Show Posts
1
Classic Video Games / Re: Turbografx Hardware
« on: December 14, 2018, 08:15:17 am »
Well since mastodon brought it up perhaps I can give anyone who reads this reply a few of my recommendations for anyone wanting to get into the PC-Engine / TurboGrafx-16 hardware.
First off, some of the best games to come out for this platform on HuCard format were not released outside of Japan so if you're looking to play these without needing to mod the console or get a converter, I would recommend picking up a PC-Engine system from Japan like the gray Core-Grafx console. These usually run around 100$ on Ebay but I've seen some going for less than that. An all-round solution would be to try and pick up a Turbo-Duo RX system which affords you the ability to play Japanese HuCards and Turbo CD's (Super CD's on older drives require the System 3 Card and these are pretty expensive) without modding but these go into high money territory and unfortunately the optical CD drives on these systems are a bit finicky and break down over time, or at least from what I've heard. A more viable option would be to pick up a used TurboGrafx-16 if you are only interested in playing NA releases and then invest in a Turbo Everdrive to play the Japanese titles. Finally, speaking from personal experience, I don't recommend getting a PAL region console unless you're into collecting due to the fact that these operate at 50HZ and run on 220V and don't have CD support. The games run slower and because of the PAL video signal the image is slightly stretched. I picked one up new in box a few years back and got myself an Everdrive but the slower framerate and audio ruined the experience for me.
Anyways, you can always go the route of emulation even if you decide to pick up the original CD's like Rondo of Blood since these can be run from a PC optical drive with no issues. This is how I've been enjoying these games for the past couple of years and allows me to focus on acquiring the games and not investing in the hardware and all the costs and hassles involved. Besides that, the original turbo pads are not very comfortable to play with the original hardware and these days owning a system is more of a collector/nostalgia trend and not as viable for anyone who just wants to play the games and have fun.
First off, some of the best games to come out for this platform on HuCard format were not released outside of Japan so if you're looking to play these without needing to mod the console or get a converter, I would recommend picking up a PC-Engine system from Japan like the gray Core-Grafx console. These usually run around 100$ on Ebay but I've seen some going for less than that. An all-round solution would be to try and pick up a Turbo-Duo RX system which affords you the ability to play Japanese HuCards and Turbo CD's (Super CD's on older drives require the System 3 Card and these are pretty expensive) without modding but these go into high money territory and unfortunately the optical CD drives on these systems are a bit finicky and break down over time, or at least from what I've heard. A more viable option would be to pick up a used TurboGrafx-16 if you are only interested in playing NA releases and then invest in a Turbo Everdrive to play the Japanese titles. Finally, speaking from personal experience, I don't recommend getting a PAL region console unless you're into collecting due to the fact that these operate at 50HZ and run on 220V and don't have CD support. The games run slower and because of the PAL video signal the image is slightly stretched. I picked one up new in box a few years back and got myself an Everdrive but the slower framerate and audio ruined the experience for me.
Anyways, you can always go the route of emulation even if you decide to pick up the original CD's like Rondo of Blood since these can be run from a PC optical drive with no issues. This is how I've been enjoying these games for the past couple of years and allows me to focus on acquiring the games and not investing in the hardware and all the costs and hassles involved. Besides that, the original turbo pads are not very comfortable to play with the original hardware and these days owning a system is more of a collector/nostalgia trend and not as viable for anyone who just wants to play the games and have fun.