Groove System FAQ ver 1.2A

Game:	         Capcom versus SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
Original Date:   17 October 2000
Revision Date:   09 November 2000
By:              Doc Holliday
E-Mail:          Shingohan@planetnamek.org

Heh! This is only my second FAQ - you know the drill, any mistakes please e-mail me & i'll sort
them out in the next revision which is planned in about a week (cos by then I normally get
enough e-mails for it to be worth it to add some new stuff!)

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CONTENTS
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This is the info included in the FAQ. If you want in-depth information about the grooves, then
read the whole FAQ. If you just wanna know which groove is best for you, then go straight to the
bottom.

1.1       THE GROOVE SYSTEM

1.2       INDIVIDUAL TRAITS OF THE GROOVES
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              ----- 1.21  THE CAPCOM GROOVE
              |
              |
              ----- 1.22  THE SNK GROOVE

1.3       WHICH GROOVE IS BEST?

1.4       THE FINAL VERDICT
              |
              |
              ----- 1.41  NOT SO QUICK TIPS

1.5       STUFF YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE GROOVE SELECTION

1.6       CREDITS & REVISION HISTORY

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1.1  THE GROOVE SYSTEM
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Ok, I'm not a great fan of the groove system. I like the good old "advanced bar" in KOF (from
'97 onwards). I also like the Alpha/Zero style bar, so-called the 'Capcom' Groove. Extra mode
just has never appealed to me. However SNK groove does have its advantages.

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1.2  INDIVIDUAL TRAITS OF THE GROOVES
================================================================================================

This section will give you all the different things you get with each groove, from unlimited
level 1's, to not having level 2's.

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1.21  THE CAPCOM GROOVE
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OK, the Alpha/Zero style bar. This is a level bar with a level 3 maximum. It allows you to build
your bar during the fight by doing all sorts of different stuff - invovling specials, combos,
blocking and the odd retaliatory strikes and counters. As you fight, you can store the 'energy'
you build anywhere from 1 gauge to the full level 3 max. One thing this groove has that the SNK
groove doesn't is that you can store 2 levels of super art energy, and then unleash with a level
2 super move - which just isnt possible with the SNK groove style of play. Also, to perform a
level 3, you don't have to be flashing in the RED health, you can do it as long as you have a
level 3 in your gauge bar. Finally, it allows you to pass your 'energy' over to the next player
so if you build a level 3 and forget to use it or something, then your next character will be
able to sorta yoink the energy and start with a level three instead of an empty bar (unless of
course the character that just died was your last ^o^ )

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1.22  THE SNK GROOVE
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Extra style play from the creators of KOF! It works charging your bar, until it is maxed. In this
form, you have a certain amount of time to do a level 1 super until the bar uncharges, and then
you'll have to charge it again. If you do a super while having a max bar, then the bar is
automatically fully drained. Maxing your bar requires a little bit of time and effort on your
part. You can't just fight your way to acheiving it. You need to use the charge-up move that is
added to all the characters in your team. This will charge your bar quite quickly, but leaves
you vunerable to attack. However, recovery time after coming out of a charge is biasedly fast,
meaning that you can pretty much block anything coming your way. In this mode, you don't have
level 2's, and level 3's are only available when your health bar is flashing RED. Also, to
perform the level 3 when 'in the red', you also need a max bar! The great thing however, is that
when you are 'in the red' you have unlimited level 1's, meaning that you have unlimited
comboability potential - you can stretch the engine of the game to as far as it goes!

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1.3  WHICH GROOVE IS THE BEST?
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This section will detail information on tactics to build your bar and which style of play you
should use. The final verdict section after this one justs gives a kinda quicker version of this.
Read this section only if you want some in-depth detail.

