Mutsu (Ryoma's stage) has good pace and use of traditional Japanese instruments — most notably the flute and koto — to make a theme that steadily builds up to something very catchy that fits both the snowy environment and Ryoma's stoicism and skills as a samurai.
Oedo (Ayame's stage) is frantic and upbeat, also using Japanese flutes and drums to effectively show both sides of Ayame as a cheerful street performer and skilled Ninja.
Tong-An (Wang Tang's stage) takes a lot of influence from traditional Chinese instruments — especially with the gong toward the end — and has an especially catchy flute solo to it, resulting in a fast-paced and enjoyable theme that just screams Asia.
Mahdad (Rouge's stage) is a Middle Eastern-inspired theme that's just as sultry and mysterious as Rouge herself, and caps off with a great drum/electric guitar solo.
Cult Classic: Although Power Stone is undoubtedly one of Capcom's most obscure series, both games are pretty much universally-beloved by those who actually were able to play them; and maintains a small but dedicated fanbase that still clamour for a sequel to this day.
Ayame is also a fan favorite, with consideration to how strong she is in the games (her speed, agility and Power Change being big factors), her boundless energy and snarkiness in the anime, and fun, optimistic personality in both versions. The fact she's a kunoichi as well doesn't hurt, either. And she had a cameo in Capcom Fighting Evolution (along with Rouge).
Fan Nickname: The wooden dolls of Dr. Erode's stage in the sequel are referred to by some as "Mokujins".
Fan-Preferred Couple: The series' most popular unofficial pairings are Falcon/Rouge, Falcon/Ayame, and Rouge/Ryoma, mostly on account of the anime where there's at least evidence to back up all three.
Wang-Tang's ending in the first game has him — despite coming across the mythical Power Stone on Avalon Island — mistaking the treasure his Sensei sent him to find for a pair of golden dentures.
Getting a KO with one of the more out-there weapons that appear in 2, like whacking an opponent with the Frozen Tuna, turning them into a teddy bear with the Weird Rod, or forcing them to dance around with the Trumpet. Even some of the regular ones have a load of potential for inflicting all sorts of Amusing Injuries.
Dr. Erode, for what little backstory he has, isn't lacking in the creepiness stakes, either; being an enormous giant with a gaunt, ugly green face with teeth bared in a permanent Slasher Smile, unblinking lifeless eyes in a permanent Thousand-Yard Stare, and a creepy high-pitched, distorted voice; not to mention a hatch in his chest that directly leads to his otherwise-exposed heart. His attacks don't help much either; including spitting poison, vomiting up giant live flies to come after you, and outright trying to eat you alive.
Dr. Erode's grab in the second game. It comes out very quickly and often immediately after one of his bigger attacks — often leaving very little margin to escape from it — destroys all the throwable objects his arm hits, sweeps useful items like healing food, weapons and Power Stones away from you, and has a huge range. If he catches a character, Erode chows down on them, doing loads of damage and causing them to lose all their Power Stones if they have any. It doesn't help either that on the highest difficulties, he can time another immediately after to catch you again as soon as you land.
Final Valgas' homing crystals that he launches from his back are particularly annoying to deal with, given how quickly they come out and how often they'll hit where you're going to rather than where you actually are. It's telling when even the fastest characters in the game have a hard time dodging them! Likewise, his first beam attack — which he always launches right before the announcer calls "Action!" to start the match — often gets players when they aren't expecting it, losing a big chunk of health in the process.
Valgas in the first game is brutal. As with Kraken, his first and foremost goal is getting the Power Stones. He doesn't use items often, but the thing is that he doesn't even need them — they're there to give you a chance. He hits like a truck, has massive health, and most infuriating of all, his blows pack so much punch that more often than not every power stone knocked out of you will fly over to him, and if you have two power stones, his grab knocks them BOTH out. And unlike Kraken, his projectile attacks have homing properties, and if you get hit by one of his supers, it's going to hurt.
Pharaoh Walker in the sequel is infuriating for one major reason: you have to hit it in the head which is, for the most part, impossible until you break two of its legs to knock it down... Except the people piloting it can still interrupt your attacks with pesky projectiles and they respawn, more than likely ensuring it gets back up with only a short bit of life lost. Even worse is its powerful beam attack, which is the strongest attack it has and nigh impossible to dodge unless you get under itnote Just don't hide under the head. It can grab you with its tongue. Thankfully, if you can grab its underside or double-jump up to the top and kill the tail driver, you can use its own attack against it for massive damage.
