SNK Playmore NeoGeo Arcade Stick Pro Retro (Nintendo Switch)

When I was growing up NEO GEO was the pinnacle of home console graphics, it was the machine you wanted to own but could never afford to get. It also did not have a big release in Europe. The machine was filled with arcade perfect ports as they were pretty much the exact same versions just in cartridge form, however one game ran into hundreds of pounds. The library was full of fighters and shooters with a few arcade sports games thrown in. I played the games in the arcades and wished that I could have them at home, most being made by SNK and at the time no other hardware was powerful enough to do them justice in the home, even though there were some SNK ports for other machines.Included in this arcade stick are some of the best fighting games on the system, there are 20 included as soon as you turn the system on, including Garou: Mark of the Wolves, multiple King of the Fighters games and Samurai Showdown games.There is also an extra 20 official games which can be unlocked by visiting SNK website and downloading some keys, these can then be placed on a USB stick and unlocked by clicking on the unlock option in the menu. Some of the games you can unlock include Metal Slug 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and X as well as Shock Troopers 1 and 2, Super Sidekicks and Samurai Showdown 1. I used to love Samurai Showdown so very happy these were included. The extra games give the stick some variety with some sports and shooting games to complement the fighters.The Arcade Stick pro is comfy to hold, it has some weight, it's chunky and the ports such as power and HDMI are nicely placed at the back so that the wires don't interfere with game playing.The stick itself is clicky and micro switched. It is what a Neo Geo stick should be, it's a very good stick with the option of changing the ball on the top, you don't even need to open the case as there is a little hole in the base to unscrew it and replace with a different one.The buttons are pretty decent, they feel like arcade buttons, they are responsive and chunky, you can also swap these out of you want to for different buttons, this could be useful if the buttons start to fail or you need a different brand.The visuals on the screen are sharp, especially in 4.3 pixel perfect mode, just what they should be. Ignore all the smoothing options just use this, the pixels look great, just what they should be. If you do want a smoother look there are visual options for this as well as scanlines.You can also use the stick as a controller for the PC or Neo Geo Mini, though the latter feels a bit odd as it's just so big compared to the little mini console.You can also use the NEO GEO mini controller pads with it, there are two ports on the front for this.There is a turbo button, though this is only active when being used as a PC controller so won't work with the in build games but nice it is there.It's an excellent arcade stick, comfortable, clicky, responsive and with a great line up of games. SNK did a really good job here with solid emulation and controls. If you like the line up of included games and the extra ones SNK have available to unlock this is a great purchase and nostalgia trip. Highly recommended.

Wow. I saw this and had it in my list from the product launch, seemingly millenia ago. I finally had a few spare quid and decided I would pick up this product. I'm glad I did.I have owned several arcade games and systems, including an original Neo Geo. I still have some of the boards and have run them in the same room so I could compare the games performance. It's very good. There appears very little difference to my eyes in the quality of graphics, latency etc etc. The original hardware running on a CRT screen does (obviously) look better than simulated scanlines on an lcd tv, but there really isn't too much to put you off.If you go to a popular video hosting site with the initial YT, and search for the stick, you will note that there are additional games you can add to the stick. The lovely people at SNK have a process whereby you can ***officially*** add a further 20 games, giving you 40 in total. Alternatively, look for a process for adding more. I did, and using a 32gb usb key, I now have the entire Neo Geo library running (150 games), all the Capcom CPS games (70) plus a raft of SNES, Megadrive and other arcade games.The stick and buttons on the arcade stick pro can also be upgraded to Seimitsu parts, so absolutely first rate arcade componentry. The stick plugs into your tv / monitor via HDMI and is powered by USB C. I bought a long USB C lead so I can sit back away from the tv when playing. The stick is heavy and has a metal plate inside it to give it the heft it needs. It can be played from a desk or table easy enough, too.As a fan of retro gaming, I can only tell you that this is totally recommended. Brilliant stuff.

A decent effort all in all, most will find this perfectly adequate for enjoying Neo Geo titles, although there are some minor negatives. The emulation seems pretty good as well as I can tell. You get a choice of video modes in the form of a smooth filter, pixel scaling and 3 different terrible scanline modes, transverse, longitudinal and 45 degrees. For some reason if you turn scanlines on it puts these on top of the default filtered video instead of the pixel scale mode as you might expect with no way to change this. I guess some people might prefer the filtered look but for me this makes pixel scaling the only one worth considering. The stick itself is satisfyingly clicky, but the buttons are a bit mushy unfortunately. The stock 20 games are all fighters so some better variety out of the box would have been nice. SNK are gradually unlocking a further 20 games, not sure why they couldn't have just unlocked them all from the outset though. That said a few minutes on Google will tell you how to unlock them all now through unofficial methods if you don't want to wait. The unit is powered by usb type C. There's no power adapter included, but there is a usb cable so you can plug it in to your TV assuming it has its own usb port to get power. There's also an adapter for a standard usb if you want to use a longer cable. You can also use this purely as a fight stick and plug it in to consoles or PC although I haven't tested it as such yet.

Absolutely brilliant. Very well made and a good (if small to start with) selection of games. You get 20 games straight out of the box, but this expands to 40 over time or just a quick download to unlock all the "keys". Also, its very easy to download a lot more extra games to this system with a quick Google search and the right hack!😉. It is now something I play on virtually everyday, just for some old school retro fun. Also, its worth the money just for the Metal Slug series alone.Buy it!!!😃👍

This device is lef down by the choice of games and the janky menu. Although using a simple USB key you can unlock much more on this device, just search YouTube for information. Other than that the device is built well and feels nice to use.