2020/4/14: Neo Geo Pocket: Pocket Tennis Color, Puzzle Bobble Mini

[VideoGameCritic]

Finally - new Neo Geo Pocket reviews! Good ones too.

[CharlieR]

hmm, two tennis reviews in two days, that has to be a record!

Neo Geo Pocket sounds like a fun little handheld.

[goldenband]

Love seeing new Neo Geo Pocket reviews and new tennis game reviews! What a treat.

I'm not surprised that Pocket Tennis Color plays well -- the design looked very promising to me. I have some memory of reading that there are a ton of different tournaments/trophies you can win, all varying by the real-world date. I don't remember if there's an upper limit on those, but it sure does complicate the process of 100%-ing the game.

[Voor]

I like how you mentioned the absence of replays and animations. I don’t mind them in some cases (like a rare goal in soccer), but sports games that do them after every point drives me nuts.

[VideoGameCritic]

I like how you mentioned the absence of replays and animations. I don’t mind them in some cases (like a rare goal in soccer), but sports games that do them after every point drives me nuts.

Good point Voor. I think Mario Sports games are prime offenders in this regard. So bad you just start instinctively tapping buttons between plays.

[goldenband]

Though I'd prefer to be able to just turn them off, I don't mind replays and animations too much as long as they're skippable. Jimmy Connors on the SNES does a good job with this -- you can just hit Select to interrupt almost anything, and it makes the game go by much, much faster.

[Retro STrife]

I've neglected my NGPC way too much. Thanks for bringing my attention to a hidden gem like Pocket Tennis. I just flipped through my NGPC games and I happen to own it. I would have overlooked that game if not for this review. While I enjoy sports games, I generally don't play old ones unless there's a good reason for it. Sounds like this one is worth trying.

I don't have Puzzle Bobble Mini, but it sounds like a really solid portable version of Puzzle Bobble. That's my go-to game choice when a non-gamer tries out the Neo Geo, since they usually don't have interest in the fighters and shooters.