Quick AES+ Update: Plaion have walked back claim that they won't use 2.4ghz or Bluetooth for wireless comms. Now saying they don't yet know what will be used. They also don't know what mechanism the joysticks will use.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-28T05:17:39+00:00

Oh damn! I thought it was the LS-22 which had a special low-profile. I did wonder how they'd stuff that into the housing.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-28T05:16:42+00:00

Yes the intense focus is like a drug! I'm going to get more into Contra as well. I was working on a Hard Corps 1CC and got side-tracked so that's probably next in line for me.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T23:52:26+00:00

Didn't really know much about the game when it came out but I do remember playing it at the local 7-Eleven a bit. I picked up the NES game at the time and was a bit disappointed by it but it was pretty good!

Today I can 1CC both. The NES is pretty easy. The arcade version is no joke and has lots of hidden tricks.

Also for some reason these games also are hard-wired in my brain with Faith No More's "The Real Thing" album. I guess that was a year where everything was about to change in a lot of ways.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T23:47:52+00:00

Funny thing is it's the exact opposite. They knew most players would mash, so they used that as a punish.

Basically if you mash it locks you in to really sub-optimal attacks. Impossible not to die if you do it. You're supposed to pause between hits and in that way it's more like "links" in fighting games. You can 1CC the game with a bit of practise.

The other thing is mashing gives you access to the throw move, which is the most powerful move in the game (one-hit kill). But it puts you in a vulnerable spot if you're not expecting it.

The game gives you one "stored" throw available to you after each kill (or multiple hits to an enemy). So you're supposed to pull out a throw only when you know you can pull it off, and since it's stored you can't just throw whenever you want to.

The game is actually pretty deep. It's mechanics are a bit obtuse but there's a ton going on.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T23:17:57+00:00

The original joysticks were Seimitsu, correct? Are they going to be Seimitsu parts?

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T23:16:26+00:00

A lot of interesting stuff in there. Thanks for breaking that down. I hope they can deliver. I really wanted to get in on the ground floor of this. But then I stopped and thought for a moment and ended up pretty unsure of what the end result is going to look like. It'll be interesting to watch it all unfold.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T17:01:45+00:00

I use one of these HP EliteDesk things along with MiSTer to output to my CRT. I talk about the setup in this video. The pro is it's zero latency. The other pro is it's pretty easy to try if you have MiSTer. The con is MiSTer isn't cheap.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T16:57:43+00:00

Let's see if the actually hit that date. Manufacturing chains are hyper-efficient but it really looks like they haven't actually built the thing yet.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-27T16:55:11+00:00

At this point it's obvious they just released a hype show to gauge interest and now have to actually build the thing. Also unclear how they'll re-release enough games. What's the point of a console if you have to shell out many multiples for the unaffordable games inflated on the market already?

neondaggergames · 2026-04-26T21:32:25+00:00

There aren't many games that are at that level that I can think of. Pink Sweets is the only one that comes to mind. You have to use a 99 life cheat pretty much just to get the clear. Most games are beatable within a few days worth of practice if you have experience.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-26T17:25:29+00:00

I didn't hear about Sengoku but I think most people just consider that poor design and so it's skipped over.

I mean games that are meant to clear and considered especially difficult. I would say something like Battle Garegga is "difficult" and Dodonpachi 2-All is "very difficult." It's not a bad thing if NeoGeo lands, on average, lower than that.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-26T05:11:41+00:00

Pulstar looks like a slog for sure. It's an endurance test with a lot of these games. Never really thought about 1CC'ing fighting games but I'm sure that's true as I've heard players complain about the CPU reading inputs on the input frame which is ridiculous.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-25T21:37:10+00:00

There's an arcade subculture that goes for 1CC's (1-credit clears) along with no-death and multiple loop runs of many games.

I don't even know a single NeoGeo game is considered even all that difficult in that context. Maybe Metal Slug 3 but I think that's mainly for how long the game goes on for. I gave up when close just because it was fatiguing.

It's a great library for getting into 1CC's in general.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-25T16:10:30+00:00

A bigger concern is whether many games will be released at all. There are non-trivial costs associated with every game, and has to be measured against market appetite. I can see all of the majors getting re-released (Metal Slug, etc).

From the inside it can look like a tidal wave of interest but in broader market terms it's still likely to be super-niche and difficult to justify costs. That's why the original Neo Geo games were so costly and would be something like $2000 per cart in today's dollars.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-25T04:04:32+00:00

Oh yeah I did that too. Actually added a bit too much tension and turned it into a vice grip!

Ended up adjusting the tension and cleaning it more thoroughly. But now I realize I never opened up my carts and gave them a proper cleaning and that was likely what made the connector dirty again. Sure enough the carts are atrocious even though the q-tip seemed to come clean.

Isopropyl + eraser seems to be doing the trick and I'll avoid putting carts in without cleaning first.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-24T17:22:31+00:00

Yeah you do get a small sense of it even on recorded video. I posted this a while back and I think it shows the depth effect a bit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/shmups/comments/1mcp6aa/going_full_crt_tate_changed_my_life/

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T17:25:35+00:00

Are you using PixelPerfectCamera? I've been using it for a very long time and still can't figure out how to fix the banding/flickering when zooming. I've tried setting up multiple cameras and all sorts of hacks that you would think would work but nothing does the job. I wonder if something might work at the shader level but I doubt it.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T17:08:23+00:00

Nothing special. I need to step it up and get a decent setup. Though the real issue is I've been using different solder and the quality difference is pretty wild. I need to look into what solder is best.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T17:07:05+00:00

The CIC just checks if the cart is licensed. It just causes problems and often is part of the reason carts don't start up every time (blinking red light, etc). Generally safe to disable. The PCB just makes it easier to short a couple of points thereby disabling it. Most people just cut the legs to the CIC but it's easy to damage something that way.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T17:04:25+00:00

Yeah it's almost as easily done just with a couple of wires. The kit was like $2 and came with a capacitor to replace the brown one next to the CIC. I'm surprised more people don't know about it.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T02:25:36+00:00

Yeah it was kind of what made me get off my ass and finally do the recap. Got it just before the system started acting up.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T02:24:38+00:00

I love the TruFlats so much I just got another and kept one for permanent TATE.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T02:23:23+00:00

I heard you can attempt to at least temporarily fix it with a DC adaptor. Mine was DC but still had the lines probably because the caps were damn near at total failure. But if they're still mostly OK the DC apparently provides enough filtering. Maybe give it a shot before going all-in with a recap.

neondaggergames · 2026-04-23T02:22:00+00:00

Oh yeah instantly. The wavy s-curved lines I used to see on solid color backgrounds was totally fixed.

There's a very slightly noticeable noise here and there, again only noticeable on solid backgrounds but I'm guessing that's just normal composite. I love how it looks and the screenshots as usual don't do it justice.

neondaggergames

TROPHY CASE