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South Korea, Seoul
1 Level
750 Review
64 Karma

Review on ๐ŸŽฎ Neogeo Mini Player Pack - Japanese Version Enhanced for SEO by Eric Currie

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Amazingly underrated system in the retro mini craze

My first reaction to using Neo Geo mini was confusion because before Neo mini I googled console emulators and retro systems and the system didn't turn up on any of them request. This made me think maybe the Neo mini isn't an official product or just a piece of junk and all the Revain reviews are fake. When the Neo mini arrived I went through the box looking for anything inappropriate or something. it seemed off. I found nothing wrong with the packaging and googled to see if the Neo mini is an official product. I wasn't surprised to learn that this is a genuine licensed product. Okay, that should leave the Neo mini as a garbage product with fake reviews. Seriously, that nifty little control knob and screen must be crap. It should have a cheap plastic case with poorly emulated games if the games listed are even on this thing. This little system must be another cheap copy of a Chinese product. This dainty little wand is solid and has a smooth ride. The screen is clear with no ghosting. The buttons are nice and clicky. The case is made of durable plastic with a rubberized solid base. Built-in speakers sound clear and stereo. The emulation is as good as anything I've used (FBA, MAME) and each game has four save state slots. In addition, Neo mini emulates the Neo Geo AES Gold system that comes with a memory card. Each game can be saved and continued as on the original system. There's also a global menu, accessed by pressing Start + Select, that lets you save states, volume and brightness, and change games (a feature not available on Nintendo mini). When connected to an HDTV (via the included HDMI cable in this bundle) the Neo mini continues to disappoint. The global menu (Start + Select) even changes to indicate that you're now using an external source and adds a screen quality optimization option that adds an anti-aliasing filter. This option is the only one I can think of that someone might have trouble with. The filter makes the game look a bit cartoonish, which is hopefully demonstrated in the image I've added (the image is the best approximation of the Neo Mini variant I've been able to create with an emulator, not a real system). What about the rest of this pack? Everything came in the original packaging and was undamaged. The supplied control panels are, like the system, well made. The stick is better than the first Xbox and PS controllers in my opinion. The keys are solid, clicky, and well-placed. The only downside is that the controllers are only compatible with the Neo mini. It's a shame because I'd love to use it with other emulators. As I mentioned in this review, I'm confused that the Neo Geo Mini isn't the toast of the retro mini console scene. Maybe I'm biased because I love everything about the Neo Geo, or maybe it's because the form factor isn't AES mini-fun like the other minis. All I know is that the Neo Mini doesn't get the recognition it deserves and I have no hesitation in recommending it to all other retro minis. Unless you like Fighting Games Vs. There are plenty of those.

Pros
  • Confident
Cons
  • Good but not great