I've been recruited by the Neo Geo league to defend fun against much boredom

[Tanooki]

I know I don't post much anymore due to recent garbage, but I do read. I didn't feel a need to pass this up as this part of the board kind of gets fairly dusty. As luck would have it the stars aligned and I knocked out one hell of a deal and a return all in a 12 hour period. Yesterday I saw up on a local closed facebook forum I got into a member posted for $700 obo a 2 slot I'd say 8.5/9 out of 10 quality condition Neo-Geo MVS cabinet with a stack of games. I've wanted one of these since college but Neo-Geo = $$$ so that never happened. I talked with the guy about it, asked him what realistically needed as he knew it was too high but liked to haggle. I got it down to $575, but as we got talking he said he's on a RPG bender, mentioned I had Dragon Warrior IV, and that guide that was sold in those days, took it down to $500 cash + Game/Guide. Score. Normally don't have it, do have some left over tax cash but it can't stay out -- needs not wants. And I only had $100 in paypal so $400 short.

I posted my Gold Ball pinball that has been mostly unused in months(many) due to Pin-Bot. Within hours of it hitting pinside.com a member there in upper Michigan wanted it and took my asking price (which just was what I had in it alone, not the added parts/repairs I did (would be +100-125.) He's taking it for $800 and paying a moving company to truck it to him which apparently is a regular thing for him. So in the end I get a MVS, 9 legit games, 1 multicart, some additional items with it, and $300 in my pocket with some 2ft worth of corner space returned to my room and being a MVS -- it's a full arcade in one box. Score!

I ended up with what you see below, the multi-cart isn't there, but it's the 161in1 on the market (used or new is $100+) The other games with it add up to nearly $500 so the cabinet basically cost me DW4+guide.

9146 9144 9145
9117 9118

This is the full game list ripped from Neo-Geo.com forums between legit and + hacks.
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?222475-161-in-1-Game-Breakdown

Official Games Included
2020 SUPER BASEBALL
3 COUNT BOUT
AERO FIGHTERS 2
AERO FIGHTERS 3
ALPHA MISSION 2
ANDRO DUNOS
ART OF FIGHTING 2
BANG BEAD
BASEBALL STARS 2
BATTLE FLIP SHOT
BLAZING STAR
BLUE'S JOURNEY
BREAKERS
BREAKERS REVENGE
BURNING FIGHT
CAPTAIN TOMADAY
CROSSED SWORDS
DOUBLE DRAGON
EIGHT MAN
FAR EAST OF EDEN
FATAL FURY
FIGHTERS SWORDS (Korean SSIII)
FOOTBALL FRENZY
GANRYU
KARNOV'S REVENGE
KING OF MONSTERS
KIZUNA ENCOUNTER
KOF 2001
KOF 2002
KOF 2003
KOF 94
KOF 95
KOF 96
KOF 97
KOF 98
KOF 99
LAST BLADE
LAST BLADE 2
LAST RESORT
LEGEND SUCCESS JOE
MAGICAL DROP 2
MAGICAL DROP III
MARK OF THE WOLVES
MASTER OF SYOUGI
MATRIMELEE
METAL SLUG
METAL SLUG 2
METAL SLUG 3
METAL SLUG 4
METAL SLUG X
MONEY PUZZLE EXCH
MUTATION NATION
NEO BOMBERMAN
NEO DRIFT OUT
NEO MR. DO!
NEO TURF MASTERS
NEO-GEO CUP 98
NIGHTMARE
NINJA COMMANDO
OVER TOP
PANIC BOMBER
PLEASURE GOAL
PRE ISLE 2
PULSTAR
PUZZLE BOBBLE
PUZZLE BOBBLE 2
PUZZLE DE PON
PUZZLE DE PON! R!
RAGE OF DRAGONS
ROBO ARMY
SAMURAI SHODOWN
SAMURAI SHODOWN 2
SAMURAI SHODOWN 3
SAMURAI SHODOWN 4
SAMURAI V SPECIAL
SAVAGE REIGN
SENGOKU
SENGOKU 3
SHOCK TROOPERS 2ND
SOCCER BRAWL
SPIN MASTER
STAKES WINNER
STAKES WINNER 2
STREET HOOP
STRIKERS 1945 +
SUPER DODGE BALL
SUPER SIDEKICKS 2
SUPER SIDEKICKS 3
THE LAST SOLDIER (Korean Last Blade)
THRASH RALLY
TOP HUNTER
ULTIMATE 11
VIEWPOINT
WORLD HEROES
WORLD HEROES 2
ZED BLADE
ZUPAPA

TOTAL: 97


Bootlegs/Hacks Included
ART OF FIGHTING 2+
C.T.H.D
C.T.H.D SUPER PLUS
DOUBLE DRAGON +
KARNOV'S REVENGE +
KING OF GLADIATOR
KOF 05 UNIQUE
KOF 05 UNIQUE 2
KOF 10TH
KOF 10TH EXTRA +
KOF 2001 PLUS
KOF 2002 CN
KOF 2002 ICE-BLUE
KOF 2002 LUAN
KOF 2002 MAGIC
KOF 2002 MAGIC 2
KOF 2002 OROCHI
KOF 2002 SUPER
KOF 2002 SUPER 2
KOF 2003 CHANGE
KOF 2004 SE
KOF 2004 SE PLUS
KOF 2004 SMP
KOF 94 +
KOF 95 +
KOF 96 +
KOF 96 EVO
KOF 97 2003
KOF 97 CR
KOF 97 PJ
KOF 97 PLUS
KOF 97 REMIX
KOF 97 YL
KOF 98 +
KOF 98 OROCHI
KOF 98 ULTIMATE
KOF 99 +
KOF 99 CN
KOG PLUS
LANSQUENET 2004
LAST BLADE +
LAST BLADE 2 +
LAST BLADE 2 EASY
MARK OF WOLVES +
MATRIMELEE +
METAL SLUG +
METAL SLUG 2 +
METAL SLUG 3 +
METAL SLUG 4 +
METAL SLUG 6
METAL SLUG 6 +
METAL SLUG X +
NIGHTMARE SP
RAGE OF DRAGONS +
SAMURAI SHODOWN +
SAMURAI SHODOWN 2+
SAMURAI SHODOWN 3+
SAMURAI SHODOWN 4+
SENGOKU 3 +
SNK VS CAPCOM +
SNK VS CAPCOM RMX
SPIN MASTER +
STRIKERS 1945 + +
SVC SUPER PLUS

[celerystalker]

Nice pickup! An MVS is an easy cabinet to get a lot of mileage from, and the multi-cart actually works pretty great... but it's always fun to get carts when possible. Keep an eye out for some of the good stuff not on that cart, like Shock Troopers and Windjammers, there's still lots of other fun stuff to go!

