This VISCO Collection review is made based on the Xbox version with a review key provided by the publisher. The game is also available in Switch, PC and Playstation consoles. The game costs €/$ 19,99.
One might think that the Neo Geo platform was largely supported by SNK’s in-house development studios, as many games never left the arcade and home console platform. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Behind the 156 games developed for it is a fairly substantial list of 2nd and 3rd party developers. Studios like Monolith, Video System, Saurus, NAZCA, ADK, heck, even Data East and Taito created games for it, most of them exclusively. One of them was VISCO, a company founded way back in 1984 by Tetsuo Akiyama. They mainly created arcade games but had console releases on NES, Mega Drive, and Nintendo 64.
Neo Geo’s second party developer
With their 1992 release of Andro Dunos, VISCO got involved with SNK and the Neo Geo platform. The platform consisted of an arcade board platform, MVS, and a console variant called AES. Later, a CD-based version of the AES was added, simply called Neo Geo CD.
While their debut, Andro Dunos, was distributed across all the Neo Geo variants, almost all other games were only released on the MVS platform. Brazilian studio and publisher QUByte Interactive (known for 99vidas mainly) collaborated with Pixelheart to develop and release the VISCO Collection. They have already put some of VISCO’s classics on the market, like the “Vasara” combo pack and a “Breakers Collection”. Weirdly, not too long ago, remakes/sequels of VISCO games have been released unrelated to QUByte, namely “Andro Dunos 2” and “Ganryu 2.”
The originals of the last two mentioned are in the VISCO Collection we are reviewing here. The other games are with “Neo Drift Out,” “Goal Goal Goal!,” “Bead Bang,” “Flipshot,” and “Captain Tomaday.”
Neo Drift Out
Let’s start with the good stuff. “Neo Drift Out” is an isometric 2D rally race game. Arguably one of the best, if not the best, 2D arcade racers on the Neo Geo platform. Possibly in general. Although this is a very niche genre, it delivers an exciting high adrenaline rush that requires precision and track familiarity to reach the end. The learning curve flattens towards the end once you get a grip on the controls and how to ‘read’ the track. Without a doubt my favorite game in the collection.
Andro Dunos
Andro Dunos is the only horizontal ‘shmup’ in the collection, and it’s a great one, to say the least. It plays a lot like Gradius but has very distinctive visuals and a more relaxed difficulty curve. That makes it a very enjoyable affair. It definitely gets challenging, but it is way more lenient with checkpoints and continues. It allows you to make progress and learn to utilize its vast array of weapons. A more than solid shooter that anyone with a slight interest in the genre will enjoy. Even writing this paragraph gets me in the mood to power up the Xbox and do a quick run.
Ganryu
Ganryu is a side-scrolling fighting game that sits somewhere between later Shinobi games and typical IREM brawlers like Vigilante and Hammerin’ Harry. Although it is considered a prolific game in the Neo Geo library, I find it a bit obnoxious with its hyperactive respawning enemies that hinder me from getting into a nice rhythm. It looks fine and has a ‘Ninja Gaiden’ pace to it. In that sense I find it much more fun than, say, “Magical Lord” on the Neo Geo MVS. However, the game demands a lot of time to master, but I find the overall package not interesting enough to actually invest that time it.
Captain Tomaday
Captain Tomaday is a quirky little vertical shooter with a nice twist. You play as an anthropomorphic tomato with two giant fists, using them to punch various enemies in the face for victory. If you ‘jab’ long enough with one fist, the other fist powers up to deliver a potent blow when triggered. Power-ups provide additional boosts to navigate through intense situations with enemies approaching from all angles at high velocity. Its punching mechanic adds a tactical layer to the game, and coupled with its quirky aesthetics, it should keep you interested for at least an hour.
Bang Bead and Flipshot
Now, we are getting to the filler. Bang Bead is a sports-fighter hybrid that you can easily mix up with Windjammers. Well, if it weren’t for its uninspired graphics and less-than-Windjammers game mechanics. You can choose one of seven characters to duke it out against the remaining contestants in a tournament of an elevated version of “Pong”. Weirdly, “Flipshot” is a variety of the same concept. It baffles me why both games needed to be in this collection. One of the two would be more than enough.
Goal! Goal! Goal!
That leaves us with Goal! Goal! Goal! Yes, this is a football/soccer game, highly inspired by the much better Super Sidekicks. It succeeds in copying the visuals for the most part but isn’t able to recreate a well-balanced football game like Super Sidekick does. It’s hard to reach the opponent’s goal and even harder to actually score. It’s the typical football game that only allows you to score by exploiting an indefensible shooting angle for the goalkeeper. On top of that, it lacks the character that Super Sidekicks has with its introduction and cheering cutscenes.
Collection features
When I overview the collection, I have to applaud the mentality behind collection like this. It is diverse in game genres and has a helathy number of games. Too bad the best games are eclipsed by there remakes/sequels and the rest feels like filler. Exceptions are Neo DriftOut, which has been re-released before in some form or other, but holds this collection together. Andro Dunos, Ganryu, Neo Drift Out are the games adding value to the collection. Goal! Goal! Goal! is primarily known for being confused for Super Sidekicks, for apparent reasons. Captain Tomaday has some redeeming factors and is worth a try. For the other two I want to say, play Windjammers, or its lovely remake, instead.
The collection UI looks nice, but it severely lacks any real emulation features. As far as I can see there aren’t filter options, accessibility features or scoreboards. Maybe the Toaplan collection spoiled me, but I find the lack of features like these hurting its value and replayability. Games with two player options feature online multiplayer, which is really nice. Unfortunately, the lobbies are a barren wasteland as of now. Making it useful to you and a like minded friend that as invested in this collection as well.
Collection
If Pixelheart and QuByte where to individually release Neo Drift Out and Andro Dunos for a fiver, it would offer much more value for your money. Even better, I would much rather see Pixelheart or Qubyte to publish a remaster of Neo Drift Out (one can only dream) in the same manner as Andro Dunos 2. But in regards to this collection, with a lack of features, like emulation options and leaderboards, it doesn’t add enough to convincingly justify the €/$19.99 price tag too.
Pros:
- Features some highlights in the Neo Geo library with Andro Dunos and Neo Drift Out
- Online multiplayer
- Good emulation
- Nice user interface
Cons:
- 7 games, of which half are filler
- No emulation features or settings
- No online leaderboards
