Neo-Geo to Snes/Megadrive (Genesis): Perfect port possible?

In a spanish forum, an user asked if it was possible to port the best Neo-Geo MVS/AES games to Snes/Megadrive(Genesis) without more looses than an inferior colour palette and worst music quality.

http://www.elotrolado.net/hilo_podria-una-snes-o-md-con-lo-mejor-de-la-aes_1327719

The question is some people there think that with a cart with a big amount of rom memory and perhaps some additional chip, it could be possible.

They argue:

- Some (or a lot) of Neo-Geo games doesn't really push the Neo, so they could be converted without great losses if a really big Snes/MD cart were used.

Even "Mark of the wolves" could be converted without more trouble as it doesn't push the Neo at all (according to those users).

And obviously, old Neo games could be ported practically 1:1 (as those users say even the +4.000 colors onscreen for the Neo surely were not used for every game, and at least the Snes could do a good job replicating it with only 256 colors).

- They don't want to understand about different hardware design, rom-buses, etc. .

Simpy argue that if "Street Fighter Alpha 2" was possible on the Snes in a so limited Rom memory amount cart, if more Rom memory amount were used the conversion could have been practically 1:1... and SFA2 was a CPS2 game.

That would mean for them that 1:1 Neo conversions would be even more easy to do.

At least some of them agree that perhaps with low profile games the port could be possible, but more difficult with more Neo complex games...


What do you think about this matter (from a technical point of view)?

Did you ever play alpha 2 on SNES? It's garbage.

anyway, the problem was never rom. It´s ram: how much you have and how fast you can access it.

Let's also add the fact that the SNES cannot address over 128Mbit of ROM

when you say : "The question is some people there think that with a cart with a big amount of rom memory and perhaps some additional chip, it could be possible."

the "additional chip" opens the door to everything. For example the SVP chip for the Virtua Racing on the Megadrive made something crazy possible.

So with different type of chip that would be added to the cart, well everything seems possible.

lol alpha2 on snes was a good port?
i want to know what you been smoking
i have alpha2 on cps2
even saturn version is not perfect, a very good port tho

They don't even have comparable sprite engines. Ram is one thing and color pallette another but without the sprite engine it's no longer Neo.

basic answer from me is NO
Not gonna go into detail arguement.
but simply think about it yourself, how many contact point on a neo cart, how many on a snes?

With the right chip expansions, sure it's possible. Maybe add a chip that can handle a greater quantity of large sprites and a faster co-processor. The problem is, it wouldn't be economically feasible.

For the price it would most likely cost, you might as well buy the Neo version, which would still be technically better.

This thread reminds me of the Neo Geo weenie ad...
SNES/Genesis ports are inferior for a simple reason: hardware.

Yeah Neogeo games can be perfectly ported to the snes.

I mean dont you remember how fantastic Samurai Showdown 1 was on snes?

OHHHHH wait thats right it was a steaming pile of shit.

Snes doesnt have the cpu or the rom/ram to do neogeo.

Genesis doesnt have the color pallet or the ram/rom. However genesis can you data bank switching to make a cart w/e size you want.


The one thing that allows snes games to be so beauitful on such weak hardware is that it can do transparencies where as no other system in that era can.

So a bunch of people with absolutely no understanding of the technical differences between the systems nor any development background are making an argument about what is technically possible on the SNES/MD? Makes sense...

Alpha 2 for SNES had loading times LOL.

My PS1 can run PS2 games perfectly, the only problem is that they run at one frame per minute.

madman said:

So a bunch of people with absolutely no understanding of the technical differences between the systems nor any development background are making an argument about what is technically possible on the SNES/MD? Makes sense...

Click to expand...

A Toyota Supra is faster than a Toyota Prius.
Would you like some technical proof?

SHO said:

basic answer from me is NO
Not gonna go into detail arguement.
but simply think about it yourself, how many contact point on a neo cart, how many on a snes?

Click to expand...

