Is the TurboGrafx-16 worth it?

[tomaitheous]

How many different versions/addons of the PC-Engine/TurboGrafx are there anyway? It seems like a mess reading through this topic.
And what's with the hucards, and why are they called hucards?

Hu comes from Hudson like previously stated. Hudson also uses this for their chips they use to make: HuC6280 processor, HuC6270 16bit video processor, HuC6260 16bit video encoder, HuC6202 16bit priority mixer, etc. PCFX line has even more Hu chips. Hudson also made the OS for the sharp X68k called HuMan. They've done a lot of in-house stuff for Nintendo (like dev kits and doing 2nd party games), but I don't know of Hu labeling on those. PC-Engine/TG16 dev machines are called Hu7 and Hu7CD/HuCD. Oddly enough, the three main chips in the PC-Engine also have other nick names; Dr. Pepper (cpu), 7up (video), and 鉄観音 (TETSU) (2nd video/encoder). No, I'm not making that up. It's in the dev manuals.

I think Hudson made trains a long time ago? Something like that. I remember they also named a train with the Hu or HuC prefix. The PC-Engine/TG16 wasn't developed by NEC. Hudson made the system and licensed it to NEC. The real name or internal name of the system is HES or Hudson Entertainment System. It's no mistake that the PCE audio rips/files have this as the extension

[ooXxXoo]

I recently sold a region modded TurboGrafx-16 system...It was posted here for sale for the longest time...I even went as far as installing a PC Engine controller port and reset button:

[Joe Redifer]

Here is a picture I took of my TurboGrafx-16 CD... just because:



I modded the interface unit for RGB output via a DIN connection just like the Genesis. The TurboGrafx-16 itself is unmolested and I still have the back cover for it.

[Iron Lizard]

Hu comes from Hudson like previously stated. Hudson also uses this for their chips they use to make: HuC6280 processor, HuC6270 16bit video processor, HuC6260 16bit video encoder, HuC6202 16bit priority mixer, etc. PCFX line has even more Hu chips. Hudson also made the OS for the sharp X68k called HuMan. They've done a lot of in-house stuff for Nintendo (like dev kits and doing 2nd party games), but I don't know of Hu labeling on those. PC-Engine/TG16 dev machines are called Hu7 and Hu7CD/HuCD. Oddly enough, the three main chips in the PC-Engine also have other nick names; Dr. Pepper (cpu), 7up (video), and 鉄観音 (TETSU) (2nd video/encoder). No, I'm not making that up. It's in the dev manuals.

I think Hudson made trains a long time ago? Something like that. I remember they also named a train with the Hu or HuC prefix. The PC-Engine/TG16 wasn't developed by NEC. Hudson made the system and licensed it to NEC. The real name or internal name of the system is HES or Hudson Entertainment System. It's no mistake that the PCE audio rips/files have this as the extension

They grew up loving trains and named it Hudson after their favorite train company.

[Black_Tiger]

How many different versions/addons of the PC-Engine/TurboGrafx are there anyway? It seems like a mess reading through this topic.
And what's with the hucards, and why are they called hucards?

There're actually less variants/models than all the Genesis/Nomad/Sega-CD/32X hardware.

The HuCard(cart)-only consoles hookup to the CD-ROMs. The Duo consoles are like the CDX/X'Eye. There are 3 formats of CD games: CD-ROM2, Super CD and Arcade Card. Each format has a HuCard (System Card) that goes in the cart slot, but they're backwards compatible. Think of them like the Saturn RAM carts.


HuCard consoles-

PC Engine (white), CoreGrafx (II), TurboGrafx-16


CD-ROMs-

CD-ROM (white), Super CD-ROM (no need for System Card), Turbo-CD


Duos (combos)-

PC Engine Duo (black), Duo R/RX, Turbo Duo


Portable-

PC Engine GT, Turbo Express


Those are the main systems. The PCE Shuttle is shaped like a shuttle, but can't hook up to a CD-ROM. The PC Engine LT is semi-portable, but requires a power source, although it can hook up to a CD-ROM. The SuperGrafx was going to replace the PC Engine, but it never took off. It still plays all PCE HuCards and can hook up to theCD-ROMs, but it also has 6 exclusive games.

The 3 "Turbo" systems only play North American HuCard/Turbochip games. There is no region lock out on CD games.

If you take out the Turbo systems, in Japan there are basically only 2 cart consoles, 2 CD-ROMs and 2 Duo/combo systems, with a few gimicky units on the side. The CoreGrafx and Duo R were reissued as "CoreGrafx II and "Duo RX", but the only difference is the color of the painted details.