[Tanooki]

I've found a nice break down of the MVS listings here http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/MVS_Multicart so I can see what has a red X there. I'm sad that of all things League Bowling didn't make the cut. I've been eyeballing the SNES cart of it for years off and on and never popped, then I noticed it wasn't on this yellow beast.

You're right, it's very robust, easy to get into, the cabinet itself is nearly empty as it's just like a little console sitting in there with a 2 cart slot top on it so it's not hard to maintain by any means either which is best for me. The worst would be a monitor failure would be my guess. But since the previous owner was friends with someone on the level of a cabinet restorer/arcade operator who shopped the entire thing over nice and fresh it will last short of just murphy's law being a sadist. There's quite a few games I've never played before this evening on there, or seen no more than once like SNK vs Capcom (which is just evil compared to the Capcom vs SNK flip side of things) which should be fun to get angry at. :)

I can't wait to get Gold Ball out of here so I can put it in the corner where it is next to my desk as it's kind of the middle of the room at the moment.

By the way inside it has this little odometer in it, I guess it's the total coins tossed into the machine (not sure how you'd even reset such a thing) but it's only around 12.5K. That's pretty low given the age and the fact it has 6 digits on it. This one has had a sheltered life I believe.

[bb_hood]

pretty cool, it looks to be in really nice shape!

[Tanooki]

Just some light smudges/nicks on either side, no cuts, gouges, or broken wood or missing rubber trim type junk going on. Inside it's VERY clean, wouldn't even know it's as old as it is.

It's truly due to the multicart but also the nature of the beast a full arcade in a box, can't beat that. I've wanted one of these going back to the 90s, played a lot on one my entire time in college too. Never would I ever thought this would happen, not been so happy about a video gaming item in a long time (not including pinball in that.) Actually cracked a smile when I fired up Super Dodgeball, been even longer that a game did that with how the industry on the whole has gone.

[celerystalker]

Yeah, that odometer is a coin counter. Also, if I'm remembering correctly, the pinout of the wiring harness on a 2 slot is basically stereo JAMMA with a couple of extra buttons, so you should be able to plug and play other JAMMA boards just by swapping the main board harness should you choose. The multi-cart has a couple of games that don't play perfectly (Aero Fighters 2/3, Bust A Move), but it really is a good value. If you don't have one, though, put in a test switch, as the default settings on the multi-cart are all fucked up.

[Tanooki]

I don't know how to go about finding or installing a test switch but I think it already has one anyway in there. That one thing with the dipswitches I am annoyed with, but it is what it is. I got my ass served on SNK vs capcom before I realized it. I don't know the SNK character but I think it was a modernized Genan from Samurai Shodown 1 looking all modern but freddy kreuger. Ryu got his ass beat hard on the 1st round I was like whiskey tango foxtrot on that, barely eeked out round 2 then hurt him more on round 3 but stopped it there as I was testing stuff.

Within the coin insert compartment there are 2 buttons in a row marked from the factory very clean -- Test Switch, Service Switch, and then an actual metal switch for the AC Power On/Off. other than that there's the screw in fuze cap to the left of the 2 buttons and then the coin odometer above the fuse all mounted on this thick metal L shaped bracket. The question I wonder and I was going to start digging on that multicart was that when I went into the bios before on this and pulled the multicart it came up under some random game name, seemed consistent. In this case so I just go into there and use the joy/buttons and set it to like default of LV3 or 4 whatever that may be and it will apply to the games on that multicart or is this some annoyance to do every time?

Oh I checked the coin ticker too it's parked at: 12269

And yes it is a jamma setup. The former owner pointed that out to me as well that I could unscrew the SNK consolized motherboard harness out and throw whatever else in there that would work on a 4 button arcade game at the same time he told me of a 4 slot dock sitting on ebay currently for $100 which is supposedly low.

Now the multicart I looked it up. You're partly right. Aerofighters 3 in most versions found the 2nd stage the sprite/collision routines are fubar so you can't play anymore-- issues with bullets. The other is the Last Blade 2 loves to reset itself. Supposedly Blue's Journey will not have some audio or drop it all but I've tried that a few times and it sounded 100% right to me so I'm thinking I have the revised pirate.

[celerystalker]

If the test switch is hooked up, press it any time after the game has booted up to go to your menu, where you can change your soft dip settings, where you can adjust things like difficulty, lives, continues, attract mode sound, etc. If it isn't hooked up, just hook the wire from pin 15 on the jamma harness and any ground wire to the switch (if it's a microswitch, pin 15 to the "normally open" prong and ground to the bottom prong) to make it work.

[Tanooki]

I think it's the multi-cart, if not I got your message there and I'll look into it.

Right now I'm looking into tweaking the difficulty on that cart. I saw this video of a home neo-geo where supposedly you can flip down switch 4+5 and the on screen menu on the 120in1 in the youtube clip changes and shows all the difficulty settings, and you can joystick left/right to set it correctly, then I guess you flip 4+5 back to before, and it locks them all wherever you set. His home system had the unibios too, I know I don't or it would say so on pulling that up I'm certain. Also if this thing is supposed to have a battery fo some sort it must be dead, it's not saving dates.

