phantom1 owners: how do you rate it?

For the phantom1 owners, how do you like it? I'm planning on getting one in the near future and would like to know what to expect Is it easy is it to use? I've seen alot of the phantoms on ebay mention the the edges are chipped off a little. Is this common? Does it affect anything? Is there a list of games incompatible with the phantom? How does it look when its plugged into your aes console with game. I've only seen pics of it alone. Would someone be willing to upload a picture of what it looks like in use?

Thanks,
Droid (the newb of 1000 questions)

its dope its dope and its dope. the chip causes no problems, it looks just fine in your system and if you get a blue one your fine. if you dont then i dont know i think you cant really play many of the newer games.

overall its definitely worth it if you get a blue one.

<small>[ July 27, 2003, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: NeoFight ]</small>

I personally dont have a phantom-1 beacuse i dont have MVS... but when my friend brings it over, it works fine, lookes great, and overall
is cheaper.

Although i like the homecarts i dont care about the price for them. but if your getting the phantom-1 make sure you get the blue one.

You may want to consider a Supergun instead of the Phantom-1. A Supergun is more versatile, meaning not only can you be guaranteed to have full compatiblity with ALL MVS carts, you can play all the other non-Neo, arcade Jamma games on it. The P-1 can be a bitch to get the carts on and off, that's why you see so many with chipped edges. Also some MVS carts may not work with even the newest blue revision. Metal Slug X sometimes will not work using a P-1, among a couple others that have issues. Then there is the possibility that a P-1 could over time damage your consoles slots. Bottom line is you can get a Supergun for about the same price as a P-1, depending on the Supergun of course. I sold my Phantom, and now use a Supergun for my MVS and Jamma gaming. Good luck with whatever you get.

I got a Phantom-1 not long after they first came out, and while I'm happy with it, it was originally a rather harrowing experience.

My system didn't take to it too well, and I had to have !Arcade! give me a mod job so I could use it (I only got charged for the parts), so this wound up being a blessing in disguise since I can see all the blood and bounciness on all my carts, MVS included of course.

I still use it for the MVS games I have since I don't have room for a cab, and it's fine now. I haven't heard a whole lot about the blue versions, so I can't comment on those, but I'm happy with mine. I'd recommend it to anybody wanting cheaper games.

I don't have a Phatnom-1 converter. But, I heard they have a lot of graphical issues. You can get a new one for $280 at neogeousa.com. Or you can get one off Kenny Boy on these forums. I don't know if I want to get one because people told me they have graphical problems. Also, they can't play bootlegs, so if I get a bootleg MVS cart off here or on Ebay, then I'm screwed. I don't know how to use a supergun. Maybe I should ask people how to use one.

<small>[ July 27, 2003, 10:08 PM: Message edited by: Jedite ]</small>

I have one and it works perfect, the only complaint I have is that I don't want to chip the edge off and it's really tight when i try to take the games off. I can see white creases where the plastic is weakening from me pulling the games off and if I pull one off too hard I know its gonna chip. Probably gonna get a supergun so I don't break my phantom frown

double post, sorry. frown

<small>[ July 27, 2003, 10:10 PM: Message edited by: Xenvu ]</small>

if it chips will it still work? How durable are the phantoms? Do they wear out and need to be replaced eventually? or is it just cosmetic?

Thx,
Droid

Had my blue one for a while now and it's always worked flawlessly. No graphical problems and it's worked with every game I've tried. If you already have a home system, the phantom is a great tool.

The chips shouldn't affect the phantoms functionality at all. It's a sturdy device, I can't imagine it wearing out over time. I wish it came with a case to enclose it but, meh.

I just recently sold a lot of my AES carts and got a new revision Phantom from Kenny Boy (terrific seller, by the way) - all of the MVS carts I've tried on it so far have been perfect.

If you get a brand new Phantom, it's tough as hell to get carts on and off of it at first, but as long as you know this in advance and don't violently jerk the cart off of it, you won't chip anything. It's a fine product that does what it says. I've seen zero issues, graphically or otherwise, with the few MVS carts I have at the moment - as long as you make sure to buy original 100% SNK carts there should be no problems.

Don't get one. It's not easy to use at all and it sometimes won't play games. Metal Slug X and Windjammers are two frequent problem causers. There is nothing wrong with my system or my carts, but the Phantom-1 wouldn't work with either of those carts for me no matter what. As Lou also said, sometimes you need to have your slots redone. What a pain. Just get a supergun or a cab if you're interested in the more expensive games.

