Pocket Fighter

Pocket Fighter AKA Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix

1997 Capcom

Pages being reworked. Please check back later, or attempt to make sense of this mess.

Competitive Footage

Mar. 30, 2013 a-cho Pocket Fighter 1-on-1 Taikai

Mar. 30, 2013 a-cho Pocket Fighter Casuals

Nov. 24, 2020 Mikado Street Fighter Carnival 18 第21戦: Pocket Fighter

Nov. 25, 2020 Mikado Pocket Fighter Casuals

Characters

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How to Play

Controls

Buttons

Punch	A normal punch that can initiate a Flash Combo. For AC accuracy, map this to your leftmost button (Jab).
Kick	A normal kick, typically longer range than a punch. In AC, this was the middle button (Strong).
Special	Guard Crush, Counters, and Easy Inputs. This was the rightmost button in AC (Fierce).
Taunt	Taunt and cycle to the next item in your inventory. This was the Start button in AC.

Universal Commands

Throw

When near your opponent, if you press the Punch and Kick buttons simultaneously you'll be able to grab and throw them. You can even do it in the Air!

[Advanced Info]

1. You only get damage reduction on a successful throw tech, no escapes (SFII style)
2. The throw tech window starts after a throw connects
3. Same frame throws will favor P2
4. Throws have abnormally wide hitboxes. You can outrange some SFV sized normals which are all over the place in this game
5. Most moves have throw invulnerability (Exclusions: Guard Crush, Throw)
6. Your natural reaction to command throws may be to jump, but if you remember this is a children's fighting game you might find it's a great idea to just mash some fucking buttons instead.
7. Strict input detection. You need to press P + K in a 1 frame window.
8. You can throw with negative edge (No input leniency here either)
9. Throw will still come out during crouch
10. The universal command throws are considered special moves
11. All throws will reset the opponent's accumulated stun back to 0

(Near opponent)

(Air OK)

+

Throw

(Near opponent)

+ +

+ +

Command Throw

Dash / Run

Cover a set distance much faster than walking by performing a Dash. If you continue to hold forward after a dash, you'll transition into a Run. On top of all that, you can perform a special Dash Attack during either Forward Dash or a Run.

[Advanced Info]

1. Back Dash has no invul. frames
2. Back Dash is cancellable (Guard Crush Counter, Taunt)
3. Forward Dash & Run are cancellable (Exclusions: 5P, 5K, Mega Crush, Item Ball, Block)
4. Dashes cannot be cancelled by movement
5. Run is cancellable by movement but needs recovery anim. before blocking
6. Run will autostop with contact of opponent or wall

(On the ground)

or

Dash and Backdash

(On the ground)

[]

Run

(During Dash or Run)

or

Dash Attack

Roll

After you fall to the ground from an unrecovered Launch or a Juggle, you'll land on your back Knocked Down. To disrupt your opponent's offense, you have the option of moving left or right by Rolling before you get up. Each button travels a different length.

[Advanced Info]

1. You can Roll past your opponent to switch sides with them
2. Rolling increases the amount of time you are knocked down, opening up the possibility of more ambitious Okizeme, and making Pursuit Attacks more likely to combo
3. Since you're moving on the ground though, it can make Pursuit Attacks more likely to whiff too (Deep Gameplay™)
4. Sakura must Roll in order to block on wake up

(Knocked Down)

+

+

Roll 1

(Knocked Down)

+

+

Roll 2

(Knocked Down)

+ or

+ or

Roll 3

Air Recovery

After you get Thrown into the air or otherwise Launched by various different methods, you can take control of the situation and adjust your flight path by performing an Air Recovery. After flipping yourself upright again by pressing Punch and Kick in the air, you'll be able to move left or right again and start a counter attack in mid-air. However, you can't alter the direction of the flip itself. Lastly, as a result of a successful Air Recovery, you'll land back on your feet instead of Knocked down.

[Advanced Info]

1. Air Recovery is only possible during a Launch state. See: #Launch, #Juggle
2. No input leniency. P + K must be pressed on the same frame.
3. Can be performed with Negative Edge (No leniency here either)
4. After an Air Recovery you have the same movement options as a #Super_Jump
5. There is a recovery animation after the flip which is cancellable by special moves
6. There are actually setups to punish air recoveries, and some of them loop. Consider just taking the Knockdown, or resorting to Counter Crush, if you meet someone who has studied this satanic technique.

