The ideal 6 slot neo geo lineup?

Digmac

Leona's Therapist
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Characters are more balanced. Choosing certain character combos in MD3 can pretty much guarantee the person with the stronger char will win.

If you watch tournament play of Magical Drop 3 you’ll see that people are picking the competitive characters. Maybe noobs to the game won’t know who’s better than other characters, but I don’t think balancing alone makes MD2 better. The MD3 balancing isn’t game breaking and there aren’t any “banned” characters in the small community for it. Magical Drop 3 is a much more polished game in its presentation and music. The character roster is more diverse and it’s adventure mode gives it more replay value over MD2. Magical Drop 3 takes 2, and improves on just about everything in my opinion. If people are struggling and complain about the balance, I posted my MD3 strategy here which can destroy the CPU and human opponents when done correctly.
 

ggallegos1

Cholecystectomy Required.,
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If you watch tournament play of Magical Drop 3 you’ll see that people are picking the competitive characters. Maybe noobs to the game won’t know who’s better than other characters, but I don’t think balancing alone makes MD2 better. The MD3 balancing isn’t game breaking and there aren’t any “banned” characters in the small community for it. Magical Drop 3 is a much more polished game in its presentation and music. The character roster is more diverse and it’s adventure mode gives it more replay value over MD2. Magical Drop 3 takes 2, and improves on just about everything in my opinion. If people are struggling and complain about the balance, I posted my MD3 strategy here which can destroy the CPU and human opponents when done correctly.
I didn't even know that there were differences in characters.
 

Digmac

Leona's Therapist
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I didn't even know that there were differences in characters.

There's differences in how many lines the drop per combo of two reactions and what pattern of drops that fall down on the opponent. This only really matters when playing against the CPU and human opponents. Character selection isn't as important when playing Puzzle or Adventure mode.
 

Digmac

Leona's Therapist
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This video is a good all-about for MD3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLf9n9Kd65c

If you just want character differences, start around 25 mins.

The video mostly goes over how the drop patterns are created and special balloons inserted.

Good info on the MD series and differences between titles: https://mdcd.fandom.com/wiki/Magical_Drop_III

There's a lot of Magical Drop 3 strategy in the 1997 Neo Geo Freak magazines, including the drop patterns for every single character. Since this got on the topic of MD3 I'll probably update my technique guide with the patterns. That Magical Drop Fandom page has some solid info for those getting into the game.
 

max 330 mega

The Almighty Bunghole
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There's a lot of Magical Drop 3 strategy in the 1997 Neo Geo Freak magazines, including the drop patterns for every single character. Since this got on the topic of MD3 I'll probably update my technique guide with the patterns. That Magical Drop Fandom page has some solid info for those getting into the game.
Lolifox always told me that the actual best of the series is money puzzle exchange due to the algorithms having all the bugs worked out. I've still never spent any time playing MPE, including during the period I owned an mvs copy of it, so it's still a mystery to me.
 

Digmac

Leona's Therapist
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Lolifox always told me that the actual best of the series is money puzzle exchange due to the algorithms having all the bugs worked out. I've still never spent any time playing MPE, including during the period I owned an mvs copy of it, so it's still a mystery to me.

Money Idol isn't part of the series. It was made slightly earlier than MD3. They have different mechanics and are two totally separate games, made by two different companies. Lolifox swapped MD3 for Money Idol in the big red at our local game store because he couldn't beat me in VS CPU scores anymore lol. I don't think Magical Drop 3 has any bugs that directly impact the gameplay though. I'd have to talk to him about it again to see what he thinks.
 

thermaltreasure

Ninja Combat Warrior
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Apr 6, 2013
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529
How is Magical Drop 2 better than 3?

Because it's my fucking shop you prick :keke:. Can't say I've thought about the Magical Drop series that much but I always gravitate towards 2. Jokes aside I totally agree on your comments about Contra 3. I slept on that game for the longest time
 

ForeverSublime

6400|!!|Kyo Clone
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But see, isn't that a problem? Without even knowing that, something feels off about the games. It FEELS like it was something that was repurposed halfway through instead of actually being a nice design.

Been thinking about this for a couple days. Is it a problem? They could totally do a Metal Slug 001x with updated controls, and change the layouts a bit with the same art assets to gel with the new possibilities. That might be cool, but a good 80s game is still a good 80s game. And maybe during that time, that's what people wanted. To the extent of the controls, it reminds me a bit of the discussion in another thread about the lack of beatemups.

When you add all these things, say like Gunstar, you turn it more into an action game than a run-and-gun. Too few options (can't shoot up), and you end up with something like a platformer like MegaMan. Contra got it right again then again, until there was a sort of drought where they tried doing some 3D things just as Slug hit the scene. Slug's timing was impeccable. Maybe people wanted the best of the 80's rather than the worst of the 90's.

