Common HuCard Converters With HuCards, a limited form of region protection was introduced between markets which for the most part was nothing more than running the HuCard's pinout connections in a different arrangement. There were two major after-market converters sold to address this problem, and both were sold predominantly for use in converting Japanese titles for play on a TG It would then refuse to play it. The only known exception to this is the U.
This region system was explained at one time by Dean[who? Either way, the converters like the Kisado and Purple Barney, diving board, Mirai, etc merely "flip" these going from the HuCard to the hardware.
To defeat the region block, you must lift pin 29 on the Hu processor and ground it to the board. This allows you to use the US cards on any Japanese unit. The only game I've ever seen affected negatively by this mod is Aldynes for the SuperGrafx. This game hangs during the attract mode, but works fine if you start the game before advancing in the attract mode. The pin 29 mod is simple enough, although that tiny little pin is quite sensitive. The explanation commonly given for this by NEC officials is that most U.
Because of that, they did not want the U. The poster child for censorship in this fashion was Kato-chan and Ken-chan released as J. With some minor soldering skills, a change could be made to PC-Engines to disable this check. Joan Touzet is credited with discovering the pin 29 mod and announcing it to the Turbo Mailing-List in The only Japanese games that could not be played on a U.
The first converter to market was an Asian-developed module labeled the Game Converter and marked with a model number of WH The second converter, named the "Kisado", was created and initially sold by David Shadoff to members of the Turbo Mailing-List in pre-ordered batches before later being offered through on-line retailers.
The main difference between these two converters is their design. The WH extended out of the system and HuCards were inserted into a widened riser platform that contained the HuCard slot almost one inch above the board. Because of this wide top area to the board, WH adapters were incompatible with the Turbo-Duo as they would not fit into the card slot. The Kisado was a straight board where the HuCard was inserted into a slot on the opposite end of the board that faced back towards the system.
For TurboDuo owners the Kisado design is the only one that works with the system. For CD games, it was an entirely different situation. The Arcade Card Duo worked with Duo based systems exclusively as it featured only the Arcade enhancments. This allowed the Duo card to be sold at a lower price. All Japanese released system cards worked in U. Another problem for the TG was its relatively limited hardware. The Genesis came with only one controller, but it provided a port for a second; the TG only had one controller port.
Players who wanted to take advantage of the simultaneous multiplayer modes in their games were required to buy the Turbo Tap a multitap accessory which permitted five controllers to be plugged into the system , in addition to the necessary extra controllers.
Another problem in the battle against the Genesis was the pack-in games game included with purchase : The Genesis originally came with the then-impressive arcade translation of Altered Beast , which included big, bold sprites and colors as well as impressive digital sound effects.
While Sega outperformed NEC in North America and Europe in both hardwares, the companies' peripherals and handhelds were not very popular overall. The ads mocked Sega, in particular the Sega CD. However, by this point it was too late, the TG had been defeated by the Genesis in the marketplace, which was by then dominated by the battle between the Genesis and the Super Nintendo.
Despite this former rivalry, many TurboGrafx games are currently available via Nintendo's Virtual Console service. Although touted and marketed at the time as a next generation "bit" console, the TurboGrafx was, in fact, built around an 8-bit microprocessor as its CPU.
While its CPU was of the previous 8-bit generation, the overall speed of the hardware was somewhat comparable to contemporary bit machines. Any attempt to make direct comparisons should generally be considered highly dubious. NEC's marketing department played on the fact that the TurboGrafx was designed with a dual bit graphics chipset, and chose to view it as a hybrid system. This proved to be a bit of a marketing gaffe, and backfired on NEC in the North American market somewhat as more and more people learned the TurboGrafx was, in reality, an 8-bit system.
The TurboGrafx featured a bit custom video color encoder chip, bit video display controller, and an 8-bit CPU with an integrated custom programmable sound generator. This three chip architecture allowed for larger and more numerous sprites, an expanded color palette, more onscreen colors, and improved sound capabilities compared to other systems available in the 8-bit console market when it launched.
In many ways this made it comparable to other systems in the bit market. Yet still, it was hindered in that it lacked the ability to draw more than a single layer of background scrolling, whereas its bit competition at the time heavily featured multiple plane parallax scrolling. NEC attempted to remedy this problem in the SuperGrafx by including an additional video display controller that allowed it to not only draw multiple plane backgrounds, but multiple sprite planes as well.
Another area the TurboGrafx had a notable disadvantage was in the amount of work RAM the system had. This meant that there was less RAM available for temporary storage of variables and decompressed graphic data.
Another limitation was the single controller port that required the purchase of a multi-player expansion adapter for an additional player once added however, it did add the unusual capability at that time for up to five independent controllers. Initially, the TurboGrafx sold well in North America, but it generally suffered from a lack of support from third-party software developers and publishers.
One reason for this was that many larger software companies such as Konami supported the PC Engine in Japan, but also produced games for Nintendo. Nintendo at the time had engaged in anti-competitive practices that were later ruled illegal, such as enforcing exclusive contracts and punishing developers who developed for more than one system with "chip shortages" around the holiday seasons.
