Rating: Average Pocket Fighter is good for a few laughs, but it's not the game to play if you're looking for a serious and long-lasting fighting game. This game takes popular characters from Street Fighter and DarkStalkers and turns them into spunky, oddly-shaped children (although Zangief still sports a full beard and Chun Li still has a nice set of... eyes). This is an interesting concept, but not the most original idea in the world. Am I the only one who remembers Virtua Fighter Kids? First of all, what's with Pocket Fighter's "Teen" rating? I know it is a fighting game, but it has a cutesy and generally super-happy mood, with nowhere near the amount of violence found in Saturday morning cartoons that are appropriate for children of all ages. What kind of idiot ratings board could look at Pocket Fighter and say "This is not appropriate for a 12-year- old"? Hardcore Capcom fanatics will be delighted by the colorful backgrounds, in which many Capcom characters make cameos, but those same hardcore Capcom fans will be dismayed by the three-button control system, which replaces the traditional Capcom six-button layout. There is also a sizable amount of loading time and the music is not up to Capcom's usual standards, but at least Capcom didn't completely botch the arcade-to-PlayStation conversion like they did with X-Men vs. Street Fighter. In the Edit Fighter mode, you answer a series of questions to determine your fighter's personality, questions like "What would you do if you found $20 on the street?" After answering these questions, a screen appears with an analysis of your newly-created fighter, although the logic is often mind-boggling how they could up with far-reaching personality traits from seemingly unrelated questions. And when you actually do create your fighter, you can't even control it; you can only watch it fight the computer. Lame! The rest of the game is just a matter of taste. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there who love Pocket Fighter, and I'm sure that there are also plenty of people who hate it. The entire experience has a distinctly Japanese feel to it, and whether you like it or not is a matter of taste. I laughed at some funny special moves (like Ken jumping on a kicking donkey and Morrigan changing into a nurse's outfit and poking you with a giant needle), but those looking for a more serious, realistic fight will be disappointed. The gameplay is also very chaotic with lots of gems to collect in addition to beating your opponent, which some people will enjoy and some people won't. Like I said, it's just a matter of personal taste. Personally, I just couldn't get into Pocket Fighter like I got into some classic Capcom fighting games in the past, like Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, and Street Fighter Alpha 1.
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