Neo Geo AES/CD

[HatefulGravey]

I thought for a long time that owning anything Neo Geo was really just a dream. The Neo Geo Pocket Color (which I just ordered from Ax) is something you can own in The States, but finding an AES is something else entirely. Never the less I find myself wanting one.

 

Does anyone have one? (I don't want to buy yours, I want first hand information, unless you want to sell it )

Where can I get one?

Did anyone have one imported?

What should I be sure I get with it?

Anything I should look out for?

What should I look to pay for this thing?

 

I don't know much about the Neo Geo CD at all.

 

Is it worth getting?

Is it as hard to get?

What is it going to run me if I get one?

 

I know thats a lot of questions, but Neo Geo gets little to no conversation around here, so I thought I would see what people have to say on their systems.

Edited February 22, 2011 by HatefulGravey

[Reaperman]

I picked mine up on the ebay just like everything else.

 

For CD systems, the CDZ will load somewhat faster, and cost a ton more. The CD library is limited, but they're not copy protected (*ahem*). King Of Fighers '99 and Metal Slug X are about the best I've got for it. The load times on any version of this system will constantly remind you that you've only bought this system because you're too poor for a 'real' neo geo. Because prices have fallen somewhat for the rest of the line, and emulation is probably superior to NGCD load screens, I'd suggest skipping over this gateway drug.

 

I don't have an AES, since I went MVS/CMVS, but any of the proper cart-based neo geo systems are right up there with the best systems ever made. For either, I'd certainly go for Blazing Star, Metal Slug 3, Last Blade 2, Neo Turf Masters and Mark of the Wolves. Because of the longer lifespan, the games on AES/MVS get a lot newer and more advanced than the CD titles.

 

I feel MVS is actually the bargain of the bunch if you provide your own truck to haul it home. They often sell in the $250-350 range, and can dip as low as the $150's. For MVS software, the 1xx-in-1 pirate carts are highly recommended. They're not perfect, but there is an awful lot of gaming in one of those for $100 or so. If you go AES, it's almost worth it to get an MVS converter to enjoy all the inexpensive games. A typical (loose) MVS game will run $25-60 shipped, which is pretty reasonable, really.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Reaperman

[MagitekAngel]

I'm in the same boat as the OP; it would be fun to get a Neo Geo, but I'm not in any financial position to invest in one of any kind!

[HatefulGravey]

For some reason there is a real lack of gaming stuff in my area of the country. I'm near Savannah Ga if anyone knows that area at all. One of the oldest cities in the country, many historical things you really should see if you ever get the chance.

 

It is a shock to me that there isn't more around here, but there isn't. So finding a MVS close enough to be able to get it isn't easy for me. I'm looking all the time though, believe me.

 

The converter is high on the list of must haves for me when I get an AES though. Having AES carts would be cool, and I'll get a few examples or good deal games, but I'll buy mostly MVS because to me they are cooler anyway. They are real arcade games meant for the arcade, and that carries a bit of cool for me.

 

I can't just buy one now. Well I could but the wife would surely be a bit upset with that sudden loss of cash and I would have to worry about my mental state if I just dropped that cash. The thing is do I import one? That almost seems like the only way to get one without dropping a pile of cash. When I see them listed in country that are always with a pile of stuff so they go high, or they are selling high because they don't have to be imported and that is a nice thing to know. Not knowing about the importing process is something of a problem when dealing with eBay.

 

Anyone know where I could buy one in this country? And the more important question, what is reasonable for this system? I guess I would like 2 controllers and I'll be looking for a converter. Are the converters hard to find or crazy pricey?

[Reaperman]

Are the converters hard to find or crazy pricey?

They're around $200, and are easy enough to find online. There are a few different versions, older units have limitations as far as playing newer games, but I haven't seen one of those in a while.

 

As for importing, there's no real reason not to. Most of my MVS games came from a guy in canada, but it's not uncommon for me to import from asia too. Only a few games (mahjong, horse racing and the like) don't switch to english in american systems. If you get a system from asia, may want to swap out the bios so it plays games in english. Unibios is pretty inexpensive.