The guy isn't clear if he does this with the power ON or or off to start, pretty sure it's on but don't want to risk it. if I could get those damn games that are on diff 8 back to 4 where it belongs I'll be a happy camper.

[celerystalker]

I have the same cart in your picture, so if you haven't gotten it how ypu want it, I can post some pics when I get home from work tonight to accompany the instructions, as it can be a little confusing if it's your first time messing with it. Good luck!

[Tanooki]

I'd appreciate it, but I think the setting of the data on the cart if that video I watched earlier is that straight forward you need to flip switch 4+5 (with power on?) and the game itself will toggle a setup sub-screen and you just L R the games one at a time to set the difficulty to 4 it appears, or tap 1 and roll down to it. If that works, and it forces thsoe changes to stick on the cartridge I'm game for that. If it's an internet MVS memory thing, dead end as I think the battery is dead.

[celerystalker]

I'd appreciate it, but I think the setting of the data on the cart if that video I watched earlier is that straight forward you need to flip switch 4+5 (with power on?) and the game itself will toggle a setup sub-screen and you just L R the games one at a time to set the difficulty to 4 it appears, or tap 1 and roll down to it. If that works, and it forces thsoe changes to stick on the cartridge I'm game for that. If it's an internet MVS memory thing, dead end as I think the battery is dead.

The 120 in 1 is not the same as the 161 in 1. The board can only save settings for a handful of games at once, and a test switch will give you easy, instantaneous access to what you need. I'll post late tonight, but I'll attach pics of the wiring, menus, etc. From my MVS cabinet.

[Tanooki]

Well I figured the deal with the test switch at least, I was thinking it was as such, the menu of the multicart just blocks it, but going into a game, you can press it and then fix the settings as if it was just the only board in there. Obviously the thing has that whole limit of 8 games, so that could get overwritten fairly quick if you bounce around which I would.

By the way found a nice excel print out of the game listing, I color coded it 6 different shades for varying genres I chose while leaving all the fighters blank since they were in the majority. Very helpful going for a game by style over title.

Also not a member of KLOV, but this guy made some PDF about the 161 I can't access, are you on there?
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=354875

[celerystalker]

I'm not on there unfortunately. I'm only on DP. I know a few members in my real life, though. I do own a pretty healthy selection of AES and MVS carts, though, so although it isn't as helpful as that pdf probably is, I may be able to answer questions about default settings for specific games.

That multi-cart is super fun, though. It saved me loads of money by stopping me from buying games I already have on AES for MVS. Stumble across any new favorites yet?

[Tanooki]

Well I think I said it before but I added up the current reasonable sales window (2016) for every single legit cart I bought in the lot along with the multicart. The multi is a flat $100, maybe +$5-10 for having the additional info sheet sticker thing of all the games/boot/menu return thing. But the other games when coupled with it came up to nearly $500 (pre-ebay fees) so I was blown away either way. I felt the same way about the multi. There's some games I really enjoy enough but not enough where the price is unless I got lucky. There are a few games I really would tear into that are and are also not on there I'd like to have. League Bowling comes to mind as one, and I recall likeing CyperLip too and NAM 1975. Eightman hasn't aged as well as I recall but it's on the multi, so that was a savings unless it was stupidly cheap ($10-20) as it seems disliked.

I know how to handle the softdips fine. I don't think there's a need to use the hard dips for home use and it seems evident with the PDF of my model I found that the MV-2F seems very pleased with the thing yet the pre-MVS straight jamma style 1 slot systems mostly hate its (and it's smaller cousins) guts partly if not entirely not loading some games, various errors, or just failing 100% to work at all. I found a PDF for my specific board, seems pretty cut and dry, spookily much like a home console really.

You saw the image I popped up, you'll notice the flash caught the 25" screen and you can see around it, there's no border. Is that normal? I usually though some black border was in most arcades unless SNK was assuming people would just stick those fighting moves stickers around there. It's obvious where it sits now with a window behind, but once I can put it in its resting space soon it won't be so it's nto vital and I'd rather not unscrew the back anyway.

Now am I right to assume this cabinet, if I so desired, is fairly well pop n' swap as far as the sets of wires going out of it to the power supply and monitor/audio if I wanted to toss a 4 or 6 slot thing in there some day? I'm doubtful unless I got a steal on one, but I am curious if it's really that simple as just removing those mounting screws and pulling some cords or would one need a larger power supply?

Favorites yeah, but mostly flash back ones so far -- Super Dodgeball junkie I am that one is slick, hard though given you have to earn other captain to pull the supers. Eightman was but it's kind of rough with age but I still have a spot for it. Neo Turf Masters is badass, loved the NGPC one so it's a treat and I can birdie ok on it so it's cool earning extra tries off my faux quarter. Blazing Stars I had touched on lame tablets before but not in person and that's far cooler that way. Top Hunter is pretty nice with that virtual boy wario land type game going on with the dimensions plus the stretch armstrong play mechanic in the beatings. Blue's Journey I had heard of before, never played it, but that one is cool to see on there a classic platformer. I also used to score very well at Samurai Shodown 3 in college back in the latter 90s so that being there is a boon, but I could so see just buying that one. There is this odd shooter on foot Lansquenet 2004 which is kind of sweet (so far.) I never knew about Neo Bomberman and I'm liking it so far, jut have to watch the buddy system as to not get blown up by them and it's oddball cousin Panic Bomber I had on PCE CD 15 years ago plus, forgot it entirely but it's nice, just don't remember how to clear it. It's old and crusty but World Heroes I have a love of as well, was the first game I test drove when testing before buying as I remembered enough to still use Dragon (Fuuma too but used the Bruce Lee wannabe and won too despite not touching it since like probably 2000.) I also tried out Nightmare, that one is uniquely interesting, a spooky snow bros of sorts. I think i'd like that Prehistoric Island game due to the theme but I have to try it still. Odds are some of these (mostly the fighters) I just won't touch and some of the sports too more than once if that, just too much to pull from so I'll stick with the more enjoyable things or whatever the mood fits.

