arcade suggestions

[ZTC]

Once summer comes around, I'll be planning to build my own arcade unit. I was looking for a few suggestions on what game boards to get, and which would be possibly cheap to obtain...
Might as well compile a list before I even start this project of mine.
If it will help, I'm into fighting games, puzzle games, and side scrolling action games.

[gdorf]

Mottz is the one to talk to. He recently built one that seems to work well. He posted a thread about it that would be a good place to ask. .

Good luck too. It sounds like a project that I'd enjoy, but I have too many hobbies and too little time right now. :)

[MottZilla]

I like similar games and have a list myself.

NeoGeo MVS:

Garou Mark of the Wolves
Metal Slug
Metal Slug 2
Metal Slug X
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug 4
Metal Slug 5
Neo Mr. Do?
Neo Bomberman?
King of Fighters 98'
Puzzle Bobble
Puzzle Bobble 2
Samurai Showdown Series?
Sengoku Series?

CPS1:
Street Fighter II' World Warrior
Captain Commando
Carrier Air Wing
Area 88 / UN Squadron
Final Fight
Ghouls and Ghosts
Knights of the Round
Strider

CPS2:

1944 The Loop Master
Capcom Sports Club?
Darkstalkers, Darkstalkers: Night Warriors
aka Vampire Hunter
Giga Wing
Marvel Vs. Capcom
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Mega Man 2 : Power Fighters
Mega Man The Power Battle
Street Fighter Alpha/Zero
Street Fighter Alpha/Zero 3
Super Street Fighter 2
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter

Taito F3 System:
Elevator Action Returns / Elevator Action 2
Darius Gaiden
Puzzle Bobble (3, 4)?

PCB Misc:

Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat II
Ninja Gaiden
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
T.M.N.T. Turtles in Time
Sunset Riders
Battletoads
Soul Calibur
Killer Instinct
Strider Hiryu 2

Prices vary since there is no set price, it's all about finding a good deal. Ex: I got Street Fighter II' Champ Ed. for 15$. But elsewhere you may pay as much as 80$ for it. The best thing is to look around alot.

[ZTC]

I recognize a number of titles, but a few of em I don't.
What's Sengoku, Knights of the Round, and Sunset Riders?

EDIT - while looking on Ebay, I noticed a NIB CPS II A-board with a Suicide Battery; what the heck is that?

[MottZilla]

It's a Capcom System 2 motherboard (board A as its called) with a fresh "suicide" battery I imagine they mean to replace the one on a B board you get. CPS2 games have the A board the motherboard and the B board the game board like a giant arcade game cartridge. With no B board, you have no game, so I wouldn't buy that. Often you can get a motherboard with the game attached when you buy a game.

CPS2 games though are expensive though, I've never seen a true deal on one.

[Vagla]

Suicide batteries are a terrible little feature of CPS games and some Sega games that power some sort of decryption RAM that is used to decrypt the game. When the battery dies, the RAM is lost and the game will no longer run. The idea is that when the battery dies you'll have to send in your board to have the board fixed for a fee. You can replace batteries yourself, of course, but if you mess up, companies aren't very willing to fix the board. :P If I recall correctly, for CPS2 games, the RAM should be able to last about an hour without power before dying, so you can remove the battery and swap in a new one with little trouble. I'm pretty sure other boards have to have power at all times while the battery is being replaced in order to keep the RAM from being wiped. This is the primary reason that I've not yet bought any suicide battery games.

[MottZilla]

And FYI, for about 30 bucks you can get a CPS2 board immortalized so it never dies.