Well, it depends (everyone in the room thinks "oh god, this punk is gonna give one of those its
not which groove you are, it's how you play the game kinda speechs" - well your right!). Loadsa
people complained when they found out how slowly Capcom groove builds up, and how advantegous it
is when your almost dead in SNK groove, and then you come out with about 5 million level 1
supers. Being an SNK fan, I preferred SNK groove immediately. If you want a match that has supers
coming at you left right and centre, then this is the groove for you. It allows you to go in,
do some damage, jump back, charge, go back in, do some damage, jump back, charge .....(this
continues until either one person dies, or retalitates with a level three!). Even my friends,
sworn to Capcom, decided that it was just stupid not choosing SNK groove, because it wipes the
floor with Capcom groove. But after playing for a little bit of time, I feel that the game loses
it's substance. Both characters continue with the same pattern described above. This slows down
the game play to a crawl. And the infinite level 1's? Well, I bet we all know someone who is just
gonna take the piss with them, and do about 100 super hadoukens in a row (I know cos I have done
it when really in trouble) which guard breaks the other guy so he/she gets hit. Using the method
above, you have about a 3-5 second gaps in the matches. Terrible!
This is why I slowly began to use Capcom groove. It may build up slow, but after playing with it
for a while, I realized how to gain the most from the groove. It builds a lot faster when you
block and counter opponents. And I mean VERY much faster. You can build a level 3 in a match 
almost as quick as Alpha/Zero, and because your fighting throughout, you are:

A - not giving your opponent a chance to charge their bar with SNK
B - charging your bar well quick!

I've found the slowest matchs are those that involve an SNK team versus another SNK team. The
most fun and fast are the Capcom versus SNK, and the decent speed ones are Capcom versus Capcom.

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1.4  THE FINAL VERDICT
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Here it is -

Capcom Groove - good for players that like countering and going crazy at close range with combos!

SNK Groove - good for those who go in, do damages, come out and charge. Makes for a more tactical
             game rather than an all out scrap.

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1.41  NOT SO QUICK TIPS
================================================================================================

Here are some quick tips on building your bar in either Capcom or SNK groove -

Capcom Groove  - Try and balance the amount of moves that you use against someone else to the
                 amount of moves you block. Be cocky, and make the other guy attack you! Forget
                 about block damage as it's pretty none existant in this game - blocking the
                 other person's moves builds your bar up quicker than you could do it yourself
                 and also lets the other person get too overconfident (Quote: Rule #6 Ryu FAQ
                 by Darth states "NEVER! Become OVERCONFIDENT and never UNDERESTIMATE your
                 opponent even if you constantly batter them never get too cocky" (I'm sorry on
                 my mate's behalf on his terrible gammer!:p (Maybe next time Hazzard)) - the
                 guy is fundementally right - so letting your opponent overestimate you is one
                 of the best ways to throw him off guard - he thinks he's got you in a corner,
                 but really, your using him to build your bar so you can launch a counter-attack!
               - Remember you have the luxury of choosing the strength of the super, don't always
                 just go for the level 3 cos you've got it, 3 well timed level ones can be more
                 powerful than one level 3 that misses and means your bar will need refilling.
                 Also, suprise your SNK loving or countering opponent with a level 2 super -
                 Kyo's especially catches some people off guard as it attacks in three different
                 stages - the punch, the shoulder barge and into the dragon. A countering opp.
                 who likes SNK groove will always expect either just the punch, or the whole
                 thing, and this is where you can suprise him. Go for a level 2, and even if he
                 blocks the punch and tries for a counter super/special, he'll get a flaming
                 shoulder in his face!
               - "It doesn't matter" in the words of the ROCK - use your punch kick combos even
                 if your opponent blocks them! Just as long as they don't have much recovery time
                 finish them even if your opponent has blocked the intializing hit. This does two
                 things - if you vary stopping them and finishing them, then it'll catch your opp
                 off guard - he/she may stop blocking and start a counter attack because they
                 don't expect you to continue, in which case you can continue the combo for some
                 nice hits, albeit lose a few hits cos he blocked the first one. Second, your bar
                 will still continue to build as long as your making physical contact with the
                 other player. A good combo for building your bar with any character is jump in
                 with a light kick, go straight into a crouch in front of your opponent, and then
                 either a light kick twice, then a sweep (bad recovery) or a light kick, light
                 punch combo. Notice I use the word light a lot - this is because faster recovery
                 with very little difference in bar building!

SNK Groove     - For you dudes, there is only really one tactic, get the opponent into a combo -
                 charge - get them into another combo - charge - yet again another combo - charge
                 This will always work! As long as your reflexes are fast enough, you should be
                 able to block anything thats coming to you!
               - One thing my mate Hazzard constantly used to do on me is to charge your bar
                 until it's just on the fringe of being Maxed Out (DeeJay!DeeJay!DeeJay! The
                 crowed of onlookers cheered - no he ain't in this game!!! ^o^) and as soon as
                 your opponent hits you, your bar will max out and he'll be right next to you,
                 giving him something to worry about. You could also try being almost in red 
                 flashing mode, and almost maxed out, that'll not only give you a max bar, but
                 also level 3 super power! (Isn't that from Sailor Moon? You know - Moon Healing
                 Power? Guess not!)

