There is a possibility that there are some reading this that may not know or understand what Neo Geo is all about. This article is a step back into the 90s when video gaming was exciting (a retro gamer’s opinion). I apologize for any inconvenience.

     Back when the SNES and the Sega Genesis were the darlings of the video gaming industry, at the arcades, one could find the crowds gathered around the then popular fighting game, from Capcom, Street fighter 2. If one was fortunate enough to have a “really good arcade” in their neighborhood, there would be standing near by, arcade games with the name SNK, or Neo Geo, on their cabinets. They had, to me, the most in depth fighters around. I felt, and still feel to this day, that they were better than the Street Fighter 2 games. But that is another argument and I do not want to open a can of worms. SNK had a very big arcade presence with lots of great games, the Metal Slug series comes to mind. They even launched a home console, that did not make it due to the price point, which only die hard, hard core fans, would put out the money for. (They did, a little too late, launch a cheaper CD based version of the system) It had the same internal hardware as their arcade machines, so you could play the exact same games, without any loss of quality, or gameplay, at home as in the arcade, unlike the popular and much cheaper home consoles of the day. Why am I saying all this? I feel you must understand where this little monster of a portable gaming system is coming from to fully appreciate the joy that can be held in your hands.
I read about this little system in a gaming magazine (remember those things, they were made of paper, folded in the middle and stapled) ahem…and then went out, hunted for it, bought it. I found it in a Toys-R-Us at the time. I grabbed it up and an extra game. The in-box pack-in at the time was, surprisingly, Sonic the Hedgehog. Shortly there after SNK was having bad financial troubles and was closing their doors with eventually being bought out by another company, Playmore. They did something back then that really irritated me at the time, they bought back everything, recalling, pulling all of their merchandise from US store shelves and had them shipped back to Japan. I had just barely gotten my hands on this portable and had only a couple of games. (I wanted to destroy all of their spaceships, gaming talk there)

     The system itself had started out as black and white, but its second generation was color. The color one made it here to the US. The system itself had a very short lifespan. Another thing I think that helped kill it was the coming GBA that was on the horizon, everyone was talking about it. Several years later the Neo Geo Pocket Color started showing back up on store shelves repackaged for liquidation. The name was not even used in the repackaging. The system was sold along with six games in a bubble pack. I stumbled across one in a local EB Games at the time and I bought it. I have since then added some more titles to my collection through ebay. Surprisingly the system came in a variety of colors, including some camouflage color design schemes.

    Holding the system in your hands, you will notice that it is chunky, chubby, fat, hhhmmm.. lets say a hand full. Yet it is only slightly smaller in size as an “original” GBA or almost the size of the Gameboy Color, yet much thicker. Thick as in you can set it up on it’s edge and it will sit there, but it does make it feel very comfortable in your hands, more so than the Gameboy Color. It feels very solid with a quality build. Weird screen size and no backlight. The Gameboy Color, which was the competitor, didn’t have back-lighting either. A headphone jack is located at the bottom of the unit. If you turn the unit on without a game inserted you are greeted with a menu containing Calendar, Horoscope, Alarm Clock, and International Time. So what is so special about this little system? SNK games.

Screen:

     It has a 160×152 Pixel TFT LCD reflective screen technology which was the going thing of the day. The screen had a very odd aspect ratio for a gaming system. It is pretty much almost square, but I guess it is not that much different than the Gameboy Color except it is much bigger. This screen is non-backlit. This was before the time when a back light was the norm and expected. So you need a good light or daylight to see the screen well. This past Christmas I was sitting in the Family room with a very bright sun pouring through the window. The first thing that came into my mind was my Neo Pocket Color. Had a good gaming session December 24, 2013, aahh the memories. The available color on screen can only be compared to the Gameboy Color and not as rich as the Gameboy Advance. Understandable because the Gameboy Color was the competition when it hit the market. The games are well animated and with the nice color graphics, great . No blur or ghosting in any of the action on screen. And we are talking Sonic here. (Sonic is probably the most colorful game that I have and it is a lot better than the GameGear Sonic game.) The screen is not recessed, that matters to anyone who cares about scratching problems.

 Controls:

     In my opinion, the directional pad on this portable is the best that I have used in a retro system. Nothing compares with it when it comes to portable fighters. Controls are very responsive and tight. Also with the directional button we have, “A,” “B,” Power, Option, and an analog volume control. The power and option buttons are rubber. There is an AC adapter jack and headphone jack at the bottom of the unit beside the volume control. At the top of the unit there is an outlet for using a link cable, which is a separate purchase, to connect two units together for two player games. I have rarely seen the link cable available. You were also supposed to be able to link up to the Sega Dreamcast with a special cable. Only one game was able to do this, King of Fighters R2.