Whether the developers decided they wanted to make a run and gun later in development on their own accord, or they got this idea came from playtesters, or the market, it's not like these guys hadn't made this type of game before. If you look at GunForce, it's hard not to see Contra in some places. If you look at Gunforce II, it's hard not to see Contra 3 in some places. Maybe by 1996 they just wanted to do something that was distinctly them, and they quadrupled down on that design with 2, X and 3. By then, it was certainly not an accident or afterthought, and they achieved their distinction. Now we see Slug clones.

Anyway, I agree with you a a good bit in a "Yeah, but" sort of way and it's been fun to think about. We all have that initial shock of not being able to shoot diagonal with the base weapon, but there are positive consequences of that design decision. You have to move more. You have to jump more. Slug, for better or worse, stuck to what it (finally) decided to be for as long as it could.
 

bulbousbeard

Iconic Romhacker Analinguist
Joined
Jul 31, 2013
Posts
481
Been thinking about this for a couple days. Is it a problem? They could totally do a Metal Slug 001x with updated controls, and change the layouts a bit with the same art assets to gel with the new possibilities. That might be cool, but a good 80s game is still a good 80s game. And maybe during that time, that's what people wanted. To the extent of the controls, it reminds me a bit of the discussion in another thread about the lack of beatemups.

When you add all these things, say like Gunstar, you turn it more into an action game than a run-and-gun. Too few options (can't shoot up), and you end up with something like a platformer like MegaMan. Contra got it right again then again, until there was a sort of drought where they tried doing some 3D things just as Slug hit the scene. Slug's timing was impeccable. Maybe people wanted the best of the 80's rather than the worst of the 90's.

Whether the developers decided they wanted to make a run and gun later in development on their own accord, or they got this idea came from playtesters, or the market, it's not like these guys hadn't made this type of game before. If you look at GunForce, it's hard not to see Contra in some places. If you look at Gunforce II, it's hard not to see Contra 3 in some places. Maybe by 1996 they just wanted to do something that was distinctly them, and they quadrupled down on that design with 2, X and 3. By then, it was certainly not an accident or afterthought, and they achieved their distinction. Now we see Slug clones.

Anyway, I agree with you a a good bit in a "Yeah, but" sort of way and it's been fun to think about. We all have that initial shock of not being able to shoot diagonal with the base weapon, but there are positive consequences of that design decision. You have to move more. You have to jump more. Slug, for better or worse, stuck to what it (finally) decided to be for as long as it could.


Gunstar Heroes is more of a platformer than Metal Slug already. It has jumping mechanics that actually matter. Regardless, we're going to find out how it plays out since I'll be taking a stab at Metal Slug after I'm done with Final Fight.
 
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heihachi

Krauser's Henchman
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Jul 11, 2016
Posts
944
Mine would be

Neo Turf Masters
Metal Slug 1
KOF 95
Magical Drop 3
Shock Troopers
Windjammers
 

Naika

Street Hoop Star
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Posts
1,408
God, fuck me in the eye, but I'd wager the following:

Metal Slug 1
KOF -96
Real Bout Special
Puzzle Bobble
Ultimate 11
Spinmasters
 

pepelegit

Pleasure Goal
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Posts
146
King of Fighters 98
Neo Turf Masters
Strikers 1945 Plus
Shock Troopers
Samurai Showdown II
Puzzle Bobble

I feel like the 6 I'd *want* would be different, but as an operator I'd be shooting for a mix of recognition, accessibility, and variety.
 

BlackaneseNiNjA

The Fatal Fury Disciple
15 Year Member
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Aug 30, 2016
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If it’s strictly for the quarters:

Garou MotW
Samurai Shodown II
Puzzle Bobble
Blazing Star
Baseball Stars 2
Metal Slug X
 
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Massive Urethra Chode

Disciple Of Orochi
Joined
Aug 27, 2013
Posts
3,264
King of Fighters 98
Neo Turf Masters
Strikers 1945 Plus
Shock Troopers
Samurai Showdown II
Puzzle Bobble

I feel like the 6 I'd *want* would be different, but as an operator I'd be shooting for a mix of recognition, accessibility, and variety.

This may be my favorite lineup so far that anyone has posted in this thread.
 

pathlesscookies

New Challenger
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Posts
57
my picks would be

metal slug ( was close between1/3)
kof98
shock troopers
garou motw ( was close b/t this and samurai sho 2 /last blade)
pulstar ( close b/t blazing but pulstar would get you more quarters lol)
sengoku 3
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2020
Posts
20
1. Super Sidekicks 2: The World Championship
2. Metal Slug 3
3. Puzzle Bobble
4. Pulstar
5. SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
6. Neo Drift Out
 

wataru330

Mr. Wrestling IV
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2003
Posts
9,609
Ironclad
Aero Fighters 2
Puzzle Bobble
Samurai Shodown 2
Metal Slug
Baseball Stars 2
 

Rufus Almasy

Kuroko's Training Dummy
Joined
Aug 14, 2004
Posts
73
King of Fighters 96
Metal Slug 5
Garou Mark of the Wolves
Aero Fighters 2
Crossed Swords
Zed Blade
 
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