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Neo Geo games coming to Nintendo Switch

firenze

Member
Uh... that was a picture of the PS4 version trophies. There are still no trophies for Switch. Top Hunter doesn't need trophies to be great though :)

And onto the main event... get ready. Last Blade is less than a week away. I now have a new answer any time someone asks "what's the best Neo Geo fighting game on Switch". Garou and KOF are good, yeah. But Last Blade is just a magnificent experience that still holds up like a dream today. The attention to detail, those backgrounds, the perfect feel of the controls - a true masterpiece. I know I'm not alone in preferring the original to the also excellent sequel: my main reasons are that I like that the original has significantly more backgrounds (character specific), and I prefer the speed/power choice (and how the "speed" mode works) in the original.

With Last Blade's release ending the last announced batch of games, it's probably safe to expect news from Hamster this week on the next set of Neo Geo games coming to Switch. They already let slip that King of Fighters '96 is coming on December 28, but they generally announce the next batch of 5-7 games once they come to the end of the previously announced batch.
 

AmyS

Member
Pulstar is finally coming to Switch next week.

https://realotakugamer.com/pulstar-neogeo-coming-to-switch-next-week

Next week's Neo Geo game for Nintendo Switch has been revealed. The shoot em up, Pulstar, will be coming to the eShop next week for all players on Switch.

Pulstar is a side-scrolling shooting game released by SNK in 1995. Control the ”Dino246", and take down the aliens who are attacking the solar system. The game features a verity of offensive and defensive options, including 5 unique Voyager items and special IO items. Use everything at your disposal to protect your ship and defeat the alien threat!
You can expect ACA NeoGeo Pulstar to cost the regular $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/12/pulstar_is_your_next_neo_geo_aca_release_on_switch

Pulstar Is Your Next Neo Geo ACA Release On Switch

But R you my Type?

Nintendo Life shmup heads rejoice, for next week Hamster is bringing the forerunner to Blazing Star to the eShop!

It has been long rumoured (but never confirmed) that developer Aicom was a set up by ex-Jaleco and Irem staffers, so if you happen to feel that Pulstar feels a little bit too close to R-Type, it might not be a mere coincidence.

This 1995 arcade release was the first Neo Geo game to feature pre-rendered graphics, the same kind of that were pushing the industry forward one year previously with Donkey Kong Country. Unlike its more hectic sequel, Pulstar is a far more slow-paced shmup, one that requires a different set of skills to tackle: enemy pattern memorization, navigation and the correct choice of weapons for each section are key for smooth sailing on this one.
 

firenze

Member
Hamster announced the next 8 Switch ACA Neo Geo releases through their usual Niconico livestream. Unless noted below, dates not officially confirmed but are highly likely (so far, they've always released in the order shown in their announcements)

December 21: Pulstar (date confirmed)
December 28: The King of Fighters '96 (date confirmed on Twitter a few weeks ago)
January 4: King of the Monsters
January 11: Art of Fighting 2
January 18: Power Spikes II
January 25: World Heroes 2
February 1: Samurai Shodown II (aka Shin Samurai Spirits)
February 8: 2020 Super Baseball

All of those except Power Spikes II had been previously released on PS4 and/or Xbox One. I haven't yet been able to confirm any new announcements today for upcoming PS4/Xbox ACA Neo Geo releases, but these new Switch confirmations mean that the list of previous PS4/Xbox releases (which are near certainties to show up on Switch eventually) is now:

* Fatal Fury 3
* Real Bout Fatal Fury
* Real Bout Special
* Sengoku 2
* World Heroes 2 Jet
 

firenze

Member
Hey, so when I was downloading King of the Monsters today I checked Magician Lord... and it seems like it's BACK UP in the NA eShop after a long and unexplained disappearance. Perhaps it's just showing for me to re-download because I already owned it (though if so, I think the way the shop displays previously purchased games display is different than it was before), but if someone who hasn't previously purchased it can confirm that would be nice.

In other news, next week's release (which should be Art of Fighting 2, oh god the brutality) will mark a milestone. The 50th ACA Neo Geo game on Switch!

