Neo Geo AES…gaming heroin

[smokehouse]

You know, before entering the world of the Neo Geo, I thought spending $50 on a used game was costly. Once I got my hands on an AES I learned a whole new definition of the words “pain in the wallet”. At first I had games like Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury, Magician Lord, you know the cheap starter “I’ll just do a little” type titles…A few months later I was hooked and I needed more.

You find yourself saying:
“Hmmm…Samurai Shodown II…well, that’s only $60…not so bad.”

Then:
Hey, Samurai Shodown III for well over $140, I can afford that.”

Next thing you know it’s:
“Hmmm…$450 for a complete Mark of the Wolves…that’s a good price!”

Yup, at that point you’re hooked. As a matter of fact, if I would have had $3000 to spend I would have picked up a copy of Metal Slug.

The AES is gaming heroin and I was addicted. I just never thought it would happen to me.

It took my wife packing up, grabbing the cat )which we could no longer afford to feed) and saying “I don’t even know you anymore!!! I'm leaving!” to wake me up. (Ok, that didn’t really happen but the “I think you spending too much money on games” comment was made)



I like to refer to that time as the “Dark Days”. I have since moved to gaming methadone, the MVS. I’m still addicted but compared to my AES days, I may still be hopeless but not like I once was, I’m no longer tempted to steal to support my habit.

I did sell all of my AES stuff for MVS money BTW...































You know…I’ve been thinking of getting a copy of Samurai Shodown V Special for $300 I wonder how much is in the savings?

[ClassicsJunkie]

Are Neo Geo games really that addicting?

[Berserker]

That's an interesting analogy. I think the way you've applied it here relates more to the collecting side of things than the gaming one. Like in terms of gaming, you're still getting your full "dose", am I right?

[smokehouse]

That's an interesting analogy. I think the way you've applied it here relates more to the collecting side of things than the gaming one. Like in terms of gaming, you're still getting your full "dose", am I right?

Bingo…all of the flavor, few calories. But now I have titles like Metal Slug 1-X...

[smokehouse]

Are Neo Geo games really that addicting?

I love them, some the best fighting games made are on the Neo…then there’s titles like Baseball Stars 2, the Metal Slug titles and shooters like Blazing Star that make it worth while.

[Insaneclown]

Hey smokehouse...long time no talk hey...

It WAS addicting to me for 3 years straight from 2002-2005...then I dont know what happened. Everything has just changed and it feels like my life has changed to. As you know I've been selling my entire collection of AES for one year now and...I'm down to the last 22 US AES titles. Also I have 3 MVS titles left and one Neo CD game. Other then that...I've got nothing.

I've moved on to collect SMS instead. :D BUT the Neo Geo will always be with me.




Everything you have said is right on though...he speaks the truth. I have been there and done that.

[retroman]

The Neo is pretty sweet considering how old the tech. is. Some of the best looking 2D games ever. I have a AES, and have never been hooked, but i will also never get rid of it either. Still some games i want to get. Just need the cash.

[Soviet Conscript]

funny, since my childhood the neo-geo has always been kind of a mythical system to me and my friends. when we were younger none of us ever acually saw this "super powerful system" and only knew of it through a few magazine articles.

well last week i finally bought one after all these years. and i have to say, theres something special and allureing about the thing. i mainly collect for NEC stuff but i've never been so tempted to drop a ton of cash on neo AES games now.

those carts are huge, one game is like the size of a snes system, i knew they were big but damn. the only game i have is nam1975 but i think the packageing and look as far as the game/case goes in general is one of my favorites of all consoles. its big, it looks like a book when you stick it on a shelf and it just seems so....substantial. its sheer bulk and presence almost makes me beleive the carts are acually worth the insane prices.

[XYXZYZ]

I was a happpy boy when I got my AES a couple years back. It's like some sort of... trophy... on your console shelf. I only got six games, all of them the low-end $20-40.00 games. I could see getting AES gmes wasn't going to work out financially, so I held out on Neo Geo games until I got an MVS cabinet.

I still keep the AES around for display.

[swlovinist]

I did the opposite. When my wife had a cancer scare, I sold my supergun and 11 games. I kept my AES. I have 13 games, and every year a get a couple. I never will have a big AES collection, but I want to flesh out the collection a bit. Next up I plan to get some of the cheaper titles.