Oh and people made a joke out of it kind of over at NA for some years me grumbling about aero fighters on SNES. While not exactly a sub for it, owning both the MVS boards for Aerofighters 2 and 3 is quite nice as they're good stuff too (which are on the multi too though AF3 is jacked supposedly.)

I know viewpoint is a decent one I was looking to get on Genesis but that's a scratch since it's on there to try eventually. I did end up hating that wrestling game, don't recall the name but I got my ass beat and I have no idea why, never would let me pull off any moves.

Crossed Swords I think I'd love, same with Stakes Winner 1 and 2 but I can not figure out how to defend in the CS game and hte other I can't run for crap and stuck in the back half of the pack.


EDIT: Whats the right term for those little art boxes for the SNK marquee, mini marquee? I'm seeing that and other stuff like mini poster being thrown around and I know mini posters do exist I have a few for BAM/SS2, though not really sure where one would put those so I left them in the coin box. I see this one guy online prints new ones, repros for like $10/ea and $2 shipping which are on some near same quality ink/material as the originals. I'm thinking I'll pay up at least for the 161 in 1 since it hates other games with it, so why not slot both cards in to show it there on one and the game list on the other.

[celerystalker]

Well, a four slot would be an easy swap like you're thinking, but a six slot is tougher.

Lansquenet is a hack of Shock Troopers 2nd Squad, which should be right next to it on the list. I'm in the minority in preferring 2nd Squad over the first Shock Troopers, but both are awesome. I have legit carts for those.

As your monitor goes, there is typically a bezel of some kind surrounding it and a plexi overlay, but it is unnecessary to the function of the thing, just an aesthetic piece, though on mine it's part of the structure with its oversized top.

Running regular JAMMA boards is super, super simple. You basically just treat the edge connector of the wire harness as a cartridge slot and plug and play. I run my Black Tiger pcb in my MVS cabinet half the time, and I have a bunch of other pcbs I swap in and out when in the mood. Most games made between 1987 and 1997 are JAMMA or JAMMA +, so you've really opened up a lot of new stuff for yourself, and there are a lot of inexpensive ways to play a lot of good arcade games on real hardware.

Oh, and Crossed Swords is great! To defend, press up to block high and down to block low. A and B together do a special attack that uses a bit of your life bar, as do Up A and B, and Down A and B. I have the AES cart with manual and everything if you want to know anything about it. It's hard, but in a way it's like a Punch Out RPG.

[Tanooki]

Sweet so it's kind of like Dragon Quest Swords on Wii then, same general mechanics so I get that now.

I wonder what kind of options in the $0-50 and $50.01-100 range I'd have for just the cartridge alone. I know those boring cardboard boxes get spendy just like old Nintendo paper as often they got tossed. The mini-marquee(?) things would be nice to own, can't seem to figure that out yet but I see the $10-15 range repro racket is huge at least with one ebay seller.

JAMMA I knew of that, not about + though. Seems to me my dreams of owning a Super Dodgeball cabinet would be fairly realistic then I suppose if I wanted to find that PCB I guess. I guess I'm just terrible as I'd love to leave the MVS stock, may likely just leave it as 2 slot since the full cabinet is intact as it is right down to the SNK branding card on the front, matching marks inside and out. Mine seems to have a piece of just glass (or is it plexiglass) on the front, it feels and sounds like glass when I tap on it with finger nail. I really don't mind there not being some plastic shape in there around the screen as it does no harm as I was just curious more than anything.

I'd just like to figure out ranges on what would be realistic for me more often vs saving up, getting those min marquees for my current titles and how not to over pay, but I think that's going to take some time on ebay watching sales to be schooled and not get schooled. I tried signing up to KLOV forums, seemed it was accepted, but said wait 30min for some email I guess, so it hasn't sent and I'm stuck or I'd check that PDF and their sales records too.

Also would love a cheap storage solution for the carts if it's really needed since shock boxes are not. And is there a suggestion for a kind of cap or anyone sell them for the mvs open cart slot to keep dust and crap out of there?

[Niku-Sama]

$3074 in quarters have been jammed into that machine over its life. Wonder how much that would weigh

[bb_hood]

$3074 in quarters have been jammed into that machine over its life. Wonder how much that would weigh

according to the US mint, 1 quarter is 5.670 grams, so roughly 69,718 grams or 153.7 pounds.

[Tanooki]

Hah I would have never thought to chart that out. That really isn't much at all considering what arcade machines can pull in. I would love to see that pile of quarters.

By the way celery I got into klov and snapped up that document, it's pretty cut and dry on one sheet showing what to do, choices and all simply laid out.
Reading below that multi-cart general blanket setting bit was what I was seeing in that youtube video, just wasn't clear, this is. What I was doing was method 1 below not screwing with hard dips and just going in game off the multi-cart, then soft dip fixing screwed up settings. Now if that can really be locked into that big yellow cart I'll flip the switch and park every game at difficulty 4 since that's default and be done with it. I don't care to wuss it out, and if it is too easy I can soft dip a challenge.


Neo*Geo
161-in-1 Multi-Cart
Dip Setting Instructions

Methods below involving hardware dipswitches may require unmounting the MVS board to access the hardware dipswitch bank such as in 2-slot MVS boards.

Multi-Cart – Software Dip Settings

The cartridge itself has settings that can only be set using the hardware dipswitch (1) setting to place the game into the test menu.

 With the cabinet powered off – place hardware dipswitch (1) on the MVS board in the ON position.
 Power the cabinet on – navigate to the software dip settings
 Select the title listed below cabinet settings to make adjustments to the multi-cart. (labeled Pop n’ Bounce)

Individual Game – Software Dip Settings

Settings for individual games can be set within the multi-cart by initiating the game itself to access software dip settings.

