The Neo-Geo chronicles, the madness of an uncompromising console | A Complete Neo-Geo Documentary

In the 80s and 90s, there was a slogan that you could find everywhere in all advertisements for every gaming console-it was 'arcade at home.' Unfortunately, that was rarely the case, even though some companies like Sega came close from time to time, we were far from having the same quality in home console games as in arcade halls, and that's understandable because these were two different worlds that had little in common. However, one console managed to pull off this crazy idea of bringing the arcade experience home, something that seemed unthinkable at the time. Here is the the uncommon story of the Neo-Geo, a console so mind-blowing that, at its announcement, many thought it was a scam, yet it would go on to become one of the most unique consoles of its time.
Made by Sakharu, voiced over by Brad Ziffer.
0:00:00 • An obstinate company
0:00:57 • Part 1 A Strange birth
0:10:58 • Part 2 A Crazy Idea
0:22:04 • Part 3 A New Challenger
0:32:46 • Part 4 Rivalry for the belt
0:43:33 • Part 5 Against the ropes
0:55:39 • Part 6 Technical Knouckout
1:04:35 • An obstinate company
Musics used (in order), check out these incredible artists : • Pokémon X and Y- Laver...
• Pokémon X and Y - Sant...
• Pokémon Black and Whit...
• Pokémon Sun and Moon- ...
• Undertale - Heartache ...
• Mewmore // Midnight (P...
• Pokémon Gold and Silve...
• "Psychic Star" - Vanil...
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeo...
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeo...
• Pokémon Black and Whit...
[private video]
• Sonic Colors - Planet ...
[private video]
• Undertale: Battle Agai...
[private video]
• Chrono Trigger - "Unre...
[private video]
• Pokemon B/W Unwavering...

[@sakharubaguette]

I sincerely hope you enjoy this video, I loved working on it even if it's really hard to find some reliable sources for such an uncommon console! Sorry that my English is not perfect, it's not my native language. Made by Sakharu, voiced over by Brad Ziffer.

[@earlusmcdivett]

We love it Sakharu! Your videos are amazing!

[@LucaS-c1j]

I love your videos, @sakaharubaguette. Can you do the chronicles of the SEGA Dreamcast?

[@princegroove]

The only retro console from this brand that I own is the Neo Geo Pocket Color, but I love it!

[@McLovinMods]

@@sakharubaguette you absolutely crushed it! Every video you have made has been amazing! Keep up the great work!

[@JasonJrake]

The only clue I heard that you are not a native speaker: You switched between present tense language and past tense language. A few modern American and British books try to do all present tense, but the standard is to speak in complete past tense, even if you are imagining or representing things as they happened. Examples: Present tense: Sega creatES the Mega Drive, it SELLS well. Past tense: Sega creatED the MD, it SOLD well. It’s still a great video, but changing this in future videos will make it more pleasant/professional sounding to a larger English speaking audience. Also, I grew up during this era, and you did a great job of capturing why we were enchanted by stories of this arcade-at-home system. Again, great job on this video.

[@jcollins1305]

That was a legitimately interesting video! Thank a for posting. As a teenager in 1990, the neo geo was a world apart from anything we were playing back then. The thought of a $600 console and $200 games may as well have been a million dollars to us, but it was an amazing machine.

[@kh7955]

Me and my friends were in the same boat but at least we had the MVS arcade machines

[@TrangleC]

