neo geo

Ronan|Raven

im after a neo geo , which version would be the best? MVS or ?

ondafly

I have a Japanese Neo Geo console - AVS. I got it for a good price though. I then paid for the 150euro convertor that allows me to play MVS carts. I use it on the TV and it works for me

However its probably cheaper to pickup an MVS unit + a supergun + some controllers and play it via your TV, only thing is it really does belong inside an arcade unless you feel like fabricating a nice box for it, and "consolising" the MVS

o1s1n

I actually have a 1 slot MVS that I don't need if you're interested. It was in my cab but Ive since got a 6 slot MVS. It's this one -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MVS-NEO-GEO-1-Slot-PCB-WORLD-WIDE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ260435187684QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca32597e4

Its been tested and works perfectly with the below supergun -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arcade-supergun-motherboard-for-jamma-classics-Mk-I_W0QQitemZ250506352973QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Video_Games_Coin_Operated_MJ?hash=item3a5357994d

You just need to connect a psu to the supergun. (I grabbed one out of my old pc) and a scart lead to the TV.

Actually, just to show you, here's my supergun hooked up to a PGM motherboard (visually it's more or less exactly the same as how the MVS will look connected to it)



If you have the money though, go the AES/mvs converter route that ondafly mentioned. Both methods play the games exactly the same, just the AES unil it a good deal less messy than the whole MVS/supergun/psu set up.

Edit - feck it, I'll put up a pic of my AES with the adapter too- (The adapter cost me about 120, think the console was about the same price)

Myrddin

What is the difference betwen MVS/AES guys? Is one arcade based and the other a console variant? Neo Geo is the one great gaming realm I never got into. Probably because of the prohibitive costs back in the day.

o1s1n

Yep, MVS is the arcade hardware. It's a motherboard with between 1 and 6 slots for cartridges.

AES is the home version. Games are identical, just the carts are different sizes and incompatible. (Unless of course you buy one of those fancy MVS -> AES converters)

It was actually to stop arcade oparators buying home carts and using them in arcade machines. As arcade MVS carts were extremely expensive at the time. (AES homecarts were still really bloody expensive when compared to other consoles..200 for some games. But MVS were a few hundred more)

Now the opposite has happened. MVS carts are dirt cheap in comparison to AES. You can get some AES for a decent price, but stuff like Metal Slug range from 250 -2000 per cart.

So the cheapest option is to get a 1 slot MVS mother board, supergun and play MVS carts. Or buy an AES console and an MVS adapter.

CiDeRmAn

Get a Supergun Mk3, an MVS motherboard, one with at least the controller ports for ease of use, and a cheap ATX PSU.
See this site for identifying the best MVS motherboard,
http://www.hardmvs.com/html/news.htm
Also all the games are far far cheaper than the AES equivalents.
Not to mention the availability of a Universal Bios Chip like wot I ave!
It allows me to alter the region of the device, change the language, blood on/off and lots besides.

Myrddin

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Get a Supergun Mk3, an MVS motherboard, one with at least the controller ports for ease of use, and a cheap ATX PSU.
See this site for identifying the best MVS motherboard,
http://www.hardmvs.com/html/news.htm
Also all the games are far far cheaper than the AES equivalents.
Not to mention the availability of a Universal Bios Chip like wot I ave!
It allows me to alter the region of the device, change the language, blood on/off and lots besides.

Theres a damned recession going on Cider - please stop making the neo geo scene so clear cut - must resist purchase....must resist purchase

Zombrex

EnterNow wrote: »

Theres a damned recession going on Cider - please stop making the neo geo scene so clear cut - must resist purchase....must resist purchase

Tell me about it, between this forum and watching HappyConsoleGamer on YouTube now I want a Neo-Geo ... my bank manager is going to kill me

o1s1n

EnterNow wrote: »

Theres a damned recession going on Cider - please stop making the neo geo scene so clear cut - must resist purchase....must resist purchase

Wicknight wrote: »

Tell me about it, between this forum and watching HappyConsoleGamer on YouTube now I want a Neo-Geo ... my bank manager is going to kill me

Heh, sorry guys, but you know what that means?

More gratuitous neo pics! Have to convince you to buy one now.

(Nah, just looking for an excuse to use my camera!)













Original Blazing Star but with a reproduction label. Must have had a Japanese label on it originally.





Just an example of a few original Label games. There was a really annoying trend of removing the serial numbers as you can see on Metal Slug 2's label. :mad:



The one annoying thing about having an arcade machine you can't bring to a rented apartment is keeping it stocked with games for your family to play! So missing from the following photo are - Metal Slug X, Street Hoop, Puzzle Bobble, Samurai Showdown III and Aero Fighters. (Really couldn't stomach giving them a sixth cart!)

