The Conclusion:  The Final Word

ATTN: BY POPULAR REQUEST WE HAVE ADDED THE SYSTEM SPECS FOR ALL 3 SYSTEMS.  Click the next button below for the new SPECS page.  Thanks for your feedback.  If  there is anything else you would like to see please send an email.

All 3 of these 2D systems deserve praise for even showing up for battle in the new world of "3D rulez" fans that have never even heard the term "sprite".

I have been a fan of arcades and gaming since the very early 80's and never lost the love for sprite based gaming.  Discovering the Neo Geo in 1990, and beginning an odyssey of becoming more than just a fan, but an actual part of the history of this great system has been a fun ride.  I am biased beyond imagination to the Neo Geo, but have really enjoyed games on other systems lately, which is why I decided to do this 2D shootout.

To summarize the "winner" of this shootout, I will have to say it like this:

The Neo Geo gets the fan in me, and always will.
The PGM get most of the playtime lately.
The Crystal System gets my hopes up for the future.

That's about as close as I can come to picking the champion of this "Shodown".  We decided to forgo things like system specs, as they really do not determine how great a system will be, look at the Hyper Neo Geo 64.  Some will say the specs of the Neo Geo are very "Sega Genesis like", but look at the games.  Groundbreaking games such as the Art of Fighting Series, Metal Slugs, and Viewpoint are not based on things like MHZ or megabits alone, they are the product of a perfect blend of hardware AND software.

If there is enough feedback we will put system specs up, as I do have them.  Please drop me a line and let me know.

We hope you enjoyed this report, and if you have any questions of comments feel free to email me at: 2dshodown@neogeofreak.com

NGFUSA Staff

Chris Ray