*UPDATED* NeoGeo proto screenshots

Mouse_Master

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DevilRedeemed said:
do you remember how much it went for or was going for? its funny how some things just pass by under our noses unnoticed sometimes.

Something like $30 or so, not too much.
 

Howdoin

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Nice... like everyone else I am curious to see some of these in action (in game screen).
 

Tacitus

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If it's Billy Pitt, expect enough information to whet your appetite and be the smarmy collector who hoards and refuses to do anything to add other than a screenshot or two and a shitty review..

If someone else owns it, expect Billy to come in here and complain about the lack of sharing of information, about how it's an obligation to release the info and all information about it, the hoarding and a large cash offer for the cart, then go back to my above statement.

:tickled:
 

Tacitus

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I wouldn't lose sleep over these titles.

For every Garou and Blazing Star, there's Fight Fever, LOSJ, Top Player's, Galaxy Fight and Football Frenzy.

Point is, play the odds for the Neo, they're probably shitty.

On top of THAT, These games were dev'd circa 1994-1995, the heyday of SNK. If they had ANYTHING worth of release, it was released or picked through the second time around in 1998-1999 when they were desperate for money. (ex Zupapa!).

If Power Spikes 2 is a title in this list, consider the rest.

You're almost assured that they are average at the very best if they weren't released and couldn't pass QA or whatever else.

Don't get your dicks stiff over pipe dreams that are most likely awful.
 

SSS

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VanillaThunder said:
I wouldn't lose sleep over these titles.

For every Garou and Blazing Star, there's Fight Fever, LOSJ, Top Player's, Galaxy Fight and Football Frenzy.

Point is, play the odds for the Neo, they're probably shitty.

On top of THAT, These games were dev'd circa 1994-1995, the heyday of SNK. If they had ANYTHING worth of release, it was released or picked through the second time around in 1998-1999 when they were desperate for money. (ex Zupapa!).

If Power Spikes 2 is a title in this list, consider the rest.

You're almost assured that they are average at the very best if they weren't released and couldn't pass QA or whatever else.

Don't get your dicks stiff over pipe dreams that are most likely awful.

There is a good chance the games probably due stink. However I'm curious about the Visco titles.
 

NeoCverA

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VanillaThunder said:
If it's Billy Pitt, expect enough information to whet your appetite and be the smarmy collector who hoards and refuses to do anything to add other than a screenshot or two and a shitty review..

If someone else owns it, expect Billy to come in here and complain about the lack of sharing of information, about how it's an obligation to release the info and all information about it, the hoarding and a large cash offer for the cart, then go back to my above statement.

:tickled:
:buttrock: what a cocknugget tha pitt.
 

Dallas_Five

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It would be cool to know more about Last Odyssey - how it plays, for example. Nowadays there's probably better pinball options, but you never know... if the physics feel right any pinball game can be fun and the fantasy theme is cool... it could be pretty good.
 

Orpheus

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Oh Jesus Christ not again. I really hate this shit.
Ghostlop was the proto that needed to see the light of day and we got that. Lets let the deadwood die in peace. (O.K., perhaps last odyseee couls be cool but unless it is better than devils crush, which I doubt, I don't give two shits)


xtoo_short20x said:
*waits for Billy Pitt's speech*

"Gentleman" :kekeke: :tickled:


Oh god, don't remind me.
Thats the other reason I hate proto threads, that moron always pops up.. If he says that word one more time a few of us should hold him down and stick a boot cart down his throat.
 
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SuperGun

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We must have those numbers!

:mad: :envy: :(

Gentlemen,

Forgive me for taking so long to reply but I was collating all of this information into a nice presentable format. Protos are like UFO's, you rarely see or hear of them, and so if/when a sighting occurrs, it is always at complete random and arrives unexpected. But of course, I am always prepared and it is moments like these that I live for so here we go!

Ok, so six NEO-GEO proto screenshots surfaced. All of them appear to be emulated whereby almost certainly meaning that they are already dumped. This is a good thing however as it also provides us with some serenity and security in there safety, albeit in the hands of an as of yet unknown individual. All of the pics are title screens, which is great for me as that is always the most important of all shots when it comes to gaining information. Granted, they are also boring as no gameplay can be seen from them, but we need to be appreciative of what we have so far and perhaps some more will follow eventually anyhow.