Anyone else have every one of the releases to date? :) I actually sold several AES carts in 2017 to downsize my collection, so I have no qualms about putting a fraction of that money toward buying every single ACA Neo Geo release on Switch. When I look at it from the perspective of $8 a piece x 50 = $400, and realize that that's the amount I sold some SINGLE AES games for (say, KOF 2002), I don't really mind the constant $7.99 per week.
 
Neo Geo Lovely Games!

Currently I've these games:

World Heroes Perfect
Metal Slug 3
Samurai Shodown IV
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Fatal Fury 2
Fatal Fury Special
Samurai Shodown
Art of Fighting
The Last Blade

The next ones will be:

World Heroes 2
Samurai Shodown 2

Interested in:

KoF '98 (I've never played a KoF)
Shock Troopers
Spin Master
Karnov's Revenge (only for Clown)
Pulstar

I'm looking for:

Samurai Shodown V
The Last Blade 2
Cyber-Lip
Prehistoric Isle in 1930
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos

Besides NeoGeo's games, there's a possibility of having SEGA/KONAMI/CAPCOM arcade games? I really love to see on my Switch:

Alien Storm
Golden Axe I & II
Cyber Police ESWAT
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Toki
Street of Rage 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
The Simpsons
Captain Commando
Robocop
Captain America and the Avengers
Final Fight

Hamster CEO Satoshi Hamada wants to release 800 Arcade Archives titles.
 

firenze

Member
Yeah I was just coming here to give SamSho 2 a shout out. One of the defining Neo Geo games for sure, I think "masterpiece" is pretty much the perfect word to describe it. Spent my Thursday evening playing this :)

Getting to be that time to hear about the next batch of games too! Super Baseball 2020 this week on Switch is the last of the announced games, so Hamster will probably provide an update of upcoming titles like they usually do when they get to the end of a batch.

Out of curiosity, I actually went through the entire Neo Geo library to see what's left and the chances I think these games have to be released. If anyone wants an (excessively?) long list, I can oblige!

Practically Guaranteed
All of these are SNK published games in major franchises, and Hamster has already released them all in the ACA Neo Geo series on Xbox/PS4
  • Fatal Fury 3 [EDIT: Confirmed for February 15, 2018]
  • Real Bout Fatal Fury [EDIT: Confirmed for March 8, 2018]
  • Real Bout Fatal Fury Special [EDIT: Confirmed for release - likely May 3, 2018]
  • Samurai Shodown III [EDIT: Confirmed for release - likely April 5, 2018]
  • Sengoku 2 [EDIT: Confirmed for February/March 2018]
  • World Heroes 2 Jet [EDIT: Confirmed for release - likely March 22, 2018]

