The Story of the FAILED SNK Hyper Neo Geo 64 ! ... & The LOST Console 

Buriki One is the most criminally underrated fighting game on the Hyper Neo-Geo 64. Instead of being a normal fighting game, it's more like a UFC-ish fighting game, but hey at least Ryo Sakazaki is in the cast though (as Mr. Karate). Man, that hardware sure looks good that makes N64 and Sega Saturn weak.

The Arcade I work at recently got probably one of the last dedicated Hyper Neo Geo's in existence! It was made dedicated for Sam Sho 64, but Warrior's Rage is in it at the moment. Even if it never really impressed, it's a unique experience in it's own.

Making an arcade-focused machine during the era of 3D realism, like for the Saturn

The problem with the NEOGEO 64 is that it just didn't look impressive like some of it's contemporaries like the Model2 Arcade at the time

I was in a LA Gang from 88-93 and with all the money that we had from various enterprises we had quite a few expensive goodies including a AES on launch as well as a launch 3DO and a few Superguns.

Shin Nippon Kikaku? The True/Super Japan Plan/Project? Is that what SNK stood for this whole time? You know... there is some real irony here in that the company's name is literally "True/Super Japan Plan/Project"... I'm just processing that...

My MVS-6 arcade machine was Y2K prone, and Geese Howard died in the year 1900 on the first Fatal Fury game.

The funny thing is that Sega basically stole the NeoGeo's gimmick when making NAOMI: Cram it full of the highest-end hardware feasibly possible at the time, then make it a multi-game system so it's affordable to arcade owners. (And as a result the NAOMI ultimately had a *much* longer and happier life than its sibling, the Dreamcast...)

Damn Richard, I learned something new today, didn't know the Neo Geo 64 even existed...YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

I played a lot of the MVS in arcades, could never afford the AES. I picked up a Neo geo pocket and enjoyed it very much back in the day. I also imported many of the home ports for my Sega Saturn in the late 90s and had a BLAST!! Still love SNK to this day!

Love this video series. It completely fills in the gaps of all the questions I had about video games growing up, and now the price point and the large cartridges of the Neo Geo AES finally make sense. Neo Geo were absolute *masters* of 2D sprite graphics, but Dear God, the graphics in Samurai Showdown 64 looked like ass. So glad they went back to 2D for another decade or so. Better to be the best at what you know rather than fail to chase the current trends.

Beast Busters was a fun game that needs more love, I am surprised SNK made a sequel to it

Small editing mistake, you brought up a model 2 game on screen when mentioning the model 3

Ow yeah this is my topic, I like your channel :D Keep it coming these awesome video's !

Hey, Top Hat Gaming Man. Can you please do a video on Street Fighter Alpha 2?

Yeaahhh!! Very informative, I'd never heard of this before. Excellent upload as always mate.

Please, make videos like these about the Soul Calibur and Capcom beat them up games (Dungeons and Dragons, Aliens Vs Predators, etc).

Great vid! Never heard of this thing before today. Very interesting.

great video with a great backstory, specially because the games pale in comparison with SNK past achievements...

Thank you very much for this Top Hat! I was recently thinking what killed SNK and could only think of the VERY expensive home console. I didn't know there was more to it.

Nobody: Tophat Gaming Man: yeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhh

What sony TV is being shown at the 37 second mark of the video ? Is the image stretched or is that a 16:9 aspect ratio CRT ?

I remember reading about the HNG64 from Madman's Cafe years ago. Even from their reports, the system sounded promising, but was lackluster in sales. Great ideas, just lots of roadblocks & cost. Bummer it hurt them in the long run. But SNK bounces back

I have the fighter board and all the games, it's a quirky system that I enjoy from time to time, but my MVS is used way more! Thanks for the awesome vid 👌

I was really not aware of this, thank you for this.

3D was such a massacre for software and hardware companies. The better of a 2D developer you were, the harder the shift to 3D was. And I get how exciting 3D was, but I'm still salty that 2D graphics haven't reached the highs of Street Fighter 3 again even in 2019.