So far, here is my take on this interesting development.

Razoola posted the pics and so may I assume therefore that he frequents the website from where he took them? Can I assume that he then may know the people who run the site? And bearing that, therefore has the ability to contact them with questions? This being the case, Razoola, if I may speak to you directly here, I know that everyone would like to see more screenshots, heck so would I, but PLEASE make that request and any others SECONDARY to requesting the NGH game code numbers. This is INFINITELY more important and with the use of your universal bios I see NO REASON why they could not provide us with this much needed and important key information.

With that said, here is my initial assessment of the 6 shots that have surfaced so far:

-- Bang Bang Busters --
Nothing too special here. We already had the title screen shot for this game many years ago and we also already have video footage for that matter of the game in action. Granted, the shot is emulated so that is something else but thats about it. Also VERY important to note is the significant observation of "pixel rot" which can clearly be seen throughout the shot. This could sadly be evidence of data corruption on the eproms which may have sufferred irreversible damaged over the years. Or, if were lucky, sometimes glitched graphics result from roms that were dumped incorrectly.

-- Last Odyssey Pinball --
Absolutely nothing proven with this one! We already provided the emulated title screen pic years ago, as well as the exclusive emulated in game shots on my own website. Hell, we also already displayed video footage of this game as well so for this particular title, so NOTHING has been proven yet by this one measly shot. Lets see if they come up with the correct code number on this one, and/or other never before seen shots, otherwise no dice.

-- Super Volley '94 --
Once again, nothing to get excited about with this one. The extreme collectors like myself already knew that this was merely the original working title for the proto of Power Spikes 2. I even have a scan of the original arcade promo flyer as such on my website. Furthermore, much like Kizuna Encounter (see pics on my page as well) this title screen is most likely still embedded in the games released rom code and may even be accessible with a Debug / Universal Bios chip. So regardless of how this one turns out, it will with 99.9% certainty have the same game code number of 068 as PS2, and at best it will have slight variations in gameplay and mechanics. A proto of a released game. Yes, always fun to see and great to find, but not something that stops the presses, and certainly not when compared to the other shots provided.

-- Warlocks of the Fates --
Well, this is what it is and there is no doubt about that. An emulated pic of the WOTF title screen. However, Same as Bang Bang Busters, we already had a pic of the title screen long ago, but being as it is an emulated pic, it could be slight evidence that it is indeed real and in someones hands. All that matters here is the game code number, so tell them to give it up or shut up!

-- Magic Master --
BAM! You got me with this one! I cannot hold back here! At first, I thought it MIGHT be the Japanese title screen for Mystic Wand. This based on the fact that many magazines back in 1991 mis-reported the title for Mystic Wand as "Magic Wand". However, after closer scrutiny that would not make sense as the screen is simply way different then that of Mystic Wand. However, the fonts used for the small display text lines are DEFINITELY those used in neo-geo games circa 1990/1991. So, it is more sensible to conclude that this game is one of the great long lost unknown and undiscovered "3 mysteries" which reside in game code locations 012, 013, and 015. Strong support of this theory is in that there is no copyright year displayed, (ALL the other shots had years) and finally in that "Magic Cram School" (never before reported) was in my files as a potential title for one of the 3 mystery spots. This one is HOT and I MUST have that NGH number! A TRUE discovery!

-- "Chicago" game --
This one carries a 1994 copyright. The "Chicago" sub title may be of confusion to many here, but let it be known that in 1994 Microsoft's BETA of Windows '95 was being tested and was codenamed "Chicago". The beta fell through many hands and in the global view of things it was big news and hype. The programmers at Visco may have simply been tipping their hats (or downing their drinks!) during late night work sessions as is common practice among the over-worked & under-paid employees of software development houses. This title may have been the predeccessor to Crystal Legacy...which was of course the proto and working title for Breakers. Without an in-game screenshot, we don't have much to go on for now.