Very Likely
All of these are by SNK (including ADK developed games published by SNK), except for Magical Drop III from Data East - and we know Hamster has Data East licenses. Licensing issues don't appear to be a problem, as all of them have also been ported in some form; almost all were released in at least one region on Wii Virtual Console (Baseball Stars 1 being the only exception, but that has been ported a lot - SNK's PS2/Wii compilation, PS3/PSP Neo Geo Station, etc.).
  • Baseball Stars Professional
  • Baseball Stars 2
  • Crossed Swords
  • Gangan (Aggressors of Dark Kombat)
  • Kizuna Encounter
  • League Bowling
  • Magical Drop 3 [EDIT: Confirmed for February/March 2018]
  • Metal Slug 4
  • Ninja Combat
  • Ninja Commando
  • Ninja Master's
  • Real Bout Fatal Fury 2
  • Savage Reign
  • Sengoku 3 (Sengoku 2001) [EDIT: Confirmed for release - likely March 29, 2018]
  • The Super Spy
  • Twinkle Star Sprites
Possibilities
All of these were SNK published games, and a few from major franchises (KOF, SamSho, Last Blade, Metal Slug) have seen some form of re-releases/ports. However, these never made it to Wii Virtual Console and the games not in the previously mentioned franchises are ones that aren't often, if ever, ported/re-released. I'm guessing some of these show up on ACA Neo Geo, and some don't.
  • 3 Count Bout (aka Fire Suplex)
  • Aero Fighters 3 [EDIT: Confirmed for release - likely March 15, 2018]
  • Cyber-Lip
  • Eightman (SNK published game, but likely has licensing issues with the original manga/anime creators - has never been ported)
  • Football Frenzy
  • Ghost Pilots [EDIT: Confirmed for release - likely April 12, 2018]
  • King of Fighters 2001
  • King of Fighters 2002
  • King of Fighters 2003
  • Last Blade 2 (an interesting one, possible licensing issues due to the Code Mystics ports on current & last gen systems, but that didn't stop Garou or Metal Slug 3, and they've ported LB2 a bunch so seems to me like it will eventually show up)
  • Metal Slug 5
  • Money Idol Exchanger (aka Money Puzzle Exchanger)
  • Neo Geo Cup '98
  • Nightmare in the Dark (super obscure game and maybe SNK doesn't have the rights to license it out)
  • Prehistoric Isle 2
  • Riding Hero
  • Samurai Shodown V/Zero
  • Samurai Shodown V/Zero Special (like LB2, recently released with a Code Mystics port on PS4/Vita; also notable as a game SNK has been resistant to allow to be ported/re-released in the past, but maybe those days are gone since the 2017 port)
  • Super Sidekicks 2
  • Super Sidekicks 3
  • Super Sidekicks 4 (Ultimate 11)
  • Thrash Rally (ADK, but SNK-published)
  • Top Players Golf
  • Zupapa (like Nightmare in the Dark, a really obscure single-screen Bubble Bobble/Snow Bros. like game - SNK published it as an MVS/arcade release only, after sitting on it for most of a decade...)
Less likely:
Here we're getting kinda dicey. A few "maybes", but licensing issues or lack of popularity make these considerably less likely (unless maybe Hamster announces they have acquired licenses from one of these companies):
  • Hudson Soft games: Kabuki Klash/Far East of Eden, a couple Bomberman releases
  • Taito (currently part of Square Enix) games: Puzzle Bobble 1&2, Puzzle De Pon, Pochi & Nyaa
  • Technos games: Double Dragon, Super Dodgeball, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (may have separate license issues due to being based on an anime)
  • Visco games: Andro Dunos (though it was published by SNK, so... maybe?), Battle Flip Shot, Breakers, Captain Tomaday, Ganryu, Neo Drift Out, etc.
  • Some fairly obscure SNK published/Saurus developed games: Futsal, Ironclad (originally a Neo CD exclusive game, but did get a worldwide Wii VC release so... maybe?), Ragnagard/Shin-ou-ken, Stakes Winner 1 and 2 [EDIT: Stakes Winner 1 Confirmed for release - likely April 26, 2018]
Some odd individual games:
  • Matrimelee - probably a licensing nightmare, with Atlus/Sega likely holding the rights now but the Power Instinct games have a really convoluted licensing past
  • Rage of the Dragons - strange one, published by the post-SNK incarnation of Playmore, but developed (and possibly some IP ownership retained by) out-of-business Mexican developer Evoga, and Noise Factory; might have some Technos license issues too from the Double Dragon characters. Shame, it's a really great game and was never ported to anything.
  • SVC Chaos - unfortunately probably not very likely unless they get Capcom to agree (maybe not impossible though, the game did get PS2/Xbox ports in the mid-2000s)
  • Viewpoint - Sammy game, so Sega is probably the current license holder
  • Windjammers - potential license issues with Dotemu, who licensed the game for the recent PS4/Vita release; also notable that this game did get a Japanese Wii VC release, but was eventually de-listed
Extremely unlikely:
  • Any of the small handful of Neo games published by tiny and super-obscure publishers (Wave, Face, Eleven, etc.), or publishers who released like 1 game on Neo Geo (Psikyo, Tecmo, etc.) [EDIT: Shockingly, Gururin from Face has been confirmed for release! - likely April 19, 2018]
  • Any of the handful of mahjong, shogi, or quiz games
  • Any of the unlicensed Neo Geo games produced after the "end" of the Neo Geo's run - e.g., NG.Dev Team's shooters
  • The Irritating Maze - special controller? Incredibly weird game (and title)? Yeah, this isn't getting an ACA Neo Geo release.
 
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firenze

Member
Next week's Switch release (Feb. 15) is Fatal Fury 3.

