Gaming Target - Dreamcast: Power Stone 2

Written by Thomas Harding on August 30, 2000

Review: Why does that kid look like Harry Potter?

Here is little story to make you feel special. Once upon a time in March of 1999 I was in a nice little software store and I came across a Japanese Dreamcast hooked up with a little game that was sweeping across the nation like a bad strain of genital warts: Power Stone. I'll be honest; the game was the one thing that got me into buying a Dreamcast. So when I heard Capcom talking sequel, I practically killed a mule to want to play it. Fortunately for that mule, I played it without any murder, and it was good...

The visuals are slightly improved one could say, some of the characters look smoother, and I didn't see a bit of slowdown or choppiness the whole time I was playing. The only thing that I find kind of annoying is the fact that the camera has been pulled farther out. Sure, this is a good thing in most cases, as you can see more of the crap on screen and it's a lot easier to play on four-player. Still, the view is a little too scooted back for my tastes. Does this change my experience? No. Does it make me pissed off? Not really. Does it ruin the game? Of course not.

The audio is just awesome on PStone2. You got your good sound effects, your good music, and above all, a hell of a lot more voice acting. You heard me, as there are warnings in each level, there are also many things explaining all of them. They are acted out pretty well by a guy who sounds a lot like the dude from Sonic Adventure. Is he? I can't be sure. Do I care? Of course not.

Your gameplay on Powerstone is a mixed bag. You've got your basic fighting game combos and etc. with a one-button degree, the whole free movement and object grabbing deal, and in the middle of nearly every level, a minigame. Now, because it's fairly obvious, the little minigames are the most interesting parts. Some of them are quite small and are really just scenery and area changes, like the whole salmon swimming deal at the ship level and the elevator at the tech level. But then there are the incredible ones, like the temple and airship. Halfway through the temple level, the floor collapses, and in a side-scrolling ode to Indiana Jones, everyone has to run like hell from a gigantic rock while dodging blocks, picking up items, setting traps, and above all, whipping each others' asses.

At the airship level, which seems to be the true fan favorite of the game, you start fighting on a very MegaMan Legends-esque airship, which after a while blows the hell up. You then have a sequence where you are falling out of the sky moving around picking up items and popping a couple of shots on your opponents in the process before hitting the ground and loosing some energy. Definitely a killer experience. On the fighting game side of things, not much has changed, except the control is a little stiffer and less stoppable for some characters like Ryoma. The one major difference is the appearance of four more Power Stones allowing more than one character to be whacked out in super armor at once. And contrary to what many OTHER reviewers may make you think, If you make a good connection with two Super Moves, and whip some ass along the way, you can still win. So the emphasis on the stones is still there.

Power Stone 2 features four new characters including a nerdy little boy, an evil chef, an old fashioned lady, and a bounty hunter cowboy dude. Eight new arenas, the original eight fighters from the original, new items such as health, tanks, and megaphones (I'm not kidding), up to four players going at it at once, and above all, a gigantic can of ecstatic whoop ass.

One could say the replay is nada in Power Stone 2 after beating the game, but after playing it for only a small while, I could see that it is very much like the original: you haven't truly beat it until you've beat it with everyone. Also if bosses like Kraken and Valgia are still around, you won't be able to do that for a while. Plus you've got up to four players on multiplayer, and that will keep you busy for a long, long time.