Spyro The Dragon - Sparx Workout!
The most direct translation for the title of this PocketStation
game is 'Intensive Training! Sparx' or 'Sparx
Intensive Training'. Another possible translation is
'Long ago it is! Sparx' but that makes no sense. As I have played it and learned
a little more it seems the best tittle is "Sparx Workout!". See the
Imports page for more info on translating Japanese.
Features - If you have a PocketStation Dragonfly eggs appear throughout the main Spyro game. After you collect an egg you can play the PocketStation game.
- Raise and Train a dragonfly in a Tamagotchi type game
- Battles using the Infrared interface
- Marriage
- Multiple Dragonflies (4)
- As you raise the stats of your dragonfly he is more helpful to
Spyro in the main game.
Spyro 2 - Sparx Adventure!
This game appears to be very similar to "Sparx
Workout" but has some added features
So, what is the PocketStation, anyway? Here is a description from Craig Harris from PocketStationWorld:
The PocketStation is, at its most basic, a PlayStation memory card with a built-in LCD screen and five action buttons. Four buttons have been arranged in a diamond formation almost in a "game pad" fashion. The bottom panel with the buttons lifts up at a 90 degree angle so you can insert the device into the memory card slot of a PlayStation system. The other end has a red plastic bit: it's an Infrared light that can transmit data from one PocketStation to another.
PocketStation utilizes a 32MHz ARM7T microprocessor, has 2k of SRAM, 128k of RAM, PCM sound, a 32x32 dot LCD screens, and an IR repeater for communicating with other PocketStations. It is roughly one and a half inches tall, one inch wide, and weighs 30 grams. It runs on two CR2302 watch-style batteries.
The PocketStation has 15 memory card slots which can be used for either PlayStation saves or PocketStation mini-games. You can even copy PocketStation mini-games from a PocketStation to a memory card ñ which is good because as of this writing, the Interact DexDrive doesn't recognize the unit when you plug a PocketStation into one. So if you want to send someone your PocketStation file over the Net you'll have to first copy it onto a regular memory card with the PlayStation's Memory Card menu.
The mini-games are little more than elaborate Tamagotchi-type games; the graphics are simple black/white pixels (no shades of gray), so don't expect anything close to a Game Boy in terms of quality. One of the games we played was a simple top-down driving game where you steer left and right to avoid on-coming traffic.
There are many mini-programs for the device that you can download into the unit. They don't have to be games, either. we've downloaded a universal TV remote (only works with SONY brand TVs) into the PocketStation and it works like a champ. We'd rather use a more convenient sized remote for our TV watching, but it at least shows that the device can be used for many different things.
Future PlayStation games will include a PocketStation game that can be played to alter your game's settings - like Street Fighter Alpha 3 from Capcom and R4 from Namco.
The device is small and light, but it feels very sturdy in the hands. If anything, you should pick one of these up when they're available in the States just as a conversation piece. If the debut price of the PocketStation starts at around $20 in this country, you can almost be sure that it'll become the memory card standard. But here's the problem: as of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 1999, it seems that Sony has no intention of ever releasing this device in the US. It's a shame, but it makes sense it's near impossible to get your hands on one of these things in Japan due to the fact that they're very hard to manufacture. It's a supply/demand thing. Still, some Japanese-made games with PocketStation support have been brought over to the US with the functionality still intact and the Japanese PocketStation still works with these US versions. So to answer your question: Yes, the Japanese PocketStation will work with US PlayStations and US games.
-- Craig Harris
Special Icons - To
view the contents of your PocketStation press and hold the down
button when you are on the screen with the memory card icon in
the lower left corner. You can use the up and down buttons to
scroll through the files on the card. For most save games you
will just get a black & white version of the icon you see on
the PlayStation, which usually looks pretty ugly. But
PocketStation compatible games often have special icons for their
save games and PocketStation games That look good on the
PocketStation.
Please be aware that there are cases of counterfeit PocketStations out there coming out of China. The indicators (differences) are one or more of the following:
The subtle PlayStation Logo is missing on the LCD
screen (Must use strong light to see it)- The battery pulltab is missing or has no writing on the pulltab itself
- The speaker grill on the back isn't straight
- The box is sealed with shrinkwrap (the real PocketStation boxes are not sealed or shrink wrapped at all but are closed using "tab locks"; however the unit is in a baggy as is the wrist strap)
- The instruction sheet has low quality and/or faded printing
- very poorly made cosmetic-wise
- cannot load games properly
- mediocre at best when saving games.
- It has no alarm function
- the LED doesn't light up
Thank you to Cliff Worthington for this info.
Another Item to watch out for is The PocketSky (US$5 - $8). According to 2 sources the PocketSky is only a memory card, according to another it is an imitation PocketStation. Either way it is not made by Sony and is not supported by Sony in any way.