Method 1 (For use with dedicated MVS cabinet)
 With the cabinet powered on and in the multi-cart menu – select a game you wish to make adjustments to by pressing the “A” button.
 Upon selection and start of the game – press the cabinet Test Switch button and navigate to the software dip settings.
 Select the game you wish to adjust the settings from the list below cabinet settings by pressing the “A” button.
 Press the “C” button to return to the Test Menu.
 Return to the game screen after completion of software dip settings by selecting “Exit”.
 Start the game that was selected (may need to add a credit if not in FREE PLAY mode).
 Hold 1P start button for 5 seconds until it resets back to the multi-cart menu.

Method 2 (For use with all MVS 1 to 6 slot board applications)
 With the cabinet powered on and in the multi-cart menu – turn the hard dipswitch (1) on the MVS board to ON.
 Select and start a game from the multi-game list by pressing the “A” button.
 Upon selection and start of the game – navigate to the software dip settings.
 Select the game you wish to adjust the settings from the list below cabinet settings by pressing the “A” button.
 Press the “C” button to return to the Test Menu.
 Set the MVS board hardware dipswitch (1) to OFF.
 Return to the game screen after completion of software dip settings by selecting “Exit”.
 Start the game that was selected (may need to add a credit if not in FREE PLAY mode).
 Hold 1P start button for 5 seconds until it resets back to the multi-cart menu.

MVS Board Notes:
The Neo-Geo board can only hold up to 8 individual game settings. When more than 8 individual game settings are made, the oldest game’s data will be deleted from the memory to input data for the newest game. Use Backup Clear in the test menu to erase all old game data at one time.

Troubleshooting:
Problems can occur on multi-slot MVS boards – it may be required to remove all game cartridges aside from the multicart or locate the multi-cart in other slots for better performance. Ensure cabinet power supply is outputting appropriate values if graphics or other glitches are experienced within gameplay.

[celerystalker]

As far as storage goes, I keep my extra MVS carts inside the cabinet. They don't get really dusty inside, but it's a good idea to keep them in anti-static bags if you do that. I have a bunch of other arcade pcbs as well, and I just keep them in anti-static bags when they aren't in use. There's no attractive way to display those ones, so I just opt for protection.

As far as inexpensive carts go, there are tons under $50 for MVS. For non-fighters, they've gone up a bit in the last few years, but most of the library can be had at less than $100 a cart. Where it gets pricey for stuff not on the multi-cart is stuff like Twinkle Star Sprites, Windjammers, and the newer homebrew stuff like Gunlord or Kraut Buster. I already have several versions of Twinkle Star, but on Windjammers I just bit the bullet and paid for it. It ran me about $130, but it's a legit cart and one of my favorite arcade games.

Super Dodgeball, assuming you're meaning the arcade original and not the Neo Geo one on your cart, is JAMMA and can be had for under $100 if you watch for a good auction on a pcb. You don't have to doctor anything up to put it in your cabinet, just put a piece of thin wood on top of the 2 slot pcb to keep them from touching while it's in the cabinet and plug the main harness onto the Dodgeball board and you're done, almost as easy as swapping a cart. (assuming your 2 slot has the metal cover).

[Tanooki]

Yes mine is full on in there, I guess that black bezel that's optional is the only missing part I can see as I looked it over internally. I may just have to go look for that old Technos original.

Truth be told I am not huge on SNK fighters, a few I really enjoyed like the mid/late 90s KOF titles, SS1 and 3 (2 is not bad either), Last Blade, World Heroes 1, Art of Fighting 1, stuff like that. I've mostly liked their other screw ball platformers, some puzzles, neo turf masters and league bowling, baseball stars, NAM 1975, the Metal Slug action series and stylized stuff like that, and the goofy to scifi looking shooters.

Like I said I highlighted that print out I made of the 161 game and color coded it off. I intend to pick away at the stuff I've never seen before (plenty enough) and see how I like it. The stuff I'd love the most I could sink some $ into. Since I'm avoiding Nintendo and SNES because of all the bullshit going on there I'd rather save up money than piss it weekly/bi-weekly on stuff and get a nice MVS cart I'd appreciate that I don't have on that multi cart, or if I'm a super fan, like say Dodgeball, I'd buy that, same with Samurai Shodown III (which one is ending shortly on ebay I'm oggling in over 5 hours currently at $28+8 s/h with the cart and mini marquee. Not sure what's fair on it but it appears it should cap around $50.


Do you think that multi-cart dip setting flipping switch 1 would lock those settings on that yellow cart? If it would I'll see if I can reach it easily enough, otherwise I'm not bothering.

[celerystalker]

The mini-marquees tend to go in the $10-15 range. I never look for them, as mine was set up as a dedicated all-Metal Slug cabinet with a full-size Metal Slug marquee, so I just left it that way. I have a few other marquees I consider putting in, but I mostly stay lazy about it and leave the Slug marquee in there.

For the Dip Switch 1 method, no, it does not lock settings on the cart. It's just the long way of doing what you can do in a few seconds with the test switch method. The cart doesn't save anything to itself; the main pcb has a lithium battery-backed memory that saves settings for up to 8 games, and each new one beyond 8 bumps one of those out.

[Tanooki]

My battery is shot, that's the one failing I suppose with the thing. I'm not crazy about taking that plate off the motherboard and trying to replace it. I've only done something like that on a cheap NES game before, and I doubt having a working battery would do any favors anyway. I accepted as a kid arcade games don't save scores so I really don't care as it's about the ride. I imagine I could get one of those mvs memory cards if I really wanted.

[celerystalker]

Just make sure the battery isn't leaking so it doesn't damage traces, but it's otherwise unimportant. You can easily just tap the test switch and change settings on the fly.

[Tanooki]

Just make sure the battery isn't leaking so it doesn't damage traces, but it's otherwise unimportant. You can easily just tap the test switch and change settings on the fly.

I take it I'd need to unscrew the plate. I printed up the manual for my model board and I see it's right near the cartridge slot under that hood. If it were leaking I'd snip the thing off there and clean up the mess before it became an issue.

edit -- Removed the plate, the genius who previously owned it (and that's not sarcasm) put in a standard black plastic cr2032 clip with a battery in there. So that's really it, the cheap cell ate it. Snap out, snap in. I don't think I have a spare without removing it from some toy other than one prepped for a NES/SNES cart battery install.