EDIT: Hamster had their usual Niconico livestream, where they also announced Magical Drop 3 and Sengoku 2 are coming to Switch. Presumably, one will be out February 22, and the other on March 1.
 
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firenze

Member
Magical Drop 3 confirmed as next week's release (Feb. 22). Probably safe to assume that means Sengoku 2 will release on March 1.
 

firenze

Member
Real Bout Fatal Fury is next week's release (March 8). Hamster doing their usual Niconico stream soon to announce the next batch of games.
 

firenze

Member
According to Nintendo Everything the upcoming games will be:

Real Bout Fatal Fury
Aero Fighters 3
World Heroes 2 Jet
Sengoku 3
Samurai Shodown III
Ghost Pilots
Gururin
Stakes Winner
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

Yup, these were confirmed on Hamster's stream. Likely to be released in the order shown (and RBFF is definitely confirmed as the first of this batch, coming March 8). Updated my post above with edits to reflect these announcements.

RBFF, RBS, SamSho3, and WH2J were sure things; no surprises there.

Sengoku 3 will make a lot of people really happy. Personally, I much prefer Sengoku 2 though. Sengoku 3 looks gorgeous and tries to add a more complex combo system, but the level design and pacing are just way off - enemies take too many hits and there are too many of them, and the levels go on forever to the point where I find the game really drags. One of the more tedious beat-em-ups around, IMHO. At least Sengoku 2 has some thematic weirdness going for it to keep things interesting, since nothing in the Sengoku series can hold a candle to better brawlers like the Streets of Rage games or Final Fight. Sengoku 3 is a game I have to kick myself for selling way back when I did though (bought the day 1 AES cart); even though I made some profit selling it when I did in the mid-2000s, the cart is worth a small fortune today...

Aero Fighters 3 (aka Sonic Wings 3) and Ghost Pilots are nice shooter additions which were rarely ported or re-released. Sonic Wings Special did get released on Saturn/PSX, and contained many Sonic Wings 3 elements - but otherwise, AFAIK neither of these games have had previous ports/official re-releases outside of the Neo Geo originals. Aero Fighters 3 is a very good mid-90s shooter; I find it better than part 2, which a lot of people here seem to really enjoy. Ghost Pilots has a lesser reputation, but I don't think it's a bad 1943-esque "vertizontal" shooter, if a bit simplistic - but that's reasonable to me considering it was one of the earliest Neo Geo games, and was pretty graphically impressive upon its release in 1991.

The more eyebrow raising announcements here are:

Stakes Winner - I adore this game, so I'm thrilled to see it getting a release and I had some doubt it would actually happen. I find the Stakes Winner games fun because you feel in control of the arcade horse racing action (you can actually move the horse, not just influence it by whipping it), and I think the 3/4-ish overhead view really works well presentation wise. The colorful cartoony style works for me too. Neo Geo version is also expensive as hell and rarely ported (though I do have the Sega Saturn release), so cool to see a less common Neo game getting some love. Super exciting that this also makes it seem a lot more likely we'll eventually see Stakes Winner 2!

Gururin - holy ****, this is one of the straight up weirdest Neo Geo games in existence. I'm shocked to see it getting a re-release. I've never heard of anyone who particularly enjoys it. Very strange MVS-exclusive (never had an official AES home cart release) puzzle game by a very obscure developer: Face, who also developed Money Puzzle Exchanger and Digger Man. A review on www.neo-geo.com sums it up nicely: "You know that screen that says "Winners Don't Do Drugs" that shows up when you start many Neo games? I have a strong suspicion that the designers of Gururin are not winners." The game is hard to the point where it can be almost luck-based, and it's kind of a match-3 game where you don't move the blocks, but instead rotate the playfield.
 
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firenze

Member
So Real Bout Fatal Fury is out today. I wouldn't put it in the class of the best-of-the-best fighters on Neo alongside Last Blade, SamSho1-2, Garou, and the better KOFs... but it's a really interesting game and worth a look.

