Power Stone 2

If the first installment showed what a fighting game freed from two dimensions could look like, Power Stone 2 took the whole concept and shot it into the stratosphere. Capcom did not stop at one-on-one bouts here, but crammed up to four players into the arenas at once and turned the battles into utterly insane, euphoric chaos with no equal on the Dreamcast. It is a celebration of unbridled party fun in its purest form.

The biggest novelty is the interactive, shifting arenas, which function as an opponent in their own right. The floor may collapse, an airplane may crash down on the players, the scene may turn into a flight from a surging flood or a fight aboard a plummeting airship. The environment is no longer just scenery but an active threat you must flee from as fiercely as from your rivals. This unpredictability makes every round a little drama.

Besides expanding to four players, Power Stone 2 added a more elaborate item system. Dozens of weapons lie scattered around the arenas, from swords and cannons to collectible materials from which players can forge even stronger equipment at a smithy. The classic mechanic of three stones and the ensuing transformation into a super version of the character of course remained, so even among four players there is a constant battle for the upper hand.

This game never pretended to be a serious tournament fighter. It is a deliberately accessible, boisterous brawl where the winner is whoever best exploits the surrounding mayhem. It is precisely thanks to this that it became a legendary title for shared evenings, where even a complete newcomer could beat a seasoned player through the right timing and a bit of luck. Few games of the era matched the energy of its four-way battles.

Together with the first installment, Power Stone 2 forms a pair that fans still cite among the best reasons to own a Dreamcast. Both games later appeared in the Power Stone Collection on the PSP, bringing them to a new generation of players. For connoisseurs they remain a symbol of the daring and playfulness Capcom could afford at the time.

Why play: For unbeatably crazy battles of up to four players in arenas that try to kill you just as hard as your opponents do.