 

Now the bios thing is what an MVSer would have to do, and it certainly works on AES, but there *may* be a easier way to switch region on the aes. I know the NGCD uses a clearly labeled jumper block, so modding it is the easiest thing in the world.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Reaperman

[Koopa64]

If you don't already know, keep in mind if you import your Neo system, it'll be in Japanese. There won't be much for english, but at least you get red blood and bounciness when it's available. Also, the BIOS will be soldered to the board, making things difficult if you want to add in a debug or UniBIOS.

 

To be honest, if you want in on the AES, you're gonna have to spend a huge sum of cash if you want the best experience. Instead of buying a vanilla Neo and eventually modding it, you might as well buy an already modded system for a little more money. It at least means there will be one more untainted factory Neo in existence.

 

Concerning games, the Super MVS Converter II isn't perfect, suffering from displaying the sprite scaling in some games, but I'm sure you already knew this. Other than that little issue, an AES + MVS Converter is a pretty good way to go about this.

 

But of course, I still think by far the cheapest and most interesting path to Neo-Geo awesomeness is to get an MVS board and either consolize it (harder) or build a Supergun (easier). It won't be pretty, but it's by far the most cost effective solution. Optionally, you can somehow house the MVS board in a nice shell and either consolize it there or somehow fashion a Supergun in there somewhere.

 

Just to specify, when I say 'supergun', I mean attaching said device to the MVS through the JAMMA connector. For a consolization, just take the supergun and shove it inside the MVS, bypassing the JAMMA connector (if you solder the supergun TO the JAMMA port, you need a slap).

[HatefulGravey]

Are the converters hard to find or crazy pricey?

They're around $200, and are easy enough to find online. There are a few different versions, older units have limitations as far as playing newer games, but I haven't seen one of those in a while.

 

As for importing, there's no real reason not to. Most of my MVS games came from a guy in canada, but it's not uncommon for me to import from asia too. Only a few games (mahjong, horse racing and the like) don't switch to english in american systems. If you get a system from asia, may want to swap out the bios so it plays games in english. Unibios is pretty inexpensive.

 

Now the bios thing is what an MVSer would have to do, and it certainly works on AES, but there *may* be a easier way to switch region on the aes. I know the NGCD uses a clearly labeled jumper block, so modding it is the easiest thing in the world.

 

I looked online there are some ok prices for the system imported. Shipping can be high but I guess thats to be expected. Do you know how fast the express expedited shipping from Japan is?

 

Talking about having the mod my system isn't a good thing for me. I don't have much in the way of modding skill and don't like to ruin hardware trying. I'll figure that out when I get the system it would seem. Are AES games or MVS games region coded?

 

It seems likely I'll be spending my gaming moneys on Neo Geo stuff for the next few months. Save my budget for a while, buy the system, save the budget for a while, buy the converter....

[HatefulGravey]

If you don't already know, keep in mind if you import your Neo system, it'll be in Japanese. There won't be much for english, but at least you get red blood and bounciness when it's available. Also, the BIOS will be soldered to the board, making things difficult if you want to add in a debug or UniBIOS.

 

We are posting too close together, this may end up being a double post on my part. Sorry.

 

Is there any reason I would HAVE to change anything? Most of the games I've seen for the system would be playable even if I can't read whats going on. Fighting games and platformers are pretty straight forward deals. It might be cool to have it in Japanese. It would stand out when friends were over for sure. I guess this really comes down to region coding then doesn't it? I would hate to have to play all Japanese copies because I didn't mod my AES.

[Reaperman]

I looked online there are some ok prices for the system imported. Shipping can be high but I guess thats to be expected. Do you know how fast the express expedited shipping from Japan is?

 

Talking about having the mod my system isn't a good thing for me. I don't have much in the way of modding skill and don't like to ruin hardware trying. I'll figure that out when I get the system it would seem. Are AES games or MVS games region coded?

 

It seems likely I'll be spending my gaming moneys on Neo Geo stuff for the next few months. Save my budget for a while, buy the system, save the budget for a while, buy the converter....