The Real Bout games are basically the Fatal Fury equivalent of the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series. The look was changed up a bit and has more fluid movement and a more anime/colorful feel, which they went all-in on with Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. RBFF also shows some strong influence from 3D fighters, Virtua Fighter 2 in particular, with ring outs (after breaking the barricade on either end of the playfield), very VF-feeling chain combos (similar to the trend of the time for Capcom stuff like X-Men: CotA and Darkstalkers), and a fairly strong emphasis on the three-plane movement system - which FINALLY feels easy to control in this game after being clunky since the inception of the Fatal Fury series thanks to the D button being dedicated to plane shifting.

It's also really interesting to me to see that SNK somewhat imitated the arcade mode structure of World Heroes 2 Jet, another semi-spinoff Neo Geo fighter that released a year and a half earlier (and which is coming to Switch in two weeks). Instead of the traditional "fight the character on their stage" setup that had been used in Fatal Fury since the start of the series, your first four stages are always in a set order, for three consecutive fights on each stage before moving to the next stage. Interesting... but a little sad that there are so few backgrounds in this game.

Another piece of Real Bout related news is that Hamster released Real Bout 2 for PS4 and Xbox One this week, which is probably as good as confirming that it will eventually show up on Switch (previously, RBFF and RBS were released in 2017 for PS4/Xbox One).
 
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firenze

Member
Hey so it's FINALLY HAPPENING... Baseball Stars (the original) is coming. Hamster announced a sports-focused next batch of Switch ACA Neo Geo games.

After Stakes Winner next week (May 3), the following five releases will be:

Super Sidekicks 2
Baseball Stars Professional
Top Players Golf
Ninja Combat
Riding Hero

Now on to people waiting impatiently for Baseball Stars 2! (and Super Sidekicks 3)
 

davidgilmour

Neo Member
So, today Baseball Stars is out. Has anyone checked if it is the exact original?
I once read that the later PSP release had some changes. Like player number three BATMAN from the Fabulous Superstars team because of licensing issues.
 

GuyKazama

Member
The player ‘OH’ on the Japan Robins is named ‘OU’ here, so looks like some changes. This is different from the PSP but I haven’t looked at the other teams.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
Is Baseball Stars Pro worth if when I already have the awesome 2020 game with robots? I'm thinking I should just wait for Baseball Stars 2, at the very least.
 

firenze

Member
Is Baseball Stars Pro worth if when I already have the awesome 2020 game with robots? I'm thinking I should just wait for Baseball Stars 2, at the very least.

I still find Baseball Stars Professional fun... but Baseball Stars 2 is way better, and is an inevitable future release. If you don't especially have nostalgia for the original Baseball Stars, I'd just wait for 2 to release and occupy yourself with 2020 Super Baseball in the meantime :)


Annnnd.... next group of releases has been announced, and it's a good one. As usual, highly likely to be released in the below announcement order but dates not confirmed aside from the June 14 game. Thanks to http://www.japanesenintendo.com for reporting on Hamster's latest Niconico livestream announcement.

June 14: Super Sidekicks 3 (date confirmed)
June 21: Last Blade 2
June 28: Money Puzzle Exchanger
July 5: The Super Spy
July 12: League Bowling

None of these are terribly surprising, but we're getting some pretty good stuff.

Super Sidekicks 3 is, in my eyes, the pinnacle of the series. Just a really fun game, and totally worth a look - one of the absolute highlights of the Neo Geo sports genre.

Last Blade 2 is gonna be some people's pick for best fighting game. Not mine, I actually prefer the original, but LB2 is undeniably one of the highlights of the system.

Money Puzzle Exchanger was basically a sure thing after we saw Face's other puzzle game (the bizarre Gururin) get a release. This game has a bit of a cult following and a good reputation among puzzle game fans. It's basically Magical Drop, but with the addition of... addition? (you can make coins add up to turn them into a higher denomination coin, e.g. five 1 coins turn into a 5, two 5s turn into a 10, etc.). Nice anime style look, a la Magical Drop 3.

The Super Spy is one I've been waiting for. If you're familiar with Crossed Swords, it's basically a spy themed take on that formula (to me it also feels a bit like first person Elevator Action). Behind the back perspective action game, but you are primarily moving left/right instead of running forward under your own control (unless you progress forward after a batch of enemies). Most of the combat is with punches/kicks, but you can pick up limited use knives and guns. Rarely ported, AFAIK the Japan-only Wii Virtual Console release was the only non-Neo Geo appearance it has ever officially made.

