Together Retro September 2020 - Loser Handhelds

[PartridgeSenpai]

Nintendo has always dominated the handheld gaming market, and Sony gave it a really good go as well before bowing out. But what about all the wannabee pretenders to the legacy of the GameBoy? This month is all about playing on these "loser" handheld consoles who tried and failed to take a bite out of Nintendo over the decades.

In the poll, I mentioned the WonderSwan, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, the Atari Lynx, and the Sega Game Gear as possible consoles to play games on for this, but those are by no means the only possible options. Popo mentioned the Virtual Boy during voting and I think that absolutely fits into the spirit of a "Loser Handheld", even if it was not only made by Nintendo but also isn't terribly handheld

I'll be playing Biomotor Unitron on my Neo Geo Pocket Color, and should I finish that, I'll be playing Nazo Puyo: Aruru no Ruu for the Game Gear via my 3DS Virtual Console.

[alienjesus]

This is a TR theme close to my heart. I've been diving into the Game Gear library a bit this year, and I'm a long time fan of the Neo Geo Pocket Colour. Both have small but solid libraries.

I have a Wonderswan Colour and I'd like to get more out of it, but it's really hard to find worthwhile games to play on it as someone who can't read Japanese! The Lynx, like basically everything Atari, doesn't really interest me much.

I wonder if anyone is going to be brave enough to dive into the really obscure portable machines this month. Some of these things even make the R-Zone and N-Gage look mainstream.

Anyway, I might participate this month. Some candidates I have to play, if I get time, include:

Crystal Warriors (GG)
Defenders of Oasis (GG)
Sennou Millennium (WSC)
Ganbare Neo Poke-Kun (NGPC)
Cool Cool Jam (NGPC)
SNK vs Capcom: Cardfighters Clash (NGPC)

[PartridgeSenpai]

I have a Wonderswan Colour and I'd like to get more out of it, but it's really hard to find worthwhile games to play on it as someone who can't read Japanese! The Lynx, like basically everything Atari, doesn't really interest me much.

Aside from one WonderSwan Crystal I saw here way back when I first moved here (that has since been bought and was some absurd price back then), I've never seen a WonderSwan Color in all my time living here. I was really hoping I'd be able to find one at some point, but no luck yet. Hopefully someday~

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In other news, my participation may take a little while, as I discovered today that I'm not really able to play handheld games terribly easily ^^;. I hurt my side and then my shoulder last week, and I discovered this evening that holding up a console near my face for any long period of time hurts a bit too much to bare right now. Gonna hope I can heal up and start playing videosgame sooner than later though~

[prfsnl_gmr]

I’m excited for this too. Great topic, Pidge!

I’m going to dig into my Game Gear library a bit. I’m thinking:

Double Dragon
GG Shinobi 1-2
Streets of Rage 1-2

Getting through every Mega Man game is also a long-standing goal of mine; so, I’m also going to try to get through the Wonderswan version of Mega Man & Bass. (I recognize that, like GG Double Dragon, this game is terrible; so, wish me luck!)

[MrPopo]

I plan on seeing if I can get through my Virtual Boy collection. If I go blind I blame you, the voters. I went with the other category.

[SamuraiMegas]

I plan on seeing if I can get through my Virtual Boy collection. If I go blind I blame you, the voters. I went with the other category.

I'll be joining you! Hope I can afford the batteries...

[alienjesus]

Double Dragon
GG Shinobi 1-2
Streets of Rage 1-2

If you play nothing else, play the Shinobi games, they're great. Be prepared for really really mean difficulty spikes in the last level of each though! Especially the first.

[BoneSnapDeez]

No one has mentioned the Game.com yet!

I guess I'm a fan of these handhelds. I have the aforementioned plus the Game Gear, Lynx, Virtual Boy, NGPC, WonderSwan, and WonderSwan Color.

There are gems on all these systems, but you really need to dig deep. The Game Gear is undisputably the best of the bunch, and likely what I'll be playing after I wrap up a few other things. I've been eyeing the Shinobi games, though I still need to obtain the first one.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I’ve beaten half of the robot masters in Mega Man & Bass: Challenger from the Future For the Wonderswan, and, wow, this game is bad. The controls are so awkward, and the level design is so bad. You also have to turn your system on it’s side to play some levels for some reason. (I guess this was a “feature” of the Wonderswan...play games awkwardly...great feature, Wonderswan...) None of the robot masters are weak to any weapons, and only one of the weapons I have acquired so far is worth anything. Moreover, currency system is completely broken. (I spent 100 bolts to get the Rush Coil, which is, apparently, a one-time use item. This means, effectively, you can spend 100 bolts for the opportunity to jump up to get 10 bolts. The other items are, somehow, even worse.) The best thing about this game is that it was never released in North America.

Double Dragon on the Game Gear just straight-up sucks. Nothing much to say about it except that it is a really, really sh*tty beat ‘em up.

[o.pwuaioc]

I can't remember where I got one of my Game Gears from, but the seller said it was recapped. Just a few short years later, it's completely dark. Fie on thee, liar. Despite it being a childhood wonder of mine, I just can't get into it anymore. I'd almost always rather take the Genesis or Master System port. I have no need for the behemoth on the road. It's a shame they never came out with improved versions like the Game Boy, but you know, Sega is Sega.

The Lynx I bought and sold without hesitation. It has many of the same issues owning a Game Gear does, better ports of the games can be found elsewhere, and none of the exclusives are worth the system.

The real winner of the "losers" though is the Neo Geo Pocket Color. I love my little system. The only issue is the battery. But otherwise it's a great system. I really love the joysticks, and those clickity clacks really sound wonderful. I do with the library were a little larger, but it has enough games to justify owning, and even more if you know Japanese. One day I'll get a backlight for it and it'll really be poppin then.