Is there a "poor man's" Neo Geo ?????

[swlovinist]

I just wanted to run a survey on what the forums thought might be a system that captured the "spirit" of the Neo Geo Home cart system...if one did. Feel free to express your feelings on this matter. and most of all, Game on!

[Gamereviewgod]

The SNES had a bunch of decent ports and it's probably the closest your going to get.

[Jive3D]

This probably isnt the answer that you are looking for, but the PS1 had a lot of Neo Geo ports - Metal Slug, the SNK vs Capcom games too. Metal slug 3 is on the japanese ps2. SNK vs Capcom: Chaos is coming to PS2 as well

But then there are a whole shitload of neo games that never went anywhere else, thats why those devoted NEO people are so proud of thier collections.

If you are really interested in the scene either go the emulation route, or just search for the system - you can get one in good condition, but used on ebay for an average of 200 to 250, often comes with 2 controllers and at least a game. I picked up my Neo for 200 with 6 games and 2 arcade style controllers.

But it really is a commitment and an investment if you go Neo bound. I bought my system and the few games that came with it and thats all, its one of the harder systems to collect (as far as your wallet is concerned).

[Bratwurst]

The term 'spirit' is a little broad there, but I'll run with the concept and go with the Sega Genesis.

It is the poor man's console in the sense that it is damn cheap to collect for, and those black carts happen to come in the plastic clamshell cases similar to the Neo Geo's offerings. Can't get any more convenient than that!

But also, the Genesis was a powerful machine for its time, and some of those games had big sprites that it handled smoothly. Let's not forget that the core initiative of the Genesis was to bring home some of Sega's arcade titles. Altered Beast.. System 16 hardware.

[Ed Oscuro]

But it really is a commitment and an investment if you go Neo bound. I bought my system and the few games that came with it and thats all, its one of the harder systems to collect (as far as your wallet is concerned).

One of the harder systems for sure, but very nice to have (a shelf lined with expensive AES games = not bad, that's for sure).

I'd also have to say that the PlayStation (maybe the PS2 now) would be the system of choice for somebody who wants to play Neo Geo games but can't.

Also, if you ask me older Sega systems feel like a "poor man's Neo Geo," the Japanese Mega Drive in particular. A lot of the games on that system are graphically impressive and just have a lot of stuff happening all at once onscreen (Sonic 2, for example). The SNES/SFC has a lot of good titles, and some pretty intense FX2 chip stuff, but collecting for that system just doesn't feel the same.

[Packerfan66]

How come SNK never made a version of Samurai Showdown for the PS2 or PSX? I dont' really care for king of fighters.

[Ed Oscuro]

How come SNK never made a version of Samurai Showdown for the PS2 or PSX? I dont' really care for king of fighters.

http://www.marksatthemelia.com/Samurai_Shodown_3_for_PlayStation_1.html

Typing "Samurai Shodown PlayStation" immediately points me to links for Samurai Shodown 3 (by far the least loved of the series) and the confirmation Samurai Shodown 0 will appear. That's all stuff in the English language, too! No imports required.

[Ed Oscuro]

Okay, that link officially sucks, but I've no time for an edit (off to class I go). Anyhow, yeah, there's lots of stuff available on the web about SS games on Sony hardware.

http://www.gamewinners.com/playstation/SamuraiShodown3.htm
^
Still sucks, but eh.

[Parodius]

The Japanese Saturn is by far the best as far as experiencing the NeoGeo.

The fighting games especially are quite close to the cart. In particular those that use the 4MB Ram cart.

Samurai Shodown 3
Samurai Shodown 4
Samurai Shodown RPG
KOF 95
KOF 96
KOF 97
Metal Slug
Fatal Fury 3
Fatal Fury Special
Real Bout Fatal Fury
Real Bout FF Special
etc.

Not to mention all the other DYNAMITE 2D fighters, shooters, etc.

To quote DEL "2D Heaven".