(When launched)

+

Air Recovery

Easy Reversal

No skill? No problem! You can guarantee your attack comes out as soon as possible when you get Knocked Down. Just mash the Special button at least twice when your character is down, and a dedicated special move will come out on the first possible frame on wake up. It won't work if you used your Roll though.

[Advanced Info]

1. Each character's Easy Reversal move looks the same as their LV.1 Yellow Gem Special Move, but can have some different damage values and frame data from the regular command. The exceptions are Tabasa/Tessa's which is visually unique, Ibuki's which travels in a different arc, and Felicia's which is based on her LV.1 Blue Gem Special Move.
2. Gems do not level up the Easy Reversals
3. These moves don't necessarily have invulnerability frames

(Knocked Down)

Easy Reversal

Super Jump

If you tap any down direction before an up direction, you can pull off a Super Jump. Compared to a regular jump, you'll jump much higher and be able to affect your trajectory much more freely by moving left or right as you fall. Soar to marvelous new heights and gain access to new vectors of attack and escape routes.

[Advanced Info]

1. Super Jumps tend to have 7F of prejump before they're considered Airborne
2. If you have a 360 command throw it will be 9F, or 12F for Zangief
3. Unlike a normal jump, you can actually move left and right in the air after a neutral Super Jump. Keep in mind there is a height requirement for the movement, so slow down your inputs a little if you're missing it.
4. For diagonal super jumps, you can hold the opposite direction to alter your jump arc. Holding the same direction won't change the distance, though.

(On the ground)

Super Jump

Pursuit Attack

After you Throw or Launch your opponent by various means, they'll enter a Knockdown state. Input this as soon as they hit the ground and you'll be able take advantage before they wake up, vampire style, by utilizing your Pursuit Attack!

[Advanced Info]

1. Tends to whiff often and is sometimes punishable on hit. It seems best for guaranteed kills
2. Does not work when the opponent is Dizzy
3. Certain moves will put the opponent into a Knockdown state in mid-air, making Pursuit possible before they hit the ground

(On the ground)

(Opponent is Down)

+

+

Pursuit Attack

Item Ball Toss / Item Ball Set

Start the party by pulling out the Item Balls. You can hold backward to toss an Item Ball with an altered trajectory, or hold down to set it on the ground for a delayed reaction.

[Advanced Info]

1. Using Items is considered a unique action (Action examples: Normals, Specials, and Supers)
2. Can be performed with negative edge
3. Can be Kara Cancelled into Special, Super, Guard Crush Counter, and Taunt
4. Items tend to cause #Juggle state instead of #Launch state on hit
5. Items Tossed will bounce off of the wall on contact
6. Items Set will stop at the wall on contact (must be touching the ground)
7. Items Set on the ground can be pushed by both players
8. Items Set on the ground can inflict damage to both players

(On the ground)

(Item in inventory)

+

+ +

Item Ball Toss

(On the ground)

(Item in inventory)

+ +

+ +

+ +

Item Ball Set

Guard Cancel

Fuck you! Assert your alpha dominance and punish your opponent's block pressure by executing a Guard Cancel. With one level of Mighty Combo gauge, you can spend it to unleash this instant unblockable counter attack, and occasionally even combo off of it.

[Advanced Info]

1. Unblockable
2. Can KO the opponent
3. Causes Launch on Counter Hit, making comboing vs Flash Combo pressure difficult

(Mighty Combo LV.1+)

(During "Block Stun")

(After "Block Stop")

(On the ground)

+

Guard Cancel

Mega Crush / Counter Crush

When you find yourself completely unable to find an opening for attack, or when you are Launched in the air and an Air Recovery just won't be enough, you can turn to your last resort and perform a Mega Crush (offensive) or a Counter Crush (evasive). In exchange for all of your Gems and Mighty Combo gauge, you can create an opportunity to break even the best defense, or escape from the best of offense.

