A Collection of Gems: Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 Steam Review

The Neo Geo Pocket Color is a portable device that I didn’t get to experience which is a shame since I love portable gaming. I had to resort to playing my Gameboy Color and on rare occasions play with a Game Gear a friend of mine had. But the Neo Geo as a brand was well-known thanks to games like Fatal Fury, Samurai Showdown, Metal Slug, and the King of Fighters. Fast forward many years and the Neo Geo Pocket Color is relevant again thanks to the Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1, and I must say that I am impressed to see how well the titles have aged. Now before starting, I am not a PC gamer & my work PC is the most basic with only 4GB of ram and a basic processor but it had no issues running each of the games on the collection.

 

I am not into Golf I honestly don’t know what is so great about the sport so I was skeptical, but I must say that this game is fun you have 6 different characters to choose from, each with its own strengths and weaknesses but since I know nothing about golf, I went with the Young Hero character since it was the balanced one. I wasn’t expecting much to be honest, but I was surprised by how well the game played considering it’s a game from 25 years ago. I can see why it was included since it’s easy to pick up and play for someone with no experience at all.

 

I like how the game selects the club you need to use in each instance, & from there it is just a mini-game to calculate how much power goes into the swing and how low or high it should be. You can also you can change the trajectory of the shot by moving left or right before pressing the A button. I like how the game gives you a clue of how much power you need when you are on the green & it certainly made things easier for me. As someone who is not a fan of golf, I enjoyed my time with this game.

 

This was a surprise as I never knew that this game could be so addictive!!! The premise in Crush Roller is simple: just cover the whole area with your character’s color while avoiding the other creatures. Each area has some special rollers in which you can cover a good area quickly.If your enemies are in the way, they can be crushed which increases your score and takes them out for a few seconds giving you time to cover the area and beat the stage.

 

There are also special enemies that leave footprints and force you to cover the area with your color again,  but simply touching them takes them out and you can continue your quest. It’s simple but fun and challenging and in later stages, enemies move faster so you have to think about how to tackle the stage, and I like how the game has a choose your own adventure progression system. After beating a stage you’re given an option to choose one of three possible routes, and beating harder stages gets you close to the end to see everything the game has to offer.  Several playthroughs are needed here and there is also a trial mode with stages you have beaten in normal game mode with added difficulty, so for those looking for a challenge, this is the next step.

 

 

This is an action RPG set in a dark world, and your objective is to find the living weapons in each area. To complete your objective you are given a weapon used to “catch” enemies, which causes enemies defeated with this weapon to be sent to The Master’s house. Those monsters defeated are then used as food to power up the weapons infused with the seed you encounter in each area.  It is confusing at first but once you get the hang of it is somewhat fun.

 

There are several weapons you can encounter, and you can equip up to three at a time so you can have different weapons to try and find a style that suits you. I didn’t like the fact that the weapons consume energy from the yellow gauge below your health gauge and that it slowly regenerates, making it tedious especially in areas with lots of enemies, and  Boss fights can be painfully hard because of that limitation. The areas are well detailed and I like that there is a day and night circle and you can find different areas and enemies depending on the time. This is an interesting choice for the collection I had fun with it, but there were times in which it got so hard that I decided to call it quits.

 

 

Now we’re getting to the meat and potatoes of the collection so to speak; Fatal Fury First Contact, SNK Gals Fighters, KOF R2, The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, and Samurai Shodown 2 are the fighting offerings we get in the collection ( SNK vs Capcom Match of The Millennium is not included as it was replaced with Crush Roller). Each title offers a solid experience, such as in Fatal Fury where we see a roster similar to Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. It feels that I’m playing the aforementioned game and that is awesome( sans the sidestepping known in previous Fatal Fury games), it offers a good challenge and it’s fun to pick up and play.

 

SNK Gals Fighters definitely surprised me, as this game is fun and fast-paced. I enjoyed the story mode The Queen of Fighters, the character interactions and visuals after beating them with a super move are hilarious you might think that is a joke game but it isn’t! Humor and gameplay-wise this game was way ahead of its time. 

 

KOF R2 gives us a portable KOF experience complete with the different teams you can choose, and I am glad to see Shingo as a playable character( Shingo is my favorite KOF character I hope to see him again soon),  and the developers clearly didn’t cut any corners to provide an engaging and fun experience. I had my doubts initially since KOF games are known for all the different mechanics and how each character can perform depending on the gauge you select, but even with the limited buttons the game plays just like its big bros and that is commendable. 

 

The Last Blade is a hidden gem, at least for me because it offers fast-paced combat that sets it apart from Samsho. I discovered this game years after it was released thanks to the Wii virtual console, and it’s one of my favorites. I am glad to see that the overall feel and fast-paced combat are retained in the Neo Geo Pocket Color version. but I must confess that even to this day I don’t know what is the difference between power and speed. 

 

Samurai Shodown 2 plays great, and while it doesn’t offer fast-paced combat like other games in SNK repertoire,  I like the finesse the game offers. For me, Samsho’s combat is like a dance where you need to watch your opponent’s moves and act accordingly, but make one mistake and you are done. I think the developers wanted to give the player the same feeling you see in samurai movies for example, in which a wrong move in a duel could be the end.  I enjoyed this version of the game it plays fluid and the characters feel just like their original versions,  and even details like Ukyo’s coughing are remarkable and it shows what can be done when the developer knows the hardware well. 

 

 

Metal Slug 1st Mission and 2nd Mission are the offerings for those looking for some run and gun action, and they don’t disappoint.  I enjoy the fact that you aren’t dying in one-hit kills, since you have a health gauge ( 3 hits before game over) and the games retain the spirit of the Metal Slug series of games. I liked riding the Metal Slug and then jumping out of it into a fighter jet and then to the boss fight with nothing but my handgun. The difficulty’s there, but not to the point of frustration, so those are a good way to cleanse your palate after too much fighting fun.

 

Bottom Line: The NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 gives us a glimpse of the greatness that was the Neo Geo Pocket Color as a console with great games that you couldn’t play elsewhere. It was a shame that those games were stuck to the original hardware for so long, but you can enjoy them on Steam and Nintendo Switch thanks to this release. I definitely recommend them they have aged very well and can be a good option to enjoy on your PC.