Back again for our regular Sunday roundup of quick-fire reviews and impressions of everything under the spotlight at Retro Arcadia this week, old and new and a bit of both. And it’s mostly the latter this week because although I’ve been off work, a combination of deciding to paint the outside of the house and a particularly nasty throat infection have left me struggling to find the motivation to do much gaming this week, or at least until this thing arrived on Thursday…

The NeoGeo Limited Edition Super Pocket handheld console finally launched a few weeks after its original release date, and was totally worth the wait! It’s by Hyper Mega Tech, spun out of Blaze Entertainment, the Evercade people, which it’s also got a cartridge slot for in the back, so you can get up to all sorts on here, including all the incoming NeoGeo carts to extend what’s already on it. I do already have the Taito and Atari editions of these, and still use them both a load when I’m out and about, so was already pretty confident I’d get my £70’s worth out of this, which is a bit more than the regular edition but I couldn’t resist the authentic MVS stylings! Either way, though, this thing is all about the games, and there are some absolute corkers among the fourteen included here, which we’ll get into in turn in a sec, but let’s quickly check out the hardware first. As with the previous Super Pockets, you’re getting a great build for the price, with a vibrant 2.8” IPS screen, surprisingly punchy sound, and plenty of battery life, but at 8 x 12 x 2cm, it is properly pocket-sized too, which makes me appreciate having girly hands, especially for the cramped shoulder buttons on the rear, although fortunately, there won’t be many times the games included on here are crying out for them. Apart from that, there are various display options, as well as save states and language selection, but not much else, which is exactly the idea with these things – as said, all about the games, which I’ll attempt to review in a single sentence each now…

We’ll go alphabetical and start with Alpha Mission II, a less well-known but bright and breezy vertical shooter with fantastic music and plenty to discover, albeit all a bit by numbers. A horizontal shoot ‘em up next with Blazing Star, which is as spectacular as it is fun (and slightly bonkers), and had one of the all-time great genre soundtracks! Fatal Fury Special is a highly polished one-on-one fighter with loads of character, loads of characters, and a really nice pace to the combat; never played much of this but definitely will now. Not sure King of the Monsters 2: The Next Thing is quite as refined as that but evolving the ludicrous giant monster wrestling action of the first game into more of a beat ‘em up has certainly ramped up the chaos and destruction, and sometimes that’s all you need! Last Resort is another horizontal schmup and it’s an absolute stunner, full of drama, weirdness and wild effects, playing like a psychedelic R-Type but I’d take this over that any time! I reckon the series (and possibly the run ‘n gun genre) might have peaked with Metal Gear X and its relentless cartoon carnage, but while the glorious presentation, savage humour and insane attention to detail is perfectly at home here, it didn’t feel great on this d-pad initially, and required a bit of perseverance; small price to pay I guess. I was thrilled when I saw Mutation Nation made the cut here because while it’s not the most sophisticated of side-scrolling brawlers, it’s big and brash and full of personality, and such a good time! Not so sure about Over Top though, a kind of isometric-ish top-down racer that looks a bit crap, handles a bit crap, and I wish it was Neo Drift Out here instead! 

I wouldn’t swap Samurai Shodown II though, possibly my favourite weapon-based fighter that feels great here, with loads of depth and variety, super-smooth combat and so much life in every gorgeous environment. More beat ‘em upping now with Sengoku 3, and this wasn’t just the best of the series but among the best of the genre too, with all the sights and sounds and ninja moves, which, like Metal Slug X, took a while to feel natural but when they did, just wow! Shock Trooper: 2nd Squad is a top-down run ‘n gunner that’s always been a literal blast despite having a bit too much going on for its own good at times but is still as addictive as it is gloriously mindless! With Super Sidekicks coming on an upcoming NeoGeo cart for Evercade, I was pleased to get the lower profile but equally madcap and faster-paced futuristic arcade footballer, Soccer Brawl, included here – takes a bit of getting used to but it soon plays great even solo, and you can’t beat its trademark NeoGeo sports game presentation! The Last Blade isn’t quite our last game but is a beautifully atmospheric, supernatural-infused weapon-fighter with great animation, an accessible move-set, and just a real elegance about how it plays. Our last game is Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy, and while cartoon action-platforming isn’t necessarily my thing, I can see the attraction here, with some clever environmental variety and mechanics, and an easy-going style that belies some fiendish level design! And that’s it! What a selection, and even though I’d ditch the racing game if I had the choice, and I’d have really loved Baseball Stars 2 on here over any other game that was included, this is another awesome Super Pocket for the collection, offering superb value and excellent quality… I could just do with another pocket to put it in so I don’t have to choose which one to take out with me! 

Windjammers, another NeoGeo classic that was also recently released on Evercade (see here) plays great on there too! Anyway, lots there even if there wasn’t a huge amount going on! And in case you missed it last Wednesday, coinciding with my couple of weeks holiday from work, a bit of a mid-year break meets state of the nation address, and a quick personal update from your host here at Retro Arcadia… Even a rare glimpse of what I look like, but don’t get used to it! You can check it out here, and as you’ll know when you have, my next big feature is coming a week on Wednesday, when we’ll be rediscovering WWF Superstars on Nintendo Game Boy. In the meantime, see you here as usual next Sunday for another Weekly Spotlight, or on social media, which is linked in the message below…

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