Hmm ... the failure of Capcom's 2D oriented CPS3 suggests SNK wasn't wrong to try and branch out to 3D. But obviously things didn't work out well with mediocre 3D hardware either. Therefore, the idea of either Capcom or SNK developing their own next gen arcade hardware may have been a mistake. After all, Capcom teaming up with Sega to use Naomi hardware worked great! I wonder if SNK could have done a similar thing with Nintendo a bit earlier. Since Nintendo didn't have a strong arcade presence by the 1990s, it could have been a good business fit. Imagine an MVS64 board which combined an MVS board with an N64 board. It could be an easy upgrade for MVS arcade operators, while also offering 3D games - albeit limited to a digital joystick and 4 button controls. For simplicity, the MVS and N64 boards are pretty much independent. In N64 mode, the MVS board does little more than handle joystick input and maybe sound. The point is - it's not about cutting edge 3D graphics in the arcade, but rather providing an upgrade path for the MVS system. Even N64 level graphics would be adequate for, say, a ripoff of Star Wars Arcade. Instead of a House of the Dead clone, a Cabal type game with zombie theme would work better with joystick controls. Attempted 3D fighters probably would still be mediocre, but with less of an investment wasted on them. Importantly, the MVS64 hardware could still play the successful 2D SNK fighters. For SNK, this partnership means avoiding the cost and risk of developing their own 3D hardware and dev kit. For Nintendo, this means some easy money to help fund GameCube development, tapping into a market which does not compete with their home sales. If the partnership is successful, then SNK could use GameCube based arcade hardware in the future. Obviously, if SNK is partnering with Nintendo, this means they won't be trying to edge in on Nintendo's Gameboy. Thus, they would avoid a somewhat expensive uphill battle in the Neo Geo Pocket.

There was an ex RAF chap that bought all remaining uk stock of MVS cabs and hyper 64s along with all the hyper games and was planning on releasing new games was pretty well reported within the snk fanworld back in early 2000's I bought an mvs cabs from him and went to there HQ in Darlington of all places, was an incredible sight seeing well over 50 working cabs and lots lots more being worked on, I then went on an ebay spending spree for carts bought about 30 off one seller in Apeldorn In Holland and decided to catch a ferry and drive there, the chap had his own games shop and in his flat he had most of the neo geo aes games including most boxes all within glass cases.

That Neo Geo pocket in the beginning was great lookin

I remember seeing a Hyper Neo-Geo 64 at a mall in Texas years ago. IIRC, it had Samurai Shodown 64 on it. For me personally, the failure of the Hyper Neo-Geo 64 kind of prevented SNK from getting into 3D games, not to mention SNK would continue 2D gaming into the SNK Playmore era. The sad reality is that SNK failed to change with the video game market. I kind of wish that there was a more detailed documentary about SNK's fall because this year mark's twenty years after the company went bankrupt.

SvC chaos is next right?

