Riding Hero ROCKS!!

By the title of this thread you must all think i've gone mad. But seriously, I just played all the way through riding hero story mode today and it was quite a pleasure after I "adjusted" to the controls. This game is pretty much "Road Rash" for the neo, with the exception of weapons. I encourage all of you to pick up this game who havn't already, Since you can pick this cart up for $50 or less. This game is far different from any other on the neo from the genre to the linking of two aes consoles for an arcade like head-to-head race. I believe the only other games to support the console link are "league Bowling" and "Kizuna Encounter: Special Edition" (Yep, and you thought that ordinary Kizuna was rare... wink ). The only catch to this game is that you need a memory card if you actually want to play through this game.

(Also, I wish everyone would stop comparing of this game to sega's Hang-On. The bottom line is that Hang-On IS NOT a neo game. If I started comparing the qualities of Neo-Turfmasters to a better golfing game that is not on the neo, some of you would have minor heart failure,lol)

I have a Proto of Riding Hero 2.

Hey,
Are you serious about having a proto of Riding-Hero 2 or are you just kidding because I started a thread awhile ago looking for proto carts? If you actually have it I would love to hear about it. I own a proto of the original Riding hero. It's the only proto I own, but it's a start. The gameplay is pretty much the same as the original, but the cart plays in english on either a US or JAP system. If you care to read on about differences in the game I have listed them below.


Other game differences are:
Game has a different cart sticker with a different meg count. <img src="http://members.aol.com/porygon000/ridingproto4" alt=" - " />

Cart uses extra wiring and lots of eeproms with cool SNK eeprom covers and a lot of the chips are in sockets instead of being directly soldered to the board.

The options on the start game screen are in a different order. <img src="http://members.aol.com/porygon000/ridingproto" alt=" - " />

gamesaves load up automatically without asking you first and a single game save will take up a whole official neo memory card.

a couple small visual glitches in the game.
(on one course there is a car that has visual defects, and when you first meet diamond dave he has the sprite of a motorcycle stuck on his head) <img src="http://members.aol.com/porygon000/ridingproto3" alt=" - " />

The Only other differences I noticed is that the girl at the bike shop is named Sujie instead of susie and when you are in the 8 hour race you are partners with TakaNaka instead of Diamond dave. <img src="http://members.aol.com/porygon000/ridingproto1" alt=" - " /> <img src="http://members.aol.com/porygon000/ridingproto2" alt=" - " />

<small>[ June 29, 2003, 03:51 AM: Message edited by: ResOGlas ]</small>

I played this game for the first time like a month and a half ago.

My system is Jap so I did not understand anything. I just wanted to test it and I think I selected the story mode. The graphics of the manager etc were nice, they called my attention.

Then, after dealing with some Jap words, I started the game and my reaction was: WTF is this? Pathetic graphics, even worse animation, and shitty control (you better not touch anything with your bike or are dead).

Conclusion: Total playing time = 2 minutes and back to shelf until the end of times..

I think that this was crap even when it was released.

Nice proto BTW.

I like this game so far. the story mode is enough reason to hook you up with it. it's also, fun to challenge other racers to get money and tune up your bike or buy new ones.

you just should not be fooled by the graphics at the beginning and the game will be enjoyable after few races.

"alright, I'll beat you" wink

I've had this game forever and a day on CD, but sadly never tried to get into it. I figured it'd be some mindless racing bliss like Hang-On was back in the day, not some story to take seriously.

I think I'll have to give this sucker a whirl whenever I can put down Metal Slug 3 for a few minutes. Yeah, the graphics in the actual game part kinda' look cheesy, but the character art is of course nice as always. After hearing you guys talk positive about it, it's got me curious now...

There's no review for this game in this site...
Maybe I'll have a look at it in the emu.

Also I'm just curious... How do you link 2 AES systems? I know League Bowling MVS cart features some jacks for linking, but I never heard of something like that in AES...

<small>[ June 29, 2003, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Amano Jacu ]</small>

Amano Jacu:
There's no review for this game in this site...
Maybe I'll have a look at it in the emu.

Also I'm just curious... How do you link 2 AES systems? I know League Bowling MVS cart features some jacks for linking, but I never heard of something like that in AES...

Click to expand...

There is a headphone style jack on the top of the cart for link play.

Yep, I saw the jacks on the top of the carts in that pic after writing that, so it works just in the same way as MVS.

Res-O-Glass, thanks for the pictures and the mini-write up. I might have to go and find a copy of this for myself. You peaked my curiosity wink

Yeah, in my opinion it's a great game. It's just a shame that there never was a sit-down arcade machine or a sequel to this game. I'm seriously considering picking up a couple sega "hang-on" sit-down machines and converting them. I'll make it my next big project after I pick up the machines at the next local auction. However, I still get this odd feeling that there is an official dedicated Riding Hero cabinet out there somewhere............ drool

<small>[ June 29, 2003, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: ResOGlas ]</small>

Sorry, this is one of the worst Neo games out there. I think i played it a few seconds longer than Super Spy but that doesn't really say much.

I feel really sorry for those who go in search of the rare carton box version of the game frown

Story mode simply rocks.

altough it's short, it's still a cool game and original. I like the storyline. wink

And here I thought I was the only one to like this game, story mode ownes in to many ways. A bike game on a NEO is a major plus

Thrash Rally is also a cabinet/aes linkable game.

Riding Hero is definitly not that great of a game and has a few gameplay issues ,like the track being incrediably narrow so playing the game can be very frustrating to say he least.

I have it for my MVS but the cart is hosed and doesnt function properly ( yes its a real factory cart ) I will be buying another one but only when I find one on the cheap since in my opinion the game just isnt worth much cash wise.

For those of you who havent played the game checkout a great review on it ( and other Neo games ) over at Kazuya's site , best Neo reviews I have ever seen bye the way wink

<a href="http://www.neogeoforlife.com" target="_blank">http://www.neogeoforlife.com</a>

<small>[ July 01, 2003, 02:14 AM: Message edited by: candycab ]</small>

Hm.. I wouldn't say the game rocks, but it's definitely not as bad as some ppl think. If you think you get a Hang On version for your Neo with it, forget it - Riding Hero is some sort of action game with RPG/shop/dating sim elements, and once you win the first few races in story mode, you have the chance to update/change your bike which makes the races much more interesting.

The arcade mode isn't that good because there's only a limited choice of slow bikes. That and the tricky controls make the arcade races quite difficult and 'unfunny' to beat, so the story mode is where it's at.

Okay, let me re-word myself. RIDING HERO STORY MODE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!! lol

Story mode is a really nice addition to the game. UNFORTUNATLY the actual racing side of the game is PAP.

Its crap imho. Shite gameplay.
The track is just too narrow.

Sorry but I could never take Riding Hero seriously.

Super Hang On was way better IMO.

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