Pocket Fighter Review


For PlayStation

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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