PC Engine, Turbo grafx?

[Justin]

Hi all,

i wonder if someone could do a review on a PC Engine/Turbo Grafx machine?

CD or Cart?
I can't make up my mind if i want one or not? are they any good? are there any cracking must play titles/exclusives? are they all import machines? do i need anything else besides a console/psu converter?

thanks in advance, Justin

 

[iainjh]

Hi

Sorry cant do a proper review (lack of time, sure someone else will chip in) but you have to get one ! Its a really surprising /positive machine, I had no idea how current it is to use. A lot of the games are very japanese, there's certainly lots of quirky and odd stuff I avoid, but theres absolute classics there - bomberman, galaga's, shmups and those are just great. For its age, stunning. The rgb mod isnt necessary but its nice to have. A everdrive is a really good thing to have!

I dont think it matters whether you get a pal/ntsc but I ended up with a JP one as its so tiny. cart. i read the cd's are flakey and im not sure they are so essential anway

cheers

 

[SaviorX]

the TG16/PcEngine is my favorite system of the 4th Gen of consoles, it was released a year before the Genesis/MegaDrive and 3 years before the SNES/SFC, as a result is is probably a little underpowered compared to the other 2, and HuCard games are a little small, consequently there aren't very many good RPGs on the system. (Double Dungeons, Dungeon Explorer, and the quest mode in some sports games are all that come to mind)

the graphics and sound on the system are decent.

if you like RPGs however, you'll want a CD system....i used to have a TurboDuo and a few of the RPGs, which were fantastic, Cosmic Fantasy 2, Dragon Slayer and Ys Book I & II were some of my favorites.

as far as games go there aren't as many on the TG16/PCEngine as the MD/SFC, but a few titles are very very good...

Alien Crush/Devils Crush are 2 of my favorite pinball games on ANY system.
Military Madness is one of the best turn based strategy games ever.
there are a half-dozen or so great shooters, Blazing Lasers and Dragon Spirit were 2 of my favorites...Raiden is excellent on this system, also i enjoyed CyberCore.

sports games were a little weak, but not terrible (well, most...), many of them came with a Final Fantasy style 'quest' mode....Final Lap Twin is a Pitstop-like game and is one of my favorites...especially the quest-mode.

the Bonk games are every bit as fun (imo) as the Sonic and Mario games.

if you like fighting/beat em up games this system has..erm...Street Fighter II

original games for this system tend to be pricey, more so than Genesis/MD or SNES/SFC ones. simply not produced in the same numbers one would assume.
(also, there seems to be more Japanese games for this system than English ones)

from the wiki

In the United Kingdom, Telegames released a slightly altered version of the American model simply as the TurboGrafx around 1990 in extremely limited quantities.^[3] Although there was no full-scale PAL region release of the system, imported PC Engine consoles were largely available in France and Benelux through major retailers thanks to the unlicensed importer Sodipeng (Société de Distribution de la PC Engine, a subsidiary of Guillemot International).^[4]
Two major revisions, the PC Engine SuperGrafx and the PC Engine Duo, were released in 1989 and 1991, respectively. The entire series was succeeded by the PC-FX in 1994, which was only released in Japan.

 

[Justin]

great info, thank you.

does the cd version play backups?

 

[SaviorX]

i don't think there are any copy protections used with PCE CDs, but they have to be burned a specific way (they are all mixed-mode) and at 4x or less or the machine wont be able to read them..that's about all i know, as i never bothered to try...

 

[Justin]

coolio, i shall start hunting then

 

[SaviorX]

oh, and a Turbo Everdrive is a must

 

[-Acid-]

I would try and sway you into getting Japanese machines. HuCards are region locked and there is many more games from Japan than the US, you can get an adapter but they are very expensive. I have a Core Grafx II which has an AV port instead of just RF out of the Core Grafx. Also I have a Japanese Turbo Duo, CD's are completely region free and it plays backups no problem without modification. If you like shoot em ups especially then it's definitely a system to own. I don't play much else beside those type of games on it, get yourself a Turbo ED as well it works on both machines.

