Pocket Fighter for PlayStation 1

After huge success with the Street Fighter 2 series, and on the heels of the phenomenal cult hit Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, the geniuses at Capcom combined the two to form Voltron.

Oh wait, no, that's not it. The combined the two to make "Super Gem Fighter", which made its way over here and was re-dubbed "Pocket Fighter". (It was Puff Daddy's idea to just take an old game, and give it a new bassline, and rename it.)

The concept is simple. Beat down the other player. Instead of having 6 buttons, (Jab, Strong, Fierce punches, and Short, Forward, and Roundhouse kicks) in typical Street Fighter II fashion, there are only 3 now, Punch, Kick, and Special.

Most of the combos are donne by tapping a sequence of buttons, like Punch+Punch+Punch+Punch+Punch. It's pretty darn simple, so even the most novice of fighters can pull something off that will make the crowd burst out laughing.

As the characters get into their combos, they'll go into various animations where they'll change into different outfits and Capcom characters. Do a Punch+Punch+Kick with Chun-Li, and she'll end up in this schoolgirl outfit trying to give your character a love letter. Dan will get on a stage and sing karaoke in an Elvis outfit in one of his combos, and Zangief in SD form just makes you laugh as a matter of principle.

As you beat the stuffing out of the opposing player, gems of various colors will fly out. They increase the power of your attacks, displayed as a bar at the bottom of the screen. For example, at level one of your special, your fireball will look like it did in the original Street Fighter II, and a same size fireball will cancel it. Pick enough of the corresponding gems, and it'll turn your fireball the size of the fireballs in the X-Men vs. Street Fighter incarnations of the game, and it'll go right through the standard fireball.

Occasionally, a guy on a cloud will swing by, and he drops little goodies if you hit him, or hit your opponent into him. I generally just save the little balls, but regaining your health with food is always a good thing.

Watch the backgrounds on the different levels, to see some of your other favorite SF and Capcom characters hanging out. This game's hilarious, and I recommend anyone who liked either Street Fighter or Puzzle Fighter to pik this one up. Shouldn't hurt your "Pocket" book much.