League Bowling is one of the earliest Neo Geo games, and really simple, but it's still fun. Probably more for Neo enthusiasts, but it's a good time and might also appeal to some people who are less hardcore gamers due to the easy to understand gameplay. (though hey, if it was me and I wanted to play a bowling game with someone who wasn't a Neo fan, I'd pop in Tekken 7 and play Tekken Bowl instead!)
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Money Puzzle Exchanger is good. I already have it on PS1 and the PSN port of the PS1 version, but it's good to see it come out soon.

Yeah, similar to Magical Drop but slower and more strategy is required. I'd say it is a "thinking man's Magical Drop" but I don't mean that as an insult to Magical Drop -- which is pretty much the perfect videogame -- in any way.

I'd love a port of DriftOut: New Technology. It is one of the best racing games of the arcade era.
 

firenze

Member
I would love to see Wind Jammers get ported over, was always my favorite Neo Geo arcade game

Unfortunately, there is a good chance we won't see Windjammers any time soon in Hamster's ACA Neo Geo line. Windjammers was actually the only Neo Geo game ever delisted from the Wii Virtual Console, back in 2013 due to licensing issues. Dotemu licensed the game from the current IP holder (Paon DP, a Japanese company formed by some ex-Data East employees) and in 2017 ended up releasing a PS4/Vita port. There's a good chance that Dotemu has some sort of exclusivity with that license at the moment. That doesn't mean the game won't ever come to Switch though... Hamster may be able to license it in the future, OR Dotemu could release it themselves on Switch.
 

firenze

Member
Hey, so this week's release was a surprise that wasn't on their last announcement: Samurai Shodown V/Zero (not Special). Presumably, that just means the previous announced releases, The Super Spy and League Bowling, will get pushed to July 12th and 19th.

SSV will take some flak, and is not recommended for most people since SSV Special (which is a much improved version) exists and seems likely to come to Switch eventually. Special has been ported to PS4/Vita by SNK/Code Mystics, and most of those releases have eventually made it to Switch in the ACA Neo Geo line (Metal Slug 3, Garou, Last Blade 2... so far, no KoF '97 but that seems inevitable too).

That being said, SSV is interesting from a historical and series development perspective. It was in the very dark period when SNK was going through serious financial issues, and they allowed Yuki Enterprise to make SSV (as their first fighting game). After SSV and Special, they went on to change their name to Examu where they have mostly been known for the Arcana Heart series.

I am still waiting for
Windjammers
Andro Dunos
Cyberlip
Ganryu
Viewpoint

Cyber-Lip is likely, since it appeared on the list of games on the upcoming Neo Geo Mini so doesn't appear to have any licensing issues (and SNK owned properties are generally accessible to Hamster). Will be really nice to see too, since Cyber-Lip was never ported to a non Neo Geo system.

Your other 4 are far less likely:
Windjammers is seriously doubtful due to license issues, as described in the post right above yours.
Andro Dunos and Ganryu are Visco games, and Hamster doesn't appear to have a Visco license at this time (but that could conceivably change later).
Viewpoint is controlled by Sega now, and seems like a licensing headache.
 

firenze

Member
New announced ACA Neo Geo releases! Tentative release dates below, assuming they release in the listed order in Hamster's announcement (as is the norm).

July 26 - King of Fighters '97
August 2 - Prehistoric Isle 2
August 9 - Metal Slug 4
August 16 - Real Bout Fatal Fury 2
August 23 - Crossed Swords
August 30 - Football Frenzy

These games will bring the total number in the series to 84. Unfortunately, it's going to come to an end before all that long since the list of Neo Geo games that haven't shown up keeps on shrinking - but I would expect Hamster will be able to clear 100 (with weekly releases, they'd hit that milestone in the last week of December).

