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Elements of Style for the NGPC owner [NSF56k]
Einhander
__BANNED USERS regular
__BANNED USERS regular
THE NEO GEO POCKET COLOR:
The Essential Manual
for owners of NGPCs
It's been a while since we've had a NGPC thread, and the last one I made was purged, so herein once again is a thread for us diehards to wax poetic about our favorite handheld that no one bought, and to preach to unknowing gamers how awesome it is. If you're unfamiliar with the NGPC, I have provided some info below which will hopefully allow you to get acquainted. All of these images are being hosted by Imageshack, so if a large amount of them are broken, IS is probably just temporarily borked. I've got them all cached, so what do I care.
WHAT IS A NEO GEO POCKET COLOR?
The Neo Geo Pocket Color is a handheld gaming system released by SNK to replace their original black and white handheld, the Neo Geo Pocket. It was released in the US in August on 1999 (around nine months after the Game Boy Color).
WHAT ARE THE SPECS?
The screen is 2.6" at 160x152.
WAS IT RELEASED IN MULTIPLE COLORS?
Yes. There were several colors available, including the ones below and the Sonic the Hedgehog Special Edition system.
Multiple colors to choose from was a hangover from the original Neo Geo Pocket, which had a large variety of designs as well:
WAIT DID YOU SAY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG?
Yes. There was a Sonic The Hedgehog special edition NGPC system released with a pack in copy of Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (more on that later). The system itself was platinum, and came in Sonic themed box. It looked like this:
SO HOW BIG WAS THE NGPC ANYWAY?
HEY WAIT WHERE'S THE D-PAD?
The Neo Geo Pocket Color has an analog stick instead of a D-Pad. This makes it much easier to perform combos in fighting games, and is in tradition with SNK being a company with many arcade hits.
Using it feels similar to using the PSP's analog nub, only the NGPC stick will make a clicking noise every time you move it.
OH
Also, one interesting thing about the NGPC is that it had a menu that could be reached by turning the system on without a game cartridge inside.
The setting menu allowed you to change the system time (stored with a replaceable CR-2032 battery, the same used by Dreamcast VMUs, the Sega Saturn, and most watches), choose whether you want to play original NGP games in black and white or with a color tint, and change your system's language setting. Most NGPC games released had both English and Japanese text on the cartridge, and the game would simply display whichever language your system was set as.
Also, there was a horoscope:
WHAT DID THE CARTRIDGES LOOK LIKE?
SO IT'S COLOR LIKE A GAME GEAR RIGHT? JESUS CHRIST IT MUST EAT BATTERIES LIKE ROSIE O'DONNEL EATS ENTIRE HONEYBAKED HAMS
The NGPC actually gets around 40 hours (!) of playtime on one set of two AAs. The reason it doesn't chew through batteries faster is because it is not backlit, which can make playing in low light environments extremely difficult or impossible.
SO HOW COME IT DIDN'T DO SO WELL IN AMERICA?
Even though the NGPC was the first serious contender against the juggernaut Gameboy family, it still suffered from mismanagement at SNK, less than stellar third party support, and "consumer anticipation" of the Game Boy Advance.
HEY I TOTALLY SAW ONE OF THOSE AT EB GAMES A FEW YEARS AGO
After SNK pulled the NGPC from the US market, a huge amount of their inventory was purchased by a third party company, who re-released the system in the US under the "Pocket Color Arcade" label. The system itself was boxed in a blister pack with six games for around $80-$90:
The six games could vary from area to area, but generally were:
Samurai Showdown 2
Fatal Fury First Contact
King of Fighters R-2
Metal Slug: 1st Mission
Neo Turf Masters (a golf game)
Pac-Man
Also, there were two different four packs of games that were also included in the re-release.
