On the Dreamcast pad, Power Stone has controls befitting a fighting game that's bereft of complex combos or super moves -- in that regard, it has a lot more common with the classics like Final Fight, albeit in a 3D space. The analog stick or D-pad control movement, A jumps, B performs actions such as picking up items, X attacks, Y drops an item, and the triggers perform the Power Stone-enabled special moves. When your hands are empty and you're not juiced up on Power Stones, you can attack with B and the triggers. Items can also be thrown with the X button (and caught with B, if your timing is just right).
Given how few buttons the game requires to function, the game could easily be played with the GameCube or Classic controllers. But Power Stone 2 is about frenetic action, and the Wii ain't your daddy's console -- there's a new Power Stone experience to be had here that wasn't possible on the Dreamcast eight years ago.
I'd love to see Power Stone 2's main attack controlled by a quick snap of the Wii Remote, Twilight Princess style. The gesture could take over the function of the X button, leaving most of the other commands to be performed by buttons the old-fashioned way. Also, considering the massive amount of damage that can be dished out with the Power Stones, it'd be cool to see their ease-of-use toned down a bit. Capcom could take a page from the No More Heroes book and throw in some slightly more complex Wiimote and Nunchuk gestures -- even something as simple as having to move the two controllers in opposite directions at the same time would insert a new degree of crazy into the game.
The craziness really is one of Power Stone 2's most enduring attractions. It's not the kind of game that you're likely to see being played in a tournament – but get four people in a room, all scrambling to escape the dangers of the stage, pick up items, and rob their friends of Power Stones, you'll see what Power Stone 2 is all about. Even still, the Wii could use another game with solid online multiplayer, and Power Stone 2 is more than a deserving candidate. The graphics show off their Dreamcast age, but they really have no impact on how much fun the game is to play – it doesn't even really need a graphical overhaul to be relevant to the platform as it stands today.
Come on Capcom, throw in a few special Wii controls, some new stages, and online multiplayer -- and give us Power Stone 2 at a budget price. Or you could give the series an honest-to-god sequel. That'd do.
