What game would YOU have packed in with the Turbo?

[Dicer]

We all know that packing in Kieth Courage was dumb, it's fact...

Personally I would have packed in either Legendary Axe, or made a package that had included the Turbo Tap 2nd Turbopad and Dungeon Explorer.

What would you have packed in there?!!?!

[schweaty]

Ninja Spirit.  it's a near-perfect arcade port.  it would have really demonstrated the capability of the system at a time when graphics and system specs really mattered to consumers.  this was a marketing tactic used with the original genesis pack-in, altered beast.  it was far from a good port, but it had great graphics for its time and sold a lot of systems early on in the genesis life-cycle which was what it needed to gain a foothold in the us. 

[savageone]

Alien Crush
China Warrior
Dungeon Explorer
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
Legendary Axe
Power Golf
R-Type
Victory Run
Vigilante

These are the games that were available at launch. I think Keith Courage was a fair choice when you look at just this bunch. It does just enough to show case some things the system can do and is kind of right there in the middle as far as quality of what was available.

Thank god they didn't go with China Warrior because "oohh, super huge sprites". Ugh.

[galam]

Alien Crush
China Warrior
Dungeon Explorer
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
Legendary Axe
Power Golf
R-Type
Victory Run
Vigilante

These are the games that were available at launch. I think Keith Courage was a fair choice when you look at just this bunch. It does just enough to show case some things the system can do and is kind of right there in the middle as far as quality of what was available.

Thank god they didn't go with China Warrior because "oohh, super huge sprites". Ugh.

out of that list?  legendary axe easily

[SuperDeadite]

R-Type.  /thread

[esteban]

I like the idea of Dungeon Explorer, but it is NOT a game with "ARCADE GRAFX" and you want a bit of superficial "wow!"

Final Answer: Legendary  Axe

[lukester]

Platformers were all the rage at the time, and Legendary Axe was not only seen as a Rastan killer, but also won Turbografx GOTY from EGM and GOTY from another magazine.

Legendary Axe is the best choice, despite being a 3rd party game.

[grolt]

Keith Courage had better colors, bigger sprites and more variety than The Legendary Axe, so you can see why NEC chose to go with that one as their pack-in.  The system was supposed to compete with the NES, so NEC was obviously thinking platformer and something that would rival Mario.  SEGA thought more about the US market and gave them a darker, more adult port of an arcade game and the rest is history there.  Knowing what we know now, The Legendary Axe would have been the better choice, since it felt more "American" in that Conan/Golden Axe sort of way.  Axe was a good showcase for the system in terms of music, gameplay and to a lesser extent, graphics and would have stood up very well against Altered Beast.  History is 20/20 though, and I'm sure had NEC known Axe would be a GOTY winner (it was even on the cover of an early EGM) that would have been the game they rallied behind.

When you look at how crappy most console launches have been post-Dreamcast, the Turbo's opening day lineup is pretty damn impressive.  Alien Crush, Axe, R-Type and Dungeon Explorer are all top tier games for the system.

[o.pwuaioc]

They should have just made Keith Courage better.

[grolt]

They should have just made Keith Courage better.

Or just not deceived buyers by putting the most epic, Aryan-looking guy on the cover only to have the game load up with some spikey-haired Anime kid kicking birds.

[Black Tiger]

As I post each time some makes this thread again: R-Type.






Some people like to say that R-Type was on SMS and therefore that somehow ruins it as a pack-in and how the TurboGrafx-16 really needed an exclusive arcade port pack-in like Altered Beast...


-which was alson on SMS.

Platformers were all the rage at the time, and Legendary Axe was not only seen as a Rastan killer, but also won Turbografx GOTY from EGM and GOTY from another magazine.

Legendary Axe is the best choice, despite being a 3rd party game.

Except that nobody had even heard of Rastan.

And the NES would receive a version of Legendary Axe within months.

Keith Courage had better colors, bigger sprites and more variety than The Legendary Axe, so you can see why NEC chose to go with that one as their pack-in.  The system was supposed to compete with the NES, so NEC was obviously thinking platformer and something that would rival Mario.  SEGA thought more about the US market and gave them a darker, more adult port of an arcade game and the rest is history there.  Knowing what we know now, The Legendary Axe would have been the better choice, since it felt more "American" in that Conan/Golden Axe sort of way.  Axe was a good showcase for the system in terms of music, gameplay and to a lesser extent, graphics and would have stood up very well against Altered Beast.  History is 20/20 though, and I'm sure had NEC known Axe would be a GOTY winner (it was even on the cover of an early EGM) that would have been the game they rallied behind.

When you look at how crappy most console launches have been post-Dreamcast, the Turbo's opening day lineup is pretty damn impressive.  Alien Crush, Axe, R-Type and Dungeon Explorer are all top tier games for the system.

If you play through or watch video playthroughs of both games, you'll see that Legendary Axe has bigger sprites and much more variety.