[Gamereviewgod]

Samurai Shodown 3 on the PS One is awful....don't bother.

Back to my orignal point, the Super had Art of Fighting (complete with scaling and added surround sound), FF 1, 2, and Special, Samurai Shodown, World Heroes 1, 2, King of the Monsters 1, 2, and importers got a few more (AOF 2). I guess it depends what generation of Geo games you want. Early stuff is easily available on the Super, later stuff the Saturn.

[D-Lite]

The Japanese Saturn is by far the best as far as experiencing the NeoGeo.

The fighting games especially are quite close to the cart. In particular those that use the 4MB Ram cart.

Samurai Shodown 3
Samurai Shodown 4
Samurai Shodown RPG
KOF 95
KOF 96
KOF 97
Metal Slug
Fatal Fury 3
Fatal Fury Special
Real Bout Fatal Fury
Real Bout FF Special
etc.

Not to mention all the other DYNAMITE 2D fighters, shooters, etc.

To quote DEL "2D Heaven".

Ah, you beat me to it. Yep, the Saturn has a ton of faithful NG ports.

But as they say at Neo-Geo.com, ports suck. And if you've ever played the real thing on the Neo Geo, you'll know what they mean. Even Metal Slug X on the PlayStation is horrible compared to the original, but of course there is the cost issue.

You won't find many other systems with the fanatical following of the Neo Geo, and that's partly due to the degradation of the mind that comes with blowing $200-300 per cart.

You want a system that has the spirit of the Neo Geo and is cheaper in the long run? Neo Geo MVS or CD. The CD games are MUCH cheaper and apart from load times and the dropped content, are very good. The MVS route is arguably the best way to buy NG stuff as loose MVS carts of games like Samurai Shodown II go for $20 or so, and Metal Slug for about $60-80. The only question is if you're going to buy a cabinet to play the games or a supergun/consolized system.

Lots of NG people switch to MVS due to the cost and also the fact that some games are MVS only

By the way, you can find Neo Geo AES (home cart) systems for less than $200. I picked up a perfectly working system with accessories for $125 + shipping since the case is mangled (aborted modification).

[jaydubnb]

The perfect poor man's Neo Geo....is the Neo Geo! After spending dough on the system, you can get alotta the older Neo faves for cheap. Samurai Shodown 1,2, Baseball Stars 2, Magician Lord, Fatal Fury Special and a few others can be gotten in the $20-$30 range, quite easily. The brand new stuff will cost some heavy coin, though.

[Achika]

I nominate the Dreamcast! :D

King of Fighters, Last Blade 2, Fatal Fury MOTW, Twinkle Star Sprites, etc.

I think the next best machine that can run Neo games is the Dreamcast, but Saturn & now the Playstation family is in the running for getting the most games.

[stargate]

What about just buying a Japanese Neo Geo?? They appear to be cheaper than the US consoles and besides the language, run the same games... Any draw back to the J version?

[Atari7800]

I second the Genesis... at least in a hardware sense. The Genesis is, in fact, very close to the Neo in terms or hardware... 16-bit Motorola 6800 main CPU, 8-bit Zilog 80. The Genny's processors are slower, plus the Neo has better screen resolution, larger sprites, and better colors, but they are the same architecture. The Neo does have some big-ass carts. Imagine the Genny as the Neo's smaller and weaker but friendlier younger brother.

Unfortunately, many of the Neo-to-Genny ports aren't that great, and games is where it counts. I vote Saturn.

[Gamereviewgod]

Samurai Shodown 1,2, Baseball Stars 2, Magician Lord, Fatal Fury Special and a few others can be gotten in the $20-$30 range, quite easily. The brand new stuff will cost some heavy coin, though.


