Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix
| Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix | |
|---|---|
 Sales flyer of Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix. The PlayStation version was released in North America and the PAL region under the original Japanese title Pocket Fighter. | |
| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, WonderSwan, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 (Street Fighter Alpha Anthology) |
| Release date(s) |
Arcade Saturn
WonderSwan
PlayStation PlayStation 2 (a part of Street Fighter Alpha Anthology) |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Cabinet | Standard |
| Arcade system | CPS-2 |
| Display | Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors |
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, released in Japan as Pocket Fighter (Japanese: ポケットファイター), is a fighting video game released by Capcom in 1997 for the CPS II arcade system. It was ported to the PlayStation (which retained the Pocket Fighter title for its American and European release), Sega Saturn, and WonderSwan, as well as PlayStation 2 as part of the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology.
The game uses the same super deformed character designs previously used in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a puzzle game by Capcom featuring their fighting game characters. The roster includes characters from Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Darkstalkers, Rival Schools: United by Fate, Street Fighter III, and the CPS III arcade game Red Earth. It also features many cameos from various Capcom games scattered in the background of the stages, such as Balrog, Demitri, etc.
Gameplay
In addition to the standard fighting, there are various gems the player can collect during matches to power up their character (based on Red Earth), as well as elemental orbs which can be thrown to the opponent in a variety of angles (visually based on elemental hits in Darkstalkers), which may affect the opponent (turn into stone, freeze, etc.) Each character starts each match with one of these (Tessa, for example, always starts with the ice orb).
There are two bars and three sub-bars in the interface. The two main bars are the life bar and the super bar, the first indicates the character's health and the second their ability to perform "Mighty Combos". The Mighty Combo gauge itself can be filled up to 9 stocks. Each Mighty Combo has a level assigned to it, which determines how many "Mighty Combo" gauges it will need.
The three sub-bars at the bottom corners of the screen displays the level of three of the character's special moves. Each character has at least three special moves, as shown in the sub-bars, and each of these corresponds to a color. Some characters have one or two additional Special Moves that aren't affected by sub-bars. Each time an attack connects to an opponent, gems pop out of him or her, and which can then be taken to power up the corresponding special moves.
There are four buttons: Punch, Kick, Special, and Taunt. The Special button performs a chargeable move that cannot be blocked and upon impact drops gems in the opponent's possession. More gems will be dropped depending on how much the Special attack is charged. Holding Down, Forward or no direction at all when using the Special button will cause a specific gem color to drop from the enemy. Holding Back along with the Special button allows for a defense that is specific against the unblockable Special attacks. Other kinds of attacks do no damage when blocked, and unlike most 2D fighting games, this includes special moves and Mighty Combos.
Gem Fighter also features "Flash Combos", or "Costume Combos", where the player can perform a combo by pressing the Kick or Punch button after striking their opponent with the Punch button for a total of four hits. Flash Combos will usually cause a character to change into various costumes during the sequence (except for Ryu, who uses accessories for two of his Costume Combos), and perform a powerful attack in the end - this final hit is usually the hardest in the sequence to connect with. These costumes range from uniforms (such as traffic cops or schoolgirls), to swimsuits, and even cosplays of other Capcom characters. For example, Chun-Li may turn into her version of Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, while Felicia may turn into her version of Mega Man or other Darkstalkers characters not playable in the game.
The commands are also very easy compared to the Street Fighter series, thanks to Special button. By doing a motion (for example: qcf or hcf) and pressing Special Button will make a fighter perform their Mighty Combo.
Playable characters
Street Fighter characters
- Ryu - An all-around type character. He searches for Tessa who may know a new challenge for him. In his ending, she sends him to battle Hauzer for this answer.
- Ken - An all-around type character. Ken is looking for a beautiful woman to have tea with. In his ending, he eventually finds Morrigan and has tea with her...until Eliza sees through this and begins attacking Ken.
- Zangief - A power-type character. Zangief seeks Felicia to convince her to perform a concert in Russia.
- Chun-Li - A speed-type character. Chun-Li goes in search of a missing zoo animal and accidentally mistakes Felicia as the missing animal before apprehending her. At the end, she learns of a missing entertainer (Felicia) and goes out in search of her.
- Ibuki - A skill-type character. Ibuki is searching for Sakura, who might know the location of the ice cream shop in Harajuku. In her ending, she finds Guy in Harajuku and challenges him to a fight, but loses when treated to a baked potato. Ibuki is the only SFIII playable character in the game, but several others make cameos.
- Sakura - A speed-type character. Sakura is looking for her idol, Ryu, who agrees to train her if she can defeat him. In the end, she gets her wish during the summer.
Darkstalkers characters
- Morrigan - A skill-type character. Morrigan is jealous of Chun-Li's beauty and goes to find her to prove she is the most attractive and powerful woman. She believes that defeating her would prove it. But soon afterwards, in her ending, she discovers that Lilith is surrounded by many guys. She gets mad and returns to the castle in Makai promising revenge against her.
- Hsien-Ko (Lei-Lei in Japan) - A speed-type character. She and her sister Mei-Ling (Lin Lin in this game) are searching for Zangief, who is offering a part-time job, mainly because they are unemployed and short of money.
- Felicia - A speed-type character. Felicia searches for Ken, who has contacts in the movie industry, so she can branch out her artistic pursuits. In her ending, Ken gets her acquainted with Fei Long, who gets her a part in his latest project; however, much to her dismay, she plays the part of an enemy monster.
Red Earth characters
- Tessa (Tabasa in Japan) - A skill-type character. Tessa goes in search of a magic wand that Hsien-Ko owns. However, when she gets the magical scepter, she discovers that it belongs to Anakaris' trading company and she is, thus, transformed into a penguin. She is the only Red Earth playable character in the game, although others make cameos: Leo is sitting in Tessa's chair at her den in one of the stages; she can transform into a Hauzer-like dragon in one of her supers; she uses Mei-Ling as both a companion and human shield.
"Secret" characters
- Dan - An all-around type character. Dan is looking for students to start a new school. He finds Sakura and sees her as his first student. She leaves him after three days, however, and writes him a letter saying that she's already mastered everything he'd need to teach her and that his moves look idiotic in addition to being worthless in a fight. She ends the letter calling him a "loser" and Dan begins to cry.
- Akuma (Gouki in Japan) - A power-type character and "secret" boss character. Akuma is on the lookout for a new location to practice his skills after his island is turned into an amusement park. Hsien-Ko takes him to an abandoned graveyard in the middle of a forest, telling him that he can practice his skills on the zombies that come out at night.
Reception
In 2011, Complex ranked it as the 42nd best fighting game of all time.[1]
References
- ↑ Peter Rubin, The 50 Best Fighting Games of All Time, Complex.com, March 15, 2011.