So what console can you get almost exclusively online? A few, actually, but which one did I get? Well, the NGPC of course!
Here it is, SNK’s cool little portable. I’ve wanted one of these ever since it came out back in the late 90’s and finally my dream came true. Behold!
Yeah, that’s the one, the Camo-Blue version, I think this is the only console ever released in camouflage, pretty neat if you ask me.
Also noteworthy is the thumbstick, pretty good for fighters and it makes a cool clicky sound every time you move it, for some reason it never gets old. The screen is also relatively big, but unfortunately it has no lighting, so there is no playing in the dark. It has a great battery life, I get ~30 hours on a pair of AA rechargeables.
That thing under there is the Shock n’ Rock by Nyko, and accessory that provides Stereo sound, audio-based rumble, rechargeable battery; not sure on the life of this one, as I don’t know how long it should be charged, and some rubber grips that unlike all other grips for portables, feel comfortable and don’t add that much bulk to the console.
Of course, the thing that counts the most on any system is the games, the NGPC is mostly famous for its fighting games, KOF R2, SNK vs Capcom, Last Blade, Fatal Fury, Samurai Showdown, Gals Fighter and so on, but it also has some other cool games, like Sonic Pocket Adventure, Puzzle Bobble and Metal Slug. All play amazingly well, the fighters are still among the best portable fighters ever, even with the simple 2 button control, there are still combos and most characters have their moves from the arcade complete.
Fighting games where you can’t fight your friends are no fun, and for that, there’s the Link Cable. The connection is very simple, just link up, select vs and fight away, no loadings, no lags, just fun. This is a third party cable and also was a bitch to find, I searched for around 2 months, only finding this one and one that sold for around $35 shipped but the wait was worth it.
And finally, there’s the official carry case to store all this junk. Pretty small and easy to carry and even comes with two straps, both of which are way too big for my taste. It has space for the console, and an extra pocket for games and accessories, pretty useful and easy to get, they are all over ebay for $15 a piece.
Getting a NGPC isn’t too hard, just pop around $60 in amazon or ebay and you get a new one boxed with 6 to 10 games, maybe 2 good ones out of the lot, but if you are like me, you can get some for as low as $20, and just buy the games you like and are going to play, getting game-only bundles is another good option. The accessories are rarely found new, but the used ones usually come in good shape.
That’s all for today, but hopefully not for long, see you next time!