By the way, some people are going to tell you that it works fine, and that's cause it usually does, but the fact is that plenty of people have had the same problems as I have and it's simply a pain in the ass to have to worry about it. How would you like to buy a new cart only to have it not work? What would you do then? All the carts that didn't work on the Phantom worked perfectly in my board and were 100% originals from the most reputable sellers around (like Briggs).

<small>[ July 28, 2003, 12:25 AM: Message edited by: dmhawkmoon ]</small>

No problems whatsoever with my phantom 1. Highly recommended.

Lou Gojira:
I got a Phantom-1 not long after they first came out, and while I'm happy with it, it was originally a rather harrowing experience.

My system didn't take to it too well, and I had to have !Arcade! give me a mod job so I could use it (I only got charged for the parts), so this wound up being a blessing in disguise since I can see all the blood and bounciness on all my carts, MVS included of course.

I still use it for the MVS games I have since I don't have room for a cab, and it's fine now. I haven't heard a whole lot about the blue versions, so I can't comment on those, but I'm happy with mine. I'd recommend it to anybody wanting cheaper games.

Click to expand...

LOL! I remember watching you force an MVS cart on to one of those things while me and broken were up in Louisville. buttrock

I own a Phantom 1. I bought it new one year ago, and it was the latest version at the time.

All the MVS games I have tried work. The only graphical problem that I have noted is with games that have the zoom in/out effect. These games sometimes show white pixels when the zoom is working. It happens a lot with Sidekicks 2. I have heard the same about other people, and it seems to depend on the version of the Neo system that you have.

About the chips. The top part of the Phantom is like two AES system inserts/slots, that is to say two large rectangular insertions framed by black hard plastic. Inserting a cart into a new Phantom could be very hard, and pull it out could be even worse. Accordingly, you will need to inflict a lot of pressure to insert a game, and to pull it out with a lot of strength, this will be inevitable due to the tightness of the said frame plastic.

Some games fit smoothly than others, but sometimes, depending on the game, they won’t fit easily or at all (very rare). That happened to me with MS 4, it was impossible to insert it, so I even had to file down or smooth over MS 4’s contacts. But when I pulled it out one of the black frame plastic edges chipped, so I “superglued” it. Another day, with another game, another edge chipped, more superglue...in the end I passed of “superglueing” it anymore.

Does this affect anything? Yes, now I have no problem when inserting and pulling out carts, thanks God, it feels loosen.

Chipping the Phantom will depend on the tightness of the one you get and the MVS carts you get too. Even if you are a sensible and cautious person the risk is always there. If you do not want to force it perhaps you would not play certain games, and if you do you may break it, but in the end it won’t matter, in fact it’s better.

I think that a Phantom is the best way to go if you just want to play Neo Geo and not other arcade systems/boards. Its very easy to use, plug (with some effort) and play. No cables no nothing, and you will save on space. Besides, if you are into collecting, it is a good way to not scratch your MVS games.

As you know I have a Phantom-1 which I bought about 1 month ago. The blue version. It works perfectly with every MVS game I have owned so far. Which I currently own 8 MVS games. Its a definite recommend if you wanna save alot of money from expensive AES games. Thats why I bought it!

I've got an older one(black), and it has worked flawless with all my mvs games, except league bowling! Don't know why, it's not a boot, and then again why would you boot league bowling? 3 of my corner tabs have fallen off, has not effect the gameplay in any fashion. I even build a casing for it, so it goes in and out of the AES easier. Would recommend it/them.

It's a fine piece, I do own the blue (new) version.
I get used to the handling of the phantom, but it was a real struggle with the new one.
Blazing Star, Pulstar, Shock Troopers and MD III work fine.

Only problem: WW7 shows some graphical distortion during the zoom effects.

I have had mine for almost two months, and I am VERY pleased with it ! I am mainly interested in PLAYING Neo-Geo games, and I am not that interested the collector value, so this device opened up a whole new CHEAPER world to me. I now have added 23 AWESOME games to my Home Cart collection. They look great on the shelf, and I am having a BLAST making them all look great with custom labels! It really makes my library look fantastic. GET ONE TODAY !

I used to own a blue one but sold it. I had full size cab and it was too big in my apartment, and I thought it would be a decent replacement, but it wasn't. Certain games gave me graphical glitches with zooming (SSIV, WW7), occasionally it fucked the sound in KOF2k2, and so on.

It was a decent piece of hardware, but I can't justify spending over $150 for the thing. Go supergun or get a candy cab or something.