I have owned so many consoles over the years, yet I have never been exposed to PC Engine. I suppose I just never gave much thought to it, but then again when Turbografx 16 was actually sold in the U.S., I was palying NES/SNES/Genesis. Lately I have been quite intrigued by the system and am thinking of getting one. I never realized how many variations, add-ons, and accessories there are! I have done some research and don't know exactly what to look for. I know I want a Japanese system because those will be the games I will be buying. I am leaning towards a Coregrafx for the AV output or a Shuttle is kind of neat...and that leads to my dillema: Should I start with one of these to get my feet wet with Hu cards and possibly upgrade in the future with a Super CD-ROM (I know the Shuttle does not allow for this), or should I look for a Duo? I was thinking of just trying to find a cheap basic unit for the time being, but I'm not sure of the best route to go. I'm a noob when it comes to PC Engine, but I hope to get into the game soon. Thanks for the help.
I second that. Get a DUO now if you ever plan to play CD games. Which if you don't, you're cheating yourself.
Or if you want cool get a White PC Engine a CD-ROM2 unit and a IFU-30 unit. That's a proper console setup.
It might get me burned at the stake but I think the PC Engine is a tad overrated. Most of it's games came out elsewhere and it's shmups haven't really aged well at all. I commend it for being an 8 bit system that got the graphics it got back in the day but now it's just unimpressive to me.
1) incorrect -> there were LOTS of brilliant exclusives. Not only shooters (dozens of exclusives) but also lots of action adventures, platformers... 2) incorrect -> there are LOTS of shmups which are still great to play IF you like 16 bit shooters (what you don't too much, obviously) I can recommend any Duo system. More handy than a full IFU-30 setup because you don't need a system card 3.0 (though that setup looks quite cool, I still own an IFU30 additionally to the Duo) and looks pretty cool as well. The best-looking version is the first Duo, but these have more often CD-drive issues than the other versions due to the age. I wouldn't restrict myself on HuCards, the CD sound is what makes PC-Engine games a completely mindblowing experience. Super Raiden, Dracula X, Gate of Thunder, Winds of Thunder, Nexzar... what would they be without great CD music (yeah I know, they'd still be great games^^)?
I did say a Tad I didn't say greatly. I must be missing something. I haven't really played any CD games but alot of them are getting released in some form or another. Which was my point. Though that could be said for the Genesis as well but that's different it had tons of games we'll never see agian.
Where's the difference between PCE and MD here? It is the other way around if any. There are shitloads of MD compilations, SEGA Ages stuff and all that, but the first PC Engine comp. has been released only a few weeks ago for PSP and this was only a small bunch of Hudson games. If we are talking about others ways to get games but for the original console, we would not need any hardware but a Wii and a PC w/roms. As you may know, there're already about 330 Virtual Console games so why bother with old hardware.
I was refering to the VC as well. Most of the major PCE games have been reissued on VC or else whese (Drac X on PSP for example) hasn't Ys been reissued/remade? I don't think Air Zonk has been reissued yet. Most of the bonks have though right?
Get a DUO-R as GaijinPunch said. Don't get an american system, is useless, Japanese games are way cheaper and avaible everywhere.
Alot of "kiddy" games are fun. Take Parodius (DAMN YOU TO HELL KONAMI FOR NOT GIVING US THE GREATNESS)
Only a million times. There's tons of games that are excellent though. And VC is not much of an issue. Most games run excellent in Magic Engine which has been around for years. Some want the real thing. The library is great. Way better than the Mega Drive I must say.
I wanted to mention that Japanese units can accept a card convertor, but require an internal mod in order to accept American HuCards. American units are easier to find and there's nothing inherently wrong with using them, but I agree that a JPN-region unit is more pleasant to own and to look at. Above and beyond that, I recommend these fun games: * Dungeon Explorer, one of the finest Gauntlet clones * Neutopia, a Zelda clone that almost predated Zelda * Miltary Madness, a great example of an early turn-based strategy game * Ys book I and II, an action RPG that's never been imitated
Some people swear that alien and devil's crush are the best pinball games every made. I can't seem to play it well in Magic engine though (keyboard's a bitch for those games) As a Kid I so wanted one then I finally get magic engine boot the games up and.....find my self very underwhelmed The Kung Fu was quite a feat for it's time though huge sprites like that in 1987 YEESH.
Wow thanks for all the replies! I did some thinking today at work and seems I will take the advice of those here and look for a Duo R/RX. I don't want to miss out on the plethora of cd games. Also, I know I can play these with an emulator, but I am not a fan. I want the real deal....which is why I have over 20 consoles currently in my possession. Am I correct in understanding that with a Duo R/RX and an Arcade Card Duo/Pro I can play everything released for the system save for the few Supergrafx titles? I definately want a Japanese unit as well.
Yes, everything but the SGX games. Except for 1944 Counter Attack and Daimakaimura, they are rather dull anyway and not really worth the purchase I think. As for the Arcade Card, if you don't want to play Sapphire right away you don't need it either because the other Arcade CDs were rather crappy, some bad SNK fighter ports and an average mech action game (Mad Stalker).
Then some people haven't played Necronomicon: Digital Pinball. ;-) At any rate, the PC-Engine Duo is a great system. The shmups on it are superb, and it has a plethora of other great games as well. Hell, I'd say get it for Nexzr alone. :love:
Sega Saturn for teh world I still like Devil Crush though, but its certainly playing in another league technically.