The "A" pack:
Dive Alert: Matt's Version
Puzzle Link
Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
Dark Arms: Beast Busters 1999
And the "B" pack:
Puzzle Link 2
Puzzle Bobble Mini
Pocket Tennis Color
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash: SNK ver.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE THIRD PARTY SUPPORT
Despite releases from Sega, Namco, and Capcom, the majority of the game library were SNK releases. One notable exception is Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure. SNK and Sega came to an agreement that SNK would get a Sonic the Hedgehog game released for the NGPC, and Sega would get a NGPC to Dreamcast link cable, which could be used to transfer data between various console and handheld King of Fighters and SNK Vs. Capcom games.
The other notable third party releases included SNK Vs. Capcom: Match off the Millenium, and the two Card Fighters Clash games. There was both a Capcom and an SNK version of the CFC games which were fairly similar, only Capcom character cards were much more prevalent on the Capcom cartridge, and vice-versa on the SNK cartridge.
Also, Capcom released a port of their earlier arcade-only Megaman game Rockman Battle and Fighters for the NGPC:
SO IF I HAVE NGP GAMES AND A NGPC SYSTEM AM I SHIT OUT OF LUCK?
No. All original Neo Geo Pocket games will play on a Neo Geo Pocket Color, in a palette mode similar to original Game Boy games being played on a Gameboy Color. Also, notably, all but a few NGPC games will play in black and white on a NGP.
SO LET'S SEE SOME SCREENSHOTS
No prob.
Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999
Fatal Fury: 1st Contact
Evolution
Metal Slug: 1st Mission
SNK Vs. Capcom" Card Fighter's Clash
King of Fighters R1
Dynamite Slugger
Faselei!
Puzzle Bobble Mini/Bust a Move Pocket
Samurai Showdown 2
Puyo Puyo 2
SO WHERE CAN I GET ONE?
Play-Asia has been sold out of systems for quite a while, and the re-release packs exist only in the rants of men gone mad searching for them. Your best bet is probably going to be a private sale, a stroke of luck at an independent game shop, or eBay.
WHAT SHOULD I KEEP MY NGPC IN?
So that's it fellas. Talk about how great the NGPC is and how much your life was changed for the better when you got one, etc etc.
Also, does anyone want to buy my spare copy of Samurai Showdown 2?
The Essential Manual
for owners of NGPCs
It's been a while since we've had a NGPC thread, and the last one I made was purged, so herein once again is a thread for us diehards to wax poetic about our favorite handheld that no one bought, and to preach to unknowing gamers how awesome it is. If you're unfamiliar with the NGPC, I have provided some info below which will hopefully allow you to get acquainted. All of these images are being hosted by Imageshack, so if a large amount of them are broken, IS is probably just temporarily borked. I've got them all cached, so what do I care.
WHAT IS A NEO GEO POCKET COLOR?
The Neo Geo Pocket Color is a handheld gaming system released by SNK to replace their original black and white handheld, the Neo Geo Pocket. It was released in the US in August on 1999 (around nine months after the Game Boy Color).
WHAT ARE THE SPECS?
From Wikipedia:
CPUs: Toshiba TLCS900H core (16-bit), 6.144 MHz, Z80 at 3.072 MHz for sound.
RAM: 12 k for 900H, 4k for Z80 (shared with the 900H).
ROM: 64 k boot ROM.
Interfaces: SIO 1 channel 19200 bit/s, 5-pin serial port.
Resolution: 160x152 (256x256 virtual screen).
DMA: 4 channels.
Colors: 16 palettes per plane, 48 palettes. 146 colors on screen out of 4096 (or 20 colors out of 4096 in monochrome mode).
Sprites: 64 sprites per frame (8x8), 4 colors per sprite.
Scrolling: 2 scrolling planes, 8x8 character tiles (characters matrix shared with the sprites), 4 colors per tile.
Sound: Two SN76489 equivalent (3 square wave tone generators + 1 independent noise generator + direct access to the two 6 bits DAC).
Cartridges: Maximum 4 MB (32 Mbit) with 4 to 16 Mbit flash memory.
Batteries: 40 hours on 2 AA batteries. Lithium CR2032 battery backs up memory and clock.
