August2017
Review The King of Fighters '99 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Enjoyable, skip-able fighting fun
Since its beginning the three-vs-three Team-Battling shenanigans of SNK’s The King of Fighters series provided enjoyable fighting action. Each instalment added and tweaked things, culminating in the superb “Dream Match” ’98 edition. This was followed unsurprisingly by The King of Fighters ’99, which...
June2017
Review Last Resort (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
It's the shooter Morrissey would play
Given how popular "shmups" were during the late '80s and early '90s it's odd that the Neo Geo didn't have more of them, but the few it did play host to were generally amazing. Blazing Star and Pulstar instantly spring to mind when talking about the genre on SNK's system, but there are many fans who hold a candle...
Review Sengoku (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Hacked off
Hamster Corp's dedication to mining the back catalogue of the Neo Geo on Switch is commendable, but it does throw up some issues - namely that as time goes on the company is going to have to dig deeper and deeper into the library of the system, and that means having to endure some less-than-classic titles. While we wouldn't say that...
May2017
Review Samurai Shodown IV (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
VICTOLY!
After the first two Samurai Shodown games the third outing was seen as something of a disappointment by hardcore fighting game fans. It removed some of the more popular characters and various movement options available to the player, drastically altering the pace of the game; it also felt half-finished when compared to its polished...
Review Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Only winners And losers here
Out of all the critically-acclaimed one-on-one fighting games produced by SNK over the decades, Garou: Mark of the Wolves has to rank as one of the most beloved and revered. Released at time when 3D visuals were taking the industry by a storm, it was seen by some as a companion piece to Capcom's equally gorgeous Street...
Review Blazing Star (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Get it more!
Whenever horizontally-scrolling Neo Geo shooters are discussed, two names inevitably dominate the conversation: Pulstar and Blazing Star. Both were developed by the same core team (Aicom, which then became Yumekobo) and both rely heavily on pre-rendered sprites rather than hand-drawn visuals. Neither title was ported around the time of...
Review Over Top (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Let's go next stage!!
The Neo Geo was famous for its staggering selection of fighting games, but it was less blessed when it came to racing titles. Only a handful were ever released during the console's lengthy lifespan - hardly a massive shock when you consider that the 2D nature of the console made realistic driving games tricky - and of that...
Review World Heroes Perfect (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Ra Ra Rasputin, lover of the Russian queen
The one-on-one fighting gold rush started by Capcom's Street Fighter II inspired many famous series, including Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, Virtua Fighter and Samurai Shodown, but there were just as many - if not more - also-ran challengers which achieved moderate success at the time but have since faded...
April2017
Review Fatal Fury (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Hungry like the wolf
While SNK's premier fighting game series is King of Fighters, the company tested the waters of the one-on-one combat genre with 1991's Fatal Fury, a title designed by none other than Takashi Nishiyama, the man behind Capcom's original 1987 Street Fighter. Street Fighter II was the game which kickstarted interest in this style of...
Review Metal Slug (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
The original Super Vehicle
Of all the titles released during the Neo Geo's surprisingly long lifespan, Metal Slug arguably stands out as one of the most famous and beloved. Released in 1996 - a time when the traditional run-and-gun arcade shooter was on the wane - this debut release dazzled with its superb visuals, excellent animation and tight...
Review Alpha Mission II (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Vertically challenging
As one of the earliest titles for the Neo Geo, Alpha Mission II doesn't exactly dazzle in terms of presentation. Smooth scrolling and some catchy tunes aside, it looks like a relic of the 1980s rather than an example of how SNK's Neo Geo hardware revolutionised the arcade and home console arena in the '90s. However, beyond the...
March2017
Review The King of Fighters '94 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Retro royalty
Hamster is doing a great job of populating the Nintendo Switch eShop with classic Neo Geo titles but the order of release is a little puzzling. Metal Slug 3 has arrived before the original, and King of Fighters '98 was available at launch, only for King of Fighters '94 to arrive slightly later. Given the refinements that occurred...