As a result of this practice, many developers were compelled to pick the immensely popular NES over the upstart NEC console, resulting in a catch for the TurboGrafx most developers would only consider taking a risk on the TG if it became more popular, and yet it could not accomplish this because only a handful of North American publishers would support it.
Another reason for the TG's lack of success in North America was the system's marketing. NEC of Japan's marketing campaign for the PC Engine was mainly targeted to the largest metropolitan areas in the country. This proved to be quite successful there, but when the same kind of marketing was used in the much larger North American market, it resulted in a lack of public awareness outside of the big cities.
The TG ended up being far more competitive and popular in certain local markets such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, while in smaller and more spread-out areas, it failed miserably. This company was composed mainly of former NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft employees, and it essentially took over all marketing and first-party software development for the struggling system.
NEC, who was relatively new to the market, had an increasingly difficult time convincing consumers who already owned a Sega or Nintendo system to give the TG a try. This may have been in part to the somewhat fractured brand identity of the various systems: in a mascot-heavy era of gaming, the TurboGrafx was represented by Bonk, while the TurboDuo carried on its box a graphic of Air Zonk.
Non-linear platformer with 2-player co-op and selectable fantasy classes. Ported from the arcade with some notable differences, but it's a solid translation nonetheless.
The Priest class makes co-op play a lot more bearable. This game can be pretty intense at times but since the game gives you plenty of power ups, respawn where you die, warnings about speeding enemies, and no slowdown despite the polluted screen, it's probably your fault you died. Somewhat similair to Air Zonk in style and wackyness. Put your balls into the appropriate slots. You can also kill enemies with your balls. There's also a mini-game to get the hang of handling your balls by kicking them.
Now that we've met our ball-joke quota, I don't know why they just didn't stick with the cover seen here instead. It's fucking Columns. If you didn't have a Sega system to play it on, here's your chance. Match and chain falling gems for a high score.
Has a unique and cool bell-power up system that changes what you get when you shoot a bell X-number of times, team-up attacks in two-player, gorgeous stages, great soundtrack, and despite being cute as a button, this game gets as hard as big bronze bells. The successor to Alien Crush , Devil's Crush is another creepy, fast paced pinball romp that will definitely get you addicted. That one even has a final boss oddly enough.
Top-down co-op action-RPG with selectable and unlockable character classes for up to four players. Plays like Gauntlet, or an early co-op Zelda. Very fun and fast-paced, but with quite a few secrets and unlockables. The series continued on PSP, with lackluster results. Made by Westwood Studios R.
Using aspects from earlier games, you select 4 pre-made characters from 7 class sets of 3, then journey through 1st-person mazes and 3rd-person overhead maps. Each unit starts with different gear and stats, and has different growths. Fights are turn-based and tactical, as units have different ranges for movements, attacks, and spells.
All of these can be affected by terrain, providing cover and ways to surround foes. While a bit daunting for RPG beginners early on, it's a fairly smooth experience and a moderately easy for seasoned players especially with an FAQ. There aren't too many weapons or spells compared to some games, but what there is works well. You do need to have a balance of good equipment and combat experience though, since enemies scale to your party's level, but you'll still want to afford the good gear and spells.
You play as a mighty, but cursed hero who got turned into a dragon. By beating down other giant dragons, you can get "cursed" with new forms such a merman, a mouse-man, etc. Each form has situational advantages which the game is designed for masterfully. Comparable to other such games like Zelda 2 and Faxanadu. One of the Cute 'em up pioneers. This has you playing as a sentient futuristic winged ship that shoots down various critters in a looping plane then taking on the stage boss when they've had enough.
Before that happens, be sure to upgrade by spending money at the shop ships in stages. Other versions are arguably better, but this one's a'ight. Another shmup in Hudson's "Soldier" series. This one lets you choose which weapons power-ups will grant before the game starts.
Amusingly, it was only the third Soldier game of eight. A funny sort of game where you are a photographer and your mission is to photograph interesting things as you walk down the street; but, all sorts of crazy shit is going on the streets of this game. While you have a "target subject" per stage, you'll also be able to snapshot UFOs, flashers, planes crashing, The Terminator shooting people, Michael Jackson dancing with zombies, ghosts, girls undressing, people getting mugged, Spider-Man climbing walls and so forth.
You have to do this while trying to avoid obstacles and stuff people throw at you. One of the best games you've never heard of. A platforming shmup ala Monster Lair, but without the hunger bar. Japanese only, but you never need to read anything. Gets fuckhard later on, so master that roll and high jump early, because you WILL need them in the final stages.
Amazing hidden gem that never left Japan the game is in English though. Nothing else plays quite like it but think of it as an evolution of the old game Snake. Each level starts you off as the head of a cybernetic worm like creature, collect orbs scattered around the level to add them to the characters body length. A long body is necessary to reach the exit of each level by encircling "food" scattered around the levels with your characters body. If enemies in the levels collide with your characters body parts of it will be knocked loose and have to be recollected, but if they collide with the head you lose a life.
