Power Stone

The Video Game Critic (A)

Power Stone's characters are nicely rendered in Japanese anime style, and they are a likeable bunch. The one obligatory oddball is the bizarre "Mad Clown", who looks like a cross between Beetlejuice and the Mummy. Power Stone is a blast to play, and the one-player mode is as addicting as it is relentless. Any respectable Dreamcast fan should have this gem in their collection.

The Next Level (USA) (A)

What's noteworthy about this game is that there's more than one way to defeat your opponent and it's in the best interest to exploit them all. Beginners may simply feel its a mere race to the acquire the Powerstones, but be wary that many attacks when opponents are powered up can be evaded. For this reason, Powerstone does require a measurable degree of depth, and strategy! A great lineup awaits the American market as Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom will soon join this remarkable game. Undoubtedly, I forsee a bright future for Capcom; (and they said they couldn't do 3D!)

Video Games (4 out of 4)

Power Stone könnte fur das Genre ein ähnlicher Initialzünder werden, wie es Street Fighter II gewesen ist. Man kann fast sicher sein, daß dieses Gameplay-Konzept in Zukunft in ähnlicher Form dutzendfach kopiert werden wird. Lediglich die mickrige Anzahl von acht Kämpfern (plus zwei Bossen) gibt Anlaß zur Kritik - technisch ist das Spiel nahezu perfekt. PS (nein, nicht PlayStation!) muß man einfach gespielt haben!

Computer and Video Games (CVG) ( )

An essential game for Dreamcast. Without a doubt. Though it looks confusing to begin with, the benefits of sticking with it are worth your while. It will blow anyone away who sees it. Your mates will be eating humble pie unless they own a Dreamcast.

Consoles Plus (93 out of 100)

Fun, révolutionnaire, recherché, Power Stone est sûrement le jeu de Capcom le plus original depuis longtemps.

NowGamer (9.2 out of 10)

Capcom decided to take a new direction with a beat-’em-up, we sit up and listen… so should you. This game is truly wondrous.

Adrenaline Vault, The (AVault) ( )

Home console system, arcade machine, or whatever platform you’re talking about, fighting games just don’t get much better than this. Watching your first few battles is a truly memorable experience, not that you’ll be likely to forget this title anytime soon, as it’s a definite keeper. Playing alone is a satisfying experience and enjoying it with friends is truly divine, as it offers the sort of fast, destructive, variable and instantly rewarding action that most console fans crave. The bottom line is if you’re a current or potential Dreamcast owner, PowerStone is a must-have game.

Planet Dreamcast (9 out of 10)

Deep fighting games that deliver a truly enjoyable experience are a rare breed. Capcom shows its prowess in the genre as well as the power of the Dreamcast in Power Stone. Even if you don't like traditional fighters, give Power Stone a chance. It's uniqueness, versatility, and charm are enough to win over even the most jaded of gamers.

Gamereactor (Denmark) (9 out of 10)

De første ti minutter er med stor sikkerhed en pinsel for de fleste, når man sætter sig ned for at spille Powerstone. Mange vil utvivlsomt lede efter block-knappen, andre vil undre sig over at man kan løbe overalt og at der ligger våben på banen. Det er ikke før efter et par timer at man forstår hvad Capcom egentlig har prøvet på, Og så rammer det én som et lyn fra en klar himmel. Dette er det mest revolutio-nerende Beat æem up spil i mange år. Square prøvede at gøre det samme på Playstation med Ergheiz, men hvor de fejlede, sejrer Capcom stort. Powerstone er gennemført og nytænkende.

IGN (8.7 out of 10)

PowerStone is deceiving, too. It's not the deepest fighter ever, but it's by no means shallow. The depth isn't in the super moves or the hand-to-hand combat. It's in the timing and variety of attacks. Spin around a pole and jump attack into your opponent, and pick up a flame thrower to finish him or her off. Or just throw chairs at him all day. That'll work. This game has been well tested; it's professionally refined in most every way, and you can see that in the little details. The levels with animated backgrounds and interactive areas are especially noticeable. Play through to the one with the meat grinder, the pirate ship, or the breakable windows, and you'll see what I mean. For any true fighting fan, PowerStone is a must-have Dreamcast game. Go get it.

Super Play (Sweden) (85 out of 100)

Givetvis innehåller Power Stone tonvis av Kinderägg i form av dolda karaktärer, banor, vapen och spelformer som blir tillgängliga vartefter man plockar på sig flera av maktstenarna. Ett av demer udda inslagen är till exempel ett Versus Mode där två spelare kan mötas i förstapersonsperspektiv. Givetvis i princip ospelbart men ändå kul. Man kan också förvandla spelets tre bossar till spelbara karaktärer och hitta mängder med artwork, lyssna på soundtracket och annat godis. Kopplingen till bonusspel och extra inslag via VMU-enheten ger hela spelet lite extra krydda. Och låter oss dessutom få en försmak av alla de nya möjligheter som öppnas med hjälp av VMS och Internetuppkoppling. Det här är bara början.

Video Games (85 out of 100)

(PAL version)
Unsere Verbeugung - Power Stone spielt sich so erfrischend leicht und bietet so viele Möglichkeiten, dass jede Runde von neuem Spaß macht: Soll ich den Edelsteinen nachrennen, mir lieber die Panzerfaust schnappen, ein bisschen mit Stage-Inventar umherschmeißen, mich auf das Dach in Lauerstellung begeben etc. Die einzelnen Super-Moves wurden technisch perfekt mit schönen Kamerawinkeln, viel bunten Lichteffekten und krachendem Sound in Szene gesetzt. Einzig der mit acht Leuten magere Charakterauswahlscreen passt nicht so ins glänzende Gesamtbild - typische Capcom-Update-Politik.

