What does Neo Geo mean for you?

[Serguei2]

Let me see what do you think about Neo Geo.

[jhd]

When I was in University (early 1990s), there was a Neo Geo system in the campus arcade. I only ever remember playing King of the Monsters, though there were a few other games available.

 

It was many years later that I learned that there was a home console version of the same hardware; I have never seen or played one. I was interested in the Neo Geo X handheld, but that never made it to retail anywhere that I was aware. 

 

I did purchase the SNK Arcade Classics: Vol. 1 for the PlayStation 2, mostly because it includes King of the Monsters. ?

 

 

[GameboyIsTheBest]

I never heard of it.

Edited January 5, 2021 by GameboyIsTheBest

[bluejay]

I'm not a fan of advanced arcade games, late 80s and on. Hence I'm not a fan of the Neo Geo(AVS). If a console similar to it(that was an arcade machine at home) existed in the early 80s, then I'd be a fan. To me the Neo Geo is just an expensive console with expensive games.

[Serguei2]

I first heard Neo Geo from Gamepro 1990-1991.

 

There was a review saying SNK is about to launch the console at home.

 

Gamepro also had many Neo Geo ads as well.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Serguei2
Rewritten some parts.

[128Kgames]

You left out "Four Bright Buttons and Two Joysticks."

[+Charlie Cat]

7 hours ago, Serguei2 said:

Let me see what do you think about Neo Geo.

Great question Serquei. I'll be glad to share my story.

 

I've been a Neo-Geo buff since 1990. I was 7 years old. I first witness the Neo-Geo by playing on an MVS cabinet being rolled off a distributors truck at a local Dairy Queen in Paramus, NJ. At first, I didn't know what to make of it because it was all red and had a 4 slot marquee on top of it. The manager explained to me that it was called Neo-Geo, and MVS stood for "Multi Video System", and you can insert multiple games into the unit for gamers to select and play. I was truly amazed by the Neo-Geo by first understanding the technology. I've never seen anything like it before.

 

Next was the game that had me addicted ever since, and that was Magician Lord. I must've spend so much in quarters to play it that I wanted to stay there all day till closing time. Since that day, I was hooked since. 

 

Anthony..

[Sir Guntz]

I first heard about the Neo Geo around 2007 I think. It was a really cool system with this heavy mystique around it, I felt that 24-bit hype even being so late to the party.

[Steven Pendleton]

Expensive

[DragonGrafx-16]

Neo Geo stuff is out of my price range... and PC Engine stuff is my limit. 

 

Being that I'm a shmup fan I'll just play the few Neo Geo shmups in MAME or some other emulator. 

[Serguei2]

The first game I played in the arcade was World Heroes 2 and Samurai Shodown.

 

Both games are great.

 

I also played Fatal Fury 2. It was ok.

 

3 hours ago, fdurso224 said:

Great question Serquei. I'll be glad to share my story.

 

I've been a Neo-Geo buff since 1990. I was 7 years old. I first witness the Neo-Geo by playing on an MVS cabinet being rolled off a distributors truck at a local Dairy Queen in Paramus, NJ. At first, I didn't know what to make of it because it was all red and had a 4 slot marquee on top of it. The manager explained to me that it was called Neo-Geo, and MVS stood for "Multi Video System", and you can insert multiple games into the unit for gamers to select and play. I was truly amazed by the Neo-Geo by first understanding the technology. I've never seen anything like it before.

 

Next was the game that had me addicted ever since, and that was Magician Lord. I must've spend so much in quarters to play it that I wanted to stay there all day till closing time. Since that day, I was hooked since. 

 

Anthony..

After played Samurai Shodown and World Heroes 2, Magician Lord, I played only on emulators, looks more SNES than Neo Geo, my opinion.

 

Geez! 

 

Magician Lord is a money grabber. 

 

You can't play it more than 30 seconds and you're game over already.

