The “P” in Capcom vs. SNK 2’s P-Groove certainly does not stand for “popular” as this option is viewed as one of the weakest of the game’s six Groove approaches. As such we don’t often see its main benefit, parrying, implemented in CVS2 gameplay.
That’s not at all the case today, however, as the fighting game community’s most creative combo maker, Desk, has produced a video showcasing perfect parry and punish sequences for every character in the game.
Players are asked to choose from a list of six benefit packages before they start a match in CVS2, and especially considering its undeniable impact on one of the most revered fighting games of all time, Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, you’d think the option to parry would be a fairly valid one in CVS2.
The reason P-Groove is seen as one of the worst options (S-Groove firmly takes last place) is because parrying in CVS2 isn’t nearly as beneficial as it is in Third Strike. Parry options are more limited here as players cannot parry out of block stun (red parry) nor do they get quite as much advantage when they successfully thwart incoming attacks.
What’s more, the maneuver naturally requires a good amount of skill to implement and guard crush meters are nerfed in P-Groove, essentially meaning you can more quickly be punished for blocking too much.
Still, we recall the heights of hype that perfect parry execution can bring (Evo Moment 37, and yes, there’s a nod to it in the video) and we get to see what successful parries on all supers in the game look like here, thanks to Desk.
Some are more elaborate than others, as parrying supers from characters like Dan or Ryo is naturally a little more bland than parrying ones from the likes of characters like Morrigan or
Timestamps:
0:00 – Vs Athena
0:27 – Vs Ryo
0:56 – Vs Chun Li
1:12 – Vs Rugal
1:48 – Vs Rolento
2:11 – Vs Honda
2:24 – Vs Joe
2:55 – Vs Boxer
3:19 – Vs Ryu
3:47 – Vs Ken
4:18 – Vs Kim
4:48 – Vs Dictator
5:11 – Vs Guile
5:40 – Vs Haohmaru
6:02 – Vs Raiden
6:21 – Vs Maki
6:48 – Vs Sakura
7:15 – Vs Rock
7:47 – Vs Eagle
8:12 – Vs Blanka
8:40 – Vs Sagat
9:11 – Vs Claw
9:37 – Vs Yun
10:07 – Vs Yamazak
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10:16 – Vs Change
10:34 – Vs Iori
10:48 – Vs Mai
11:10 – Vs Nakoruru
11:26 – Vs Cammy
11:50 – Vs Hibiki
12:14 – Vs Benimaru
12:32 – Vs Akuma
12:56 – Vs Geese
13:14 – Vs Terry
13:32 – Vs Morrigan
14:09 – Vs Kyosuke
14:43 – Vs Dhalsim
15:07 – Vs Dan
15:33 – Vs Yuri
15:56 – Vs Kyo
16:23 – Vs King
16:40 – Vs Evil Ryu