I think SNK really just wasn't prepared for the transition to 3D. The thing is, as a kid in the early 90's, 3D was already quickly becoming the next new, amazing thing. You had Virtua Racing arriving in 1992, which blew everything before it away, and then Virtua Fighter in 1993 which just looked absolutely incredible at the time. Even back in 1990, there was Race Drivin', so 3D games were quickly becoming the norm even early on in the 90's. The games I always wanted to play most were those early 3D games, albeit with a few specific exceptions. Games like Afterburner looked positively archaic in comparison. It's hard to blame SNK for the slow transition given how successful the MVS was. The funny thing is that whenever I encountered a 4-game cabinet, I always assumed it had cheap, low-quality games due to there being multiple games inside a single cabinet. I knew of SNK and the Neo Geo name, of course, but I just couldn't help shake that feeling. With the rise of 3D arcade technology, it further felt like SNK were falling behind technologically. 1994 brought both Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship, two of the best 3D arcade racing games ever made, and in such a short time, 3D was dominating in the arcades. Pick a genre of game, and compare a 3D version to a 2D version. Even with relatively chunky polygon graphics and primitive textures, 3D felt modern while 2D felt antiquated. I think even if SNK had decided to transition to 3D sooner, they still would have had trouble competing with the likes of Sega and Namco. And that's the biggest problem: Hyper Neo Geo 64 was SO late. If you ask me, the graphics aren't that bad, rather on par with something like a Playstation on steroids. I can't recall when I read about the first rumors, but I was pretty excited by the prospect of new, 3D-oriented 64-bit SNK hardware. SS64 certainly looked pretty good in magazine still shots. But this was hardware that needed to be available in 1995, not just barely being shown in 1997. I just don't think SNK had the engineers to develop such sophisticated hardware. They probably would have been better off just contracting the hardware design out to someone else or buying an existing hardware design. I can't help but think that maybe part of SNK's problem was their own hubris. They were well-known as an exclusive, high-end brand, but they kept iterating on the same games over and over again. To an average gamer like myself, I didn't see SNK pushing the envelope. I saw Sega and Namco doing that. Just the thought of playing Daytona USA at home was enough to make me lust for a Sega Saturn (even if the port wasn't very good). Namco's System 11 proved that hardware doesn't have to be cutting edge to make great arcade games, but SNK's entire advantage was its cutting edge hardware. I don't see how they expected to compete with the hardware that eventually came to be, especially as late as it was. Nor do I understand how they expected their software to stand out when it was, by all measures, largely generic compared to other titles at the time. As I try to think through all this, I keep coming back to the same thought: SNK just seemed completely unprepared, in every way, for the transition to 3D.

Fighting Golf ! Hahaha

Very interesting review.

Thanks again top hat man. What ever will we do when we talk about every console that has been?

Had a Neo Geo 64, Buriki One (once you get past the mental controls) was a fantastic 3D fighter with lots of depth. Many a night was spent in front of my Astro City playing this gem.

Samurai Shodown 64 (both parts) are very underrated! There are some spectacular moves/combos that can be performed, which are entirely absent from other Samurai Shodown games, including the 3D offering on the PS1. But the thing that makes these games stand out is the atmosphere - more deeper than SS3/4 even! Also, unlocking mid-bosses and other secrets seemed to not be fully understood or documented.

I remember seeing the two page spread for Samurai Showdown 64 and was extremely disappointed the game never saw release stateside on the N64 or PS1 while I was glad to own Wild Ambition on the PS1 and had a ton of fun with it despite its poor reception here in the US

5.55 I was sent that video tape in the mail by SNK back in the day. I wrote to them to advise them not to go 3D if they ever made a successor to the aes system... Then they sent me the vhs tape with an advert for the hyper 64 and it had clips of samurai showdown 64.. i was severely dissapointed. But they also sent me some other cool stuff i got a folder with the neo geo logo on it, and inside were various arcade flyers of some of their latest games.

The original Daytona USA was on the Model 2 board.

The sammy...atomiswave...arcade unit...from the early 2000s

I do remember Samurai Shodown 64 when the game was released in the arcades. I only played it a couple of times at Dave & Busters and it was interesting. However it was the only game I've played on the Hyper NeoGeo 64. It was only there for a month and then it was gone. You will see more NeoGeo MVS machines than Hyper NeoGeo 64 out in the wild.

An episode about Capcom's fighting games based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure would be interesting. At the time these games were released, none of the JoJo comics or anime OVAs had been localized in America, and the first arcade game was renamed "JoJo's Venture" for some reason.

Being that you touched upon SNK's bankruptcy, I think you should cover the story behind all that.

The Story of Neo Geo AES and its cult following today... would be an interesting video :)

Well the graphics capabilities looked between the N64 and 3DO M2 arcade hardware so it would have been decent. Now I'm totally confused with the Hyper64 ram. Only 4MBs for programming texture ram is 16 MB, vertex 64 Megabytes which is overkill for a system with the polygon capabilities between 250K to 350K polys per second. Now if SNK went with 32 MBs of unified memory (N64 had it and uses the same CPU as the N64) you would have had a decent console for 97 tech.

