[Switch] Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1 - A Quick Look

Recently picked up Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1 for the Nintendo Switch, and since I have a lot of free time recently (due to the lockdown in London) I thought I'd just do a quick write up with some thoughts on this collection. 

First of all the games on this collection are as follows:

• Big Tournament Golf (Neo Turf Masters), 
• Dark Arms: Beast Buster
• Fatal Fury: First Contact
• SNK Gals' Fighters
• King of Fighters R-2
• The Last Blade
• Metal Slug 1st Mission
• Metal Slug 2nd Mission 
• Samurai Shodown! 2
• SNK Vs Capcom: Match Of The Millenium

For £35.99 you're getting 10 games, which is pretty good value considering buying just one of the games on the original NGPC can cost more than that nowadays. 

In terms of the game selection I think that it's quite a nice mix, but maybe a bit fighter heavy. 

Also it kind of makes you wonder what titles they'll include in vol.2, considering SNK vs Capcom and Gals' Fighters are two of the more desirable games on the system and are already included in this collection. 

I'm hoping that if there is a vol.2 that they'll include Neo Geo Cup 98, it was one of the few games I owned when I first bought the original NGP years ago and a game I played and enjoyed a lot. 

Anyway getting back to the collection. 

Emulation wise, as far as I can tell, it seems pretty accurate to the original versions.

I've not played far enough into KOF R-2 yet, but I seem to remember reading that the DC Link mode is not possible on this collection (for obvious reasons), so it may mean that in "making mode" that you may not be able to get 100% item collection as the original game required you to connect your NGPC to the Dreamcast port of KOF98. 

A big plus for this collection is that you're able to play two players on a single switch console. with each player given their own screen, a little similar to a cocktail table arcade cabinet, and can be controlled with each of the two joy-cons. 

Having owned the original NGP since it came out, I didn't know many people who owned it as well so over the 20 years I've owned the console I've probably only ever tried 2 player mode once lol...

Since the Switch is portable it means I now have more of a chance to play against someone else. 

(Also note that one of the hidden characters in FF:FC is only playable in 2P mode...)

I mainly play my Switch docked on a 55inch 4K TV, and it looks pretty good in my opinion.

You can turn on or off the 'scanlines' as you prefer, and for the games that were compatible with the original black and white NGP you can also choose that for a more monochrome look. 

For the games that aren't compatible though you'll likely see something like this:

I thought it was a pretty clever touch, it's what you'd really see if you put a NGPC only cartridge into the original NGP. 

You are also able to choose New NGPC mode, as of yet I'm unable to tell any real difference between choosing the New mode vs standard Color. Even though I own both the New NGPC and NGPC, I've always thought the only difference was the size, but according to Wikipedia the only real difference is better quality sound. 

I tested a few different controllers with the collection (HRAPv5 Hayabusa, Switch Pro Controller, 8bitdo M30) just to see which would be more comfortable to play with. 

Of the three I tried I didn't necessarily feel that any of them were as natural as playing with the original clicky stick. I mainly play using the HRAP v5 as i like joysticks but I do find it easier to do spinning pile driver with the pro controller's dpad. 

One thing I thought I'd mention about this collection though is that even when they were first released the console was pretty old technology (considering the GameBoy Advance came out around the same time, or maybe a little later), so some of the games do feel pretty clunky and dated. Still, the games are fun if a little basic.

Personally, back then it was pretty amazing being able to play a portable version of KOF even if it was an incredibly simplified version. 

One thing I didn't really notice when playing it in the past is that some of the fighting games on the NGPC have grab combos similar to the early KOF games where you could do a jump attack and if you input the grab command it would chain it as a combo. So in MOTM you can do Zangief's splash into SPD/Final Atomic Buster. 

Overall I'm enjoying this collection so far, I'm getting to revisit some of the games I've enjoyed in the past as well as playing a couple of them for the first time (Big tournament golf, and Dark Arms).

There's probably a lot more I could write but I'm probably out of practice writing (considering I haven't blogged for almost four years lol) and it's taken me longer than I expected to just type this far. 

So to end this, I'd recommend this collection for old fans as well as people who have never experienced playing the NGPC. For £35.99 you're getting good value for money for a decent collection of games.