Best Neo Geo Pocket Color Games, That Are Worth Your Time!

The Neo Geo Pocket Color was absolutely the coolest handheld console from the 90s. It just wasn't around long enough for people to grasp onto and create a large following for. Arguably, this could be considered Neo Geo's best system of all time!

At only $70, SNK had only two percent of the hand held market when it was first released. It featured an 8 way joystick which is largely considered to be the best joystick on any handheld device, a full color screen and is very comparable to the form factor of the Sega Game Gear.

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In the end, SNK wasn't able to compete with Nintendo and the mighty Gameboy but sure was it a fun little handheld to own. Better act quick, a lot of these games have been steadily increasing in price at a rapid rate!

That's right, many of these games will run you over $200 in order to find a copy of a complete in box game, this article might hurt that wallet of yours by the time you pick up a couple of games!

We'll be letting you know which are the best of this handheld console's wonderful library and what is the best game on the Neo Geo Pocket Color that's still worth playing today. We hope you enjoyed our hand selected list of best Neo Geo Pocket Color games.

The Last Blade

The Neo Geo made some notoriously good fighting games for your favorite handheld devices. Oddly enough, if the fighting game genre wasn't so popular in the 90s, Neo Geo might not have even existed as a company!

The fighting style is simple, hold down your attack button for further sword swings and massive damage. You can take out your opponent in a matter of a handful of damages. It feels like a spiritual successor to the Samurai Showdown series to me and it plays wonderfully. If you're looking for a slower paced more technical fighter on the go, check out The Last Blade on the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Metal Slug: 2nd Mission

Being able to play a wonderful new version of one of the best arcade games of all time in Metal Slug is such a joy. You can choose between two different characters, each with their own storyline and plot. There's some slight improvements over the original like not having to change your weapon to throw grenades and a new vehicle in the submarine.

It's fast paced action and colorful graphics, Metal Slug: 2nd Mission is a must play game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color and is a worthy collection to your growing retro game library. What would a list of best Neo Geo Pocket Color games be without having Metal Slug make the cut?

Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams

What would an under the radar handheld console be without an incredibly expensive title to match? Be prepared for this one since your wallet is going to hurt by picking up a copy as a loose Japanese cartridge will set you back a whopping $619 to get a chance to play this horizontal shoot em up.

Sure, it's a trimmed down version of Cotton with less enemies on the screen and the removal of the middle of each stage boss battles but it plays extremely well on the Neo Geo hardware. For someone with a portable device, Cotton is a fantastic pickup for those looking for a good shmup on the go!

Baseball Stars Color

Baseball games are a great choice for being some of the best Neo Geo Pocket Color games and considering great baseball games are somewhat hard to come by, especially on handheld devices. Baseball Stars is a really fun game that was originally on the Arcade counterpart that was then brought over to the NES and is considered one of the better baseball games ever. Luckily the Neo Geo Pocket Color is a fun way to play a game that you can unwind to and kick back and relax.

Sure there's no licensed players or even teams but what this does best is bring you a ton of fun on the small screen. Send in another pitcher or change up your lineup, even get powerups to win the championship and dominate. If you have a Neo Geo Pocket and are looking for a baseball game, you could definitely do a lot worse than Baseball Stars Color.

Ogre Battle Gaiden: Prince Of Zenobia

You couldn't go wrong with a tactical RPG on the tiny handheld console that was Japanese only, until a patch that allows you to play it in English brought new life into this unicorn in the series. Ogre Battle Gaiden: Prince Of Zenobia is a fantastic entry for those looking to grind away and level up your characters. We didn't think it was possible to have a fully playable entry on the Neo Geo Pocket Console and boy were we glad we were able to!

The real time gameplay system was such a joy to experience. We absolutely loved each and every minute of the somewhat translated storyline. One really cool feature that wasn't available on the SNES RPG was the ability to use a link cable to hook up two devices together.

You can find the English translation here

Magical Drop Pocket

If you had a Gameboy, chances are you had either Tetris or Dr. Mario. Owners of the Neo Geo Pocket Color got a fantastic puzzle game by the name of Magical Drop Pocket and boy was it addictive. The gameplay features some mechanics that are extremely similar to Magical Drop 3 for the big red arcades that were so popular back in the 90s. We absolutely loved the cover art in the form of something straight out of your favorite anime TV show!

