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NEC TurboGrafx 16 (PC Engine) - Fourth VideoGame Generation Recap - Adam Koralik
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- Опубліковано 5 кві 2015
- www.figureitout...
/ figureitoutproductions
Raymond: raymondlydiard@hotmail.com
This is a discussion topic video about the fourth generation of videogame consoles. This will be part two of my nine part mini-series. Here we will discuss the NEC Turbografx 16 (AKA PC Engine), the first entry in to the fourth generation of game consoles.
My dad was the one that bought a Turbo-Grafx 16 WITH the CD addon probably around 1997-1998 (For himself, but he shared all of his stuff with me). In short, this was one of the many systems I grew up playing on, and I have an awesome dad. He had Monster Lair, It Came From the Desert, and a couple other disc based games I don't remember the names of. But the music quality was awesome on that thing. He still has both the console and addon, which I do hope to get from him myself some day (money and dinner would probably just suffice, just need to finish the college life and take care of student debt first).
hope you were able to get it :)
I had a friend that had the every single weird console even ones toys r us did not carry so you were that weirdo
My neighbor had a TG16 & I loved playing Bonk on it. The portable version just blew my mind. I couldn't believe that you could play the same console game on a hand-held. which for '92 I think it was, was pretty remarkable at the time.
This was the first console I owned. Eventually got the CD add-on as well. It not only played CD games, but would play music and some music cd's even had visuals on 'em. Had Splatterhouse, Bonk, Keith Courage, Y's, The Addams Family and a few more games that I don't remember. I was 8 or 9 when my folks got it for me, and never knew anyone else who had one. Blockbuster (or anywhere else) didn't rent the games, so you'd have to get 'em sight unseen. Occasionally Toys'R'Us would have a demo set up, but that's it.
I luved it, but Adam's Family was awful, SNES Adams Family was solid though.
Holy crap have you noticed that that multitap looks nearly IDENTICAL to the GameCube controller adapter for the Wii U?
I thought the same thing.
+zachmanrulez it has 5 though, GC has 4 inputs
+zachmanrulez
Doesn't help that that is the most generic adapter possible. I have several adapters for USB for emulation that don't look that far off. Retrolink Saturn for instance. My old mayfair PSx/PS2 ones are the only ones that really look different.
I found one for a great deal! I found just the system itself. Unfortunately it didnt come with hook up cables, controllers, or any games so I dont know if it even works but it was $5.99 at goodwill! Decided to take a chance on it since it was so cheap.
Yeah, you can't go wrong with that. Even if it didn't work, the parts alone are worth more than that.
I purchased one on launch day. It was primarily because I read EGM and other mags back in the day and saw the "PC Engine" and my jaw dropped. I am in the USA (NJ) and keep in mind when I was reading those reviews on the PC Engine and the games we were still playing SMS and NES here. I remember drooling at the cool looking small white console with the badass name and seeing shots of "Victory Run" and other games. At the time they did not know if it would reach USA shores but I was praying and kept reading the same magazine spreads every day. And then two years later it became a reality. I was REALLY bummed that the design had changed so drastically, but I still purchased it. And a ton of games, and a CD unit, and eventually a Turbo DUO when NEC gave everything up to "Turbo Technologies". I saw the Turbo Express at Electronics Boutique but at $299 just to have a TG16 portable I passed. I was saving up for a 3DO at that point :)
I always hear these stories about how people never purchased or heard of consoles like the SMS and TG16 and wonder why. Was it only us in the NJ/NY area that were heavily subjected to these consoles? In these parts they are as relevant still as the NES or SNES.
Are you Adam Koralik, and is this movie a part of your quick shoot series, with Figure it out productions?
I wonder if this is a video of some kind? One that we might enjoy?
Gamerade
The Turbo Grafx was an awesome little system. I had the American and Japanese version. I played Bonk's Adventure and Bloody Wolf to death. Then, as an adult I went to Japan and bought the early white model of the PC Engine and the PC Engine CD for games like Fighting Street (Street Fighter), Street Fighter 2 Dash, Bonk 3, Double Dragon, Splatterhouse, R-Type, etc.
The best thing about the PC Engine was easily the exclusives. For an 8-bit console, it was very powerful, which explains why it as marketed as a 16-bit system here in the US. Bits were the gimmick of the 1990s. We associated more bits with more power and better graphics.
Dee Jimenez I was surprised the video didn't mention the minor controversy I seem to recall from time about whether or not the TurboGrafix was a true 16-bit console since the CPU was only 8-bits.
Andrew Bailey exactly, it was officially an 8-bit console in Japan, and NEC USA marketed as a 16-bit console to better compete, because in the consumer's minds, 8-bit means inferior. The same way, for a brief time, the Neo-Geo was marketed as a 24-bit console for having an 8-bit and 16-bit processor. I miss the 90s.
