One of the things most (if not all) young adults today believe is that their parents were never gamers when they were younger. Their parents were, kids today would acknowledge, children once, but gamers? No way.

But SNK is hopeful in bringing facts to that myth: It argues that you can travel back in time to the years when your parents were teenagers and young adults, and capture the games and systems that were available to them. The NEOGEO Pocket / SNK vs Capcom Compilations proves to all the millenniums out there that, yes, before we were parents, we were gamers too.

But there's a bigger investment here than just playing games. The entire premise of these compilations isn't to ask which games should we play, but to choose a moment in our gaming lives that we treasure the most.

Compromising a handful of NeoGeo Pocket games and a version of SNK vs Capcom games, each one can be played via a virtual NG pocket console on a true monochrome display screen just like the original. The games themselves are great-looking and are exactly how I remembered them. SNK has done a convincing job of replicating each sprite even in extreme closeups. And every game, even the mediocre ones, sparkle with personality and presence.

Some of the better games of the bunch include Samurai Showdown 2, Metal Slug 1&2, Fatal Fury, King of the Fighters, Dark Stalkers, and of course, Street Fighter vs. Capcom, amongst others bring all the classics back to life better than ever.

Keep in mind that I am reviewing two (2) separate entities together although you can purchase the NEO GEO Pocket and the SNK VS Capcom: Fight of the Millennium separately.

One of the things most (if not all) young adults today believe is that their parents were never gamers when they were younger. Their parents were, kids today would acknowledge, children once, but gamers? No way.

While the compilation itself isn't new (the Switch version has been out since the start of the year), the Steam version is just coming to fruition. Because this is a brand new conceptualized way of bringing past games to the eyes of present-day Steam players, each game has a reference description page as well as a pictorial so you can show your kids how games were manufactured in cartridge form before the introduction of CDs and digital downloads.

Once in, customization is at your fingertips. You can change skin colors, add/remove scan lines, and zoom in or out to play the game however way you want. All these options are of course, arbitrary as the real focus is on the games themselves. And here, SNK does a phenomenal job of recreating these classics to fit our modern-day needs.

But there's a bigger investment here than just playing games. The entire premise of these compilations isn't to ask which games should we play, but to choose a moment in our gaming lives that we treasure the most. I sit attentively browsing at the game selection screen as fond memories play through my mind as if I'm moving the dials of my own personal time machine.

It has value, re-playability, and talking points to start a conversation over; especially to the younger crowd who never got a chance to own, let alone experience, a NEO GEO pocket. This is one purchase you'll definitely be happy with.

The games, in fact, resemble the who's who in the SNK library more than any other throwback compilations that tug at the human need to relive some of our past memories. SNK promises additional games and modules will be available as regular downloads and upgrades. So the audience SNK is targeting is out there, but the big question is there enough of us out there for this type of business model to succeed?

This question places SNK in a unique position but on quality to dollar value, this compilation is worth the investment if you, like me, grew up with these classics. It has value, re-playability, and talking points to start a conversation over; especially to the younger crowd who never got a chance to own, let alone experience, a NEO GEO pocket. This is one purchase you'll definitely be happy with.

Joel

Healthcare Professional, Gamer, and Writer all rolled up in one. He once opened up an old Atari 2600 to see if it had a heart ... and it did. Hence, the lifelong love affair with gaming.

www.walawala.gg