Yeah. It was like the video game version of a Lamborghini, or a Ferrari, totally unobtainable to regular kids like I was one too. I think my SEGA Mega Drive console together with a bundle of 4 games cost as much as a single Neo Geo game cartridge. I still vividly remember how I stared longingly at Neo Geo ads and articles in video game magazines. I was so obsessed with this stuff and would have sold my organs or my soul to be able to afford a Neo Geo, or later the first (front-loader) version of the SEGA CD. It was as if my whole life, my identity, my being would somehow depend on what consoles I had. Quite pathetic and embarrassing, looking back. As a little kid in the early to mid-80s, it was all about action figures and other plastic toys and then in the late 80s and early 90s, all about video game consoles. I genuinely got super involved and emotional about this nonsense too. The "16 bit War" between Nintendo and SEGA really mattered to me. I was a SEGA fanboy and hated Nintendo and I was genuinely proud of stuff like that the Mega Drive/Genesis version of Street Fighter 2 was 36 MB big while the SNES version was only 30 MG big. lol As if that meant that the SEGA version was better, 6 MB better to be precise. hehehe Maybe spazzing out like that in my childhood and early teens was a good thing though. Maybe this hyper consumerist part of my brain somehow overheated and burned out or something, because as a adult I relatively early figured out that buying and owning stuff doesn't really make me happy.

[@djuanbenjamin9149]

There was always that someone who knew someone who had one lol😂

[@Dorelaxen]

I absolutely adore the Neo-Geo. I will always remember my high school graduation night. There was a truck stop a few miles outside of town that had a little cafe in it that sold nasty, greasy burgers and had a small arcade. They had a 4 game Neo cabinet. Me and some friends spent the entire night playing World Heroes 2 and eating those nasty burgers. Damn, damn good times man.

[@TheUderfrykte]

Wholesome

[@onlypvpcaterina-6669]

Ah the neo geo mvs, Wish i had the pleasure of playing on one, Although i was fortunate to have played on neo geo arcades at my local arcade place, Such great memories 🥰

[@Immorpher]

I still love World Heroes! I played it in a small cafe.

[@PurpleTeamer]

those "NASTY BURGERS" and World Heroes 2 (or any Neogeo fighter ) Bliss.

[@TheRealJohnHooper]

Now I want a burger

[@sargonsblackgrandfather2072]

In school there was one kid whose father bought him a neogeo. I asked my dad and when he found out how much the games cost he just laughed.

[@TheCrewExpendable]

We had a kid like that on our street. He had every console, including the AES. It was kind of sad because you could tell the dad was trying to buy his kids' love since he was a salesman and never around.

[@poindextertunes]

fuuuuug my dad wouldn’t even buy me a snes or genesis. He wouldve shxt his pants if i asked for a neogeo 😂

[@TomiTapio]

Amiga/AtariST guys enjoying super low cost games in 1991.

[@jamescarter8693]

She was of the belief.If you don't work for something you're really don't want it

[@Bassquake76]

Every school seemed to have that one kid that had one! Mine did. He had a rich Saudi dad too.

[@Holammer]

I used to work for a mom'n pop's brick and mortar videogame store in the 90's. One day after work I visited a competing toy store to check their pricing. The owner recognized me and we had a chat, he points to an unsold Neogeo box on a shelf collecting dust and asks if I can take it off his hands for a mere 3000kr (roughly 300$/€). Even if we adjust for inflation it was still dirt cheap, so I rushed to the bank and got the money. Returned home with a Neogeo + Cyberlip, Magician Lord, League Bowling, Blue's Journey, Top Player's Golf & Puzzled. I paid less for all that than I paid for King of Fighters 94. Good times.

[@lukasjozef1774]

Neo-Geo will be always a Rolls-Royce of the video consoles. Ahh tthe 80-90s i miss them so much.

[@PurpleTeamer]

I think the console case was designed after the Lamborghini Countach...the absolute super car of the 80s but for some reason, the neogeo was always called the Rolls Royce of consoles.

[@lukasjozef1774]

@PurpleTeamer because Neo-Geo was a luxury console only for very rich people and if you remember at the beginning the console was only for renting, hotels, etc...in Japan.

[@helderricardocardosopereir3483]

As a kid, I only knew NEO GEO arcade games were simply the best! That NEO GEO startup screen is ingrained in my mind. I never knew they actually made a home console, and by the price of it, I'm actually thankful I wasn't aware of it, I would never be able to afford it. They wanted to make the Rolls-Royce of 16-bit consoles, and they did just that.