Andrew Bailey The GPU was 16-bit, and the 8-bit CPU was actually just as fast or faster at many operations than the 16-bit CPU in the SNES.
THe PC Engine was hailed as a 16-bit machine in the UK, which it was.
@@Halbared It's not a true 16-bit system, as it has some 8-bit components. With that said, we all know that bits were the marketing gimmick of the 80s and 90s. While weaker in most respects in comparison to the SNES and Mega Drive, it had a few advantages. It was a powerful little machine. Imagine being in Japan in 1988 and playing a PC Engine with all those excellent arcade ports and graphics.
Also, remember when for a short time, the Neo-Geo was marketed as a 24-bit system? Now it's all about the teraflops.
I had one when it first came out, as well as an Express, the CD add-on and DUO. I also had a PC Engine and Supergrafx back then as well. I currently have a large PC Engine collection.
Final lap twin is a racing RPG hybrid. You have to go around various towns and get parts for a car. There is even an overworld where you have to enter random battles.
My experience, is that when it came out, kids kind of wanted it, but nobody knew what this strange machine was about at the time or what to make of it. You would get an NES instead, because it was solid with its library and how well known it was.
I have been told that the Turbo Grafx had to be bigger in the US due to FCC regulations, they were required to include a bunch of RF metal shielding in it.
That's what a few people have said, which makes good sense actually.
AdamKoralik Man one thing I love about your channel is you answer almost every single comment haha
AdamKoralik oh and btw Neutopia was NEC answer to Zelda, not Dungeon Explorer. Check it out, a very good but blatant Zelda clone
Cliff Reeser
I try.
Yeah, a few people corrected me on that. Good thing I said I wasn't sure in the video.
I had a TG16 with Splatterhouse and Bloody Wolf as a kid. They were kickass games. The guy in Splatterhouse was named "Rick". Oh and Splatterhouse 3 was really good on Genesis.
Oh and Ninja Spirit. That was a great game.
Dude! Spot on with the TG-16 love! I have been fortunate enough to own one since about 1991, and it’s definitely starting to get the credit that it deserves. The game library is fantastic, but getting very pricy for complete games. Really great video, Adam.
The only thing I remember from the Will Smith movie Enemy of the State was that it featured an unnamed cameo of the TurboExpress.
This was an excellent system. I had such a great time with it back in the day.
Adam - I think Nutopia was their answer to the Legend of Zelda. Fun game but straight up clone of Zelda for the SNES.
I was one of those weird kids with a TG-16, I had about 30 games for it to. I stupidly traded my TG-16 with the games for an Atari Jaguar with about 25 games....I hang my head in shame now.
Wow, damn man...
Live and learn. I haven't traded or sold a thing anywhere since the PS1.
***** Like wise.
Me too,but I still got mine😁👍
Turbo Grafx 16 is the coolest fucking name ever
Great talk about my one of my favorite systems. My uncle had one when I was a kid, it sat in his basement for 15 years, and I just got my hands on it today (for a steal, plus years worth of hassling him about it), Base unit, Turbo CD, a handful of games, carrying case, all the boxes and manuals... I bought one on ebay about 10 years go (just the base unit, but it's got a busted controller port now) so it's sweet to have an awesome replacement.
For the record, I have a copy of Fantasy Zone, but all the instructions are in French. I'm not sure what that means... lol
Had the handheld, it destroyed the Lynx and Game Gear screen quality wise.
I bet.
It would also destroy your AA batteries.
I had a Turbografix 16 and had a friend with the Express and just like the Sega Gamegear, it blew through batteries like it was nobody's business.
The first time I heard of this system. They would have a Toy Fair every year around Christmas at our local Ace Hardware. Which was actually larger than a normal Ace Hardware. They called it a home center. And then after that a kid I went to school with us he had the turbo graphic and he had to CD and he had a turbo Express.
11:30 Dungeon Explorer was awesome because you could play with FIVE PLAYERS! You can also get Dungeon Explorer on the Wii eShop (not the Wii U one, though).
Neat.
I am so jealous of how you found all of that. When you revealed Splatterhouse I gasped.
