Crouching Pony Hidden Dragon - new Neo Geo run & gun

[BIL]

Not sure if "cool" is the word, but I doesn't make me feel anxious. Looks like some homebrew, which I'm pretty sure it happens to be.

Sweet, when are you ordering yours?

EDIT: Wow, am I really the only one who thinks that this looks cool in a weird messy way?

"Weird" is the last word I'd use to describe the pop cultural upchuck on display. Bland, cynical, banal, sure. This is just another Flash game aimed at a certain ever-dependable segment of the Neo collector scene.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm under impression that upsetting a particular kind of people is the makers' goal.

[BIL]

You're a funny guy Obi. But no, it's never that complicated. Have you heard the one about Treasures of the Caribbean being a long-lost proto?

edit - well, if you were to interpret the word "upset" thusly:

"The sight of a new Neo Geo release upset Roger's irrational collector's impulse into frantic action - the game's hideous lack of production value and sloppy previewed gameplay were of no consequence."

Then yes, you're more right than you know.

[Udderdude]

Like those guys that have to get their hands on every shitty unlicensed NES game that pirates crapped out years after the system was dead and buried.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Rather, people who can't justify the purchase, but are itching to possess the thing.

[drauch]

Like those guys that have to get their hands on every shitty unlicensed NES game that pirates crapped out years after the system was dead and buried.

Yeah, I love that shit. Lamester 81 and all those Youtube goobers buy the hell out of those. Halo 2600. If the game couldn't get any worse.

[BIL]

Rather, people who can't justify the purchase, but are itching to possess the thing.

I don't think I've seen one opinion on this thing not firmly in the "looks like shit, stay away from me please" or "its rare so worth to have" camps. You either want this stuff or you don't.

edit: "its rare so worth to have" must not contain an apostrophe. Corrected.

[Edmond Dantes]

I at least thought a game based on My Little Pony, would be cute.

You too, huh?

Kinda wonder if the name wasn't intentionally meant to get that reaction.

[BIL]

I thought it was obviously so, haha. "Wots trendy these days hmmm"

[Ed Oscuro]

The funny thing about game collectors is that they're not necessarily "upwardly mobile" or well-off. I'd love to see some statistics on this but clearly some of us (I guess I should add that in - since I own more than a handful of AES releases bought years ago, myself) are barely making ends meet. I don't think that many collectors would necessarily chase fine art instead of Neo games if given the chance, though. There has got to be SOME connection to gaming or at least to the aesthetics of gaming, although I think that once that preference for Neo games (or any other type of preference) gets calcified that it's not operating solely on the aesthetic sense. I mean if we were all perfectly rational, we would be saying "forget games that aren't top 50 shmups, let's go find some other stuff already," right?

[BIL]

I don't think that many collectors would necessarily chase fine art instead of Neo games if given the chance, though.

Agreed, but in these "new Neo Geo release / I found deez games behind my garden shed, honest!" cases I don't think it's about the games themselves per se. Rather, plugging the perceived hole they'll create in "the perfect collection" upon release. That's what makes hawking Flash-grade stuff like this so contemptible. I don't have anything against the folks buying this crap up, I'm an obsessed lunatic gamer too*.

*but I have always considered the "own all games for X console / series / developer / genre" mentality potentially toxic, and pitied anyone truly caught up in it regardless of their personal situation.

edit edit edit

[cicada88]

I want to get a sealed copy of this so I can send it in to be VGA graded.

INVESTMENT GRADE

HOMEBREW x SEALED x GRADED

[Ed Oscuro]

*but I have always considered the "own all games for X console / series / developer / genre" mentality potentially toxic, and pitied anyone truly caught up in it regardless of their personal situation.

I tried to press back against it on Digital Press...still do if the topic comes up. It's pathetic to see people blowing thousands of dollars on individual games to complete their collection of X only to turn around a few years later and find out they don't want to keep any of it, and ask only a few multiples of the prices of one game - for a collection that took much more money to buy (probably never properly accounted for) and many, many hours sunk into searching out and collecting the whole thing, buying/building storage...the mind boggles at what being a "full set owner" must really entail.

Adol turned out to be an alright guy, in my view, because he ended up doing something commendable with his collection, and donating it - though I'm sure people complain about his prices, or at least they used to.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I don't think I've seen one opinion on this thing not firmly in the "looks like shit, stay away from me please" or "its rare so worth to have" camps. You either want this stuff or you don't.

edit: "its rare so worth to have" must not contain an apostrophe. Corrected.

The existence of an expensive Neo Geo game they won't own must be mortifying for some people nonetheless.

[BIL]

I don't know, Obi! For the FULLSET BIG TYMERS, there are much more expensive homecart games to stew over and €400 ain't shit but a bunch of dicks. You ain't gettin' in the door if you don't got at least that kinda scratch, homie! For anyone who just really wants this particular game, god help them, again €400 isn't the end of the world in home arcade gaming (or even import console gaming) - they'll survive. For those in the MVS ghetto... well yeah, they might be mad, but them's the breaks. Nobody rides for free motherfucker!