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Forgot to mention the Everdrive can play roms from any region on any region machine, so if you get a Japanese system you can still use it to play US roms while still having the massive library or Japanese HuCard games if collecting originals is your thing.

 

[Justin]

i forgot to ask......... whats a Hucard?

 

[soeter04]

Those are the game cartridges

 

[sir_beaker]

Depends on your budget. I started off with a PC Engine Core Grafx as it had better AV out of the box compared to the original white PC Engine and loved it but there are a lot of good games that were only released on CD like Dracula X so I also bought a Turbo Duo R and have not regretted it. If you go down that route it has very limited internal memory for game saves (save about 1 to 2 games max) so you'll need 1 or 2 backup cards called TenNoKoe Banks if you want to keep your game saves. You can get them as an add-on for the original PC Engine but not quite as useful AFAIK as less games use it. You'll also need an Arcade Card if you want to play games like Strider as it will add additional memory. As mentioned the Everdrive is a great buy as well. I've had no problem using backups in my CD. They're easy enough to burn using something like ImgBurn.

Hopefully I'll get my PC Engine LT by the end of the week. Bas has checked the caps and said he's going to arrange collection tomorrow.... can't wait!!!!

 

[r0jaws]

I'd also recommend an RGB SCART cable.

At the very least pick up an amp from THGill, it makes a huge difference. I also have a Turbo Everdrive, and it is also well worth the pennies, the games are mostly excellent and if you like pure Arcade action, this is the system to have. Nearly everything is based around an Arcade experience. If you like shooters and platformers and racers, you're in. I can't say much about the CD systems, as TBH I haven't bothered and I like the PCEngine's small size.

Games wise, My personal favourites are;

Bomberman 94, A great representation of a classic game. A 4 player adapter needed for multiplayer though.
Outrun, A simply ace and faithful reproduction.
Bonk's Revenge, More than just a Mario-a-like, it has some great innovations and puzzles to keep you interested. Infact the series is great fun.
SideArms: Hyperdyne, Another arcade conversion. Side scrolling shooting mayhem. This is double, double hard.
Tricky Kick, another innovative puzzler. Probably not so great if you have an objection to kicking cute animals about a screen though.
Circus Lido, A frankly bizarre and tricky puzzler where you play a Gecko chomping your way through a variety of bugs that imbue with abilities to solve each screen
New Zealand Story, Another great arcade conversion
Don Doku Don, A Bubble Bobble/ Snow Bros alike affair. Great fun and graphics.
Gunhead/ Blazing Lazers. Frankly, in the huge amount of competition for top down scrolling shooters on this system, this is the daddy. Bright, well drawn sprites, awesome power-ups and great fun.
Soldier Blade What I said above, sorry, total horlicks. I made a mistake, this is the daddy of them all. Bonkers gameplay, awesome powerups and great music to blast along too.
Galaga 90, Galaga, but with nicer sprites. I like my classic arcade shooters.
Chew Man Fu Another puzzler, a maze game where you push around coloured balls. Sounds dull, but it's not, it's great fun.
Coryoon Side scrolling shooter using a baby dragon as the main protagonist. Looks cutesie, but is also a satisfying blast-em up.
Hana Taka Daka Pretty much as above, but with a Goblin and ace power ups.
1943 Another Arcade conversion, top scrolling shooter faithful to the Arcade .
Photo Boy A system exclusive (I think) where you play a "paparazzi" type photog snapping pics of interest to your editor as the world scrolls in front of your eyes. Watch out for UFOs and starletts exposing themselves. A sometimes funny and very entertaining break from all the blast em ups.
Air Zonk. My absolute favourite side scrolling shooter, based on future Bonk. Total nutty shoot em up carnage with weird and amusing power ups and fantastic boss fights. Get this game.
Ninja Spirit Shuriken/ sword run and slash em up scrolling platformer with tough bosses and great game mechanics. I love this game.
R-Type Keith's favourite, and an almost perfect conversion of the original arcade game.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with a system, but the CD expansion will set you back a bit. TBH, I'd get an Everdrive instead, you'll have more fun with it.