Ninja Spirit.  it's a near-perfect arcade port.  it would have really demonstrated the capability of the system at a time when graphics and system specs really mattered to consumers.  this was a marketing tactic used with the original genesis pack-in, altered beast.  it was far from a good port, but it had great graphics for its time and sold a lot of systems early on in the genesis life-cycle which was what it needed to gain a foothold in the us. 

Ninja Spirit is a game from years into the future. Wouldn't SFII' have been a much better pack-in?

[grolt]

Some people like to say that R-Type was on SMS and therefore that somehow ruins it as a pack-in and how the TurboGrafx-16 really needed an exclusive arcade port pack-in like Altered Beast...


-which was alson on SMS.

Apples and oranges there.  Altered Beast is a SEGA property and had brand exclusivity - it wasn't on any competing consoles (in the US).  R-Type was previously released (in a pretty solid port, nonetheless) on an older, less powerful SEGA console.  In addition, Altered Beast on the SMS is a severely handcuffed game - it is missing multiple levels, single-player only and a huge step down in graphics.  If anything, having a far inferior version of Altered Beast on an older console only helped SEGA to tout the power of their new system.  Looking at R-Type, many praise Compile's work in porting the game to the SMS - it's the complete game (which the PC Engine can't even claim, at least on a HuCard) and even adds in a bonus level not found in the arcade or the TG-16 port.  There's no question the TG-16 version is graphically superior, but it's far less impressive of a jump than Altered Beast SMS to Genesis, and many would argue the SMS's FM sound is more appealing than the sound on the TG-16 version.  In my opinion, even if R-Type were a far better game on the TG-16 (which it is not), launching with a game found on the competition's system (that's 5 years older than your current flagship) just cannot happen.

Ignoring the entire Altered Beast/R-Type port debate, shooters, especially at that time, were far more niche than platformers or action games.  There's a higher barrier for entry, since those games are generally more difficult (and in R-Type's case, definitely) than your typical platformer or hack and slash game.  Plop a kid in front of Keith Courage and s/he could do okay, but R-Type would be over in a matter of seconds.  Even though it's an inferior game, Keith Courage would have more appeal to a broader audience than R-Type, which I'm sure weighed on NEC's decision.

[lukester]

Ignoring the entire Altered Beast/R-Type port debate, shooters, especially at that time, were far more niche than platformers or action games.  There's a higher barrier for entry, since those games are generally more difficult (and in R-Type's case, definitely) than your typical platformer or hack and slash game.  Plop a kid in front of Keith Courage and s/he could do okay, but R-Type would be over in a matter of seconds.  Even though it's an inferior game, Keith Courage would have more appeal to a broader audience than R-Type, which I'm sure weighed on NEC's decision.

R-Type would still be a better choice. Better game, awesome graphics. Keith Courage is so bland and dinky looking.

As difficult as R-Type is, it's not cheap like Keith Courage is. That just sucks.

R-Type was also ported by Hudson, so at least it's a 1st party game.

[gheebee]

They should have packed in Bonk's Adventure once it became available, it's a good game and I've always considered Bonk to be the TG16 mascot.

[esteban]

(1) I have never been a huge fan of Keith Courage (it is an average game), but it had very nice graphics. It was NOT the worst choice for a pack-in. Like B_T said: it lacked variety and became tedious/repetitive.   

(2) R-Type = too niche in its appeal. Yes, it had brand recognition, but it was too difficult for average player. NEC DID NOT WANT KIDS COMPLAINING TO PARENTS ABOUT PACK-IN GAME. I love R-Type. I would have loved it as a pack-in. I could 1CC Gradius (NES) because I was obsessed with shootemups and I only got a few games a year. So, milk all value from a game Of course, I was NOT typical. Keith Courage and Legendary Axe had a much more forgiving ramp in difficulty...and a much broader "genre appeal."

(3) Pinball, sadly, is another niche genre that would not have had as broad an appeal as Keith, Legendary...

(4) R-Type was a more expensive 4mB HuCARD to manufacture at time of TG-16 launch, meaning NEC would have been taking a greater economic hit (needlessly, since R-Type would NEVER have been a "killer app" that would sell the system to mainstream demographic).

They should have packed in Bonk's Adventure once it became available, it's a good game and I've always considered Bonk to be the TG16 mascot.

They did, and he was.

(1) TG-16 + Bonk's Adventure + Keith Courage (Early 1991)

http://archives.tg-16.com/turbo_play_0005.htm#p06

(2) TG-16 + Bonk's Revenge + Keith Courage = $99.99 (early 1992?)

http://archives.tg-16.com/EB/EB_1992_03_021.jpg

NOTE: Do you mail away for free Bonk's Adventure? Or is it actually included at point-of-sale? Same question for Bonk's Revenge...

ALSO:  I am not sure these dates represent when the offer was first introduced, but we know it couldn't have been later...my own thoughts: these might have been offers originally presented immediately AFTER the holidays, but, perhaps, they are offers presented DURING THE HOLIDAYS to boost sales. I'm not sure.