I want a proper Neo Geo console, but they are ridiculously expensive, even if you buy one and mod it, and don’t pay for the cartridges.
So therefore I have looked at the best emulation possibilities.
After having experimented with various different ways of playing Neo Geo games, including emulation on PC, playing them on the Evercade, mobile emulation on a Ambernic device, I have found my favourite way to play Neo Geo games that I can afford.
The Neo Geo International Mini is a console released by SNK in the UK that emulates Neo Geo games, and supports modding and has HDMI output.
I really like the analogue joypad controllers that were released with the Neo Geo International Mini. They are wired, which is a bit annoying, but also they are not representative of the original Neo Geo console controllers in one key way - they are analogue and not 8 directional!
This was a big concern for purists, and although I like the analogue controllers for many games, I have to admit that the 8 way directional digital stick is much more representnative of the way these games were meant to be played.
So that is why 8BitDo, a third party company, released the (now difficult to get hold of) wireless Neo Geo controllers.
They are great controllers, the only real difference compared to the Neo Geo Mini controllers is that they are wireless (with 2.4 ghz low latency) and also they have the 8 bit ‘clicky’ directional joypad.
Two of these controllers and the Neo Geo Mini International will set you back around £160 in total and is a good way to play the classic Neo Geo games.
You can also mod most versions of the Neo Geo Mini International to run a lot more of the Neo Geo games catalogue, by hacking the firmware.
That is next on my list of ’things to do’ to make the perfect Neo Geo setup (that I can reasonably afford :)