The TurboGrafx-16 was never released in Europe, or at least not on a wide scale. It was released only in United Kingdom, my home nation, in 1992 as a test market, and it was distributed by Telegames who made a deal with NEC. But it sold terribly, was discontinued very quickly and was never released in any other country in Europe. It looks identical to the North America version, but it is a paler shade of grey and it dropped the "16" from the title and was named just the TurboGrafx. The colour of the logo was also changed from orange and yellow to red and blue. I actually have one of the UK consoles myself, and it is fully compatible with North American games (I'm not sure about Japanese PC Engine games though). It was bundled in the UK with Blazing Lazers (a fucking amazing shoot 'em up, seriously get it RIGHT NOW!), but I'm not sure how many games were actually released for it here. It's actually a really fucking cool system, and it is a shame it never got more attention at the time. I really dig it. It was kinda like the Dreamcast of its era.
By the way, another great video. It's always nice to hear from a fellow TurboGrafx fan.
Thanks for watching!
I had one too and remember that finding games was damn near impossible. I think I got mine at flea-markets but don't remember seeing them at local big-box dept. stores.
There was a time in Japan that the NEC PC Engine was actually out selling the Famicom for a bit (never overall). The PC Engine stayed very relevant in Japan throughout its lifespan; Beating the Mega Drive during the 16bit era (Mega Drive was always in third place) This was also helped by the significant upgrades it got during those periods. Arcade card upgrades combined with CD rom which significantly increased its graphic and sound capabilities. In fact, when I lived in Japan, it was much easier to find PC Engine games then Mega Drive games.
Speak Japanese?
I understand more than I can speak. I certainly couldn't play an RPG in Japanese and understand what's actually going on; Or it would take me a long time to actually look through my books and attempt to translate everything myself.
ShootoFighter79
Well consider me impressed, I'm limited to knowing how to ask what time it is, and any answer they give me would make no sense to me at all.
Hi Adam my wife picked up a pal version of the console boxed brand new and gave it to me for Christmas along with golf, jj and jeff and victory run.
john sibthorpe Hope you like it! The PAL version is super rare apparently.
ha ha I am all yours mrs claws but maybe adam would have something to say about it.
john sibthorpe (I think she was suggesting that if you weren't already married to that woman, that you should propose marriage to her.)
you seem to be a lot more positive than you was in past which is awesome! wish you best Adam, great vid btw!
Thanks!
These types of videos where you just talk about games and gaming is far and away my favorite part of your channel. Keep up the good work!
I enjoy obscure platformers, and cute em ups.
Anything with bright colorful animals, where I collect fruit and coins..... that's the life
I love going through your playlists, most UA-camrs don't bother but it makes your channel more attractive with them and I always come back
I bet it was a "half-priced books". I walked in there once and they had the US version of "House of the Dead", not 2, 1..for the sega saturn. CITB minty $5! I didn't even bother to look it up until I got home but sure enough it was running $150 on ebay at the time. Slightly made up for that time when I was 16 and bought Shining Force III at babbages over Panzer Dragoon Saga, both were $30. Yeah I was one of those weird kids that had a saturn instead of a Playstation. No idea what my reasoning was.
+Nathan Sary I would have gone with the Saturn as well because Sega was a known entity in the business but a friend had a PlayStation which meant we could share games. That's part of the problem NEC had at the time as well. Everyone knew Sega and Nintendo. NEC made VCRs.
This was the third console I've ever purchased. Two games: Alien Crush and Military Madness. Still have it. Acquired more games but got rid of them via trades etc.
i got the insanely expensive pal version, that came brand new and sealed inside the box with blazing lazers.
i started loving it the second i played blazing lazers.
Though the PC Engine is known for Splatterhouse and a whole lot of shmups, one would be surprised how many Zelda-style games, action RPGs, and strategy games were on it. That's what I find fascinating about it. It made certain games work that the others consoles only did on the very outskirts and made for some absolutely awesome unique experiences. The exclusives this gen are not only numerous, but awesome.
Adam, this has been another great video from you. You are seriously one of my all time favorite UA-camrs. Can't wait to hear the retrospects on the Sega Genesis & SNES
I remember when toys r us was selling the systems for like $20 bucks! IF I only knew how much they would be selling for now ....
My uncle had one from my grandparents. He got it on Christmas of 89. We go over to his house that Christmas and my uncle let my 9 year old self play with it. He also had received every game available at the time for it (I think was 5 maybe 6 games). All I knew was Atari and Nintendo. Seeing Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, Blazing Lazers, Alien Crush and The Legendary Axe as well as a brand new console I'd never heard of and never saw any commercials for blew my mind. It was jaw dropping and I've never had a gaming experience like it since. Later on my Uncle got Splatterhouse and my parents let me watch my uncle play it and then let me play it. I never beat it because it's hard, but I could get to the floating circle towards the end but that was hands down the most badass game I ever played and I thought nothing would ever top it. Then Doom on PC came out and I was proven wrong, but really Splatterhouse is basically a 2D side scrolling version of Doom before Doom.
You got the channel back so I'm digging back into the recaps. Keep up the great work big guy!
