Time for some update guys. And this time with home carts
I chose the first five games released for the Neo Geo for today's show-off. And as they perfectly fit the Neo Geo Sound Power G.S.M. 2 soundtrack I've included that one too. Also thanks a lot to Frazer (frazer99) from whom I got the last one of the bunch (TPG).
So what we got here? The first five games in carton box format.*
NGH-001 Nam 1975
NGH-002 Baseball Stars
NGH-003 Top Player's Golf
NGH-004 Mahjong Kyouretsuden
NGH-005 Magician Lord
In my oppinion the games are very varied in terms of gameplay, music and graphics and therefor do offer something for everyone. You've got action (Nam) and sports (BS & TPG) right up to platformer (ML) and traditional Japanese Mahjong (MK). So I think they were quite a worthy start for the Neo.
On the sound side of things they can also show a lot the Neo has to offer. From chilled laid back songs in TPG and Mahjong Kyouretsuden over rock songs (BS) to atmospheric music for Nam and Magician Lord. Baseball Stars even features one of my all time favorite Neo composers TARKUN (Toshikazu Tanaka) who would later do memorable soundtracks like Matrimelee or MS5.
I don't think I have to say much about the games themselves as they have been discussed a lot before. The only thing I would want to mention is my experience with Mahjong Kyouretsuden. Since I do know a bit of the Japanese language (Kana and some basic Kanji) and have an interest in traditional Japanese games like Hanafuda, Shougi and the like I always wanted to learn Mahjong as it is basically available on any Japanese console and arcade platform I guess (check
this video for a
very comprehensive Japanese Mahjong tutorial). I finally did learn the basic rules last year although learning all the different hands (yaku) can be quite a pain. However, I was rather surprised after playing Mahjong Kyouretsuden to find out it is a
Eroge. I always thought it has some story involved like the Quiz games. But seeing nudity on the Neo was quite a surprise
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*I've decided to collect the early games in carton box format. Contrary to the later Japanese releases the carton box spine is rather consistent and does look awesome lined up. Normally I'm down for English releases but I made an exception for the early games.