[@FuzedBox]

They were mythical in the '90s. A lot of us wondered if they even existed. One day I was invited to a classmate's birthday party in '96. Her dad was a rich prop provider and had an little mini casino, with a Neo Geo and small library sitting in the corner. I spent a few hours playing Metal Slug and when I asked her dad where he got it, he simply said "don't bother, your parents will kill you if you ask for one". Nowadays you can just buy the console and flash cart or play on a MiSTer FPGA, both of which are pricey options. We really weren't missing out in that much, but it's cool to finally play it again.

[@robf]

@@FuzedBoxI did this as an adult. Finally got my Neo Geo and flash cart. It was still expensive 😅

[@kunaak]

The Neo-Geo may have had a short few years at the top - but my god, when some kid told you they had one, it was like dropping an atom bomb on the conversation. It's hard to put it into words today, because the difference between the best console today, and the best PC doesnt feel that vast. But a Neo-Geo felt like a quantum computer from the future by comparison.

[@earlusmcdivett]

THE BEST IS BACK!!!! Can’t wait to watch ANOTHER awesome video game retrospective!! Thank you, Sakharu!

[@Tuberuser187]

The presentation of the history is great, really does this unique Console justice. The Neo-Geo is such a great design aesthetically, so premium and understated and its aged like the finest Wine.

[@celebrity292]

Neo Geo the holy Grail of my childhood. I always loved their cabinets because most often they were never more than a quarter.

[@marccaselle8108]

I was lucky to grow up in upstate New York. We had loads of arcades in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Every arcade in the 90s had either a 4 or 6 slot, neo Geo arcade machine. Typically the selection was a sports game (baseball stars or street hoop) a puzzle game (puzzle Bobble) a fighting game (fatal fury or art of fighting or samurai Showdown) and a side scroller like metal slug or cyber lip or magician lord.

[@atomicskull6405]

The Neo Geo graphics hardware was very weird everything is made up of sprites that are 16 pixels wide and up to 512 pixels high. The hardware is not tile based it uses 16 bit color (5 bits each for RGB + a "dark" bit so the leftover 1 bit doesn't go to waste) with 12 bits per pixel. Basically it works like VGA 256 color mode but on steroids i.e. there are 4096 16-bit pallet entries and the 12-bit pixel values point to a specific entry and will be displayed using the 16-bit color value stored there. There are no graphics tile layers at all only a non scrolling text layer to be used for the HUD. There are 380 sprites with a maximum of 96 per scanline or 1536 sprite pixels per line. The Sega Genesis by comparison had 80 sprites and a maximum of 320 sprite pixels per scanline) Basically the Genesis could display an entire screen width worth of sprite pixels and the Neo Geo could display just shy of five times that (4.8 screen widths). Though that's not as insanely high as it sounds because you had to build your background sets out of sprites too where other contemporary hardware would use multiple tile layers for that purpose. But there were far less restrictions on parallax scrolling for example you could have a cityscape in the background where every building scrolls by at a different rate and overlap with each other.

[@DancesRainyStreets]

When working with sprites only, there's usually less repetition in scenery and it's easier to make evironments look more active and alive with animations. Also, the Neo Geo's total color palette is 65536. Creating a game for this console requires some serious artistic effort, if the goal is to make it look like a Neo Geo game at least.

[@ArneChristianRosenfeldt]

Why do Jump’n’Runs and RPGs always use tiles? Neither Amiga, ST, PC ( Keen and Tux ) have tiles. The genesis is genius. It renders sprites in the border back to front. Then on the screen it renders on tile background and on top of this one tile foreground. So a single buffer is enough to keep the renderer occupied. But it needs kinda z values of the sprites. Pure z order as in NeoGeo and Jaguar allows translucency.

