so in all honesty how does the pcengine compare?

[muse hunter]

hi, i'm new to these forums, i've never had a pcengine before and its probably because of this that the system arouses my curiousity.  I'll probably get one within the next couple of months, probably start with a basic hu card system.  But my question is this, how does the pcengine compare to its rivals at the time? the md, snes, and neogeo, i know asking a pcengine fansite isn't probably the best way to find an unbiased view vut i'm sure there are many here who can give a balanced view. 

So how does it compare? power, games, etc

[GUTS]

Graphics-wise the Neo blows all of them away easily, it goes Neo Geo>PC Engine/Genesis>SNES.

If you include the PC Engine Duo then game-wise the PC Engine is probably tied with the Genesis, ahead of the snes, and WAY ahead of the Neo Geo (which has some awesome games, but not much variety).

There are a few snes loving jokers on here who can't live without mode 7 and will rank the SNES the highest, but most rational people agree with my assessment.

[Michael Helgeson]

Graphics-wise the Neo blows all of them away easily, it goes Neo Geo>PC Engine/Genesis>SNES.

If you include the PC Engine Duo then game-wise the PC Engine is probably tied with the Genesis, ahead of the snes, and WAY ahead of the Neo Geo (which has some awesome games, but not much variety).

There are a few snes loving jokers on here who can't live without mode 7 and will rank the SNES the highest, but most rational people agree with my assessment.

Damn straight,Mode 7 was over rated ass as far as scaling is concerned. It was like effectively used in a few Konami games and the early stuff like Super Mario World,Actraiser and Pilot Wings,after that it became as useless as blast processing,some games only using Mode 7 for the damn title screen,just silly.

Yea Id say graphically NeoGeo first,Turbografx/Pc Engine second,but as far as Snes and Genesis goes,thats a hard one because Ive seen both systems produce groundbreaking 2D graphics here and there,but yea over all,esp if you get a Duo,and you do a majority of importing youll see the Pc-Engine is tops over genesis and Snes in quality graphics.

[nat]

I will agree with GUTS for the most part...

I don't know anything about the Neo Geo, so I've left it out of the following.

Graphically, the SNES has a larger color palette than the PC Engine/TurboGrafx and the Genesis. In fact, the Genesis has a very small color palette, around 61 colors on screen at a time. Because of this, I feel MOST Genesis games have not aged as well as their TurboGrafx and SNES counterparts. Games tended to have a "darker", less colorful and washed out look on the Genesis. The PC Engine/TG has a color palette somewhere in the 500 range, while the SNES is up there in the thousands. Rated this way, the SNES would probably be the top dog followed by the PCE/TG and then the Genesis.

HOWEVER, the SNES is slow as shit. The PCE/TG is quite a lot faster, as is the Genesis. When you factor these things together, the PCE/TG kind of gives you the best of both worlds (graphically) with colorful graphics, and fast processing. The Genesis is fast, but the graphics have a tendency to be more drab and unappealing to look at.

Here's a good example: I decided to whip out an old copy of Wonderboy III: Monster Lair for the Genesis the other day and give it a spin. I own the same game for my TurboGrafx. I had to shut off the Genesis version after only a couple levels. The game just looks so bad on the Genesis. The TG version has aged so much better and still looks good, today. I find this to be the case with many games released for both systems, but that's not to say there aren't some Genesis games that look really good. The Sonic games manage to look pretty bright and colorful, for example. But games on the PCE/TG are KNOWN for their bright, colorful look.

If you want to rate on available game library... SNES has the most, followed by the PCE and then the Genesis. Quality of games? I would rate the PCE at the top, but I am biased. That's why I own a TurboGrafx. I feel the quality game to crap game ratio is better for the PCE/TG library than the other two. Owners of other systems may disagree: it's mostly a matter of personal taste. The PCE/TG library has some KILLER ports of arcade games that are hands-down better than their respective ports on the SNES and Genesis.

For me, it all comes down to the games. Technical specs aside, you should choose whether or not you want to buy a system based on the games you want to be able to play. Personally, from the 16-bit genre, I own both an SNES and a TurboGrafx. This means I have access to the two biggest game libraries from that era. My PCE/TG library is larger by a ratio of 10:1 over my SNES library. I also play my Turbo at least 4 out of 7 days of the week. I will play the SNES maybe 4 times a month. I own several versions of the same game for each system, and I usually tend towards my Turbo over the SNES most of the time. SF2: CE on the Turbo vs. SF2 Turbo on the SNES. I'll play the Turbo version 9 times out of 10 because I can use my TurboStick and because I like the Turbo synth music better than the SNES music. Graphically the games are virtually identical, but I suck at the game with the SNES controller.