[smork]

I could never see being an AES completist becuase that's batshit insane. An AES plus a few quality titles, though.... Mmm. Maybe not heroin, but like the whisky in an Irish coffee. Just adds something needed.

I'm a cheapo NeoCD collector -- not quite the same, but still a bit loony.

[Amos]

funny, since my childhood the neo-geo has always been kind of a mythical system to me and my friends. when we were younger none of us ever acually saw this "super powerful system" and only knew of it through a few magazine articles.

well last week i finally bought one after all these years. and i have to say, theres something special and allureing about the thing.

This post expresses almost exactly how I feel about the Neo-Geo. It has this truly mysterious quality that is present in no other game system. Some of the games are actually creepy enough to scare little kids (like Crossed Swords...brrrrrr!), especially the earlier stuff, before every new release was a fighting game. Plus, I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep on the couch while playing Riding Hero's story mode late at night, because I was hypnotized by the music that plays while you're up on one of the ridges, looking for challengers....

[RyoGeo]

Ok, now you're in my wheel house. :-) As long as we are sharing Neo stories, here's mine.

I ordered a used console from "Die Hard" (the guys connected to the old mag), the import gaming store in LA. I got it right when Samurai Shodown was being released to home cart. I still have it to this day.

I paid full ding for Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury 2, Art of Fighting and Samurai Shodown 2. I took a break for quite a while, and then picked up the habit again in about 96. Because carts were so crazy expensive, I went through the NeoCD phase and even imported a NeoCDZ, but the load times were just too much for me and the content was (for some games) different as well, so I needed to knuckle down and go cart again. I went nuts and bought quite a few after market items, and kept up with the new releases as well, beginning just after MoTW (DANG IT!).

It was at this point of said knuckling that I had the opportunity to buy an old school, four slot, Red Beauty of an SNK Cabinet from a friend's father that was an operator at the time. I bought the cab and with it came a GARBAGE bag sized bag FULL of MVS carts. Most of the mini marquees were present as well. I had damn near 50 carts in one go, with another 15 to 20 doubles that I then ebay'd to offset the cost of the purchase.

I have to say, MVS is the way to go. Even the "expensive" carts, aren't INSANE expensive save for a select few. I mean, Super Dodgeball on the Neo? How cool is that? Bright, colorful, well animated. Top Hunter? Same thing. And of course we all know how good so many of the fighters are.

Man, I LOVE my arcade cab. I've got over 70 (maybe 80 now?) carts for it, and a lot of them are the top tier games that, in the grand scheme of things Neo, aren't even expensive. Fun, fun, fun.

With all the MVS love, my home cart system has been boxed up for years. Like many of us on the board, I just can't bring myself to sell all the home carts, or even my system. It's totally stupid, as there are hundreds if not thousands of dollars tied up in those silly boxes, but damn they're cool. It's like holding the "One Ring" in your hand. You know it's evil, and yet . . . you just can't seem to let it go.

[Zing]

This simply has to be from a collector's point of view. Having given these games many chances to be fun back when they were first in the arcades and at home, I just don't see the attraction. Samurai Shodown was mildly fun, but games that were out at the time such as Nam 1975 and Magician Lord were the biggest waste of quarters in my lifetime. I am still surprised that people actually enjoy the endless 2d fighters and puzzle games.

Seriously... Baseball Stars?

[RyoGeo]

Zing's a hater! HATER I SAY! ;)

Just kidding.

I can certainly see the point surrounding the endless fighter lineage. It's true that there are too many. And Magician Lord and Nam '75 are games that you love or hate. But to this crowd especially, I think there is a lot to love.

I had mentioned Dodge Ball. That is a GREAT Neo title. Top Hunter is a really fun, semi-platformer with lots of action. Baseball Stars 2 is also very colorful, has some great animations and character designs and is a lot of fun to play. And there are some REALLY good shooters to be had as well.

Last Resort, Pulstar, Blazing Star, Strikers 1945 Plus; all of those are great shooters. Then there are some great action games as well; Shock Troopers, both 1 and 2, the Metal Slugs (of course), Sengoku 1 & 2. Lots of decent sports titles as well.