[@atomicskull6405]

@@DancesRainyStreets 65536 is 16-bit color, each pallet entry used 5 bits for red green and blue which is only 15 bit, the leftover 1 bit is used as a "dark" bit. Unlike 16-bit color in the PC world where it was 5-6-5 color with green channel having an extra bit of resolution (green was used for the extra bit because the human eye is most sensitive to green)

[@poindextertunes]

they knew what they were doing. neogeo games are beautiful

[@hadamana]

I remember drooling over screenshots of Metal Slug in Babbages catalogs way back in the day. I lived in a very low income area, and never knew anyone with a Neo Geo, but I knew from those screenshots that it had to be something amazing. I didn't actually come across an MVS unit until maybe 2002, and I dumped 5 or 6 bucks into Metal Slug 3. This is a very well researched and informative video, and I appreciate the effort that you put into it. Cheers, Sir!

[@cajampa]

I hope you played all those great games on emulators for free later when they became avaliable. If you haven't, just download them and check em out.

[@TrangleC]

I am a veteran of the 16 bit Wars and I remember how I longingly stared at Neo Geo ads in video game magazines. The thing and especially the single game cartridges were just crazy expensive. If I remember correctly, a single game cost like 300 to 400 Deutschmarks (150 to 200 US Dollars), which was about as much as a SEGA Mega Drive (Genesis) bundled with 4 games cost back then.

[@atmaweapon2803]

This was my dream console. Well, this or the TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD. I was happy to actually play a Sega CD at a friend's house growing up.

[@jinstinky501]

This beast was around $600 cdn when it came out... I used to stare longingly at it and curse my mom for not being a millionaire, lol

[@cammelspit]

Astonishingly massive amount of work for this one I am sure. 100% worth the sub on just this one video alone. You have my respect good sir.

[@PaulXMann]

As a big NeoGeo fan, I have to say this is one of the best videos of SNK history I've ever seen... and with some nice voiceover work, too. Well done!

[@brazilianmegaman258]

Thank you Sakharu for another incredible video, you're one of the best to ever do it! ❤️

[@cesargz83]

It’s so nice to see a part of our gaming proto history so well documented. Greetings from a national champion of Sega Virtua Striker from Argentina 🇦🇷!

[@blueshirts0819]

Neo geo was something I wish for as a kid but the cost of one just a dream.

[@gregorypeck876]

When I was a kid the Neo-Geo was the holy grail of consoles, most only dreamt of the console, luckily we had an amusement arcade on the block fully stocked with the same games

[@PurpleTeamer]

Got my first Neogeo back in fall 1994 with Fatal Fury Special and League Bowling in mint condition for only 150$ (of the time). I remember being blowed away by the graphics and the sound. 30 Years later, I own 4 of them, about 20 AES carts of the game I played / I cherish the most. That's the only gaming system I have. everything else is played on PC.

[@bigshorty4855]

I got 1 as a kid from a friend for cheap as well (200 with 2 joysticks and 2 games). Had to return it in a week after I told my mother what the games cost. This was in 92, I was 11 back then.

[@ramrodbldm9876]

You sound like a bozo

[@PurpleTeamer]

@@bigshorty4855 real neogeo fans, I mean those who actually play with it or grew up with it, not the youtube retro-hipsters with 2000$ GAROU Cart in their shelf, were all 11 or 12 in 92 ;)

[@Tripplebeem]

This video is another banger of a history lesson, it's a nice niche as there aren't a ton of videos about this topic, well at least not as many as other launches. Keep up the excellent work!

[@contrivedresident5917]

Another fantastic video! I especially liked how this was a story I never heard before-Neo Geo is a relatively obscure topic but vastly interesting, and it’s great to see someone like you bring it to attention like this. Always a pleasure to watch!

[@ks-qu4kj]

Neo Geo successfully brought arcade machine quality into the home tv screens. Sadly the age of arcades died out and was replaced with a totally new home console culture.... they couldnt keep up with the new world. like arcade games, Neo Geo has its place in gaming history and I respect them for keeping to their original values. I grew up playing arcade games at every chance i could get, and i always have nostalgia for those happy days❤ I give a salute to Neo Geo - thanks for the memories!

