The Neo Geo Pocket Color, released in August of 1999 and made by SNK, makers of the (incredibly expensive) Neo Geo systems and arcade cabinets, was a great little handheld — one of the last dedicated to 2D gaming. Made of a smooth, sometimes see-through, sometimes multicolored plastic resistant to finger smudges and damage, it felt great to hold. Battery power lasted so long they rarely needed replacement and huge, backlit 16-bit color screen was a relief to see after over a decade of the Game Boy’s muddy display. There were only two face buttons on it but my god, man, the tactile feedback! They had a joyful spring to them. And the joystick!
Overall, Metal Slug 2 is a decent shooting game that can be an enjoyable history lesson. However nostalgia alone isn’t enough to make me erase its flaws. The brutal difficulty is only magnified by the horrible slow down, and makes this a tough purchase to recommend. At $9.00 it’s truly a hard pill to swallow, but if you’re a purist I doubt any of this matters.
But what separates this fight pad from a number of others is the excellent button construction; it uses clicky (very clicky!) arcade-style microswitches in both the thumbstick and face buttons. The result is an extremely responsive controller laden with accuracy. I was able to pull off complex moves and combos with ease while playing King of Fighters XIII and King of Fighters ’98: Ultimate Match. My only gripe is that the controller feels a bit light; I prefer my pads with a bit of weight, but that’s a small, personal niggle.
In case you haven’t updated (or worse, haven’t given the excellent fighter a chance), this gallery will give you a small sense of what you’re missing. Hint: It’s good stuff.
Which of these two excellent 2D fighting games is the best of the best?
SNK Playmore’s free additional content includes six fighters: Iori Yagami, Mature, Vice, Elisabeth Branctorche, ShenWoo, and DuoLon.
Two long-running hardcore fighting franchises face off in an iOS showdown. Which walks away as champ?
KOF ’95 and Baseball Stars 2 grace PS3, PSP.
Atlus has released a gameplay trailer for the upcoming King of Fighters XIII. A video featuring the return of Geese Howard lackey, Bill Kane.
The long-running KOF series comes to the iPhone and iPod touch.
