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[kess]

Probably the only system where almost every game is pure gold.

Plus it had a built in horoscope and a million hours of battery life. Dirt cheap too. Saw a few of these around outside of the usual crowd, and things probably would have gone better if SNK was in better shape. Tying themselves to Sega was probably the only thing they could have done, given the circumstances. That was where the hardcore market was.

Dunno how the thing went over in Japan when heavy hitters like Square were releasing games like Final Fantasy on the Wonderswan.

 

[kess]

What a shame about SNK (and I don't mean Playmore) though. They really were on fire at the end, and finally breaking out of that fighting game box. The same could be said for sister companies ADK and Yumekobo, which went out with their benefactor.

 

[Celine]

Dunno how the thing went over in Japan when heavy hitters like Square were releasing games like Final Fantasy on the Wonderswan.

Famitsu:

Sony PlayStation Portable: 19.62 million
Bandai WonderSwan: 3.00 million
Sony PlayStation Vita: 2.39 million
Sega Game Gear: 1.78 million
SNK Neo Geo Pocket: 0.55 million

Mind you by the time Final Fantasy remake and WSC got released (late December 2000) NGP was dead in the west and more or less gone in Japan too.

In US NGP should have sold around 175K.

What a shame about SNK (and I don't mean Playmore) though. They really were on fire at the end, and finally breaking out of that fighting game box. The same could be said for sister companies ADK and Yumekobo, which went out with their benefactor.

Hell yeah, we missed out Magician Lord 2 for NGP and a few other ADK properties like World Heroes because NGP wasn't successful enough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEYkWjsIQ3k

 

[dark10x]

Well, I actually collect handhelds as well as regular consoles so I own three different Neo Pockets (two Japanese models - Color and B&W + one US model) and a whole lot of games.

I actually found it rather disappointing. I like some of the games (especially Sonic Pocket), but there's a fatal, unexpected flaw with virtually every game on the system; they all run at 30 fps or lower.

This is kind of a big deal to me as even the Gameboy and Gameboy Color ran nearly every game at a proper 60 fps (or whatever the exact refresh rate was). NGPC never really did that. Sonic runs at 30 fps with slowdown, for instance. The Game Gear Sonic titles, which I dislike, all at least ran at 60 fps with lots of slowdown so they had a much higher ceiling.

The Wonderswan, which I like less, actually runs most of its games at 60 fps with parallax scrolling...both of which were rare on NGPC.

Unlike the GBA, it wasn't a pain playing against a light on the NGPC.

Eh, it's actually pretty similar. The better color palette of the GBA actually caused most of those problems as it becomes more difficult to do complex shades without a backlight.

 

[Artorias]

Here is the majority of my collection aside from a lot of cart only doubles for link play. I couldn't find a few JP RPGs I got in case I actually learn the language one of these days.

There are some doubles in there, I've got some sealed games I ended up getting another copy of to play, and I have two copies of almost anything with a multiplayer mode. The consoles are pristine. I opened the NA clear one and blue one myself. I had a sealed platinum one as well but I sold it last year. I like the clear ones way more. I still want a JP clear one, but that will hopefully be my last!

 

[Skunkers]

YES.

All told one of my favorite systems of all time. There was a lot of real magic here, especially for fighting game fans.

Fatal Fury: First Contact
KOF R-1/R-2
Gals Fighters
The Last Blade

And of course, crown jewel of them all: SvC: Match Of The Millennium.

I've been called crazy before, but SvC:MOTM was easily my favorite thing to come of the whole partnership between SNK and Capcom; I enjoyed it a lot more than CvS1/2. Considering the limitations of the handheld, they really nailed the feel of it; it felt like a really good mashup between SFA3 and KOF98. A lot of Capcom characters were tuned up to match the SNK characters with larger move lists, rather than the SNK characters largely being nerfed in CvS. There was a metric buttload of extra content, including unlockable secret characters, LVL3 supers/SDMs, mini-games in the Olympic mode, etc. It was a truly fantastic game, SNK at their peak. It really makes me wish SNK hadn't gone under before they got to make their Arcade version of SvC, since we had to settle for the weak SNK Playmore SvC Chaos years later.