I also now own some really badass SNK ports for the Turbo that were not nearly as good on the SNES or Genesis (World Heroes 2, the Fatal Fury games, etc). The thing about arcade ports on the PCE is that there are a lot of them, and they are usually very good.

[rolins]

I never really cared about which system was more powerful. It really is all about which system had the games you wanted to play.

Me, I'm crazy about shmups and healthy dose of action games, so I'm always rooting for the PC-Engine and Genesis.

The Snes was also fun to play though I won't lie. Their lineup is varied between platform and adventure games but more gear toward RPG fanatics. RPGs aren't my cup of tea, I just don't have the attention span for them. The only games I loved playing were Super Contra, Super Metroid, Axelay, and Super Aleste.

[grahf]

Graphically, i would vote:
1] NeoGeo
2] Snes
3] PC Engine
4] Genesis

Gameplay/fun wise:
1] SNES/PC Engine tie
2] NeoGeo
3] Genesis

[guyjin]

[stands up]

"My name is Guyjin and I'm a snerd."

Graphics wise, none of the 16 bit systems can touch the Neogeo. but that's why people paid out the wazoo for it.
as for the remaining 3, the NES can put out a lot of colorful sprites, and is usually better than the Turbo and Genesis, even without mode 7. However, its slow processor often causes problems with fast paced games; Street fighter 2 is a prime example of this. it's probably the worst of the 3 16 bit console versions. (and I only say 'probably' because I haven't played the PCE version; the Genny version is definitely better.)

if I had to rank them in order:
1:Neogeo
2:SNES (but only barely beating...)
3:TG16
4:Genesis

[termis]

Personally, I believe that if you limited the library to HuCard only, the PCE can't compete all that well compared to the SNES/Genesis.  :-"  Throw in the CD system though, then the story completely changes.  Anyway, as for the technical dept -

Graphics wise, I must say that Neo Geo>SNES>Genesis>=PCE.  Neo Geo was in a different class altogether, so I'll leave that one out.  SNES next simply because it had a larger color palette and can display more at once, so I found most games to be more vibrant and colorful, though some seemed to over do it.  Genesis did some incredible things with what it could (i.e. Thunder Force IV), and although the PCE could display more colors on-screen at once, it didn't have a large pool of colors to choose from in the first place, so it never looked good as the SNES IMO.

I think the music was really a toss-up between what you preferred.  SNES supposedly had the technical edge of the three (minus CD systems of course), but too many games had that "orchestrated-sound" to me, even when it wasn't so appropriate.  Throw in the CD system, and to this very day, I can't think of a system with better red-book audio than the TCD.

All that said, it really came down to the games, and in this case, I think all 3 are/were worth something, and you'd missing out on some gems on way or another if you didn't own all three.  I've always been a Sega guy as they make the most killer games, but the only 16-bit *era* system that still takes space in my livingroom right now is the PCE Duo.

[Michael Helgeson]

I think nat is off spec slightly. The color pallette on the Snes is around 32,000 with 256 being displayed at once on average. Supposedly more could be displayed but to the extreme displeasure of the hardware and memory available so this wasnt bragged about by Nintendo. They typically stuck to the 256 colors at once on screen tout for their hardware ability. As I was told back when TTI was still around (this could be wrong) was that the TG 16/Pc Engines 2 video processors in conjunction can do between 482-512 colors onscreen and the total pallette was programable and not set in complete stone like the Snes 15-bit color pallette was.

Tech things aside there is some awesome titles whos graphics cant be beat for all 3 of the systems depending on the genre. Prob get stabbed here for this but "graphically" the RPGS for Snes were better,possibly because of the Mode 7 used and because sprites didnt have to be moved around so fast. Platformers and action games were done typically well on the Genesis. Arcade game ports,and shooters were pretty much tops on Pc Engine. other systems did them well,but the Pc Engines hardware seemed to handle arcade titles better overall graphically,INCLUDING the NeoGeo ports. Depending on your flavor of how you like your rpgs to look you may actually perfer the Tg/PC Engines graphics more. There was more cinema used on average to display the story better,and sometimes better character sprites all around.
General examples of good looking games that played well are the NeoGeo ports,Street Fighter 2 Dash,Gradius 1 and 2,Salamander,Raiden,R-Type,HellFire,Exile,Ys1-4,Shinobi,Outrun,Afterburner 2,Bomberman 93-94,Ninja Spirit,Splatterhouse,Aero Blasters,Batman,Bonk 1-3,Air Zonk,Vasteel,Buster Bros,Splash Lake,and Operation Wolf.

