Neo Mystery Bonus review by Sweater Fish

When I first started getting into the Neo Geo Pocket I quickly figured out that there were two major categories of games on the system. First, there was the category of great games from a variety of genres: fighting, puzzlers, action, sports, or what have you; second, and infinitely less interesting, there was the casino games. Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with casino games per se, I've got nothing against gambling and I've played in my time, with greater or lesser amounts of enthusiasm, many casino games on many platforms, the Neo Pocket casino series, on the other hand...

The main problem, really, was and is that each full-price casino cartridge only contains one game. Yep, when that title says "Pocket Casino Series: Neo Mystery Bonus," you're not gettin' no pocket casino, mysery explained. What you get is a slot machine simulator with some fancy bells and whistles. Other games in the series include more slot machine sims, video poker, blackjack/21, and a couple others that aren't officially part of the "Pocket Casino Series."

As far back as 1980 with the Intellivision, it was obvious to video game programmers that casino simulators should sold as packages with two or three or more games in one. Somehow, though, SNK/Dyna got it into their heads that they should divide everything up and sell them separately. Ridiculous from a gamer's point of view, but those individual games are selling pretty well even at above normal prices (in Japan, at least), so maybe they're onto something. Ah well, I suppose the concept of "good business" wins in the end.

If slot machines and gambling aren't your thing then I suggest you stop reading right now and go buy one of the other great Neo Poke games. If you could imagine playing a virtual slot machine on a 2.6" screen then you're in luck, buddy-boy, because Neo Mystery Bonus isn't half bad.

While it's just a generic slot machine sim without all the fancy, wooptie-doo themes of the Aruze PachiSlot simulators, it does provide a ton of options and bonuses and features to keep things fresh.

The main game is five lines of slot machine goodness. Five lines means you can win on any of the three horizontal lines or on the diagonals, which adds an extra dimension or two to a basic slot machine game. For stopping the reels, you can choose between "Skill-stop" and "Auto-stop", in the former you have to press the 'A' button to stop each reel successively adding yet another layer to the gameplay since it is possible to stop a reel exactly where you want it...if you've got the skill. (In "Auto-stop" mode the reels stop...automatically.) The goal, of course, is to line up various fruits and symbols so that you get three of the same symbol on one line; this yields a jackpot between 1 and 200x what you bet on the winning line.

Then there's the bonus games. It wouldn't be the "Dyna Pocket Casino Series" without bonus games!

The "Double-or-nothing" bonus game presents you with five face-down playing cards and asks you to guess whether each one will be higher or lower than '7.' Guess right and you double your takings, guess right again and you get 4x, then 8x, 16x and, finally, 50x. Of course, if you guess wrong you lose it all. That's what I call edge-of-your-seat excitement!

Next we have the "Coin Bonus" game. Each time you get three coins on a line in the main game, one coin is added to a stack on the right-hand side of the screen; when that stack gets six-coins tall it's "Coin Bonus" time! You choose a starting location at the top of the screen, then a ball drops from that location and falls past a number of branches, either turning or continuing straight, eventually reaching the bottom of the screen where you win one of three money bags containing various amounts of coinage.

Finally, we have the eponymous "Mystery Bonus" game. Line up three mystery symbols (that's a question mark to you and me) to play. In the "Mystery Bonus" game the symbols on the slot's reels are replaced by numbers; you spin the reels and whatever three numbers end up on the line that you originally got the mystery symbols on are added up and become your odds. For instance, let's say you get a 10, a 30, and a 20; your odds will be 60, so you win 60x whatever you're original bet was. It's possible to really rake in the money on the "Mystery Bonus" game since some lines allow you to spin the reels up to five times.

If you're a real slots junkie that doesn't go for all this distracting bonus game stuff, there's a Simple Mode just for you, spin the reels and vegetate, no worries about having to think about crazy "other games." There's also a Pro Mode that's unlocked after 3000 games in Regular Mode. Pro Mode gives you more control over the game's features, allows you to bet more and opens a new "Double-or-nothing" game where you have to guess wheher each card will be higher or lower than the last.

There's also a bookkeeping option that keeps track of various payout percentages and other fun numbers and a small glossary of the terms used in the game that will come in very handy if you ever wonder what "Game Over" means. You also have the option of saving up to five games-in-progress so you can come back at any time and pick up where you left off.