+Charlie Cat Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 Hi guys, Nintendo Life@nintendolife Review: Rage Of The Dragons NEO (Switch) - A Fabulous Version Of A Fantastic Fighter. https://nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/rage-of-the-dragons-neo… (Repost) 8:50 PM · Nov 14, 2024 Rage of the Dragons NEO Review (Switch eShop) Version Reviewed: European review by Tom Massey With the original Double Dragon, Yoshihisa Kishimoto realised a dramatic, violent expedition to save a kidnapped girl from a miscreant petrol gang. Although the genre had already been established by Irem’s Kung-Fu Master several years earlier, the scores of enemies, weapons, multi-plane scenery, two-player functionality, and broad range of attacks made it the biggest arcade smash of 1987. Although its direct sequels were lacklustre, 1995's Double Dragon for the Neo Geo (a fighting game spin-off often known as Double Dragon ’95 to differentiate) was notable. Designed to tie in with the questionable US-produced Double Dragon movie, it remains a very good game. Difficult, perhaps, with thankless AI, but the mechanics and balancing saw it played competitively far and wide. Sadly, the series didn’t revisit the fighting game format until 2002, when Rage of the Dragons surfaced as a late Neo Geo contender. Originally meant to be a sequel to the aforementioned 1995 release, licensing issues had Rage of the Dragons end up outside of canon despite featuring two brothers named Billy and Jimmy… Lewis. Its roots, however, are obvious, and it's still recognised by many as being part of the overall Double Dragon universe. Co-developed by Evoga of Mexico and Noise Factory of Japan, it’s a remarkable-looking game. Bright, bursting with colour, and featuring superb animation, it stands alongside SNK’s Mark of the Wolves as an incredibly impressive, late-stage Neo Geo work. The backgrounds pop and the 16 characters — including playable bosses — are all excellent. The likes of half-Chinese Lynn Baker bring a youthful flair to the proceedings, and the Enter the Dragon-inspired Mr. Jones enchants with some solid '70s afro-funk. There’s also a screen-dwarfing brawler named Abubo Rao, who clearly began as Double Dragon’s infamous Abobo before some tweaking was made. Interestingly, many of these characters also appear in the Neo Geo’s Power Instinct Matrimelee (2003) either as hidden characters or during super attack assists. Rage of the Dragons utilises four buttons across light and hard punches and kicks. It's a game famous for its range of special mechanics, including neutral standing dodges, a double tap dash, and a retreating hop. It's very Neo Geo in feel, sharing kindred elements with King of Fighters, including an escape roll to dodge and reposition, a parry counter, and four kinds of ranged jumps, some of which travel shorter distances but at faster speeds. These tools might sound complex, but they don’t take long to get used to, and anyone already accustomed to the Neo Geo’s fighting library will pick it up fairly quickly. There are super attacks governed by a gauge at the foot of the screen, allowing for traditional flashy routines unique to each combatant, but its primary hook is that it's a tag team game. It’s certainly not the first of its kind on the Neo Geo, predated by the likes of Kizuna Encounter in 1996 - but it’s almost certainly the best. Unlike King of Fighters, where you pit three characters against three across a best-of-three match, here you can tag your characters in and out of the fray at will, with the character on the sidelines slowly recovering energy. Choosing your team is key, and learning each character’s strengths and weaknesses really offers strategic depth. While there are default teams prepared for you, you can also go fully custom and pair quick, lithe characters like Sonia Romanenko with rotund Kang’s considerable bulk. Every character has a First Impact attack engaged with HP and HK buttons in tandem. This will pound the opponent into the air, turning the background temporarily crimson, and a button sequence prompt will appear at the foot of the screen. If followed correctly, you perform a special five-hit combo unique to your character. For an idea of how Rage of the Dragons works, if you engage a First Impact attack and land the combo, you can then tag in your partner to catch your opponent in a juggle, extending the damage much further. It’s a flexible system that feels right, and is nicely weighted and enjoyable to toy with. There are also Team Duplex Attacks where both of your characters attack simultaneously - although this only works with team presets. Rage of the Dragons isn't easy, requiring skill and dedication to get the best of it. Thankfully, with its relatively slow input method of methodical taps over fraught and hasty mashing, it's both measured and manageable. With this updated 'NEO' version of the original, learning is far less a struggle. There are options for almost everything, from on-screen move lists to granular parameter adjustments across arcade mode and beyond. The in-depth training is excellently handled, with damage counters and a neat visible hit-box toggle that shows exactly where your attacks can and can’t land. Elsewhere, the game cooks online with rollback