NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1 Review
Release date: March 17th, 2021
Developer: SNK
Platforms: Nintendo eshop
Price: $39.99
Were you one of the small class of gamers that had a NeoGeo Pocket back in the day? If you were then this collection is a perfect way to relive some of your favorite handheld memories. The Gamers Lounge has spent some with this collection and is happy to say this collection is worth at least looking into if you are a fan.
SNK has always been one of my favorite companies and they have already released several NeoGeo Pocket games on the Nintendo eshop already and these include such titles as Samurai Shodown! 2, The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, King of Fighters R-2, SNK Gals' Fighters, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium, and Fatal Fury First Contact Now. Gamers get a compilation release with NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1, and this collection includes the list of games mentioned above as well as a few more to round it out. There is also Metal Slug 1st and 2nd Mission, Neo Turf Masters, and Dark Arms: Beast Buster. Some NeoGeo Pockets fans won’t be happy with this, due to them potentially having to double dip on stuff they already own but there are some nice added bonuses in this collection.
Gamers have access to the box and manuals for each of the games, the boxes are fully 3D and the manuals are easy to read. Gamers can play the games in new color, original color, or black and white. There is a rewind function. Players can zoom in on the screen when playing which makes in great for those of us that use the switch on a large TV or play it in handheld mode. This really helps to get that classic feeling of a NeoGeo Pocket. There are co-op options for most of the titles, sometimes it's split screen and sometimes in the case of the fighting games it's the same screen.
Don’t get me wrong the fighting games are fun pocket sized experiences of their older siblings. They look decent, play fine, but I still struggled with most of the fighting games mainly due to my skill level. I did enjoy Gal Fighters a lot mostly due to the humor and its take on the fighting genre. Capcom vs Snk was also a lot of fun just because it's a pocket sized mash up of different franchises that plays pretty well. I wanted to go hook up my Dreamcast after this. If you are interested in checking out a review of last blade, Ryan wrote a review here.https://www.the-gamers-lounge.com/ryan-johnson/2020/11/3/the-last-blade-beyond-the-destiny-switch-review
Well let's look at the newcomers to this collection, starting with Neo Turf Masters. I found it to be a blast as this is a fun, bite sized golf arcade game that has this fun deformed look with 3 different courses to play on, several different golf pros to choose from each with different skills. I found it to be quite addicting to pick my club, decide if I was going to slice the ball and hit away. It scratched the golf itch that Golf Story did.
Metal Slug 1st and 2nd Mission are definitely the two must haves in the NeoGeo Pocket library. They are pared down to fit the NeoGeo Pocket there aren't lives but players have to refill their heath bar. Missions are quick and the platforming is great. The game controls well and if you want to throw grenades you have to use the option button which is mapped to the + button on the Switch. Would have been nice if we could have remapped this, I did notice with these two games when the action got heavy the game’s framerate dipped. Not enough to make it unplayable but gamers will notice.
Now onto the strangest game in the collection, Dark Arms: Beast Buster. This reminds of a dungeon crawler with RPG elements. Players have to explore and can evolve their weapons and its from a top down perspective. I found out it's a sequel to an arcade game known as Beast Buster. But it didn't grab my attention like Metal Slug did. I kept thinking I was playing Zelda 1 in a sci-fi meets fantasy world. While it's a welcome game to the collection, it may only appeal to certain people.
Overall, this is a very solid collection, there are lots of fun games. If you haven't played the NeoGeo Pocket this is a great way to get into the collection. With the title of Vol 1, maybe gamers can hope we’ll get another collection with more games such as Puzzle Bobble Mini, Card Fighters, Sonic and Pocket Tennis. Thanks to the publisher for letting us review it
Final Score
Pros:
Variety
Lots of neat feattuerson the Switch and bonuses
Games run pretty well and really capture the Neo Geo Pocket
Cons:
Too many fighters
Need the ability to remap buttons
Make sure the games had a quick save option