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1.5  STUFF YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT GROOVE SELECTION
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Right - here it is:

End boss          - "End boss - Ok, this is how it works... is not the groove you are in, but the 
                    first character you selected... in adition to how many caracters do you have
                    from either CAPCOM or SNK. If there are more SNKs, you fight Bison, more 
                    CAPCOMs, you fight geese...if they are the same number, it is the first 
                    character you choosed the one that counts." - yoinked straight from an e-mail
                    sent to me by Jacinto - thankx

Art of your dudes - you may not have noticed, but selecting different grooves gives you 
                    different art's of the characters, Capcom groove having old style and SNK 
                    groove having 3D style art's.

Who drew the art  - There is a little controversy about this now. I am going to stick with what
                    I think is right - Capcom drew their own art, SNK drew their own art. 
                    "SNK groove drawings seem to resemble poster art and Capcom groove drawings 
                    seem to be a cross between SF3 and Alpha series art" - also yoinked from 
                    Jacinto

Capcom are punks  - Capcom groove has one undocumented advantage to counter the SNK groove's
                    infinite supers thing (very technical ain't i?). Choosing Capcom groove 
                    will, if anyone has noticed, give your moves more priority over SNK groove 
                    character moves. Not everything is priotised - but most of the moves are. 
                    Also, some lose priority (i.e. EX Kyo's jump forward double kicky thing 
                    isn't prioritised).

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525
1.6  CREDITS & REVISION HISTORY
525150594847464544434241404938373635343332313039282726252423222120291817161514131211101987654321

(THERE IS A PRIZE IF YOU CAN GUESS WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE! YOU GET A CONGRATULATIONS FROM ME!
DOESN'T THAT JUST MAKE YOU WANT TO RACK YOUR BRAINS? AND YES - THERE DEFINATELY IS SOMETHING
SPECIAL ABOUT THE NUMBERS - THEY AREN'T JUST RANDOM DIGITS)

I'm sure loadsa you people got what the numbers above are - didn't you? well plz e-mail me again
if you did before, cos my email address was wrong before - cheers

1st place for person who got what the numbers were was:

JACINTO !!! You receive my undying congratulations!!!

You can still be second, third etc all the way to tenth place - enter now!

Thanks goes to.....

Lisaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh......the orochi awaits you babe!
Michelle: for convincing me to write an FAQ about grooves instead of Ferrari 355, which
          would have taken forever! Cheers babe!
Hazzard: teaching me the ways of Capcom (Your sorta like a Mr.Miagi! Wax on Wax off - LOL)
         also, used your SNK technique - cheers & a quote from your FAQ, cheers -
         by the way - Gill FAQ 90% complete & Also I WILL BEAT YOU AT CAP SNK!!!
         "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!"
Sonju:   for showing me how slow an SNK groove game can be - Used a couple of your tacs for
         section 4.1 - cheers
Mr. Keddy: letting me get away with writing this FAQ in a business lesson (thats why my gammer
           is kinda really good (apart from near the end when I needed to rush)
Agey Da Dennis: for getting me da game - gotta actually play you at that still as well
Jacinto: for info on end boss select and capcom/snk art - hope I can play you some day

Revisions:

From 1.0A to 1.0B

# Lots of little niggles sorted out - however, never had a general release so you'll never know
  exactly what was changed!

From 1.0B to 1.1A

# More niggles changed, few things revised - not much really - also never had general release

From 1.1A to 1.1B

# Finally, noticable changes and therefore worth a general release! Changes are as follows:
# E-mail address changed cos it's wrong - please re-email me if you sent me a msg - thankx
# Section 1.5 changed end boss selection - plz e-mail if anyone knows why
# Added Section 1.41 Quick Tips
# Decided that on the size of it, section 4.1 should be renamed so it was renamed to...
  "Not so Quick Tips"

From 1.1B to 1.2A

# Changed "End-Boss select" info
# Changed "who drew the arts" info
# Added "winner" for Random Number thingy

This document is copyright Nav Dhanjal 2000 (c)

Laterz