 

I would spend $10 just to complete level 1.

 

 

[BassGuitari]

For me, NeoGeo means:

1.) Arcade fighting games

2.) A boutique console that, in practical terms, didn't actually exist

3.) An awesome and tragically short-lived late '90s handheld that got steamrolled by the Game Boy Color

 

I'd occasionally see one of the Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, World Heroes, or Metal Slug games in arcades and bowling alleys and such BITD, or some of their console ports on Genesis or SNES, but that was about the extent of it. I'd heard/read about the NeoGeo console in magazines (I assume AVS?), but it had zero retail presence in my area and I never knew of anybody (or even anybody who knew anybody!) who had one. I did have some limited exposure to the NeoGeo Pocket Color, though.

[eightbit]

I owned it back when it came out...purchased on launch day. It meant creme of the crop of consoles to me then. It still does in many ways. And, I still have an AES console I don't play it all of the time, but it is hooked up and on the ready when the mood strikes. And, I wake up to look at it each morning!

[Reaperman]

Finally owning my first cart-based Neo Geo, for me, was an indication that I'd arrived where I'd always wanted to be in this video gaming hobby.

 

It was always an incredibly expensive system, but one with the performance and desirability to match its price.  It's a bit of a luxury good, and the first 'high end' system I encountered that really felt the part. Playing it always feels a bit more special than anything else I own.

 

I only knew one place that sold them, Walden Software. But like a lot of kids, it wasn't close to in-budget and I had to rent it a credit at a time in the arcade.  I also still remember my very first go on one.  It was at the the Belvidere Oasis (link), which is a building built over a freeway to resemble an overpass, but has shops/restaurants inside of it.  This was during a middle school class trip to visit a Chicago museum, which was out of state, and made for a long ride. The Oasis had a big red cab, right next to the mcdonald's, with Art of Fighting, which featured the largest characters I'd ever seen in a video game, and a zooming effect that was just amazing to behold back then.  

 

I picked Ryo. I still remember that, as well as still remembering the name of the kid I played against--I wouldn't normally have any memory of that day, but it was that big of a deal to me.  ...and this was at least half a decade before the system *really* hit its stride. (good thing only AoF1 was out back then, because witnessing AoF3 at that age might have killed me right there)

Edited January 6, 2021 by Reaperman

[phoenixdownita]

It's the pinnacle of 16bit gaming, the real arcade at home.

I didn't have one until a few years ago ... for me it went NGCD (Top Loader) because at that time there was no flash solution out yet and AES/MVS games where/are expensive, then NG CDZ (just because I found it on the "cheap" and really wanted to see the extra loading speed) then finally AES with MagicKey II + banana cart then NeoSD and now Neo SD Pro.
I have a furrtek SDLoader that I had not yet had time to install in the NGCD Top Loader ... which would very likely revive it in terms of playability (it's slow in loading and that makes later KoFs games (but not only) be really King of Loading).

 

If you are in the hobby and you're now into "exotic" territory and you can afford it it's really a nice console, indeed about 1/3 of the games are fighters but that means there's still a lot of non fighters worth trying ... some are weird (8-man I am looking at you) but still fun in their own ways.

 

It's only got more expensive over time so it can be off putting but a working AES set + neoSD is in the whereabouts of Jag + JagCD or cheaper, a consolized MVS can be had for 400US$ or whereabouts (like this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/mvs-consolized-Mvs-Neo-Geo-Snk/164381930258 )

[+Charlie Cat]

1 hour ago, eightbit said:

I owned it back when it came out...purchased on launch day. It meant creme of the crop of consoles to me then. It still does in many ways. And, I still have an AES console I don't play it all of the time, but it is hooked up and on the ready when the mood strikes. And, I wake up to look at it each morning!

That was an amazing story you shared on the Neo-Geo thread on how you purchased the AES console in 1990 eightbit.