[celerystalker]

Yeah, the board will function fine without a battery. The only annoying thing is that it won't save settings, which I like to keep attract mode sound off, so it's something that would have to be done every time, but it's not horrible by any stretch.

One of the platformer games on there that I really like is Spin Master. It's a fun, fast platfromer that's super colorful and has weird weapons. Loads of fun. Top Hunter's great as well, but I'm not super into Ganryu. Blue's Journey is a good time, and the Metal Slugs are of course a good time.

There are a few cool beat 'em ups on there as well. Mutation Nation is fantastic, as is Sengoku 3. I like the first Sengoku, but it's admittedly a little clunky, as is Burning Fight. Sengoku 2 is also great fun, but it's not on the cart. I have that trilogy on AES, but the third is mist people's favorite, and it's on the multi. I can't remember if Robo Army is on there, as it's another one I mainly play on AES due to its credit limit providing a tough challenge.

[Tanooki]

I don't mind the attract mode, prefer it on really as if I left the machine on I'd want it. Like PinBot they do not stay on if not in use.

The only annoying thing I find is the headphone jack has less awesome audio than the cabinet itself and you have to unlatch the whole thing to go in and pick which you want as it's a basic setup so one doesn't override the other so I've opted not to bother with it.

Robo Army is sadist, the way they attack reach or whatever is just slightly better so you just end up getting tagged even a bit by the dumbest of starter grunts. Top Hunter I dig enough, it's interesting. Blue's Journey is fantastic. My wife wants brawlers like TMNT on NES/SNES so I'm trying to find any kind of non-flat screen brawler types for her to dig into. Sengoku is an old fav, but it hasn't aged as nicely as some things have say Capcom or Konami made, but I have yet to ever play #3 (or 2 not on there.) Mutation Nation is on my try list. I pulled up Strikers 1945+ earlier ago, tough game even in world one and that's on difficulty 4.


What would you use to seal up the opened up cartidge slot? I saw someone made some paper art stencils of I guess something you could cut out up on flicker through a google image search. Other than that I found nothing and SNK even recommends capping the thing if it's not used.

[celerystalker]

I'd just slap another cart in the empty slot unless your board is finicky and won't recognize the multi unless it's the only one in. They don't really get dusty on the inside particularly, but you could just lay a flat piece of plastic like a cheap folder or something over it, as it wouldn't conduct any electrical charge.

For beat 'em ups, definitely try Sengoku 3 and Mutation Nation. Sengoku 3 has nice weapon combos, and Mutation Nation has a more Capcom feel to it.

With Robo Army, the kick (A&B) is a life saver, and reverses that disadvantage, killing basic enemies in one hit. It's not in the same league as those other 2, though.

[Tanooki]

I'll try that as Robo Army has nice things to look at while beating on robots.

When I had the banana cart in there with another legit one, it seemed to randomly want to jump to the other port and fire up Bust A Move when I'd select something else on the multicart so I pulled it. I didn't test the why on it as I didn't see it when I picked it up. Maybe the multi needs to be in one slot or another, or certain games just commit dickery with that huge bank switching hack job that cart is.

Your mutation nation recommendation was noted and I intended to check it after dinner/kid is in bed.

Right now I'm updating my huge game list you know I keep making a new Arcade & Pinball html file, menu linking it, and I listed not just the 9 carts, but hte alphabetical (which for some reason I couldn't find online) listing of all 161 of them in order as a mass listing for the cart too for my own check list.

I know we can't ask for ROMS here directly, but have you ever seen the 161 in 1 or another of them for that matter ever copied? I wonder if it's such a mess interested parties can't figure it out. I was going to archive it if it existed with my other carts, but I was also curious how hideously large that file would be too, if it would be... for all I know it's a teeny menu and it just bootstrap loads the games on the varying chips in there.

[Az]

About swapping boards, you will have to rewire the speakers and test switch buttons if you put something other than a multi-slot MVS board in your cabinet. These boards are not JAMMA standard and have a different pinout to be able to get stereo sound without an additional harness. The test button is located at a different place than a normal JAMMA game.

Save yourself a lot of trouble and run a test button switch to the outside of your cab so you don't have to open it up every time. Using that 161 where everything defaults to max difficulty and other funky options is much easier to deal with if you have a button on the outside. Select game, hit test button, then you're good to go.

Also, go immediately and buy a Unibios chip.

[celerystalker]

The test switch is different on both, running from pin 15 for standard JAMMA and pin M for MV2F. Speaker out, though, is pins 10 and L for both, so it should be functional, using the same pinouts for the joystick, power, and buttons from start to D. So, you should be able to play most boards just without test and service switches with no re-wiring, which in most cases is no big deal, as JAMMA boards usually control options like difficulty through their dip switches.

[Tanooki]

I'm fine opening up the coin door since the power switch is in there anyway so I'm cool not adding an added switch. So far most the games I do want to bother with default to difficulty 4 which is default, though panic bomber was on 5.

I'm aware of, ages ago in an emulator used the UniBIOS as it is what I was able to locate easiest, but I've really never looked into it or even thought about it yet at this point but I can look into it.


By the way is it worth dropping a $10 donation to that arcade/pinball museum so KLOV will get you full posting privileges on their board? I see someone there for $75 (obo?) shipped has League Bowling (US ver) with the mini marquee. Mostly just interested in the cart but that would be a nice bonus. It seems all over the place to sell for $35-$60 price range shipped for the Japanese and US versions but that's just the cartridge alone. I'm trying to poke a stick at ebay mostly as KLOV seems to have very little MVS stuff up for grabs to see where the best deals seem to come from...seeing quite a few US, Japan and oddly Cyprus.

