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NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol.1 – Nintendo Switch

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First impressions of games is always difficult. There is the initial excitement phase of playing something new and the more obvious one, you just need more time to play the new game to fully experience it’s features (and shortcomings) before you can be in any position to pen some sort of subjective review.

Well, lucky for us, our first impression of playing SNK’s NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 (NGPCS Vol.1) on the Switch is an overall positive one! To set the scene, we particularly played the two NeoGeo Pocket Color games, Metal Slug 1st Mission and Metal Slug 2nd Mission on both the real hardware and via the NGPCS Vol.1 on the Nintendo Switch.

Playing the Metal Slug games on the original hardware is great, especially using the clicky control stick on the NeoGeo Pocket Color handheld. However, playing it for any length of  time without the unit being backlit is a chore on your eyes. The same games on the Switch retain their original blasting charm, beefed up with a plethora of additional features, modes and ways to play and of course, the Switch screen is just so easy on the eyes. The Switch is suitable for these kinds of games, especially in handheld mode, but it’s flexibility in the way you play just makes this very compelling.

Our first impressions of the Metal Slug 1st and 2nd Missions on the NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 are very positive. You could go and look for a NeoGeo Pocket Color system and then hunt the the Metal Slug carts online, or you can save yourself the time and lots of $$ by grabbing this for your Switch!

image source: SNK Corporation

 

NEO GEO Games Infographic

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There are some images that need to be shared for their informative awesomeness, and this NEO•GEO games infographic is one that definitely fits that bill.

Created and shared by Ange Albertini of the Corkami Reverse Engineering and Visual Documentation github repository, this image speaks to us loud and clear! We love the fact that in one image, we can see the timeline of all the games that were released for SNK’s mighty NEO GEO.

To get a sense of this amazing graphic creation, please click on the image below to see it in its native resolution!

 

Introducing The SNK NeoGeo MVSX Home Arcade

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If the NeoGeo Mini didn’t scratch your MVS and AES gaming itch, then perhaps the SNK NeoGeo MVSX Home Arcade will!

Created by the GStone Group (UNICO brand) and officially licensed by SNK, the SNK NEOGEO MVSX is touted to be the ultimate home arcade for fans of classic SNK titles. The MVSX will include both the MVS and AES versions of games from fan-favourite series like The King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, Art of Fighting and sports titles including Baseball Stars Professional and Top Player’s Golf!

The games will be housed within a stylish tabletop arcade with a separate attached base that has a 17-inch 4:3 LCD screen and has two-player support with analogue joysticks and buttons. Fans of the classic SNK NEOGEO MVS arcade machines are sure to appreciate the tabletop arcade’s aesthetics as it’s decked out in the iconic MVS red and white, familiar button layout (such as the “SELECT GAME” button) and has its signature marquee showcasing the box art for the most popular franchises of the included games.

Preorders for the SNK NeoGeo MVSX will begin next month (September 2020), with the tabletop to be priced at US$449.99, the base at US$99.99 or both the tabletop and base for US$499.99. The tabletop arcade will officially launch in North America in November 2020. We will seek more info for the rest of the world, so please stay tuned!

image source: SNK MVSX

 

SNK Announces New FREE Twitch Prime Games

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We also welcome good news, especially news of free video games!

The peeps at SNK have teamed up with Twitch Prime to bring Prime members a number of popular SNK titles completely free! The first wave of games began with seven titles which became available from May 2020, and now the second wave begins with an additional seven, like METAL SLUG 2 and SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION. More games will be released in the future, so stay tuned!

If you have an Amazon Prime membership, then do yourself a favour and grab these free SNK titles now from Twitch Prime!

Important things to know:
* You must be an Amazon Prime member in order to download these games
* The available games are their western versions
* Offer available till April 1, 2021 (but don’t wait till then, grab them now!)

image source: SNK Corp.

 

Arcade Archives P.O.W. PRISONERS OF WAR

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Oh yeah! One of our favourite SNK arcade games from the late 80s, P.O.W.: Prisoners Of War, is now incarcerated on the Nintendo Switch and PS4!

This side-scrolling beat’em up was a staple for us in the arcade. Once you lit the fuse to break free from your jail cell, then all hell broke loose as you punched, kicked, jumped and shot your way out to freedom by taking out the enemy’s main base and their leader. Getting to the chopper didn’t get better than this. The best part of the game was having a buddy with you (Player 2) to play co-op and cause as much havoc and mayhem in your prison break adventure!

We are quite chuffed to now be able line up our coins to play P.O.W. Prisoners Of War on our Switch, either on the go or on our humongous LCD TV to take in all that raster graphics goodness!

