December 21st is looking to be a big day for the PS3. Well, also a short day if you’re talking about duration. Unless you’re in Australia. But I digress (from my digression). Not only is Echochrome II coming out then, but a bundle of retro gaming love from SNK will be hitting the ground in the form of a gaggle of NEO-GEO games for PSN. Oh hell yes.
While most of us know NEO-GEO from arcades (I still know where to play a little Aero Fighters 2 up in Anacortes) and emulators (it’s a form of tribute), now’s your chance to get a couple of your favorite spite-fests for a far more reasonable price than the original $200 each. $8.99 is still kind of expensive as downloadable games go, but come on, it’s for a good cause. I think.
The first volley of games doesn’t have any of my personal favorites, but it still has some classics:
Fatal Fury
Alpha Mission II
The King Of Fighters ’94
Samurai Shodown
Baseball Stars Professional
Magician Lord
Metal Slug
League Bowling
Super Sidekicks
Art Of Fighting
I’ll be saving my money for Metal Slug X, Samurai Shodown II and IV, and Twinkle Star Sprites. Hey. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
They’ve also got a pretty weird-looking top-down shooter featuring famous NEO-GEO characters coming out for the PSP, NEO-GEO Heroes, as a way of celebrating the console’s 20th anniversary. It’s $20 through the Playstation Store, available now. I’d save my money, though, and invest in one of the classic shooters. So I’m a shoot-em-up snob, what about it?