18 Best WonderSwan and Neo Geo Pocket Games for Handheld Emulation

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The WonderSwan and the Neo Geo Pocket Color were the great also-rans of the handheld wars. Both lost to the Game Boy, and both were mostly Japan-only, so their libraries stayed hidden from Western players for years. That is a shame, because both machines have superb games. The Neo Geo Pocket has some of the best portable fighters ever made, and the WonderSwan has exclusive Square RPGs and clever puzzle games. Emulation is very light, and our setup guide covers both systems. Many titles need a fan translation, which we note where relevant.

We frame all of this around games you already own and want to preserve.

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Neo Geo Pocket Color Fighters

SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC) — Widely called the best handheld fighting game of its era. Deep, fast, and packed with characters and modes. Essential.

The King of Fighters R-2 (NGPC) — A brilliant portable KOF with a huge roster. The microswitch stick makes it play beautifully.

Fatal Fury: First Contact (NGPC) — A slick, chibi-styled Fatal Fury with tight controls. A standout on the system.

Samurai Shodown! 2 (NGPC) — Weapon-based fighting with great animation. One of the best NGPC fighters.

Gals' Fighters (NGPC) — An all-female SNK crossover fighter, full of charm and personality. A cult favorite.

Neo Geo Pocket Color Action and RPG

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (NGPC) — A gorgeous Sonic platformer built new for the system. Fast, fun, and surprisingly complete.

Metal Slug: 1st Mission (NGPC) — A portable Metal Slug with the series' run-and-gun charm intact. Great in short bursts.

Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (NGPC) — A bigger, better follow-up with branching missions. A high point of the library.

Dark Arms: Beast Buster 1999 (NGPC) — An unusual top-down action-RPG with weapon-breeding. Weird and rewarding.

Faselei! (NGPC) — A tactical mech RPG with real depth. A cult classic that received a rare official English release in the UK, so no patch is needed.

WonderSwan Highlights

Final Fantasy (WonderSwan Color) — The remade original Final Fantasy with updated graphics. The template for the later GBA and PSP versions. Japan-only, but a complete English fan translation exists.

Final Fantasy II (WonderSwan Color) — A polished remake of the second game. A key part of the series' handheld history.

Final Fantasy IV (WonderSwan Color) — A gorgeous remake of the SNES classic. One of the WonderSwan's crown jewels, with an English fan translation available.

Rockman EXE / Mega Man variants (WonderSwan) — WonderSwan-exclusive Mega Man spinoffs. Fun deep cuts for series fans.

Gunpey (WonderSwan) — The signature WonderSwan puzzle game, designed by the creator of the Game Boy. Simple, elegant, and addictive.

Guilty Gear Petit (WonderSwan Color) — A chibi-styled portable Guilty Gear fighter. A surprising and welcome exclusive.

Digimon and Card games (WonderSwan) — A range of monster and card titles that fueled the system's popularity in Japan. Bite-sized and collectible.

Judgement Silversword (WonderSwan Color) — A superb vertical shooter, originally a competition entry, later widely praised. A must-play for shmup fans.

A Note on Emulation and Fan Translations

Both systems emulate flawlessly on any handheld through RetroArch's Beetle cores. The main hurdle is language, since many of the best games, especially the WonderSwan Square RPGs, were Japan-only. High-quality fan translation patches exist for several of them. If you own the original cartridges, applying a fan patch is straightforward. Search the title plus "English translation patch" for documentation. The WonderSwan also supports both horizontal and vertical play, so an emulator with easy screen rotation helps for its vertical games.