The Japanese Label ones are Viewpoint, World Heroes Jet and...I'm actually not sure what the last one is. Hmm. Odd! Might be an Art of Fighting game.

If you do plan on buying a lot of MVS carts, be warned, they're feckin huge. Think VHS tape but bigger.

o1s1n

Just for anyone that's interested, I took a few pics of a PGM mobo compared to an MVS mobo. If you're going to go down the supergun/MVS route, then you should maybe consider PGM at a later date. It's the exact same setup.

The games are more expensive than MVS, but the machine itself is more powerful. Some of the visuals look fantastic.

97i9y3941

AES what a machine,there was nothing like it back in 1990...

Retr0gamer

I want one now. The only think keeping me back is having no money!

ondafly

@ oisin let me know if you plan on selling any carts ! and have you managed to source a supplier for shock boxes ? I have 3 or 4 games now without MVS shock boxes.

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I want one now. The only think keeping me back is having no money!

It sure doesn't stop me anyway...

ondafly wrote: »

@ oisin let me know if you plan on selling any carts ! and have you managed to source a supplier for shock boxes ? I have 3 or 4 games now without MVS shock boxes.

I'd love to have them all in shockboxes but they're just too damn expensive. I think I worked out before that ten with inserts would cost about 100 euro to buy and import. As much as I'd love them, I really can't be spending 300+ on boxes.
What I was thinking about doing was just getting some of those cardboard boxes you can see in the pics instead. From what I can remember they were a lot cheaper. Plus they're made to imitate MVS full kit boxes. (The Shock Troopers one on the top is an offical box)

Do you have them for your carts? If you do, put up some pics!

Retr0gamer

o1s1n wrote: »

It sure doesn't stop me anyway...

I've often left myself in the depths of poverty due to buying games. My situation at the moment is dire. Basically if I was on the dole I'd be getting infinitely more than I'm getting at the moment.

corblimey

The title of this thread needs to be renamed to "neo geo pr0n". All that crushed velvet looking material under o1s1n's neo geo is positively Marks and Spencer like. "This is not just a games machine, this is a neo geo games machine"

ondafly

I was able to print off inserts (excellent quality), however I couldn't find a source for the boxes.

Heres a pic of my neo geo collection (minus the neo geo pocket) - need a wider lense and someday I'll snap all my conoles in one shot. On the controllers I changed the ball tops over to fresh sanwas, as I had them spare from my arcade build.

Duggy747

I was tempting in buying an AES a few years ago as many of my fond memories of the arcades were Neo-Geo games (Fatal Fury 1 & 2, Art Of Fighting series, Samurai Shodown 1 & 2, etc *sniff*) but the price.........ouch!!

I ended up bagging all Neo-Geo games for Mame and just have an old laptop hooked up to the TV & sound system with my trusty PS2 and Xbox controllers!

As Randy Marsh once said: "Niiiice!!!!"

Seriously, though, I would like to physically have the Neo-Geo console. I always loved the controllers on them. But since it went out of production 4 / 5 years ago (Longest console in production, who whudda tunk it?) the price for them will eventually go up.

ondafly

i hear you - we've all done our modified xboxes with emulators etc, sure I even built a cab, but theres something special about owning the real thing. For instance Puzzle Bobble, I spent so many 50ps on that in arcades, to own the actual game now is priceless

I've calmed my spending since the summer though, I purchased far too many things ! its a very expensive and addictive hobby this retro gaming lark.

Myrddin

o1s1n, Cider & Ondafly - damn you all. Damn you all to hell! Urge to spend rising.....resistance fading....:mad:

Guys, what is the pgm system? How does it tie in with Aes/Mvs - and the more complicated the answer the better, as it might put me off buying one

o1s1n

Nice collection ondafly. Hope that Last Resort didn't set you back a small fortune. I've been on the lookout for it myself but it's always very expensive.

I have some ball tops ready for my joystick (And my second one whenever I get around to buying it). Just can't get the current ball top off! How'd you manage it yourself? Pliars?

Also, fair play for actually buying some AES carts. They really do look pretty compared to MVS VHS tapes.

Oh and I hear what you're saying about Puzzle Bobble! It's the one game that really makes me giddy when I boot it up in the cab as I always said when I was younger that I'd have a Puzzle Bobble cab when I 'grew up'. Never thought it would actually come true!

Duggy747

EnterNow wrote: »

Guys, what is the pgm system? How does it tie in with Aes/Mvs - and the more complicated the answer the better, as it might put me off buying one

Well, as I remember the PGM had better hardware than the Neo Geo but the games weren't really there except Demon Front:



There's mainly Mahjong games for it.

o1s1n

EnterNow wrote: »

Guys, what is the pgm system? How does it tie in with Aes/Mvs - and the more complicated the answer the better, as it might put me off buying one

It has absolutely nothing to do with Neo Geo other than looking/oparating similarly. Was made in Taiwan by a company called IGS to compete against the Neo. Never really took off though. It's a good bit more powerful thank the SNK system. Although it was also released a great deal later than the Neogeo.

