cassettes CAN sound better than vinyl.

Not even close. Vinyl wins even with a moderate turntable and cartridge.

Analog tape, whether open reel or cassette, is Old Tech in search of a need.  Put your cassette tape deck next to your FM tuner, buggy whip and dial telephone.

Tape of any sort is just a storage system.  Where are you getting your music from?  Commercial pre-recorded tapes which are copied at high speed?  Cassette tape technology is so 20th century.

Ive got a Nak Dragon and love popping in a tape now and then. Its worry free unlike like vinyl, zero prep, it still sounds wonderful. I enjoy it and that is really all that matters. I have both analog and digital in my system, and love music in all its formats for the most part.

I buy tapes from small artists in very limited runs of tapes, some better than others and just like vinyl record pressings. Some winners some losers.

That Mattel deck is fine indeed. Excellent isolation.