I have no idea how long shipping takes, customs is such a random factor in it. Not fast, is what I'm getting at there, so I don't think there's much reason to spend money on shipping methods above EMS air.

 

Games are not region coded, about 1/3 of my games are japanese and do just fine in my US MVS systems. They generally have multiple languages in them and will try to display in the language of the system. (as I mentioned all but a few do). I have my NGCD set to japan so I can get those 'bounce' frames on girls koopa was talking about. Some title screens are also different based on region. I can't think of many neo geo games where english is really required.

 

It's all personal preference, but I'm 100% with koopa on the mvs route.

Actually today is a good day for me to finally order myself a unibios.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Reaperman

[Koopa64]

Technically, Neo games are region coded, but it's the console that determines what region the cartridge will be in when it's powered on. Literally, all Neo-Geo games have the same region specific code, no matter what their label says. A Japanese copy of Fatal Fury has the exact same data on it as an English version does. It's the console that determines what data on that cartridge will be accessed. That's why a UniBIOS is a popular choice among available mods.

 

To be honest, you don't need to play your Neo games in English. But as I said, the best AES experience demands a ridiculously high price. If you want a shoddy experience that will require some more money later on and perhaps some headache, a vanilla AES will do. Trust me, you'll get tired of Composite pretty quick and wished you bought a modded AES with at least S-Video. Unless you are mod friendly, then the vanilla AES will be perfect for you, but there really doesn't need to be any more modded Neo-Geos in the world, there's enough of them as it is.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Koopa64

[Reaperman]

Looks like as low as ~$500 shipped and it's done forever. A handsome example of the system. Card slot, headphone jack, credit indicators, 4 slots. I can vouch for the quality of its 108-in-1 cart (only a couple games aren't right).

 

*sigh* It's a much nicer system than mine...

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140515488847

 

sell a kidney, maybe?

Set it up in a bar until it pays itself off?

[Koopa64]

Umm, why should the card slot, headphone jacks and all that be a surprise? Those were standard on the multislot MVS machines. Heck, I bet even the single slot cabs had those features too. Are conversion cabs really that common?

 

Also, $500 is a about what you'd be looking at for a GOOD Neo AES setup, including an MVS converter. Perhaps a bit higher depending on what you buy the modded Neo for...

Edited February 22, 2011 by Koopa64

[Reaperman]

Umm, why should the card slot, headphone jacks and all that be a surprise? Those were standard on the multislot MVS machines. Heck, I bet even the single slot cabs had those features too. Are conversion cabs really that common?

 

Also, $500 is a about what you'd be looking at for a GOOD Neo AES setup, including an MVS converter. Perhaps a bit higher depending on what you buy the modded Neo for...

Mine's a conversion cab, and none of the 3 single-slot mvs boards I have owned supported the card reader.

 

As for the price, it's a 4 slot, with a 108-in-1, both of which are worth something extra. Seller seems willing to arrange shipping. And yes, all that is for only about the same cost as decent aes, with mid-range video mod, and a cart adapter.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Reaperman

[Koopa64]

Off the top of my head, I think only the MV-1 board has a connector for the card reader. From there the MV-1F lacks the card port but still has nice features like the controller ports and headphone jack capability. After that most of the 1 slot boards are pretty minimalistic.

 

Too bad you've got a conversion cab, but it probably still works alright yes? As long as it was cheap, playability is all that matters.

[Reaperman]

Too bad you've got a conversion cab, but it probably still works alright yes? As long as it was cheap, playability is all that matters.

Yeah, the conversion cab is good fun, but honestly no less expensive than that (it was bought a long time ago).

My consolized one really cost though...and will again whenever I decide to upgrade it to component video.

 

I dunno, if price is equal, I guess I just lean more toward the cabs.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Reaperman

[HatefulGravey]

Looking like a consolized MVS is going to be the way for me for now. Just going to have to find the parts and such. I've been talking to folks about it already.

 

Does anyone know where to find a few Neo Geo CD controllers, those seem to be what I like the most and they are Neo Geo after all.

