What year did you first start gaming on the PC Engine/Turbografx??

[erik]

       I am very curious to find out when most of us started gaming on the PC Engine/TurboDuo family of consoles.  I, like many of you, did not appreciate it until long after it had bitten the dust.   It started back in 1999 for me when I bought my TurboDuo from TZD for about $200.  Gaming was well into the PS1 era when I started to collect retro systems and games again.  I reacquired an SNES in 1997 and a Genesis in 1998, and I was really interested in playing Dracula X and Gate of Thunder sometime in my life.  I also had EGM's Issue 100 with its Top 100 games of all time and saw several TG-16 games in there including Bonk, Legendary Axe, Military Madness, Devil's crush, Gate of Thunder and Y's Book I + II.  I did not even know what Y's was until I saw it on the Top 100!!!  Crazy Huh?  Anyway, I feel EGM's Top 100 in November 1997 helped shape me into the gamer I am today, happily enjoying the PC Engine and it all of its Duo goodness.  Let me know when you fisrt stated gaming on PCE and let me know if you were inspired by EGM's Top 100 list!

[BlueBMW]

I think I got my first TG16 in 2001.  Found it at a used game store with Keith Courage, Victory Run, and Final Lap Twin.  It was different, had never seen it before and it was cheap.  Ever since then, NEC stuff has held a spot in my collection.  I guess I like it because its not the norm.  Its not Nintendo, its not Sega, its it's own unique experience!  I sold almost all my games in 2005 at the command of an ex fiance, and over the last few years I've been piecing it all back together.  Just since June I've been rebuilding my Turbo collection.  I've gone from having ZERO turbo stuff to having a TG16/CD, a Turbo Express, a few Duos, a PCE Core GFX and about 100 games!  Its been great to get back into the stuff again!  And I'm discovering new things I hadn't played before (Lords of Thunder is a prime example!)

[turbogrfxfan]

  I think I got my tg16 christmas back in 1989. I think.  I remember it was a big thing for me to decide between that and the genny.  I obtained a vhs promotional tape for the turbo and That was it.  I saw ys and it was amazing!!. the first game I bought was legendary axe. I didnt get the cd part till september cause I had to work durring summer vacation to get it.
    For some reason I didnt buy any egm zines.  If I bought any zines it was Mad magazine  CHEAP!  I had a few turboplay. but all I remember of egm was reading them at the magazine rack.  I think they were expensive. 

I ended up getting a genny and super nintendo, ps1 etc. but they never had the impact tg16 had.  I bought a converter started to collect tg16/pce again around 4 years back.   

[SignOfZeta]

My first NEC system was a Duo in 1992. Having a system that wasn't Nintendo or Sega back then was appealing, but not that odd for me since I had owned stuff from Atari and Coleco. I later got an Express from a guy at work who used it to watch sports on. Got a Core Grafx for free because it was broken, got a Duo R for $60 because it was broken. Fixed both of these and sold the Express to a Brit on eBay, sold the US system for $120, or something like that to a forum member. Traded the Core Grafx for a white PCE, bought a IFU+CDROM2 from a friend, and that's where I am. The two white set-ups are the coolest, and that's what I have. Eventually I'll have a Supergrafx, an LT, and an FX, but those aren't anything I'm in a hurry for.

When I first started collecting games, I obviously just bought US stuff but drooled for the cool imports seen in the magazines. Then I started renting and buying them from the Diehard Gameclub store that used to be in Michigan. I now have all JP soft except for the pack-in games that came with the Duo. I don't do American releases anymore since they are inferior in almost every way with the exception of maybe a half dozen games, most of which I don't even care about. I do have the US Gate of Thunder 4-in-1, Ys 1&2, and the free Chew Man Few I got from TZD's binder.

[Mathius]

For me it was the spring of 2009 when I got a Turbo and then a few weeks later the CD Add-on. I have always been fascinated with the Turbo ever since reading EGM (like the OP) and seeing all the cool imports for the PC Engine. One of those games I remember seeing was Spriggan and that ended up being my first PC Engine game. Eventually I got a Murai adapter and a copy Download and that was my first Japanese Hu Card. Now I have about 40 games that are a mix of Japanese and American releases. It's basically 50/50 between the two regions. Like SignOfZeta, I will eventually get a SuperGrafx but I want to get the CD add to go along with it. I'd also like to get a modded Duo-R sometime.

[nat]

I got a Turbo for Christmas 1990. I was an NES kid before that. The Turbo seemed so far ahead of the NES back then.

[Gogan]

I believe it was '90 or '91 for me. I bought a US TG from Electric Avenue (Montgomery Wards electronic department) with KC and Blazing Lazers. I was so pumped cuz no one had one. I get home, pop in KC, ...and was a initially disappointed; the quirky overworld tune, and rather childish graphics, then he fired up that Nova Suit and things got...metal.  Flying skulls, gun-heads, and the like. Popped in Blazin Lazers after, and I. Was. Sold. BL was actually the first shooter I ever played, and to this day, is my fav genre. I feel very fortunate I was able, and continue to experience this system.

