Console of the Month (Oct 2023) - Neo Geo Pocket Color

[bmoc]

The Neo Geo Pocket Color was a thing that happened. It happened fast and if you blinked, you probably missed it. Only 73 games were released in total (Add 9 to that if you count the monochrome Neo Geo Pocket games). Still, it is fondly remember by NeoGeo/SNK enthusiasts.

If you are casually interested, there are Nintendo Switch and PC compilations available: https://snk.fandom.com/wiki/NeoGeo_Pock ... _Selection

I don't think I've ever played a Neo Geo Pocket Color game. I've always dismissed it in favor of SNK's console offerings. What have I been missing? Are there compelling exclusives? Discuss your Neo Geo Pocket Color experiences.

[Limewater]

I saw a Neo Geo Pocket Color once at a high school track meet in the year 2001. A guy on another team had one and was playing it.

It was also the day of my senior prom.

I regret not talking to the guy about the NGPC, but at the time he probably would have just thought I was weird. I believe it was the only time I saw one in real life.

[Melek-Ric]

My only experience with the NGPC was at EB and other smaller game stores. I liked playing the demo units they had and thought it was good. The device felt solid, with buttons and a clicky-stick that impressed. But I didn't know anything about SNK at the time and didn't even own a GBC because at the time portable gaming wasn't an interest for me. The GBA came out in 2001 which was the perfect time for me to get back into mobile gaming.

[RobertAugustdeMeijer]

We had them as import in our game store, but I only tried out the most popular titles. While they looked and played nicely, I didn't care to get invested. Later I heard that the card games were really good. But back in 1999 I was grinding Magic: the Gathering tournaments, so no time for that!
Perhaps I should take a look at them now. Do they still hold up after games like Puzzle Strike?

[Syndicate]

A friend and I picked up our Neo Geo Pocket Colors at launch from EB, mine actually looks exactly like the one in the pic . It's a great little system, I only picked up King of Fighters R-2 and Metal Slug 1st Mission, but I had great time with both, especially KoF. I had no idea that a portable fighting game could be so good, the gameplay is really good and the game has a solid presentation. Metal Slug 1st Mission played like a miniaturized version of its Neo Geo big brother and was very fun as well. Other than Pac-Man, I haven't tried any other NGPC games. Even though I only had those two games, it was a constant companion when my friend and I would hit King's Dominion during the summer. So in between waiting to get on to coasters I would get some quick rounds in of KoF. I regret not picking up more games for this awesome little system though. I had my eye on Bust A Move, Sonic Pocket, Biomotor Unitron, Samurai Shodown, Metal Slug 2nd Mission, and Card Fighter's Clash, and a few others. However, as a college student I couldn't really swing a Dreamcast habit and NGPC collecting at the same time. However, if I come across NGPC games while I'm out looking for games I'll grab them if they're good. A few years ago I passed ona copy of Bust A Move b/c it wasn't CIB, mistakes were made, I won't let that happen again though

[marurun]

It's interesting just how pragmatic the NGPC is in terms of design. In some ways it seems to adhere to the same principles Gunpei Yokoi brought to the original GameBoy and, later, the WonderSwan. The CPU from Toshiba seems to be an example of "what if the z80 were capable of 16-bit operations?" It's the same sort of move Nintendo made with the CPU in the SNES. The NGPC probably would have been easy to write CPU code for by anyone already versed in the GameBoy or any of the early Japanese PCs. And 40 hours on 2 AA batteries is nothing to scoff at. Sure, a year later the WonderSwan (B&W) could get 40 hours on just 1 AA battery, but that was a year later. And I know from personal experience Japan had NiMH AA rechargeables available at that time. They weren't as cheap or capacious as they are now, but even if using rechargeables only got you 20 hours between charges, that's still not bad in the least.

[NathanJackson]

I love it. The color is very attractive.

[ZRofel]

Just wanted to sneak in a post before the month ended.

The Neo Geo Pocket Color is another system that I have very few games for (although considering the overall library is tiny, I still have almost all the good ones), but for which I have a great deal of affection. I bought my NGPC and a whole pile of loose games as a bundle at a local retro store years ago just 'cause it was there and it was really cheap. I loved SNK so I figured I'd at least get some fun out of it, and I was right. I enjoyed the games in the bundle, so over the next few months I went around and scooped up most of the library's highlights for a relative pittance. I really don't have much to say about it other than all of the SNK games (which make up most of the library) genuinely feel like tiny versions of their bigger Neo Geo siblings, with the same kind of responsiveness, depth of gameplay, and fun factor you could expect from SNK. The two Metal Slug games in particular are great bite-size campaigns, but there's no way anything on the console could rival my love of Card Fighters Clash. I sunk so many hours into that game it's ridiculous, and I'm usually not a big fan of trading card games. I think it's just something about the simplicity of it combined with the familiar Capcom and SNK faces.

I also genuinely love the form factor of the console. It's compact but doesn't feel insubstantial, and the satisfaction of the clicky joystick really cannot be overstated. Having one in your hands just feels good. It also comes in a number of very distinct colors that really stand out from most of Nintendo's handheld models. Even though in size and shape it somewhat resembles several other different types of handhelds, once you see the color you know it's a NGPC.

Given the tiny size of the library and the rising prices of a lot of the better games, it's hard for me to recommend anyone start collecting NGPC games now. But given the time I bought my collection and the amount of fun I had with it, I have a lot of warm feelings towards the ol' NGPC.