[Koopa64]

So you're going with a living room MVS board? It sounds like you're gonna set one up yourself. If you need advice on where to get parts just ask. Mind you I like cheaper over nice features. A CMVS is mighty expensive, but it's perfect for someone who has a large wallet but is short on wiring and soldering skill. The cheapest and easiest way to play MVS is to get a cheapo board and build your own little Supergun box.

 

As for Neo CD controllers, eBay's prices are alright. One or two might pop up at Neo-Geo.com if you keep an eye out. My advice is maybe skip the CD controllers and get some sticks, unless you're confident you can clean them when they start to fail.

[HatefulGravey]

So you're going with a living room MVS board? It sounds like you're gonna set one up yourself. If you need advice on where to get parts just ask. Mind you I like cheaper over nice features. A CMVS is mighty expensive, but it's perfect for someone who has a large wallet but is short on wiring and soldering skill. The cheapest and easiest way to play MVS is to get a cheapo board and build your own little Supergun box.

 

As for Neo CD controllers, eBay's prices are alright. One or two might pop up at Neo-Geo.com if you keep an eye out. My advice is maybe skip the CD controllers and get some sticks, unless you're confident you can clean them when they start to fail.

 

I assume you mean AES sticks. That would be super nice. I can't get to eBay at work so I have had to wonder about the options for controllers so far. I thought about them but it would seem those sticks would be just as rare as the AES in this contry.

 

YES, if you know where I can get parts do let me know please! I have looked on eBay before and haven't seen much that seemed reasonable from what I have been told to expect to pay for the board. I plan to spend some time tonight learning more about this entire thing and have only the fantest clue whats going on so far.

 

NO, I do not plan to do this myself. I plan to pay someone here that has done it before to do it for me. My pockets aren't deep enough to risk ruining everything I could put into this project so I would rather just pay someone that knows what to do to get it done right the first time.

 

I would love to just buy one, but is the prices I see online for these things are honest representations of their value I might have to scrap this entire idea. $700+ is nuts for this project! Cheap would be ok, but I do want something that looks half nice too. I want to stay away from exposed wires and boards like I have seen on a few of these. That is the main reason I can't have the other method you keep talking about, to much 'mess'. I'll spend the money to have something a little nicer.

[Koopa64]

I assume you mean AES sticks. That would be super nice. I can't get to eBay at work so I have had to wonder about the options for controllers so far. I thought about them but it would seem those sticks would be just as rare as the AES in this contry.

 

eBay Canada is significantly more limited in selection than eBay.com, but what I see is about $40 shipped for a new style Neo stick. You might find cheaper or more expensive options, but that will give you an idea of the pricing.

 

YES, if you know where I can get parts do let me know please! I have looked on eBay before and haven't seen much that seemed reasonable from what I have been told to expect to pay for the board. I plan to spend some time tonight learning more about this entire thing and have only the fantest clue whats going on so far.

 

At first I thought I'd just do this via PM, but perhaps I should be considerate of other people here who might be reading this.

 

For a Supergun, you really only need 3 components:

 

+ ATX power supply: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220328253164

+ JAMMA Harness (with full wiring preferably)

+ RGB to NTSC encoder

 

NO, I do not plan to do this myself. I plan to pay someone here that has done it before to do it for me. My pockets aren't deep enough to risk ruining everything I could put into this project so I would rather just pay someone that knows what to do to get it done right the first time.

 

It really isn't that hard to make a supergun. All it involves is connecting a bunch of wires together. If you get an MVS board with on-board controller ports that dramatically reduces that number of wires.

 

However, there's nothing wrong with being careful. That's why I recommend a supergun over a consolization job, because there's a MUCH bigger chance of wrecking your MVS board by directly soldering connections to it. I'd be the wrong person to ask about building one though, there's more experienced people you could talk to.

 

I would love to just buy one, but is the prices I see online for these things are honest representations of their value I might have to scrap this entire idea. $700+ is nuts for this project! Cheap would be ok, but I do want something that looks half nice too. I want to stay away from exposed wires and boards like I have seen on a few of these. That is the main reason I can't have the other method you keep talking about, to much 'mess'. I'll spend the money to have something a little nicer.