SNK is one my favorites. I owned a Neo Geo pocket as a kid. Loved KoF '98 on Dreamcast and really started playing Neo Geo games on emulator like I'm sure most of use did back in '01-'02. Today I owed a Neo Geo AES and a Sammy Atomiswave arcade machine with Metal slug 6 and king of fighter neo wave. I of course can't afford any of the expensive carts for AES or Atomiswave (I'd love to get my hands on Fist of the Northstar) but I enjoy what I have 👍

Always wanted to play the 3D SamSho games...there's gotta be some way.

Bit Wars of the 90's and that number 64

if you know where i can purchase one of those hyper neo geo 64 cabinets, please let me know

Top Hat Gaming have you ever heard of a cult classic puzzle game called Zoop: America's Largest Killer of Time? It was marketed heavily over in America and was thought to be the next Terri's by the developers on over 9 consoles including Atari jaguar. It flopped however as despite positive reviews puzzle games were thought to be dead. It was also a blockbuster rent one get one free also. I'd love to see a puzzle game covered on this channel! :)

Cool. I never saw this machine nor its games. The HOTD knockoff looks like the best title, other than perhaps the MMA game.

Always feels like these super ambitious company console exclusives hurt themselves with limited releases and no outside country distribution. Hell, Dreamcast lasted a little longer in the US than Japan in this case

At 1:53 what is the name of this game? I kinda remember playing it once but never got to see it again. Anyone know?

1:33 Coda - Fighting Gold

I remember hearing about the Hyper Neo Geo 64 back then and I was not the least bit excited about it. I thought it was SNK's desperate attempt to transition to 3D graphics when their strength was 2D The graphics were ugly and uninspiring even for that time period(which made you question if there was even any advantage for the system to have a 64 bit architecture) The only recognizable games were ugly, lackluster 3D versions of successful SNK franchises such as Fatal Fury and Samurai Shodown. SNK had to learn the hard way that they could not get away with taking a familiar franchise and slapping 64 on it like Nintendo could. I have a request for you Top Hat Gaming Man. Can you make a video about the obscure arcade fighting game anomaly that was Fighting Bujitsu? I only ever personally saw an arcade cabinet for it once. It seemed like an interesting concept but it never took off.

I don't think it helped that there was a bombardment of 3D fighting games in the PlayStation era, many of them mediocre. 2D fighting games (some 3D games but played in a 2D style) are still around because the controls feel so precise Starting from the PlayStation era as well, the PC started to really pull ahead of consoles to where most consoles today use GPUs derived from PC GPUs. (PCs before the 386-486 era had some major disadvantages when it came to action games)

One of the main reasons SNK went under was the failure of the Neo Geo Pocket, they spent a ton of money on that in the late 90s and it failed big time. In hindsight they should have made the Hyper Neo Geo 64 with a more powerful CPU (literally had the stock model of the N64 CPU, N64 had a cheaper version of the NEC VR4300 that SNK used) and way more main memory than the 4MB!!! what a damn shame. I love SNK and I am so happy they are making a comeback !

Did SNK really revolutionize the arcade industry with the modular system though? According to this article there may have been a cassette based modular system prior to this, the DECO cassette system from Data East: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DECO_Cassette_System It's possible this didn't have a significant enough impact to be relevant, but man I loved me some Lock 'N Chase, and Bump 'N Jump as well. These two titles were later ported to and were great games on the Intellivision. And it even has Mr. Top Hat's favorite game, Burgertime.

They should come out with rereleases through the ACA on modern systems

Episode suggestion: Naomi/Atomiswave Hardware featuring its mainline fighting game franchise: Guilty Gear X

Your opinion on atGames, Top Hat man?

I don't understand why they did not try to use the power of that board a little bit more... You had a 100 MHz NEC VR4300 - The N64 had something similar as a CPU, it's not the GPU though... Then you had a V53@16 MHz 16-bit microcontroller: hey, that's a bit like an old 16 bit Intel processor at 16 mhz... Not great, but it is adding to the power here and it is just a microcontroller... KL5C80A12CFP@12.5 MHz 8-bit - Ok, so a Z80 at 12.5 mhz, not great again but it's adding up to something, and it's just a microcontroller (technically). And than you add some weird GPU. To me it seems like it could rival the N64, and given the size of Neo Geo cartridges, probably rival the Playstation and Saturn.

