Need TG-16 Advice , What To Get........

[ScumBum]

Hi  everyone , new guy here . I'm an old school gamer , playing games since early 80's at arcades and got my first NES in 85 . My parents got me a Genesis and then a SNES back in the day when they came out . Once they got me the SNES there was no way of convincing them to get me another game system , TG-16 or Neo Geo . So I missed out on the TG-16 , being 10 when it came out I had no money . Anyways I forgot about it till I got Bonk's Adventure on Virtual Console and really really loved the game , now one of my favorite games !! I just beat it 2 days ago & started playing it all over again .   

So once I get some extra money I wanna get a TG-16 and some games ,

but I don't know how much I should pay for a system or what games are worth getting .

I saw the top 10 games  , but what games do you guys like that might not be top 10 games ?

I'm not a collector , just a gamer , so I don't care about rare games just fun games I'll play .

Thanks ,

[nectarsis]

Welcome to the site

A lot of what system to get will depend on what you want to spend.  I'm sure many of the others will get into that more indepth.  No matter what route you go, the Turbo/PCE is a sweet system, that will bring a lot of fun. 

[MurderDate]

hey Scum Bum!  Welcome !

good question.  Let me recommend some games I think you'll like:

Fantasy Zone
Blazing Lasers
World Court Tennis / Final Lap Twin (which appeals to you more , tennis or racing? Both games are excellent sports-RPGs!)
Parasol Stars
Cadash

if you want to hear about CD games , let me know !       - MD

[rag-time4]

Welcome aboard!

I'd recommend not limiting yourself to just the TurboGrafx 16... Get the CD ROM attachment or get a Duo so you can have access to all the games.

If you get an American TurboGrafx and a CD add-on, you'll be able to play all the US chip/HuCard games and both US and Japanese CD games... but you'll need a converter or a mod to play the Japanese chip/HuCard games.

[Necromancer]

Welcome aboard, ScumBum.  It's good to hear that you've finally seen the light after years of SNES/Genny darkness. 

You're best bet on picking up games a TG-16 (or Duo) is to buy a decent sized lot on ebay.  I recommend that you check completed listings for a ballpark value; if one looks good, then come here and ask about its value.  As for game recommendations - is there a particular type of game that you prefer (RPG, shooter, etc.)?

[MurderDate]

hmm  yeah he's right ..   you can find a lot with a system and anywhere from 10-30 games multiple times a month these days.  That's whatcha do.

[ScumBum]

Welcome aboard, ScumBum.  It's good to hear that you've finally seen the light after years of SNES/Genny darkness. 

Yes , it all hit me as soon as I started playing Bonk that TG-16 is awesome !! I love the colors and the controls are original when I thought everything had already been done in  platformer games.

As far as favorite type of game , I like everything , platformers , shooters , puzzle......... If its fun to play I like it .

I didn't know if I wanted to get into CD games thinking that they were pretty rare and expensive since they didn't sell good here in the USA . Is this true ?

Are most of the good games on  CD ?

[rag-time4]

Welcome aboard, ScumBum.  It's good to hear that you've finally seen the light after years of SNES/Genny darkness. 

Yes , it all hit me as soon as I started playing Bonk that TG-16 is awesome !! I love the colors and the controls are original when I thought everything had already been done in  platformer games.

As far as favorite type of game , I like everything , platformers , shooters , puzzle......... If its fun to play I like it .

I didn't know if I wanted to get into CD games thinking that they were pretty rare and expensive since they didn't sell good here in the USA . Is this true ?

Are most of the good games on  CD ?

Some of the best games on the system are on CD: The Ys series, Lords and Gate of Thunder... you'd be really missing out by not getting into the CD stuff, but there are good games in both formats.

[Necromancer]

I didn't know if I wanted to get into CD games thinking that they were pretty rare and expensive since they didn't sell good here in the USA . Is this true ?

Not really; most of the extravagantly priced titles are on CD (except Magical Chase and Bonk 3, which is actually on both formats), yet there's plenty of moderately priced CD titles as well.  The hardware will cost more, but less than an extra benny as part of a nicely priced lot.

Are most of the good games on  CD ?

Somewhat; like all consoles, the latter games are generally the most polished/fancy, and most titles released near the end of Turbo's life were CDs.  More importantly, the CD is not region protected, so buying a TG-CD or Duo would open the huge (and often cheap) library of PCE titles without having to modify the hardware.

[ScumBum]

Thanks for all your help guys !

Cool , so  I'm gonna get the CD-ROM peripheral too .

Whats better , getting the original TG-16 and CD-ROM peripheral  ,  getting a Turbo Duo , or getting a Japanese system ?

Any of them have better features than others like  , better video output or anything like that ?

[nat]

Video output is all pretty much the same from TG-CD to Duo-RX.

I'd go for a Japanese Duo-R or Duo-RX as those seem to offer the best value for your buck, and are less likely to have problems. The first-gen black Duos (both US and JP) are prone to have bad audio systems, and while this is fully fixable, it's probably not something you'll want to deal with unless you're technically handy.

Regardless of what region console you get, you'll have to get it modded to play the opposite region's carts. The CDs are regionless.

Why I'd stay away from the original TG-CD: it's big, it's loud, you'll need a seperate "System Card" to play CD games, and it's slightly slower at loading CD games when compared with the Duo. Pros of the TG-CD: standard A/V connection, more robust laser assembly.

Duo-R/-RX cons: cheaper optical unit than the TG-CD (more prone to calibration drift or complete failure), proprietary A/V connection. Duo pros: sleek, low-profile, quiet, "System Card" is built into the BIOS, and a bit quicker at dealing with CDs.

For me the Duo-R pros outweigh the cons and outweigh the pros of the TG-CD. And you can avoid one of the cons, problems with the optical unit, by simply not playing CD-Rs in your console.

[ceti alpha]

...what nat said. 

Welcome to the boards Scumbum. I would definitely go for a Duo R/RX. While the black Duo is slick looking it is prone to having audio problems, even if you buy it brand new. But you will want to get into CD gaming. In any case, it's great to see a former Genny/SNES player finally seeing the light. 

[ScumBum]

Yes and light is very bright , ahh blind !!

Alright so a Duo-R/-RX .

So I'll need to get this modded to play US cards .  How much does it cost to get modded ?

I also need to get a different power adapter right , I can't just plug this thing into the wall with USA voltage right ?

I had a red twin  famicom years back and had to get a plug from radio shack to use it .

[GohanX]

I echo the sentiment of buying a Japanese Duo R.  They are usually cheaper than the US unit, and oh so sexy.  Japanese hucards are generally cheaper as well, and there aren't too many US released hucards that are unplayable in Japanese. 

You don't need a different power adapter, Japan uses the same kind of power as the US.

However, be warned, your wallet is going to take a beating.  Once you get the system, you are going to want to get:

New controller
6 button controller
Multitap (even if you don't have any friends)
Arcade Card
Tennoko (sp?) bank
PC Engine GT
Backup system, just in case
Flash cart
A friend in japan who can hook you up with cheap games

You have been warned 

[nat]

JKM is correct-- you don't need a new AC adapter. There is a minor difference in voltage between the US and Japan but not enough to cause any issues. I've been using Japanese ACs, lots of them, for years.