It wasn't until the mid to late 90's that I started messin with imports, but once I did, it was all over for me. Pretty much abandoned all other consoles for the most part. They just lacked something only the TG gave me.  Eventually got a duo in 2000, had it modded and rip it up at least a couple times a week. Have built up about a 110 game collection and look foward to picking up many more I have yet to get. In fact, ima go rip up some Image Fight right now!

[ShinobiMan]

I first encountered the TG16 is early 1992. I had just moved to a new neighborhood and my Mom wanted me to make friends with our neighbor's son who was a year older than me (I was 6). I loved video games, and in trying to find some common ground with him, he introduced me to his TG16. The first game I ever played on the system was Bonk's Revenge, and it blew my mind. Here was this strange video game system that I had never heard of or seen, and here was a game and mascot that gave Mario a run for his money. I ended up playing that game with him long into the hours of the night. I remember being upset when my parents came knocking at the door, asking that I come home.

That was the start of a long history of TG16 gaming. Good times.

[nat]

If you were from WA I might have asked you what your name was.... I have a virtually identical story, only I was the "older neighbor." The difference is I was like 11 or 12 and the kid that moved in was like 8 or something. I wonder what ever happened to that guy..... He loved that Turbo of mine. And it's funny because the game in my story was Bonk's Revenge as well-- I remember it had just come out the week before he moved in and I'd just bought it with my allowance so we were playing it all the time.

[exile]

I must admit I was that kid that shitted on the Turbo back in the day. I was hating it for the fact that I couldn't own one when it was first released. I enjoyed the multiplayer games so much I bought my own Turbo controller just to play with my mates.
     I bought my first NEC system two days before Thanksgiving in the Winter of 1998. I was so stoked when it arrived. Duo with 42 games 6 contollers and a Turbo stick. Since then I've been obsessed with the system. I moved to Japan in 04 and went on PC Engine overload. I'm a huge shmup fan and own most of the shooters domestic and import. My goal is not to own every game,but only the ones I love.

[Sparky]

2003 i guess.... i was a late bloomer as i wanted one when i was a kid but the high price tag landed me a SMS instead with my mom and dad and my buddies got the genny.

To be honest i would have bought one sooner but i never came a cross 1 to even play, the area i lived in had no TG16 love, our Radio Shack were pushing its TRS-80 and Tandy computers and that was it.

[TGX16]

My first TGX16 was bought at Game Dude, Sherman way (or something?) in LA winter -90.
Me and two friends went to the US to for a  month on holliday and to buy used car parts for our Vintage cars back home.
Me being a videogame nerd as well had to finally get my hearts desire a TURBOGRAFX 16....
So I've had contacted G.D. before and made sure they had all the stuff waiting for me...
I was in heaven that nite, at last the long wait was over.

I bought a boxed TGX, a boxed Turbo booster Plus, a turbo tap, three turbopads and a Boxed Purple Barnie .
Also Bonks adventure, Revenge, K.C., Legendary axe and  13 games more.
Since then has the collection grown and expanded to an unexpected size.

At the moment I've got:
My first TGX 16 and all the hardware
Another one to spare
A brand spanking new in an unopend box (The EU version named "Turbografx") And a boxed unopend Turbotap and two boxed unopend Pads.
A SuperCd player and a CorgrafX II
A PC Engine shuttle  with pad AC and cable (missing the lid though)
A PC Engine DUO Boxed
A PC Engine DUO-R missing the original joypad
A PC Engine DUO- RX
A Boxed PC Engine plus additional hardware
A PC FX boxed as new. and a mem-card
A Boxed PX-FX GA for PC-9800 new
About 85-100 Tgx 16 games
And aprox. 150 PC engine games
And 28 PC-FX games
The collection is growing constantly slowly but surely

Game being played at the moment is Dragon Knight 3

[lord_cack]

I would have to say it was 1991 or 1992, most likely mid '91. I had a birthday, got some cash and wanted to buy some videogames. So, got a new Turbo with Bonk's Revenge and bought a copy of Dungeon Explorer. I have to say I was alittle disappointed at first, but after a day or two I was more than pleased. Bought a few more Chip games (US Only back then so Turbo Chips they were) and had a good time. Then Christmas '92 I got the Duo. Came with Ninja Spirit Turbo Chip. Played it, then Gate of Thunder, lastly I put in Ys and was blown away (RPG's were my thing back then) "Ys, the ideal utopia." It was some kind of magic. That was when I fell in love with the Turbo and have been ever since.

[TheClash603]

It wasn't until 2007 when I got my Laseractive NEC Pac that I started buying TG stuff.  My friend in college had a TG, and we played a lot of Cadash, DE, and Splatterhouse, but I never had the knowledge of the system to buy my own.

Now I have been working on my PCE stuff, but generally prefer the US versions of games.  If I go back to Tokyo, I will probably stock up on PCE stuff.

[DragonmasterDan]

A few people I knew got it for Christmas in 89, so I'd go to their houses and play. I got mine in 1990.