The single player game is just as it was before – the AI is extremely easy to beat. What made the game so much fun was multiplayer and on the PSP you must have two units and an ad-hoc connection in order to do multiplayer.
The graphics are very good…they are clean and look wonderful. You can choose different aspect ratios: the original 4:3 mode the PSP screen fitting 16:9 mode, or the ugly 4:3 stretch mode. The arenas are well done. One of the fighting environments is an airplane and you do get a feeling of being up in the air while fighting – which is a nice touch.
The audio is even better than the graphics – it feels like the arcade experience is brought home – the music just sounds fantastic and surrounds you. I am amazed at how good the game sounds.
The manual is well done and detailed although rather than separate the two game manuals each page shows the differences between the two games (both games are on one page for controls, and they do have minor changes) – make sure you are reading the control scheme for the game you want to play.
At the end of the day, I have mixed feelings about Power Stone Collection. Having both games together gives some replay value but losing out on multiplayer unless you find someone else who has the game and a PSP and is within 30 feet of you can prove difficult. If you meet all those requirements, the multiplayer is a lot of fun. If you don’t you are stuck with single player and there’s not a whole lot of replay value there. My time with the game felt more like a stroll down memory lane – it’s hard to believe this is a seven year old game. It wasn’t a great stroll but it wasn’t a bad one either. It’s just a middle of the road type of game that I probably won’t remember as fondly as I did the original.