The Last Blade was another fantastic little port. It was as close as a 1-to-1 conversion of the arcade as you could expect. The coolest thing about it was that it was essentially a port of both Last Blade 1 and Last Blade 2; you started off with the characters from the first game, and beating the game with them would give their LB1 story and then unlock their LB2 version. It was also unlock the new characters from LB2. Man, what a gem.

 

[Tempy]

Here is the majority of my collection aside from a lot of cart only doubles for link play. I couldn't find a few JP RPGs I got in case I actually learn the language one of these days.



There are some doubles in there, I've got some sealed games I ended up getting another copy of to play, and I have two copies of almost anything with a multiplayer mode. The consoles are pristine. I opened the NA clear one and blue one myself. I had a sealed platinum one as well but I sold it last year. I like the clear ones way more. I still want a JP clear one, but that will hopefully be my last!

Very nice collection!

How's that Derby Champ btw?

 

[MrCunningham]

I never understood why the released a model with a black and white screen, then a year later release a colour version. Did colour LCD screen manufacturing costs in drop in price in 1999? Bandai did the same thing with the Wonderswan.

The NGPC was a pretty cool little handheld though, I kinda still want one.

 

[Hours Left]

I was totally obsessed with my NGPC. I took it EVERYWHERE.

I don't get why we can't get these games on some sort of digitial service. :/

 

[kess]

Interestingly enough, about the same time as they were releasing stuff like Sonic Pocket Adventure for the Pocket Color, Sega was also releasing Sakura Taisen and Columns for the Game Boy Color.

But The Pocket Color has a 8-bit version of Hydrocity Zone so we know who came out on top in this deal

 

[Artorias]

Very nice collection!

How's that Derby Champ btw?

Thanks!

I've never tried that one actually, it came in a lot with a bunch of stuff. It's probably in japanese so I wouldn't get very far haha. I really do want to start learning soon but I always say that

 

[Celine]

I never understood why the released a model with a black and white screen, then a year later release a colour version. Did colour LCD screen manufacturing costs in drop in price in 1999? Bandai did the same thing with the Wonderswan.

The NGPC was a pretty cool little handheld though, I kinda still want one.

Probably because it added to BOM and if you weren't cheaper than GBC then you couldn't have a chance (WS was initially sold for 4800 yen, more or less the price of a game).
Also GB dominated the business against competitors with color screens so at the time releasing a handheld with a "black and white" screen wasn't see as an uncommon practice.

 

[Drpunch]

I still have mine somewhere thankfully. It was a great handheld, way ahead of its time when it came out. Card Fighters Clash was an incredibly addictive game. SNK vs. Capcom was also ace. Very tempted to pull it out again!

 

[Vysetron]

I still mess around with mine on occasion. Love that little blue camo bastard.

Favorite game on the thing:

 

[Artorias]

By the way, the Japanese version of Faselei has full English text in it and is dirt-cheap on Ebay. Just so you guys know.

Is this true? I've never tried it but I thought Faselei was one of the few games that does not have an English translation on the JP cart. Hence the price of English carts.

 

[Celine]

Is this true? I've never tried it but I thought Faselei was one of the few games that does not have an English translation on the JP cart. Hence the price of English carts.

I don't think it's true.

 

[John Blade]

Is this true? I've never tried it but I thought Faselei was one of the few games that does not have an English translation on the JP cart. Hence the price of English carts.

I am guessing the person who say this is saying the menu not the dialogue but need someone to find out more about this.

 

[patrickthehedgehog]

Aww, I love mine so much. The games on the system felt so snappy and fast. They did a good job of keeping that arcade Neo Geo feel.

My modest collection

I'd like to pick up the Fatal Fury game some day as well as Crush Roller and Neo Turf Masters.

 

[MrCunningham]

Probably because it added to BOM and if you weren't cheaper than GBC then you couldn't have a chance (WS was initially sold for 4800 yen, more or less the price of a game).
Also GB dominated the business against competitors with color screens so at the time releasing a handheld with a "black and white" screen wasn't see as an uncommon practice.

