Although still frustrating, Power Stone 2 is definetely an improvement over the original.
In the first title, Power Stone was the name of the game. Literally, and figuratively. Everything revolved around the 3 power stones that was indirectly required to win a fight. when one appeared, everything stopped, and the rush to get it became quickly tedious. However, in Power Stone 2, the rush for the Power Stones was brought down, and the emphasis on fighting and using the environment to your advantage was increased, resulting in a much more entertaining title. You actually have a choice on single player, about whether you want to have 4 players on the players field, or just a one on one fight. The one on one fight is far less interesting and entertaining then the 4 person melee, so it's always best to choose that. The more characters on the field, the more powerstones that appear, generally, but even with the more Power Stones, the cpu's tend not to care about it so much as they did in the first one. Instead, they'd rather beat you up then go on a chase for a stone. I, for one, LOVE THIS. It makes the game much less frustrating, and of course, gives you the chance to get them easier, instead of them. However, with 4 players on screen at one time, the more the camera tends to zoom out, to a point where it's nearly impossible to see what's going on. The first few times I've tried this title, I was kicked around the stage without ever knowing what was going on, or where I was. You eventually get used to it, though. The amount of items in this title increase, including more areas in the stage that could hurt you, which was slmost absent in the first game. The stages are very diversed, and change in mid battle to keep the battles fresh and entertaining. During these action scenes where you generally must run to the next area first before the others, is one of the most entertaining elements of the title, and a good diversion from just beating each other until KO appears. Now, the problems. Just like in Power Stone, you can't get rid of the Power Stones. The powerful moves you perform in this title are the same as the first one, but they do less damage, making the battles quite a bit longer, which is good, and bad. When in 4 player mode in single player mode, all you have to do is beat up 2 characters to advance, not all 3 of the characters. The other character that "won" with you, goes to the next round, and more often then not, becomes your enemy again. I find this absolutely stupid, because chances are, these "allies" that are traveling with you to whatever stage you picked next should help you in some way, not hurt you. Also, there is times where all the cpu computers go against you, and you alone. 3 on 1 is not good odds, and tend to make it very frustrating. The bosses they made in this title are hardly fun, as they just tend to make things all the more frustrating. However, when there's a normal bout of a 4 player melee, it gets real fun, multiplayer, or single player, making it possibly the best 4-player title for the Dreamcast.
Power Stone 2's graphics are definetely an improvement over the original, with much better textures, higher polygon count, more dynamic stages, and even better special effects. However, even with these improvements, it hardly makes it one of the top graphic games on Dreamcast, especially with the problem of the characters being incredibly small on screen. And compared to games of today, it's even worse. But, for 2000, it's pretty good.
Power Stone 2's music is repetitive, but somehow slightly enjoyable. The computer's voice in between battles trying to give you words of encouragement gets cheesy very quick, as it really doesn't make you want to do better, but it does make you want to chuck your remote at the speakers. The voices for the characters in Power Stone 2 is identical to the original, which is good.
Power Stone's gameplay was so repetitive and frustrating that I NEVER wanted to come back after I played through it once. The multiplayer wasn't even worth it. However, Power Stone 2 is quite different, because it's muliplayer 4 player action will own you, and all your friends for hours. Think of it as a Smash Brothers Melee for the Dreamcast, and you'd be thinking correct. It is VERY addictive as a multiplayer title, even if the single player is again quite subpar. Too bad it never had online play.
Power Stone 2's only competition in the multiplayer business on Dreamcast would have to be Outrigger, and even that is a long shot. If you find Power Stone 1 and 2 in a store, and you only have money for one, pick the 2nd one right away. It is definetely worth a purchase, especially when you have friends to play it with. You will not regret it.