Late to the Party: Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1

hings certainly weren't easy for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, a short-lived handheld that had to compete with the likes of the classic Game Boy Color and newly released Game Boy Advance shortly after. Still, there's something sweet and neat about recollecting a portable version of one of the most expensive consoles in history.

(Recollecting — see what I did there? I, well uh, never mind.)

That being said, SNK is at it again with the retro party pack full of nostalgia. This time, we've got a fully portable 10-pack of favorites from decades ago through its Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 on the Nintendo Switch.

So is this a home run for even the newest takers or an acquired taste that only diehard fans need apply for? A little bit of both, honestly.

If we're being honest, the Neo Geo Pocket and Neo Geo Pocket Color couldn't have arrived at a more problematic time. The Game Boy reigned with an iron, pixelated dot-matrix fist as the black-and-white king that vanquished both Atari's Lynx and Sega's Game Gear. The Pokémon craze (as in when it really got crazy) between 1996 and 2000 only helped fuel the fire that kept Nintendo burning bright.

Even with its longer battery life and full-color screen, the "NGPC" as it's commonly abbreviated became but another footnote in the history of long defeated color pocket consoles. Like the Neo Geo itself, only diehard fans of the flagship SNK titles such as Metal Slug and King of Fighters need apply.

But that's not to say that the handheld was unworthy — quite the contrary, actually. And that's really where the NGPC Selection Vol. 1 has a chance to, and does, shine for fans and newcomers alike.

(Side note: as of this feature, a NGPC console on eBay runs for around $150 online, while the games go for anywhere between $10 and $200. One of the games in this very collection, SNK Gals' Fighters, is easily $150.)

From Namco Museum to other SNK Classics volumes that were released on other consoles, there exist plenty of arcade and retro nostalgia party packs to go around. Most folks, including this reviewer, know that the menu style, options, and selections might be enough to make or break any of these packs.

Case in point: remember Retro Atari Classics for the Nintendo DS? Yeah—Let's not.

Atari likely knew it fuzzed up, too, because it later re-released additional collections under the Atari Greatest Hits volumes (Vol. 2 even includes a neat Atari 400/800 computer simulator)

That's one thing that the NGPC Selection Vol. 1 gets right immediately. From release date info on all 10 games to clear, high-resolution scanned instructions, this pack has the player covered. Best of all, its presentation doesn't falter whether you prefer docked or portable mode. It all flows well

In fact, the only weird part might be the touch controls with the actual NGPC display. Although intuitive and immediate, this just feels like a completely unnecessary (albeit neat) bells-and-whistles additive that the pack could do without — especially when your Joy-Cons are already right there.

There's a lot to enjoy from this pack, whether you're a fan of the run-and-gun action of the Metal Slug series or looking for something a bit more, uh, obscure from the RPG Dark Arms: Beast Buster released back in 1999. Honestly, this reviewer still isn't entirely sure what to make of the latter and might have to get back to you on that.

As for the bulk of this package, fair warning: it's pretty heavy on the fighting games front, but that's understandable. Between King of Fighters, Samurai Showdown, and SNK vs. Capcom, there's a lot to love out of the genre. And frankly, this is where the compilation delivers.

Fans will immediately recognize ports such as King of Fighters R-2, SNK VS. Capcom: The Match of the Millenium (it really was), and Fatal Fury First Contact. One huge plus to this collection is snagging a copy of SNK Gals' Fighters, an NGPC exclusive that goes for about as much as the damn NGPC system on auction sites. Once again, we have a classic case of video game history meets capitalism gone awry (... yay).

It's a bit tough to look at anything that's charging you $40 for something you can't even go on a picnic with or hug (though Limited Run did release a physical copy of this bad boy), so is it worth it? Honestly, if you're really feeling fuzzy over the experience you had with your NGPC and want to actually save some money, absolutely.

Fans of fighting games and diehard supporters of the Neo Geo Pocket Color's glory days will find this package much to their liking. Still, the $40 price tag might be a bit harder for some to accept for a digital-only purchase — especially since other titles in this package can be bought for $8 a pop and without the more obscure bits like that Dark Arms business. Circling back on that Limited Run physical release, this version did sell for the same price with the caveat of beating the collector-driven rat-race to pre-order a copy before orders were cut off, so take that for what you will if you're hoping to luck out on a shelf copy at your local Best Buy once they're eventually released.

If you're curious about what you missed from this (somewhat) forgotten handheld or curious to try on some new nostalgia, go for it.