Hi there!
I've been a lurker recently and finally decided to join up. I was reading a current thread that suggested an "Introduce Yourself" thread as there seems to be (primarily) two groups of Turbo-fans: Folks who have been fans since the time the Turbo/PC-Engine was released, and more recent fans, who have discovered this amazing system by word of mouth and from reviews on youtube (and other similar sites).
So I thought I'd introduce myself and get this thread going. Hopefully new users to this excellent forum will introduce themselves here as well so we can better gauge who is enjoying this system these days.
Just prior to starting high school in 1989 my family and I moved to Hawaii. That is where I first fell in love with the Turbografx-16. Actually it started with the Sega Master System, but I quickly opened my awareness to the TG16 and from there is was a pretty much monogamous relationship (until the SNES was released). I didn't own an NES until about 2000 just because it was always around. I never felt the need to own one until they started disappearing from friends living rooms. I was always drawn to the underdog systems. I was a huge supporter of both the Sega Saturn and the Dreamcast (both of which I still own).
So enough about me -- onto my relationship with the TG16. I was fanatical about it. My main purpose for keeping a job in high school was to feed my TG16 addiction. I purchased a TG16 in 1989. I bought the Express when it was initially released ($350!!) and the Turbo Booster (I don't remember what that cost me at release) and the CD-ROM attachment (Another $350 or $400) and remember shelling out easily $50-$60 per title, though due to my location there were lots of little import shops that sold PC-Engine CD-ROMS (I will never forget the day I purchased Spriggan or Street Fighter II). I spent a ridiculous amount of money on this system when it originally came out. And don't regret a penny of it. (well Keith Courage pretty much sucked, but you couldn't NOT get that game at the time).
In 1992 our house was robbed and my Express (With tv tuner!) and all of my turbochips were stolen (over 40 games! my largest system collection at the time.) Luckily the thieves didn't look in my closet and see my Turbografx w/CD Addon and all of the CD games or my SNES collection - but still it was thousands of dollars gone.
I eventually built my TG16 collection back up (even bought another Turbo Express and TurboVision). Heck, when the TurboDuo was released, I traded in my TG16 w/ CD attachment for one. Probably should have just kept the original system and purchased the TurboDuo outright, but I was a dumb highschooler - what did I know? And besides, that TurboDuo looked badass! Few (if any) systems since have looked as cool as the TurboDuo, IMO.
So in 2000, as a dumb college student I thought it made financial sense to sell off my entire Turbo collection. Including a Hori Stick and plenty of extremely rare games. What a dumbass. It wasn't 8 weeks before I felt the loss of that system and started rebuilding my collection... again!
So these days I have a TG16 w/ CD Attachment, System 3 card and an Arcade Pro Card, a TurboExpress w/ TurboVision (though the express has issues, which thankfully I've found this site to help me resolve them!) and a ton of games. The system doesn't get as much game time as it should (most of my friends these days have never even heard of the TG16, let alone remember its pure awesomeness). It's been boxed up for a few years now, but I think in the next week or so I'll have to get it out and hook it up to my old 27" JVC tube tv just to relive some of the awesome memories I've been reading about here.
Thank you for keeping such an amazing system alive.
BTW, I recognize a few of you back when there was a thriving mailing list for this system. I've probably bought games or accessories from some of you (10+ years ago!). I wouldn't say I was an active member back then, but I did participate in a fair share of auctions (back before ebay). Man, those auctions were awesome.
Topic: Introduce Yourself / Turbo Mailing List Reminiscing (Read 779 times)
