Pocket Fighter, at its heart, is a super-deformed offshoot of the Street Fighter Alpha series. By collecting gems (which appear after clobbering opponents), players power-up their special moves, like projectiles. There are also automatic combos for certain button presses. It plays and feels like a Street Fighter game-- but it's certainly on the "cute" side.
Street Fighter fans should think about adding this to their collections-- other fighting game fans might want to stick to the SF mainstays.