My "new" modded Neo Geo AES... now with nostalgic memories!

[sharp3D]

If you guys wouldn't mind, I would like to share a bit of personal history concerning one of my best gaming related, childhood memories/dreams that has finally come into fruition. I have talked all my friends ears off. Most just kinda chuckled or looked at me with a blank stare, so I figured you guys would definitely appreciate it more(I hope).

I was born in the early 80's which means there were all kinds of gaming goodness to be had, but my first console was the Super Nintendo, which I got for Christmas, the year it was released. Man did I love that thing and still do. My friends and I were totally obsessed and we had countless sleepovers devoted to new games, practically falling asleep with controllers still in hand.

At that time, I read Electronic Gaming Monthly. It was my bible and every now and then, there would be a few adverts or small articles concerning the Neo Geo AES. No matter what I read about it, one thing was always made clear... this system had the best graphics, coolest games and a untouchable price tag. I wanted one sooooooo bad. Everytime I walked into an electronic store, I would hope to see one, but never did. There were a couple summers in a row where I convinced myself that I could wash my neighbors cars, sell lemonade and my toys in garage sales and somehow make enough money to be able to afford one. I didn't care that even if I was able to pull this off, that I would have to devote another summer to save up enough for a single game.

Anyway, the time has finally come. A few weeks ago, while not particularly busy at work, I started looking up Neo Geo stuff and was blown away by how much is out there and how huge the cult following for the system is. It totally reinvigorated all those desires for owning one, only now I didn't have to save for years. I decided that if I am going to get one, I am going to do it right. I wanted that feeling of unboxing it as if the system was brand new, so I had to get one in its factory box. There are tons of awesome mods available which keeps the system looking great on today's HD TVs, so of course just had to get mine upgraded. Also, I wanted my friends to enjoy this arcade perfect setup with me so getting 2 controllers bundled in was a must.

So without further ado, I would like to present my Neo Geo AES, complete and upgraded.

Came in the factory Neo Geo AES Gold box with all manuals and packaging, everything is in great/mint condition.

-AES console
- Unibios 3.0
- Component, s-video, composite and stereo out
- LED power mod
-2 Josysticks
- both LED arcade color matched
-Memory Card
-Ghost Pilots game



So after all that, I am curious if any of you with AES's or other consoles have similar memories. I would love to hear about it.

[h8b1llg8ts]

That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen. Still can't get over how cool these systems look to this day.

How much did you drop, just curious?

[Crabmaster2000]

Very cool story.

Mine is basically the same. I've been wanting one since reading about it when I was a preteen, but I went the more affordable Super NES route also. I frequent the site rfgen and one member there with a MASSIVE console collection decided he wanted to sell off most of his collection. While browsing through his inventory I noticed a boxed AES Gold System and it rekindled many childhood memories.

After shooting some PMs back and forth we agreed to a price and a few games. I was also very happy that it came CIB and was kept in excellent, seldom played condition. He also did me the huge favor of giving me nearly a month to pay him so that I could sell off some stuff from my collection to fund the purchase. After what seemed like much longer than it really was, I had the biggest box I've ever received in the mail arrive at my house.

My wife knew how long I've been waiting for this (she probably heard Neo Geo more in January 2010 than the rest of her life up to that point), so she saw me hauling the huge box downstairs and followed. I gave my son and her my best N64 kid impression while carefully tearing into it (OH MY GOD!! NEO GEO!!!!). Normally I keep my game stuff in my game room, but since the TV and sound system is 1000 times better in our living room I hooked it up there to test it out. I had a blast playing Ghost Pilots, Blue's Journey and Magician Lord.

*On a side note my wife usually hates video game music. So it made this an extra special occasion when I noticed her humming the music from Ghost Pilots when I was packing the system back up to take to the game room*

There are a few pics of my haul near the bottom of this page:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15776&start=80

[sharp3D]

That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen. Still can't get over how cool these systems look to this day.

How much did you drop, just curious?

She is pretty. My jaw was on the floor as I was unboxing.

As far as cost, considering the whole package, mods, modding labor and shipping came to a little over $800. The gold box alone cast me over $100 considering it is in good shape and the rarest of the Neo Geo boxes.

Sorry for the bad picture. This is actually a picture that the people who modded my system took before they mailed it out to me. I will take a few shots tonight of the whole package if people are interested.

[sharp3D]

My wife knew how long I've been waiting for this (she probably heard Neo Geo more in January 2010 than the rest of her life up to that point), so she saw me hauling the huge box downstairs and followed. I gave my son and her my best N64 kid impression while carefully tearing into it (OH MY GOD!! NEO GEO!!!!). Normally I keep my game stuff in my game room, but since the TV and sound system is 1000 times better in our living room I hooked it up there to test it out. I had a blast playing Ghost Pilots, Blue's Journey and Magician Lord.

Haha my girlfriend is the same way. It came to a point that if Neo anything came out of my mouth, daggers would shoot out of her eyes. I keep in touch with a few of my friends around my Super NES days, I called them up and told them what I got and they were all totally jealous. We spent the next hour reminiscing about all the games and sleepovers we had.

There are a few pics of my haul near the bottom of this page:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15776&start=80

Wow, your gold box is in great shape! Mine has much more wear on the corners. Its now a centerpiece on top of my living room shelves.

This is really spawning into an outright obsession to collect all the games and game systems I always wanted.

[samsonlonghair]

Congratulations on fulfilling a childhood dream. Your AES looks damn good.

[Anayo]

Four bright buttons and two joysticks!

[sharp3D]

Four bright buttons and two joysticks!

"OK so we all know that Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet is the best thing to ever exist on the planet. That's obvious. If you were born then you know that. If you don't know that then you're technically not alive. So you might wanna get that checked out." -Keith Apicary

Glad we are alive my friends... Love it. Haha

[lisalover1]

I have a similar AES, but not quite as awesome [UniBIOS v1.0; S-Video Mod]. I would play the system more often if the games weren't so expensive. You have to take out a bank loan if you want to play Metal Slug!

[sharp3D]

I would play the system more often if the games weren't so expensive. You have to take out a bank loan if you want to play Metal Slug!

I have this...


and just ordered this...


Needless to say I am not too concerned with collecting the original games. I will probably buy most of the commons(AES and MVS), that go for $100 or less, but I am more so interested in owning the system and being able to play the games.