Almost everyone knows about SNK’s Neo Geo (mostly from the arcades in our childhood) and most of us (that knew about it back in the day) really wanted the pricey AES Home Unit ($649.99 and around $200 for game carts). I’m sure – even today – most of us would still love to have the system and games, but unfortunately it remains expensive and maybe a bit impractical to collect for.
(The Neo Geo AES Home Console – left – and MVS arcade system – right)
And so, besides emulators and repaired arcade cabs in the garage (or maybe a consolized MVS unit), most of us had to wait until the lackluster Neo Geo X (which is, sadly enough, also basically a software emulator) before we had anything approaching the Neo Geo in our homes.
But did you know that SNK made a handheld unit with many of the classic Neo Geo arcade games all the way back in 1998?
They did.. and it’s actually great to collect for and play.
(The original Neo Geo Pocket – left – and King of Fighters R-1 – right)
The first version (released in 1998) of this handheld – the aptly-named Neo Geo Pocket – was in black and white (much like the Game Boy).
(There are many variants of the Neo Geo Pocket. Image Source)
Only 10 games were released for this version, but they were great ports of incredible games like Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters. Heck, even the Neo Geo sports games are fun to play in the arcade, so the handheld port of those was similarly entertaining.
(The Neo Geo Pocket Color – left – and Metal Slug 2nd Mission – right)
Of course around the end of 1998 the Game Boy Color was released and so, to compete, the Neo Geo Pocket Color was released later in 1999. This handheld has color releases of the previous games (like Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters) plus really great ports of arcade classics like SNK vs Capcom and Metal Slug. Also, if you do end up the black/white version, it can still play many of the color games.
While it sold rather poorly in the US (with sales stopping in 2000 and with it eventually being beat out by the Game Boy Advance in 2001), the Pocket Color was more popular in Japan – where it had a hardware revision and various color variations. There were many great colors released – such as Carbon Fiber, Clear, Translucent Blue and Yellow, and of course my personal favorite: Ocean (which is really more of a blue camo). The games are region-free, so no matter which handheld you pick, you can play US, Japanese, and European carts.
(There are many variants of the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Image Source)
So why is the Neo Geo Pocket Color such a joy to own?
Well right off the bat there’s the excellent design and construction. The Pocket (both versions) have a high-quality micro-switched control stick (keeping with the Neo Geo console controllers). This is rather unique to handhelds and gives the arcade feel to the games on the system (which were already mainly arcade ports). Some games like Pac-Man came with a ring that can limit the ticket (which is normally 8-way) to just 4-way (up, down, left, right).
(The 8-Way control stick and the movement-limiting ring for games like Pac-Man)
And the Pocket Color feels really good in the hands. It’s not exactly a light system (you’re not really going to slide this in your pocket like you can with the Game Boy Advance), but it’s also not heavy. It’s got just enough thickness to be comfortable in an adult’s hands and the button placement is great.
(You can see the thickness of the handheld on the left and the buttons on the right).
There’s also the simplicity of two buttons – with most of the games nicely-supporting this configuration. There is also a rubber option button (like the select on the Game Boy series) for pause, switching fire modes, etc. Some games might also might have you hold down a button (or press them together), but for the most part the games keeps a simple button scheme.
(The back of the unit with and without the battery covers)
It’s also worth mentioning that the handheld has a common lithium battery that can be switched out once it’s expired easily with a coin to unscrew the cover. There’s also link cable support for multi-player.
(Many of the boxed games have really great art. The later budget packs, however, did not.)
But it’s not just hardware that’s worthy of praise here. There’s also the excellent game library. While limited in titles compared to other handhelds of the day, the the Pocket Color has a really fun little library of games to choose from.
There are arcade classics like Pac-Man, and Crush Roller – which feel really arcade-like with the control stick.
And there are great, colorful puzzle games like Bust-a-Move, Magical Drop, Puyo Pop, and Puzzle Link. Bust-A-Move plays especially nice with the arcade-stick feel.
Then there are several really great SNK fighter games like Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, The Last Blade, and SNK vs. Capcom. Even though you only have the two buttons, you actually have a lot of moves (some moves depend on how long you hold the buttons down). There’s even SNK Gal’s Fighters – with all-female SNK characters comprising the roster.
There are also great action games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Metal Slug and even fun-to-play sports games like Pocket Tennis, Neo Geo Cup ‘98 (soccer), Neo Turf Masters (golf), and Baseball Stars (remember the sports games are more like their arcade versions than normal bland sports games).
There’s even the excellent shooter Fantastic Night Dreams: Cotton (although that one’s a bit pricey – just like Cotton is on apparently every system).
The best news is that both the system and the games are very affordable for the most part – with the system priced at round $40-50 and most of the common games running $5-10. Sure the more uncommon and rare games are going to cost you, but you can get most of the fun just out of the budget titles. So if you’re curious and see one, you should really make the effort to pick it up.