Mega Fun (83 out of 100)

Wow, was die Softwareschmied Capcom mit Powerstone auf die Beine gestellt hat, kann sich wirklich sehen lassen. Dieses Beat 'em Up weicht deutlich vom Mainstream ab und bietet jede Menge Features. Auch wenn häufig etwas Hektik aufkommt und das Ganze etwas unübersichtlich wird, bleibt Powerstone jederzeit voll spielbar und vor allem zu Zweit riesig Spaß. Grafisch holt Powerstone fast alles aus Segas neuer Vorzeigekonsole heraus. Die geniale Optik überflügelt beinahe das spielerische Erlebnis und rundet das Vergnügen nach oben ab.

Power Unlimited (8.2 out of 10)

Een leuke, originele, ongecompliceerde beat 'em up met een flinterdun verhaaltje. Misschien niet al te lang houdbaar, maar reken maar dat Power Stone je zal laten zweten.

SEGA-Portal.de (8 out of 10)

Trotz seines Spielwitzes konnte mich Power Stone nicht so ganz überzeugen. Für eine kurze Runde zwischendurch reicht der Titel dank der hitzigen Action zwar immer, nur über längere Zeit sind mir die Kämpfe ein wenig zu unausgegoren. Wenn der Gegner sich kurz hintereinander in eine Killermaschine verwandelt, fängts einfach an zu nerven. Enttäuschend ist ebenfalls der geringe Umfang. Die tolle Effekte und Sounds lassen allerdings etwas über dieses Manko hinwegtrösten. Und überhaupt ist eine Session Power Stone eine gute Abwechslung gegenüber den üblichen Prügelspielen.

Jeuxvideo.com (16 out of 20)

Epileptiques s'abstenir ! Power Stone est comme une petite bombe atomique qui exploserait en permanence ! Ca pète vraiment de partout... un peu trop peut-être car la maniabilité s'en ressent, et la caméra n'arrange rien. Pour le reste ? Ben c'est de la Dreamcast, messieurs - dames ! :o)

Defunct Games (80 out of 100)

The game is a bit short, and not real full of extras ... but what is here is amazing. The control is tight and the mixture of traditional fighting and weapon based fighting is a nice twist. The game feels rushed a little but, but you'll never notice it when you're playing two-players. However, Power Stone's biggest feat was being a fighting game in the land of Soul Calibur, and yet being completely unique at the same time. No question about it, Power Stone is fantastic.

GameGenie ( )

Well done, well done. This is most impressive with so many new things being offered to the fighter in the 3-D arena. Characters always had to rely on individual special moves to be quickly executed with a certain combination on the controller. Now, they give you guns and park benches. How nice is that? Very nice. I would recommend this game to anyone who looking for a fighting game. Why not try one of the first games of the new genre of 3-D fighting.

All Game Guide ( )

The only real problem with Power Stone, aside from the emphasis on evading attacks by jumping around the room, is the lack of characters -- a total of ten are playable after unlocking the bosses, which seems too small a number compared to other fighting games. It also would have been great if the developers doubled the size of the playing field and offered four-player simultaneous action for some truly intense battles. Other than these minor issues, Power Stone shines brightly in a genre filled with so many ordinary titles.

Revista Oficial Dreamcast (8 out of 10)

Éste es un juego que quizá no ha llamado mucho la atención, pero realmente merece la pena.

TigerChainsaw (8 out of 10)

Power Stone isn’t just a fighter, but more of a brawler where you smash your opponent through the environment, pick up chairs and other objects to throw at them, and power up in hopes that you do it before your opponent does. I liked the overall game, and the settings were fun to destroy. It was a bit too hard for my taste, but I liked the characters and their sprites. This game would be perfect for a weekend of multiplayer with friends on the couch. If you like Super Smash Bros or Playstation All-Stars, this is the Sega version.

Gaming Target (8 out of 10)

Tired of Soul Calibur (yeah, right), looking for another fighter to feed your need for ass kicking? Then try this sucker out, and you won't put it down for a while.

GameCola.net (7.8 out of 10)

Overall, this is a good fighter that everyone should play when they are given the chance. But be warned -- it gets boring moderately fast.

SegaFan.com (7.7 out of 10)

Un plantel de luchadores más bien reducido, ocho combatientes de inicio a los que se le pueden sumar tres más según se van liberando extras, no dice mucho en favor de la duración de Power Stone, aunque esto queda disimulado en parte gracias a algunos secretos interesantes como pueden ser los minijuegos para la VMU, las opciones "especiales" con las que se puede variar bastante más de lo habitual las normas de las peleas o algún modo de juego nuevo.

GameSpot (7.6 out of 10)

All in all, Power Stone is a very fun and unconventional fighter. It's easy enough for even non-fighting game fans to pick up the basics extremely quickly. However, the excitement is short lived. Expect to enjoy it immensely for the first week or two, but don't expect to find very much long-term fun.

Classic-games.net (7 out of 10)

Power Stone succeeds at providing something new to the fighting game genre. But it didn’t survive as a long lasting experience. You’ll enjoy Power Stone if you have a large group of friends. But its shelf life is short compared to the titans of the genre. Enjoy it while it lasts because that won’t be long.