Likely games still to come to Switch
all of these are SNK or ADK games, where SNK has licensing rights and they've re-released on previous platforms (e.g., Wii Virtual Console or PSN Neo Geo Station) or the games are set for inclusion in the Neo Geo Mini microconsole

- 3 Count Bout
- Aggressors of Dark Kombat
- Baseball Stars 2
- Cyber-Lip
- King of the Monsters 2
- Kizuna Encounter
- King of Fighters 2001
- King of Fighters 2002
- King of Fighters 2003
- Metal Slug 5
- Ninja Commando
- Ninja Master's
- Samurai Shodown V Special
- Savage Reign
- Stakes Winner 2
- Twinkle Star Sprites
- Ultimate 11 (Super Sidekicks 4)

Possible Switch releases, but somewhat less likely:
- Double Dragon - possible license issues
- Eightman - possible license issues
- Futsal (aka Pleasure Goal) - maybe? Developed by Saurus, who had a very close second party developer relationship with SNK, and Hamster has released other Saurus developed/SNK-published games like Stakes Winner and the Shock Troopers games
- Ironclad (aka Chotetsu Bringer) - another Saurus game, and it was released on Wii Virtual Console... but that was a huge surprise, since the game was Neo CD only and never had an arcade/MVS release
- Rage of the Dragons - possible license issues
- Ragnagard (aka Shin-ou-ken) - another Saurus game, so maybe
- Super Dodgeball - possible license issues
- Thrash Rally - ADK game that probably doesn't have licensing issues, but has never been re-released for any non-Neo Geo platform
- Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer - possible license issues
- Zupapa! - never before re-released, but this one seems more likely than not at this point since two other SNK-published/Face-developed titles (Gururin and Money Puzzle Exchanger) have made it into the ACA Neo Geo series.

Unlikely - games from developers where there is no evidence Hamster has licenses to release any of their Neo Geo games:
- Visco games (Andro Dunos, Battle Flip Shot, Breakers, Breakers Revenge, Captain Tomaday, Ganryu, Goal! Goal! Goal!, Neo Drift Out, Neo Mr. Do, Pop'n Bounce)
- Hudson Soft games (Bomberman: Panic Bomber, Far East of Eden: Kabuki Klash (aka Tengai Makyo), Neo Bomberman)
- Taito games (Pochi & Nyaa, Puzzle Bobble, Puzzle Bobble 2, Puzzle de Pon)
- Other random/one-off Neo releases from other developers: Fight Fever (Vicco), Legend of Success Joe (Wave), Nightmare in the Dark (Eleven/Gavaking), Strikers 1945 Plus (Psikyo), Tecmo World Soccer '96 (Tecmo)

Unlikely - other reasons
- Crossed Swords 2 (Neo CD only release, never re-released. Sure would be cool to see though!)
- Matrimelee (probable license issues with the confusing mess of Power Instinct licensing in a web of Atlus, Sega, Excite, and other companies...)
- SVC Chaos (probable license issues with Capcom)
- Viewpoint (probable license issues with Sega)
- Windjammers (probable license issues, Dotemu seems to have the current publishing rights - PS4/Vita port released last year - and the game was delisted from Wii VC years ago)
- Any of the handful of weird Mahjong, Quiz, and Shogi games - simply due to obscurity and likely nonexistent interest
- Any unlicensed games released after the Neo's official life: for example, shooters by NG.Dev, etc.
- The Irritating Maze - special controller, completely bizarre game (but it is a Saurus game)
 
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firenze

Member
Can they hurry up with 3 count bout? I'd like a wrestling game that's actually playable.

Playable? In that case, may I direct you instead to Fire Pro Wrestling World? (shame it's only PS4/PC at this point, but man... that sure would be nice on Switch)

Seriously though, I give 3 Count Bout a bit of a hard time, but I am pleased to see it showed up on the Neo Geo Mini, which makes me believe it's a sure thing for ACA Neo Geo as well. I hope so just because the game hasn't seen many (any?) previous ports/re-releases, so it's nice to have some exposure. Graphically it's a very nice looking game, but that CPU AI is ROUGH and makes the 1P game way less fun than it could be thanks to the cheap computer opponents even on the easiest difficulty setting. At least the Switch games have save states...

Yay for Pre Historic Isle 2! I wish Viewpoint was available.

Heck yeah Prehistoric Isle 2!