 

[Amiga Forever]

Salamander(Best version out of all!)
Parodius Da!
Street Fighter 2
Parasol Stars
Bloody Wolf
Splatterhouse
R Type 2
Ghoul N Ghost(I think it is CD versions)

They all very good game there

 

[thgill]

Salamander(Best version out of all!)
Parodius Da!
Street Fighter 2
Parasol Stars
Bloody Wolf
Splatterhouse
R Type 2
Ghoul N Ghost(I think it is CD versions)

They all very good game there

RType 2 is just the second half of the first game. For whatever reason in Japan (probably memory restrictions) they released Rtype on 2 HuCards. First half of the game on the first card, 2nd half on the second card. Confusingly labeled them as RType 1 and 2. But it is in fact the first game in the series. In the US it was released on just one hucard/turbochip. There is also a SuperCD version called RType Complete CD. It's the entire first game on CD with remixed music, cut scenes and unlimited continues. Regardless of which version you get, they are all fantastic ports of the arcade game.


Ghouls N Ghosts is a SuperGrafx HuCard game and will not play on a regular PCE. That needs a SuperGrafx machine. Also a very, very good port.



I usually tell people to try and look for a CoreGrafx machine to get their toes wet. Has excellent Composite video and stereo audio. Easier to mod for RGB compared to the earlier white PCE. Plus they aren't very expensive. Later on you could either add a CD interface onto it like the CDRom2 via the IFU-30 "briefcase" or the SuperCDRom2.

And since they hold their value pretty well, you could also sell it to use the funds toward a Duo-R or RX when you are ready to move to a machine that does both CD and HuCards. Avoid the black PCEngine Duo's unless you know for a fact they have been recapped and checked out. They are notorious for leaky caps. Neither R and RX Duo's suffer from that issue.



My personal fav among all of them is the original white PCE. I keep a RGB modded one on my computer desk hooked up to a monitor when i feel the need for some PCE action. If I want CD stuffs, I go into my game room where I have a Duo-R (and SuperGrafx) available.


Anyone who likes late 80's and early 90's gaming, owes it to themselves to check out the PCE. It's an amazing little 8 bit machine that firmly stomps a hole in the rear of many of it's 8 and 16 bit peers.

 

[Amiga Forever]

Excellent informations thgill

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what games are available for SuperGrafx apart from ghoul n ghost?

 

[SaviorX]

System Specific

All SuperGrafx releases were on SHuCard format.

• 1941: Counter Attack
• Aldynes
• Battle Ace
• Daimakaimura <-AKA Ghoul's n' Ghosts
• Madō King Granzort

Backwards Compatible with PC Engine

• Darius Alpha - Improved graphics when played on SuperGrafx^{[dubious – discuss]}
• Darius Plus - Improved graphics when played on SuperGrafx

Unreleased

• Galaxy Force II (unreleased prototype)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Engine_SuperGrafx#Game_Catalog

 

[motrucker]

Not a bad machine, specially considering how early it is. Mine only has RF out. I didn't even know there was an option for an AV port! IS that just the Japanese machines, or ???. Thing is, at least around here, they are getting more expensive, and harder to find.

 

[SaviorX]

the TG16 has an expansion port, located on the 'front' (inside the plastic cover on the forward of the system, which can be pried off) and had a few expansions, one, which i had for mine was the TurboBooster...gave the system an A/V port...

there was also a TurboCD expansion...i dont recall any others off the top of my head.

 

[edumanga]

The pc engine is an awesome console, if you get one do yourself a favor and get the cd based Duo-R (the regular pcengine duo has a serious problem of leaky capacitors and you will have to recap it sooner than later). Also there is no copy protection on the cds, so you can test drive the games before you import them from japan (specially the expensive ones like castlevania rondo of blood).

 

[protek]

Great reading!

I've got a Core Grafx with pad, PSU and three games coming to me from Japan even as we speak. Don't know if it was a bargain as I spent double the amount I had initially planned on spending but I think it was reasonable considering it came with three games.

Will be fun to try it out and to implement the RGB mod into it.