An incredible console overshadowed for all the wrong reasons. If NEC had been bigger, gamers would have had 3 distinct and unique consoles with a gigantic library spread across them. With 3 companies fighting, each trying to out do the others with the best games possible, I think the 4th generation would have been, hands down, the best generation of video games ever.
Its great that the community surrounding the TurboGrafix is very much alive and kicking, but the console is well into being incredibly damn expensive. Which sadly pushes many people away. And importing the PC Engines is not easy on the wallet either.
Thank you again for your awesome videos! Its so great to finally meet someone who gives the lesser known consoles the attention they well deserve.
Thanks for watching some nerd talk about them!
I played quite a lot of Splatterhouse (and Parasol Stars) last week at my retro gaming club. It was less bloody than I had expected, but a very cool horror themed game anyway (didn't get too far in it though). Great Sega ports like you mentioned; I think I've liked Thunder Blade the most. Also great ports of R-Type and Salamander. It's interesting how Sega licenced their 80s arcade games to pretty much anyone.
Growing up we had a turbo grafix 16 and not one, but two turbo expresses! The coolest feature of the turbo express was the tv tuner, which when analog tv was still around was the shit! You could even hook another game console to the turbo express through the antenna port and play them on the screen.
Just wanted you to know that your videos really helped me in terms of collecting, repairing and cleaning my retro consoles. I just started collecting late last year and it's really progressing thanks to your tips. Thanks alot, greetings from holland.
Glad I could help, thanks for watching! Greetings from the US.
Love the series. Hope you make a third videogame generation recap some day!
upmorten Thanks!
If there are enough requests, Adam may do a third gen, which would be AWESOME! Maybe Adam could go all the way to first gen and talk about the odyssey and how home gaming started.
Mr. Minecraft I'd watch it!
upmorten I really hope... +kubricklynch same
"Neutopia" and "Neutopia II", were TG16's closer version of the NES's "The Legend Of Zelda".
Fantastic video, can't wait to see the Mega Drive in action.
Same with me :)
Hope you end up liking the video.
I was fortunate enough to stay at a friend's house for several months that owned a TG-16 back in the day. He didn't have much for it, but I fondly recall playing Neutopia nearly every day. Still don't own one myself, but through emulation and the Virtual Console, I have discovered a ton of great Turbo games. It's my second favorite console for shmups next to the Saturn.
This sounds like the best console I'd never heard of! Definitely planning on adding it to the collection when I find an opportunity.
I've watched a number of your videos and must say I'm very impressed by your knowledge of the the gaming industry. I love that you've done your research on each system and their games. I've been gaming for 30 years (gamer for life) and every time I watch one of these videos I always learn something new! Awesome! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for watching!
The best SHMUP console of all time, bar none.
+William McGuire The Megadrive was better
+William McGuire Sega Saturn, then this
Saturn,TG16, and 3DO
dungeon explorer was more like Gauntlet than Zelda. Neutopia is more like Zelda
Ah, good to know.
Final Lap Twin wasn't just another racing game. It was kind of a racing RPG. That's worth mentioning.
I was fortunate enough to get the Turbo Duo as a middle school graduate present back in the 90's. I had played the TG16 before and loved it. Air Zonk (the original) was amazing as was Blazing Lasers. My favorites were the CD and Super CD games. The music in games like Gate of Thunder and Ys Book 1 & 2 were and still are phenomenal.
Here is a fun fact that many people do not know. The last licensed game on the PC Engine/TruboGrafx 16 is 21 Emon Mezase hotel Ou!! released in 1994. Based on the Manga/Anime series 21 Emon by Fujiko F. Fujio the same person who made Doraemon, Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Esper mami, Mojako and many other series that where unheard of in the States. Minus Doraemon.
Reminds me of how I got my SNES console at the thrift store for like 7 bucks back in 2000 when i was 13. It only was the console with no cables or aux output. I do confess that I actually went to a bin they had and bundled it myself since it was wrapped in packaging tape, i stuck on 1 controller and both the power brick and aux cables. I went to the checkout and they didn't ask me a thing. LoL
Eh, you liberated it from the trash as far as I'm concerned.
INSTA-SUBSCRIBE! Why? EVERYONE mentions the TurboGrafx didn't do well ... usually as a "haha look how obscure this unpopular shitty console is". You get a subscription though because you are THE ONLY person I've seen on UA-cam (except for me in the comments) that has mentioned that in Japan this system was INSANELY popular.
Also, there is a reason that AVGN has only done one TG-16 game and that's because this 'unpopular shitty' console's library is FANTASTIC. In the US there are not many duds because they only brought over a few handfuls of the most popular games.
