Hacker Ben Heck is back to fix the flawed Neo-Geo Mini

Good news if you like it: "Maybe a PCB kit could be made," Heck tells Ars.

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[Jurrasic]

Neo-Geo has it all really. I have a Neo Candy 29 and keep a variety of games rotating on it.

Obviously some classic fighting games, notable examples being King of Fighters 98, Samurai Shodown II, Garou Mark of the Wolves, and Last Blade 2, but the list goes on and on. Breakers Revenge!

One of the most classic run and gun series of all time in the Metal Slug games, as well as other platformers like Magician Lord.

Puzzle games like Puzzle Bobble and Magical Drop.

Hybrid action vs games like Windjammers and Twinkle Star Sprites.

Sports games, Neo Turf Masters is a favorite. Really there isn't much in the way of filler in the whole library.

Magician Lord and Nam'75 blew my mind when I first saw them. I remember sneaking out of the theater for Mel Gibson's Hamlet only to be greeted by my first viewing of a Neo Geo Cab in an Arcade. I had a dollar in change and promptly blew it all. The second best cab in that arcade was Irem's In The Hunt. SNK had cutting edge hardware in 1990. So good it persisted for decades to come.

I used to go to the Metrotown Electronics Botique back in the day to worship the Neo Geo, but thankfully Magician Lord was NOT the first game I saw on it, because it was one of the few that disappointed me, it was a bog-standard platformer with nothing amazing compared to Samurai Shodown or Metal Slug. Pulstar was one that absolutely blew me away the first time I saw/played it, it was like the apotheosis of the R-Type/Gradius shooter.

But all this goodness on home ownable arcade class machine......SNK really caught lightening in a bottle at just the right time.