CPUs: Toshiba TLCS900H core (16-bit), 6.144 MHz, Z80 at 3.072 MHz for sound.
RAM: 12 k for 900H, 4k for Z80 (shared with the 900H).
ROM: 64 k boot ROM.
Interfaces: SIO 1 channel 19200 bit/s, 5-pin serial port.
Resolution: 160x152 (256x256 virtual screen).
DMA: 4 channels.
Colors: 16 palettes per plane, 48 palettes. 146 colors on screen out of 4096 (or 20 colors out of 4096 in monochrome mode).
Sprites: 64 sprites per frame (8x8), 4 colors per sprite.
Scrolling: 2 scrolling planes, 8x8 character tiles (characters matrix shared with the sprites), 4 colors per tile.
Sound: Two SN76489 equivalent (3 square wave tone generators + 1 independent noise generator + direct access to the two 6 bits DAC).
Cartridges: Maximum 4 MB (32 Mbit) with 4 to 16 Mbit flash memory.
Batteries: 40 hours on 2 AA batteries. Lithium CR2032 battery backs up memory and clock.
The screen is 2.6" at 160x152.
WAS IT RELEASED IN MULTIPLE COLORS?
Yes. There were several colors available, including the ones below and the Sonic the Hedgehog Special Edition system.
Multiple colors to choose from was a hangover from the original Neo Geo Pocket, which had a large variety of designs as well:
WAIT DID YOU SAY SONIC THE HEDGEHOG?
Yes. There was a Sonic The Hedgehog special edition NGPC system released with a pack in copy of Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (more on that later). The system itself was platinum, and came in Sonic themed box. It looked like this:
SO HOW BIG WAS THE NGPC ANYWAY?
HEY WAIT WHERE'S THE D-PAD?
The Neo Geo Pocket Color has an analog stick instead of a D-Pad. This makes it much easier to perform combos in fighting games, and is in tradition with SNK being a company with many arcade hits.
Using it feels similar to using the PSP's analog nub, only the NGPC stick will make a clicking noise every time you move it.
OH
Also, one interesting thing about the NGPC is that it had a menu that could be reached by turning the system on without a game cartridge inside.
The setting menu allowed you to change the system time (stored with a replaceable CR-2032 battery, the same used by Dreamcast VMUs, the Sega Saturn, and most watches), choose whether you want to play original NGP games in black and white or with a color tint, and change your system's language setting. Most NGPC games released had both English and Japanese text on the cartridge, and the game would simply display whichever language your system was set as.
Also, there was a horoscope:
WHAT DID THE CARTRIDGES LOOK LIKE?
SO IT'S COLOR LIKE A GAME GEAR RIGHT? JESUS CHRIST IT MUST EAT BATTERIES LIKE ROSIE O'DONNEL EATS ENTIRE HONEYBAKED HAMS
The NGPC actually gets around 40 hours (!) of playtime on one set of two AAs. The reason it doesn't chew through batteries faster is because it is not backlit, which can make playing in low light environments extremely difficult or impossible.
SO HOW COME IT DIDN'T DO SO WELL IN AMERICA?
Even though the NGPC was the first serious contender against the juggernaut Gameboy family, it still suffered from mismanagement at SNK, less than stellar third party support, and "consumer anticipation" of the Game Boy Advance.
HEY I TOTALLY SAW ONE OF THOSE AT EB GAMES A FEW YEARS AGO
After SNK pulled the NGPC from the US market, a huge amount of their inventory was purchased by a third party company, who re-released the system in the US under the "Pocket Color Arcade" label. The system itself was boxed in a blister pack with six games for around $80-$90:
The six games could vary from area to area, but generally were:
Samurai Showdown 2
Fatal Fury First Contact
King of Fighters R-2
Metal Slug: 1st Mission
Neo Turf Masters (a golf game)
Pac-Man
Also, there were two different four packs of games that were also included in the re-release.