People should really try it. Seriously, the Genesis in Japan was their PCEngine. It did pretty damn poorly. Here it was the PC Engine. Literally swapped.
One problem though. It's impossible to collect for if you're not a rich mofo. Sure old school Nintendo and Sega now is already astronomical but NEC stuff takes astronomical to a whole new level
+LanIost
Game Sack actually quite specifically points out how much they love TG16 all the time. I think James and Mike have on Cinnemasacre too. Both channels talk about them being obscure everywhere BUT Japan. So maybe you should check out other channels then again I am guessing you are just being selective since you mentioned AVGN which is James' character on one of the Cinnemasacre channel.
Stephanie Lovik You are correct. There ARE some channels that do their research, but even then they fail to point out HOW popular the system is usually. Just because they mention that it was obscure everywhere but Japan isn't the problem. The Saturn wasn't obscure in the US but it ALSO wasn't so popular that it was in first place for a long, long time. The PC Engine WAS.
Adam did a much better job than any other channel I've seen in presenting this so I stand by my comment.
treeghettox No.. I didn't say the PC Engine's library was FANTASTIC. I said the TG-16, as in the US specifically. In overall ratio of good/bad a US gamer easily had the highest chance of any of the consoles to close their eyes and pick a great game out.
Did the Super NES (and Genesis) have more ridiculously amazing games in the genres you mentioned? OF COURSE. But nostalgia goggles make people forget just how much shit there was on these (and basically every) console.
The TG-16 has the advantage (in this case) of having a super, super small library. I'd much rather have the PCEngine library because there were a bazillion great games that never came out here, but if I were a betting man I'd choose the US library.
The first CD console with a CD-ROM drive built in was the Commodore CDTV in March 1991. The second was the Turbo Duo in September 1991. Sega's Mega CD add-on came out in December 1991, and the Victor Wondermega all-in-one Mega Drive/CD came out the next year in 1992.
My friend had this system when it came out and his older brother had the Express. I definitely enjoyed playing it when I would go over, and luckily I was able to find one about five years ago. I initially found one at a used media store with cables, controller, and about five common games for $60. I wound up selling it that day though because I accidentally broke a window in my house. My grill was too close to the house, and the heat cracked the window. Anyway, I got $125 for it. About a year later I found one on Craigslist for $125. It included a boxed console, a boxed TurboBooster Plus, a TurboTap, and Bonk. The boxes aren’t in great shape, but I still feel that it was a great find considering the market.
I picked mine up for $50 from its original owner right here in Houston, it came with bonks adventure and is definitely one of my favorite consoles in my collection
Great video as always AdamKoralik keep up the good work and I will definitely keep my eye out for a TurboGrafix 16.
You don't own either the Turbo Booster or the CD unit? Have you tried getting a TurboDuo or PC Engine Duo? It's basically NEC's equivalent of the Sega Multi Mega: it has a CD drive and a slot for the card-based games, and the it comes with a Composite AV cable that plugs right into the side of it. You can find them dime a dozen on ebay.
I was about to suggest that. I remember the TurboDuo and for a long time I thought that was the actual consoles name and not the TurboGrafx -16
I had one as a kid. I remember selling my Nintendo and all my games so that I could purchase a Genesis. I unfortunatly didn't have enough for the Genesis, and me being rather impatient, had to leave the store with somthing. So I got the TurboGrafx16. I remember telling myself how awesome it looked, while secretly hating myself for the choice I had made. Looking back it really wasn't that bad of a system. Legendary Axe2 was a pretty good game. I also had Keith Courage, Side Arms, and Final Lap Twin. A cool thing about Final Lap Twin. It has an RPG mode similar to Dragon Warrior. Only instead of fighting, you would race. It was actually really fun. I highly recommend checking it out. As I recall, I sold my TurboGrafx 5 months later and bought a SNES! Great video man. It brought back some good memories.
I'm not sure it ever came out here [(West) Germany]. I remember reading about it in magazines occasionally and being confused about what this thing actually was. But consoles were actually pretty rare in my neck of the woods back then, even the NES. Me and my friends all had Commodore 64s which we played to death. But things might have been completely different in the next town :).
It's so weird because I never even knew there was a TurboGrafx-16 or PC-Engine was until probably.... 1999 or 2000 when I started delving more into video game history since knowledge was getting more and more prominent on the internet which still wasn't the most informative or accessible thing for the most part.
I have played many PC Engine games since and holy fuck... This thing has GORGEOUS graphics. Compare Mega Bomberman and Bomberman '94 and you'll see what I mean. Bomberman '94 looks absolutely incredible with the 482 available colours onscreen at one time which nearly doubled the SNES and more than quadrupled the colour capacity of the Genesis/Mega Drive.
