Why a Neo Geo port of Doom is functionally impossible

#1 1h ago

Yo, check this out. So, there's this whole debate about whether a Neo Geo could actually run *Doom*, and the consensus is pretty solid: it's functionally impossible. Here's the lowdown from this article: the Neo Geo, despite having a decent Motorola 68000 CPU (which is familiar territory, being the same as the Amiga!), was built *specifically* for sprite-based 2D graphics on a cartridge. The core problem is the architecture. The CPU writes tile positions and scaling info to VRAM, but the video processor can only pull sprites from the character ROM. Crucially, the CPU's bus can't even read the textures or specific pixels for post-processing. Plus, it totally lacks the bitmap graphics mode or frame buffers that other systems use to draw things freely on the screen. This means even if you tried to run a simpler FPS like *Wolfenstein 3D*, the Neo Geo's scaling hardware is just good enough to stretch those basic 4-pixel walls into a chunky view. But when you throw in *Doom*'s complexity—think raised platforms, stairs, elevators, or textured ceilings—the raycasting system just won't cut it. Honestly, it sounds like the only way to make *Doom* work on Neo Geo is to bolt on specialized hardware, like the Super FX2 chip that the SNES port used. Otherwise, it’s just going to be a pretty basic, limited experience. It really highlights how specialized hardware bottlenecks things. Source: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/06/why-a-neo-geo-port-of-doom-is-functionally-impossible/