to quote the friend of mine who sold me my copy of MOTM, "this game has no right to be as good as it is"
I only have a few NGPC games... MOTM, KOF R2, Puzzle link 2, and metal slug. All great games.
and like said above, just get one, they're dirt cheap even bundled with games. My NGPC is on loan to a friend since I got a PSP, but i still miss MOTM now and then.