Also from the sequel is the final boss, Dr. Erode. Before the fight even starts, you need to fight off strange living wooden dolls to get to him, who wield various weapons from the game, and because you fight Erode right after, any damage taken from the dolls is going to have an impact on your performance. That said, given that they drop money and picking up their items adds it to your total pile available for fusing together, the tofu men wouldn't be all bad... if it wasn't for the fact that there's so many of them that they'll manage to pin you down if they get even one good hit in. As for the Doctor himself, he's just plain weird, so it's hard to tell exactly what he's doing. He can spit out homing flies, he can grab and bite you, he can drink poisonous tea and spit it all over you — most of his attacks have the same start-up or have little difference, to add to the frustration. And like the Pharaoh Walker, you have to hit his hard-to-reach head. The only saving graces are that cake will always spawn if you break certain items, he doesn't take Power Fusion attacks very well, and hitting his head enough stuns him and gives you a few seconds to attack his more vulnerable heart.
Tropes relating to the anime
Accidental Aesop: In "Gold Rush", regarding gambling; if you do get lucky and win big, don't be tempted to stay and accordingly risk losing what you win.
In the English version, the fast-paced techno theme that plays whenever a character Power Changes. The English theme song is also very catchy.
The song Ayame plays on the Koto for her talent contest act in "Danger Cruise" is short but very sweet.
Galuda: Such wonderful music.
Falcon: (transfixed) Is that... really Ayame over there?
Apollus: No doubt, my boy. The one and only!
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: In "Danger Cruise", the beginning of the episode shows the group competing in a talent contest aboard a ship. When Galuda does his act — near-exact animal mimicry — the view suddenly cuts to Falcon, Apollus, Ayame and Rouge standing in the middle of a stylised jungle, all wearing skimpier caveman/cavewoman outfits, cutting back to reality a few moments later with nobody commenting on it.
Earth Drift: A meta example, the video games is meant to take place in our world. The anime takes place in a different fantasy world with the opening showing a map of the world.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: It is one of the final anime series to catch universal, nation-wide attention in Poland, as it was aired riiiight before the last easily accessible anime block in the public TV was taken down. It also cause a severe Adaptation Displacement - most Poles born before mid-90s, even those outside the anime fandom, are familiar with the series by sheer Pop Culture Osmosis, but are completely unaware that it's a tie-in to a Fighting Game.
Kikunojo diligently carrying a sleeping Ayame on his back when they're lost in the woods at night — due to an unsuccessful attempt to capture Falcon, Ryoma and Wang-Tang's Power Stones when they're trying to find the titular egg as part of a test from Wang-Tang's sensei — at the end of "The Great Eagle's Egg". It's brief, but definitely goes to show that for all Kikunojo's fussiness, Ayame's snark, and how much they tend to trip each other up, they really do love each other.
Jack. Even though he's a thief and is frightening at first glance: his disfigurements, child-like mannerisms and devotion to making his "Mama" happy, and him genuinely not being aware he's doing anything wrong make him surprisingly pitiable. Especially at the end of "Jack's Secret", where he's left alone on an iceberg with the frozen ruins of his family's ship, doubled over and sobbing inconsolably at the thought of letting (who he thought was) his mother down and failing to protect her.
Valgas counts too, as revealed in the last episodes of the series. There, it's revealed that he grew up as a once-kind and timid orphan who was mercilessly bullied for being small and weak; and in a moment of despair having been beaten up again, he finds the Dark Stone and makes a wish on it to never be weak again. Even after being corrupted by its power and wishing to create a world where only the strong can survive, he shows notable remorse at how far he'd fallen when he's about to die, and appreciates Falcon kindly embracing and staying with him until it happens. It helps as well that despite being the Big Bad, he's not shown to be nearly as villainous deep down as the likes of Kraken, Neros or the Octopus Gang.
Kraken gleefully leaps over this in "Ninja Rain" when he uses the blue Power Stone to alter the weather in Moon Land: increasing the strength of the Sun and stopping any rain from falling to cause a massive drought. He increases the Sun's temperature day by day, and makes it clear that he intends to slowly kill everyone from thirst and starvation unless they give him Oedo to rule. And if that didn't push him over the line, attempting to torture a captured Ayame to death with a drill when she and her clan try to stop him certainly does.
Octo and Pus cross right over it in "Danger Cruise" when they highjack, and then proceed to deliberately crash and overturn a large and heavily-populated ocean liner: putting all its passengers in mortal danger purely so they could loot any treasure they find on the way out, before abandoning everyone inside to their fate. Afterward, only oneother lifeboat full of people is shown to have escaped.
has good pace and use of traditional Japanese instruments — most notably the flute and koto — to make a theme that steadily builds up to something very catchy that fits both the snowy environment and Ryoma's stoicism and skills as a samurai.