 

What's also fascinating is that all the areas that you mentioned during that time are all familiar to me as well. While you received your AES unit at the Garden State Plaza Mall, I was on Route 4 in Paramus, NJ  playing on a MVS in 1990 in the local Dairy Queen. Maybe we met at one time in Bergen county during that era. 

 

Anthony..

[Hwlngmad]

I first knew about Neo Geo due to the AES.  It was crazy to think that a single game could cost $200, which was a mind-blowing thought in the early 1990s (even today, too).  Also, I was fortunate to play on one just for a little bit at a local game store.  I was, and am still, amazed at the graphics.  Additionally, I played Neo Geo on various MVS systems afterwards, but not too much.  Today, while the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive is my favorite console of all time, I do play a lot of Neo Geo through emulation as the graphics still jump out at me even now.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Hwlngmad

[pablum]

Neo-Geo means classic arcade and home video games with a bit too much fighting game focus to me and WAY too expensive home prices. Would have loved to have seen a Magician Lord 2. I do have a Neo-Geo now, but could only play the games in an arcade back in the day as a kid.

 

With the current owner of SNK I have to just look at the games with nostalgia now rather than looking towards anything related to Neo-Geo in the future.

Edited January 6, 2021 by pablum

[Mikebloke]

I wasn't hugely into it growing up. Only one person I knew owned one and I was a few (dozen) rungs down on the social-economic ladder to be in a position to try it at his house without jumping a wall, running down the driveway for a few minutes, getting past the guards and the security system.

 

Due to my position in society, downing coins in an arcade was an equally stupid idea nor was there one in my area anyway, if I "found" money, I spent it on food. Due to these reasons, I can only really comment on it from a "home system" point of view.

 

A few years ago I finally jumped into the CD version, I have the patience of a saint; I already had a CD-i, 3DO and an Amiga CD32 at this point, so I knew what loading times were like but jeez, its slow on the uptake. I have a pretty basic library of games on it, and I'm still playing my way through the easier modes on quite a few games. I also have a couple of Pocket Colours, which really is like playing a Neo Geo version of a Game Boy Colour.

 

I'm in a very different situation to when I grew up, the AES is now a reasonable (albeit self indulgent) possibility. The brand is strong, but its strong because it has hardware behind it. Its a "it speaks for itself" brand, not reliant on lies and deceit. There is now huge potential for it to return, if the push is made (though I'm not sure even on a technical level if it should). My main complaint about its historical list of games is they do tend to centre around two or three main genres, even if they are genres I enjoy, it was limited. Some of my favourite CD games for example is the puzzle games I would have never played in the arcade.

 

The new ownership is a problem for me, PM if anyone is curious as to why, but wont say more here.

[NeoPancho]

NeoGeo (CD) is my all time favorite system. Maybe it wasn't really my first contact with a MVS, but what i remember is that an arcade center which i used to go during the weekends replaced nearly half of their arcades (all the ones at the right wall) with MVS, it wasn't too big so maybe we are talking of 6 or so cabinets... and while all the other cabs looked the same (they were very cool all said), these were different and had marquees with the cover of different games... these cabs were not only different, they had a bunch of games each! (and by a bunch i mean 4 or 6, a first for me)... the games were pretty much all the first ones (Magician Lord, Blue's Journey, King of Monsters, 8 man, Robo Army, Last Resort, Cyber Lip, Ninja Commando...), then all the games had that NeoGeo intro with the 330 mega while videogame magazines were talking of huge 8 megabit cartridges for MegaDrive and SNES ?... everything caused a big impression on me... from that point i was a big fan of NeoGeo and SNK, loved the arcades, buyed some of the SNES and GB games... until i finally got a NeoGeo CD (shortly after the release in Spain) and that was like, "that's it, this is the best it can get, from this point and going on, videogames can only go down!" and today i reafirm that conclusion ?

[+LS650]

I think it's a great machine for its day.  I don't enjoy 1-on-1 fighting games at all, but it has some excellent non-fighting games - driving, sports, etc.