Hmm, I didn't realize that the original B&W system was that cheap upon release. Funny how long Ni8ntendo held back portable gaming with the Game Boy. Especially when you conciser hardware like the Atari Lynx that came out in 1989 and had scaling and rotation hardware in it that could make the SNES cry. But then again early full blown back lit systems like the Game Gear, Turbo Express and Lynx had battery life of 2-3 hours.

All things considering, the NGPC was a nice piece of hardware for its price tag.

 

[Dougald]

I played the hell out of cardfighters clash back when this was a thing. Brilliant little handheld, pity it was doomed

 

[Teknoman]

NGPC games have a really unique sound. Its totally different from anything 8-bit i've heard before.

Anyway, I only got into it about 2 years back, have a Crystal Blue (there are slim versions?) with Sonic Pocket Color, Metal Slug 1st mission, 2nd mission, Snk vs Capcom (so good, and controls really well), and Bust a Move (came free with the system).

I want Biomotor Unitron. And I feel lame for seeing those 4 packs for cheap everywhere I went...never picking up one.

EDIT: The one in the OP is the crystal blue I have...had no idea it was considered slim, just thought it was a different color lol.

 

[Loona]

SvC MotM is still the best crossover ever even after all these years - a true love letter to both companies in playable form.

 

[catmincer]

Dark Arms rules. Buy it.

 

[polg]

I remember being on holidays in California, and going to a random imports shop near Santa Monica when I found SNK vs. Capcom (JP).
I splashed on that and played it non-stop for MONTHS. Love the portable. I'm on a mission to get all the games.

 

[Zeppeli]

Does the PSP emulate this thing okay? I think I'd rather buy a PSP for emulation on the go versus this.

 

[TheyTookOurJobs]

Quality system and not a single game is bad. Got mine in '99 from eToys.com. Two of the games came in the clamshell packaging.

SNK Vs Capcom card fighters is an all time top 10 for me.

 

[ElectricThunder]

All due glory to Dicing Knight, and whatever secrets like buried in time via WonderWitch and all else. Damn shame that if there's a scene for the machine, it isn't anywhere near as visible as the MSX and whatnot. :/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicing_Knight_Period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WonderWitch

http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1073/

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Dat clicky thumbstick. Vita's clicky d-pad comes close, but...

 

[Jamix012]

I really wish SNKP wouldn't bother with shit like the NeoGeo X and release a home consolised version of the NeoGeo Pocket.

 

[Tempy]

Still looking to add the following games to my collection (although they can be pretty expensive):
Dynamite Slugger, Evolution: Eternal Dungeons, Cotton, Ganbare Neo Poke-kun, The Last Blade, Magical Drop, Puyo Pop, Rockman Battle & Fighters, Super Real Mahjong.

 

[Weltall Zero]

I only had two games (Card Fighters Clash and Match of the Millenium), but I played the hell out of them. Like, seriously, I'm sure I clocked over a hundred hours of each minimum. Awesome little system, and these two games were incredible.

 

[Slermy]

Oh what the hell, that pack has three of the four titles I'm interested in on the system. How have I never seen that before?

 

[LamerDeluxe]

Hmm, I didn't realize that the original B&W system was that cheap upon release. Funny how long Ni8ntendo held back portable gaming with the Game Boy. Especially when you conciser hardware like the Atari Lynx that came out in 1989 and had scaling and rotation hardware in it that could make the SNES cry. But then again early full blown back lit systems like the Game Gear, Turbo Express and Lynx had battery life of 2-3 hours.

Actually the Lynx II has 5 to 6 hours battery life, which is pretty normal for current handhelds as well. Problem was it took six AA batteries, although there were also rechargable battery packs. The battery life of the GameGear is about three hours.

It couldn't do rotation though. It could do an unlimited amount of scalable, compressed sprites at almost unlimited size, all graphics you see on the Lynx display are sprites. Whole scaling levels are made out of sprites. They could also be tapered and sheared.

