(This suggestion from @JayTay)
It’s a terrible shame the Neo Geo Pocket Colour[ref]There was a mono version that preceded it, but that was quickly replaced and never officially released in the UK[/ref] died a death so early in its life. There was no way it was ever going to compete with the Pokémon-powered Game Boy, regardless of game line-up or specifications, but SNK gave it a brave try anyway.
In 1999, I got my first proper, full time, permanent job. Just a few weeks after the Neo Geo Pocket Colour[ref]No, I’ll never refer to it without a “U”[/ref] was released in the UK, I received my first pay packet for that job. Obviously, I was going to buy a one, and indeed I did that very day. A reward for myself. I’m not 100% certain on which games I purchased at the same time, but I’m pretty sure two of them were Neo Turf Masters and Fatal Fury First Contact.
There never was a massive catalogue of titles for the system, with even fewer released outside of Japan, but the majority of those for the little handheld were excellent. It may have been limited to barely more than games based on SNK’s own properties, with a handful of cartridges from Sega, Namco and some smaller publishers, it nevertheless produced some classics.
Fighting games, SNK’s strongest genre, were well represented. Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, and even SNK vs Capcom all made an appearance. Each used “super deformed” versions of the original games’ characters, and a modified move set to make up for a reduced number of buttons, but they were slick, responsive and a lot of fun. A pair of card-battler titles based on SNK vs Capcom were also produced, and are well regarded cult classics.
SNK additionally released two games based on their Metal Slug series: Metal Slug 1st Mission, and (unsurprisingly) Metal Slug 2nd Mission. Slightly more platform based than the arcade titles, and somewhat easier (in part because you don’t need to keep feeding it 10p pieces), the graphical style and humour of the originals are retained and both are excellent.
Sonic the Hedgehog made an appearance, in a modified version of the Mega Drive Sonic 2 game. The NGPC take included some level alterations and music from other titles in the series, some new bosses, as well as hidden jigsaw pieces to find, and remains one of my favourite games for the system.
Besides the games, the handheld itself was rather lovely. It had a nice clear screen (not backlit, but back then most things weren’t either), and the batteries lasted ages. The best bit, though, was the micro-switched mini-joystick. Pleasingly clicky and tactile, it’s baffling no other console since had one similar. SNK, perhaps testament to their arcade roots, made the best controls on any handheld before or since. They even thought to provide a shim to fit round the stick in order to transform it into a 4-directional controller (rather than 8). This was a must for titles like Pac-man and Crush Roller that used such a stick in the arcade.
Sadly, the future of the Neo Geo Pocket Colour was not to be. It was technically superior to the Game Boy Colour, and was a fantastic piece of kit with a pile of excellent games, but Nintendo had a juggernaut. Even the NGPC getting mentions on Radio 1 (Zoe Ball had them as prizes for a couple of weeks) didn’t help, and within a year it was essentially dead. I enjoyed mopping up all the games for a fiver each at the local shop, but mourned the loss of a glimpse of what could have been.
