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The Story Behind Side Pocket

In addition, a new "trick shot" mode is featured, in which the player can try one of the 19 trick shot levels, each with increasing difficulty. The NES version plays almost identical to the arcade version, but the Pocket Game mode features 4 levels and the player starts with 5 lives, as opposed to 2. is a pocket billiards simulation released as an arcade video game by Data East in 1986.

Side Pocket 3 uses a first-person view, and adds new characters to the game. While the gameplay remains the same, Pocket Gal Deluxe features revamped graphics, more levels and includes a MIDI-based jazz music. The Game Gear port is a stripped-down version of the Genesis version, which plays more akin to the original rendition, more specifically the NES version.

How Side Pocket Plays

On occasion, a flashing star appear in a pocket, and if the player pockets a ball into that pocket in the same shot, a bonus will be awarded in the form of points, extra lives or a bonus round. In the two-player mode, the player can choose between Pocket Game or 9-Ball Game. The primary play mode, called "Pocket Game", is a straight pool-like game set within a limited number of lives; the player must achieve a predetermined score to advance through four or five levels, each with increasing number of balls.

The Genesis, Super NES and Game Gear versions features a photo-realistic representation of the player characters. In two-player Pocket Game, the game plays similarly, except the two players take turns and there are no lives; if one player misses or scratches, control of the cue ball simply changes to the other player. One life is lost if the player or fails to pocket a ball in two consecutive turns.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a B− and wrote: "Insipid electronic lounge sounds are an integral component of Side Pocket (for Genesis), which presents American pool halls as a series of squeaky-clean (no beer stains on the felt here), nonconfrontational venues where your sole objective is to play pool—and not, say, impress your date with how many shots of tequila you can down in five minutes. However, they summarized, "Determining the precise angle and power for a shot can be harder than taking a geometry test, but it's definitely more fun." Electronic Gaming Monthly also complained of poor sounds but were more impressed with the graphics, describing them as exceptional for a portable system. It went on to be the eighth highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987 in Japan.

Embodying this utilitarian approach is the game's hyper-realistic, overhead-angle table display—not as realistic, unfortunately, is its follow-the-dotted-line aiming system, which allows you to hit the cue ball in only about half a dozen places. In 1995, Total! ranked the game 70th on their Top 100 SNES Games, writing: "A bit flawed and there are no UK pool rules but in two-player mode this is a real giggle." In 1996, Super Play listed Side Pocket 90th in its Top 100 SNES Games of All Time. There are plenty of great options and genuine pool strategies to keep serious players interested, and yet it's simple enough to play without the manual." They gave the Game Gear version a more mixed review, commenting that the representation of the player's stick as a stream of balls is needlessly cumbersome, and that the graphics and sound are poor.

Side Pocket — Frequently Asked Questions