Review Neo Turf Masters (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
On the green
Charm certainly goes a long way in the world of video games, especially when you're talking about Neo Geo titles. Some would argue that SNK's console represents the pinnacle of the 2D age, and its games were imbued with an instantly addictive appeal that helped paper over any minor shortcomings and limitations. That's certainly the case...
Review NAM-1975 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Back to the nightmare
As one of the earliest Neo Geo releases, NAM-1975 occupies a rather unusual place in the console's library. It's relatively well-known because it was the first glimpse many of us saw of the raw power contained within SNK's arcade (and home) hardware, but like so many launch titles it hasn't aged all that gracefully in the...
Review The King of Fighters '98 (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
The return of the king
While many associate the one-on-one fighting genre with Capcom's legendary Street Fighter franchise, there was a point in the '90s when SNK was arguably at the vanguard of this particular game style. Its King of Fighters series became a firm favourite in arcades all over the world, with yearly updates satisfying the desire and...
Review Shock Troopers (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
Run and gun for fun
Capcom's top-down shooter Commando was something of a trendsetter when it arrived in the '80s, and was quickly imitated by a host of clones. The appeal of the concept isn't hard to grasp; you're one guy against many, shooting your way through a series of levels and generally causing as much destruction as possible along the way...
June2013
Review Sengoku 3 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Third time's the charm
While SNK was far more well known for its one-on-one fighting games, it did toss out a few beat 'em ups along the way. Some of the attempts were better than others: Sengoku 3 is one such example. It basically takes many of the solid gameplay perks of the first two games and amps things up considerably. Toss in a fresh coat of...
May2013
Review The King of Fighters '99 (Wii / Neo Geo)
Different, but still impressive
The King of Fighters is a series that's long been a staple of the Neo Geo platform. But with a few new twists and added bells and whistles, the developers have kicked things up a notch. While not as revered as its predecessor, considered by many to be the pinnacle of the series, King of Fighters '99 still adds enough...
Review Sengoku (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
An interesting twist on the beat 'em up genre
Given the popularity of arcade titles like Final Fight and Double Dragon, the beat 'em up genre was a big draw in arcades during the late eighties and early nineties. Hoping to cash in on some of this success, SNK created its own unique take on the genre with Sengoku for its Neo Geo system. While the...
April2013
Review NAM-1975 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
War is heaven
Although NAM-1975 was an early Neo Geo release, it's certainly not short on fun. Released in 1990, it took a simple shooting approach and built an interesting war theme around it. Simple mechanics and a level of playability that wasn't too common in the genre made for an amazing gameplay experience. Now SNK Playmore is bringing back...
March2013
Review Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Third time's a charm?
Art of Fighting sprang onto the Neo Geo arcade scene in 1993 and brought with it several innovations that would become a staple of future Neo fighting titles. For one thing the game featured huge character sprites, some spanning nearly the height of the screen. It also introduced the now famous SNK zoom system that would keep...
Review The King of Fighters '98 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
The best there ever was
For many 2D fighting game fans, The King of Fighters '98 represents the zenith of the series; the crowning glory of the only rival lineage to truly bloody the nose of Capcom's genre-defining Street Fighter. It's not hard to see why this is the case; the game looks stunning, has a massive roster of characters and boasts one...
February2013
Review World Heroes 2 Jet (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Jet setter
Speed upgrades became all of the rage during the early fighting game craze during the early '90s — Capcom practically made a living at it for a while. So when arcade gamers began complaining about the sluggish speed of World Heroes 2, SNK did the logical thing and borrowed a page from Capcom's book. When World Heroes 2 Jet burst onto...
January2013
Review Shock Troopers 2nd Squad (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Trigger happy
Much like the original Shock Troopers game, 2nd Squad is very much inspired by the early days of arcade gaming, when overhead run-and-gun titles like Capcom's Commando were in vogue. While the game has a very Metal Slug feel to it, the multi-directional scrolling and 360 degree movement and firing make for quite an intense and engaging...
Review World Heroes 2 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Global gathering
ADK’s World Heroes series is one of the Neo Geo’s lesser-known fighting dynasties, and is usually pushed to one side when people get all nostalgic about the likes of King of Fighters, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury. This is probably because the franchise never really took itself all that seriously; the cast was...
