REVIEW: NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1


Title	NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1
Developer	SNK
Publisher	SNK
Release Date	March 17th, 2021
Genre	Versus Fighting, Action, Sports
Platform	Nintendo Switch
Age Rating	ESRB – Teen
Official Website

SNK has been releasing a steady stream of NeoGeo Pocket games on Nintendo Switch over the last year. There has been a total of six titles released so far, and having reviewed each of them I can safely say they are all quality titles for your Nintendo Switch. SNK has now complied these six titles and four brand new titles into one collection, the NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1. This review is going to look at this collection as a whole, since I have already reviewed over half the titles here. I will be posting a review of two Metal Slug titles shortly, since I feel like there is a lot of great things to discuss about them. Anyway, without further ado, let’s get this retro party started.

The first thing to discuss here is, of course, the games. NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 includes these previously released titles: SNK Gals’ Fighters, Samurai Shodown 2, King of Fighters R-2,The Last Blade: Beyond the Destiny, Fatal Fury First Contact and SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium. The four brand new titles to the Nintendo Switch are Metal Slug 1 and 2, Big Tournament Gold, and Dark Arms: Beast Busters. I feel like these 10 titles are a pretty well-rounded collection. I mean there are a lot of fighters, but the four new titles add a bit of spice to the mix. Dark Arms: Beast Busters is an action RPG, and something I wouldn’t expect to see in a collection like this.

If you have purchased any of the previously released titles, you know they come with wonderful scanned instruction manuals that are fully translated. I love that SNK has taken the time to do this, not only for the great character introduction sections, but for the artwork as well. NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 takes this a step further and allows you to look at game boxes and cartridges in full 3D as well. They even translated the back of each box. This may seem like a silly feature at first, but I feel like collections like these really shine when they give you little extras like these.

Each game comes with the bells and whistles you would expect from a collection like this. You can choose many different graphical borders for the games, add scale lines and even choose a color option. Players can choose from black and white, color and new color options. Each of these give the games a different look, and I found it interesting to see the differences between color and new color. There aren’t save states per say, but the game will remember the exact spot you left off at if you exit it. There is also a handy rewind feature that you will use often playing Metal Slug, for sure!

I have to say I’m very impressed with NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1. The game selection here is great, the extras (such as the boxes and manuals) are a nice touch, and the price is very reasonable. You get 10 great classic games for the low price of $39.99. The Metal Slug titles, SNK Gal Fighters’ and SNK vs. Capcom are worth that alone. I feel this is a great pickup for any SNK fans, fighter fans, or anyone that is looking for some fun classics to play on the go.