(This was retro game club game #6 on the Grouvee forum.)

I sadly never had a Neo Geo Pocket Color, but I still have a soft spot for it anyways. It was out the same time as the Dreamcast, a console I loved -- and like the Dreamcast it was cool, had plenty of fun games, and most people just missed out on it. Luckily there is currently a bit of an effort being made to re-release some of the NGPC classics on the Switch, and I hope people give some of them a try! The three currently available (King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, and this) are all fighting games that look and play quite similarly to each other, and they're all SNK quality so you can't go wrong with any of them.

That said I'm going to recommend Gals Fighters most of all, because it's just delightful. This one was made as a sort of "swan song" for the NGPC, a game for the fans who enjoyed all of SNK's past handheld fighters. The crossover cast of ladies is of course the main draw here, but what stands out most IMO is just how funny the game is when playing it. Gals Fighters aims for a very lighthearted tone, and gives the chibi characters a nice variety of creative attacks and amusing animations.

I especially loved what the characters do for winning and losing poses, as well as their "time out" losses. For example, after winning Nakoruru expects her trusty falcon to fly down to her arm, but it never does so she sighs dejectedly. And if she loses for a "time out," she hides under a blanket and sobs. It's great.

Fighting in this game is kept relatively simple, which can be a plus or a minus depending on what you want from the genre. But I think it works great for quick pick-up-and-play sessions on a handheld. For replayability, the game also offers a clever item system that allows you to equip various upgrades for your character, which can make playthroughs easier or just change up how you approach your battles.

Fun game! Probably not something to sink a ton of hours into, but it's a charming diversion at the very least.