netcode, allowing you to pair with people of similar skill levels. Versus mode now has a new option for up to five-on-five battles, opening a new dimension of strategy in a spectacular battle royal. There’s a jukebox, showing off the game’s excellent soundtrack, and even a music edit menu where you can pick and choose your favourite tracks. There are lots of ways to adjust difficulty, screen sizes, and filters for pixel-perfect scaling and CRT effects. And, if you like in-game Achievements, there are plenty of those too. One thing worth noting about Rage of the Dragons is that its AI was always infamously tough, and this remains unchanged. Newcomers may feel put off by early beat-downs, but shouldn't be dissuaded. Various difficulty levels allow you to adjust the challenge to your liking, and we highly recommend starting easier and then switching up when you become more proficient. There’s no cross-play, which seems par for the course when it comes to Switch-based fighting games, limiting the online pool. Despite this, the rollback net code works well and the game runs smoothly. Most importantly, it holds up: Rage of the Dragons is the best fighting game that was almost a Double Dragon game. The characters are varied and incredibly fun to play, sporting wild pyrotechnic special moves and a wealth of satisfying combos to experiment with; and the zest Evoga's Mexican team brought to the party shines through. It’s a game, owing to its tag team format, that’s exciting from the get-go but will take a long time to master. For fighting game fans, this very polished re-release is a real treat. Conclusion Rage of the Dragons Neo is a peach of a game. Plucked from the Neo Geo library, it’s been brought back to life with a smooth online experience and a comprehensive package stuffed with bonuses. It’s not for everyone, and don’t be surprised if you get beasted online initially, but for those willing to eke out the depths of its tag team strategy and combo extension methods, it's a furious, flashy, adrenaline-fuelled affair that looks great, sounds great, and plays even better. Graphics and sound positively buzz A deep tag-team combat system full of combo-mining potential A really polished re-release package that covers almost all bases AI can be abusive, and some may feel like it's difficult to make headway No cross-play is always a shame Excellent 9/10 Anthony... 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5565940 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColecoGamer Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 @Charlie Cat, what do you know about the new Neo Geo Pocket from SNK? I found a video on it last night. It’s coming with 40 games preinstalled. However, it’s up in the air, whether we can add more games to it or not. it’s going to retail for 89 US. I’m just wondering if it’s worth the money or not. I would love to have portable SNK hardware again. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5565999 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 3 hours ago, ColecoGamer said: @Charlie Cat, what do you know about the new Neo Geo Pocket from SNK? I found a video on it last night. It’s coming with 40 games preinstalled. However, it’s up in the air, whether we can add more games to it or not. it’s going to retail for 89 US. I’m just wondering if it’s worth the money or not. I would love to have portable SNK hardware again. Hi Mike, It's a handheld unit that will be manufactured by Unico. The same members in the community that offered the MVSX recently that will have 40 similar Neo-Geo titles like the MVSX had. It's really a handheld version of the MVSX. But I'm sure you can mod or jailbreak it to have all the games into it like must other units offered these days. Not bad for it's price Mike. Hope this helps bro. Anthony... 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566089 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 Hi guys, Back with NeoGeoNow with more on what he has to say. This time with the latest SNK figures. Nice!!! Anthony... Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566095 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Hi guys, SNK JAPAN@SNKPofficial_jp 【お知らせ】SAMURAI SPIRITSのPlayStationによる大会が開催されます。ぜひご参加下さい！ https://vs.netgamers.jp/blog/?p=10463 #SNK #SAMURAISPIRITS #サムスピ Translated from Japanese by [Notice] A SAMURAI SHODOWN PlayStation tournament will be held. Please come and participate! https://vs.netgamers.jp/blog/?p=10463 #SNK #SAMURAISPIRITS #サムスピ From vs.netgamers.jp 4:00 AM · Nov 15, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566404 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Hi guys, SNK JAPAN@SNKPofficial_jp 【お知らせ】SAMURAI SPIRITSのXbox Series X|Sによる大会が開催されます。ぜひご参加下さい！ https://vs.netgamers.jp/blog/?p=10464 #SNK #SAMURAISPIRITS #サムスピ Translated from Japanese by [Notice] A SAMURAI SHODOWN tournament will be held for Xbox Series X|S. Please come along and participate! https://vs.netgamers.jp/blog/?p=10464 #SNK #SAMURAISPIRITS #サムスピ From vs.netgamers.jp 4:00 AM · Nov 15, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566405 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Hi guys, SNK JAPAN@SNKPofficial_jp 【お知らせ】SAMURAI SPIRITSのSteamによる大会が開催されます。ぜひご参加下さい！ https://vs.netgamers.jp/blog/?p=10459 #SNK #SAMURAISPIRITS #サムスピ Translated from Japanese by [Notice] A SAMURAI SHODOWN Steam tournament will be held. Please come along and participate! https://vs.netgamers.jp/blog/?p=10459 #SNK #SAMURAISPIRITS #サムスピ From vs.netgamers.jp 4:00 AM · Nov 15, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566407 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Hi guys, KOF ドットバトル @kof_dot ドットで蘇る #KOF の伝説！ 参戦せよ！ ザ・キング・オブ・放置バトル #KOFドットバトル 草薙の炎を自在に操る熱き主人公 #草薙京 ！ 事前登録に参加して、草薙京の新たな活躍にご期待ください！ 今すぐ【事前登録】 https://ntiny.link/kofafk #KOF30th #キングオブファイターズ Translated from Japanese by The legend of #KOF is reborn in dot form! Join the battle! The King of Idle Battle #KOFドットバトル A passionate protagonist #草薙京 who can freely control the Kusanagi flames! Please participate in the pre-registration and look forward to Kyo Kusanagi's new exploits! Pre-register now https://ntiny.link/kofafk #KOF30th #キングオブファイターズ 4:00 AM · Nov 15, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566408 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Hi guys, More from AtariAge member @ShadowGangs on his game Shadow Gangs Zero. Shadow Gangs@ShadowGangs Shadow Gangs Zero: Make Arcade Games Great Again! Bring back the arcades! No 3D, no texture mapping, no raytracing. As old school as it gets, 68000 forever! Pledge here: https://kickstarter.com/projects/jkmcorp/shadow-gangs-zero… 7:12 PM · Nov 15, 2024 Anthony.. 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566511 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 Hi guys, Back with Madlittlepixel on a great video on Rage of the Dragons NEO. Enjoy. Anthony.. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566532 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlidellMan Posted November 17 Share Posted November 17 It's great that the Neo Geo is getting more brawlers and platformers. 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566792 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 8 hours ago, SlidellMan said: It's great that the Neo Geo is getting more brawlers and platformers. I agree wholeheartedly Slidel. The unit is way overdue for them and glad they happen to be making great progress n the meanwhile. Anthony... 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566942 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 Hi guys, Bitmap Books@bitmap_books To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The King Of Fighters we are offering a £5.00 discount off our book - THE KING OF FIGHTERS: The Ultimate History The famed fighter series debuted on August 25, 1994 with the arcade release of KOF ’94, before spawning numerous sequels. The storied, influential run of these SNK games is the subject of Bitmap’s own release. Just head to our official store, and the discount will be waiting for you: https://bitmapbooks.com/collections/all-books/products/the-king-of-fighters-the-ultimate-history… #bitmapbooks #book #retrogaming #retrogames #gaming #art #reading #foryou #asmr #bookstagram #booktok #fyp #thekingoffighters #kingoffighters #kof #snk @SNKPofficial 3:37 AM · Nov 17, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566943 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 Hi guys, More from our pal @ShadowGangs with Shadow Gangs Zero. Shadow Gangs @ShadowGangs Shadow Gangs Zero: Baby steps into adding the hud. Neo has what it calls the FIX layer, which is always on top, and limited. But allows to save on sprites to use for backgrounds, and characters. Planning to use the FIX for text, and small icons on the HUD, also for the dialogs. 7:43 PM · Nov 16, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566945 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 Hi guys, Anthony.. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566946 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 Hi guys, A gentleman that I follow on Twitter/X is a developer that goes by the name of Kannagichan and is a fellow AtariAge member as well. @Kannagi. Kann has been working on a Raiden inspired project on his time that started in 2019 for the Super Nintendo called SuperDan. The game project took a pause for other games that he had in the works. But thankfully, the project resumed and the coding is 90% complete. After having a great conversation involving it, a Neo-Geo version could be offered if all goes well for the Super Nintendo first. If you like to see the thread about it for the Super NES, here it is. Here's the first posting of it being mentioned in 2019. Kannagichan @Kannagichan2 Voilà a quoi ressemblera le tir style Raiden de SuperDan : #SNES #homebrew #shmup #danmaku Translated from French by This is what SuperDan's Raiden style shot will look like: #SNES #homebrew #shmup #danmaku Anthony.. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566957 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 Hi guys, Now, fast forward to 2024. Kannagichan's project is doing quite well and so much was added to the project. Other postings have been shared well before this one on November 11, but I wanted to share the recent postings first for others to be aware on what Kann has been up to. Enjoy. Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566959 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 Hi guys, And here's the latest of Kannagichan posting of his game just yesterday. Kann is making nice project for sure. Reminds me of Project Neon from Fullsett. Anthony.. 