Agreed. That's what I tell everyone about the Geo. The vast majority of the games are under $75 now. I got a lot of 7 AES games about a year ago for about $150. I just picked up Spinmaster, Super Sidekicks 2, KOF 95, and 8 Man off E-bay, and all of them came in under $40 each. Super Sidekicks was only $21! I seen Fatal Fury 2 for only $10 (BIN!) last week. Seriously, if you can swallow the price of the console, getting high quality games is easy and no more expensive than buying new games.

[rbudrick]

I bought a neo with 2 games, all hookups, and a memory card for $40 once. Does that count?

Sadly, I had to give it up...I was poorer than hell, and I was buying it with a friend's money....sorta picking it up for him, since I found it and couldn't afford it.....he could, so better my friend has it at that price than no one I know!

-Rob

[Jive3D]

I bought a neo with 2 games, all hookups, and a memory card for $40 once. Does that count?

Sadly, I had to give it up...I was poorer than hell, and I was buying it with a friend's money....sorta picking it up for him, since I found it and couldn't afford it.....he could, so better my friend has it at that price than no one I know!

-Rob

$40!? HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF SNK!

what a deal.

I'm still looking for a NEO memory card. not a high priority since I hardly play it.

[Ze_ro]

The poor-man's alternative to the NeoGeo, in my opinion, is a PC with MAME. You'll have to pirate all the games I suppose, but they'll be essentially perfect versions. You'll also be stuck playing the games on a monitor instead of a TV (which isn't necessarily bad... my monitor gives a much nicer picture than any TV's in my house), and you might want to pick up a decent joystick, since playing Samurai Showdown with a keyboard kind of sucks.

--Zero

[Parodius]

What about just buying a Japanese Neo Geo?? They appear to be cheaper than the US consoles and besides the language, run the same games... Any draw back to the J version?

Well, there is no region coding but on a Japanese console there will be red blood, bouncing breasts, and some of the ladies have less clothing.

The best is to get either JAP or US version and have it modded with a swicth between Jap/US.

[AB Positive]

Ummm. I'd nominate the Neo Geo Color Pocket. :D

-AG

[maxlords]

Downside to the Jp console is shipping from Japan :) That's where you really eat it. Other than that, with the Debug bios so easy to get, Jp consoles aren't much cheaper at all. And AES in general is painfully expensive. I'm going MVS myself...the only way I can faithfully play the games I could otherwise never afford. Buying loose carts, I've been averaging about $30 a game cart only, and about $100 per game in complete kits, which if you think about it, is VERY reasonable for arcade games. It's just a matter of buying either a Supergun ($200-300) or a JAMMA cab with an MVS motherboard ($100-400) or a Neo cab, candy or big red ($100-700). And having the space for one of course ;D

I'm picking up a 4 slot MVS cab for approximately $450 US shipped in the next week or two. It should be on it's way by the end of the month! yay!

[hydr0x]

Samurai Shodown 1,2, Baseball Stars 2, Magician Lord, Fatal Fury Special and a few others can be gotten in the $20-$30 range, quite easily. The brand new stuff will cost some heavy coin, though.


Agreed. That's what I tell everyone about the Geo. The vast majority of the games are under $75 now. I got a lot of 7 AES games about a year ago for about $150. I just picked up Spinmaster, Super Sidekicks 2, KOF 95, and 8 Man off E-bay, and all of them came in under $40 each. Super Sidekicks was only $21! I seen Fatal Fury 2 for only $10 (BIN!) last week. Seriously, if you can swallow the price of the console, getting high quality games is easy and no more expensive than buying new games.

100% agreed, that's why i'm still hoping to find a used on on a flea or something like that, or a good ebay deal (in a wrong category...), most of the games are not really expensive, it's a shame that the MS Series is so damn expensive :(

[ManekiNeko]

Take it from a guy who's always broke... the Neo-Geo Pocket is quite literally the poor man's Neo-Geo. Sure, the graphics and sound aren't as impressive as they were on the Neo-Geo, but the games are every bit as playable, with some being even more fun than their Neo-Geo counterparts. For instance, Match of the Millennium is more than a match for SVC Chaos thanks to tons of customization options, hidden features, and personality.

