Pocket Rumble Reviews

This game was supposed to be a retro fighter in the same vein as games from the Neo-Geo Pocket (Color). The game had so much potential, but was abandoned by the developer(s). Steam even has a note now saying that the last update was 5 years ago. It's not worth buying.

This is, of course, a game still in development, and there are many things that will be fixed or added, but I think there are a few underlying issues with the game design that won't ever be "fixed." The game is very, very sterile in every sense of the word. The art, music, and characters aren't very inspired, and get very old quick. The early street fighter games are flashier than this. But it isn't just the presentation that is sterile. The gameplay is robbed of a lot of the things that make fighting games interesting. The mixup is drab. Combos all feel the same. There's not much difference in damage with most moves, which means you have less reason to go for bigger commitments and bigger moves when you can deal plenty of damage with a few jabs. [In most fighting games, it takes about 100 jabs to kill an opponent, while in this, every individual hit takes away 1/12th of the opponent's health.] There's not much defense aside from invincible reversals, which are very basic. In general, most matches play in exactly the same way. There's not really any sort of skill ceiling, and there isn't really any sort of strategy. In the end, this is a fighting game that doesn't have anything that fighting games are supposed to have. It's not worth the money and not worth the time to play a game like this. Either buy a real fighting game, or go get something actually fun for $10. Also, they really aren't releasing one character per month, as promised before. It's taking much longer for each character.

It's a very good early access game, but it essentially has been abandoned for years. Don't get this expecting a finished game.

A Straightforward 2d fighting game with 2 attack buttons and 4 special moves on each character. Specials are done with a diagonal down input rather than command inputs like traditional 2d fighting games. That said the characters tend to be fairly unique despite the limited movelist. Easy to pick up though a few characters have some depth this game makes a great starting point for new players to 2d fighting games as well as a good side game for 2d fighting game veterans. A few character matchups require more work from one player than the other but even in those cases there is a way for either player to win. Also the netcode is really good making it good to play online with friends. Only real downside is that it's been unfinished for a long time but the roster is there and all the most important game modes are there as well Career/arcade mode, Online ranked, Online invite with steam friends, Vs local, Vs computer, Training mode, and some other ones I can't remember right now (challenges and something else I think). Only thing missing is a lobby system for multiple players to hang out in without being steam friends which would make the game easier to stream and play with viewers.

I bought this game about a year ago when Rising Thunder was shut down, but didn't play it then because lack of players and contet. I started really getting into it 2 months ago when all of the characters and single player content became playable and I have been really enjoying it. Pros +Great gameplay +Diverse roster +GGPO netcode (works well up to 250ms of ping with one frame of GGPO delay added) Neutral(for me they are positives but some players might not like them) * Simplified inputs * Input buffering, so combo timing is easier Negatives -Lack of players when it is day in EU, but at night and evening you can get matches quite easily

So I actually really like Pocket Rumble as a concept for a game. Everything as the game stands feels responsive and it's actually really fun to lab certain combos out with characters like Hector and Quinn. If you're looking for a very technical review however, I'm not much of a fighting game player, this review is mainly about the lack of anything about this game information or news wise. So I looked up where the last updates for this game could be found, and the last update (IE any information about this game) was found on @CSdoesCS on Twitter. The last time Pocket Fighter was mentioned was on Feb 27, 2021, and judging from the infrequent updates I think this man has either moved on or just doesn't have the manpower to make the changes he wants to the game. This is not an insult to the developer, even I wouldn't blame him if he moved on from this game in the state of it currently. All this to say, Pocket Rumble is probably not going to get the revival most people are looking for unfortunately, the game is most likely just dead in early access period.

Its too bad they never finished this. It had so much potential. But without any difficulty adjustment its just not accessible.

Good game. But it's early access vaporware. Don't reward the devs for making early access vaporware.

As a serious fighting game player, I think this game captures the competitive element of fighting games in its purest form: the mindgames, and conditioning the opponent. It condenses the fun of the genre down to its purest elements, cutting away the fat, execution barrier, and knowledge requirements, without losing the core essence of the strategic depth. You may have heard the "easy to learn, hard to master" trope before, but never in my opinion has it been done so well as in Pocket Rumble. fighting vets can get long term enjoyment here, and players who have struggled with fighting games can actually play this game with some practice. That said, there is still a ton of room for competitive mastery; the execution barrier is removed, but fighting game fundamentals are still here to master, which is the beauty of the game. Vets will destroy noobs, but noobs actually can learn, because there are no hard motions. After getting bodied by some high level players, I have had rapid improvement after only a day. But mastering the fundamentals and mindgames leaves infinite replay value. The character variety is also quite impressive, despite the 8 character cast. Theres a slice for everybody. People without the ability to do a lot of fast inputs will be comfy with tenchi. Veterans who love twitchy movement and high speed footsies will want to go for Naomi or Parker. Theres even a puppet character (like eddie from guilty gear), as well as a grappler, and more. Bottom line for characters is that it does a great job not only of satisfying different kinds of gamers, but different playstyles too. The game is not done yet, and therefore it is not perfect, as all competitive games have some issues. Certain matchups may be a little too unbalanced, but the foundation here is quite impressive. With some balance tweaks and a few extra characters, the game will truly deserve a strong community. The game is simply great, whether playing casually or pushing yourself to perfection. Don't believe the kind of low steam rating, these are from early access issues and such. TLDR Verdict: this game bridges the gap between fighting game vets and non fighting game players better than any fighter I've seen, and functions very well either casually or competitively.

A cute fighting game that carries the spirit of old SNK games on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Pocket Rumble focuses on reducing the barrier to entry of the genre using a simple two button combo system, while retaining the mind games and exciting strategy people love fighting games for. It's a game in which even a novice could immediately see the metagame after just a bit of practice and explanation, despite how casual it initially appears. It is incomplete as of now, but it looks like it'll become a pretty stellar game once the full release comes out, hopefully sometime this year.