Right, deep breaths everyone. You might need to sit down for this one. For those of you who remember the early ’90s arcade scene, you’ll understand the almost mythical status of the NEOGEO.
“100 Mega Shock!” the cabinets screamed, promising graphics and gameplay lightyears ahead of anything we had at home. For a wide-eyed kid like me, staring longingly at those cabinets, it was a forbidden fruit, a console perpetually out of reach. The price tag? Forget about it. Renting a game? A rare and expensive treat.
Well, decades later, the gaming gods (or rather, the brilliant folks at Blaze Entertainment) have finally heard my silent, long-held yearning. They’ve just announced the Evercade NEOGEO Arcade 1 collection, and honestly, a little part of my inner child just did a backflip worthy of Terry Bogard himself.
What’s in the Evercade NEOGEO Arcade 1 collection?
This isn’t just some emulator slapped onto a cartridge, folks. This is a physical Evercade cartridge, the kind I’ve come to know and love, packed with six bona fide NEOGEO arcade classics! Six! The very games that I would play in arcades and gawp at in magazines are now going to be mine to play whenever I damn well please.
No more begging for a fiver to pump into a Metal Slug machine. No more nervously sweating as the timer counts down in The King of Fighters.
And the lineup? Oh man, the lineup. We’re talking the legendary, the iconic:
- Metal Slug: The quintessential run-and-gun. The explosions! The hostages! The sheer frantic joy! I can almost smell the smoky arcade air.
- The King of Fighters 2000: Still considered a high point in the series by many. The character roster, the special moves… prepare for some serious virtual fisticuffs.
- Shock Troopers: A top-down shooter that demanded teamwork (if you could find a buddy with spare change!). Now I can finally master those tricky routes solo.
- Magician Lord: A beautiful and challenging fantasy platformer. I remember being mesmerized by the graphics back in the day.
- Sengoku: A side-scrolling beat ’em up with a supernatural twist. Perfect for some good old-fashioned monster mashing.
- Ironclad: A horizontal shooter that I only ever dreamed of playing, as it was a NEOGEO CD exclusive! This is a real treat for a ’90s arcade obsessive like me.
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Prepare for pre-order
The fact that this is a purple-label arcade cartridge, numbered #16, just adds to the collector’s itch. And the price? £19.99 / $24.99 / €24.99! That’s less than what a handful of credits would have cost me back in the day! It’s releasing in July 2025, with pre-orders opening on May 1st, 2025. Mark those calendars, fellow ’90s arcade dreamers!
Finally, finally, I’ll get to experience a slice of that coveted NEOGEO magic in my own home (and even on the go with the Super Pocket!). No more wistful sighs when I see old arcade footage. No more “what ifs.” Blaze Entertainment, you’ve officially made this old gamer’s decade.
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This writer contributes retro gaming news to the site.