Alright well great stuff and thank you Razoola for alerting us to it. See what else you can find out and keep us all updated. I will also post again if anything else comes to mind, and/or after it is all resolved.

:cool:
Billy Pitt
 

Razoola

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SuperGun said:
:mad: :envy: :(

Razoola posted the pics and so may I assume therefore that he frequents the website from where he took them? Can I assume that he then may know the people who run the site? And bearing that, therefore has the ability to contact them with questions? This being the case, Razoola, if I may speak to you directly here, I know that everyone would like to see more screenshots, heck so would I, but PLEASE make that request and any others SECONDARY to requesting the NGH game code numbers. This is INFINITELY more important and with the use of your universal bios I see NO REASON why they could not provide us with this much needed and important key information.

Billy Pitt

I am going to try and get more information on the games including in game shots and GAME ID numbers etc. I have had a relationshp with Xacrow for some time regarding CPS2 and for that reason I doubt he will release dumps of the game. I am quite sure he will give out other information though on these games which will be very helpfull.

These shots got me by surprise also as I diddent think he ever had and neogeo protos so it never came into conversation in the past.

Raz

Regards, Raz
 

Amano Jacu

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VanillaThunder said:
I wouldn't lose sleep over these titles.

For every Garou and Blazing Star, there's Fight Fever, LOSJ, Top Player's, Galaxy Fight and Football Frenzy.

Point is, play the odds for the Neo, they're probably shitty.

On top of THAT, These games were dev'd circa 1994-1995, the heyday of SNK. If they had ANYTHING worth of release, it was released or picked through the second time around in 1998-1999 when they were desperate for money. (ex Zupapa!).

If Power Spikes 2 is a title in this list, consider the rest.

You're almost assured that they are average at the very best if they weren't released and couldn't pass QA or whatever else.

Don't get your dicks stiff over pipe dreams that are most likely awful.

You are mostly right, but as you know there won't be any more Neo Geo titles, so any "new" game is welcomed with at least "some" excitement. If we were still getting 3-4 games a year then we just wouldn't care. And remember that Ghostlop finished being a really nice game, on par with the best Neo games of its genre, and definately much better than many released games. However most likely most of them will just suck, but still it is worth just to have a look at them.

---------------------------------

Yes, I also though the Volley 94 may have been the same game as Power Spikes 2.

I just remembered xacrow is the same guy who hoarded the Progear roms (although he had no other choice but to "lend" them to Raz as he wanted to have them decrypted/emulated), so there's very little chance he releases them, specially if money is what he is looking for (which I'm not saying is the case). In that case somebody who really wanted money I guess could sell (some) of them to Billy (or Neo Geo Freak France of course). Maybe he won't even reveal the numbers unless he is paid or the carts are bought. Of course interest and value would be lost if the numbers/roms were revealed/released.
 
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Razoola

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Amano Jacu said:
I just remembered xacrow is the same guy who hoarded the Progear roms (although he was forced to "lend" them to Raz in order to have them decrypted/emulated), so there's very little chance he releases them, specially if money is what he is looking for.

This is not true, xacrow was and never has been forced to lend anyone anything. If you were to try something like that with him you'll be sure not to here from him again. He did dump the progear simms indeed but he never gave them out. Somone else dumped them in the end after the guru stunt but this is going off topic so I'll leave it there.

Raz
 

Amano Jacu

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Sorry, I think I didn't explain myself well, PM replied and I won't continue the discussion here as it is totally off-topic, we can just use the PM system.

EDIT: I edited my post to have things more clear
 
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Geddon_jt

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Mouse_Master said:
Something like $30 or so, not too much.

If I'm not mistaken, Big Bruno bought this cartridge.
I've seen it a few times, it came with a full art pack and everything.

Also, everyone always presumes that protos suck. Why??
Ghostlop certainly didn't suck.
 

barf

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Bha, there are hundreds of thousands of games no need to be stuck on a handfull :)

If someone is the only one to possess something and do not want to share i don t care, i would not act like that but i respect that (principle of property).