There are hundreds of others,those are to just name  a offhand.
http://www.pcecp.com/index.php?mode=home
Thats a good site to sign up on and go looking around for screen shots of games.

[FM-77]

Ha ha ha, that's just ridiculous. Everybody knows the SNES is more powerful than the MD and PCE graphically. I can't believe that ancient fanboy wars still remains to some people. 



SNES is the only one of these systems that can compare to the Saturn and other 32 bit systems.

[runinruder]

While there are plenty of quality HuCard titles out there, if you really want to experience the best that the PC Engine has to offer, you'll need to have access to the CD games, and you'll need to be willing to spend a lot of money.  That's just the way it is. 

Like Rolins noted, how strong the system will seem compared to its peers will depend heavily on what types of games you're into.  For shooters and action-RPGs, the Duo can't be beaten.  It also hosts a strong library of hack-and-slash sidescrollers, dungeon crawlers, and traditional-style RPGs (though most of the latter are in Japanese).  Not to be forgotten is a decent selection of fighting, puzzle, strategy, platforming, and digital-comic games. 

On the other hand, if you're looking for Contra-style run-and-gunners, Final-Fight-style brawlers, or Genesis-quality sports games, the Duo may not be for you. 

Being a fan of shooters, RPGs, and hack-and-slashers, I love the Duo and rank it above all other systems of its (or any other) generation.  Like GUTS said, the Genesis is right up there with it.  The SNES I could live without if not for a scant few action-platformers.  A lot of people love the Super Nintendo's RPGs, but I think they stink compared to the PC Engine's elite adventure games.   

[Keranu]

Oh boy, another Turbo vs Genesis vs SNES thread; I guess these are inevitable.

Rolins and runin sumed it up well; it all depends what kind of games you are into. However I would argue and say that the Turbo even has some decent sport games, better than the others in my opinion since they aren't typical crap licensed games. Unfortunately the sport genre is pretty limited though, mainly baseball and soccer games.

[runinruder]

However I would argue and say that the Turbo even has some decent sport games, better than the others in my opinion since they aren't typical crap licensed games.

Personally, I agree with you on this.  Most people seem to prefer the styles of sports games that were prominent on the Genesis, however. 

[Michael Helgeson]

Ha ha ha, that's just ridiculous. Everybody knows the SNES is more powerful than the MD and PCE graphically. I can't believe that ancient fanboy wars still remains to some people. 



SNES is the only one of these systems that can compare to the Saturn and other 32 bit systems.

I honestly wasnt impressed with the cg graphics of Donkey Kong Country 1-3. The backgrounds were full of prerendered stiffness and playability was limited to slapping a few enemies,riding in a mine cart,swimming for a few mins,listening to gramps complain,and riding a rail worse then Sonic in the barrel leap areas. Varity of enemies was small over all. All the pre rendered CG was digitized aka Mortal Kombat so there wasnt much work involved outside of the actual rendering on the cg systems. Not impressive unless all you do is stare at your games.

If all you want to do is look at pretty pictures of the jungle then I suggest you stop playing video games and head out to your nearest news stand for a copy of this months Zoo Books or National Geographic.
 Other systems could have done similar things more likely then not,if not better depending on how much ram was dedicated towards storing the pre rendered CG junk. But hey,if we hold true to what you have said then that doesnt explain why arcade ports sucked on Snes and the Pc Engine tended to bitchslap the Snes around on the Neo Geo ports with larger more colorful sprites and better audio and control. There isnt a single fighting game on Snes that can beat any of the NeoGeo Pc Engine ports in quality or exactness. Same for shooters. Gradius 2 easily stomps Gradius 3 on Snes for one. The comparisons could go on and on,but there is no point. The 16-bit graphics wars are over.

[vestcoat]

It's hard to compare the systems because the PCE was fully supported from 87-94.  The SNES didn't even come to the US until 92.  I'm not going to talk about the Neo Geo and Genesis because I'm not as familiar with them.

Try to decide pretty quick if you're going to go all the way for a CD system.  If you don't buy a CD setup, you're not going to have many options as far as driving, vs. fighting, RPGs and sports games.  There are plenty of CD fighters and RPGs but many of the RPGs that were released in English are rare and expensive.  No matter what your setup, remember that there are no FPS (besides Faceball). 

Without the CD games the graphics range from crummy, early-NES caliber visuals like World Court Tennis to a beautiful port of SF2.  Early hucards are basically 8-bit style games with improved graphics and nice touches.

I hate SNES slowdown and RPGs, but the SNES has the best graphics, flying/racing games, no load time and decent sound for a non-CD console.

After I sold my original TG16, I don't think I would have purchased another NEC console if it hadn't been for the CD games.