At the tail end of 2023, developer Blastar released Block Panic DX, the first free homebrew 4-player Neo Geo game. At the time, he promised that a Neo Geo CD version would follow shortly, Unfortunately, due to unforeseen life events, it took a little longer to release than expected but on New Years Eve 2025, Block Panic DX CD was released for the masses to enjoy. Along with the CD version, an updated ROM was also released for the AES/MVS.
One of the things that makes Block Panic DX unique is that it is the very first Neo Geo CD game to allow 4 human or CPU players to compete head-to-head. In order to do so, gamers will need to locate a Neotris adapter, which is the only 4-player multitap adapter compatible with the Neo Geo CD. Unfortunately, the NeoTap (as it’s also called) seems to be rarer than a hen’s teeth. According to my online research, the open source NeoTap adapter was released, but in very limited quantities.
There is some hope as according to Blastar, the schematics for the adapter were also released, although I was unable to locate a credible source for them. Hopefully, in the near future, a trustworthy manufacturer will pick up this multitap project and put manufacture them for sale for original hardware enthusiasts.
The Neo Geo AES and MVS version of the game has a second 4-player multitap option through the Neo4P/FTC1B adapter that was released for Kizuna Encounter. Although extremely rare, Kizuna Encounter has a tag-team option similar to Capcom’s versus games. The major difference being that each of the 4 characters would be controlled by a player. When tagged, the player in the foreground would battle while the background player waited and hoped to be tagged in. The catch is that if the active player was defeated, the team automatically loses and the inactive player simply lost their turn!
Unfortunately, the FTC1B multitap is equally as hard to find as a NeoTap/NeoTris. For those that do have the hardware, the game should automagically detect it and allow gamers to configure how many players they want to compete against. If you don’t have any friends or just like to watch others play, up to 4 CPU players can be assigned to compete.
If you do not have any of these adapters or original hardware, then fret not. Blastar provides different ROMS for Mame and Neo SD Flash carts. After checking in with MiSTer developer Sorg, (thankfully!) MiSTer owners can play any version of Block Panic DX with 4 human players in co-op if they are willing to download the unstable Neo Geo core test builds from February 6, 2025 and on. Perhaps a stable version will be available by the time that you read this or watch Bob’s weekly roundup.
Overall, Block Panic DX itself is a fun Tetris style game that even has an option for new shapes. The graphical effects remind me of the Switch version of Tetris vs Puyo Puyo. Definitely worth checking out, especially for free or if you have the hardware (real or emulated) to run it.
As always, Blastar’s games can be found over on his patreon.
