Round Trip RV / Road's Edge - Hyper Neo Geo 64 - Ep 71

[@seanmyster6]

You might expect the first game for the Hyper Neo Geo 64 to be a fighting game, since that's what SNK is known for; but on the other hand, I know from personal experience that 3D polygon-based racing games were very much the "in" thing in 1997.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

They came out so close to each other I’m sure neither was intended to be “first”. But yes it’s funny they didn’t lead with a fighter

[@planetaryashes]

Looking at this game it looks absolutely interesting without doubt, it has that certain Sega rally championship with game design and graphics, didn’t know that neo geo skn actually made this game for arcades. Awesome video my good sir.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you enjoyed it. The second racing game is coming up soon!

[@planetaryashes]

Video Game Esoterica awesome I’ll keep an eye out for it.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’ll be our 4/14. But more Hyper stuff coming between now and then!

[@Sonicfoxtrot]

Purely on looks it reminds me of sega ralley but the car is more stuck to the ground or it doesn't bounce around for every single jump

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yeah it’s def more grounded. Offbeat Racer (coming up soon) has a lot more jumps and sliding around

[@rars0n]

This hardware is certainly among the more interesting in the history of video games. Especially because there was a decent handful of games made for it. So we at least got a glimpse of it, unlike the M2 where nothing ever really got released in final form (oh how I wish that D2 would surface!). On the flip side, I get the impression that SNK wasn't really ready for the transition to 3D. Both on the hardware and software side of things. This was delayed WAY too late, and I think they would have been better off contracting out the hardware design. At the same time, I really question whether their software people were ready to take on the challenges of 3D. That this came out so late and looks the way it does is really telling. This would have been a smash hit back in 1994, I think. But in 1997, it's way too late.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The issue is that I don’t think SNK was ever really in the position financially to contract out hardware development. Def not like Sega was with Lockheed Martin. ADK assisted in the hardware development as well. At some point in the future I’ll do a video about the home console plans and talk more about ADK. From a hardware standpoint design it’s an interesting board and Beast Busters : Second Nightmare is a personal favorite arcade game of mine so I love it even if it’s a bit rough around the edges hardware wise

[@rars0n]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Maybe I'm an idiot but I think at some point it becomes less financially burdensome if you just buy something than design it yourself. The idea would be similar to Sega turning down the SGI design that became the N64. I know that wasn't all roses, but designs were floating around, and maybe that would have been cheaper to do. Then again, it wouldn't have been guaranteed at all, either! I still wind up in the camp that: I'm glad we got the hardware that we did, and the games that we did, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love the Hyper 64 for what it was and what it tried to do, and I don't think the games are nearly as bad as people sometimes represent them to be. I love that you're making this content. I really appreciate it. I look at these games and see an opportunity to have fun, if I could actually play them.

[@rars0n]

San Francisco Rush (any of them), Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Ridge Racer... I'd probably rather play any of them than this game. Cruis'n USA... maybe. I liked that game a lot at first but grew to hate it after a while. Hyper Neo Geo 64 really stands out to me as an oddity. This is a nice capture and I think shows off the graphics quite well, even though this was the first game. My entire impression of the Hyper 64 (I'll just shorten it for the sake of brevity) is that it's like a Playstation on steroids. The resolution and texture quality doesn't seem that much better, but there's more polygons and draw distance is superb. I'm searching for pop-up and I can't seem to find any. THAT is quite a nice thing. Having said that, I think if this had been released in arcades in 1994 and in homes in 1995, it might have had a fighting chance. (Also SNK should have made every board work with every game, perhaps changing from carts to some other less expensive storage format.) It would have been SNK expensive, but at least it would have been a similar case of nearly cutting edge technology being available to play at home. 1997 was WAY too late, and development appeared to be practically non-existent. A Playstation on steroids was probably not enough given all of its other limitations and the time of its launch.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s funny you think it’s PS1 on steroids considering it borrows the same CPU that is in the Nintendo 64. It just got delayed to the point where it wasn’t powerful enough to compete in 97 against the best of what existed.

[@rars0n]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Yeah, but weren't those MIPS CPUs similar enough? At the time, it seemed like a logical choice, had it come out on time.

