What was the first neogeo game you played in an arcade cabinet?

[konrad]

Mine world héroes and world héroes 2.

 

[TimKunming]

Fatal Fury back in the early 90s. Being able to move into the background was something I'd never seen before.

 

[wataru330]

Magician Lord, Clairemont Mesa Family Fun Center.

I about shit a brick, when the game *talked* to me. The Future was Then!

 

[YeldellGW]

The original World Heroes. This series and Samurai Shodown were what kept me coming back to the Neo.

 

[sr20det510]

There was a 4 slot arcade cabinet at the Montebllo Mall. It had Nam, Magician Lord, Baseball Stars, and Ninja Combat.

Mag Lord and Nam took most of my quarters.

 

[Sammy/SNK-FAN]

Samurai Showdown at Aladdin’s Castle when it first came out. It was my favorite arcade game for a few years.

I didn’t really know much about Neo Geo until years later while living in Japan. I almost bought a 3DO for the beautiful port of Samurai Showdown (Thankfully, it was out of my budget at the time). If only I could have gotten my hands on the home cart back then…..

 

[LoneSage]

The Future was Then!

You know what was mindblowing to me back then? Four games in one cabinet. It may as well have been magic to me.

 

[kernow]

World 'eroes

 

[city41]

I probably played an MVS unit in the early 90s as back then I was frequenting arcades. But I don't remember it.

I distinctly remember playing KOF95 in the college cafeteria and Metal Slug at the grocery store down the street when I went off to college. Those two games, especially MS, were what got me really wanting a Neo.

 

[HeavyMachineGoob]

Puzzle Bobble 1, in some strange conversion cab in a mall.

 

[HellioN]

Either AoF or SamSho.
I remember seeing the size of the sprites in AoF and being blown away.

 

[Johnny16Bit]

I believe it was teh mighty Ninja Combat.

The sound was quite impressive at the time. The way it sucked my pocket money too

 

[The Chief]

The first Neo cab I remember playing was at a Ground Round. Popcorn on the floor, they had a little side room off the dining area that had three cabs one of which was a 4-slot. I’d played Street Fighter II before but for the first time I saw Art of Fighting and was amazed with the scaling and large characters that filled up the screen. Of course I was a kid and the computer mopped the floor with me. I also spent some time on Magician Lord and Burning Fight. I think the fourth game was Top Players golf but I’m not 100% on that.

 

[Ralfakick]

The first Neo cab I remember playing was at a Ground Round. Popcorn on the floor, they had a little side room off the dining area that had three cabs one of which was a 4-slot. I’d played Street Fighter II before but for the first time I saw Art of Fighting and was amazed with the scaling and large characters that filled up the screen. Of course I was a kid and the computer mopped the floor with me. I also spent some time on Magician Lord and Burning Fight. I think the fourth game was Top Players golf but I’m not 100% on that.

For me it was Bust A Move, so many arcades in the Sunner at the Wildwood, NJ Boardwalk had Neo Cabs with Bust a Move and another game at the time.

Did Ground Round have pay what kids weigh like a penny a pound? I loved that place as a kid with the popcorn. We had one in Springfield PA, incidentally that was a Hojo’s before where a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie called Marnie was filmed with Sean Connery.

I have to look and see if they still exist. The last one I went to was about ten years ago in Langhorne, PA. I was coming back from Princeton, NJ and saw it on an exit sign and stopped for dinner.

 

[sirlynxalot]

First one I put a quarter in and played is probably Kof 94. I thought it was an official Capcom sequel to street fighter and I mistook Kim as Ryu. I played as the Korea team and didn't make it very far. I thought it was kof95 bc that's what the marquee on the cab said, but when comparing my memory to both games years later it was clear I was playing kof94 due to the stages.

First one I ever saw in action was at my local pizza joint playing AOF2 I think.

 

[GutsDozer]

Either Samsho or KOF 94 at the local arcade if we're talking about MVS. I did also play Ikari Warriors before that.