[celerystalker]

I don't bother with UniBIOS myself, as I just play AES on AES and MVS on MVS. UniBIOS allows you to select your region, home or MVS versions, and some cheats. Most Neo Geo carts will boot in the region of the hardware they're plugged into, but many allow region choice already in test. If you'd like to dabble in comparing AES/MVS modes and such, UniBIOS saves a lot of money... I just like mine stock, and I had my AES for about 15 years before getting my MVS, and wasn't too concerned with being able to access that functionality. One of my good friends uses a 4 slot with UniBIOS that looks a lot like yours, and he loves it.

[Tanooki]

Well if that's all it is primarily is just the whole region and AES/MVS thing I'm not going to bother. I prefer stock too, other than that modded top loader I've got stored away and a disused Retron 5, all my stuff is OEM and really always has been as far as hardware goes. I'd be fine with something to fix a design flaw like the LEDs behind a Gamegear screen but nothing radical.

Again though, donating to KLOV worth it for access to MVS stuff? I don't see much in general discussion to keep me interested very long and MVS seems thin in the big picture there. I know there's neo-geo.com but they're very picky and defensive types I see reading things, some attitude too which has been said here as well.


You know what I realized earlier I just remembered I already owned some MVS games for a time now thanks to that Humble Bundle early this year. Remember the 25th anniversary pack? It has 23 MVS carts thrown into an executable stand alone emulator to work in Windows. The NG community looked into it and the full rom sets are there, can even be with a little talent in those ways hacked right out of there and used as they are in MAME or on a dud of a board that needed a repair.

[Az]

Speaker out, though, is pins 10 and L for both, so it should be functional

That's incorrect, 10 and L are ground and hot for mono sound on a JAMMA board. On a MVS system they're both hots for left and right speaker, so if you slap a JAMMA board in you're crossing hot with hot.

Pin 11 is the hot for one speaker mono audio on MVS, but on JAMMA it's a preout audio hotwire that isn't amplified.

The audio wiring and the test button issue are the sole reason people buy MVS-to-JAMMA fingerboards. Single slot MVS boards do not have these issues though, they're JAMMA compliant.

[celerystalker]

That's incorrect, 10 and L are ground and hot for mono sound on a JAMMA board. On a MVS system they're both hots for left and right speaker, so if you slap a JAMMA board in you're crossing hot with hot.

Pin 11 is the hot for one speaker mono audio on MVS, but on JAMMA it's a preout audio hotwire that isn't amplified.

The audio wiring and the test button issue are the sole reason people buy MVS-to-JAMMA fingerboards. Single slot MVS boards do not have these issues though, they're JAMMA compliant.

9143
There is standard JAMMA pinout, photographed directly from the manual for Time Soldiers. That's where I'm getting my info. If there's something else I'm missing, I apologize. I run a one slot at home, so Az may know more than me on this. I'm just comparing a PDF of the MV2-F manual with my regular JAMMA manuals. Plugging a non-stereo JAMMA board into an MVS-2 or 4 harness should result simply is audio only coming from the right speaker in mono. It would be plugging the MVS-2 into an old JAMMA harness that would cause the hot/hot on a mono-wired harness.

[Tanooki]

KLOV doesn't seem to have MVS carts, and ebay is like a yo-yo diet watching that. Anything else I can poke a stick at other than the supposedly arrogant and touchy neo-geo forums that won't sell unless you're established? KLOV even wants payment to post which is kind of sketchy like was attempted in passing here. A guy there had league bowling I'd like but there's that wall.

[celerystalker]

KLOV doesn't seem to have MVS carts, and ebay is like a yo-yo diet watching that. Anything else I can poke a stick at other than the supposedly arrogant and touchy neo-geo forums that won't sell unless you're established? KLOV even wants payment to post which is kind of sketchy like was attempted in passing here. A guy there had league bowling I'd like but there's that wall.

There's a more relaxed community at neogeoforlife.com, and you might find some action there. My buddy with a 4 slot bought a few carts from members there and did pretty well a few years back.

[Tanooki]

I'll look into that then, neo-geo.com seems to have a SEO lock on goddamned google so I don't find places like that so easily unless you have a reference area like hard mvs and so on.

By the way other than those mini-marquees is there any reason to buy a US version of a JP one for any MVS cart other than perhaps not being able to read the sticker? Last I recall ever reading about it many years (decade) ago the answer was more or less no.

[celerystalker]

I'll look into that then, neo-geo.com seems to have a SEO lock on goddamned google so I don't find places like that so easily unless you have a reference area like hard mvs and so on.

By the way other than those mini-marquees is there any reason to buy a US version of a JP one for any MVS cart other than perhaps not being able to read the sticker? Last I recall ever reading about it many years (decade) ago the answer was more or less no.

Nope. MVS and AES carts boot in the region of the console or arcade board they're plugged into. The AES, MVS, and all regions available are programmed onto every cart, home or arcade. Many games alow region select in their menus. So, basically, a Japanese cart acts like a US cart in a US system, and a US cart acts like a Japanese cart in a Japanese system. European carts are the same way. Region is a non-factor with a couple of exceptions like the Quiz games thar only have Japanese versions.

[Tanooki]

I had a feeling, so it comes down if you can read katakana basically which I can so that's fine, save $20 or something as long as you're not after a mini marquee with it.

Man I got so much crap in a matter of like a week I'm overwhelmed. Picked up a stack of manga in the dollar bin, gumball machine with a stand, pinball is being trucked out tomorrow and MVS goes in its spot with its 100~ game library, then Zelda GBA shows up with 3 GG games one being Shining Force, and then I got 2 blu ray box sets for Terminator (pre-genisys) and the hunger games set too. I got to find a way to clear my plate.

[Az]

In your case with a 2 slot there's really no negatives to going with a Unibios. Installation is nothing due to just popping the chip into the slot. You get the option to change your console region, flip between home and MVS mode, and cheat codes with playable bosses. The biggest thing to me is being able to get rid of stupid censorship issues at the touch of a button without forcing myself to play in Japanese mode or other nonsense. It's nice to have blood in KoF or fatalities in Samurai Shodown V Special. Some later games are censored in English mode even if you're playing the arcade versions.

