A very comfortable button layout with the best directional button of the VG Pocket series.
 Jungle Tac Handheld Gaming!




I Marketed by Performance Design Products and Pelican Products in the US 2006.
VG Pocket Caplet Review
      I started the Wikipedia page on the Caplet. It has changed a lot since then, so there may be some slight similarities as I do this review. I have more freedom here. Wikipedia doesn't particularly like gamer enthusiasm. They interpret it as being a promotional slant and I guess it does borderline on being something like that. Performance Designed Products and Pelican Products marketed the VG Pocket Caplet, but it is really built by JungleTac. They are the ones who are behind all the VG Pocket and Onestation series of portables.


        What drew me to the Caplet in the first place is "Bust A Move." I have also grown to be a fan of the JungleTac products. With most JungleTac products I have had a growing opinion of the quality of the build. Although they seem to be well built, the materials are very cheaply thin. It is as if they are hollow and fragile, like an empty egg shell void of its contents. The Caplet, like the MD Max, seems to go beyond the norm for JungleTac. The plastic seems much thicker and sturdy.
     The size of the unit, as you hold it in your hands, is noticeably bigger than any of the other portables in the VG Pocket series. It is thicker and feels chunky. They come in, from what I have seen, four colors; blue, silver, red, and orange.  I'm thinking that the arcade games may be actual ports rather than any emulation. There are still no save features for high scores, or save states for game progress! This is a self-contained unit with nothing else to buy when it comes to games. So this limits you if you don't like many of the types of games on board. All of the games have an easy "pick-me-up and play" simplicity about them, which gives you that arcade-like feel.








Pros:
Bust-A-Move, Space Invaders, & Burger Time in your pocket.
TV-Out when your home.

Cons:
No save states for high scores!!!
No TV-Out cable included.
The screwed down battery panel.


.
Code Name: PLUMBER



This is Jet Ski racing, it is not exactly Wave Race but it is a very nice little water racer.

A Change For Jungle Tac
    The marketing of this unit has been different than any of JungleTac's previous systems in which this unit contains three licensed games, two from Taito and one from G-mode. The box claims the unit to be 16 bit and it does show in the graphics a great improvement over any of the other in the VG Pocket series. There has been some confusion as to how many games are on the units. Early versions of the Caplet contained only 35 games, with the current version having 50. Both units, as far as outward appearance, are identical. The packaging of the unit is the only way to identify how many games are on the system other than switching it on. All of the games are JungleTac's own games except for the three licensed games. Sometimes you might find that JungleTac games do not have that polished feel about them, or may even seem incomplete. But you might find a lot of them fun for that spare of the moment quick pick-me-up.
 Games:
    Games on the Caplet include: 
Caplet Games-----Similar in concept or plays like
Space Invaders----------(licensed arcade port)
Bust-A-Move-----------(licensed arcade port)
BurgerTime-------------(licensed arcade port)
Sudoku Quiz----------maybe by the word quiz they mean puzzle
Boxboy-------------------Sokoban
Bubble Wubble-----------Tetris
Adventures of Waldog------simple platform game
Final Escape-------------- Pengo
Deep Storm ---------on rails shooter, Space Harrier sort-of?
Wolfy's Quest------sort-of 3D side scroller through maze with traps
Legendary Hero-----------don-doko-don
Craig the Caterpillar------- Go! Go! Smile Mile
Crystal Cavern-------------Magical Drop
Final Round Tennis!--------simple tennis game
Magic Jelly--------------Dexterity or Super Skweek
Rotating Puzzle---------animated slide puzzle game
Underwater Pinball------- Arkanoid/Breakout
Bubble Blaster------------ Zuma
Greedy Grabber-----running a maze avoiding cannon fire pacman style
Puzzle Chance---------Diamond Mine, Gems Swap
Jet Racing---------Pole Position / Super Hang On on water using  jet ski
Yummy and Tasty--------Gussun Oyoyo
Code Name: PLUMBER-------Nice little Platform game with exploration
Hanoi Tower-------puzzle using various ring sizes and 3 pegs
Leapfrog-----------------puzzle using frogs and leapfrogging to eleminate
Win or Lose------------breakout with falling balls to hit, no blocks
Pop goes the Ball!--------Pang!
Kart Racer X--------------Overhead racer
Battle Blocks II-----------Arkaniod/Breakout
Switch and Mix----------- Lights Out
Survival Challenge------puzzle using frogs to eliminate bugs
Go Back Home!--------puzzle moving the right color to home of the same
Motojet Mania------------Overhead racer
Tiger Rescue----------Vertical scrolling shooter maybe Aero Fighters
Billiards Master---------using stick, green table, and colored balls
Mr. Onion ----------------Ponpoko
Wacky Racing-----------Pole Position in a Mario cart sort-of way
Tennis Caddie-----------puzzle game using colored balls
Blaze of Glory---------Horizontal scrolling shooter, Carrier Air Wing type?
Underwater Memory------go fish and bust-a-move mixed
Crane Maniac ------- crane game like in the arcades
Go Bang-------------sort-of like Way of the Stones
Jewel Master 2 ----------Columns
Smashing Ladybugs------simple puzzle game that gets harder with progression
Submarine-----------------negotiate  mazes plus side scrolling shooting  elements
Slot Machine--------------casino game
Video Poker--------------casino game
Black Jack----------------casino game
Victory Road-------------Frogger
Blazebusters----------Arkanoid/Breakout, Fire Trap

