The Video Game Console Library - SNK Neo Geo CD \ CDZ

	SNK Neo Geo CD \ CDZ
	DW FACTS by Dark Watcher
	Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy

Developer	Manufacturer	Release Date	Country(s)	Initial Price	Model Number	Game Releases	Overall Rating
SNK	SNK	1994	Japan, USA, Europe	$599 USD	NEOGEO-CD	97 (8 exclusive)	05
Ratings	Reviews	Pictures\Media	Specs\Manuals	Games\Emulation	Models	Clones	Links

Neo Geo CD system (from an auction I lost on eBay)

Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release. Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality)	06
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile)	05
Controllers (design, response, feel, use)	07
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation)	06
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects)	06
Media (game media format, design, durability)	07
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging)	07
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library)	04
Innovations (technological industrial strides)	01
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?)	02
Collector Value (good collector investment?)	07
Games Rarity (general availability of games)	04
Console Rarity (general availability of a system)	06

Reviews

Nep Geo CDZ system

DW FACTS
- by Dark Watcher

Through the 1990s SNK was ruling the arcades. Their cartridge based Neo Geo AES made their arcade hits playable at home, but the high price tag kept it out of the hands of many gamers. With other consoles switching game formats, SNK saw an opportunity to also use the large storage capacity of the CD to make their hit carts cheaper to manufacture. Of course this would make games more affordable to the general gaming public. In 1994 SNK released the Neo Geo CD in Japan and shortly after in the U.S. The Neo Geo CD did the job of making SNK titles affordable and the cheaper storage medium allowed new features to be added to existing titles such as improved music, art galleries, hidden goodies and new play modes.

Even with the cheaper cost, the console was plagued with unbearable load times. The Neo Geo CD sported a single speed CD-ROM that had trouble loading larger game titles. This hurt console sales severely. SNK attempted to reduce game sizes and load times by removing some game frames, but in doing so also reduced the games overall quality. In 1996 SNK took steps to speed up the console by adding a double speed CD-ROM. The redesigned unit called Neo Geo CDZ was released in limited quantities in Japan only. The console did speed games up somewhat, but had a design flaw that caused the console to overheat after limited game play. Eventually SNK would find the newer consoles better capable of handling ports of their games. Support for the console was dropped soon after with the company later filing for bankruptcy.

The Neo Geo CD would have done better if released sooner. The console did however see a few exclusives never released in their arcade cabinets. One such game called Samurai Spirits RPG took characters from their hit fighting title and placed them in turn based RPG combat.

FACT: SNK's first Neo Geo CD designs was a front loading model. Only 25,000 units were distributed throughout Japan. It is a hot rarity that is still being sought after by importing collectors.

HANDS ON REVIEW

Coming soon...

Pictures & Media

Various picture\video media for this console. Click pictures to enlarge.

The following pictures courtesy of Charles Lee. Click pictures to enlarge.

Specs & Manuals

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

Processor Type	Processor Speed	Other Processor Information	RAM \ Video RAM
16-bit Motorola 68000 & 8-bit Zilog Z80	12 MHz \ 4 MHz	None	2 MB Program \ 4 MB Graphics \ 1 MB Sound \ 512 KB VRAM
Screen Resolution	Color Palette	Polygons \ Sprites	Audio
320 x 224	65,536 \ 4,096 On Screen	N\A \ 380	Yamaha YM2610 (13 Channels)
Media Format	Media Capacity	Games Released	Other Supported Formats
CD-ROM (1x)	700 MB	97 (8 exclusive)	Audio CD
Internal Storage	External \ Removable Storage	Game Controllers	Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
56 Mbits	None	D-Pad + 6-button Control Pad	None
Controller Ports	Network Ports	Other Ports	Audio \ Video
Two (2)	None	None	Composite, S-Video
Power Supply - External	Other Outputs	Other Details \ Notes
Input: AC 100V 50\60Hz Output: DC 5V 1A DC 10V 1A	None	The PAL version has a switchable 100\240V power supply.
Manuals
SNK Neo Geo CD (Front Loader) Owners Manual (PDF) - 17.9 MB SNK Neo Geo CD (Top Loader) Owners Manual (PDF) - 3.8 MB (credits to http://daddelkingz.de)

Games & Emulation

Games, media format, emulators and screen shots for titles released on this system.

Neo Geo CD loading screen Software for the Neo Geo CD was distributed in the standard jewel case. There were only eight unique games released for this system, with an additional five console exclusive ports from the Neo Geo MVS arcade platform. All of the other titles for this system were conversions of existing Neo Geo AES games. Screenshots for each of these games are provided below.

Neo Geo CD games are considerably less expensive than their Neo Geo AES counterparts - this was one of the main reasons that drove the creation of this system. Graphically, the CD based games have a very slight advantage over their respective AES cartridge version in terms of graphical output. The unfortunate thing is that the price of this minor upgrade is quite severe - extremely long and frequent loading times.

Pricey AES ports for the Neo Geo CD console include Breakers, Magical Drop 2, Metal Slug 2, Ninja Masters and OverTop.

Neo Geo CD Game Boxes - Exclusive Releases

Neo Geo CD Game Screenshots - Exclusives
The eight (8) exclusive games for the Neo Geo CD

ADK World

Chotetsu Brikin'ger

Crossed Swords II

Crossed Swords 2 Screenshot

Idol Mahjong: Final Romance II

King of Fighters 96 Collection

Neo Geo CD Special

Oshidashi Zentrix

Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden

Neo Geo CD Game Screenshots - Console Exclusives
The five (5) games that were released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade platform, but not on the Neo Geo AES

Futsal - 5-on-5 Mini Soccer

Janshin Densetsu

Neo Drift Out

Power Spike 2

Puzzle Bobble

Third Party Emulators
Program	Website	Description
NeoCD/SDL	http://pacifi3d.retrogames.com/neocdsdl/	Great Neo Geo CD emulator for Windows or Linux based systems.

Models

Additional authorized releases for this console. Click pictures to enlarge.

Neo Geo CD - Front Loader

Neo Geo CD - Top Loader

Neo Geo CDZ

Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).

No clones were released for this system.

Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.

Name	Website	Description
Neo-Geo.com	http://www.neo-geo.com	Everything Neo Geo related - the best site out there!!
Neo-GeoCD	http://www.neogeocd.net/	Excellent site on Neo Geo CD hardware and software

visitors since 01-Apr-2008
Page last updated 07-Jan-2012

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