 

[The Chief]

Did Ground Round have pay what kids weigh like a penny a pound? I loved that place as a kid with the popcorn. We had one in Springfield PA, incidentally that was a Hojo’s before where a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie called Marnie was filmed with Sean Connery.

I can’t remember if there were any meal deals, to be honest I just wanted to go for chicken tendies and a couple bucks in quarters to play some arcade games.

I’m from PA and I remember going to Ground Round there so moving to VT and seeing one here as well was a welcome sight. Sadly it’s been closed for many years now, not sure there’s any left in the state.

 

[clithy]

The first one I know for sure is Metal Slug at Mr. Gatti's Pizza in Farragut, TN (west suburbs of Knoxville). I would have been 11-12ish this was somewhere from like 96-98. Down the hill from the intermediate/middle/high school campus, they had a small arcade room with maybe just 4-5 cabs in what was otherwise just an AYCE pizza buffet. This location closed although Mr. Gatti's still exists I guess.

There was also a Putt-Putt Golf & Games right next to it that had a more substantial arcade along with the putt-putt and a batting cage. This is still in business, I don't specifically recall a Neo-Geo in there, but I also was not into fighters so there might have been. I do recall a tent style Playchoice 10 in there.

 

[Ralfakick]

I can’t remember if there were any meal deals, to be honest I just wanted to go for chicken tendies and a couple bucks in quarters to play some arcade games.

I’m from PA and I remember going to Ground Round there so moving to VT and seeing one here as well was a welcome sight. Sadly it’s been closed for many years now, not sure there’s any left in the state.

Yeah kind of remember the whole scale thing, but the free popcorn got me, I looked it up and they did.

I was surprised Lanhorne still had one. Sesame Place is there so there’s a lot of chain restaurants catering to families, there were places I didn’t know still existed like Beniganns around there.

 

[The Chief]

Yeah kind of remember the whole scale thing, but the free popcorn got me, I looked it up and they did.

I was surprised Lanhorne still had one. Sesame Place is there so there’s a lot of chain restaurants catering to families, there were places I didn’t know still existed like Beniganns around there.

The popcorn was out of control. Kids would be throwing it at each other, it was all over the floor, like 50% coverage. Massive projection screen in the main dining area too, playing some kids show of course.

I went to Sesame Place sometime in the late 80s. I remember this structure that had nets for the floor and it was many stories tall. There where swings in certain places and kids were losing their minds jumping and climbing everywhere.

 

[Superfamifreak]

Local driving range and pitch and put had a 4 slot.

Magician Lord, Top Players Golf, Baseball Stars Professional & Thrash Rally.

Out of all of them I’d probably say Magician Lord was the first one I played.

 

[Ralfakick]

The popcorn was out of control. Kids would be throwing it at each other, it was all over the floor, like 50% coverage. Massive projection screen in the main dining area too, playing some kids show of course.

I went to Sesame Place sometime in the late 80s. I remember this structure that had nets for the floor and it was many stories tall. There where swings in certain places and kids were losing their minds jumping and climbing everywhere.

Yeah you could enter through the ball pits and nets that was some fun stuff as a kid.

 

[wataru330]

The Ground Round in West Chester PA was razed, and there is a Citadel Federal Credit Union there now.

As of 2 years ago, there was one left in Newark, DE.

There were a total of 15 Ground Round locations in United States as of April 26, 2023. Then…Chapter 11 woes for the OG restaurant group.

As of March 2024, the newly formed co-op that bought out the original remaining assets, operates 4 locations in North Dakota, and Ohio.

 

[TimKunming]

Either AoF or SamSho.
I remember seeing the size of the sprites in AoF and being blown away.

I remember this, too! The size of the sprites in AoF was insane. I'd never seen anything like it.

I don't know if it's nostalgia or the jumps we saw in gaming during that era, but there are few times these days that something really grabs me like games did back then.

 

[mainman]

Ninja Combat inside of a J.J Newberry