10 replies to this topic

[Auto-Fox]

I have a TurboGrafx-16! Or a PC Engine, as it was called in Japan.
Or just a TurboGrafx, as it was called in Europe on the import market.
Anyway.
I've got one! As of yesterday. I have 3 games for it: Blazing Lazers, a truly amazing scrolling shooter; Raiden, a decent translation of the arcade shmup; and Double Dungeon, an RPG I got by mistake. It didn't have the box, and I though it was Double Dragon.
The title font, not to mention the title, is very similar!
BUT, I'm quite happy! Found it for $89 at a retro-gaming shop yesterday. It works great, it's a remarkably simple little system, of course there are a few things I need to get for it to make it complete; presently, it only outputs RF video and audio, which it does better than most consoles, but at some point I hope to get a Turbo Booster, which is the A/V enhancement peripheral that allows the console to output (gasp!) RCA stereo and video, as well as S-Video, I think.
I'll also be looking for the Turbo CD add-on, and more games, of course.
So, who wants to discuss the little 16-bitter that could?

[Nemoide]

I actually really want a TurboGrafx with the CD add-on (or the Turbo-Duo as the 2-in-1 version was called). I won't lie, it's really confusing to find information about this system.
If anyone doesn't know, in Japan it was called the PC-Engine. Despite not being a PC. Or an engine...

Working Designs, my favorite licensor/translator of Japanese games from the 90s (Lunar, Popful Mail, Arc the Lad Collection, Silhouette Mirage, Magic Knight Rayearth, et al) , got their start releasing games for the system. Most notably, Parasol Stars, which is generally considered the third Bubble Bobble game.

I highly recommend you look for Ys: Book I & II, if you find a Turbo-CD; although other Ys games are available for the system. I've only played the first Ys on the Master System, but I thought it was a really great game if you are at all into Zelda-style gameplay. I liked it more than the original Zelda, for what it's worth though.

I believe the TurboGrafx can play Japanese PC-Engine games without any modification necessary, which is awesome. Because there are a number of Japanese games I would love to play on it, like Akumajo Dracula X (Castlevania X: Rondo of Blood), Parodius Da! and a countless number of ultra-obscure classics - it seems to be a good system for shooters. I don't have the money for this though, and I'm pretty satisfied to build up my Saturn collection in the meantime.

[Auto-Fox]

Indeed! Ys is one of my top priorities, though I won't deny, games are expensive for this thing. The store I go to has them fairly cheap, though, I got Blazing Lazers for $10 and Raiden for 15. They don't have any Turbo games in the store marked up for more than 20.
Which is quite a bit cheaper than they go for online.
I mainly got the system for three reasons:
1: I couldn't get the Atari Jaguar I wanted. They were ready to sell it to me, but nobody could find the power adapter, so I got the Turbo instead.
2: I'm a huge, HUGE fan of shooters, and the Turbo has one of the best Shooter libraries I've heard of.
3: It very nearly completes my 16-bit collection. I now have all three major competitors in the 16-bit wars: SNES, Genesis AND TurboGrafx-16.
Next, the 32-bit era. For that, all I really have to go is the Jaguar.

[TRAViS]

TurboGrafx 16s are pretty awesome systems. Never got the mainstream appeal because of its price and lack of major publisher support, but it still has some great titles. My personal favorite game (from emulators, I never had the console) was OutRun. It may not have been as spot-on as the Genesis port but it was quite enjoyable and the music sounded a bit cooler.

Also, when it comes to completing the 32-bit legacy, don't forget the flopped Panasonic 3DO. I have one with 15 games including NFS and Road Rash. I paid $10 for all of it.

[Auto-Fox]

^^ I've got a 3DO as well, a shitty GoldStar one, but a 3DO nonetheless. It set me back $15 at a Yard Sale, and I have a big stack of burned ISOs for it.

