Pocket Fighter

"Possibly the best Capcom fighter for the Playstation"

You've seen the game before, it's probably the worst farce of a fighting game in an attempt to cash in on success that has ever been seen before. The game is Virtua Fighter Kids. In an obvious attempt to capitalize on the popularity of its Virtua Fighter series, Sega released this game, which was the exact same engine except with small-bodied, big-headed characters as the fighter. This horrid effort resulted in a stinker of a game.

Fast forward to 1998. Capcom releases Pocket Fighter, a 2D fighting game with- you guessed it- scaled down versions of favorite Street Fighter and Darkstalkers warriors. The result? Perhaps the best fighter Cpacom has released since Hyper Fighting for the SNES (or at least Alpha 2 for the Saturn). At any rate, despite its kiddie look, Pocket Fighter ranks among the top 5 Playstation fighters for numerous reasons.

First, the graphics are sharp and clean, and have a bit of an anime-crossover look (if you've played Puzzle Fighter, you know what the pint size warriors look like). Backgound stages are excellent and humorous, containing extra mini versions of fighters that didn't make the cut (Balrog, M. Bison, Dee Jay, etc.). The music is poppy and upbeat, complementing the wacky atmosphere created by the graphics. Sound effects, which include banana peel slips, electric shocks, and the "sproing" of a super jump, are clear and distinctive, raising it above the pack of carbon copy wannabes.

Control shines in Pocket Fighter as well. It has only three real functional buttons: punch, kick, and special attack (not like a hadoken, just a wacky animated move). Moves are traditional Street Fighter and Darkstalkers, making anyone who has played these games (and who really hasn't?) automatically pick it up. The controls are "like buttah"; it is no problem to pull off any move and it is very forgiving for beginners.

The character selection isn't skimpy, either. With ten characters and two "secret" (but immediately playable) players, Pocket Fighter doesn't disappoint. The entire roster includes Chun-Li, Ken, Ryu, Sakura, Zangief, Morrigan, Hsien- ko, Ibuki, Felicia, Tessa (a new, witch character- very cool and effective), and special characters Dan and Akuma. Each fighter has received slight alterations in their abilities and powers, and these revisions can be significant. Zangief, in particular benefits and becomes a more useful fighter. Ibuki is just plain nasty in the right hands and Sakura can be deadly in any hands! The character selection was dead on in most instances (everyone loves Dan) but there were some omissions that were just sacreligious! I mean, come on, how could you not have a miniature stretchy Dhalsim? Despite these minor gripes, the selection is about adequate for this type of game.

Special moves are especially intuitive. In past Street Fighters, each of the three punch/kick buttons represented a power level when special moves were used. In Pocket Fighter, the one punch/one kick system requires that a brand new (awesome) way of powering up is used. In each battle, when you hit your opponent, he/she releases three different types of colored gems that, when collected, power up a specific move. When you "level up" by collecting enough gems of a color, that color's designated attack gets stronger and stronger. It takes some time to get used to, but it adds considerable amounts of strategy to the game and is a refreshing change of pace overall. The simple controls and competitive power-upping also lends itself well to competitive play (it's incredibly easy for anyone to pick up- just ask a couple of kids from my dorm hall). Finally, the humorous elements are just great in complementing the pther solid elements of the game. Special item attacks, tap-tap-tap custom "flash combos", and running attacks also add to the fun factor of an already over-the-top game.

Pocket Fighter also suffers from one significant flaw that prevents it from getting a 9 (it's just not original enough to get a 10). The game wears a little thin after a while if your human competition dries up. There are some extra modes (Story, Test a Fighter, and a weak Customization option) that Capcom implemented to try to prevent this but it falls far short of having a great replay value. It has all the right mechanics but lacks the addictive powers of its aging big brother, Street Fighter 2 (i mean when it was first out and there were LINES to play it).

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 03/20/03