[@damond2803]

This is the first video of yours that I've seen. I just want to tell you what an amazing job you've done. Can't wait to see more.

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

I remember seeing the box for the Neo Geo at Babbages for the first time. I'd read about it in EGM but somehow the enormous box really hit home that this was arcade equipment. Then I saw the price and thought "Oh, well I've never play that" lol

[@ghfjfghjasdfasdf]

I miss Babbages so much!!

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

@@ghfjfghjasdfasdf oh, me too!

[@bigshorty4855]

Even knowing all of this and having lived through it, I still watch these vids. Nowadays, it's hard to grasp just how much the evolution of gaming has been in the past. From huge paper floppy disks and atari to 8 bit, to 16 bit, and 3d with 16 and 32, to actually good looking 3d in the ps2/xb era. The pa3/360 era was the last era where console upgrades were huge. Everything from ps360 onwards is only marginally better looking ganes. The innovation and huge difference from previous generations is gone.

[@matamarcianos7596]

I feel the same. The huge leaps are far behind. I own a ps5 and meh, the games are good but they haven't advanced so much. We have better resolution and reflections, of course. The gameplay is the same as in 360/Ps3.

[@bigshorty4855]

@@matamarcianos7596 exactly, it's only marginal nowadays from ps360 onwards.

[@haroldadams3951]

I know this was focused on the Neo Geo, but I think the entire piece was a great review of the golden age of console gaming and arcade gaming. Enjoyed this one a lot.

[@Yeahhhhthisisgood]

Let’s goooooooooo I love this channel Can’t wait to see more stuff get translated

[@yyr_]

Around 37:10 it's mentioned that Neo-Geo AES games often had unlimited Continues, but I remember it being different; I'm pretty sure that the AES versions of games usually limited the player to a total of 4 credits. In many games, this could be worked around by using a memory card and simply loading a mid-game save with a fresh set of 4 credits. But the default behavior (thankfully) didn't simply allow credit-feeding every time. Anyway, this video was very entertaining, so thank you very much for producing it =)

[@morgansimpson315]

The amount of footage and information you found is the best I’ve seen about this console. Excellent work. I’ve subscribed!

[@fronell]

Excellent video documenting the history of the Neo-Geo. Thanks for putting this together!

[@xk4l1br3]

Man… growing up this console had like mythical unicorn Sasquatch vibes. You’d hear about someone who had it but never saw it yourself. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I had the chance to play one. Felt good man.

[@dpwood44]

Dude.. Absolutely love these videos!! Please keep up the awesome work.. Looking forward to the next ones!

[@BURRITO44]

Awesome video !!! One of the best I have seen !!!

[@OmegaBlack999]

Oh, man.. this a great episode... Thanks, guys! Love you!

[@gameboardgames]

What a fantastic video, thanks! Really well put together, great writing and research, and an interesting story at its core.

[@adz8883]

Always wanted the Neo Geo, and my dad said yes we could buy it but when we got to the shop and they said it was like $1,500 for console and over $500 (in Australia) he said no way. I would like to find one of those hand held ones from 2012 now if possible. Awesome video.

[@louiseogden1296]

Awesome video. Thanks! I was dimly aware of this when I was a kid but I had an Amiga growing up so missed out. Still not the biggest fighting game fan (don't have the dexterity for it and Streets of Rage 4 made my hands sore for days afterwards) but it is an important piece of gaming history. I have bookmarked your whole channel and am looking forward to listening to more of these essays. Keep em coming!

[@josevillouta4588]

Excellent work! I really enjoyed this one, and learned a lot more of this console. Cheers!

[@bredenis5]

This was an absolutely phenomenal video. I want to sincerely thank you for the effort and dedication to excellence you put in to making this.

[@bman8363]

Subscribed. Thank you. I think this is the best NeoGeo history video uploaded to youtube. Keep up the research.

