The Neo Geo console was released by the Japanese manufactures, SNK, in 1990. This arcade based console featured a 16/32-bit 68000 CPU with an additional 8-bit Z80 CPU and custom 24-bit GPU chipset, which was considerably powerful for a home system at the time. The console was originally released in arcade board form as the Neo Geo Multi Video System (MVS)
The advanced graphical capabilities of the Neo Geo came from the use of custom GPU graphics processors, both of which were within the system and also as additional chips on individual game cartridges. Other features of the Neo Geo were its seven specialized processors, including the two CPU processors and several graphics chips, quick access to larger ROM data directly from cartridges at pretty high speeds, and then later on removable memory cards on the Advanced Entertainment System (AES) home platform, to save data when it was upgraded to; making first console to have such a feature at the time. These features gave the Neo Geo a lot of popularity and made it the most powerful home gaming system at the time of its release, its only competitor at the time was the Sharp X68000 home computer.
The cartridge and the removable memory card which the Neo Geo system used housed some really great games. The memory cards were used primarily to continue from where you left off in an arcade game and they had cross-compatibility, allowing you to start a game at home and then continue it in the arcade and vice versa.
Overtime as the Neo Geo was no longer manufactured and the cartridges and memory cards serving no use without the console, new file formats for saving these great iconic games that are synonymous with Neo Geo emerged. And one of such file formats that replicated the cartridge and memory cards of the Neo Geo console games is the ROM, these Read Only Memory files more popularly known as ROM(s) are files that house a copy of your games ripped from the original game cartridge or saved from an online download. This means that anyone can easily and conveniently get to download Neo Geo ROMs and play them without having a Neo Geo console. Most of these games are extracted in Zip file formats, thus when you download a game, it comes in a Neo Geo zip file, and you will need to download an emulator alongside the games to enable you fetch and play the ROMs from the zip file.
Best Neo Geo ROMs
While it is very true that Neo Geo console had thousands of games, there are some games that stood out as the very best till date; these iconic games were filled with kick ass fights, gruelling adventures, speedy racing entertainment and a whole lot that could be found in games such as Unibios, Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy, World Heroes Perfect, Dimahoo, Sengoku3, Fatal Fury Special, The King of Fighters-KOF 99, Spinmaster, The Last Blade, Armwaur, Blazing Star, Samurai Shodown, Gururin and a ton of others.
Neo Geo Emulator
Though Neo Geo games were discontinued some time ago, this doesn’t mean gamers can’t enjoy playing their favourite games anymore. Just like every other vintage console, there are a few Neo Geo emulators that allow you to relive the experience of playing these games on your PC, Tablet and Smartphone. Most of these emulators also are compatible with the Neo Geo console games
Once a Game Gear game has been downloaded and saved in a ROM file, you would also need to download an emulator to enable you play the downloaded game. An emulator is a software that can mimic play of any file format on your device. Although Neo Geo doesn’t have as many emulators, i’ll still try to mention some that work just fine for your device;
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Nebula
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KAWAKS
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Calice32
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MAME NeoRage (X)
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Ace
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OpenEmu
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RetroArch
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NEO.emu
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NeoGeo CD Emulator
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NeoCD(SDL)
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NeoDroid
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GnGeo
Platforms That Support Neo Geo ROMs
Before you start an emulator download, it is important to note that some emulators are compatible with only specific Operating Systems. Below is a guide on which emulators are most suitable with your Windows, Linux, Android and iOS devices
iOS Supported Neo Geo Emulators
If you are looking for the best emulators to play Neo Geo ROMs for iOS either on your iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac devices then these ones listed below are sure to provide you with the best simulation of your games and of course great entertainment. Note that it is advisable to have an iOS X version or higher before downloading any of these emulators:
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MAME
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GeoMAME Mac OX
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OpenEmu
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RetroArch
Windows Supported Neo Geo Emulators
One great thing about Windows is that it supports almost all the emulators out there. Most often these emulators are supported on a wide range of Windows OS, so you are easily able to play all you Neo Geo ROMs on your PC. The most compatible emulators for Windows include:
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Nebula
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KAWAKS
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Calice32
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MAME NeoRage (X)
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Ace
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NeoGeo CD Emulator
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NeoCD(SDL)
Android Supported Neo Geo Emulators
Some of the Neo Geo emulator Android can be found on the Google Play Store for download (most of them are free). These emulators are often compatible with the Android 4 (KitKat) and other newer versions of Android. Some of them likewise support older versions of Androids:
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NeoDroid
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NEO.emu
Linux Supported Neo Geo Emulators
With these emulators listed below you are sure to get the best game play either by playing online or downloading the Neo Geo ROMs to play all on you Linux devices. Compatible emulators for Linux include:
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MAME
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RetroArch
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GnGeo