Controls:
      You have a disc shaped directional button, the best I have seen, or put thumbs on, when it comes to a JungleTac product. There are the typical A, B, X, Y, menu, start button, and on/off switch. There is an analog volume control on the bottom of the unit right beside an oddity, when it comes to a JungleTac product, a headphone jack. The buttons do feel nicer on this unit than any of the other VG Pockets.
 
 Power:
  3 AAA batteries power the unit. You seem to get a long playtime, I as of yet have not timed it. There is no AC adapter jack. The batteries reside behind a panel on the back that is screwed shut requiring you to carry a screwdriver with you in case they die on you.
Submarine: shown is one of the small little mazes that you negotiate through before you see some side scrolling shooting action.

     

The battery panel buttoned down as tight as you can get it.


    TV Out:
   To get the TV out feature, you have to buy a separate kit that includes a carrying case and TV Out cable. If you have one of the old pockets, you can use the cable that you got with them. At first it seems that it doesn't work. I discovered that the audio and video has been switched! Just take the plugs and use the white RCA jack as video and the yellow for audio. Was this done on purpose? Some of the game screens seem tiny on the small LCD, but look good on a TV screen. I don't know why all the VG Pocket series work great on the TV Out and the Onestation series has its problems.






Bust-A-Move looks and plays great!
 Screen:
      The Caplet has a very bright 2.5" hbacklit 320 x 240 TFT display. (The package claims its resolution is '960x240', counting the RGB triads to make 3x the number of pixels). It is very extra sharp and the colors are rich. The screen is not recessed and seems to be easily scratched. I house mine in a Game Boy Micro sock.


      A very nice simple little tennis game. All of the games have that simple arcade feel to them. A fun, very quick "pick me up and play" type of gameplay that would satisfy whether it be a few minutes or all afternoon. I call them "Doctor office visit" time wasters.
Final Thoughts: Probably the main reason that anyone will pick up one of these is because they are familiar with Bust-A-Move, Space Invaders, or Burger Time. All three of those games being Taito games. When these things first came out they were set at $39 USD. You can probably pick one up now, as I still see them at EB Games, for around $29 or $19 USD. I would set the value, or bang for the buck, at $29 USD and the $19 USD as a good bargain. Some of the JungleTac games are very good. I would put this one as their best VG Pocket system. One could spend hours just wondering around through the games included on this stand alone system and find that there is a lot of fun here. A thumbs up for a self contained retro gaming experience.

 


Redesigned by Retro Junkie