The Lynx II could also do four channels of 8-bit PCM sound with free stereo panning, as well as upto 15 player multiplayer games.

The microswithed d-pad of the NGP is amazing though, too bad I only have the B/W version.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

I was a proud NGPC owner. Even had the Dreamcast link cable! (And both games that used it.) Totally loved mine - except for the clicky stick. People praise it, but it was super annoying for anyone around you on a train or a bus.

Loved Samurai Shodown, King of Fighters R2, Cardfighters Clash, Biomotor Unitron, Metal Slug, SNK vs Capcom...great little system that deserved a longer lifespan.

 

[Celine]

BTW was there a saving feature in Metal Slug games for NGP?
If yes how does it work?

 

[soxinthebox]

I had been toying with the idea of picking up one since they are really cheap and have a unique library that I have absolutely no experience with.

Any chance of a Back in My Play covering the handheld? Might tip me over the edge...

 

[GungriffonEX]

I still have my Silver NGPC with Last Blade 2 and MotM.

Last Blade 2 was so good. Pretty much every combo you can do on the Dreamcast you can do in the NGPC version.

 

[Like the hat?]

I need to find someone that can do a backlight mod on mine. That's the only reason I don't play mine more.

 

[CoachKevin]

I had been toying with the idea of picking up one since they are really cheap and have a unique library that I have absolutely no experience with.

Any chance of a Back in My Play covering the handheld? Might tip me over the edge...

In talks to do one. Would be the test for a platform specific episode.

 

[Balb]

I wouldn't say it was ahead of the game. It was pretty underpowered when it came out . didn't stop it from being a pretty cool system though

 

[Jamix012]

So uh, is there any mod for this thing that allows gives AV or RGB out?

 

[Artorias]

Oh what the hell, that pack has three of the four titles I'm interested in on the system. How have I never seen that before?

The Faselei in the pack is JP though, no idea why its in there haha. There are some sellers on Amazon with 4 packs but sometimes in the description they say its a different one so be careful if you buy one there.

 

[CoachKevin]

Making good progress in Dark Arms tonight, not bad for $5! What a crazy game. Like a miz of Ghostbusters and Van Helsing.

edit: Also in this picture, it looks like the main character is giving you the middle finger...

 

[Snkfanatic]

You guys inspired me to go find mine I have had since launch. I can't believe I took such good care of my things even back then haha. Sorry for the crappy iphone pic.

Put some new batteries in and it turns on fine. The red light is flashing and I have a feeling it must be the watch style battery. Going to pick up a new one tomorrow and play some metal slug.

 

[CoachKevin]

You guys inspired me to go find mine I have had since launch. I can't believe I took such good care of my things even back then haha. Sorry for the crappy iphone pic.

Put some new batteries in and it turns on fine. The red light is flashing and I have a feeling it must be the watch style battery. Going to pick up a new one tomorrow and play some metal slug.

Yeah! Hoping more on GAF get back into some NGPC gaming!

 

[endresults]

I traded my NGPC + bust a move and metal slug away for a Zip drive I needed for school way back when. I still hate myself over this.

 

[flak57]

One of the things I liked most was that a lot of the familiar IPs had a ton of added content. Sonic had puzzle pieces to search the levels for (some hidden in evil evil spots) and graded time trials to complete, MOTM had the mini-game mode (and so much more), Last Blade had tons of unlockable scrolls with artwork, bits of character background etc, Samsho had collectible cards, KoF R2 had "making" mode where you could upgrade your character with new moves in a variety of "missions".

All these things really added a ton to the experience for me. Of course that was back before I had millions of games at my disposal like these days, so things like that meant more.

 

[Teknoman]

What is Dark Arms about anyway?

 

[Celine]

What is Dark Arms about anyway?

it's a action game where you collect souls from defeated monsters to upgrade your weapons.
If you can find it for a cheap price it's worth it IMO.

 

[goldenpp72]

I own about 25 cib titles for this but can't find the last 2 I want. It's a very cheap system to buy for and very solid all around. I belive only 32 games were published in the US for it.