The Future Is Now – MVS Collecting

SNK was synonymous with arcade gaming back in the day, with the Electrocoin licensed multi slot cabs down the seafront and generic one slot cabs down the pub, usually with Super Sidekicks installed.  During the nineties versus fighter boom, I remember my classmates proclaiming that Fatal Fury was better than Street Fighter II.  I’m a bit of a Capcom fan boy and they were wrong of course, but there is no denying that SNK left a great impression on me.

I’ve been collecting MVS carts for quite a long time now.  Over the years, my arcade collection has gone in different directions.  For a while I was more focused on the Neo Geo AES.  I was fortunate in that I was able to shop in Akihabara, Tokyo and Den Den Town, Osaka and enjoyed picking up AES titles.  It brought the arcade experience home like no other system.  I loved the box art, and the sheer size of the carts.  It was exciting and novel being able to buy them from game shops.  The console and games were super expensive, and prior to travelling to Japan I had only seen pictures of the home system in gaming magazines and played the games in the arcades.    As I grew older and my focus shifted from console to arcade collecting, I switched to the MVS.  However I’ve managed to hang on to the boxed console I picked up in Osaka and my modest AES collection.  There is something quite special about the system, and it reminds me of a certain time in my life.  I’d be sad to part with it.

Boards and MVS carts I picked up from G-Front and Try in 2011.

I managed to get all the MVS titles I wanted and was happy with my collection.  However the collection is never finished really, and I still manage to set new goals and find more stuff to buy.  Over the last couple of years, I’ve visited old arcade Operators here in the UK, buying up their old video game stock.  They quite often they had MVS carts and so I decided to hang on to any games I didn’t already own.  Ops didn’t always store games very well, and the beauty of MVS is that they’re pretty robust and usually work after giving the edge connector a good clean.  I’ve set myself a new goal of getting a full set of MVS titles, with English label carts were possible, plus the Japanese exclusives.  The boards must be original, no boots.

MVS carts from UK Ops.

As my MVS collection has grown, it’s becoming more difficult to find the titles I need to get the full set.  There are some Japanese exclusives that I stand no chance of finding without widening the search.  I’m in no rush though, and plan to continue chipping away at it slowly.

Here are some new additions to my collection.

Burning Fight, Ghost Pilots, King Of The Monsters and Thrash Rally

I remember playing Burning Fight in the arcades.  Even back then it seemed like a blatant Final Fight clone, only not as good.  It hasn’t aged particularly well, but I like how it takes place on the streets of Osaka with familiar looking shopping malls, arcades and even the Gilco Man!

 Art of Fighting 3, Matching Serial #007009

Mutation Nation

Pop ‘n Bounce, Matching Serial #000108

Samurai Shodown II