I guess between the original Neo Geo not having a very big install base, coupled with there being more capable competition coming from all sides, the system never stood a chance.

I remember seeing Samurai Spirits 64 on arcade.For a second, i was stunned by its 3D environments....then i saw how it played.It was not good....slow and clunky animations,very plain textures and unresponsive characters.I could not believe SNK had released the game in that state.The multi tier environments were unique,but after the novelty ended you were left with the plain polygons.

I think that if they started off with games like Bukuri One it would have done much better. Then they should have brought in Fatal Fury and Samurai Showdown 64 after they got the hang of 3D. Because they had big shoes to fill with bringing tight 2d games to 3d at that time.

Love your stuff, hope you don't run out of stuff to talk about.

SNK was always a niche market for people who have a large amount of money and fancied true arcade games lets face it as ten year old did we actually know that altered beast really wasn't arcade perfect or mortal kombat wasn't...no because we was kids. As adults we know this now but then I don't think it was relevant compared to the relatively cheaper snes and megadrive. Plus SNK was known for fighter's and shooters so it kinda limited maybe? I honestly didn't know about the story of this system. 👌👌👌

the Neo geo CD was good, because of the cheaper Games. What about the next gen Neo Geo, they have talked about this year? Can´t wait to see it.

Shodown was good enough. It's a shame they didn't do 64 quite right!

Nice video. I own a Hyper Neo Geo 64 system and all 4 fighting games. Best of me is Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition although both Samurai Shodown’s aren’t bad. Agree it was a flop though. Too little too late. Cheers

Great work 👍 like

Gud info🙌🏾

Hey, you went to Funspot!

Is this system emulated?

I could have sworn the HNG64 had cartridges, at least for some games.

I love my Hyper Neo Geo 64. Samurai Shodown 64 is easily the best game for the system, with interesting gameplay additions and tough (& challenging) opponents. Arguably, it's the only reason to own a Neo Geo 64, as the sequel is actually slightly worse. The main reason the board failed was that compared to it's contemporaries, it was an obviously underpowered system. It didn't help that the neo geo fans themselves took an instant dislike to the system, preferring the latest releases for the MVS to anything the new system offered. [Edit] I SO want a dedicated candy cab to house my system.

At least the Samurai Shodown games on the Hyper Neo Geo were better than Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage for PS1 and Samurai Shodown Edge of Destiny for XBOX360.

If only the engineers at SNK Made the Hyper NEO-GEO 64 like the 3D systems created by Sega & Namco, it would have have been a real contender in the arcades.

I remember Fatal Fury wild Ambition for the ps1. I thought it wasn't a bad game but the graphics were very ugly for the time

Hyper Neogeo 64 what? Never even heard of it

I only know Hyper Neo Geo because of Beast Buster

Can those 7 games be emulated somehow?

Top hat's at Funspot!

4:26 what game is that? Godzilla?

Great minds think alike

YES #BIGDADDYTOPHAT IN THE HOUSE!!!!

can you look at Yoshi's Safari🐊

Man, the rpg music.....

I remember playing Ff wild ambition during a holiday in Sydney, Australia. It wasn't that bad untill an Asian guy challenged me and kicked my ass....

🍁IT FAILED BECAUSE 3D WAS/IS WAAAACK. I ALMOST fell for its charm ... I mean, I DID like Virtua Fighter 2, Tekken, Power Stone, Tech Romancer, Virtual On, Plasma Sword, Rival Schools and Project Justice tho 🤷🏾‍♂️

What a bad idea for a system!

I don't like Big Daddy Top Hat, I prefer Papa-Top!

와 이거로 습하습하 하고싶다

this thing was pitiful

It failed so miserably that no programmers are interested on updating its m.a.m.e emulation

No clickbait girl this time?

I hated the Nintendo 64

2 words: overpriced and underpowered

Erm...first?