Of course it's expensive, but emulation for it is very good.

I'm a bit surprised the NeoGeo doesn't have more of a homebrew scene.

[Mikebloke]

Just now, ls650 said:

I'm a bit surprised the NeoGeo doesn't have more of a homebrew scene.

I had a curious look into why awhile back, and I think the hardware and software behind the hood is slightly dedicated to the 1-on-1 genre, it doesn't make it impossible to make other games, but I think it encourages it. I also got the impression most homebrew at the time I looked was hacks of existing games rather than built from scratch. I think market economics plays a huge part even for free to play homebrew roms. There is a reason 2600 has a huge homebrew community, and why Mega Drive and SNES get the bulk of interest (even though the level of quality of those games compared to official releases is on average a lot lower - 2600 homebrew are rarely 'less' enjoyable than some of the games released officially). For the same reason, Dreamcast and Jaguar get some specialist interest I think because its open to development much more than other systems. Nobody naturally thinks "I'll develop for the saturn or the neo geo".

 

 

[Cobra Kai]

Used to own and play neo geo quite a bit, but quit because the online community for it is filled with terrible, terrible people. 

[ventrra]

It means that I still need to get something to play the several MVS carts that I own on.

[+Charlie Cat]

16 hours ago, ls650 said:

I think it's a great machine for its day.  I don't enjoy 1-on-1 fighting games at all, but it has some excellent non-fighting games - driving, sports, etc.

Of course it's expensive, but emulation for it is very good.

I'm a bit surprised the NeoGeo doesn't have more of a homebrew scene.

 

16 hours ago, Mikebloke said:

I had a curious look into why awhile back, and I think the hardware and software behind the hood is slightly dedicated to the 1-on-1 genre, it doesn't make it impossible to make other games, but I think it encourages it. I also got the impression most homebrew at the time I looked was hacks of existing games rather than built from scratch. I think market economics plays a huge part even for free to play homebrew roms. There is a reason 2600 has a huge homebrew community, and why Mega Drive and SNES get the bulk of interest (even though the level of quality of those games compared to official releases is on average a lot lower - 2600 homebrew are rarely 'less' enjoyable than some of the games released officially). For the same reason, Dreamcast and Jaguar get some specialist interest I think because its open to development much more than other systems. Nobody naturally thinks "I'll develop for the saturn or the neo geo".

 

 

Hi Is650 and Mike

 

 

Here a list of developers that are making games for the Neo-Geo. I can provide links for you fellas and for those who are interested as well. Best one so far out of the lineup is NGDEVTEAM since they made quite a good amount. The rest made one title or currently in the works of one or two of them

 

NGEDEVTEAM

http://ngdevteam.com/

 

Neobitz

https://www.facebook.com/Neobitz/?fbclid=IwAR2ovsImD_b-ogz5WLNdSzWcQr0uXtRZsz5t5Q50lE1UaL7wNDg4s5u4fkg

 

Bitmap Bureau 

https://shop.bitmapbureau.com/

 

FULLSET

https://fullset.io/

 

Chipsonsteroids

https://www.facebook.com/Chipsonsteroids

 

 

 

As for homebrew. There were two channels that I was following that were doing projects for the Neo-Geo. One was NeoHomeBrew that was developing Hypernoid and a 3D Racing demo. The other was 7Blackjack8. His game is called Neo Thunder X. Sadly, there isn't any new footage or news from them in the past 2-3 years. Maybe I'll try to contact them to see what's new from them and their works.

 

Here's footage of the games by the way.

 

 From NeoHomeBrew

 

Hypernoid.

 

 

Demo Racer

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

From 7BlackJack8

 

Neo Thunder X. Very impressive when I first viewed it.

 

Neo Thunder X Beta testing.

 

 

 

Anthony..

Edited January 8, 2021 by fdurso224