If you're like me (and I know I am) then you've been enjoying the ongoing series of "Cheapest [console name] Games Worth Your Time" over at Retrogaming with Racketboy. Of course, the idea of cheapness is relative. Nintendo Entertainment System bargains usually clock in around $5, but when you consider the Neo-Geo library, well, things get a lot more expensive.
Typically, my Cheapest Games Worth Your Time series looks for games that are $10 or less, but with the Neo-Geo, that just isn’t an option. This 24-bit powerhouse has always been for only the most financially-blessed gamers with both the system and games retailing for hundreds of dollars each. With a hardcore following and a very limited supply of games, many game prices are still much more than most retro gamers are used to paying for a single title. Because of this, my “Cheap” Neo-Geo list will be rather short and I’ll have to adjust my price targets as well. For AES cartridges, my goal was to find the best games for $50 or less and I had a target of $30 or less for Neo-Geo CDs.
I read the list and came to a shocking realization: I've never played any of those games (at least, not on the Neo-Geo platform). I've usually agreed with selections from past articles in this series, so I'll just assume these are good fun as well. Instead of throwing money down a Neo-Geo hole though I believe I will wait until these games appear on the Wii's Virtual Console. Hopefully they'll be reasonably priced by then, too. I've wanted to play Magician Lord since I saw it on the old Nick Arcade show years and years ago.