[@TheDannylarson]

Great video bro, this really helped pass the time at work, I think I might break out the old neo geo cd when I get home 😊

[@turdferguson2]

I'm 40 and the Neo Geo has been #1 on my most wanted console list since I was like 10. It was just so insanely expensive back then. Not to mention a lot of stores didn't even carry it.

[@ghfjfghjasdfasdf]

Get you a flash cart and a remade system and you’re good to go with ROMs these days!

[@McLovinMods]

I have almost no interest in the Neo Geo but all of your other documentaries have been so amazing I just can't pass it up!

[@AnthonyRiddle]

Have you ever played any Neo Geo games?

[@nerodante1980]

Subscribed. I love these types of content. Thank you for a great video.

[@nismodragon]

This video auto played after watching Digital Foundry's iPad Pro review, weirdly enough. Glad it did though. Very thorough and detailed retro documentary. More so than other channels. Subscribed.

[@RetroGameJunkie-cn4gk]

Wow, this is a very high-quality documentary. Thank you for your hard work.

[@sterlingbrown963]

Brilliantly crafted documentary! This was an absolute treat to listen to. Thank you!

[@BlakeIzayoi]

What an incredible documentary!! It's very well made and kept my attention for the entire time. Great work!

[@MrTylerStricker]

Great documentary! Very well put together and narrated. I've always enjoyed when the less mainstream gaming consoles are given a fair shake. Looking forward to seeing what's next!

[@retrofootballgames]

Just discovered your channel and watched all the videos, amazing videos with lots of details on the history of the consoles, great work! Totally subscribed

[@yourmaninlondoncollecting5749]

The problem for SNK was that they were Torned between being an arcade machine and trying/not trying to cater to the masses....

[@BigRico.]

What a great video. Always been a SNK fan. Love all the work you put into this. Thank you. 😁😁

[@Wallyworld30]

I remember being scammed by Sega. On the back of Super Monaco GP's Clam Shell case for the Genesis it had screen shots of the Arcade version of the game and it instantly sold me with it's incredible graphics. Once I got it home and started playing I immediately felt betrayal by their "Mistake". I was so upset about it I still remember it 30+ years later.

[@a.f.warrick0404]

This was an excellently put together documentary of a key piece of video game history. Well done!

[@DarthEquus]

Amazing video, top notch production. A very enjoyable watch. Thank you.

[@eliasvargas1267]

Great video, Neo Geo was an amazing machine, love most of their games like Blues Jouney, 8 Man, King of Monsters 2, Metal Sug, Fatal fury series and The King of Fighters series

[@Wallyworld30]

My brother and I was ages 14 and 15 and both made extra money from running newspaper routes. We combined out money to buy every video game console that we wanted and games. I recall both of us badly wanting the Neo Geo and we had the money to buy one. We started doing the math about how many games we could get and the cheapest USED games were $100 and games we actually wanted cost $200+ each we decided to just get a Sega CD instead and later a Jaguar. Even though Sega CD was somewhat disappointing I still think we made the right choice. We loved fighting games though and I can imagine we'd have probably sunk countless hours playing them seeing as how many hours we sunk into SFII and Killer Instinct on SNES and Mortal Kombat on Genesis. Later on we bought a PSX and Nintendo Virtual Boy and N64. PSX and Saturn made Neo Geo pretty much obsolete.

[@Madvizion]

This was a fantastic video. Having a Neo-Geo back in the day was the ultimate flex. I've always wanted one and they are just as expensive today as they were brand new.

[@JjJetplan]

An MVS (not sure if thats the right acronym) version was the hardware in the actual arcade machine. It also used carts, if im not mistaken i think it can play the home console carts as well? In any regard its the same exact game, for a fraction of the price, i mean like lmao a fraction its the diff between 500+ usd.

