Neo Geo's Doom Port: Why It's Functionally Impossible

The Neo Geo, a powerhouse of 90s arcade gaming, faces a formidable challenge in running Doom. The system's hardware limitations, particularly in handling the game's complex 3D environment with raised platforms, staircases, and textured surfaces, render a native port functionally impossible.

A recent raycasting demo by Modern Vintage Gamer shows the Neo Geo can approximate Wolfenstein 3D's simpler 90-degree walls and flat floors by scaling sprites, but it struggles to reach playable frame rates-managing only eight frames per second without enemies or game logic.

The only practical solution, according to MVG, is to include additional processing hardware in the game cartridge-similar to the Super FX2 chip used in the SNES port of Doom. Without such enhancements, the Neo Geo will likely remain Doom-free for the foreseeable future.