JR

[swlovinist]

I really appreciate all the great feedback and I knew it would spark some debates :D I have all the mentioned systems and recently got a Super Neo Geo. After further playing it, I can see why people cut off their left arm and buy games for this beast of a system. I guess if I was to chime in on a topic I brought up, my vote would be split between the Saturn and the Dreamcast. Both offered great 2D games...as well as many SNK classics. In the end, I think I am going to just take the plunge and dedicate this next year to the Neo Geo. You can live on one kidney right???

[Cmosfm]

NES!!!!!

Oh, wait, ummmmm

*commits suicide*

[Ed Oscuro]

NES!!!!!

Well, it captured the feeling of Contra quite well :)

[Dangerboy]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Phantom 1?

If you're looking for just a few games, stick with the Saturn (with a 4 in 1 Cart). The PSX did have Samurai Shodown 1 + 2 on a 2 for 1 CD in Japan, but dear lord it was so bad.

Otherwise, if you're willing to make a small investment up front, the Actual AES system with the Phantom 1 arcade convertor is your dream come true. Figure both will run you a total of about $550 ($250 and 300), and with that you have one machine that can play AES *and* MVS arcade carts. The MVS carts can be scooped up for dirt cheap, and their a lot easier to come by.

www.neogeousa.com even offers the BIOS replacement chip, which will allow you to have the arcade dip switch options, and play censored AES games uncensored.

Jason

[Captain Wrong]

Just get a MVS and a Supergun. Everything else pales in compairson.


Trust me, you'll thank me later.

[hu6800]

The SNES had a bunch of decent ports and it's probably the closest your going to get.

not if you had a Turboduo and arcade card...

the sega cd had some neo ports..


and the psx did a bunch starting with Viewpoint ...

[buttasuperb]

Just get a MVS and a Supergun. Everything else pales in compairson.

Not much else to add to that.

The ports, the roms, all suck compared to the real deal holyfield.

[le geek]

Any recommendations for which Supergun is good (but not too pricy) for NTSC?

Cheers,
Ben

[Ed Oscuro]

Just get a MVS and a Supergun. Everything else pales in compairson.

Not much else to add to that.

The ports, the roms, all suck compared to the real deal holyfield.

Though I own only AES carts, this is true. Even the AES pales in terms of sound and visuals to an MVS setup (even edging out what you'd get if you used a Phantom 1's S-Video, I'd assume), though you do have the added luxury of two different styles of controller with the AES.

[maxlords]

Any recommendations for which Supergun is good (but not too pricy) for NTSC?

Cheers,
Ben

Avoid the MAS Systems supergun like the plague. Huge, shoddy construction, no ventilation for the power supply, all around bad product.

Typically, a custom supergun from an experienced builder is your best bet.

[ClubNinja]

though you do have the added luxury of two different styles of controller with the AES

Well.... you could use one of the MVS boards that has joystick ports onboard. In that case, you've added the luxury of any AES controller/joystick you want. Personally, I'm a fan of the later kidney shaped sticks, and that's what I use with my MVS 'Gun setup. There's no losing with MVS ;)

[buttasuperb]

Well.... you could use one of the MVS boards that has joystick ports onboard. In that case, you've added the luxury of any AES controller/joystick you want. Personally, I'm a fan of the later kidney shaped sticks, and that's what I use with my MVS 'Gun setup. There's no losing with MVS ;)

Yep, I use a MAS stick with my 2 slot MVS. :rocker:

[Ed Oscuro]

though you do have the added luxury of two different styles of controller with the AES

Well.... you could use one of the MVS boards that has joystick ports onboard.

One of those moments where you wonder "could this be the case..?" Well, I'm glad to know it is! I'm still going to collect AES stuff, but for playing I'd rather have an MVS setup.