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Neo-Geo : The Game Console That Won't Die
xonox writes: "Perhaps you heard about the Neo-Geo game console when it came out some 12 years ago. Most people remember it because it was very expensive. Well, after 12 years, it is still alive and getting brand new commercial games for it. It may be a bit of a niche item but still. The Neo-Geo console was essentially the arcade hardware of the same name inside a prettier case. 3 games have been produced this year for the arcade hardware and two of those 3 have been released for the home console. If you think 2d games are cool, then you should check out http://www.neo-geo.com for more information about one of the greatest 2d platforms of all time. I'm picking playability over 3d anyday :)"
... because you have some competition from Neo-Geo now!
"3 games have been produced this year for the arcade hardware and two of those 3 have been released for the home console"
Live web cams
I might as well be the first to mention that most Neo-Geo games are supported by Mame and my personal emulator of choice, Kawaks. If you'd like to try the newer Neo Geo games before you consider the high price road, you should download those emulators and then try searching for some ROMs in various websites, IRC channels, and P2P programs. My personal game recommendations are "Garou: Mark of the Wolves", "The King of Fighters 2000", and any of the Metal Slug games, especially "Metal Slug X".
Oh, and if you see any of the PlayStation ports of Neo Geo games in stores, don't bother with them. They're buggy, bastardized versions of the games with at least twenty to sixty times the amount of loading time (and no, that's not an exaggeration).
Most people remember it because it was very expensive.
And most people still do, because they still go for more than a Playstation 2. There are games for these things that go for more than an Playstation 2, for crying out loud.
What's your damage, Heather?
Maybe many of you never heard about this wonderfull console, I got some links here on my bookmarks so you all can have a look at it (and play it on emulators):
Neo Geo Temple
Some Roms
Emulation
Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
http://www.morroida.com.br
Didn't this console come with a smart-card type thing that allowed you to transfer game stats to and from the arcade machines?
And while we're at it, whatever happened to the PC Engine?
"Why did they cancel my favorite Sci-Fi show? I downloaded ALL the episodes!"
That's why my girl-friend and me were playing SNES and Genesis games the last weeks :-) Toe Jam and Earl rules ;-)
Besides, is it just me or are there really fewer types of games released today ? I mean, have you seen any scrolling shooters like R-Type lately, or adventures ? Even jump'n'runs seem to be rare today :-( Damn 3D-philia !
I do. I remember it to be a fantastic game, and spent hours and hours playing it. Sadly, the harsh reality of MAME emulation means that I can play today what I simply remembered before. It can be unforgiving experience - loading it up now I find the magic has gone.
However, your general point on playability is well taken and I entirely agree. How about Jumping Jack Flash on the Spectrum? Mono graphics, a stick figure and some 2-pixel high black lines with gaps. A fabulous game that I still play today.
Cheers,
Ian
On the SNK issue: Sengoku 3 is the last game they will be publishing. Also remember the SNK isn't NEO-GEO, although they are the main publisher for the system.
On the price of the games: The games come out with 90-600 meg cartrages. It's nothing for those cart to come out with 20-150 individual burned chips.
That a lot silicon compared to the data stored on a CD-ROM or now a days a DVD-ROM.
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
Yeah, the performance was great, but a $1,000 system with games that cost $100 a piece was not going to be picked up by the gaming public in an era where the primary game players were under 18 at the time. Also the hardware was ahead of the time, but Neo-Geo emulates fine on my secondary PC (333 mhZ K6-2 with only 64 MB of RAM).
Bottom line? Stick with a PS2 or GameCube, you get more bang for your buck. (But less geek appeal...)
-Evan
If you're looking for a Neo Geo and find the prices of the home consoles high, look into one of the arcade games themselves. The arcade versions are high, but the low price of the games balances things out. I picked up (locally) a 4-slot (meaning, capable of holding four games at once and switching between them) Neo Geo with a 27" monitor for $500 - $600. Throw in another $30 for new buttons and joysticks (that anyone with a basic knowledge should be able to install) and it'll play just like new. MVS (arcade version) games on eBay typically go for much less than their AES (home version) because they were produced in larger quantities. Many games weren't even released for home play ever. You can find games anywhere from $3/ea to $300/ea, but you should be able to assemble a complete Neo Geo MVS arcade collection for under $1000. I did.
There's just something so much nicer about the original hardware. Even if you do build your own emulation machine. (Which is also in my collection: http://www.nuxx.net/gallery/arcade)
Mmm... Magical Drop III tournaments on a 27".
-Steve
People are still making games for C64
/. last week but it got rejected, so feel free to mod me up :)
People are still making the C64 itself! (I submitted this to
Most of the fighting games are "Street Fighter" clones, heck I thought that the characters from World Heroes were direct rip-offs (one character had the appearance of M. Bison(US)/Vega(JP) and the "stretch" ability of Dhalsim). Samurai Shodown had its own unique style however. The Metal Slug series is hardly an original genre, but its intense action and cartoonish humour gives it a cult following.
Yes, many of the fighting games are SF ripoffs (which is why it was so easy to create Capcom vs. SNK) and many of the other games were rips of other genres (lots of Double Dragon/Final Fight type games), but there were a few gems amongs the bunch and almost all of them looked pretty.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
That's exactly the opposite of what I think. The games these days require so much investment of time in order to master. Take a look at most FPS games, or most of the console fighting games these days. You need to learn a half-dozen to a dozen different commands, dodges, weapon combos, and advanced strategies. It's hard to get into these games unless you're a kid who has a load of time to kill.
Me, I'd like to get a quick gaming fix now and again, but I simply don't have the time to invest in the average game these days. Bring back more of the games with simpler, easily accessable gameplay. Stop equating "more complex" with "more fun." You can still create a game that can hold long-term interest while being accessable. It's just harder.
I second that. One of the heralds of classic gaming is that it's easy to get into -- Pac-Man moves around the maze eating dots, okay. The Paperboy throws newspapers, get 'em on the porch, okay. There are nuances and patterns to learn, sure, but we're not talking about 50,000 combo tricks and special techniques and secrets and play variants you need to master in order to have fun at the game. We're talking a game you can drop a quarter into, have a few minutes of fun, and then you're done -- simple, fun, fast, and never tires out.
There are thankfully some modern games with this mentality, but not enough. My favorite right now and the reason I keep my Dreamcast plugged in is Power Stone (first one, not the second). A dirt simple 'fighting game' which is really more of a crazed, high energy Hollywood movie brawl. I can play that as long or as short as I like and still have plenty of fun. AND it had those flashy gosh-wow 3-D graphics that the previous post condemned, too, go figure.
Also of note is that a lot of American arcades are taking this 'Pick up and play' route as well. 'Adult' oriented arcades like Dave & Busters don't even have joystick based games anymore, it's all simulators (adults know how to drive a car or ski down a mountain) or shooting games. Stuff that ANYBODY could play without hitting GameFAQs to memorize all the small details first.
You have to look to the Gameboy Advance. Desipite being 32 bit, it has 16bit like graphics on par with the SNES. Many simialer games too, there is a gradius game, a new castlevania game(which rocks) Fzero, advance wars, a new metroid and a bunch of RPGs.
The playability of these games are great and probably the only place where you will find most new 2d games.
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
You should definately try Icy Tower, which can be freely downloaded from here. Unfortunately, their other games are pretty crappy, but Icy Tower directly caused the collective failure on exams for my floor.
Once upon a time...