The Neo Geo Pocket Color was an unfortunately short-lived handheld console that was released at a time where it faced stiff competition from both Nintendo (their Game Boy Color having been recently released) and Bandai (whose WonderSwan console had proven popular in Japan). With SNK in financial difficulty, the Neo Geo Pocket Color was almost doomed to failure; however, it was a fantastic console, with a great – albeit small – software library and highly-regarded hardware design, including an excellent, microswitch-based controller.

These days, the console is hugely popular for serious collectors and retrogamers alike, with the cartridges often selling for eye-watering amounts on eBay.

One of the most popular Neo Geo Pocket Color titles – if not the most expensive – is SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters Clash, which comes in two different versions: an SNK cartridge and a Capcom cartridge, each featuring exclusive cards. The game itself is a sort of digital collectible card combat game – not unlike Magic: The Gathering – in which players battle against opponents using decks of characters from the huge roster of personalities made famous by both SNK and Capcom in their decades of game releases.

Though the original Neo Geo Pocket Color cartridges can fetch prices of £50 upwards on eBay, the game has now been released digitally on Nintendo Switch, costing just £7.19. Even more exciting is the fact that the Switch version actually contains both the SNK and Capcom versions, with players able to trade characters between save files of both titles in-game.

It certainly beats paying a minimum of £100 and trying to get hold of a Neo Geo Pocket Color console or two to play and trade between.

Look out for my own review of the Switch version of SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighters Clash in the coming weeks – I’m very much looking forward to being able to play the game for the very first time and I can’t wait to let you know if it’s worth the modest asking price, or if it’s a game that should have remained as a nostalgic memory for a small number of gamers who were lucky enough to play it on the original hardware.