Neo-Geo 1-Slot (SNK)
Click on Marquee for KLOV listing.
The Story: Every gamer out there knows the Neo-Geo and how awesome it is (just ask Keith Apicary)...
Released in the early 1990's, SNK saw an increased trend of popularity in home console gaming, meanwhile the arcade market was still doing fairly well. They decided to corner both markets with a new idea, the Neo-Geo. Released in both arcade form (MVS) and home console (AES), both shared the same games, same graphics, same gameplay. Essentially it was the exact same software, just slightly different hardware. They even introduced a new "memory card" system that allowed you to save games (this was new in the arcades at the time).
Now fast forward to more recent times. I am an avid video game collector and wanted to add a Neo-Geo to my stash. I didn’t really care if I had an MVS or an AES, just as long as I had something that will play Neo-Geo games. My decision to go with the MVS was probably the smarter move, it’s much more affordable than the AES (in today's market), and it’s more common and easier to find games for.
The Score: Another rollercoaster. I actually threw this game together myself. It started off with an empty red JAMMA cabinet. I had a nice newer 20" monitor with no burn and a Street Fighter II kit and those were added in to make a nice Street Fighter II. A few months later, a Tekken 2 kit came across my desk in a bulk pickup and I decided to lose the SFII kit, as I found the home ports just as enjoyable. I had fond memories of playing Tekken 2 in my high school days and since I now had the kit, why not? However I found that the PSX port again was just as enjoyable (though it didn’t have the unlocked characters that my arcade game had). After awhile, I decided I wanted a Neo-Geo, especially after learning that there were now multicarts available for the system. Yeah, they are known as "bootlegs" and not everyone likes that, but they all run on the original hardware which is just fine for me. Besides, it’s just a "cart", and can be swapped with any cart at any time. But I digress. I had found all kinds of reasonably priced 1-Slot PCB's and multicarts lurking all over the web, but what about artwork? I lucked out one day on the forums, as someone had just listed a ton of artwork. Among his stash was a Neo-Geo conversion CPO, 1-Slot Marquee and red SNK sideart (OK, so the side art isn’t Neo-Geo, but it's SNK, and it’s red). I was able to work out a package deal with the seller and it was time to say goodbye to Tekken 2. That was almost 2 years ago and this cabinet has housed my Neo-Geo ever since. No more identity crisis.
The Service: The only problem I had was compatibility issues with the multicarts and specific 1-slots. I started off with a 48-1 multicart joined with an MV-1F PCB. Apparently SNK made many revisions, and I had one of the older ones. My game was working, but would reset periodically, often in the middle of a game. I thought I had a bad multicart and exchanged it for a newer 108-1. While it did reset less frequently, the issue remained. I had finally read a thread somewhere that there have been a few reports of this and that it was a compatibility issue with certain revisions of Neo-Geo PCB's. So I ended up putting an MV-1C in its place. It’s a smaller board with fewer features, but I didn’t lose anything since most were features that weren’t even in use (mainly features for dedicated cabinets, like headers for the LED credit display). It's been smooth sailing since.
Now fast forward to more recent times. I am an avid video game collector and wanted to add a Neo-Geo to my stash. I didn’t really care if I had an MVS or an AES, just as long as I had something that will play Neo-Geo games. My decision to go with the MVS was probably the smarter move, it’s much more affordable than the AES (in today's market), and it’s more common and easier to find games for.
The Score: Another rollercoaster. I actually threw this game together myself. It started off with an empty red JAMMA cabinet. I had a nice newer 20" monitor with no burn and a Street Fighter II kit and those were added in to make a nice Street Fighter II. A few months later, a Tekken 2 kit came across my desk in a bulk pickup and I decided to lose the SFII kit, as I found the home ports just as enjoyable. I had fond memories of playing Tekken 2 in my high school days and since I now had the kit, why not? However I found that the PSX port again was just as enjoyable (though it didn’t have the unlocked characters that my arcade game had). After awhile, I decided I wanted a Neo-Geo, especially after learning that there were now multicarts available for the system. Yeah, they are known as "bootlegs" and not everyone likes that, but they all run on the original hardware which is just fine for me. Besides, it’s just a "cart", and can be swapped with any cart at any time. But I digress. I had found all kinds of reasonably priced 1-Slot PCB's and multicarts lurking all over the web, but what about artwork? I lucked out one day on the forums, as someone had just listed a ton of artwork. Among his stash was a Neo-Geo conversion CPO, 1-Slot Marquee and red SNK sideart (OK, so the side art isn’t Neo-Geo, but it's SNK, and it’s red). I was able to work out a package deal with the seller and it was time to say goodbye to Tekken 2. That was almost 2 years ago and this cabinet has housed my Neo-Geo ever since. No more identity crisis.
The Service: The only problem I had was compatibility issues with the multicarts and specific 1-slots. I started off with a 48-1 multicart joined with an MV-1F PCB. Apparently SNK made many revisions, and I had one of the older ones. My game was working, but would reset periodically, often in the middle of a game. I thought I had a bad multicart and exchanged it for a newer 108-1. While it did reset less frequently, the issue remained. I had finally read a thread somewhere that there have been a few reports of this and that it was a compatibility issue with certain revisions of Neo-Geo PCB's. So I ended up putting an MV-1C in its place. It’s a smaller board with fewer features, but I didn’t lose anything since most were features that weren’t even in use (mainly features for dedicated cabinets, like headers for the LED credit display). It's been smooth sailing since.
