The suspense is unbearable... You will now know the 3 best Neo Geo games in each category, according to Neogeokult.com! The selection was pretty difficult in some categories... Sorted by genre, you will discover our podiums in the next lines. Note for readers: you might notice that some categories have not been addressed, it's just that the amount of games available did not allow to rank! For example, with racing games, on Neo Geo there's almost only Neo Drift Out, Over and Top Thrash Rally.
SHOOT THEM UP
1. Blazing Star
A winner without big surprise, BS is unquestionably THE shoot 'em up reference on Neo Geo. Sumptuous graphics, beautiful animation, thrilling action at a breakneck pace... Blazing Star is the emblem of its kind on Neo Geo, and it's a number one we can be proud of!
Probably more surprising to many players, this Prehistoric Isle 2 is thus obtaining the second place in this ranking. Pretty unknown, this original Shoot them Up comes right from the same programmers as Blazing Star (Yumekobo). In a decidedly kitsch style, the game has beautiful graphics of natural places -most of the time. Dramatic themes, smooth and decomposed animations as his elder, great scoring system, combos and difficulty nicely crafted, all this make PI2 a Power Hit on the Neo Geo.
3. Pulstar
Probably the favorite one of many hardcore gamers, Pulstar is a legendary tribute to R-type on the Neo Geo. Incredible remake of Irem eightie's hit, this game takes it to the next level. Music, graphics, animations... everything looks and sounds fantastic in Pulstar. The game is very difficult to clear and catchy, to the point that most players will stick to it until the end... The fact that it offers no cooperative playing mode puts it on the third place.
The competition was tough here, and every game in the Top 3 was released after 95', a period when programmers exploited near perfection the Neo Geo and produced games using much more memory (346, 478 and 305 Mb for our top-3 games). Failing just near the podium, we have hits like Viewpoint, Last Resort or Ironclad.
BEAT THEM UP
1. Sengoku 2
A real favorite! Graphically better than Sengoku 3, this second episode, despite a stiffer animation, gameplay and a shorter life than its successor, won the title. Sengoku 2 has something more, that's obvious... each character can be played many different ways with a great and complex gameplay, enemies and backgrounds are varied and the Japanese feudal atmosphere is incredible.
2. Sengoku 3
Released late (2001), the third episode of Sengoku is full of qualities. Up to six selectable characters, a huge range of moves -almost as complete as a VS Fighting Game- and a super fun combo system, all this associated with a good realization and a great life.
Packing quite an unique environment, Mutation Nation is a totally addictive BTU. The game offers a great realization and a cool -but simple gameplay, featuring combos and varied special attacks. Gorgeous!
Good Beat them Ups in this ranking, however we can regret that the Neo Geo didn't host a bunch of great games in this genre like it happened on CPS & CPS-II. SNK clearly focused on VS Fighting, neglecting BTU, althought it was very appreciated by players back then.