And Prehistoric Isle 1 is gonna be on the SNK 40th Anniversary release on Switch coming this November, also featuring other pre-Neo Geo SNK games! Never thought I'd get both games in THIS series with official releases in 2018.

Neo DriftOut: New Technology, please.

Not unless Hamster manages to come up with a licensing agreement with Visco... No evidence of that so far, though it's certainly not impossible.

Visco HAS been licensing some of their stuff though: Vasara 1 and 2 are coming to Switch in 2019 courtesy of a company called QUByte Interactive. They've also seemingly had some odd licensing agreements with French companies for a couple of their Neo Geo games in the past several years: Dreamcast ports (emulated?) of Ganryu and Breakers by a company called Joshprod, and an AES release of Breakers Revenge (apparently using repurposed MVS ROMs) sold via Neo Ayato in France which they claim was produced under an official Visco license. I actually own the AES Breakers Revenge - it's a nicely done cart and case/manual, but a really weird release.

They’re going to leave Baseball Stars 2 until the very end, aren’t they?

Hahahaha yeah, seems so. Maybe for baseball playoff season?
 
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firenze

Member
Not quite the ACA Neo Geo release some people might have wanted... but good news about Windjammers!

Dotemu announced at Evo 2018 that they will be releasing their Windjammers port on Switch on the eShop before the end of the year. Price unknown, but I'd guess $14.99-$19.99 in the US (PS4/Vita cross play version has a list price of $14.99). The PS4/Vita version has some home-system features like online play, a few graphics filters, and some custom menus. I found the PS4/Vita version to be a solid port, but I'm not much for paying online so I have no real opinion about the netcode and playability for online multiplayer.

FWIW, Limited Run Games worked with Dotemu to release physical versions of the PS4 and Switch Windjammers (as well as Dotemu's Ys Origins PS4/Vita release), and from the amount of buzz it seems like Windjammers was one of their more popular titles. Would not surprise me at all if they end up doing a Limited Run Switch physical version some time in 2018-2019 (in fact, I'd be more surprised if that doesn't happen).
 

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Not quite the ACA Neo Geo release some people might have wanted... but good news about Windjammers!

Dotemu announced at Evo 2018 that they will be releasing their Windjammers port on Switch on the eShop before the end of the year. Price unknown, but I'd guess $14.99-$19.99 in the US (PS4/Vita cross play version has a list price of $14.99). The PS4/Vita version has some home-system features like online play, a few graphics filters, and some custom menus. I found the PS4/Vita version to be a solid port, but I'm not much for paying online so I have no real opinion about the netcode and playability for online multiplayer.

FWIW, Limited Run Games worked with Dotemu to release physical versions of the PS4 and Switch Windjammers (as well as Dotemu's Ys Origins PS4/Vita release), and from the amount of buzz it seems like Windjammers was one of their more popular titles. Would not surprise me at all if they end up doing a Limited Run Switch physical version some time in 2018-2019 (in fact, I'd be more surprised if that doesn't happen).
I'd pick it up if they had it physical on Switch.

ACA needs to put out compilations for their titles. They could easily throw together 3 - 4 full-sized compilation packs at this point.
 

firenze

Member
Crossed Swords is out now. This game is my jam, was always in the bowling alley 6-slot MVS that I played on in the early 90s. Behind the back view (think Punch-Out!!, or The Super Spy on Neo Geo) fantasy slasher with skeletons and rat-men. Also: I played Vermintide on Xbox One and it totally makes me think of Crossed Swords... Anyway it's good stuff, buy it!

It would be beyond cool if we see the Neo CD exclusive Crossed Swords 2 get a release from Hamster. Wouldn't be completely unprecedented, we did see the shocking release of Ironclad (another of the few Neo CD exclusives) get a worldwide release on Wii Virtual Console. I dunno that I'd hold my breath for it, but Crossed Swords 2 would certainly be one of my highlights of the series if that ever came to pass...
 
Hamster have announced their next batch of ACA NEOGEO series titles at the 145th Arcade Archiver livestream with a focus on SNK titles! Only three games this time with all titles listed below (localised names in brackets if different!):-

  • Ninja Commando
  • Tsuukai GANGAN Koushinkyoku (Aggressors of Dark Kombat)
  • Cyber Lip
 
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