Regarding the whole RPG thing:
The reason people bring this up is because by 1992 the PC Engine was, primarily, in Japan, a machine focused mostly on RPGs or things like RPGs, such as simulations and strategy games. While the PCE couldn't do Final Fantasy VI (f*ck off, Black Tiger, seriously, f*ck off) the SNES sure as f*ck couldn't do Gulliver Boy or Cosmic Fantasy 4. The CDROM2 allowed for some shit no cart based system could and RPGs and RPG type games utilized these strengths the best.
Western developed games were basically a write off. Aside from EA sports and Mortal Kombat, "Western" games were basically shit like Home Alone and Cliffhanger. More or less a write off, not just on the Turbo, but on every system. See: why the Jaguar sucked. Its hard to imagine this now in the age of World of Warcaft and Call of Doody, but back then American games weren't very good sellers usually.
So we weren't going to make our own games leaving the TG-16 library to mainly consist of "most stuff but not the RPGs". The most lavish and grandiose Japanese releases were the RPGs. In short, what the PCE was being primarily groomed to do...we didn't get. We get the left overs. The PCE's biggest publisher was Hudson, Hudson's biggest series, Tengai Makyou (and Momotaro, but we'll forget that) never came out here.
And why didn't we get RPGs? Because they were selling like crap in the US and they cost a f*cking ton of money to translate. Should TTI have spent money they didn't have translating games that wouldn't sell? I don't know, it wouldn't have saved the Turbo, but it would make for some nice stuff to play now. Go to eBay and find a copy of Final Fantasy III (VI) or Earthbound (Mother 2). Now find the Japanese version. Notice that a US copy is selling for $70 and a JP copy is thrown in with one of those "100 SFC games for $100 lots?". Actually, those 100 game lots have nearly EVERY big time SFC RPG in them, including stuff like Saga and Tactics Ogre. These games are worthless now because they made sooooo many copies of them. In the US they sold %10 as many copies. People love them now in a post-FF VII setting, but either didn't know them or hated them 20 years ago.
Dracula X: Its true this game would have been popular, and much cheaper to translate than RPGs, but don't forget that in 1993 the super stiff as hell platforming genre was effectively dead. People were playing things like Mario World and Sonic 2 when your little guy would just fly all over the f*cking place. Rondo was "retro" fest even when it was new. It would have achieved cult classic status but that would have probably have been it, it wouldn't have moved 200,000 Duos. I would have a VERY shitty cover and be worth $1000 now.
The TG16 was basically f*cked. There is no way it could have been much more successful that it actually was.