But that s true it can make one sad. For example i am sad not to be able to play at least once marbble man so i guess that can happen for one of these :)
 

SuperGun

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that makes no sense?

Amano Jacu said:
I just remembered xacrow is the same guy who hoarded the Progear roms, so there's very little chance he releases them, specially if money is what he is looking for (which I'm not saying is the case). In that case somebody who really wanted money I guess could sell (some) of them to Billy (or Neo Geo Freak France of course). Maybe he won't even reveal the numbers unless he is paid or the carts are bought. Of course interest and value would be lost if the numbers/roms were revealed/released.

:oh_no:

It does not matter to me wether Xacrow is Type-A personality or Type-B personality when it comes to keeping or sharing the roms for these or any other protos. This is something which we of course always try to work with, but in the end the final decision is up to him unless/until the roms eventually fall into someone else's hands.

However, with respect to releasing additional screenshots and/or the game code numbers, I just don't see how that would be "asking to much" of him in particular. We are not talking about secret FBI or INTERPOL files here. We are talking about a simple number which is MEANINGLESS to Xacrow and 99.9% of the general population.

In addition, I don't think that "money" is what drives "rom dump gurus" like Xacrow. It may end up being much more complicated then that. But of course, if money is what he desires, no problem there, I can more then accomodate that stipulation. I never "charged" nor will charge for code numbers. No sensible person would do so.

Lastly, there are greater forces at work here for which even I have no control over. The neo-geo community as a whole is MUCH more powerfull and economically capable then I alone can be. As with previous (and future) protos, if I sacrifice my own personal funds, then they must be almost entirely recouperated before I can pass on the acquisition as "shareware" for free and for everyone. (any sensible person would state so) But this would be easily handled as Jeff Kurtz or any other "escrow" pool could be set up to handle the reimbursement procedure and then subsequently the roms release.

In short, I don't think it is as "hopeless" as some may think. This guy Xacrow will simply not be prepared for the tenacious bombardment of correspondance which this will generate. When we get through with him, he will be begging us to take them off his hands so he can be left alone in peace!

:rolleyes:
Billy Pitt
 

syringe

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The only mildly interesting game out of the six is the prospect of a playable "Warlocks of the Fates."
 

Amano Jacu

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SuperGun said:
:oh_no:
However, with respect to releasing additional screenshots and/or the game code numbers, I just don't see how that would be "asking to much" of him in particular. We are not talking about secret FBI or INTERPOL files here. We are talking about a simple number which is MEANINGLESS to Xacrow and 99.9% of the general population.

In addition, I don't think that "money" is what drives "rom dump gurus" like Xacrow. It may end up being much more complicated then that. But of course, if money is what he desires, no problem there, I can more then accomodate that stipulation. I never "charged" nor will charge for code numbers. No sensible person would do so.

Yeah, I agree, I don't really know xacrow that much but it looks like he is more of a collector. I also think there's a great chance that he reveals more shots and the codes without asking for anything, after all it doesn't cost anything for him to do so. I just said that from the experienc of the Ghostlop drama. About him releasing the roms, well, from the Progear experience I still think there is few chance but let's at least keep hope.
 

lithy

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If he would consider selling one of the games, I believe that the community can group up as we were looking to do with Chris Ray's 'protos' (still don't know what was up with these) and buy a couple of them so that they can be dumped, that way no single person has a gigantic investment in a cart that makes them think twice about making their cart worthless.

Also, Billy, any chance you saw my post above?
 

Orpheus

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lithy said:
If he would consider selling one of the games, I believe that the community can group up as we were looking to do with Chris Ray's 'protos' (still don't know what was up with these)

Luckily that one fell through. The games were sold before the group could get to them.
 

Tacitus

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ORPHEUS said:
Luckily that one fell through. The games were sold before the group could get to them.


Nope, it was a publicity stunt for his sale.

If you think that sale was legit, you're fucking kidding yourself.
 

kafuin_gaira

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Scanline said:
The only mildly interesting game out of the six is the prospect of a playable "Warlocks of the Fates."

from what little i know i'd agree here.
 
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