Up until recently enough it wasn't even emulated. So to play games like Demon Front, Knights of Valour and Martial Masters you needed to own an actual system.

Retr0gamer

It's a very powerful 2D arcade board from Korea or China which is very like a neo geo due to the look of the games and the type of games on the system.

ondafly

o1s1n wrote: »

Nice collection ondafly. Hope that Last Resort didn't set you back a small fortune. I've been on the lookout for it myself but it's always very expensive.

I think I probably over paid for it, but I seriously love the music in it, and I wanted a decent shooter for the Neo instead of the all the fighters - I'm on the look out for Garou but I refuse to pay too much for that.

o1s1n wrote: »

I have some ball tops ready for my joystick (And my second one whenever I get around to buying it). Just can't get the current ball top off! How'd you manage it yourself? Pliars?

One came off quite easily - the other involved a thick cloth and a pliers though luckily no damage !

o1s1n wrote: »

Also, fair play for actually buying some AES carts. They really do look pretty compared to MVS VHS tapes.

to be fair I bought the AES carts in the same shop as the NEO GEO, and they were only 3 euro each

o1s1n

Ah yeah! You're the lucky git who went to Super Potato. Jesus, you'd happily make a living from ebay there if you can pick up some AES carts for 3 euro.

The Neo is a bit shooter starved alright. But some of the handful of titles released on it were great. I'm currently trying to get Pulstar but it's one of those games that is genuinely hard to find and not just expensive because it's desirable (Which it is too)

Actually, pick up Aero Fighters 2 if you're looking for a good cheap shooter. Goes for nothing and is brilliant. Even the Engrish is hilarious. Plus it's vertical! Don't get many of them on the Neo.

My copy of Garou is a boot unfortunately. Although I knew it was a boot when I bought it. Only cost a tenner. Plays perfectly too.

Retr0gamer

Aero Fighters can go **** itself after I tried to credit feed it only to realise the last level is a bastard and sets you back to the start when you die. Did like playing as a talking dolphin though

o1s1n

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Aero Fighters can go **** itself after I tried to credit feed it only to realise the last level is a bastard and sets you back to the start when you die.

Heh, the trick there is to play 2 player. It'll only set you back if both of you die.

Although you'll love to know that once you clear that level, it puts you all the way back to the very start of the game and you have to go through the whole thing again. Just at a higher difficulty. So you don't really finish it until you've finished it again.

Great game though, came close to 1 crediting it a few times (Well, on the first wave. Second doesn't count). But then just get mowed down in the last couple of levels..similar to the Metal Slug games!

Edit\ just remembered one of my favourite bits of Engrish in that relates to the Dolphin -

CiDeRmAn

I have Aerofighters 2 and 3 for the NeoGeoCD, which brings us nicely to the fact that it is still for sale, with lots and lots and lots of games, some of them even genuine ones!
Ha ha!
(please Mod don't ban me)

It is boxed, it's got controllers, euro power pack and, it has a dinky little switch that changes region.
I posted it on Adverts a while back but got some really rubbish offers, but I was willing to accept a trade, if anyone had anything good enough....

Myrddin

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I have Aerofighters 2 and 3 for the NeoGeoCD, which brings us nicely to the fact that it is still for sale, with lots and lots and lots of games, some of them even genuine ones!
Ha ha!
(please Mod don't ban me)

It is boxed, it's got controllers, euro power pack and, it has a dinky little switch that changes region.
I posted it on Adverts a while back but got some really rubbish offers, but I was willing to accept a trade, if anyone had anything good enough....

Please somebody ban him before I ask him how much he's asking

o1s1n

Hey Cider, seeing as this is a Neogeo prOn thread, stick up some picture of your Neocd!

CiDeRmAn

Couldn't possibly, I don't have a nice porn studio to photograph it in, like you o1s1n!

o1s1n

Hah!

Maybe I can start offering this as a service.

'Bored with your current consoles? Joystick knobs no longer working as they should? Cartridge slots becoming a bit tired and worn? How about reigniting the passion with a boudoir photography shoot?'

...

Just let me know if you're bringing an NTSC US snes so I can put lots of vaseline on the camera lens.

97i9y3941

seen the advert,see its the toploader one like mine

Ronan|Raven

Thanks to a fine member on here I got myself a neo-geo mvs board. Ordered the new Supergun MK V as well. Now to get games...

I can hear my credit card crying...

97i9y3941

thats why i switched to 3v,its pay as you go credit card,so nasty monthly statements at end of the month!