It still though is one of 4 or so consoles I don't own yet. I still need the Sega CD which I have never owned, 3DO which I played at my uncles growing up, Philips CDi which again, never heard of until many years later... And the TurboGrafx-16 + CD add-on.
I'm likely going to buy the PC-Engine though as there are so many more Japanese games, they are way cheaper from Japan and the CD unit is region free as well as copy-protection free so any games I can't find, I can at least burn while I look for them.
I fucking love all these videos though. I've watched them multiple times. Koralik, you are a dope mofo!
Wow, didn't even think about this being worth so much. I managed to pick one up, complete in box (though the box has seen better days) for $30. Great review!
I bought a Turbografx 16 in 1989 and the CD Rom Unit in 1990. Still have it today and I now have a Decent amount of games for it. Playing the CD Rom with the Arcade Card and the Neo Geo conversions on it is a Riot!
My friend and neighbor had the black unit same as you. Additionally they had the multitap as well as the turbo express handheld.
Your story reminds me of how I scored my first Turbo console with games. Last year I answered a Craigslist ad for a Turbo Express with 32 loose Hu Cards. I was always curious about the TG 16 when I was younger. Anyway, I bought the bundle for 90 bucks. I'm a big fan of the TG16 now. The highlight games were Jackie Chan, Blazing Lazers, Samurai Ghost, Splatterhouse, Air Zonk and Legendary Axe.
That's a score!
Thanks Adam, I enjoy your show.
Dark Hierophant
Thanks for watching!
Your comment on Splatterhouse is spot on. Everyone who came to play my TG16 back in the day wanted to play that game first. I actually thought the game was pretty basic and repetitive but it had an aura that drew the other kids to it.
My oldest brother has one still! But thanks again adam for sharing the 4th gen consoles with us! I love learning about retro gaming ;) awesome shirt by the way!
Thanks for watching!
I had one. had the full CD system and case. Tons of games. My dad gave it all to my cousin years later 😔. I loved it and I wish I still had it.
Me too Adam, I didn't know about this console and nor my friends or relatives. I discovered lately that this console was actually a master piece and really deserves a success. Thanks for this video Adam I'm really glad you appreciate some of the consoles that partially failed for some reason. The dreamcast is my favorite ever and wish didn't go just like that.
Zelda Legend Thanks for watching!
I was a freshman when it came out in 1989, I remember it from commercials as well as I think I played it once at someones house on New Years eve.
I never new much about this console but feel the same. Missed out on this in my area as well.
I remember TurboGrafx.. My Dad got screwed over on selling some stuff at a market, he got a bunch of crap to keep because his partner bailed out. We had a bunch of arcade machines and this. He eventually sold all his pinball machines and we couldn't get rid of the TurboGrafx. I loved Chew manfu and Slaughter House. I didn't realize that the last level was a fetus until I became an adult. I always wondered why those aliens looked like babies... I was 5-6.. I had easy going parents that never bothered to control what I did. lol
I found out the UK got a release of this thing, no need for additional accessories for other video types, they came stock with a multi-out connector (probably an 8 pin din) on the side. Different from the French release I think, and relatively obscure.
Definitely not available in Australia and New Zealand.
I saw one at half priced books with 10 game and the composite adapter, and the mutlitap with 2 controllers. This was about a year ago but they had it marked at 60 dollars. I wasn't into retro gaming at the time and I wish every day I would have bought it.
I like this console. What a underrated system. I only found out about it from you and happy gamer console. I have a pc engine duo that is modded with rgb from Chris who is such a great modder. Thanks for that recommendation. Great video
Cool history about how you found your Nec turbografx, i remember i play this games in that console, yeah splaterhouse, bruce lee, vigilante, ninja warriors(i remember do it a cheat to change the colors of the ninjas :p), and this one its my favorite "Gunhed"..wow i still playing in my emulator on the pc... I have to tell you i playing these games in a chinesse local in my town, im from south América and i still remember in a Store seeing a pirámid of bóxes seeling the turbografx, at the time i have it the snes, but its really nostalgic for me seeing that and know that this console have amazing games. You lucky my Friend. Tumbs up and subscribe
I always preferred the name PC Engine myself but growing up in the UK meant that the only place I saw these systems were in magazines like Mean Machine, Games Master etc or behind the counter of independent game stores with very large price tags on them. I'd love to pick up a Duo-R to play Rondo of Blood one day, five player Bomberman must have been epic back in the day on one of these.
2/2
Below I'll talk about buying and prices for Japanese PC Engines, games, and parts.
