Rick Dangerous DX hits Neo Geo with remastered graphics and classic traps

Rick Dangerous is back on another machine, and this time it’s the Neo Geo. Rick Dangerous DX is now available for Neo Geo AES, MVS and Neo Geo CD, bringing Core Design’s famously unforgiving 1989 platformer to SNK hardware with remastered graphics, a new title screen and support for both real systems and emulation. This isn’t a simple port of the old Amiga or Atari ST game. The new version follows the look of the later Wii remake, while keeping the traps, enemies, weapons and tight platforming that made Rick Dangerous what it was in the first place.

Rick Dangerous gets the Neo Geo treatment

The original Rick Dangerous arrived in 1989, developed by Core Design and published by Firebird. Simon Phipps handled the programming and game design, while the visuals were created with Terry Lloyd. The game quickly built a reputation for being tough. Really tough.

Rick spends much of his time jumping across gaps, avoiding spikes, dealing with enemies and trying not to walk straight into one of the many traps hidden around each stage. Timing matters, but memory matters just as much. Get something wrong and the game usually lets you know immediately. Rick Dangerous DX keeps that structure largely intact.

You’ve still got Rick’s pistol, dynamite and stick, and you’ll still spend plenty of time working out exactly when and where to use them. The Neo Geo controller also suits the setup well, with each action mapped directly to one of the system’s four main buttons. A fires the gun, B jumps, C drops dynamite and D uses the stick. Simple enough.

It’s based on the Wii remake

Rick Dangerous DX isn’t built directly from the original 1989 computer versions. Instead, it follows the Nintendo Wii remake created by Magic Team in 2008. That version introduced updated graphics, and those visuals form the basis of the new Neo Geo release.

Developer Domkid has remastered the artwork again for this edition, so the presentation looks noticeably different from the Amiga and Atari ST originals. There’s also a new title screen based on an illustration created in 2018 by Simon Phipps, the original game’s designer and programmer.

Underneath the updated presentation, though, the game remains recognisably Rick Dangerous. Don’t expect a completely redesigned platformer or a modern reworking of every mechanic. This is still built around the original game’s structure and challenge.

Another version from Z-Team

Rick Dangerous DX continues a series of newer versions produced by Z-Team. An Amiga remake appeared in 2023, followed by a Mega Drive release in 2025. The Neo Geo edition now brings the project across to SNK hardware in 2026.

Domkid developed the game with the Scorpion Engine, which has been used to build the new version for Neo Geo systems. Support covers the three main Neo Geo formats: AES, MVS and Neo Geo CD. That means home-console owners, arcade hardware users and Neo Geo CD players all have a version aimed at their particular setup.

Flash hardware and emulation are supported

There is no original cartridge release to run Rick Dangerous DX. However, the AES and MVS build supports compatible flash hardware, including BackBit, Darksoft and NeoSD solutions. Neo Geo CD users can also run the game through supported SD-based hardware. Emulation works too.

MAME and Raine are among the supported options, giving players another way to run the game without original Neo Geo hardware. The release comes in separate packages for cartridge-based systems and Neo Geo CD, rather than using one universal download for everything. The Neo Geo cartridge archive is around 15 MB, while the Neo Geo CD package comes in at roughly 68 MB.

The same Rick Dangerous, on different hardware

Rick Dangerous DX doesn’t try to turn the original into something it isn’t. The basic formula remains the same. You run, jump, shoot, place dynamite and try to stay one step ahead of whatever nasty surprise the level throws at you next. What’s changed is the presentation and the hardware.

The remastered graphics give the game a cleaner look, while the Neo Geo’s four-button layout makes the controls easy to understand. Add support for AES, MVS, Neo Geo CD, flash hardware and emulation, and this becomes one of the most flexible versions of the remake so far.

After releases on Wii, Amiga and Mega Drive, Rick Dangerous DX for Neo Geo adds another platform to the list. The game itself hasn’t been reinvented, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s Rick Dangerous, rebuilt for Neo Geo hardware.

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