Ronan|Raven

Having opened one of my recent MBNA statements and read the new terms and conditions im going to a 3v. Least then I won't always be paying of purchases I will just be broke straight up!

cynos

Ronan|Raven wrote: »

Having opened one of my recent MBNA statements and read the new terms and conditions im going to a 3v. Least then I won't always be paying of purchases I will just be broke straight up!

or open a halifax account, their standard atm card is a visa debit

o1s1n

Ronan|Raven wrote: »

I can hear my credit card crying...

Yes, but think how happy the MVS mobo will be. It will weep with joy.

When I got the arcade cab the only games that had been in that motherboard were Top Players Golf, Street Hoop and Tecmo World Soccer 96.

Street Hoop is good but it's not exactly a stellar bunch of games. I could have sworn I heard it go 'yay!' the first time I put Metal Slug in...;)

Ronan|Raven

I actually love street hoop. The memories of the guy who owned the pub where it was roaring "three point basket" everytime he walked by...

On the topic of bootlegs whats the main giveaway? The cartridge colour and ultra low price?

o1s1n

Ah MVS bootlegs..it's not as straightforward as it should be.

If you're using ebay then price really tells you nothing. I've seen bootlegs sell for loads and original carts sell for nothing.

Best thing to do on ebay is to read the discription carefully. Most people will say if the game is genuine SNK or not. If they say it is and you find out it's a bootleg, it's well within your right to ask for your money back. (As bootlegs are technically illegal)

If it comes in a black case with a white arrow (Ones with indented arrows are boot cases) a yellow sticker and holographic label then you can be fairly sure it's authentic.

There's an ebay seller called Yaton and he sells official boards in bootleg cases. If you're ever buying from him and the auction says '100% working' (And not 100% official) then it's a boot.

Some official SNK games come in coloured cases. Metal Slug X. Garou: Mark of the Wolves..but if you see a black cart game in a coloured box, chances are it's a bootleg (Unless it's coming from Yaton!)

Most of the time official games won't have the holographic label. In some cases the label may even look home made (The original label could have been in Japanese or damaged when they were opening it up to check the boards)

Some other carts come in cases that look like boots but aren't. The official Metal Slug 5 looks like a boot but it's not.

The only definitive way of telling is to open the cartridge up and look at the boards themselves. Bootlegs will usually have a load of windowed eeproms, bad soldering etc. Official boards wont.

The one big bootleg to look out for is Puzzle Bobble.

There's a really good forum over on neo-geo.com called 'boot or no boot'. People put up pictures of the boards and cases. Would be a good idea to have a look at some of them -

http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=46

o1s1n

further to that, here's a list of scans of official labels and boards.

Haven't seen this before myself actually. /bookmark.

http://mvs.gotwalls.com/index.php/Main_Page

ondafly

Ronan|Raven wrote: »

Thanks to a fine member on here I got myself a neo-geo mvs board. Ordered the new Supergun MK V as well. Now to get games...

I can hear my credit card crying...

if that is the case - this thread can be rated as a success

CiDeRmAn

Well, my MVS started on the retro pages, where a couple of people put temptation in my path, resulting in my going straight to ebay and buying the various gubbins to play MVS carts, and so, here I am, an owner of a modest little collection, including Puzzle Bobble, Super Sidekicks, The Last Blade, KOF 99, Metal Slug X and a couple more that now escape me, they are up there somewhere!

o1s1n

Any idea if the Puzzle Bobble is a boot or not? Mine is :mad: Was well angry when I opened it up.

Ronan|Raven

I have a friend going to Cosmicico in Hong Kong tomorrow for a looksie for me.

o1s1n

Ronan|Raven wrote: »

I have a friend going to Cosmicico in Hong Kong tomorrow for a looksie for me.

Oh wow! Let me know what their prices are like so I can put in an order

Warren3

Bought a AES from adverts.ie which I love like a child but wish I got a MVS. Have been looking for a MVS convertor on the cheap but they go for 150 euro onwards..............

For games like metal slug ( which I paid 80 sterling for ) they are much much cheaper on MVS...........

o1s1n

Warren3 wrote: »

Bought a AES from adverts.ie which I love like a child but wish I got a MVS. Have been looking for a MVS convertor on the cheap but they go for 150 euro onwards..............

For games like metal slug ( which I paid 80 sterling for ) they are much much cheaper on MVS...........

Sorry but wha??????????????????

Metal Slug AES is worth $2000. Hell, even a conversion costs $250+

Warren3

I am pretty sure it is a converstion but comes with original box but no instructions.........

I spent months trying to get it . Saw it go for up to 200 terling. Got a bargin

o1s1n

That's insane cheap. If I were you I'd put up some pictures over on neo-geo.com and ask about it. They're very good at spotting conversions. (Unless of course it said it was a conversion on the auction!)

If you have the real deal...I'll swap you a MVS converter mark II for it! heh