I live in Asia (Taiwan) so the local video game market is mostly Japanese. As Adam said, unless you're really lucky like he was, a TurboGrafx is going to cost you in North America. However, you can reliably buy a PC Engine for around $60. I found one modded for component out (as Adam mentioned, the base console is RF only!) with one controller for about $45, so I got it. I picked up one game, Bomberman '94 (which didn't get a TurboGrafx release, but was ported to the Genesis as Mega Bomberman with some significant music and graphical changes made), for $15, and a multitap for about $12. Unless you're extremely lucky, you will not find TurboGrafx gear for these prices, and these are just the normal prices you'll find in Japan and Taiwan. Like the Sega Saturn, buying Japanese for the PC Engine is going to save you a lot of money. On top of that, like the Saturn, since the PC Engine was so successful in Japan and flopped in NA, there are way more Japanese games than American games. Like WAY more. North America got a total of 96 official Turbo Chip games while Japan got 289 Hu Card games. That's 3 times as many Japanese games as American. And as I said, they're much cheaper here, with most games selling for $5-$25. Where they get you is on the controllers. Regular 2 button PC Engine controllers will run you upwards of $25 each. If you want a 6 button controller for those fighting games, they sell for $45 and up, if you can find one.
A quick side note about hardware compatibility. The PC Engine and TurboGrafx won't play each other's games without an adapter. They're the same size, they just won't work in the wrong region. But you can get around it with an adapter. The controllers on the other hand, for some reason, do not use the same ports on the PC Engine and TurboGrafx. The TurboGrafx controller port is a good bit bigger than a PC Engine controller port, meaning they will not use each others controllers. So if you have a TurboGrafx, you can't just buy Japanese to get more controllers or a multitap. It's very stupid. I have no idea why they did that.
PC Engine CDs are not region coded at all. Japanese and American CD units will play each others games without any issues.
Now to plug a product that I think is VERY MUCH worth its nearly $300 price tag. While PC Engines are cheap, the CD add ons are not and are often in poor condition. These things were launched in 1988, remember. Not only are these early CD players failing, but many PC Engine CDs are succumbing to disk rot. Newer optical games, like Generation 6 and onward, are made well and will last. PS1 and Saturn games are fine if you take care of them. But Sega CD and PC Engine CD games are kind of falling apart. These early CDs just weren't made that well. For this reason, real software for PC Engine CD drives, even in Japan, tend to be expensive and may not last. While Hu Card games usually range from $5-$25, CD games often start at $30 and go up from there. There's a solution, however, if you're willing to drop $300 on this platform (which I think is totally worth it).
Terra Onion makes this thing called the Super SD System 3 that plugs into the expansion port of a PC Engine or TurboGrafx. It takes a micro SD card and works basically like an Everdrive. But unlike the Turbo Everdrive, the SSDS3 has PC Engine CD emulation capabilities meaning you can put ISO files on the SD card and play CD games without a CD add on or a CD. It plays all Hu Card and Turbo Chip games, of course, and doesn't care about region. It has the 2MB Arcade Card built in, so you don't need to buy and expensive RAM expansion. On top of that, it has a Genesis model 2 DIN port on it that allows for composite and RGB output over Genesis 2 AV cables. I have a Genesis 2 component cable from HD Retrovision that I use with my PC Engine, Genesis, and Saturn, and it makes the PC Engine look amazing, especially when passed through a RetroTink 2X and an mClassic. Yeah, $300 is a lot, but considering how expensive PC Engine CD games are and how expensive all TurboGrafx games are, especially CD games, it's an extremely good deal to get access to the complete library. Yeah, piracy is bad, but if you bought real software from a seller, it's not like the developers would see any of that money anyway. If you feel really bad, buy a TurboGrafx Mini and download what games you can on virtual consoles and only play the ones you can't buy elsewhere on your PC Engine. I'll link the Super SD System 3 below. It is one of my most expensive gaming purchases, but other than maybe the RetroTink, is definitely the best. I've put well over 100 hours into that old 2nd hand PC Engine so far, and I haven't even scratched the library.
Tera Onion also makes a similar device for the Genesis that emulates the Sega CD without the need for the add on or real CDs. It's called the Mega SD. I also have one, and it's great, but as I said, the Sega CD library sucks hard compared to the PC Engine CD library. I very highly recommend the Super SD System 3. Thanks to it, I'm now one of those people who has a lot of experience playing the TurboGrafx.
shop.terraonion.com/en/pc-engine/12-super_sd_system_3-pc_engine.html
You're God-gifted when it comes to console hunts with good deals:-) (happens to me too all the time)
Yes! This has been a console I've been fascinated with for a while.
They were even rarer in the UK.. The magazines had the odd review but you never saw them in shops. I've been playing PC Engine emulators on my PC and DS and the games are impressive, especially the shooters. When I'm rich I may pick one up!
