Editorial ReviewLook out, Game Boy Color. When it comes to serious portable gameplay, there's finally some legitimate competition for the popular Nintendo system (which has sold over 80 million units). If you dare to be different, consider the NEOGEO Pocket Color, a hand-held system created by the Japanese company SNK.
The screen is 10 percent bigger than Game Boy's, but the overall machine has roughly the same convenient pocket-sized dimensions and light weight as the Game Boy. The NEOGEO Pocket Color provides up to 40 hours of continuous fun on just two AA batteries. The 16-bit graphics are crystal clear--making it easy to tell the difference between humans and animals, friends and foes, and walls and doors--and easily viewed in both bright and dim lighting. The color palette has three times the range of its competitor's, with 146 possible shades. There is also a built-in calendar, daily horoscope, alarm clock, and global clock that can be accessed even without a game cartridge in the slot. Two players can go head-to-head with a simple cable connection (sold separately). NEOGEO is available in six different casing colors: silver, clear, blue, ocean blue, stone blue, and anthracite.
The only drawback is that NEOGEO is new and, therefore, playing catch-up to Nintendo's well-stocked list of titles, which boasts A-list offerings such as Super Mario Brothers, Pokémon Pinball, and Tetris. But SNK scores points for the few titles that it does offer for the system. Among the better titles for NEOGEO are Dragons Wild video poker, arcade classics Bust-A-Move and Pac-Man, and your basic serve-and-volley Pocket Tennis. Most of these games are pretty addictive and perfectly suited to the well-designed, thumb-friendly, eight-position joystick. --Carrie Bell
Pros:
Better graphics than other portable players
Very good visibility in bright sun and dim light
Variety of fun colors
Cons:
No Pokémon titles yet
Response of the joystick isn't the best on games (such as Crush Roller) that require sharp, quick turns
What Others Say
One of the best handhelds EVER, especially for Fighters!
Since I'm reviewing the system as a whole, I'll try not to go into detail about individual games too much, but rather give you reasons to buy this system and which games you should look into.
I got my NGPC a little late in the game (about 3 years ago), but I have to say that since then, I've played it more than most other handhelds...even to this day (with only my DS rivaling it at the moment). I now have about 20 games total, including a few rare ones and not a single one of them is bad (which is a lot more than I can say for some of my GBA and PSP games).
Now I know a lot of people wouldn't bother picking one up for a few of the more common reasons:
1. Dated graphics
2. No lit screen
3. No ... Read More
10 stars... no, 20
I ordered the Neogeo Pocket Color just for the novelty of it. I hadn't even held one before, let alone played one. So I ordered two, one for my friend and one for me, not expecting anything great at all.
Simply said: SNK has created an amazing handheld experience. You may think "but it's an out-dated handheld, there's no way that I would enjoy it." And I would have agreed with you a couple days ago. SNK produced games so well for this little handheld that I have not experienced anything like it through out my years of playing videogames. These games don't feel like they should be on a handheld at all, they're as deep as any other console game and they look great! Not only are the games great, the NGPC is small and lighter then ... Read More
Buy a SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color!!!
This is a great system. It is very affordable, and fun. Even if you are a die hard GBA/SP fan like me, I would still recommend a SNK Neo Geo. You can easily pick up games for this system at a fraction of the cost of other games. The graphics are really good, and the overall feel of the system in my hands is good. I really like the 8-way joy stick. Overall - just a very neat system that is often overlooked. SNK rules!
One of the greatest yet least heard of handheld,
I useally don't write reviews unless I really like what I got. Anyway,I just recently bought my NeoGeo Pocket and I was amazed. I used to own a gameboy color and a gameboy advance, but this is better than the two. This 16 bit console compared to a 32 bit gameboy advance. To me, The graphics on the NeoGeo is better. And most of the games on the GBA are from the snes. It's basically a handheld snes(super nintendo). So what I'm trying to say is, the graphics are 16 bit 'cause the snes is. The GBA does have more games than the neogeo. There is 50 on the GBA, over 1000 in the gameboy library, but the graphics are [bad] on the gameboy. The screen is a bit smaller(2.6 compared to 2.85) but It's no big deal. It's also more economical. ... The games look ... Read More
A handheld that wasn't understood,
I just got my NeoGeo pocket and I was amazed! I used to own a gameboy and a gameboy advance and this is better than both of them. First of all, it has a joystick(joy) but nintendo still keeps the D-Pad. Yes, the screen will be a bit smaller than the GBA(2.6 compared to 2.85), but i didn't see a difference. It's a 16 bit powerhouse(compared to the GBA, which is 32 bit)but the games look and play the same as the GBA. Also, the Game boy has over a thousand games in it's library, but the graphics are crappy. And most of the "New" GBA games are mostly the same games from the snes. The GBA is basically a portable snes. Anyway, most of the games on the NeoGeo are likeable, like sonic pocket adventure, metal slug 1st and 2nd mission, match of the millenium ... Read More