Games:

     The game carts have their own little plastic storage cases some-what similar to the Gameboy carts. The unit is touted as being 16 bit. The competition, Gameboy Color, was 8 bit. I think the power of the system shows well in the game’s animation, gameplay and this is were this little system shines. Much better than the Gameboy Color. If you have ever heard of or played,

Fatal Fury: first contact

Samurai Showdown 2

King of Fighters R2

SNK vs. Capcom: Fight of the Millennium

The Last Blade

Metal Slug 1

Metal Slug 2

     Then you will understand me when I say that this system is worth having just for these games alone. I feel that this system has the best handheld fighters out there when it comes to 2D fighters, think retro here people. Some of you might need to know that the fighters in the games are “Chibi” in design. For those of you out there who don’t know anything about Japanese Manga or Anime,(where do you live) this means that they have little short bodies and big heads. So if you are into realistic looking people in your fighters, it is not here. “Gals Fighters” is also another fighter worthy of mentioning, which includes only girls from SNK fighters in their own fighting game. The fighters have been very well translated to the small “pocket size” giving you completely that NeoGeo gaming fun on the go. There are even “Card Fighter” games, for those who enjoy those. SNK vs. Capcom comes in two versions, the SNK version and the Capcom version. If you are into those type of games, you will want both.

     But the library of games is really not that deep for this system. I am assuming it is due to its life span in the market. A lot of games were Japan only, but there is no regional lock out, so they would be no problem in playing, if Japanese is not required. I have read that there is a possible, maybe 80 games total, but I do not know if that is accurate. Though that might seem like a lot to some,game availability is limited,with even some titles being very elusive and hard to find.I would love to find a copy of Cotton(a great little side shooter). There were really not a lot of games released for the US and Europe, maybe around 30,or more, combined and I could be very wrong about that.I am saying this because it was pulled from the shelves here in the US within the same twelve month period it was released. The good thing is that a lot of the fighters, and Metal Slug, can be found in the repackaged bubble packs. On the downside, the repacking does not include any game manuals or original boxes. At least the games are in their original plastic storagec ases. And at this present time, the repackaged bubble packs may be very hard to find. Ebay may be the only place you might find anything of this system. (maybe flea markets and yard sales)
There are some games, though not many, that are from the earlier non-color model of the Neo Geo Pocket. (The black & white system did not sell well. Think crash & burn, Nintendo muscle) The Color system can play all of the available games. The black and white titles, that were for the first Neo pocket, are dealt with in the same manner as the Gameboy Color deals with the “Original” Gameboy titles. Colors are assigned to various shades of grey giving you a choice to pick from along with the original shades of grey.

      Among the available games, there is a great strategy RPG called  “Faselei” in which you control a mech unit. (Faselei is such a very good strategy mission orientated mech game. Very unusual game for a Neo Geo system. Unusual in that mostly what you see on a Neo system is arcade gaming. This game is so easy to get into and play. It even has that RPG feel with the building of experience, purchasing things from the shop, and even a story line. If you have the link for two Neo Pockets you can even go head to head with a friend with your Mech. This is one of those must have games for the Neo Pocket. It is one of those hidden gems. I highly recommend this game to any Neo pocket owner or any prospective Neo Pocket owner.) For puzzles you have Magical Drop Pocket, Pocket Reversi, Shanghai and Bust-a-move pocket. There are only a very few sport games that I know of, Cool Boarder, Baseball, Tennis, Soccer, and Golf. Only one choice of each sport is available with the exception of Baseball. Pacman is also available for those with a taste for him. But I will stress that, it is the fighters and Metal Slug that makes this system stand out from all other portables at that point in gaming history.

 Power:

     The unit is powered by 2 AA batteries and one CR2032 button cell. The button cell is for game saves and clock. You get 40 hours of gameplay on two AA batteries. You read right, 40 hours. There is also a jack for an AC adapter. I have an add-on unit that plugs into the bottom giving me stereo sound that also has an adjustible vibration function, plus battery pack and AC adapter. It is called “Shock and Rock” for the NeoGeo Pocket Color. (Hint: the Gameboy Color AC adapter will work as a power source for the NeoGeo Pocket Color.)

 Pros:

NeoGeo fighters & Metal Slug in your hand.

A NeoGeo system that is reasonably affordable

40 hours of battery life

That directional pad, made just for the SNK fighters

 Cons:

No backlight

Game availability limited with hard to find titles

Screen not recessed

Fighters dominate the available game library (this could be a con for some)

 Final Thoughts:

     This system is really for those retro gamers that love the quality SNK fighters and feels that it would be worth their time, effort, and money to track them down. Because, for me, that is where the fun is at in this system, the gameplay is perfect. I love the Metal Slug games too and put them right beside the fighters. Metal Slug was the main reason I purchased this system. I still love dragging this little system out, occasionally, and jumping knee deep into those little fighters. For me, these games survive long after they have been beaten and serve up a high replayability. (But then again, I am a retro gamer.) Kind-of wish that there had been more third party support. It lacks that and it shows in the game Library. But then again, this system had a short life. If you love this type of 2-D gameplay, I would suggest you find one and own it. A big thumbs up here, especially for SNK fans.