Magical Drop Pocket plays like columns on the Sega Genesis with a hint of Dr. Mario added in. You can even play multiplayer with the use of the link cable. This really brings back the nostalgia of playing Tetris on the school bus while facing off against your friend sitting next to you! We love how this fine choice for a puzzle game is on our list of best Neo Geo Pocket Color games.

Pocket Tennis Color

Tennis games don't have to be overly complicated. All you really need is a standard view facing or opposing your player, a slice shot and a power backhand to be great. Pocket Tennis Color is just that, a fun tennis game that you can play on the go that doesn't over complicate things.

There's no real tennis stars here either, just some simple arcade style gameplay with some basic style characters, each with their own sets of abilities and skillsets. What seems to be basic on the surface makes up for it with the great gameplay it has to go along with it. Pocket Tennis Color is the best tennis game on the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Bust-A-Move Pocket

Pocket style puzzle games were hit or miss when they made their way to a handheld device from their more color rich, larger screen variations on the home console. Take Dr. Mario for example, it plays wonderful on the NES but when you try to squeeze it on the monochrome screen that the Gameboy featured, the end result was less than stellar. Neo Geo does a fantastic job of making Bust A Move on the portable screen bright colors and easy to see the move you're planning next.

It's such a simple concept, move the dial and shoot bubbles to match the colors and make them fall. It's extremely satisfying to drop down combos of bubbles when aiming higher than the last row. Bust A Move Pocket is a great puzzle experience on the go and is a worthy addition to anyone's retro game collection.

Capcom Vs. SNK: The Match Of The Millennium

If you're a fan of fighting games, you'll be glued to the tiny screen when talking about the best Neo Geo Pocket Color games. We mentioned The Last Blade earlier in the list above, if you only could pick one fighting game on the Neo Geo Pocket Color it would have to be Capcom Vs SNK. We love the roster, featuring 13 SNK and 13 of your favorite Capcom fighters, each of the characters are so vibrant and graphically detailed. The mechanics are fantastic, the joystick on the Neo Geo Pocket Color executes the tight movements to perfection.

If you could only pick one fighting game on the Neo Geo Pocket to be considered the best, definitely go with Capcom Vs. SNK: The Match Of The Millennium. It's got the biggest roster and great fighting mechanics for a handheld fighter.

Big Tournament Golf

Golf games are so easy to pick up and play without having to worry about complicated controls, long storylines to eat up and timely cutscenes to worry about. Sometimes you just want to sit back, pick up your handheld console and unwind without having to think too hard. Big Tournament Golf hits the tee on the head if you're looking to scratch the golf itch (no pun intended).

If you're familiar with SNK's Neo Turf Master, a wonderful golf game in it's own regard, you'll be happy with Big Tournament Golf. No, it doesn't share the same name as it's big brother but it's definitely got the same great gameplay mechanics and fun factor you'd expect in a golf game.

Given the simple mechanics and easy to determine where the ball is going to be placed, Big Tournament Golf makes fantastic use of the Neo Geo Pocket hardware. We never felt like the portable console got in the way of delivering a huge drive or great chip shot onto the green.

Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999

Even though Gameboy was arguably the best handheld console of all time, the Neo Geo Pocket Color had a real hidden gem in Dark Arms. One of two games that were a follow up to the Arcade classic, this top down Action-RPG gameplay with soul collecting aspects offers great gameplay and catchy sound effects. While not a true arcade follow up, Dark Arms is one of those portable adaptations where the variation is better than the arcade that it's based on.

It's short, consisting of only 6 dungeons to complete the game, taking roughly 5 hours to complete in full. Completionists can go through the dungeons and collect each of the souls, if that's you're thing. We really enjoyed the dark gothic feel of Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999 and consider it to be the best game on the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

‌‌We hope you enjoyed our listing of best Neo Geo Pocket Color games and found this topic interesting. If you agree with our list or wanted to let us know some standouts that should have made the cut, send us a notification on Twitter!