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What are the best pre-Xbox (PS2 and earlier, please) consoles for SNK fighters, but excluding the AES. As it stands, here's what I have, but I'm eager for more, and would like the best version where I can. Please take loading times (looking at you, NGCD) into account.

Samurai Shodown (Genesis)
Last Blade (NGCD)
Last Blade 2 (Dreamcast)
Mark of the Wolves (Dreamcast)
Capcom vs. SNK Mark of the Millennium 2001 (Dreamcast)
King of Fighters: Evolution (Dreamcast)

I'd also like to steer away from compilations. I own SNK Arcade Classics already, but I'm looking for quality ports. What else should I get? What's the top of the top to buy, and for what system?

Fatal Fury Special - SNES, Sega CD or PC Engine
World Heroes 2 Jet - Game Boy
Ryuuko no Ken 2 (Art of Fighting 2) - Super Famicom
The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood - GBA

The answer to most of these are gonna be "MVS." I know you said no AES, but MVS is the same thing and leagues cheaper.

Anyway, I'd say Waku Waku 7 is necessary, but you are gonna have to get a compilation to get it, the Neo Geo Sunsoft Collection for the PS2. Avoid the Saturn version.

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special on the Sega Saturn is worthwhile as well.

Samurai Shodown II is absolutely essential. I haven't played either the PlayStation or NGCD version, but seriously, you need it.

Samurai Shodown V Special is considered by a select few the best fighter on the Neo Geo. However, you'd have to get the SamSho Anthology on PS2, because that's the only time it's ever been released outside the Neo Geo hardware.

King of Fighters 98 - again, necessary. Get KOF98UM on PS2, as it comes with the original Neo Geo version.

King of Fighters 02 - not my favorite but right next to 98 in terms of popularity. There's an 02+03 release.

King of Fighters XI - not a Neo Geo game, but I saw you had CvS2 on there so this fits and is necessary. PS2 version. Pick up the JP version if you can, but the US version will do.

Not to be nit picky but Capcom vs SNK is actually a Capcom fighter with SNK characters.

the7k wrote:The answer to most of these are gonna be "MVS." I know you said no AES, but MVS is the same thing and leagues cheaper.

The carts are cheaper, yeah, but the price of entry is still steep.

Thanks for the suggestions sevin0seven and the7k.

the7k wrote:Samurai Shodown II is absolutely essential. I haven't played either the PlayStation or NGCD version, but seriously, you need it.

I imagine that the load times on NGCD are prohibitive? I've played it on the PS2 anthology (though I never got around to SSV), but I'd like to switch to a console port.

ninjainspandex wrote:Not to be nit picky but Capcom vs SNK is actually a Capcom fighter with SNK characters.

Yeah, I know, but they did release a CvSNK game on Neo Geo hardware, so in my opinion, it counts enough for what I'm doing, i.e. trying not to get bogged down with too many fighters, but rather getting the best ports of the best games.

That does make me wonder though if people think Chaos is better than Millennium Fight or Mark of the Millennium 2001, or if I should stick with those those two (or just one of these two even).

Is The King of Fighters XIII worth a damn?

o.pwuaioc wrote:

ninjainspandex wrote:Not to be nit picky but Capcom vs SNK is actually a Capcom fighter with SNK characters.

Yeah, I know, but they did release a CvSNK game on Neo Geo hardware, so in my opinion, it counts enough for what I'm doing, i.e. trying not to get bogged down with too many fighters, but rather getting the best ports of the best games.

That does make me wonder though if people think Chaos is better than Millennium Fight or Mark of the Millennium 2001, or if I should stick with those those two (or just one of these two even).

Thats SNK vs Capcom the name that is first tells you who developed it, and it is pretty widely agreed in the fighting and neo geo community that SVC Chaos is a pretty bad fighter and cannot compare to CVS and CVS 2

ninjainspandex wrote:

o.pwuaioc wrote:

ninjainspandex wrote:Not to be nit picky but Capcom vs SNK is actually a Capcom fighter with SNK characters.

Yeah, I know, but they did release a CvSNK game on Neo Geo hardware, so in my opinion, it counts enough for what I'm doing, i.e. trying not to get bogged down with too many fighters, but rather getting the best ports of the best games.

That does make me wonder though if people think Chaos is better than Millennium Fight or Mark of the Millennium 2001, or if I should stick with those those two (or just one of these two even).

Thats SNK vs Capcom the name that is first tells you who developed it, and it is pretty widely agreed in the fighting and neo geo community that SVC Chaos is a pretty bad fighter and cannot compare to CVS and CVS 2

Yeah, sorry, wrote that without coffee.

Thanks for the tip. I must have been avoiding it for a reason.

SVC Chaos is fun for casual play though, its just way to unbalanced for competitive play.


May I recommend Breakers Revenge? It is probably the Neo Geo's biggest hidden gem and is criminally underrated. Yeah it is pretty much a street fighter 2 clone on the Neo hardware but man is it TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT. It is by far my favorite fighter on the Neo.

Err there isn't a console port of Breakers Revenge it was Arcade only, but there is a Neo CD port of Breakers I believe. Breakers Revenge is the same game as breakers but with some bug fixes, two extra fighters and some new stages.