Title: Arcade Archives P.O.W. PRISONERS OF WAR
Platform: Nintendo Switch™/PlayStation®4
Price: from US$7.99 / £6.29 / AU$10.50
Players: 1-2

image source: HAMSTER Co. Arcade Archives

 

Metal Slug: The Ultimate History – Book Review

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The very first game we bought when we got our Neo Geo MVS arcade machine was Metal Slug. That was quite a while ago, and we must admit, we have the series on pretty much every format – the games are that darn good!

Once we had heard that Bitmap Books was going to publish a book on this brilliant gaming franchise, our interests were obviously piqued. Upon receiving Metal Slug: The Ultimate History from Pixel Crib, we noticed this thing was heavy, which is a good thing when it comes to these kinds of publications.

If you have read any of our previous Bitmap Books book reviews, you’ll know what to expect from this published work of art – it oozes quality and quantity. When you hold a Bitmap Books tome in your hands, we guarantee you’ll be smiling from start to finish. Sam Dyer and his amazing team have done a wonderful job in bringing us a fully licensed art book on the Metal Slug series.

With unprecedented access to SNK‘s vast archives, this book contains some of the best high-resolution artwork (including concept artwork) and illustrations, with some being made publicly available for the very first time. Even though it is primarily an art book celebrating Metal Slug, this tome also contains eleven exclusive and detailed interviews with key members of the development team, including Kazuma Kujo, Takushi Hiyamuta, Andoh Kenji and Takeshi Okui, the latter two of which have never spoken about the series previously. These insightful discussions bust myths and reveal the real truth behind the creation and evolution of this esteemed franchise, extensively covering the formation of Nazca and the truth behind Metal Slug Zero – the version of Metal Slug when you only controlled the SV-001 tank. The book also dives into and explores the roots of Metal Slug, looking at Irem titles In the Hunt and GunForce II and how these arcade cult classics influenced what was to come later. This page turner is definitely a must for any fan of the Metal Slug series, and if you are into art, then this book is for you too.

Since Christmas is around the corner, we reckon the Metal Slug: The Ultimate History book would look pretty good under that Christmas tree.

The important bits:

  • Title: Metal Slug: The Ultimate History
  • Publisher: Bitmap Books
  • Front Cover: Black foil-blocked cover and spine
  • Back cover: Hardback
  • Pages: 452
  • Retail Price: AUD$69.95 from Pixel Crib

Disclosure: Metal Slug: The Ultimate History book was provided by Pixel Crib for this review.

 

Ausretrogamer Fun Factory – Number 1 for Fun

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After one helluva gruelling week, we are glad to be in the Ausretrogamer Fun Factory!

We always feel at ease and relaxed when we are inside of our Fun Factory. We can sit here and pick an item to stare at (even a joystick!) and we immediately get flooded with nostalgic memories. Sometimes we may even turn something on to play.

For today, we are just enjoying the view and letting the nostalgia wash over us. Hang on, that didn’t last long, we have a hankering to play some Amiga games on the CDTV! And perhaps pinball to finish up…….

 

Review: SNK 40th Anniversary Collection

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We bet that when you think of SNK you think of the NEOGEO, however SNK was developing and publishing pretty decent arcade games well before the NEOGEO.

When the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection was announced earlier this year, we immediately took note, as we got quite excited at the prospect of playing SNK’s library of awesome classic games on our Nintendo Switch.

This collection represents SNK’s golden age of arcade games, a true arcade connoisseurs anthology, which is already proving quite popular in the office – we have to wait our turn on the shared Switch (Ed: perhaps we need to leave a coin on the screen!).

So which SNK games can you play straight away? The current list of titles, which is a mix of arcade and console ports, are a great start for the trip down memory lane:

  • Alpha Mission (Console/Arcade)
  • Athena (Console/Arcade)
  • Crystalis (Console)
  • Ikari Warriors (Console/Arcade)
  • Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road (Console/Arcade)
  • Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue (Console/Arcade)
  • Guerrilla War (Console/Arcade)
  • P.O.W. (Console/Arcade)
  • Prehistoric Isle (Arcade)
  • Psycho Soldier (Arcade)
  • Street Smart (Arcade)
  • TNK III (Console/Arcade)
  • Vanguard (Arcade)

But wait, there is more! On December 11, there will be an additional 11 games added (for free!) to the already packed collection – check out these beauties:

  • Munch Mobile (Arcade)
  • Fantasy (Arcade)
  • Sasuke vs. Commander (Arcade)
  • Chopper I (Arcade)
  • Time Soldiers (Arcade)
  • Bermuda Triangle (Arcade)
  • Paddle Mania (Arcade)
  • Ozma Wars (Arcade)
  • Beast Busters (Arcade)
  • Search and Rescue (Arcade)
  • World Wars (Arcade)

With regular patches being released to enhance gameplay experience (like the Day 1 patch adding ‘Single Stick’ mode amongst a raft of other improvements), this compilation truly gets better and better. The emulation has a few bumps here and there, but nothing that detracts from the overall gameplay experience – If you have never played these games or played them long ago, you would never notice. And as mentioned, patches are being released to tighten up any loose ends.