The Great PocketStation Conspiracy: What is the PocketStation Conspiracy? To be quit honest, I don't know. But there is most definitely an organized effort to keep the PocketStation and compatible games out of foreign hands. The more I look into this the worse it looks.
Myth: There is not enough demand for the PocketStation in the US.
Facts: Importers have trouble keeping them in stock. As soon as they get them they sell out. Originally intended to sell for between $20 to $30 PocketStations usually sell for $50 to $60 and more. Final Fantasy VIII has sold millions of copies in the US. There are many immensely popular games that where sold in Japan with Pocket Station compatibility but SONY had it disabled or removed in the US version.
From Sony - I wrote to Sony America to ask why they didn't even try to release the PocketStation in the US and all I got was this canned response:
"The release of the PocketStation in North America has been postponed indefinitely. We do not have any information as to where you can obtain an imported one. If you plan on getting the Japanese PocketStation, we would advise against it. Aside from us not knowing whether the Japanese PocketStation is compatible with games for the PlayStation(R) game console distributed in North America, there's also the fact that the instructions (as well as screen display on the PocketStation itself) are entirely in Japanese."
The letter goes on for three paragraphs about how they cannot answer every specific question. This statement contains 2 untruths:
1: Unknown Compatibility? - it is a known fact among gamers that the Japanese PocketStation works with US PlayStations and games (if the game is PocketStation compatible). I would like Sony to explain the US release of Final Fantasy VIII. There is no such thing as a US PocketStation so how can SquareSoft claim PocketStation compatibility without testing it with Japanese PocketStations?
2: Japanese Display? - A PocketStation without any data saved to it is just a digital pocket watch with an alarm. Absolutely no text is displayed, just numbers and symbols. If you save data to it, the text that is displayed is entirely dependent on the data. Chocobo World from the US version of FF8 was intended for US audiences and is therefore in English. If you use your PocketStation to save games you can view black and white versions of the icons you see in the memory card manager on the PlayStation.
What games support the PocketStation?
Games I own:
Spyro and Spyro 2 - I got my PS-X-Changer so I can now play the Japanese version of Spyro The Dragon and it definitely supports it. Spyro 2 has some sort of anti-mod protection so the boot disc won't work with it. There may be some code I can use to get it to load but nobody seems to be very interested in this game.
I tried the US versions with my PocketStation and the games do NOT seem to recognize it as a PocketStation. It works just fine as a regular memory card though. Most likely the PocketStation support is just not there. It may be there and be unlockable through some sort of GameShark code.
Note: Spyro and Spyro 2 are published by Sony.
Special icons: The Japanese version of Spyro The Dragon has
the same icon as the US version has for it's save game file.
On the PocketStation both just look like fuzzy gems. Here are
Icons for "Sparx Intensive Training" as they appear on
the PlayStation and the PocketStation:
Final Fantasy VIII - This is the only game
that I know of that was released in the US, supports the
PocketStation and it is well documented in the manual. However
there is no compatibility symbol on the back of the case like the
one that appears on the back of Japanese games.
Note: This is one of the first Squaresoft games published by Electronic Arts. Earlier Squaresoft games for Play station where published by Sony.
Special icons: If you have this game you know that the save
game icons each have a different character's face. When you
see them on the PocketStation you get to see how each of these
characters might appear if they were in Final Fantasy VI.
The Misadventures of Tron Bonne - The Japanese version supports it and the credits on the US version mention it but if you want to use the PocketStation with this game you will have to use a GameShark code and it will only work one way; you can download the game to the PocketStation but you can't upload back to the main game. This info I got on the GameFAQs message board and I don't have the GS code to access it yet.
Special icons:
When I emailed Capcom about this, all they said was "Unfortunately, the PocketStation was not released in the US. Therefore, this game isn't available in the US version of Tron Bonne."
Games I don't own:
Crash Bandicoot Warped (3) -
| Game Title | Origin | Japan | US | PAL | Game Shark | Manual | Game |
| Spyro The Dragon | US | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Spyro 2 | US | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Final Fantasy 8 | Japan | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Tron Bonne | Japan | Yes | No | Yes | No | Credits | |
| Street Fighter Alpha 3 | No | Yes | |||||
| Crash Bandicoot 3 | US | Yes | No | No | No | ||
| Ridge Racer Type 4 | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Saga Frontier 2 | Japan | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Japan - The Japanese version of the game fully supports the PocketStation
US - The US version of the game fully supports the PocketStation
PAL - The PAL(Europe and Australia) version of the game fully supports the PocketStation
Game Shark - A Game Shark code can be used to enable PocketStation compatibility on versions of the game that don't officially support it.
Manual - the PocketStation is mentioned in the manual.
Game - the PocketStation is mentioned somewhere in the game.
pocket Station articles:
IGN