For many gamers of a certain age, the letters "NEO GEO" evoke a specific, powerful memory. Walking into an arcade in the early 1990s and seeing the gleaming gold-and-red cabinet of the Neo Geo MVS (Multi Video System) was like witnessing a miracle. While home consoles like the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were delivering 16-bit sprites, the Neo Geo—powered by a 24-bit Motorola 68000 CPU—offered arcade-perfect graphics, oversized character sprites, and a library of fighting games that defined a generation: Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, King of Fighters, and the legendary Metal Slug series.
Verdict: Start with FinalBurn Neo.
Getting Neo Geo ROMs for RetroArch to work correctly is a rite of passage for emulation enthusiasts. Yes, it is more complex than dragging a file onto an icon. But the reward—playing arcade-perfect ports of Metal Slug with CRT shaders on your 4K monitor, or taking King of Fighters ‘98 on your phone during your commute—is worth every second of configuration. neo geo roms for retroarch