Yeah, really the only thing holding the Turbo back was, believe it or not, its lack of games. Oh, don't get me wrong, it gots HUNDREDS of very, VERY good titles over here, but the third-party publishers, as well as Hudson themselves, were always holding back the truly awesome stuff. This was back in the days of the NES, you see, and Nintendo's draconian licensing agreements.
The TurboGrafx could have seen wonderful translations of top-notch NES games, as well as sequels to various properties that got their start on Nintendo's console, but the companies were always fearful of reprisals from Nintendo.
The NES was still the big money-maker for everyone, Hudson included.
So, while the Turbo got a slew of top-notch games, they were all very obscure franchises. Yeah, the system had Bonk, and Bomberman, but that was it really.
And obviously, Sega didn't popularize their ports of games like OutRun, HangOn, Space Harrier, etc, once the Genesis came out.
It's a shame really.
Also, I think part of the failure comes from the name. Super Nintendo? Easy to say. Genesis? Even better.
Turbo Graphics Sixteen?
That's a mouthful.
Personally, I think they could have just called it the NEC Turbo in the US. Might have caught on better in the long run.

[Noctourne Wonderland]

Ah, the days when anyone could and did make a video game system. It's a shame that doesn't happen now, there were quite a few gems back with the TurboGrafx, ColecoVision, and others.

Also, I want a 3DO just to play Night Trap. That game looks incredible.

[Auto-Fox]

^^ Actually, I THINK there was a Saturn version of that game too, but I could be wrong.
The TurboGrafx-CD had its share of FMV games too, but thankfully not many. NEC and Hudson seemed more interested in releasing more of the same stuff that was on HuCards, though bigger with better music.
The great thing about the Turbo CD, though, was that it had the same giant color palette as the TG-16 itself, so the colors in the FMV and such weren't nearly as muted.

[Nemoide]

Night Trap wasn't for Saturn, but it was for Sega CD. I had the "Sega 32X CD" version which required both the Sega CD AND 32X attachments for the Genesis. I assume that this is the best version of the game.

It's honestly not that great a game, in terms of gameplay. You just have to memorize (I wrote a big list) the times/rooms key events occur. However, to do this, you end up entirely missing the story, which only becomes clear when you've seen things from multiple perspectives (ie multiple playthroughs). I don't know how modern gamers would react to it, but I definitely played it enough to have many of the scenes memorized and have beaten it multiple times. Plus it scared my little brother and my mom took it away...
Yeah, I suppose you should get Night Trap. :p

[Auto-Fox]

Hm, you're right. I must've been thinking of Corpse Killer, that had a Saturn release.
Anyway, I might start collecting for the Sega CD again...

[Noctourne Wonderland]

A shorter name would have done the TurboGrafx well. "Grafx" makes no real phonetic sense anyway, it's like "Grafcks."

Night Trap wasn't for Saturn, but it was for Sega CD. I had the "Sega 32X CD" version which required both the Sega CD AND 32X attachments for the Genesis. I assume that this is the best version of the game.

It's honestly not that great a game, in terms of gameplay. You just have to memorize (I wrote a big list) the times/rooms key events occur. However, to do this, you end up entirely missing the story, which only becomes clear when you've seen things from multiple perspectives (ie multiple playthroughs). I don't know how modern gamers would react to it, but I definitely played it enough to have many of the scenes memorized and have beaten it multiple times. Plus it scared my little brother and my mom took it away...
Yeah, I suppose you should get Night Trap.

32x CD? How did that even work?

I wouldn't play Night trap for the gameplay, but rather the novelty value. Shlocky horror is one of my favorite things, so I'd probably just enjoy watching the clips. From what I've seen online, it looks pretty funny (whether intentional or not).

[daru]

I have a TurboGrafx-16! Or a PC Engine, as it was called in Japan.
Or just a TurboGrafx, as it was called in Europe on the import market.
Anyway.
I've got one! As of yesterday. I have 3 games for it: Blazing Lazers, a truly amazing scrolling shooter; Raiden, a decent translation of the arcade shmup; and Double Dungeon, an RPG I got by mistake. It didn't have the box, and I though it was Double Dragon.
The title font, not to mention the title, is very similar!
BUT, I'm quite happy! Found it for $89 at a retro-gaming shop yesterday. It works great, it's a remarkably simple little system, of course there are a few things I need to get for it to make it complete; presently, it only outputs RF video and audio, which it does better than most consoles, but at some point I hope to get a Turbo Booster, which is the A/V enhancement peripheral that allows the console to output (gasp!) RCA stereo and video, as well as S-Video, I think.
I'll also be looking for the Turbo CD add-on, and more games, of course.
So, who wants to discuss the little 16-bitter that could?

dude one thing you got a great find man