Table of Contents
SB Recommends Neo Geo Games
SNK's powerful-for-1990 arcade platform with a mostly identical, ridiculously expensive home counterpart, and a later CD-based version with games that took approximately seven lunar cycles to load anything. Despite bankruptcy and the soiling of several key franchises by some hack Korean developers, the Neo retained official support for a staggering 14 years. Home to more fighting games than you can shake a QCF + P at.
Recommended
- Blazing Star
- Rudie: I love this shooter until it gets god damn impossible.
- chompers po pable: Blazing Star is fantastic, and even moreso with two players. It isn't overly long and has some of the coolest bosses this side of Guwange.
- Felix: Actually a really darn good tough-but-fair, gorgeous, straightforward space shooter. Doesn't get mentioned enough.
- Garou: Mark of the Wolves (also on: DC, PS2, XBLA)
- Sniper Honeyviper: SNK's answer to Street Fighter III, which means it's the second best fighting game of all time.
- Firenze: On a lot of people's short list for best fighting game ever. I'd only place it below 3rd Strike and SFA2 for my personal favorites. It's SNK with a very smooth Capcom (a la SF Alpha series) feel, not the usual stiffness from a SNK fighter.
- Ironclad / Chotetsu Brikin'ger (JP) (Also on: Wii VC)
- Sniper Honeyviper: A really weird horizontal shooter with an R-Typian detatchable pod, set in an alternate-history 1920s eastern Europe with mecha. The graphics could be described as an Impressionist Donkey Kong Country with lots of industrial grunge. Released on the Wii's Virtual Console.
- The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest (also on: PS, PS2, PSN, Wii VC, XBLA)
- The King of Fighters 2003 (also on: PS2, Xbox)
- Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
- Loki Laufeyson: One of the first tag-team fighting games. Has a secondary gimmick in that it's also a weapons fighter. Pretty great character designs, and some of the best looking stages in 90s fighting games.
- Sniper Honeyviper: The music in the slums stage is the best grunge rock track in a videogame.
- The Last Blade 2 (also on: DC, PS2, PSN, Wii VC)
- Rudie: I always found Samurai Shodown too slow for me. This is a quicker based weapons fighter that takes place when Japan finally opened it's doors to the world1).
- Loki Laufeyson: The counter button adds both a lot of fun, and a metric ton of tension.
- Last Resort (also on: Wii VC)
- chompers po pable: Last Resort is a neat game, with wonderful animation and interesting boss/enemy sprites (and a neo-dark, post-moody atmosphere, and a descent soundtrack, from what I remember). It is a bit on the hard side, unless you are willing to credit-feed it. Plays like R-Type.
- Metal Slug X (Also on: PS, PS2, PSP, Wii, Wii VC)
- Rudie: X is a remixed version of 2 and is my favorite Metal Slug. My problem with 3 (popular favorite) is the enemies eventually take too much damage and it just gets too hard to stay alive.
- Felix: Objectively it's probably the best game in the series. I have a lot of affection for the original because I can 1cc it, but this game has more varied level design and is better balanced for co-op. As Rudie said, 3 gets to be a bit much, even though it is grandiose and spectacular.
- Metal Slug 3 (Also on: PS2, Wii VC, Xbox, XBLA)
- Brandon and Tim: YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT METAL SLUG 3.
- spectralsound: The final stage has to be seen to be believed. It's longer than most entire games and about as insane as that sounds. Treasure can only dream of such madness.
- Metal Slug 4 and 5 (Also on: PS2, Xbox)
- Rudie: Metal Slug again and again and again.
- Money Idol Exchanger (also on: JP PS, PSN)
- Neo Turf Masters (also on: Wii VC)
- Rudie: Fantastic Arcade Golf!
- Firenze: The best golf video game ever made. And I hate golf. Might be tough to find, but it's fantastic.
- Pulstar
- T.: I'm one of like three people whose favorite sort of STG are brutally difficult hori memorizers, so this is an obvious favorite. It helps that unlike Rayxanber 2 or Rezon it's absurdly gorgeous. Time it took to beat (playing a few credits daily): a bit over 2 months.
- Felix: It's an R-Type knockoff, but an impressive one if you like slower-paced shooters.
- Sengoku (also on: SFC, SMCD, Wii VC) - Large Prime Numbers review
- Shock Troopers (also on: PSN, Wii VC)
- Felix: Basically top-down Metal Slug. Not as replayable but a lot of fun to slog through once with a reasonably competent buddy.
- GRIMGlamfire: hidden difficulty of only using knife to get highest score
- Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy (also on: PS2, PSP, Wii, Wii VC)
- The Blueberry Hill: Really fun arcade scroller. Players attack with stretchy arms (like Ristar), and can hop between two planes.
- Shapermc: My favorite platforming game on the system. It has a bit more depth than it should, and the difficulty is pretty much perfect for attempting to one credit the game. It has a Gunstar Heroes feel in a few places as well.
- Twinkle Star Sprites (also on: DC, PS2, Saturn, Wii VC)
- Rudie: A versus puzzle/shooter. Playing it once sets your mind on fire, and immediately makes you hardcore.
- The Blueberry Hill: I prefer the Saturn version, for its extra modes, but any is more than fine. It's wonderful, frantic, wonderful, and wonderful.
- spectralsound: direct transcript of my thoughts during my first playthrough of this: “holy fuck, i can't even tell what's going on! jesus, i just died! this is awesome!”
- Felix: Wonderful, totally unique versus classic.
- Windjammers / Flying Power Disc (JP) (also on: Wii VC)
- The Blueberry Hill: Basically, it's a Pong update. With the significant changes being the ability to catch the disc, multiple characters with differing strengths, and interesting shot options (like the ability to bend shots). It's a highly satisfying, speedy, and nuanced multiplayer game. And one of the system's best. It's also supported by GGPO!
- Felix: It's lacking a tiny little bit of depth or something to be a classic, but it is a lot of fun for being updated Pong.