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5566960 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kannagi Posted November 17 Share Posted November 17 8 hours ago, Charlie Cat said: Kann has been working on a Raiden inspired project on his time that started in 2019 for the Super Nintendo called SuperDan. The game project took a pause for other games that he had in the works. But thankfully, the project resumed and the coding is 90% complete. Thank you, For more precision I have not coded on the SuperDan game since 2019. To be more precise, the game had started in 2019 with a demo until 2021 when I stopped the project (for other games/projects). I took it back in March (2024) from scratch, but really from scratch. So I created my programming language (Higueul), my devkit (SNDK) and remade the sound driver. And so of course I wanted to resume my SuperDan game (which I remade from scratch), but this time with all the tools I created. And I gain a lot of productivity so it is likely that by 2025 I will have finished it and will start a new project. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567223 Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlidellMan Posted November 17 Share Posted November 17 Nam-1975: 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567270 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 13 hours ago, Kannagi said: Thank you, For more precision I have not coded on the SuperDan game since 2019. To be more precise, the game had started in 2019 with a demo until 2021 when I stopped the project (for other games/projects). I took it back in March (2024) from scratch, but really from scratch. So I created my programming language (Higueul), my devkit (SNDK) and remade the sound driver. And so of course I wanted to resume my SuperDan game (which I remade from scratch), but this time with all the tools I created. And I gain a lot of productivity so it is likely that by 2025 I will have finished it and will start a new project. Hi Kann, Thank you for stopping by The Official NEO-GEO Thread and welcome aboard with us kind sir. A pleasure having you posting away while we enjoy your material that you allowed me with your permission to share on your SuperDan project that you're currently in the works on. We hope to see you have a successful launch for the Super Nintendo first and certainly look forward for a Neo-Geo release in the upcoming future. Your dedication towards your game is amazing after seeing your content and we can't wait to play your game soon from you. Ah, good to know Kann. Thank you for going into more detail explaining about SuperDan on the history regarding it for the past few years and how you continued on starting from the ground up continuing with your Higuel programming language and your development kit you shared with us to know. You're a genius And visiting your Twitter/X page seeing you progressed so greatly is quite an accomplishment with a release date in 2025. Excellent Kann. We really are looking forward on experiencing what Super Dan as to offer. Thank you again for coming by to post with us Kann. Keep up the great work you're doing and we look forward on viewing more of your postings here on the Neo-Geo thread and throughout AtariAge. Always a pleasure to share your material with the rest to benefit from brother man. Anthony... 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567597 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 12 hours ago, SlidellMan said: Nam-1975: Oooh! NAM-1975. A superb choice as usual Slidel. I have yet to defeated this game. Oh well, maybe some day bro. Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567598 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 Hi guys, 格ゲー部 | PS5トーナメント@FGCPST THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV Official #PS5 Tournaments are being held daily at 11am and 9pm Weekly prizes for the winners This week Limited PSN avatar of Yamazaki How to participate Navigate to the #KOFXV game hub on PS5 to view available tournament cards @SNKPofficial_jp 12:00 AM · Nov 18, 2024 Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567599 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 Hi guys, KOF ドットバトル@kof_dot ドットで蘇る #KOF の伝説！ 参戦せよ！ ザ・キング・オブ・放置バトル ファイター召喚！レベルアップ！ 戦闘力爆速増加でどんな敵も怖くない！ 事前登録の特別報酬で高速育成しよう！ 今すぐ【事前登録】 https://ntiny.link/kofafk #KOFドットバトル #KOF30th #キングオブファイターズ Translated from Japanese by The legend of #KOF is reborn in dot form! Join the battle! The King of Idle Battle Summon a fighter! Level up! With an explosive increase in combat power, you won't be afraid of any enemy! Get fast training with special rewards for pre-registration! Pre-register now https://ntiny.link/kofafk #KOFドットバトル #KOF30th #キングオブファイターズ Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567600 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Charlie Cat Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 Hi guys, Anthony.. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/223548-the-official-neo-geo-thread/page/1501/#findComment-5567601 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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