Yes, there are shit ton of fighters, that's for sure. However, if you scratch the surface a bit, there are a LOT of other Neo titles that are really great that I think might surprise you. Perhaps not, but if you are a member of this board especially, I would be surprised if the there weren't a fair number of titles that didn't appeal to you.

[Bojay1997]

I think maybe you are confusing the time period of when these games actually came out. The early MVS games came out in 1989. At that time, games like Nam '75 and Samurai Showdown were pretty state of the art. It's possible you didn't actually play many of them until much later since they seemed to have a long shelf life in some arcades or restaurant locations. Sure, with the 3D technology that flooded the arcades in the mid-90's, the Neo began to seem dated, but the games are still fun. I also think you are placing too much emphasis on the fighting games. SNK didn't really focus on endless sequels until the mid-90s. Keep in mind King of Fighters didn't come out until 1994 and up until that point, they had as many shooters, platformers, puzzle and sports games as they did fighting games on their various platforms. I think the Neo is a great system, especially since it has so many exclusives and a really uniquely large cartridge and distribution system. Sure, it's a little eliteist and a little overpriced, but it's really neat from both a collector and player point of view.

[CosmicMonkey]

I started off with consolized 1 and 2-slots that I did myself, moved on to a 4-slot in a Super Neo 29 Candy (which had to go) and then got an AES system. The system itself is lovely, and those games really do feel like you've spent money on something worthwhile.

However, the NeoGeo is from the days before plasma tellys and they just don't look right. So I got rid of the AES and I'm back on an MVS in a Candy Cab. The only thing connected to the TV now is an Apple TV.

But the reality is, most NeoGeo games are a bit shit really. There are some absolutely cracking games that are worth owning a system for, but the majority aren't that great. I try to ignore the prices of the games when deciding if it's a good game or not, but you can't help take that into account.

Realistically, Blazing Star on AES will cost you a nice meaty £400 - 450ish. Whilst it is a good game, the PCB of Armed Police Batrider will set you back around £60 or so. There's simply no contest there. Strikers 1945+ is one of the less common MVS titles and I've seen that go for £80+. Again, APB FTW. Or indeed, get a proper version of Strikers ;)

As for fighting games, most of the Neo's catalogue are so old skool I really can't play them. I took a break from fighting games around the time of Super SF2 X and it wasn't until I played Guilty Gear X and Last Blade that I rediscovered my love for 1on1. But most of the Neo's fighting games seem prehistoric even compared to SF2. The Last Blade games and Garou are the 3 best fighting games on the system and the only ones I currently own. The Samurai Spirits series doesn't do it for me, and there's only a couple of KoF worth owning.

Don't get me wrong, the Neo is a great system, otherwise I wouldn't have a dedicated Neo Candy sat in the front room. But really, out of the 170ish games for the console, there's about 10% of that number that are really really worth owning.

[kaedesdisciple]

This simply has to be from a collector's point of view. Having given these games many chances to be fun back when they were first in the arcades and at home, I just don't see the attraction. Samurai Shodown was mildly fun, but games that were out at the time such as Nam 1975 and Magician Lord were the biggest waste of quarters in my lifetime. I am still surprised that people actually enjoy the endless 2d fighters and puzzle games.

Seriously... Baseball Stars?

Seriously, try Shock Troopers and Last Blade. They'll change your life.

[Zing]

Trust me, I did play these games when they were first available. Yes, the graphics were nice and all that, but the games were boring as hell. I remember the first time I saw the ads in the gaming magazines selling the home carts for $200. I thought I was missing out on something good. I gave a few different games a try. Nope, still a waste of cash.

I do apologize for the hatin'. My addiction for 5 years was Magic: The Gathering and after that, four years of Everquest, so feel free to snicker and giggle at either of those. I won't mind.

[Bojay1997]

There's probably no point in arguing this further, but I really would like to know what games you were playing in 1989 that were so much better than the Neo, arcade or home. I believe I had a Genesis and made regular trips to the arcade. The Neo was certainly better than the Genesis for arcade-like titles and I know I played it at least as much as other arcade games at the time.