[@JjJetplan]

Im not sure about these days, my buddy had one when i lived in Australia back in 9th 10th grade in 2004-2005. The mvs carts at the time were 50 bucks average for 900 dollar home versions. I cant imagine the prices now, im not even going to google it bcuz my wife would kill me cuz id buy it.

[@jan-niklashoffmann4683]

If you just want to play and aren't so deep into collecting, a consolized MVS is a cost effective solution. You could get the 161in1 cart, which has most of the games. If you have extra money to spend, you could get a Neo SD Flash cart or Darksoft flash cart.

[@gcolombelli]

AES and MVS carts are not directly compatible, the electrical connections are the same, but it's mechanically different. To this day, MVS carts are a lot cheaper than AES ones, just because MVS hardware was produced in much larger numbers. Or you can save yourself a ton of money and just get an Analogue Pocket or MiSTer FPGA, both of which run Neo Geo titles perfectly at a fraction of the price.

[@cajampa]

@@JjJetplan Dude, if you want to play the games just use an emulator. The games are all available to download.

[@rasmadrak]

Thanks for this lovely walk through memory lane!

[@annekarice1587]

Great video well researched and presented. Subscribed!

[@DOOMocrat]

Making a small supposition to convey emotion or importance instead of just doing it to fill time is a trap many documentarians fall in into, and you don't at all. This is an excellent job, the source graphics gathered & scaling work to make 'em look good is on point, and I'm going to go and watch the others. Killer stuff.

[@-TerryBogard]

Great video and tribute. Take it from me. "OKAY!"

[@georgebishop4941]

A truly excellent retrospective - well done!

[@SerpentNight]

I didn't own a Neo Geo but I got all the collections I could in the PS2/Xbox era. KOF is my go to fighting series these days. Street Fighter was really good up through III but after that it just wasn't the same for me.

[@bxsolx5086]

Another 5-star console documentary like the Nintendo 64 chronicles. Thanks for the excellent content!!

[@samali9342]

Back in the early 90s Neo Geo was a myth, a creature of legend; the holy "32" gb grail that some kids in the neighborhood claimed to have played when they went to visit their family who just happened to live on the other side of the country. Like claiming to have found a Shaq rookie card in a random Upper Deck pack, or claiming to be able to hack the cable box so that the Spice Channel would come through perfectly clear, claiming to have played with the Neo Geo was a bragging right for us. A way to let all of the other good for nothings in the neighborhood know that you were top dog.

[@duncanmagee]

i think it was 32 bit

[@Zerogata]

The Spice Channel! 😆 Now there's a fuzzy, distorted blast to the past...

[@TheBarrymanfan]

An absolutely wonderful video. Thanks.

[@MaxiZamac]

Such a great video about this console! Top stuff.

[@SUCRA]

This was a great video, thanks a lot!

[@drakewaterston7447]

Man idk how you compile this all but this is some great stuff. If I ran a class of videogame history we'd be watching your videos as precursors

[@sandorclegane3658]

Awesome video. Thoroughly enjoyed it

[@gogreengameon2146]

I loved my Neo Geo Pocket. Saved and bought it from an import store, and used to take it to secondary school.

[@sirmi9868]

Nice video dude

[@8bitsnkboy472]

I Love the Neo Geo and my fondness and appreciation for SNK and the quality of it's games and consoles has only grown over the years. I've gone from picking up a £20 Neo Geo CD system in 2016, to owning an AES cartridge system, Neo Geo Pocket color, MVS MV-1C motherboard and even Hyper Neo Geo 64 Motherboard rev 2 (another bargain at £14 back in 2017!!). Honestly, I cannot begin to explain how much pleasure SNK and their games have given me across so many systems and formats over the years - especially the SEGA Saturn, which had some incredible neo geo ports. Thanks for such an entertaining Video - Great to see Vanguard too, as I absolutely loved that in arcades back in the day!!

[@matthewcoreyhall]

Perhaps the most focused and timeless 2D games/console. The combination of uniqueness, rarity and art style, driven by both the hardwares capabilities as well as its constraints, really created something special.