Enemies can be stunned by dropping bombs but to destroy them you need to encircle them while stunned. Besides bombs you also get a projectile powerup in some levels. The game has some suprisingly decent music too. Because of how different it is it may take some getting used to, but it's a genuine classic well worth the investment. Japan-only PC-Engine port of the classic arcade shmup. Closer to arcade-perfect than the NES version, and even contains an exclusive stage not found anywhere else.
Gets some flak by some, but is better than one might think. Using similar aspects from each. You can also kick: foes, birds, your buddy, bathroom doors, and everything else.
And you often get rewarded for it. In fact, this game is all about finding secrets, so kick everything you can, especially since you can find hints, bonuses, and helpful slot machines.
The only downsides are "key" levels, which require you to find a sometimes hard-to-find key to move on. You may also know this from the original JP version: Kato-chan and Ken-chan, which has more toilet humor. Very good port of arcade game known in the west as "Bonze Adventure". You control Buddhist monk on his journey through the Buddhist version of Hell. Because of that it has very unique and creepy atmosphere. Gameplay is slow paced and music is eerie. Graphics are good for the system, they are very dark because of game's underworld theme.
It is fast paced run and gun game in which you play as shrine maiden who fights evil spirits and Japanese demons. Graphics are good but a bit repetitive, music is catchy.
Layout of last level was changed so it is now a bit less confusing. Unfortunately this port doesn't include two player mode seen in arcade version. A somewhat obscure, but very fun and whimsical horizontal cute 'em up. Your shooting star options, along with a few other factors can be modified at balloon shops. The US version had many notable improvements, particularly in the graphics, so play that one for sure. It also had a Game Boy Color port, which is pretty good.
This game is pretty good. Designed very solid, controls well, deep gameplay, hard as fuck. A must for strategy nuts. Had quite a few sequels, and Game Boy Wars plays very similarly, but the most recent is Military Madness: Nectaris, available on numerous current-gen platforms. A super cute platformer game where you control a cute tapir platypus hippopotamus who has to rescue his girlfriend and friends.
You are armed with water bombs which can be thrown at enemies to soak and damage them. Once soaked, the enemies can then be kicked and destroyed completely. Enemies left unkicked however will dry out and recover after a short period of time. A well done platformer by Hudson based on Peach Boy Momotaro.
Kinda like a mix of Bonk and Wonderboy in visuals, but with standard platormer action only you hack 'n slash instead of just jumping on your enemies. The music is bright, cheerful, and rather Japanese as expected well, it IS based on a Japanese fairy tale. Don't let the ugly boxart fool you! This is the PC-Engine's attempt at making a Zelda game, and guess what?
It's a masterpiece! The sprite-work is really something, and the music is rather nice as well! Shmup experience helps here as bosses and some enemies like to use some bullet patterns in addition to rushing you.
The Japanese and American versions have a lot of minor differences that don't effect gameplay like the room is the same but it has a different look! The slightly modified engine from the first makes a world of difference here. It's a bit closer to Zelda here, but still has that unique flair the first had, plus it's even better looking with almost SNES quality sprites!
If you don't play 1, definitely play this if you've wanted an old-school Zelda in the slew of new ones. Something of a remix of the first game. It has superior controls and is notably more animated. It's less brutal too, as Game Over-ing won't send you back to the very start without Hachisuke the Hudson bee mascot. A slightly more colorful version of the NES classic. Pretty much the same thing with better graphics , but some find the music to be inferior to the NES version.
This game actually plays quite a bit differently from the NES game, as the game engine is completely different. The jumps, speed, etc feel very different and the subweapons are rebalanced no more 1 hitting bosses with the Jump and Slash It's a Japanese exclusive game but theres a password to translate the game into English!
A port of a cool arcade ninja game. Tons of weapon variety, though you'll probably be abusing that sword for its projectile-canceling properties. It's pretty fun, and one cool factor is that power-ups let your shadow spirits attack alongside you in tandem.
A lot of the bosses are laughably easy but its difficulty spikes around stage 4 when the purple ninjas come out of the woodwork with their lethal sickle strikes. TurboGrafx lovers always rave about this game for some reason. According to Taito, Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble were actually humans who had been turned into dragons by evil monsters. They turned back into humans in the sequel. This is the third game, where you control Bub and Bob in their human forms, going through lots of fun puzzle platforming action.
Reminiscent in gameplay of the original, but not exactly like it, since you obtain droplets and form them into enemy-smashing projectiles.
Port of the first Konami Gradius parody series. Pretty damn close to the arcade original, as it lacks two stages, but adds a new one. Despite being weird as heck, it still manages to be hard and is full of Konami and Gradius references for the fans.
Each of the characters even use similar weapon configurations to past games! This is, without a doubt, the best port of R-Type on early systems.
It's not arcade perfect, it's better than the arcade version. The U. Yup, another TG16 shmup. A great game in its own right, a very well done arcade port with an excellent soundtrack.
The CD version is superior, but this version does the job well enough if you can't find it. This has a simplified power-up system and has horizontal and vertical stages that both work remarkably well.
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