NEOGEO Pocket Color Collection, Vol. 1

Genre: Compilation / Fighting / Misc.

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local)

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Review:

(Note: Multiple games in this Compilation are available elsewhere on the Nintendo Switch. Fatal Fury First Contact, King of Fighters R-2, Samurai Shodown! 2, SNK Gals’ Fighters, SNK Vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, and The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny are all available for purchase individually, and Metal Slug 1st Mission and Metal Slug 2nd Mission are included in Metal Slug 1st & 2nd Mission Double Pack)

NEOGEO Pocket Color Collection, Vol. 1, released in 2021 on PC and Nintendo Switch, is a Compilation that includes 10 games, more than half of them Fighting games, and all originally released in 1999 and 2000 on the NEOGEO Pocket Color handheld gaming platform. Many of these titles have been released elsewhere on the platform and I have reviewed them there, with only two (Big Tournament Golf and Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999) not getting a separate re-release.

Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Big Tournament Golf	Sports (Golf)	1-2 Competitive (Local Split-Screen)	B
tl;dr This is a straightforward but well-crafted game of Golf. Not much else to say about this.
Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999	Action-RPG	1-2 Competitive	C
tl;dr Not only is this Action-RPG the worst kind of grindy, but your attacks need time to recharge, slowing down the game’s pace even more. This one isn’t worth your time.
Fatal Fury First Contact	Fighting	1-2 Competitive (Local)	C-
tl;dr Fatal Fury First Contact is a Fighting Game in SNK’s long-running series originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre or even in its own series, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other games in the Fatal Fury series.
King of Fighters R-2	Fighting	1-2 Competitive (Local)	C-
tl;dr King of Fighters R-2 is a Fighting Game in SNK’s long-running series originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre or even in its own series, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other games in the King of Fighters series.
Metal Slug 1st Mission	Action-Platformer	1	C
tl;dr Metal Slug 1st Mission is a Compilation of the two named Action-Platformers in SNK’s long-running series originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobble these games when they’re compared to other games in the genre or even in its own series, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other games in the Metal Slug series.
Metal Slug 2nd Mission	Action-Platformer	1	C
tl;dr Metal Slug 2nd Mission is a Compilation of the two named Action-Platformers in SNK’s long-running series originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobble these games when they’re compared to other games in the genre or even in its own series, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other games in the Metal Slug series.
Samurai Shodown! 2	Fighting	1-2 Competitive (Local)	C
tl;dr Samurai Shodown! 2 is a Fighting Game in SNK’s long-running series originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre or even in its own series, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other games in the Samurai Shodown series.
SNK Gals’ Fighters	Fighting	1-2 Competitive (Local)	C+
tl;dr SNK Gals’ Fighters is a Fighting Game featuring female fighters from throughout SNK’s franchises, originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre or even other SNK Fighting games, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch for the same price. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other SNK Fighting games.
SNK Vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium	Fighting	1-2 Competitive (Local)	C
tl;dr SNK Vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium is a Fighting Game featuring an all-star roster of characters from the two named companies, originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch for the same price. Unfortunately, as of this writing none of those games feature this great selection of characters, so if you want to see Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui face off against Ryu and Chun Li, this is currently your only option.
The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny	Fighting	1-2 Competitive (Local)	C-
tl;dr The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny is a Fighting Game originally released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color. Unfortunately, the limitations of that hardware really hobbles this game when it’s compared to other games in the genre or even in its own series, including the ACA NEOGEO games you can get on the Nintendo Switch for the same price. Unless you have a nostalgia for the original release, you’re better off sticking with other games in The Last Blade series.

Yeah, I sound a lot like a broken record here, because many of the games in this collection have the same problems. Poor response time, Fighting games with a disappointingly small roster, framerate issues, and the fact that most of these games all have much better counterparts that are also available on Nintendo Switch in the ACA NEOGEO series all combine to make most of the games here severely lacking in their appeal.

Interestingly, the one true bright spot in this Compilation is one of the two games that isn’t being sold separately, and likely because few would have much interest in it – despite all the big-name SNK franchises in this package, the one game here that has actually aged quite well is Big Tournament Golf. Now, this isn’t a truly exceptional Golf game, but it is a pretty good one, and as 2D Golf games go it compares well to even modern games in the genre.

Here’s the thing, though – this Compilation costs $40. That averages out to $4 per game, and if you compare that to the $8 price tag attached to the individual releases in this collection that have been sold separately, this is a real bargain… but if you’re only interested in the good games here, $40 just to play one 20+ year-old Golf game is just ridiculous.

However, I’m speaking as someone who never played the NEOGEO Pocket Color. For players who played the handheld when it originally released, and who look back fondly on these games, NEOGEO Pocket Color Collection, Vol. 1 is a great opportunity to play these games on a modern platform, and the price is much better than getting the included games separately. But for those of us not looking through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, this collection simply is not worth the price – for the same price, you can get multiple better Fighting games and Metal Slug-style Action-Platformers, and all that leaves is a good Golf game. But even there, you have other options, like Golf Story. As such, I can’t really recommend this collection to anyone other than the most fervent collectors.

tl;dr – NEOGEO Pocket Color Collection, Vol. 1 is a Compilation of 10 games from SNK’s 1999-2000-era handheld game platform, most of these being Fighting Games. Unfortunately, the limitations of the hardware these games were originally released on make almost all of these games compare poorly to other Fighting games available on the Nintendo Switch, and the one game in this package that has aged surprisingly well, Big Tournament Golf, just isn’t enough on its own to justify the $40 price tag for this collection. As a result, this is a package that only collectors and the nostalgia-charmed fans of the original releases will want to bother with.

Grade: C

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