[@giant000]

Excellent video!

[@PeteOliva]

The Neo Geo was so awesome. It was essentially a "Switch" idea for arcade. Whereas Switch was a home/portable hybrid, Neo Geo was a home/arcade hybrid. It was genius, and honestly only held back by the sheer expensiveness of the realities of bringing this concept home at the time.

[@poindextertunes]

it was definitely ahead if its time

[@scavone72]

I would’ve given my right arm for a neo geo in 1990. But i knew it was a pipe dream. Only dads with suits and car phones could afford that kind of toy. To this day I’ve never seen one in person.

[@erikc8284]

Outstanding documentary about one of my favourite video game systems of all time. Marvellous job! I own both (MVS and AES) because Neo Geo is too good not to own one and play its legendary master pieces.

[@user-fq1qm3bj5f]

Thank you profusely for the info. We LOVE you SNK and NEO-GEO!!!!!

[@TheOldest]

I remember seeing an ad for a Neo Geo and got really excited. Then I found out how much their games cost and I knew it wasn't happening.

[@RetroMoments]

Excellent video of NEO-GEO's history! Thank you for 1 hour of enjoyment :D

[@brassknucks9221]

Enjoyed that trip down memory lane. I never knew anyone who actually owned a Neo-Geo... there were rumours, but mostly urban legend. Great video. Subbed & shared.

[@spunabout]

Great video mate

[@gamebit9063]

I was surprised with the added overall video game history. Subscribed!

[@atomicskull6405]

The Sharp X68000 had pixel perfect arcade conversions before the Neo Geo did due to several japanese companies (including Capcom) using it as an arcade development system. But it was also even more expensive than the Neo Geo.

[@DancesRainyStreets]

From what i've read it seems true that it was used to develop arcade games, even if the (more advanced) games ran better on the dedicated pcb they were designed for.

[@joelwrose]

Awesome video! Been a Neo Geo AES owner for over 20 years and I learned a lot. That said, you probably should have noted that Apple Industries bought the MVS rights. Just saying “Apple” sounded like Steve Jobs bought the rights 😂

[@OneOfDisease]

I remember seeing Neo-Geo for sale when we bought our Snes, it might have well cost an arm and a leg. Buying a snes wasn't exactly easy, but the idea of paying that much for every game...insanity. I am surprised it didn't have more of a rental presence in the USA, like other consoles had during the time.

[@kajraske2002]

I didn't quite realize this came out around the same time as the SNES, thought it was mid to late 90s. Must've been mindblowing.

[@ShrimplyPibblesJr]

Neo Geo was a legend in its time. Only ever saw the arcade version as I was far far too poor, as were my friends.

[@TheBeetle1]

This is an extremely well made doc. Thanks.

[@misterretrowolf1464]

A most excellent video. Congrats on the quality of documentary.

[@chad0x]

Price was astronomical at the time but dedicated gamers were happy to pay it. The Neo Geo was on another level to anything else.

[@FrankCostanza-u4b]

In Little Rock, AR there's an arcade called The Vortex Classic Arcade. You pay $10 and can play all sorts of old games. They also have console stations where you can play many classic games on NES, SNES, Sega, Genesis, and others. Places like Dave and Buster's, in my opinion, aren't very fun because their most of their games kind of boring.

[@cabbitkisser2620]

the first time i saw the neo geo was at e.b electronics. what shocked me was the price. the games were $200 & the system was almost $1000. i couldn't afford that

[@TehDarkOn3]

I've always had a soft spot for the NeoGeo. It remains one of my favorite consoles even though I've never owned one. The games are all amazing. Fortunately, its legacy continues to live on both through emulation and the Nintendo Switch E Shop. I've even been able to dump a few roms onto my SNES classic for a console experience.

[@FrankCostanza-u4b]

I grew up in the 80's and went to arcades often. Neo Geo games cost more to play, and looked great, but weren't so much better than other games that I would spend the money on them.