and you will have the opportunity to immediately counter attack. Expert SF3 players will have an advantage using this groove, but any player can learn to become good at parrying.

S Groove
This groove is most similar to the early KOF games, and the Extra mode of The King of Fighters '98 in particular. In this Groove, you have single meter that fills up very slowly as you attack or are attacked. However, in this Groove, you also have the ability to manually charge the meter up quickly by pressing and holding. Note that you are vulnerable to attack while you are charging, but you can stop at any time. Once your meter is full it begins to deplete, and you become a little stronger offensively and defensively until it empties. You may also execute a Level 1 Super Combo, which will instantly empty the meter. In S Groove, if your health drops down to the point where your health meter is flashing you may perform an unlimited number of Level 1 Super Combos. Also during this time, if you fill up your super meter, you can perform Level 3/MAX Super Combos. S Groove also has the ability to Dodge attacks by pressing. This Groove requires a little more concentration than C Groove, but it can be a great Groove for beginners who like to have frequent access to Super Combos.

N Groove
This groove is most similar to the Advance mode of The King of Fighters '98. In this Groove, you get a single meter which, upon becoming full, provides you with one Power Stock, and immediately empties to be filled again. You can store up to three Power Stocks. With these stocks, you may do one of a few things. You may perform a Level 1 Super Combo. You may perform a Counter Movement, which allows you to roll away or behind your enemy immediately after blocking an attack. To do a Counter Movement, press forward or backward and. And finally, at the cost of one stock, you may power up by pressing. Powering up increases your offensive and defensive powers, more so than having a MAX bar in S Groove, and for a longer amount of time. While powered up, at the cost of an additional stock, you may perform a Level 3/MAX Super Combo, making this the only Groove in which you can perform Level 3 Super Combos with only two full meters. (Note that while Powered Up, your super meter will not grow.) With the ability to string Power-Ups back to back, and the greatest array of movement options, the N Groove is a good groove for beginners and experts alike.

K Groove
This groove is most similar to the system found in the Samurai Shodown series. In this groove, you have one meter (referred to as the Rage Gauge) which fills up as you get attacked. Once it fills completely, you will turn red and experience the greatest offensive boost that any groove has to offer. During this time, the meter will slowly start to drain, and you will return to normal when it empties. You may also execute a Level 3/MAX Super Combo and drain the meter instantly. The K-Groove also features an exclusive ability known as "Just Defend," taken from Garou: Mark of the Wolves. To perform a Just Defend, you must not block an attack until a moment before the attack occurs. If you Just Defend successfully, you will not only block the attack, but you will gain a minuscule amount of life back. Your Rage Gauge will also fill. This Groove is good for expert Samurai Shodown and Garou players.

Groove Edit System
The Groove Edit System is unique to the home console versions. It allows you to create your own custom mix of groove features and abilities. You must select a gauge, a system, and sub-systems. When you first unlock it, you will be limited to spending 4000 Groove Edit Points. You can further unlock the ability to use an unlimited number of Groove Edit Points.

You have the ability to edit and tailor two EX-Grooves; EX1 and EX2. You may edit and name them. Then you may spend your alloted Groove Points however you like. Use the following tables to see the available options and determine which selections you would like to make.

Groove Points
Groove Points are awarded or penalized based on actions that take place during each fight. Generally speaking, the better you play, the more Groove Points you will earn. The worse you play, the more Groove Points you will lose. Groove Points are a player's rating, but they are also the key to unlocking hidden opponent fights. The following chart diagrams the methods for earning or losing Groove Points.