I remember I came so close to getting one but my parents wouldn't loan me the $50 I needed left to buy one back in 1991. :-(
So if you combined the sales of turbografx (pc engine) of Japanese and American sales it would be placed in second place
You Should Do A Generation Reacap With Handheld Consoles
I can top that. I was in a thrift store in 1991 when I saw a donated NES that was in a moving box. They had just put it out. At 5 bucks I was already going to buy it. It had Tecmo Bowl, the Mario/Duck-Hunt cart, two controllers, and that weird exercise mat with it. What the guy who way under-priced it hadn't seen was the Turbo hidden under the exercise mat. That had Keith Courage, a multitap, and one controller.
I was one of the guys that people talked about as having one in the neighborhood. Then I was introduced to another person that had one. It blew my mind when it had a CD attached to it. We became best friends.
Man one console I never owned and still don't to this day! I should have jumped on this like 5 years ago when it wasn't as popular and still reasonably priced :-/ Great video Adam!
wow, you're incredibly lucky to get these awesome retro consoles for so cheap!
I think the issues NEC had with the TG-16 mirrors the same issues that Microsoft is currently experiencing. The TG-16 didn't have a lot of the action and particularly sports games that are/were more popular in the United States whereas the XBox One is heavy on first person shooters and sports titles which aren't nearly as popular in Japan.
the Turbo was never released officially in europe. I think limited numbers were available via mail order though. After the disaster that was the US launch NEC was like "fuck it".
Just for the people who didn't see my comment on the other video, the CD add-on actually had more games produced for it than the original HuCard format, making it the most successful add-on in video game history. One of th biggest reason why the TG16 failed in NA was because of the strict 3rd party hold that Nintendo had back in the 80' and early 90'.
A few more pointers for people who want to get into this system:
-Screw the CD add-on itself, they're known for breaking in many ways and the parts are hard to find. Get a Duo instead
-The Duo's do have their share of problems, but most of these can be fixed just by replacing the caps inside the machine, which are easily found
-If you're going to buy a online, get a Japanese version of a Duo, it's cheaper and CD games are region free (you'll need a mod for NA HuCards however) and as stated before, there are more CD games
-A Duo can be RGB modded by making an amp for it, so you don't need to buy an expensive chip like you would for an NES or Famicom
I just picked up a pc engine duoR. Recapped, Region modded, and rgb modded. 1 6 button controller, 1 original controller, a flash cart. It's a pretty fun console. Was $400 but totally worth it. I had to sell some of my other game stuff to get it, but totally worth it. I always wanted one as a kid, but more of a sega fan myself.
The mythical TG16, from a time when kids could just make things up about the power of systems. A system with a North American Launch doomed by being right between the Genesis and SNES launch. But dem Hucards son. Seriously, a precursor to modern flash memory, those things probably looked like the future back in 1990.
Thanks Adam, glad to see this series continue.
Thanks for watching!
I vaguely remember these being available on the shelf at WalMart in Atlanta but not plugged in to a TV for play, so no wonder they never caught on. I'm sure the games would have impressed a lot of people if only it were presented to them.
a few years back, i was at my local value village (same as a good will basically) and i saw one of these in the box. $20 canadian. i got it. it was almost complete. came with everything but the controller.
I never had one as a kid, but I picked up a TG-16 as well as a Turbo Duo some time in the early 2000s (I sold the Turbo Duo and my library,. but I actually still have the TG-16 stored away). I think the TG-16 was probably the best console for shmups, and it along with the CD titles definitely had much to offer. I doubt if I could ever see TG-16 as being on a par with SNES or Genesis, but it's a strong third of that gen, and it was definitely gimped for its US release by not being marketed very well. I barely noticed the thing growing up and the gaming mags didn't really bother with it.
As for Splatterhouse, I had the good fortune of having played the original arcade version as a kid, and the memory stuck with me. Having played it again a few years back, I can say there's something creepy about it that still works to this day, as well as a good sense of challenge and progression. It uses horror elements from many classic as well as camp 70s and 80s scary movies (like the poltergeist boss) and the music is effective (gives a real sense of dread and distortion). Nevermind that shitty NES Friday the 13th game; here you're basically playing AS Jason (arcade version his mask is white instead of the red color used in the less gory/detailed PC engine port), and he's a good guy trying to rescue his babe.
where can we get the RGB cables?;
does the CD add-on allows you to still use the RGB video cable as well?
Regarding the Sega games on the PCE, NEC actually provided a few internal components on the Sega Master System's mainboard, so they've been on good terms for ages. Their goal collectively was to defeat Nintendo, not destroy each other in the games market.