SNK Hyper Neo Geo 64¶
The Hyper Neo Geo 64 (1997) was SNK's attempt to move into 3D. A 64-bit cartridge system, it only ever hosted seven games (Samurai Shodown 64, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, Buriki One, Road's Edge…) before being dropped. Long one of the hardest platforms to emulate.
Identification¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | SNK |
| Year | 1997 |
| Media | cartridges (system BIOS + game cart) |
| Players | 2 |
| Screen orientation | Horizontal |
| Main CPU | NEC VR4300 (MIPS, 64-bit) @ 100 MHz |
Architecture¶
| Block | Chip | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Main CPU | NEC VR4300 (MIPS III, 64-bit) @ 100 MHz | game + 3D |
| Sound CPU | NEC V53A (V33 + peripherals) | drives the audio DSP |
| Sound DSP | L7A1045 L6028 (SNK) | 32-channel PCM, 44.1 kHz, up to 32 MB sample RAM |
| Microcontroller | Toshiba TMP87PH40AN | I/O / housekeeping |
- The VR4300 is the same family as the Nintendo 64's CPU — SNK aimed at real-time 3D (3D fighting, racing).
- Audio runs through the V53A, which drives the L7A1045 DSP (large PCM sample bank).
- Cartridge media: a shared system BIOS (
hng64) plus one cartridge per game.
Notable games (nearly the whole catalogue)¶
Samurai Shodown 64 (1997), Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage (1998), Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (1998), Buriki One (1999), Road's Edge / Round Trip RV, Xtreme Rally / Off Beat Racer!, Beast Busters: Second Nightmare. The catalogue stayed very short — the platform was a commercial failure.
Common faults¶
| Symptom | Likely cause | Lead |
|---|---|---|
| Won't boot | BIOS cart / game cart / contacts | Reseat, clean connectors |
| Silent/partial sound | V53A / L7A1045 DSP | Sound-stage diagnosis |
| Corrupted 3D | custom video hardware | Video diagnosis |
| Settings lost | battery / EEPROM | Reset / replace |
| No picture | PSU, VR4300, harness | Base diagnosis |
Modernisation & mods¶
The common ground for every JAMMA board
Video, power, control panel and upscalers depend on the cabinet rather than the board: everything is centralised in Modernising a cabinet. To run the board outside a cabinet (at home, on a display): supergun.
- Battery 🟢: a save battery is fitted (settings/counters/RTC). A leaking battery corrodes traces — check and replace it before it leaks → save batteries.
- Storage 🟢: a cartridge system — the modern route is a multi-game cart / flashcart rather than reprogramming, where one exists for the platform → PCB preservation hub.
- Scan rate 📺: not yet measured. The matching MAME driver does not expose its screen parameters in a form our extractor can use — no value is guessed here. Check what your monitor accepts before connecting → tri-sync and upscalers.
- FPGA / emulation: see the Emulation & FPGA section below.
Repair (technician)¶
- Custom 3D hardware: corrupt 3D = a custom video part (rare, donor) → test **video RAM
- buffers** first.
- VR4300 (MIPS) + V53A sound + L7A1045 DSP: silent sound = the DSP/V53A stage + sample ROMs.
- Cartridges: oxidised contacts → clean.
- Capacitors: recap PSU + audio filtering (a relatively recent board, possible SMD electrolytics).
→ Methods: PCB fault-finding · Recap · EPROM · Traces & vias
DIP settings ✅¶
2 games on this platform, settings extracted from the MAME sources (INPUT_PORTS_START blocks). The Position column gives the switch's physical reference on the board (SW2:!3,!4 = bank SW2, levers 3 and 4) — which is what lets you set it up without the paper manual. Games are sorted by MAME set name.
DIP settings — MAME set hng64
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| IN0 | — | Off · On |
| IN1 | — | Off · On |
| IN2 | — | Off · On |
| IN3 | — | Off · On |
| IN4 | — | Off · On |
| IN5 | — | Off · On |
| IN6 | — | Off · On |
| IN7 | — | Off · On |
DIP settings — MAME set hng64_shoot
| Setting | Position | Options (default in bold) |
|---|---|---|
| DEBUG | — | Off · On |
Check against your own board
These settings apply to the game and revision described by MAME. One title may have several DIP sets depending on region or revision, and some systems use soft-dips (settings in memory, via the test menu) rather than physical switches. In case of a discrepancy, the board's silkscreen and the test menu are authoritative.
See also: DIP reference · game manuals
Emulation & FPGA¶
- Emulation: MAME (
snk/hng64.cpp). Long very incomplete (rough 3D and sound), support has improved markedly of late — notably sound (proper V53A emulation) around modern MAME releases. - FPGA / MiSTer: no core (64-bit 3D hardware too complex) → MAME.
The Hyper Neo Geo 64 3D is also covered on the restoration/conversion side: SNK Hyper 64 converts.
Lineage¶
Follows the Neo-Geo MVS (2D) as SNK's 3D attempt. Contemporary of Sega Model 2/3 and Namco System 22/23, but far less widespread.
Photos / assets¶
(To add: HNG64 BIOS board, game cartridge, L7A1045 DSP.)
Sources & attribution¶
- MAME —
snk/hng64.cpp(VR4300, V53A, L7A1045 DSP, games) — https://github.com/mamedev/mame - Wikipedia — Hyper Neo Geo 64 — CC-BY-SA — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_Neo_Geo_64
- Read-Only Memo — MAME cracks the Hyper Neo Geo 64 (sound emulation) — https://readonlymemo.com/mame-hyper-neo-geo-support-sound-emulation/
Review & corrections
How this space is used
Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.
Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.