Rough draft of the review article I'm working on, I'll get around to photos later in the week assuming I can get freetime (and a camera that doesn't suck ballsacks ie my stupid ass iPhone)
Oh man, I've been waiting for this thing to show up on my doorstep for awhile, and it's finally here. For those that maybe aren't familiar with the Neo-Geo, it was a system that was released roughly 20 years ago as a home console designed to bring the arcade experience home. Everything about this system was... big, expensive, and just downright awesome. The system back then ran almost $700USD with the games costing almost $300 a piece which were bigger than VHS tapes.. they're definitely big. These days, some of the best games for the Neo-Geo fetch thousands of dollars which is unfortunate as the average gamer isn't going to dish that out.. but lucky for us the Neo-Geo X brings most of that experience home at a price most gamers can afford! For $199.99USD plus tax, you can bring home the amazing arcade experience you never got to experience.
So when you buy the Neo-Geo X Gold you should expect it to come with the following: Neo-Geo X handheld system, a charging dock/TV output mount shaped to replicate the Neo-Geo AES home console, a functioning replica of the Playstation 2 AES replica stick (yes, a replica of a replica) and [what I did not receive for review] a copy of Ninja Masters for the Neo-Geo X. All these items together make for a pretty nice bundle, but it should be noted that the system is marketed specifically as a handheld first, with the other peripherals being bonuses of the Gold Edition. The handheld itself is built fairly well.. featuring a 4.5in (estimated) LCD screen (someone else asked about a screen protector seen in other photos: the system ships with a plastic film protecting it.), the classic four-button face layout to the right of the screen, an 8-direction joystick that resembles that of the Neo Geo Pocket Color to the left of the screen, and menu/start buttons directly below the face buttons and joystick. Along the sides of the console you have other controls for the system, including a toggle for brightness and volume, shoulder buttons (which can be used to change the picture size of the game to fit the classic box shape or take up the entire screen), jacks to dock into the AES charger/TV dock.. thingy.. , headphone jacks (to me, the lack of this would be a dealbreaker for a handheld), and (what appears to me to be an SD) card slot that the game cards would go into. The back has that gripping rubber texture to make it easier to hold onto as well, and features the SNK logo etched into it. The Neo-Geo X is a bit larger than some smartphones, so it isn't quite pocket friendly.
<strong>THE HANDHELD SYSTEM</strong>
Right off the bat, I noticed the system takes a bit longer than the 3DS or the PSP to boot up, but it's not too bad. (I attribute this to the handheld running some form of encryption). The games load in roughly the same speed (I timed 30 seconds on Metal Slug) but once the game gets going, it plays flawlessly compared to the original. One of the things I was worried about was the joystick that the system sports. Moving the stick around, you hear clicking sounds. To some, you may think this is garbage, to others however, this is a sign of excellent craftsmanship. The joystick has microswitches to recreate the feel of the NGPC and makes for precise input on fighting games. The stick responds perfectly once you hop into a game, but it feels as if the menu has a bit of delay input which can be a pain.. but who buys a console because of the dashboard?! The ABCD face buttons have a solid feeling to them as well, just enough softness to feel like you've hit the button down, but not rough enough to the point it feels like you're hitting plastic on plastic like the NES.
<strong>THE ARCADE STICK</strong>
This is the part myself and other Neo-Geo owners were afraid of.. the build quality of the AES replica stick. Tommo advertised the stick to be using the same parts as the original, so I wanted to put it to the test. I went over to a friend's place to still has his AES to do side by side comparisons for the review. As far as the internal components like the stick and buttons, I cannot tell the difference between the two. The stick and buttons both have the same clicking and solid structured feeling to them and control the same. I will say though it's not quite a 1:1 replica.. the Gold stick is slightly smaller (not much) and feels slightly lighter than the AES counterpart. Now before you say they didn't use the same parts, it's not the parts themselves causing the lightness, it's the plastic shell and cable that the controller has. The cable is less dense (and sports a USB port, so no using this in an AES or vice versa) and the plastic shell was most likely made thinner to help fit the innards in (I HIGHLY doubt the original mould is still around which would cause problems when re-creating the shell)
<strong>THE DOCKING STATION</strong>
This is the piece of the bundle I have the most complaints about... the docking station. The AES cloned docking station opens up VIA a hookswitch on the front, and you can dock the handheld in here to charge. While it's charging, you can use the Neo-Geo X on your TV and with the joystick play it just like an AES. The dock features modern updates, such as an HDMI port, USB ports (so once again, no real AES sticks), and the reset button acts as a dashboard button, sending the console back to that atrocious menu. Now the dock itself feels cheap.. oh so cheap. The replica AES charging dock of TV playing is quite smaller in contrast to a real Neo-Geo AES and the cartridge slot is 100% solid and nothing can be put in it. I think it would've been better to be able to dock the handheld in the cartridge port but whatever. The hookswitch is also poorly made and I have to hold the lid down and push the latch back just to get it to lock shut. The dock also feels freakishly light so I'm almost certain is just a passthrough connector. I think I'll just be leaving it in there and using it as a home console.
<strong>GAMEPLAY</strong>
This was the other major concern, how well does the system handle the emulation. We went back and forth between the two systems, testing Metal Slug, King of the Monsters, Magician Lord, and Last Resort to see how it handles various genres and different sized games. Thank. God. the emulation was perfect.. I saw no graphical issues and similar slowdowns in the same spots so it feels like a flawless interpretation. The firmware still pisses me off to no end because it's clunky and overly simple but as long as playing games on it works as well as it does, I can ignore that. If you're reading this Tommo, release a firmware update that doesn't feel like a Windows 95 file navigation and selector!
<strong>The Verdict</strong>
The Neo-Geo X is slated for street date two weeks from now and will cost you $200USD. If you don't want all the extras (controllers, stupid charging dock/TV output box etc.. which why wouldn't you?) you can obtain just the handheld for $130 in February. For some people, it may be overpriced considering it is after all a machine running 20 year old games.. but by god if it's not an amazing piece of hardware to own as a Neo-Geo fan or a classic gamer. Considering that the system also has 20 built in games (one of which if you were to buy the original of will set you back almost $3,000) it's definitely a bargain for anyone who wants to play these classics the way they were meant to be played, or to even show your kids the games you grew up with! Combined with the possibility of future games being released VIA game card addons, the system has alot of potential to succeed depending on the price of each game. This isn't a system for everyone, but is highly recommended for the classic gamer and arcade goers alike and should not be missed!
