$300 modded npgc simply isnt worth it. The game are just to fucking moronically over priced and while they're fun they just don't hold up. Theres better stuff you could b playing portably for vastly cheaper too. Plus its a easily emulated system.
Well it's definitely not worth it for that Etsy version. You can tell the screen isn't even the right aspect ratio, since some of the pixels are getting crunched/stretched.
BennVenn promises a non-scaled aspect ratio, and you can be certain that his kit will not cost $300.
Also, you're on crack if you think the NGPC games don't hold up. The fighting games are great, and very accessible. It's no wonder there are current developers making games that follow that style, look up Pocket Rumble on the Nintendo Switch. The Metal Slugs are great, have a good feel to the controls and gameplay that mimics the arcade versions. The sprite art for all the games is so stylish. Better looking than any Gameboy Color game at the time, and again it's used as an inspiration for newer games being developed or released presently.
As for price, you must be new to Neo Geo hardware. Anything Neo Geo related is expensive.
Yeah you can emulate it. Go right ahead. But I haven't found one emulation solution that allows me to play on a cool handheld console with the nice clicky 8-way joystick. Apart from the great games that still hold up, the joystick is a major part of the experience of playing on the real thing.