SEGA VS Capcom 2: Worlds Unite

SEGA vs. Capcom 2: Worlds Unite is a fighting video game developed and published by Mad Man Ninja Studios and Capcom. It is the second entry in the SEGA vs. Capcom series of crossover games, following the critically aclaimed SEGA VS Capcom: Worlds Collide. In this installment, players control characters from both the SEGA and Capcom universes to compete in tag team battles. Worlds Unite follows its predecessor and features two-on-two fights with a tag-based combo system, which allows players to instantly switch between their two characters to form continuous combos.

The game keeps the storytelling of the previous game, with a cinematic story mode inspired by Archie Comics' Sonic The Hedgehog series arc Worlds Unite. The plot follows the heroes of the SEGA and Capcom universes, who must work together to save their chaotic merging worlds against threats from the multiverse.

On December 3, 2020, SEGA VS Capcom 2: Worlds Unite was officially unveiled during Sony's PlayStation Experience event; its first gameplay footage debuted on the same day following the conclusion of Capcom Cup 2020. Mad Man Ninja, a programmer who had previously worked on X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, as well as other Capcom fighting games, such as Project Justice and Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, served as Unite's director.

Worlds Unite was released in December 2022 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Samsung Zeo and Microsoft Windows.

Gameplay
SEGA VS Capcom: Worlds Collide is a 2D fighting game in which players compete against each other in tag team combat using characters from both the SEGA and Capcom universes. Players must knock out the opposing team by repeatedly attacking the opponent and draining their health bar, featuring two-on-two partner battles, a similar system as presented in Worlds Collide.

Players will charge their "Hyper Combo Gauge" as their characters deal or receive damage during the fight. Players can then expend the accrued meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge to perform "Hyper Combos", cinematic attacks which deal larger amounts of damage to the opponent. Alternatively, players can sacrifice meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge to perform the newly introduced "Counter Switch" mechanic, which tags in their partner character while the opponent is attacking them. This provides players with the opportunity to counterattack and free the character trapped in the enemy's combo.

The game offers various offline and online single-player and multiplayer game modes. The offline features include Story Mode, with a cinematic story campaign; Arcade Mode, a classic arcade game experience where players fight against several AI-controlled opponents before confronting the final boss characters; Mission Mode, where players can complete tutorial missions and character-specific challenges; Training Mode, where players can practice their fighting abilities and adjust various training field parameters; Versus Player 2, where two players can battle against each other locally; Versus CPU, where players can battle solo against an AI-controlled opponent; and Collection Mode, where extras unlocked through gameplay are stored, including story cutscenes, character and stage information, concept artwork, and audio tracks. Online multiplayer includes ranked and casual matches, global leaderboards, replays, and eight-player lobbies with spectating.

Playable Characters
SEGA VS Capcom 2: Worlds Unite features a base roster of 70 playable characters, consisting of both heroes and villains in the SEGA and Capcom universes. Additional characters were also released post-launch as downloadable content (DLC). *: Available as downloadable content.

Release
To promote SEGA VS Capcom 2, special retailer-exclusive costume packs were available as pre-order bonuses. If the game was pre-ordered from GameStop, the players received the Femme Fatale Pack (Chun-Li, Morrigan, Bayonetta, Honey). Amazon offered the New Age of Heroes Costume Pack (Akuma, Vectorman, Axel Stone, Strider Hiryu), while Best Buy gave access to the Villains Costume Pack (Vergil, Reala, Dr. Robotnik, Wesker). After the game's launch, several other costume packs became available for purchase on specific dates through the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network, as the Ancient Warriors Costume Pack, consisting of Ryu, Jhon Talbain, Xavier Pendragon and Akira Yuki.

Prior to the release of the game, both Capcom and SEGA announced that the game would include reversible packaging. The front cover art featured the work of Capcom illustrator Shinkiro, while the reverse side featured the art of Archie Comics' Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante. Spaz's alternate cover featured all of the game's new characters in his own comic book style. Both pieces of art were printed on a single reversible cover for the entire first run of SEGA VS Capcom 2: Worlds Unite in North America.

Plot
In Worlds Collide, Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily were brough together by a chance meeting from across realities due to the power of a Chaos Emerald. Bonding over their high intelligence and hatred of a respective blue hero, the kindred spirits got the idea to team and put together a plan to take over both of their respective worlds. After constructing the Skull Egg Zone (a pocket dimension connecting their worlds) and the Wily Egg, the doctors used their power to alter the reality of their worlds.

On a completely altered version of Sonic's World and a time-warped version of Earth 20XX, the doctors set their plan into motion by kidnapping Sonic's friends and changing them into the Roboticized Masters, before sending them to hunt down the rest of the Chaos Emeralds, all while Sonic and Mega Man themselves were tricked into fighting eachother. Before long, the blue heroes caught on to the doctor's plans, but not long before their lackeys Metal Sonic and Bass had kidnapped Mega Man's creator and father (and Wily's former colleague) Dr. Light. The heroes ventured into the Skull Egg Zone to save and restore Sonic's roboticized friends and to rescue Dr. Light. With heroes from both worlds gathered, they proceeded to make their final assault on the Wily Egg, going up against a army of Dr. Wily's Time-Cloned Robot Master Army. The last of the Chaos Emeralds gathered, the doctors, their relationship considerably strained by this point, put into motion the final phase of their plan; to unleash the Super Genesis Wave, a powerful wave of time-bending power, and completely rewrite both worlds in their own respective image with no limitations.

The wave launched, Sonic and Mega Man recruit other heroes from different Sega and Capcom universes, including the Worlds of Alex Kidd, NiGHTS into Dreams..., Ōkami, Skies of Arcadia, Breath of Fire III, Billy Hatcher, Street Fighter, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe in their attempt to reverse the wave. Following Sonic's example, Mega Man successfully pulled off Chaos Control upon his reality, restoring it to its original place in the timeline. Sonic's attempt to restore the already extremely fragile fabric of his reality on the other hand, was disrupted by a spiteful Eggman, and their world was enveloped in a white light, thus preventing the events of Worlds Unite from happening. Despite this, Sonic, Mega Man and the doctors retain their memories of the experience, and of each other.

Reception
SEGA VS Capcom 2: Worlds Unite received positive reviews from critics, garnering aggregate scores of 88/100 and 87/100 from Metacritic for the Xbox One and PlayStation 5 versions, respectively. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2023, the game received the award for "Best Fighting Game" from the Game Critics Awards. It also earned "Best Fighting Game of E3" awards from IGN, 1UP.com, and X-Play/G4.

Prior to its release, Capcom expected to sell 2 million units of SEGA VS Capcom 2 worldwide across both platforms. The game reached number 2 in the United Kingdom PlayStation 5 sales chart, behind Call of Duty: New Black Ops. On February 28, 2022, the company announced that it had shipped more than 2 million copies of the game a month and a half after its debut. In response to reaching the milestone, Capcom dubbed SEGA VS Capcom 2 a commercial success. As of June 2022, Worlds Unite has sold 2.8 million units.