[Advanced Info]

1. Might be exclusively for geniuses. Seems more useful than pandora though.
2. Think of it like a last resort. You can use the Mega Crush to surprise someone who is good at blocking. Sor of like chipping them out.
3. The Counter Crush could be used to escape some nasty Air Recovery punish loops. Big risk though, might want to find another method.
4. If you want to reset your special moves back to level 1, you can try to find a safe opportunity to use this.

(Mighty Combo LV.1+)

(Air OK)

+ +

Mega Crush

(Mighty Combo LV.1+)

(When launched)

+ +

Counter Crush

Items

Gems

Item Balls

Food

Treasure Chests

Item Carriers

Offense and Defense

Guard Crush

Flash Combo

Blocking

Anti Air

Throw Tech

Counter

Gem God Tips for the Autistic (you)

Turbo

• Slow = no frameskip (use for frame data)
• Normal = Skip every 16th frame (maybe best to play?)
• Fast = Skip every 8th frame (funniest mode, i like this one)

Using any speed faster than slow will cause you to drop 1F links and reversal windows if they occur on a frameskip, but more offensive strategies become viable at higher speeds due to reduced reaction windows. Most tournaments seem to use either Fast or Normal speeds

Gems

Hitting the opponent causes gems to fly out. Each gem colour corresponds to one of your special moves (shown at the bottom of the screen) and picking up enough of these will level up that particular special move, up to a maximum of 3. Higher level specials on average do more damage, have more hits and are in general more flashy however they can also come with greater recovery. At times the overall function of a special can significantly change based on level, so it is important to pay attention to and play around gems.

Bubble Kara Cancel

The bubble toss animation can be canceled before your opponent blocks or gets hit by it. A smart application of this would be to cancel into fireball to create an approach that controls almost the entire screen. Could also be useful for oki

Air Recovery

Hold a direction after teching to move left or right. You can't actually affect the direction of the tech itself.

The distance you move after recovering depends on both your momentum and the direction you're holding. You can use this to escape further pressure by being unpredictable.

Dash

Forward dashes can become a run by holding forward longer. Backdashes have no special properties like invul or anything. You cannot block during the initial dash, but a full run can be cancelled into block, among many other actions.

Vampire Dash

Morrigan and Lei-Lei have special dashes while is held. Both are able to be cancelled by specific actions.

Prejump and landing

Everyone has 4 frames of throw invul during prejump but you're unable to block any attack, and I think there are some frames on landing where you are vulnerable too. It might be more or only if you land from a jumping attack, i haven't tested this yet.

Throw Invulnerability

Startup and active frames of most non grab moves have throw invulnerability. exceptions: gief spd has throw invul, unblockables are throwable for the entire animation.

Air Block

Block advantage against an air blocking opponent is not the same as with an opponent on the ground. Like Vampire Savior, moves blocked in the air may be punished more easily because of the shorter block stun (it's more like attacking or throwing cancels blockstun, since you can't do anything else). In other words, just mash buttons if you find yourself blocking a move in the air.

It's not always a great idea to just air block everything though. Moves performed on the ground that leave the attacker grounded may usually have an air unblockable property. Chicken block sparingly. Also being predictable by always jumping expecting to block leaves you open to throws, but if you don't jump and they guess the airthrow you can quite easily antiair.

Throw Tech and 2p Advantage

Apparently a quirk with many cps2 games, player 2 will have the advantage in all simultaneous throw situations. Throw teching is in the game, and in most cases works like ST where you take reduced damage and recover normally, but the timing is a little weird. It's sorta like you do it right after you've been grabbed I think. When you get it it says "Tech Bonus" in big letters though so you'll know.

Negative Edge

Throws can be performed on the release of the + buttons immediately after entering a grounded state. There might be more to explore here if you are interested in becoming the highest level gem fighter player.