[Insert Coins]

Here is a picture I took of my TurboGrafx-16 CD... just because:



I modded the interface unit for RGB output via a DIN connection just like the Genesis. The TurboGrafx-16 itself is unmolested and I still have the back cover for it.

[Cornugon]

And gameplay-wise comparable to the Genesis/Megadrive, except for CD-capabilities and more colors but less background-scrolling/parallax, lower resolution and (from what I've heard) poorer onboard sound, how else does it differ?

And if one was to get one in Europe, it would probably best to get a Duo, but is it as easy as burning an iso-file, pop it in the system, and go?

[Kollision]

Get the PCE CD (Duo).
You can't go wrong with it. You'll play all HuCards and all CDs. No need to play whatever came to the west, all the good stuff was in Japan anyway.

[JFLY]

Looks so brand new! Have you had any problems with the laser crapping out on you yet? I frequent the PCE FX forums, and in the repair section I see those threads pop up every once and a while. It makes me want to not play my CD games on my Duo after reading those threads.

[Joe Redifer]

No, my laser is fine and it even reads illegally burned CD-Rs (just don't let the FBI know or they will shoot me in the face). The Duo is the machine that has the crappy lasers. Some can read CD-Rs, others can't. Some Duos also have problems with their audio capacitors which makes CD audio very quiet or go away altogether. You can't lose with my hardware setup. But then again, I acquired the System 3.0 card back when it was new and getting them these days is quite tough. Same goes for my JP HuCard converter. Paid very minimal $$$ for it (maybe $15 or so) at a local game shop back when the PC Engine was still being made. Kicks ass to be old like me!

[j_factor]

Definitely get a Duo. My favorite Turbo games are on CD. You can get it modded to play both Japanese and American hucards. There aren't a huge number of worthwhile Japan-only hucards, but they do tend to be cheaper. I do think you're missing out if you limit yourself to just Japanese hucards. For example, I wouldn't want to play Military Madness (Nectaris on PCE) in Japanese.

And as for Forgotten Worlds, the solution is one of these:



They're fairly uncommon, but not too expensive when you do find them. I don't know of a single game other than Forgotten Worlds that it's useful for, so that's probably why.

[Black_Tiger]

And gameplay-wise comparable to the Genesis/Megadrive, except for CD-capabilities and more colors but less background-scrolling/parallax, lower resolution and (from what I've heard) poorer onboard sound, how else does it differ?

And if one was to get one in Europe, it would probably best to get a Duo, but is it as easy as burning an iso-file, pop it in the system, and go?

The PC Engine actually supports much higher resolutions than Genesis. Most games use a 256 pixel wide resolution, but the "more colors" factor allows more proportionate detail. So the resolution doesn't make a difference. A good example of a PCE game that makes good use of a higher resolution while still packing in detail is Forgotten Worlds.




Tech specs don't really tell the whole story. A simple way of looking at it is that it can push around a lot of stuff like a Genesis while still displaying colorful detailed graphics like a SNES.

It's still the games that are available that matter, to get an idea of what they're like you should check out some youtube videos. There are more shooters than Genesis and a ton of RPGs and questy adventure games. There aren't many straight platformers, but there are lots of action or adventure games with lots of platforming.

[Baloo]

Capcom fighters on Playstation are really half-assed due to an extreme lack of RAM.

Compare the Playstation version of X-men Vs. Street Fighter to the Saturn version of X-men Vs. Street Fighter.

[16-bit]

Judging by the responses I'm getting here I'll definitely go for one depending on the prices I get from the modder, I may or may not go for a duo.

One more question though, can you hook up a Japanese CD rom system to a TG16?

(maybe I better just sign up for an account at a PCE forum and ask these questions there)

[Black_Tiger]

Judging by the responses I'm getting here I'll definitely go for one depending on the prices I get from the modder, I may or may not go for a duo.

One more question though, can you hook up a Japanese CD rom system to a TG16?

(maybe I better just sign up for an account at a PCE forum and ask these questions there)

As far as I know, you can't hook a TG-16 to either PCE CD-ROM. If the ext port pins are the same, then you might be able to hook it to the white CD-ROM using an adapter required to hook the SuperGrafx to the same CD-ROM... but if it was possible, I'm sure I would've seen TG-16/PCE CD combos several times already.

Anyways, it's one more reason to get a japanese system first, even if you still plan on getting a region mod.