Basic information for a total PC Engine Newbie.

[tsuran]

Hello everybody! Over the past few months, I have made it my interest to become more familiar with the gaming systems and games that I was unable to play in my youth. I purchased a TG-16 very recently, with a pack in game, but after some research, it seems that many of the best games are PC Engine only. I was wondering if there was any resource, or site that's very good to help figure things out. Much of the different styles, and system cards, and whatnot are quite confusing to me as a newcomer, and am not sure which one to buy, a good place to find systems, or what you even need to get games to work XD. If anyone could help point me in the right direction, or give me a helping hand, that would be fantastic, as it seems a very good piece of equipment, and some nice games that I hope to play very soon.

[chany60126]

Most people will agree that the best games are on the PC Engine, but the T-16 games has an awesome library of games as well, especially in the shooter category. Ys I & II is a game that needs to be experienced once you have the means to play CD based games.

An excellent source for T-16 reviews is the Youtube channel: Turbo Views. The guy does fantastic in-depth reviews of the games in the American library: http://www.youtube.com/user/spida1a#g/c/75F8CCAC0D21A523

The PC Engine Bible is another great place to get a short synopsis of what the games are all about. They are indexed in alphabetical order mixed with PC Engine games. http://www.pcengine.co.uk/

The Brothers Duomazov has some excellent written reviews: http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/

[tsuran]

Thanks very much! Yes, I have a TG, and am looking to increase my library, but I do want to find a way to play cd based games soon, have been looking for a PCE recently to no avail. Are the cd games region locked too, or can i play PCE/TG cd games on either?

[nat]

No region locking on CD games.

[SignOfZeta]

What you want, is a Duo R.

[Tatsujin]

What you want, is a Duo R.

And only that!

[SignOfZeta]

What you want, is a Duo R.

And only that!

Nah, you can never have too many PC Engines. The Duo R is just the best starting point from a games playing perspective.

[tsuran]

Ah, nice, any idea of the price range? Those are the ones that I see that most people have. Another question, is what is the difference between a duo, and a duo-r. Performance or statistics issues, or just the look, and do I need one of those special cards to play CDs on the duos

[bartre]

the only difference that matters is the Duo-R came with a 2 button controller, but the Duo-RX came with a 6 button controller.
with either, you can play any CD game, other than the relatively small selection of Arcade CD games.
another bonus there is the fact that the duo models only need an arcade card duo if you ever do decide to try an arcade CD game, which is much cheaper.

[SignOfZeta]

Ah, nice, any idea of the price range? Those are the ones that I see that most people have. Another question, is what is the difference between a duo, and a duo-r. Performance or statistics issues, or just the look, and do I need one of those special cards to play CDs on the duos

Less than $200 for a good one, shipping additional. If you don't care about how yellow it is, or the box, or if the controller matches, you can even get one for less than $100. I bought mine broken for $65 and fixed it. Yeah, its a lot more than a TG-16, but its more reliable and has the Super CDROM2 System card built in.

There are three Duos, the "OG" (unofficial name) the R, and the RX. The R and RX are Japan exclusive. The RX has a 6 button pad and slightly different graphics. The OG Duos mostly need some service at this point (leaking caps) so I'd recommend the R.

With this unit and an Arcade Card (they go for about $15-35, depending) you'd be able to play all JP HuCard, CDROMs and Super CDROMs. According to my (probably inaccurate) math that's that's out 757 of 859 retail games. You can play 96 more with your TG-16 (or on the Duo, if you mod it) which leaves only the 5 and a half SuperGrafx games out of your reach, and they really aren't worth it, IMO. If you absolutely have to have them, buy a Supergrafx.

The whole NEC console legacy is a super complicated clusterf*ck, so I just say "buy a Duo R" and answer any questions that come after that.

[tsuran]

Wow, thanks very much, I'll keep my eye out for an R then. I'll check out those sites for some good games, I'm always excited when I first get into the games of unexplored systems. The whole system/arcade card thing waaaaay throws me off as well as the different cd types, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually.

[Arkhan]

Wow, thanks very much, I'll keep my eye out for an R then. I'll check out those sites for some good games, I'm always excited when I first get into the games of unexplored systems. The whole system/arcade card thing waaaaay throws me off as well as the different cd types, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually.

For games: pcengine.co.uk is a great place to go check. 

Get a Duo-R, try Yahoo.jp auctions and use a proxy bidder service.   I nabbed a boxed one for 60$ + shipping.

It'll take care of all that you need really.  You can play any hucard game, and any cd based game with the exception of arcade CD games.

Heres the System Card run down:

System Card 1: ignore it. I think its tatsujin here whos got like 90 of them for no reason
System Card 2: The common card.  You need it for CD-ROM^2 games.  Everyones got one or more of these!
System Card 3: The expensive card if you get the US version.  Cheap if you get the .JP one.  It's needed for Super CD-ROM games.
Arcade Card Duo: For playing Sapphire.  Only works in a Duo, hence the name.
Arcade Card Pro: Same thing, but works in ANY system, and costs a bit more because of it.

System Card 3 is built into the Duo-R, so if you get a Duo-R, you only need some sort of Arcade Card.

If you go the US Turbo Grafx-16 route (I don't advise it really...), you'll need to either drop alot on a US System Card 3, and the CD attachment, or get your TG-16 region modded/use a converter, and use the Japanese version of the card instead.


Which is basically why we say find a Duo-R.  They're sleek, reliable, have Sys3 built in, and in the end will cost the same , or maybe less, than if you were to got the US route!

[Tatsujin]

What you want, is a Duo R.

And only that!

Nah, you can never have too many PC Engines. The Duo R is just the best starting point from a games playing perspective.

lol, you tell me now

[chany60126]

A Duo is definitely the way to go. You can always send it off to somebody on the forums so that it can be region modded to play both Japanese and US games. As mentioned previously, CDs play on any system regardless of the region provided that you have the correct system card.

Although purchasing the CD attachment seems like a logical choice for your T-16, it might not be. These units have been plagued by issues such as bad gears and warm up issues in which there are currently no concrete remedies to fix them as of right now.

Sure, the Duos might have some problems like leaking caps, or dying lasers, but those can easily be fixed by anyone of the techies here. In fact, a laser replacement is a doable repair for anyone with no experience provided they keep a steady hand.

[esteban]

Much of the different styles, and system cards, and whatnot are quite confusing to me as a newcomer, and am not sure...

Folks here have answered your questions, but you might still find this useful: NEC Compatibility Guide

Oh, and welcome to the forum