Memories of the Neo Geo CD

In the 90s, when Street Fighter II was all the rage and the golden age of fighting games was in full swing, I was a middle schooler obsessed with Street Fighter II. I became desperate to own a Neo Geo CD, a console that could play SNK fighting games like Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, and KOF.
At the time, the PlayStation and Sega Saturn had just been released and weren't yet common in every household. Even if you did have a PlayStation or Saturn, SNK games could only be played on the Neo Geo, which is why I was so fired up about the Neo Geo CD.
I was so far gone that I even wrote 'I want a Neo Geo CD' in my middle school graduation album.

After entering high school and KOF '95 was released, I went to the local arcade with my friends almost every day to play KOF.
Then, KOF '95 was ported to the Neo Geo CD, and a bundle was released that included the console and the game with a setting material collection.
My desire for the Neo Geo CD skyrocketed because I wanted that KOF setting material collection. I clutched my New Year's money, had my father take me to the local game shop, and bought the Neo Geo CD and KOF '95.
While the rest of the world was buzzing about the PlayStation versus the Sega Saturn, I had finally gotten my hands on the Neo Geo CD I had longed for.

However, I cried when I got home and realized the KOF '95 setting material collection wasn't included... ＿|￣|○
Even so, I had finally gotten the Neo Geo CD I wanted, so I booted up KOF '95.
Unlike arcade games, there was loading time, and it was long. I realized that if you hate loading times, you should have bought a Neo Geo instead of a Neo Geo CD...
However, the price of software for the Neo Geo CD and the Neo Geo was vastly different (Neo Geo software was ridiculously expensive and huge).
Besides KOF, I also bought World Heroes, which I was into at the time, so I played it obsessively.

Around the same time, two of my friends also bought the Neo Geo CD and KOF '95 just for the setting material collection.
I wonder if our local area was the only place where three Neo Geo CDs were sold at the same time...


Even though I played that Neo Geo CD obsessively when I first bought it despite the long loading times, I played it much less once I got a PlayStation and a Sega Saturn.

Nowadays, with the 30th anniversary of KOF and new titles coming out, and fighting game matches becoming popular again through e-sports, the fighting game boom that had once started to fade has returned. Back then, however, SNK's business performance worsened, and Neo Geo Land and Neo Geo World locations were closing down.
And the SNK games that could only be played on the Neo Geo were easily ported to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
I never imagined that the Neo Geo CD I had wanted so badly would become a console I'd regret buying. ＿|￣|○

As for that Neo Geo CD of mine, when I was working part-time at an arcade in my 20s, I lent it to a coworker. They told me, 'I'm done playing with it, so I'll return it,' but it was a hassle to carry home, so I told them, 'You can keep playing with it for a while longer,' and it's been about 20 years since I left it with them lol.
That arcade has since closed down, and I've lost touch with that coworker. I haven't gotten it back, but I've reached a point where I'm like, 'Well, whatever...'

However, my husband happened to meet that coworker I pawned the Neo Geo CD off on for work, and apparently, they said, 'I'll return the Neo Geo CD.' But it's such a hassle that I still haven't gotten it back even now lol 😂