 

$700 says you saw those Neotropolis listings. That guy is out of his mind. Seriously, he mentally ill with his pricing. Everything he puts on eBay is overpriced, period.

 

A MUCH more accurate price for a pre-built CMVS would be $300, roughly. My recommended method will yield an even smaller overall price, but we all need to recognize that Neo-Geo is still pretty expensive when compared to other game systems. But within it's own little world of insanity, a MVS + home made supergun is mighty inexpensive.

[HatefulGravey]

I would take a $300 pre-built deal. Thats not a big deal. Not like I would just buy that right now, but I would buy that in a week or two. I have spent enough on games for a while. I'm gathering as much information as I can at this point.

 

Where can I get the right board? What board should I be looking for? I have seen 1 slot boards in atleast 2 very different sizes so far. Whats the difference?

[Koopa64]

Instead of explaining each individual board, I direct you to this page:

 

http://www.hardmvs.com/html/PCBcompare.htm

 

The "best" board is really up to your own opinion. Most people agree that the 2 Slot board is best for consolization jobs, but really you could do it to any board you feel like, even the big boat MV1.

 

The only place you're gonna find an accurately priced CMVS is at Neo-Geo.com unfortunately. Be sure to strap on your flame shield before heading over there.

[HatefulGravey]

I take it having a jamma board is a must for this project then seeing as how you mention a jamma harness?

[Reaperman]

I take it having a jamma board is a must for this project then seeing as how you mention a jamma harness?

All the MVS boards are fairly jamma-ish, and it doesn't matter too much--especially since you're looking at custom work. I don't know what kind of deal you will get for labor, but some boards will need extra modding for stereo, and some come with joystick ports, which might save some.

 

I'll second the fairly diplomatic warning about the neo-geo.com crowd. I can get along with pretty much any gamer, but I have real trouble visiting there and generally don't. It's a "different style" of forum.

Edited February 23, 2011 by Reaperman

[Koopa64]

Different style of forum is an understatement IMO. If gravey can help it, I recommend him to stay on AtariAge and get help from anybody he can get. This place is great for getting help as it is. Very noob friendly.

 

Concerning your question gravey, that edge connector you see on MVS boards IS a JAMMA port. You attach your JAMMA harness to it instead of soldering, for obvious reasons. 1 Slot boards tend to stay JAMMA-like, only adding stereo sound and 2 extra buttons. Multi-slot boards add some more fuctions to the JAMMA port, so SNK decided to label it MVS so people knew right away it was significantly different.

 

Here's hoping this thread proves useful to other AtariAgers with similar questions. Gravey, if you can, maybe you could edit the thread title to reflect the current subject of the thread? That would be awesome!

[TheGameCollector]

I have a USA Neo Geo AES with its original box and two joysticks that I bought off Amazon.com for $599 with 3 like new CIB common games(a ripoff but it was cool and I worked full time with little rent back then), and a Japanese Neo Geo CD for $100 that came with 5 real games and a bunch of free pre-burned ones as an added bonus.

 

As far as gaming goes I am totally content with the Neo Geo CD as a gaming machine. Its load times are about the same as Sega Saturn for the games I have. I like those control pads better because I grew up with Nintendo systems, not arcade machines. I do like cartridges better than cds though so I might want to start importing the $20-$30 titles from Japan to get some more games for when the AES is hooked up. 3 games is a bit too few to make me want to dig the system out but 7-10+ would sure do it for me. I don't know, it's stuff I have planned for the far future. For now I will go along with my Japanese Neo Geo CD collection.

 

Oh one thing I noticed. I never seem to be able to find any US released/labeled Neo Geo CD systems or games. They must have not sold many in the USA. Every time I got a Neo Geo CD it was set to Japanese so I figured none of these that I bought originated here. I know that as a console it is easily switched, but I am curious about original packaging of the unit and whether or not the system ever had the USA language set as default in the system's factory settings when it was shipped here.