Pocket Fighter

Pocket Fighter also known as Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix is a very simple yet addictive fighter that really impresses with quirkiness and animations. First released in 1997 for the CPSII arcade systems and later ported in North America to the PS1, Pocket Fighter is an interesting addition to Capcom's stable of great fighting games. The version I played for review was the arcade version ported onto the Capcom Fighting Collection for the PS4.

GAMEPLAY/INNOVATION/FUN: (40/50)

Pocket Fighter is a game that was definitely lost in the shuffle of great arcade fighters in the late 90's, and it is a shame because I think this game is really just a blast to play while offering a ton of fan service to Capcom/Street Fighter/Darkstalkers. The biggest flaw to the game is that it is a very overly simplified street fighter. The gameplay is really basic while using a 4 button control scheme. The basic attacks are a kick, punch, special, and taunt. Special moves are here just like in street fighter with most moves being quarter circle and "shoryuken" type moves. Pocket Fighter even simplifies super moves by allowing single control stick motions in combination with the special button. To add on top of this there is a auto combo system called flash combos where a few button presses will continue a basic combo. The flash combos are really the main attacks to use in this game. Despite the simplicity Pocket Fighter is an absolute blast to play, and I found myself addicted to beating the game with every character.

The big innovation/gameplay quirk to Pocket Fighter is the gems and gauge system. Every time a character is hit or moves occur on screen gems are dropped straight out of Puzzle Fighter, the game in which most of this game is based on. The goal is to collect the falling gems and build up your gem gauges. The gem gauges level up, and determine how powerful the special move attacks are. For example if you collect red gems and get the red gauge to level 3 Ryu's hadoken will be much more powerful than a standard one. The special move inputs are shown on the gauge as well, so you know which move you are leveling up. This is a very interesting system and adds to the overall appeal and over-the-topness of Pocket Fighter. You can also collect food items that will increase your health! There is also an orb system in Pocket Fighter that I had some trouble figuring out, but essentially each fighter starts with an element orb and can throw it onto the battlefield for an effect such as freezing or stunning the opponent. I didn't find this too useful.

Pocket Fighter takes 12 playable characters from the worlds of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers, with one character from the lesser known game Red Earth. All of the stables are here including Ryu, Ken, Felicia, Morrigan, and Hsien-Ko. Tessa is the one character from Red Earth, and is arguably my favorite character to play in the games. Her moves just all look so awesome and her attacks/combos are very fast. Tier wise I feel all of the characters are pretty balanced other than Zangeif, who has really strong attacks (even basics) but is the hardest character to play.

STORY/NARRATIVE/DESIGN: (36/40)

Pocket Fighter really shines in its overall design, animation, and just fun quirky style. There is not much story here, but what is here is pretty cool and they do a good job combining the characters and universe of multiple games. Each character gets their own story scene, with one other character involved which ends up being the final fight in the sequence. The story is presented as static backgrounds with a tiny bit of dialogue.

The overall atmosphere and silliness of Pocket Fighter really is amazing and this game design just made playing the game so much fun. During the previously mentioned flash combos characters will transform into different outfits and do little quirky things that really adds to the charm of the game. For instance, Felicia will turn into Mega Man at some points and Chun-Li will morph into Jill from Resident Evil. The whole game and atmosphere/design is just huge Capcom fan service. The stages and backgrounds also contribute to the overall style as well with character cameos everyone. One stage finds Cammy and E-Honda sitting at a bar being served by a Dancing Dee Jay. This scene just made me laugh out loud, and simply this game just makes me smile. Zangeif even has a super comical move that sees him dancing like a Russian soldier and kicking his opponent into oblivion. Simply put the design of Pocket Fighter makes this game just really fun!

LASTING APPEAL/REPLAYABILITY/VALUE: (25/30)

Pocket Fighter does not have much going on in terms of game modes or ways to play. The only real mode is arcade mode (this is the arcade version so that is usually the case), and in the Capcom Collection online play is here, but not many people are playing. I played through the arcade mode with all 12 characters in about 5-6 HRS of gameplay, and in reality that is perfectly fine with me. Pocket Fighter is a game that I will pick up again and add to my list of games that are worth playing again every so often. The gameplay and style is just fun enough to make me want to play it again in the future. I am looking forward to picking up the PS1 version as the only NA released version to add to my collection. Pocket Fighter is just a fun simple game that holds up well.

GRAPHICS/VISUALS/TECHNICALS: (20/20)

I will not lie and will say that Pocket Fighter achieves a perfect score in this department based on how cool and how good the animations look both in the stages and during the fights. It doesn't do anything ground breaking in the graphical department, but man those animations and visuals are just a treat to witness.

SOUND DESIGN: (8/10)

The sound design of Pocket Fighter is pretty similar to most Capcom fighting/arcade games, lots of Japanese voices grunting and whelping. The music is okay but nothing super amazing, and the sound effects are par for the course as well. The audio and sound design just does an efficient job here.

OVERALL: (129/150)(86/100)=9.0 Superb

Pocket Fighter is just a quirky extremely fun to play fighting game that has really good and pleasing visual appeal. In my opinion the game would score even higher if the fighting system was a little more complex and more like a traditional Street Fighter or Versus game. I recommend that fans of the fighting genre as well as people looking for a quick fun game to play check out Pocket Fighter. I think the game is worth your time!