The "A" pack:
Dive Alert: Matt's Version
Puzzle Link
Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure
Dark Arms: Beast Busters 1999
And the "B" pack:
Puzzle Link 2
Puzzle Bobble Mini
Pocket Tennis Color
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash: SNK ver.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE THIRD PARTY SUPPORT
Despite releases from Sega, Namco, and Capcom, the majority of the game library were SNK releases. One notable exception is Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure. SNK and Sega came to an agreement that SNK would get a Sonic the Hedgehog game released for the NGPC, and Sega would get a NGPC to Dreamcast link cable, which could be used to transfer data between various console and handheld King of Fighters and SNK Vs. Capcom games.
The other notable third party releases included SNK Vs. Capcom: Match off the Millenium, and the two Card Fighters Clash games. There was both a Capcom and an SNK version of the CFC games which were fairly similar, only Capcom character cards were much more prevalent on the Capcom cartridge, and vice-versa on the SNK cartridge.
Also, Capcom released a port of their earlier arcade-only Megaman game Rockman Battle and Fighters for the NGPC:
SO IF I HAVE NGP GAMES AND A NGPC SYSTEM AM I SHIT OUT OF LUCK?
No. All original Neo Geo Pocket games will play on a Neo Geo Pocket Color, in a palette mode similar to original Game Boy games being played on a Gameboy Color. Also, notably, all but a few NGPC games will play in black and white on a NGP.
SO LET'S SEE SOME SCREENSHOTS
No prob.
Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999
Fatal Fury: 1st Contact
Evolution
Metal Slug: 1st Mission
SNK Vs. Capcom" Card Fighter's Clash
King of Fighters R1
Dynamite Slugger
Faselei!
Puzzle Bobble Mini/Bust a Move Pocket
Samurai Showdown 2
Puyo Puyo 2
SO WHERE CAN I GET ONE?
Play-Asia has been sold out of systems for quite a while, and the re-release packs exist only in the rants of men gone mad searching for them. Your best bet is probably going to be a private sale, a stroke of luck at an independent game shop, or eBay.
WHAT SHOULD I KEEP MY NGPC IN?
So that's it fellas. Talk about how great the NGPC is and how much your life was changed for the better when you got one, etc etc.
Also, does anyone want to buy my spare copy of Samurai Showdown 2?
clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick
Einhander on
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Posts
Best handheld system ever, bitches!
I love my NGPC. I need to dig it up and play Biomotor Unitron again. God I loved that little thing. It has a fucking joystick! That shit is bangin
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
I feel like it will never happen, though.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Let's be honest here
This is how you're trying to find your one true love, isn't it?
I played it for countless hours while awaiting the DS version.
God the DS version is horrible in comparison.
Also, Dark Arms is all kinds of mediocre.
Where did you order from/what did you pay/what games did you get?
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Amazon.co.uk with Sonic, Metal Slug and a King of Fighters game for £20.
I've had mine forever and I'm still trying to find puzzle pieces in Sonic Pocket Adventure.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Can't play it if it's in the box.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Using unmentionable methods on my PSP let me play it. Even better, i can play in the dark!
Speaking of which, does anybody know of somewhere i can get a light kit so i can mod my NGPC? I tried mashmods, but couldn't get a reply from them.
I never really got into the GBC, but I was hooked on the NGPC. I took it everywhere. But when I got a GBA, I started booting up the NGPC less and less, and then finally not at all. I sold it at a local game store and it was gone the next time I went, so I know someone is enjoying it. It's better this way.
Also, OP, I wouldn't say the NGPC was the first serious competitor of the Gameboy. Game Gear?
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
I never asked for this!
Playing MotM on PSP isn't the same, as it's not clicky, so it's merely good rather than excellent.
Is it like with the GBA where if I buy a game over ebay there's a three hundred percent chance its a bootleg?
I've never heard of anyone getting a pirated cart. There probably wasn't ever enough money to be made bootlegging NGPC games compared to GBA games, so all of the pirate groups just stuck with the GBA.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral