Capcom Fighting Evolution

Capcom Fighting Evolution, released in Japan and Europe as Capcom Fighting Jam (Japanese: カプコン ファイティング ジャム), is a 2004 head-to-head fighting game from Capcom. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Namco System 246 hardware and ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game features characters from three different incarnations of the Street Fighter series, as well as characters from the Darkstalkers series and the CPS III arcade game Red Earth, with each character employing the fighting system from the game which they represent.

Capcom Fighting Evolution
Developer(s)Capcom Production Studio 2
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Hidetoshi Ishizawa
Producer(s)Yoshinori Ono
Hitomi Nishimoto
Hidetoshi Ishizawa
Kenji Itsuno
Designer(s)Hidetoshi Ishizawa
Shinsuke Kodama
Programmer(s)Yasunori Harada
Kazuhito Nakai
Composer(s)Noriyuki Asakura
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Network
ReleaseArcade
October 2004
PlayStation 2
  • NA: November 16, 2004
  • JP: December 2, 2004
  • EU: February 12, 2005
Xbox
  • NA: June 14, 2005
  • JP: June 16, 2005
  • EU: June 24, 2005
PlayStation Network
  • JP: December 19, 2012
  • NA: September 17, 2013
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Up to 2 players simultaneously
Arcade systemNamco System 246

Gameplay

Capcom Fighting Evolution features characters from the Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter III and Darkstalkers series, as well as the single game Red Earth. There are four selectable characters representing each series, excluding original character Ingrid and the boss characters Pyron and Shin Akuma. Each character uses a fighting system from the game which determines the techniques they can use and their super move gauge. Ingrid uses her unique fighting style with her own techniques, for a total of six fighting styles.

The game consists of two-on-two endurance-style matches similar to that of Rival Schools: United By Fate. The player selects a pair of character and then begins a match with one character. In the Japanese version of the game, if their current character is defeated for one round, then the next round will begin with the other character. In the North American version, the character can remain the same whether he or she wins or loses.

Characters

Street Fighter II

The Street Fighter II characters follow the playing style of Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Each Street Fighter II character only has a single-level Super Combo gauge that allows them to perform a Super Combo at MAX level. They cannot air block nor dash like other characters, but can stand up quickly when they fall to the ground. Unlike Super Turbo, each character has two Super Combo moves. Despite representing Street Fighter II, the graphics for Ryu and Bison are actually from their Capcom vs. SNK incarnation, while Guile is from Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Zangief received a new sprite (edited from his Street Fighter Alpha one) just for this game.

Darkstalkers

The Darkstalkers characters have a three-level "Special Stock" gauge like in Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge, allowing them to perform ES Moves (enhanced versions of their regular special moves) or EX Specials (their super moves). They can also perform Guard Cancels (a counterattacking special move) and Chain Combos (which allows them to link any basic moves with another one of equal or greater strength). Darkstalkers characters can air block and dash, as well as do standing-up attacks and move while they're down.

Street Fighter Alpha

The Street Fighter Alpha characters have single-level Custom Combo gauge and can perform a specific Super Combo or a Custom Combo when the gauge is 50% full. Does more damage at MAX level. They can also air block and perform Alpha Counters or recovering rolls.

Red Earth

The characters from Red Earth have a Gem gauge which allows the player to stock up to two gems after the gauge fills up. When the player has a gem in stock, they can level-up their character and make them stronger or perform a Mystic Break (their super moves). The Red Earth characters have a blocking technique called the "Ultimate Guard", which allows them to block all attacks (except throws) without consuming energy. They can also follow an Ultimate Guard with an "Ultimate Counter".

  • Leo
  • Hauzer
  • Hydron (Nool in Japan)
  • Kenji (Mukuro in Japan)

Street Fighter III

The characters from Street Fighter III have a two-level Super Art gauge. Unlike in Street Fighter III, the characters in this game cannot select a Super Art before battle, but they have access to more than one Super Art (much like their Street Fighter II counterparts) as well as EX Moves, powered-up versions of their regular Special Moves. Players can also "parry" an opponent's attacks, which allows them to nullify one hit of an attack and usually slow down the attacker enough to allow the defender to make a quick counterattack.

Original character
  • Ingrid - Ingrid is the only new character featured in the game, although she was one of the new characters intended to debut in the unreleased 3D fighting game Capcom Fighting All-Stars. She uses a unique fighting style with a three-level Super Arts gauge. In her ending, it is revealed that she is the Goddess of the Sun.

Ingrid makes a return appearance in Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX for the PlayStation Portable; in that game, she is a time traveller trying to retrieve her power from M. Bison, who stole it and named it Psycho Power.

Bosses
  • Pyron (from Darkstalkers)
  • Shin Akuma (Shin Gouki in Japan) (originally from Street Fighter Alpha 2)

Soundtrack

Capcom Fighting Jam: Original Soundtrack, an officially licensed soundtrack of the game, was released on December 12, 2004 in Japan only. This album features the original music found in the game composed by Noriyuki Asakura. The first pressing of this album came with an exclusive mini disc that featured both the vocal and instrumental versions of Ingrid's Theme; 'Heat Haze' by Maiko Kubo. The cover artwork was done by Shinkiro.

Reception

The game generally wasn't well received because all of the characters, except Ingrid, were copy-and-pasted from their respective games, where the Street Fighter II characters were taken from Capcom vs. SNK 2, but had drastically cut-down animation frames. Comparisons were instantly drawn to the similar Vs. Marvel and SNK series of games, and the gameplay of this newest fighter seemed to lack the finesse of previous games. Many series favorites such as Ken, Sagat and Morrigan were also relegated to background appearances or cameos in the endings, which did little to aid the game's popularity. The game also received criticism that certain moves that the characters originally had were not available to the player, which led to some backlash from fans of the games. The game enjoyed a brief period of competitive play in Japan, but was soon dropped from most major tournaments.

Producer Yoshinori Ono has admitted that the game was essentially a salvaged version of Capcom Fighting All-Stars, and has also stated how the crossover, mechanics, and inclusion of the various gameplay systems inherent to each series lead to balancing problems. Ono also said that he replaced another producer who had been in charge of the game's creation before leaving during the middle of its production.

References
  1. "Capcom Fighting Evolution for PlayStation 2 - GameRankings". www.gamerankings.com.
  2. "Capcom Fighting Evolution". Metacritic.
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