An Atari 2600 cart has more pins than a Nintendo DS cart, so using your argument, the Atari 2600 is better because the carts have more pins?

Until now, you've been telling all the things I and other people in the spanish thread have been trying to explain to the people who doesn't want to understand it, but without they changing its thoughts about it.

Simply, they show some pictures from the Samurai 1 port (Megadrive, Mega CD, Arcade) and keep saying that those pictures seem very similar; also they show some picture from the "Street Fighter Alpha 2" (Snes) and say they look fantastic.

I have never played on Snes or Megadrive any of these games, so I don't know by my personal experience if they move and play decently, or they are a pile of crap as some of you have told here.

But I watched to some video footage for the SFA2 (SNES), and the animation at least looked crap... but the people defending the SNES port keeps telling that with more space in the cart the game animation would have been better, so it would have been more close to the CPS2 version...

Anyway, I have pasted at the spanish thread some of the good points you're posted here.

Hope someone there will at least think carefully about all of them, althoug I doubt it... probably those people will say users from this forum doesn't know anything about the matter... :-(

EDIT: Regarding the SFA2 loading times, it is because the cart includes a chip that decompress some needed info compressed in the cart rom.

caren103 said:

Until now, you've been telling all the things I and other people in the spanish thread have been trying to explain to the people who doesn't want to understand it, but without they changing its thoughts about it.

Simply, they show some pictures from the Samurai 1 port (Megadrive, Mega CD, Arcade) and keep saying that those pictures seem very similar; also they show some picture from the "Street Fighter Alpha 2" (Snes) and say they look fantastic.

I have never played on Snes or Megadrive any of these games, so I don't know by my personal experience if they move and play decently, or they are a pile of crap as some of you have told here.

But I watched to some video footage for the SFA2 (SNES), and the animation at least looked crap... but the people defending the SNES port keeps telling that with more space in the cart the game animation would have been better, so it would have been more close to the CPS2 version...

Anyway, I have pasted at the spanish thread some of the good points you're posted here.

Hope someone there will at least think carefully about all of them, althoug I doubt it... probably those people will say users from this forum doesn't know anything about the matter... :-(

EDIT: Regarding the SFA2 loading times, it is because the cart includes a chip that decompress some needed info compressed in the cart rom.

Click to expand...

The problem with those people man, is that they have never played on a real NEO GEO before

madman said:

So a bunch of people with absolutely no understanding of the technical differences between the systems nor any development background are making an argument about what is technically possible on the SNES/MD? Makes sense...

Click to expand...

For a perfect port?

Annatar said:

The problem with those people man, is that they have never played on a real NEO GEO before

Click to expand...

We're so spoiled

caren103 said:

But I watched to some video footage for the SFA2 (SNES), and the animation at least looked crap... but the people defending the SNES port keeps telling that with more space in the cart the game animation would have been better, so it would have been more close to the CPS2 version...

Click to expand...

What these people won't understand is that the snes has 64 kB of video ram, whatever graphics that are on screen has to be contained within those limits, that's the reason of animation cuts, not the cartridge size.

madman said:

An Atari 2600 cart has more pins than a Nintendo DS cart, so using your argument, the Atari 2600 is better because the carts have more pins?

Click to expand...

I specifically said i'm not gonna go into detail arguements.
Because i know ppl like you will say something like this!

USB has less pins than Parallel
but they are not in the same time zone.

modern day chipset can work so much faster than the old days, they can produce same result with the smaller width

caren103 said:

without more looses than an inferior colour palette and worst music quality.

Click to expand...

... then it wouldn't be a perfect port. Samurai Shodown 1 for the genesis is probably as close as you'll get. Looked very similar, but sound was nowhere as good and the zoom feature was gone. Plus, no Earthquake.

I remember playing Art of fighting on the snes, there was no zoom, the character was either small or big. unlike on the neo, the characters were perfectly scaled when zoom out.

obviously the snes couldnt do this

This is as close as you're going to get:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO4ANCdbnvU