Indie Developer Porting Neo Geo Shmup to Saturn

An indie developer is porting their shoot-em-up from Neo Geo to the Saturn, and they plan to distribute it in a unique way: via cartridge.

Fullset posted a video Sunday on X showing a build of Project Neon running on a Saturn.

ProjectNeonSaturn.mp4

Project Neon is being ported to the Saturn using the Jo Engine software development kit, Fullset told SHIRO! on X.

“Just started recently, but it’s about 80% done by now,” Fullset said on X. “Just waiting for our cartridge prototypes before continuing as that will make a few things easier.”

The developer explained their plan to release Project Neon on a cartridge that will include WiFi for online multiplayer and for downloading updates to the game after launch.

“This will release on a special cartridge so that there will be no loading times, no disc rot, no Action Replay needed to boot CD without the wobble,” Fullset told SHIRO!, “and most importantly, it can be upgraded and has the WiFi chip for netplay.”

The wobble Fullset referenced is the security ring pressed into retail Saturn discs.

Using built-in WiFi would sidestep the need for gamers to have a NetLink or Xband modem cartridge, which can cost more than US$100 these days.

“The gamecode can talk to a co-processor on the cartridge via a specific memory address range,” Fullset said. “That chip has WiFi, and from there it’s a simple TCP connection to a game server. We already have this running on our Neo Geo cartridge, it will work the same way.”

When Fullset launched Project Neon in 2024, it came on Neo Geo cartridges that also included WiFi functionality for multiplayer and downloading updates. They were sold for US$381 — a high price isn’t unusual for Neo Geo games but it’s likely far more than what a Saturn cartridge would cost. That said, a price for the Saturn port hasn’t been announced yet.

SHIRO!’s friend Bob from RetroRGB asked Fullset about the cartridge board’s manufacturing quality.

“Please remember to make sure the cartridge is beveled, chamfered and the proper thickness; many Saturn carts get this wrong and it will damage your console,” Bob said on X.

Fullset allayed his fears, replying, “Yeah, all of that plus correct voltage usage.”

Fullset spent six years working on Project Neon, beginning the project in 2019 , as Ray Commend reported for RetroRGB at the time. The sci-fi shmup is meant to be played in tate mode — that is, vertically on a screen that’s been turned on its side. It does have a mode to swap its controls and graphics to yoko — horizontal — mode, though.

The developer has a new game in the works, already, too: Fullset began developing an eight-player battle arena game in the vein of Saturn Bomberman named “ Overserved: Food Fighters! ” early last year. It’s planned to feature crossplay on platforms including Neo Geo, Saturn, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, tvOS and Android.

“Only fair for a spiritual successor of Saturn Bomberman, ya reckon?” Fullset said about a Saturn version of Overserved.

	Danthrax
		Danthrax is a member of the SHIRO! Media Group, writing stories for the website when Saturn news breaks and helping to manage the group's social media accounts. While he was a Sega Genesis kid in the '90s, he didn't get a Saturn until 2018. It didn't take him long to fall in love with the console's library as well as the fan translation and homebrew scene. He contributed heavily to the Bulk Slash and Stellar Assault SS fan localizations, and he's helped as an editor on several other Saturn and Dreamcast fan projects such as Cotton 2, Rainbow Cotton and Sakura Wars Columns 2.