Counter Hit

Counter hits add 5 frames of extra hitstun to any move that leaves the opponent grounded and deal double the dizzy value, but they also push them further away. Also on counter hit, certain moves (such as dash attacks) cause a different launch effect, sending them bouncing about the screen. If one of these moves counters and dizzies the opponent, that will cause a special earth orbit animation to happen. Landing a counter hit against an aerial opponent seems to leave them open to another attack, but they might be able to air recover if they react fast enough. If not though, air throw. Hitting a chained low (, , for most characters) on counter hit will cause a mini launch that allows you to follow up with much more, but this can make you whiff if you finish the chain without taking it into consideration. A counter hit + causes a much higher launch with them in the same state, but the height makes it easy for them to recover.

Dizzy

Each time you get dizzied, your total stun points will increase by 5, making it harder to dizzy you again. This effect persists between rounds.

Launch

Some specific moves and counter hits will send you flying into the air in a "Launch" state. During this animation, you have the option to use your air recovery ( + ) to escape. Be aware that there is another state (Juggle) that you will be locked out of air recovery, and the animation is very similar. However, these moves are rare. If you see yourself being caught in a juggle "infinite" it's almost certain that you are actually in the escapable launch state and can air recover to safety.

Knockdown and Juggle

Not air recovering while in launch state will cause you to get knocked down.

In addition, certain moves (usually sweeps) will cause a special type of knockdown that begins with an untechable juggle state which cannot be escaped with air recovery. Visually this looks like your character got tripped, or is lying on their back in midair.

No matter how you are knocked down, on wake up you always have the choice of rolling by pressing backward or forward on the stick along with any button, or to wake up normally by pressing nothing. The button you pressed determines the distance you will roll. S > K > P

Rolling increases the amount of time you are on the ground, making you more vulnerable to pursuit attacks reaching you in time to combo.

Combo into throw

If a throw is active on the first frame of a jump, the game will pick a winner between the two moves at random. So it is theoretically possible to set up a frame perfect randomly inescapable throw, although very few moves have enough frame advantage to do this. One setup: Lei-lei [f0: 8, f4: 6, f7: 6, f17: j.K, f41: P+K] (Seems to work 50% of the time with P2 holding up)

Due to the inherent randomness and the fact you'll most likely be using a Speed faster than Slow, this technique is virtually useless.

Sakura bug

Sakura cannot block on wakeup lol

If she rolls she can block though

Alpha Counter

Consumes 1 bar. Performed with + while in blockstun. Alpha Counters are capable of KOing the opponent, and certain attacks can even be linked after them. Getting a counterhit with one will knock them away though so you wont get your combo if you aren't paying attention.

Chip Damage

There is no chip damage.

Corner Cross Up

Seems like nothing or else very few things will ever cross you up while in the corner. However, some attacks can bounce you away from the wall, making you vulnerable to crossups. Something to remember for when you or your opponent are cornered.

Meter

Hitting, getting hit, whiffing normals, whiffing specials, and collecting gems will all grant you meter. Blocking gives no meter.

Big gems fill about half a bar.

The more hits you do in a combo, the more gems you'll get. Very high combo counts also give you bigger gems, meaning certain random supers can pay for themselves in meter from gems AND MORE if they actually hit. The rich get richer, so don't hoard your meter.

Treasure Chests

Hitting someone with either the fourth normal hit in a costume combo, a guard cancel, a parry, or a fully charged unblockable causes a treasure chest to appear. These chests then open upon landing, releasing either gems, food or items.

At the start of the round, a treasure chest sits in the middle of the stage. This one always holds at least one big gem and can be opened by hitting it. The gems fly out upwards in the direction of the one who opened it. It's up to you whether you want to go for it, ignore it, or try and hit someone that tries to open it for themselves.

Backturn

In some situations, either after recovering from certain attacks or simply the opponent walking under you will leave you facing the opposite way while in the air. When this happens, not only are your special move inputs reversed, but your blocking input is too. Essentially this means you may have to hold towards the opponent to block properly if they force you into this situation and keep attacking, so you have to take this into consideration as well as the direction you want to move in. Makes for a sneaky mixup.

Hit States

After you hit someone theres a number of effects that can happen. Listed underneath are the possible responses to these states. In just about every case you can burst/counter roll as well.

Hit Stun

Standard grounded hit animation after taking damage on the ground. Usually occurs while Standing or Crouching. You can't be thrown during this state.