THE BIG TYMER "I have every AES release known to man! Now for some Jockey Grandprix. BAAAHAHAHA! But what's this? New homecart release?! AIEEE! CANNOT SPEND ANOTHER €400"

or

THE DISCERNING AES PLAYER "I have all the AES carts I could ever want! Now for some Sonic Wings 3. BAAAHAHAHA! But what's this? €400 for a brand new homecart release?! AIEEE! WHY'D I EVER GET INTO HOMECARTS"

or

PLAYS MVS AND DON'T GIVE A DAMN "Fuck homecarts in the eye, I have all the bare MVS carts I could ever want! Now for some Shock Troopers. BAAAHAHAHA! But what's this? €400?! AIEEE! I WANT TO BE A BIG TYMER" <-- this guy probably is mad but he's also a fucking lunatic

[BPzeBanshee]

Sounds to me like neo-geo.com just got their own personal Sine Mora - except it doesn't even look that good.

[Edmond Dantes]

*but I have always considered the "own all games for X console / series / developer / genre" mentality potentially toxic, and pitied anyone truly caught up in it regardless of their personal situation.

I quite agree. On top of that, I often find homebrew... well, it doesn't "feel right" if ya get me. Never played a Neo homebrew, but I did play an NES one and it just... it still felt like a modern game despite the choice of platform. Not sure how to explain it.

For that reason I'm quite immune to collecting homebrew. They feel like interlopers. Like those point-n-click adventure games that were made long after the genre's heyday.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I have a strong suspicion Boulder Dash is homebrew and if Tetris isn't homebrew, the reason could be that the makers didn't have computers at home.

[cicada88]

mark my words people, hate all you want, this is an investment grade release

[Ed Oscuro]

mark my words people, hate all you want, this is an investment grade release

This, and BIL's rundown especially, remind me that I have had some discussions with people about the investment-worthiness of Neo Geo games. The occasion: The mid-2000s sales of Kizuna Encounter. "Look at the couple of thousands tacked on to the price after the first $10000 sale! Good investment opportunity confirmed!" Aside from the problems with assuming that trend would continue forever, there's also been the very real issue of counterfeits. I talked about the problems game collectors were likely to face from counterfeiting in the future back then - perhaps I shouldn't have, because as it turned out, it did happen. However it happened, I think that the movement of smart money has been to other systems, and PCBs of course. However, I also fear that counterfeiting will become more prevalent with PCBs also - it just depends on where the price goes. If there's enough money at stake, people will find a way to counterfeit anything.

I haven't checked Neo pricing lately but I think the recent shocks have driven out some of the smart money. Perhaps this shit will be "investment grade" but I think the price trajectory has been damaged. Besides, there's always the NG-DEV releases.

[BIL]

Addendum to my post - NOBODY RIDES FOR FREE MOTHERFUCKER (click for a visual metaphor of r@re AES chasin')

[Ed Oscuro]

Addendum to my post - NOBODY RIDES FOR FREE MOTHERFUCKER (click for a visual metaphor of r@re AES chasin')

You know, I was expecting to see a familiar face under that ski mask, but then I realized that everybody in the Neo scene is faceless to everybody else.

Shit, another gangland movie to add to the pile!

[BIL]

everybody in the Neo scene is faceless to everybody else.

Beyond the known few, was it ever even established which other members of the "community" went head-first into the AF3 fire hydrant? At least the guy at the wheel made a clean getaway for the green, green pastures of the Jockey Grandprix.

Crackin' movie. Walken: "America - am I black enough?" You'll be in catchphrases for a week, albeit mostly ones unusable in polite company!

ROOM SERVICE MOTHERFUCKER

[Udderdude]

I have an investment grade bridge I'd like to sell you .. >_>

[Ed Oscuro]

I have an investment grade bridge I'd like to sell you .. >_>

Neo collectors would take you up on your offer if they knew how they could eventually sell it on down. So they may be blind with greed, but any stupidity has to be backed up by what the community can bear. Well, maybe.

[BrianC]

Like those guys that have to get their hands on every shitty unlicensed NES game that pirates crapped out years after the system was dead and buried.

This really perplexes me. I went to the Famicom World forums hoping to find an answer about the 4 player adapters. I was surprised by the lack of knowledge on the subject (as far as I know, you use just extra controllers in the expansion slot and that that hori twin adapter should do the job) and how most of the posters there knew more about pirates than actual FC games.

[Obiwanshinobi]

People don't flock to particular game systems forums to talk about games there. The name's usually a hint.

[evil_ash_xero]

People don't flock to particular game systems forums to talk about games there. The name's usually a hint.

They talk about games a lot at the Sega 16 forum, from what I've seen.

[nem]

First I've seen of this.

What's most perplexing to me is that there's some actual talent involved in this. The graphics are actually well made. Backgrounds are nicely shaded (although in 16 colors only; WTF?) and there's some good animation. Not digging the designs of the characters, but I guess I could overlook that part. It's not that far from similar offbeat Japanese stuff.

However, the actual gameplay just looks like a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

As an aside, I like their explanation on why they're making it for the NeoGeo.

[Udderdude]

What's most perplexing to me is that there's some actual talent involved in this. However, the actual gameplay just looks like a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

Yeah another case of good artist, bad programmer/designer .. it happens.

I just watched the vid .. that guy has his head 10 feet up his own ass. No wonder he can't tell his game is a clusterfuck.