It's also handy to be able when to reset the console in-game without flipping the whole cab power off or being able to exit the hardware test menu without doing the same. Monitors are such a bitch to work on and I'm always terrified that flipping it off and on more than absolutely necessary will send it to it's grave.

[Tanooki]

I see that universe bios 3.3 just came out in early March fixing some old bugs and making things pretty smooth it appears. Now if I were to do this I could see the utility if anything in saving a few screen on/off resets just because I turn it off anyway when I don't use it but the rest seems silly for a reset. Also I think the codes, at least non cheating types, maybe to pick up on a platformer stage where I left off, or keying up a boss without doing some kung fu code on the select screen type junk would be nice as well.

EDiT: Found the website for the thing from Razoola's post on a forum about 3.3 so I removed my questions here, website honored every one. Very cool. 30 euro, 5 euro for ugprade to ship it back if you want to, get your system serial coded in there too. Seems fairly cut and dry. I took pics of the board itself the other day when I had the cover off, I'm sure I could find the one to remove or flash the images up here and get that pointed out easy enough.

Wow...just bought my first MVS cart, an old pizza place favorite of mine -- Ninja Combat. Surprised the dude took my $54 shipped offer down from $79. Can't wait!


I snapped pics of the board the other day, remembered my phone failed to dial it in to my email so I just sent it again, attached them on here now. Can you point it out? Also you can see now the CR2032 my board has, guessing that got added since it's not what I see normally sold on ebay, etc for the thing which can leak. If what DP allows is too small (probably) there's this at 1280x960 http://s232.photobucket.com/user/tanooki-suit/library/Tanookis%20Finds/Arcade%20-%20Pinball?sort=9&page=1

[Az]

I can't zoom very well on my phone but if I'm not mistaken it's in the top right corner of your second picture. It should be the only socketed chip on the board. All you do is pry it up easy and evenly, careful not to bend any of the legs, and then mash the other one back in. It'll take longer to unscrew the metal cover than it will to replace that chip. It also has an indentation on one end so you know which way it faces for proper installation.

That is also extremely handy in troubleshooting hardware problems. Any time your board crashes or doesn't boot up past the BIOS screen correctly it will throw up a screen of info telling you exactly what was wrong. All the multi-slot boards I've used were picky on how the carts were inserted and would sometimes hang or crash mid-game if the pins were dirty or their wasn't a good connection. With that I could just soft reboot rather than flipping the cab off.

Many years ago I got 3 dead 1 slot boards in a cab lot I bought and had no idea what their deal was, with the Unibios I was able to determine exactly what was amiss. One had a Z-80 sound error that under normal circumstances would not let you proceed with anything, I was able to force booting with the Z-80 sound off to see that the board worked fine with the exception of the sound.

The developer dipswitch menu you can access within Unibios has some cool stuff, see if you can find a list of what all they do on since it's all different on a per game basis. Also, besides the preprogammed cheats you can toggle on/off it also has a raw patching function so most any codes available for MAME can be put in here even if they're not on the built in list. Going through Art of Fighting as Mr. Karate is always cool.

[Tanooki]

I think I see it, but the only one that appears socketed is that longer chip half way between the battery and the memory card reader that says Toshiba on it and it's a 40pin chip it appears. I'm using a blown up image off my computer (also on my photobucket.) DP likes to shrink stuff a bit much. It's the only one that appears to have a black plastic bracket under the chip and not directly soldered to the board or with micro leads going off to traces on the surface.

I'd hate to think of that motherboard ever breaking down I could never fix those little chips, probably end up just having to swap it out.

[Tanooki]

Hey I want to throw the games I own on my nvidia shield tablet, but obviously I need an emulator.

Suggestions on which is best? I read up about Neodroid, but the version on the play store rates for crap, but I see others saying it's good on that version (4.0) so I don't know. I'm aware that Broglia's stuff is always excellent and his rates just shy of a 4/5 but costs $4. There is some so called free fork which rates lesser, not sure if that's just garbage or I'm missing something.

[Tanooki]

So anyway that suggestion about joining neo-geo.com forums backfired. I guess they feel they're too good for new members or something. I registered and awaited to be approved to post and something like 10 days later the account was erased entirely. What the hell?

[celerystalker]

So anyway that suggestion about joining neo-geo.com forums backfired. I guess they feel they're too good for new members or something. I registered and awaited to be approved to post and something like 10 days later the account was erased entirely. What the hell?

Yeah... not a real welcoming place. I think you'd have better luck at neogeoforlife.com. It's mostly UK based, but much friendlier.

[Tanooki]

Pity if it was an accident. I'm going to try one more time, wrote the general email about it to see if anything comes of it. I'd rather stick with like minded locals than deal with overseas due to time zone differences and shipping if I were to buy something too as that sucks overseas.

[otaku]

yeah neo geo.com can be a bit rough i have been a member since 2007 when i was collecting for and owned an aes with mods and unibios and also a neo geo pocket. i am still their and post and read a bit but can't say i have tons of friends and that they can't be assholes at time still the best neo geo resource i know of though

hell of a score man love that cab! i almost scored i think it was a single slot here in idaho for 200 but the wife wouldn't let me go get it i had the truck fired up and everything haha

[Tanooki]

I have a lot of leeway as I don't bring home big stuff but rarely, and if I have the room for it, there's no issue. You're right, they can be rough there, but you just ignore it, dish it back, or leave. It's a solid site. I find I post there more in the off topic and war room stuff than anything. Lately I haven't been using it as I keep getting distracted, the newest being 4 tubs of Lego a week ago from Thursday which took me a week to sort and came out with 15 full (or w/few parts I made full) sets and 2 full and some mostly there kids Junior sets along with a lot of extra misc stuff. I'll get back to it, I got a Neo Turf Masters kit from Italy for the price of the game itself and it's a real gem.