• Hit OK

Block Stun

Standard grounded guard animation blocking an attack on the ground. Usually occurs while Standing or Crouching. You can't be thrown during this state.

• Hit OK
• Guard Crush OK
• Guard Cancel (Defender)

Air Block Stun

Aerial version of the above. Usually occurs while Jumping. You can't be thrown during this state. You can actually cancel this animation by attacking or throwing in this game, making normally safe pressure punishable.

• Hit OK
• Guard Crush OK
• Normal Cancel (Defender)
• Throw Cancel (Defender)

Air Reset

You flip backward in the air, either right after getting hit in the air, or after using your Air Recovery. You are completely invincible and cannot do anything until you reach the ground in a Standing state.

• Meaty Potential

Launch

You flip backward in the air until you Air Recover ( + ), Counter Crush ( + + ) or hit the ground in a Knockdown state. Some moves cause this on counter hit, but there's a few that always do it. You'll Wall Splat if you touch the wall as well.

• Hit OK
• Air throw OK
• Pursuit OK
• Recover (defender)
• Counter Crush (defender)

Juggle

A few moves can cause an unrecoverable Juggle state. What this means is that before you hit the ground, you will be locked out of Air Recovery, making you vulnerable to combos, air throws, and even guaranteed pursuit attacks. This animation looks similar to the Launch state but you cannot escape, so watch out for these moves. All sweeps, some low hitting dash attacks, and some special moves fall into this category, so make sure you learn what this animation looks like. Also if you Wall Splat it will still be possible to air throw you, but you'll gain strike invulnerability right before you hit the ground (not immediately though, there is a small window to hit you again).

There are actually a few different hit states that fit this category according to the game, but I'm going to conflate any comboable launch state that you can't use an Air Recovery in as the Juggle state unless I find a reason not to.

• Hit OK
• Air throw OK

Knockdown

This is the animation after you fell down from either Launch or Juggle state. A fighting game staple. The reason to distinguish this from the Launch and Juggle states is because in this game you can be attacked during the Knockdown state with a Pursuit Attack, similar to the Vampire games. This state can sometimes occur in midair.

• Pursuit OK
• Meaty Potential
• Tech Roll (Defender)
• Easy Reversal (Defender)

Wall Splat

Many moves when they knock you back can cause you to splat against the wall. After a Wall Splat, it will still be possible to air throw you, but you will gain strike invulnerablility shortly afterward. However in some cases a character will have the tools to continue the combo before this happens (most notoriously Zangief's lariat).

There are a few different "fall off the wall" animations in the game, but this term will apply to all of those that give you Strike Invulnerability on the way down, which seems to be any bounce that doesn't have enough momentum to send you to another wall.

• Hit OK (Small window)
• Airthrow OK
• Recover (defender)

Super Wall Bounce

Counter hit only. Only certain moves can do this. Makes you bounce at high speed off of the wall and actually continue to the ceiling and opposite wall. Additionally, you gain an unblockable hitbox that does very very tiny damage, resulting in some silliness. It's possible to hit someone again while they're bouncing around, but pretty hard due to the hitbox and flight path, as well as them being able to recover.

• Hit OK
• Air throw OK
• Meaty Potential
• Recover (defender)

Earth Orbit

Counter hit only. Occurs when any move that would have triggered a Super Wall Bounce (or just a Wall Splat?) also causes dizzy. Also gives you a hitbox like the Super Wall Bounce and you can hit or grab them as they come back onto the screen before landing if you really want to.

• Hit OK
• Air Throw OK
• Meaty Potential
• Mash out (defender)

Item Effects

Shocked

You got electrocuted, either by the lightning item or by Kaminari. Similar to the standard Launch, except that you can only be airthrown (if they can even reach) and can't Air Recover.

• Air throw OK

Petrified

Caused by certain grabs and the stone item. You get turned to stone for a length of time, during which almost any hit will shatter you. Afterwards you reappear knocked down where you were, though sometimes certain single hit attacks avoid this somehow and keep their properties. While turned to stone you can only be hit (by a single hit), not grabbed, and you can mash to free yourself faster.