[@ukrs]

Can I play this game using normal arcade cab/joystick? Thanks =)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You cannot. I have a series of videos on my channel showing how to control it. You need potentiometer based pedals and wheels. You can convert consumer hardware to work but you can’t just use a joystick

[@rars0n]

I personally prefer the unfiltered, better textures over the filtered, crunched textures of the N64. Yeah, there's a lot more aliasing and whatnot, and they look rough, but they're not blurry as hell, and for me that means they're easier to see. I love the N64 but the blurry textures is something I've grown to hate.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I agree. The N64 textures still look decent on a CRT / PVM but on anything more modern it gets a bit "smeared mess" looking

[@rars0n]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Yes, I've given up on stuff like N64 HDMI mods, as it's easier and better for me to just use it over component into a nice CRT. That's the best way to play it IMO.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes the HDMI mods only show how low res the textures really are

[@Imgema]

Thanks for the upload. I love how this game looks but are the graphics as dark and washed out as in the video?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s a capture thing. It’s brighter in person but if I bring the levels up it washes out. So I didn’t want to lose details

[@Dosunceste]

Truth to be told if you look at Neo Geo MVS first year and half there were a lot of forgettable games released with a couple standouts like Magician Lord. All the great Neo Geo games people fondly remember to these days were released once the platform was maturing. Hyper Neo Geo 64 never had that luxury due to be a commercial failure.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes sadly the Hyper never got to live long enough to see the later years. It was a 2D powerhouse too and we never got a single 2D game

[@salvador_mano4x4]

How can i play this game in my pc?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

MAME. It runs. Not great but it’ll work

[@salvador_mano4x4]

@@VideoGameEsoterica but what i got to do to have that mame thing?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Just Google “MAME” and it’ll take you to the developers page. Tutorials all over the place (in Spanish too as I believe that might be your native language?)

[@pocketstationman6364]

Is there a ROM of this?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes. You can easily find it online to use with MAME. Sorry can’t link it here

[@pocketstationman6364]

@@VideoGameEsoterica No problem. What are the other racing games on this hardware?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

PocketStation Man Offbeat Racer / Xtreme Rally. Same game, two diff names

[@pocketstationman6364]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I see. Thanks. :)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

PocketStation Man any time! Always happy to help :)

[@adrianebattilana2949]

😍

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Thanks!

[@rars0n]

The brake lights don't seem to light up when you hit the brakes. That's a killer for me. What the hell? How hard is it to make the brake lights light up? You said that there were lots of options back in 1997 and 1998. The reality is that there were options in 1994 that were better! And throughout all of that time, 3D games kept getting better! SNK was soooo late to the game, and so underwhelming. Unlike their MVS they were nowhere near cutting edge, and it showed. They were so unprepared. It's a shame things ended up this way.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

lol I never noticed the brake lights aren't lighting up

[@80sHeavyMetalNerd]

having both games on my neo geo arcade cab and played the heck out of them i can say that this game is inferior than xtreme rally. BUT,there are some things i like more about roads edge and i wish they kept them in xtreme too. 1.longer and more interesting tracks,especially the asian and european one. 2.no head to head collision "jumps".really annoying in xtreme and apart from that,it gives you unnecessary boost that you cant control.really bad. 3.real cars.i mean hilux,pajero,land rover,these really nice!in xtreme you have look-likes only. 4.better commentary and music. 5. auto-break on automatic version. 6.more colors to choose for every car. now the cons in comparison to xtreme rally: worst force feedback only 4 cars and 4 extra with japanese food&1 one uncontrollabe?what the hell... more unrealistic and less refined driving cars dont seem to go fast enough,like come on!! no actual shortcuts,only some small and not useful a bit worse graphics. overall extreme rally is more fun to play,but still roads edge has some strong points that keeps me changing back to it often. if it had the cars and driveability of extreme rally,i would prefer it more!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes in both games neither seems to have a solid sense of "speed"...the game can say all day long you are driving 100 MPH plus but it certainly doesn't feel like it that's for sure. I agree with the head on jumps as well. You can have a race ruined due to no fault of your own. Both are "good" games but neither is "amazing"