Fighting games have grown over the years, but has that always been a good thing? They have grown more complex but at the same time, they have began to hold our hands more as we play. There is online play, but the games have their own netcode that often has issues. There are multiple characters but they often have similarities to each other, and so on. Maybe its time to look to the past for inspiration, and that is what Cardboard Robot did with Pocket Rumble.
Pocket Rumble is a game inspired by the classic SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color fighting games. These games were two button affairs but had more heart to them than we would expect, and that is something that is carried over to Pocket Rumble in an interesting way, The game is indeed a two button affair, but don’t think that means the game is easy. This is a game that will beat you down relentlessly even when you think the game is set to easy. The arcade mode, career mode and so on will not hold your hand in any way, so you will need to spend a lot of time in training mode in order to learn the characters. You will also realize that directional inputs are handled different here than in most games and need extra care and precaution. This is one of the more technical fighting games out there.
The character roster may be limited, but the characters themselves are so diverse and different that the small roster doesn’t matter. Characters like Subject 11 and agent Parker are extremely different from each other, while characters like Tenchi and Naomi give some familiarity to fans of SNK games, while also being distinct. Each character must be learned and studied in order to master them, and there is no shortcut here. Once you learn the characters though, there is so much fun to be had. Naomi even has a color that makes her truly resemble Terry Bogard even more, which should excited KOF and Fatal Fury fans.
One last thing I must comment on is the online. Pocket Rumble uses GGPO and as such has amazing online play. It is shocking that an indie game made by a small team has better online than fighting games from major companies. GGPO needs to be implemented in most major releases, instead of these companies developing their own netcode.
In summary, Pocket Rumble is a fighter that holds nothing back and if you put in the time, you will find an experience that is truly rewarding. I highly recommend this,