• Hit OK
• Mash out (defender)

Frozen

Get hit by the ice item while on the ground and you'll be frozen solid for a length of time. During this you can be hit by anything except throws and you're treated as standing when they do so, meaning they can get a full combo of whatever. You can mash to get out a little quicker.

• Hit OK
• Mash out (defender)

Poison Stun

Get hit by the poison item either on the ground or in the air and you'll get dizzied. It works more or less the same as the normal stun in regards to what you can be hit by (anything and everything), but it's different in that you recover much faster and can therefore mash out of it even quicker.

• You can do anything you want because they are dizzy, just be quick about it

Blown up

Getting hit by any of the other items or the ice while in the air will send you into the air in an unrecoverable state where you can be hit with anything or will land knocked down. The direction you fly in depends on what item you were hit with. Fire and bomb go straight up, with bomb going up much further. Aerial ice and banana knock you back, though banana is much lower to the ground and harder to follow up from.

• Hit OK
• Airthrow OK

Comparisons

Tierlist according to Justin Wong. You can't argue with it.

Health

Each character has 145 HP. However, there is also a guts factor that will affect how much attack damage will be reduced at different health values which varies per character. I don't know what the exact guts mechanics are but I tested how many hits it takes to kill with Lei-Lei's 2P, and how much lifebar they had before the final hit.

Character	Hits	Last hit Health
Zangief	49	-
Tabasa	41	3px
Ryu	41	2px
Morrigan	41	2px
Ken	41	0px
Chun-Li	41	0px
Lei-Lei	41	0px
Felicia	41	0px
Ibuki	41	0px
Dan	41	0px
Sakura	40	1px
Gouki	38	-

Dizzy

Character	Dizzy
Zangief	50
Lei-Lei	45
Ryu	40
Ken	40
Chun-Li	40
Sakura	40
Morrigan	40
Ibuki	40
Felicia	35
Tabasa	35
Dan	35
Gouki	30

How to play (old version, redoing)

Controls

Recommended button mapping: Jab = P, Strong = K, Fierce = S

= Punch

= Kick

= Special

• (See: Guard Crush, Easy Inputs)

= Taunt

+ = Throw

+ = Air Throw

+ = Bubble Toss

• (The trajectory can be changed depending on the direction held)
• (Down inputs will place it on the ground or roll it forward, with it detonating after a short time)
• (Special cancel window starts before contact with opponent)

+ + = Mega Crush

• (See: Mega Crush/Counter Crush)

+ = Air Tech

• (Input when you are in a Launch state to escape fake combos and land on your feet)
• (Not always a good option. Pay close attention to your opponent's offense)
• (The trajectory can be changed depending on the direction held)

= Block

= Low Block

() or or = Air block

• (Air blockstun can be cancelled with normals; advantage-on-block moves become punishable)
• (Grounded normals are air unblockable)

or or = Jump

• (6F: )
• (7F: )
• (8F: )

= Super Jump

• (7F: )
• (9F: )
• (11F: )

= Dash

= Backdash

+ = Dash Attack P

• (Low: )
• (Crouch Crossup: )
• (Fake Overhead: )
• (Whiff on crouching: )

+ = Dash Attack K

• (Overhead: )
• (Low: )
• (Crouch Crossup: )
• (Whiff on crouching: )

+ = Low P

• (Despite appearances, this move will always need to be blocked low)
• (This move can be special cancelled by every character in the game)
• (Can be useful for challenging pressure and punishing negative moves)
• (Multi-hit: )

+ = Low K

• (Special Cancel: )
• (Knockdown: )
• (Multi-hit: )

+ = Launcher

• (Launch State on Counter-Hit only)
• (Special Cancel: )

+ = Sweep

• (: Same as + )

+ or = Pursuit

• (Input when the opponent is in a knockdown state)

Guard Crush = Red gem Guard Crush

+ = Yellow gem Guard Crush

+ = Blue gem Guard Crush

• (Each Guard Crush can be charged to do more damage and steal more gems on hit by holding the button

+ = Guard Crush counter

• (Can only counter Guard Crushes. Counter window is while flashing blue, then has a whiff animation.)

Pocket Fighter
Pocket Fighter / Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Players(s)	2
Platform(s)	CPS-2
Emulators(s)	Fightcade