Speaking of user experience, the overall presentation is simply awesome, with an easy to use menu system that not only provides access to the arcade games with enhanced features (like rewind gameplay, auto-fire and 1080p resolution to name just a few), but also a brilliant museum mode where a lot of painstaking effort was made to catalogue and preserve the legacy of one of Japan’s leading developers, which includes high definition artwork and original promotional assets. We actually spent a lot of time in the museum going through each game and finding out information we could not find anywhere else – those of you that are into history and research will love this mode.

We are really glad that SNK chose to celebrate their extraordinary milestone by giving us, the gamers, a brilliant high quality compilation. The SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION is packed full of retro gaming goodness with top-notch features with a complimentary museum mode which tops off what is an already solid package for those of you craving for nostalgia.

This is an essential collection to add to your Nintendo Switch games library. The only problem you’ll have is making the choice between physical or download – either way, you can’t go wrong!

image source: NIS America

Disclosure: SNK 40th Anniversary Collection [Nintendo Switch – download] was kindly provided by NIS America for this review.

 

King Of The World: SNK’s NEOGEO Mini Revealed

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The worst kept secret in gaming has finally been confirmed!

The NEOGEO mini, the video game console that celebrates the 40th Anniversary of SNK’s brand has been revealed!The system will include 40 legendary and awesome NEOGEO titles!

The NEOGEO mini is a video game console, which will include 40 nostalgic titles from the NEOGEO system, which made its debut in 1990.

Rest of the world NEOGEO mini version

The NEOGEO mini will feature a 3.5 inch display, meaning the games can be enjoyed without the need to connect it to a TV or monitor! The size of the NEOGEO mini means it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand – just like the Atari Lynx does *wink*

The NEOGEO mini will be available in two different designs, one for the Asian market and the other one for overseas markets. With its design in black, white and red, the Japanese version of the NEOGEO mini will faithfully reproduce the original NEOGEO arcade cabinets that were introduced in Japan in 1990. The overseas version will be a simple and modern design in black, white and blue.

The Japanese NEOGEO mini version

SNK hasn’t released any more details, so we are keeping our peepers peeled to find out when these will be released and the confirmed games list!

So what do you think? We actually love the look of both units. Which one do you like?

PRODUCT DETAILS:
■ Product name: NEOGEO mini
■ Number of titles: 40 titles
■ Display size: 3.5 inch
■ Size and weight: W135mm x D108mm x H162mm / 600g
■ Accessories: Power supply cable (AC adaptor will not be included)
■ Connections: HDMI terminal (Input for TV monitor), headphone terminal, 2 external controller terminals

source: SNK via Facebook

 

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Coming To The Nintendo Switch

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This is HUGE news! Mark spring time (fall/autumn in the north) in your diary peeps, as the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection will be released on the Nintendo Switch.

For those of you that like their tangible games, there will be a physical SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Limited Edition that can be pre-ordered now via the SNK Online Store.

Just in case you weren’t aware, SNK made heaps of awesome arcade games in the 80s before they went really big with their Neo Geo. To whet your retro gaming appetite, here are the announced SNK games you could (Ed: should!) be playing on your Switch, with more to come:

  • Alpha Mission (arcade + home versions)
  • Athena (arcade + home versions)
  • Crystalis
  • Ikari Warriors (arcade + home versions)
  • Ikari III: The Rescue (arcade + home versions)
  • Guerrilla War (arcade + home versions)
  • P.O.W. (arcade + home versions)
  • Prehistoric Isle in 1930
  • Psycho Soldier
  • Street Smart
  • TNK III (arcade + home versions)
  • Vanguard
  • Victory Road (arcade + home versions)

The Limited Edition comes in a Collector’s Box with all the games plus the “Nostalgic Music Collection” soundtrack and the “40th Anniversary Art Collection” hardcover art book.

Let’s celebrate SNK’s 40th anniversary by turning up the excitement level to 11!

image source: SNK Online Store