What was the best year for the Neo Geo?

[Skuletor]

I'd say it was 1996.

We got new entries in the Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters series, NAZCA blessed us with Neo Turf Masters and the first entry in the legendary Metal Slug series and we also got the awesome but wacky Waku Waku 7 as well.

I guess you could argue 2004, since the full catologue had been released by then, or say currently 2026 for now, if you want to include the ever expanding indie ports but those two answers are kind of cheating.

 

[kernow]

I mean probably 96 for reasons you mentioned I guess
I think they discontinued the home console the next year

.. ps 98 still best kof

 

[Skuletor]

I mean probably 96 for reasons you mentioned I guess
I think they discontinued the home console the next year

.. ps 98 still best kof

I've never played the PS version.

Oh yeah, there's also the argument that the games were cheaper to acquire during their original ruuns too

 

[Tarma]

2027.

 

[kernow]

I meant
ps:

 

[StevenK]

The market forum is shit these days btw

 

[Skuletor]

2027.

Always one steap ahead of us.

 

[kernow]

The market forum is shit these days btw

Even if it was good, we're on a forum for the most expensive retro console of all time pretty much. Hmm do I sell my $1500 game to someone who's been here for two decades or someone who's made loads of shitty posts just to see what he can't afford ? Tough one

 

[snk_is_now]

I also think 1996, but honestly, this is very much driven by nostalgic reasons.

I was 10 at that time and I remember seeing Amakusa Kourin at the arcades back in the day, still my favourite Neo Geo game by far.

P.D edit: I’m sure that was 1997 and I was eleven, saw both Amakusa and MSlug, both released in 1996.

 

[Yoshi]

1996

I was 10 at that time

No one gives a fuck what Millennials think about anything, but you are a broken clock in this scenario.

 

[snk_is_now]

No one gives a fuck what Millennials think about anything, but you are a broken clock in this scenario.

Whose opinion is relevant then?

 

[Yoshi]

In video games? Gen X has near exclusivity on informed opinions. There are probably rare Boomers who could as well, but that number will keep shrinking for multiple reasons. Everyone else missed too much. If you were in fucking preschool or kindergarten when the best gaming generation there will ever be started, how could you possibly have an informed frame of reference?

 

[EagleSoftware777]

1996

 

[snk_is_now]

In video games? Gen X has near exclusivity on informed opinions. There are probably rare Boomers who could as well, but that number will keep shrinking for multiple reasons. Everyone else missed too much. If you were in fucking preschool or kindergarten when the best gaming generation there will ever be started, how could you possibly have an informed frame of reference?

I assume you’re referring to the 16-bit/4th generation, right?

It’s obviously subjective to call that “the best gaming generation that ever existed,” but let’s put that aside and say we agree on that point.

My question is: where was that generation by 1995–1996, when the Neo Geo was really starting to push its graphical boundaries?

That’s the thing with the Neo Geo, its lifespan was unusually long, and some of its best software came out well after the 16-bit generation had effectively ended. By the time games like Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown IV, The King of Fighters ‘96, etc. were pushing the hardware, the system’s natural generation was already over and much of the world had moved on to the next generation.

So if we’re talking about the best software years of a platform, I don’t think it’s fair to judge the Neo Geo purely within the timeframe of the 16-bit generation. Its strongest years arguably came after that generation was already over.

 

[Johnny16Bit]

Using this as a reference, I'd say 1992.
The system was right into the SF2 craze, the games still looked exceptional at the time, all the home conversions were massive downgrades, and there was no 3d shite to distract you from thinking it was awesome.

 

[Yoshi]

My question is: where was that generation by 1995–1996, when the Neo Geo was really starting to push its graphical boundaries?

It was getting Phantasy Star IV, Alien Soldier, Chrono Trigger, Yoshi's Island, etc.

That’s the thing with the Neo Geo, its lifespan was unusually long, and some of its best software came out well after the 16-bit generation had effectively ended. By the time games like Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown IV, The King of Fighters ‘96, etc. were pushing the hardware, the system’s natural generation was already over and much of the world had moved on to the next generation.

So if we’re talking about the best software years of a platform, I don’t think it’s fair to judge the Neo Geo purely within the timeframe of the 16-bit generation. Its strongest years arguably came after that generation was already over.

I completely agree with you on the longevity of the Neo Geo, but console generations are not determined by years. They are determined by platforms, and good luck beating the PC Engine, Genesis, SNES, and Neo Geo.

 

[snk_is_now]

I completely agree with you on the longevity of the Neo Geo, but console generations are not determined by years. They are determined by platforms, and good luck beating the PC Engine, Genesis, SNES, and Neo Geo.

That’s precisely why I think the Neo Geo is a special case. Because of its ridiculous longevity, it was transversal to several generations rather than belonging neatly to just one.

I wasn’t there when Magician Lord, Fatal Fury or Viewpoint were released, but when at home I was heavily into the 5th generation 3D, with the Sega Rallys, Tekken and overhyped stuff a la Crazy Ivan, in the arcades there was this respect for SNK/Neo Geo, I could not believe the animation quality of Metal Slug in early 97, it made me feel that was shoulder to shoulder with Resident Evil or Tomb Raider, incredible for a 1990 console.

SNK games felt “adult”, “serious”, something else.

 

[RAZO]

I was 13 years old in 1996.

 

[DIPSwitchWizard]

There is a solid argument (weather you're butt hurt about this or not) that 2027 would be *one of* the best years for the Neo Geo simply for the fact that it proves the machine still lives on. It is just incredible.

 

[kernow]

There is a solid argument (weather you're butt hurt about this or not) that 2027 would be *one of* the best years for the Neo Geo simply for the fact that it proves the machine still lives on. It is just incredible.

 

[Burning Fight!!]

Tak just delete all accounts made in 2026, it's not that hard

 

[Yoshi]

There is a solid argument (weather you're butt hurt about this or not) that 2027 would be *one of* the best years for the Neo Geo simply for the fact that it proves the machine still lives on. It is just incredible.

It will certainly be in the top 38.

 

[DIPSwitchWizard]

I agree that the best games are in the past (and with modern developers not being a patch on past developers, that will never change, think 3D Street Fighter v 2D pixel art, AI assisted coding v ultra high skill assembly code). I'm arguing that, when you look at the Neo Geo through the lens of longevity, the hardware still lives on, new people are discovering it. Many 'modern' gamers who grew up on crappy PS3/PS5/PS5 games may never have seen a pure 2D powerhouse in action, now they will.

To coin a phrase '2027 is the year of the Neo Geo'

 

[Darvax2026]

View attachment 100168

Using this as a reference, I'd say 1992.
The system was right into the SF2 craze, the games still looked exceptional at the time, all the home conversions were massive downgrades, and there was no 3d shite to distract you from thinking it was awesome.

14 good years

 

[Moob Butter]

View attachment 100168

Using this as a reference, I'd say 1992.
The system was right into the SF2 craze, the games still looked exceptional at the time, all the home conversions were massive downgrades, and there was no 3d shite to distract you from thinking it was awesome.

That chart also handily shows that ‘98 was another banger of a year