A Hidden Gem Console! The NEC PC-FX! The PC Engine Successor! How To Emulate! Should You Buy?

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Its been TWO years since I talked about the NEC PC-FX, the successor console to the PC Engine and TurboGrafx 16...and its one of the video game consoles I get the most questions about STILL! So just like the FM Towns Marty mega video we did...it's PC-FX retro gaming revisit time!
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The NEC PC-FX is definitely a rare piece of video game history but like all video games it deserves some historical preservation! Lately there has been a renewed interesting in the PC-FX with potential FPGA cores and optical disc emulators...and that means I have been getting a lot of questions about the hardware like....Should I buy a PC-FX? What are the best games to play on the PC FX? Is the PC-FX as bad as I heard it is? How do you emulate PC FX? is Mednafen the best emulator for PC-FX? Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? Ok a few of those you DIDNT ask...but you get the idea!
So I will be talking about the history of the PC-FX, the best games to play and how to emulate the console via Mednafen for the emulation enthusiast crowd! Because its a total gaming hidden gem
Because it has beat em ups (Zenki), Resident Evil survival horror (Team Innocent) and shmups (Zeroigar) just to name a few!
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
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VGE
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[@baddealrage]

Awesome video, I had no clue that PC-FX existed but enjoyed some PC-Engine games. Can't wait to try suggested games.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Def give them a shot. A decent amount to love on PC-FX

[@skykitchen867]

I enjoy Hudson Games. Bought the Turbo Duo back in 1994 and it still works perfectly. Their side scrollers are superb.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hudson always made great stuff

[@skykitchen867]

They sure did!! :)@@VideoGameEsoterica

[@CorporalDanLives]

I'm in Japan and I'm always surprised how I always see this thing for sale, and not at jacked up insane prices like everything else. You can grab one of these in the box for about 150 bucks at the current exchange rate and software seems plentiful. I really wonder how many of these things they managed to sell.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Oh I didn’t know you were in Japan. How’d I not know that?

[@CorporalDanLives]

@@VideoGameEsoterica actually today I just ran down to the really good hard off near my place and saw a batch of about five PCFX games, the most expensive was about 80 bucks and the cheapest was 15!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I need to send you on a shopping trip haha

[@nono1223]

Im extremely close to a full set for the PCFX. Only missing 8 games right now. Definitely love me some PCFX! My absolute favourite failed console.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Oh wow full set eh. That’s ambitious!

[@nono1223]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I had the luck to get Zeroigar and Chip-Chan Kick quite a few years ago for pretty cheap. Then I lucked into a (relatively) cheap copy of Zenki and at that point decided to just go for the full set. 😆 Now im only missing one good game (Power League FX). The others are the three Mahjong games (they are expensive for how crappy they are), Tokimeki, Pachio-kun, Sotsugyou R Real and the single release of Pia Carrot.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d love a copy of Zenki but I’ll never pay the price

[@kyzermcslyzer8496]

I bought a NEC PC-FX back in 2020, and honestly, I love it. There are a handful of games that can be played without knowing Japanese, but what I personally love is WHAT can be done with the PC-FX, in terms of non-pixel art games, Team Innocence is a prime example in my opinion. Hopefully there will be a small revival of the PC-FX since a lot of niche consoles are getting both new homebrew games and fan translations nowadays.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Team Innocent has such a unique vibe and look that I don’t think has ever been done before

[@weekendroady2060]

Is anyone even attempting homebrew on the PC-FX? It's easy enough to get one of these consoles and has so much potential to expand the library.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I haven’t seen any unfortunately

[@braillynn]

Does the PC FX support burned games?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

@braillynn4903 yes but not well. The motion jpeg fmv sequences love to stutter and freeze. But there is no copy protection

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Great unit this is VGE. I have the it in the collection. Haven't touched it in a while, but after seeing the video, I think I'll give a go now bro. 8^) Anthony..

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’m not surprised you have one!

[@Jabjabs]

I always love seeing the roads could have had but didn't take. PC-FX in magazines at the time was basically mentioned in such a brief passing you kind of questioned if it ever came out. Clearly it did but in the west we just were being dazzled by other things.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It barely registered on release and then faded into deep obscurity

[@alexc836]

I’ve tried the English patches of Zeroigar and Welcome to Pia Carrot (I own both originals) and I have to say it really transforms the games if you don’t understand Japanese. Even Zeroigar, being a kind of “meh” shooter before, feels more satisfying when you know what’s happening. Pia Carrot is a little naughty and cringe in spots, but overall a lighthearted and fun digital comic. I haven’t tried Farland Story yet, but I see it’s fully playable in English too. It’s on my list.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes the system could use some more translations. (Pokes Team Innocent with a stick)

[@alexc836]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Seems like that one was started many years ago, I remember seeing pics. Was it abandoned? You said they hadn’t started yet - is someone wanting to start over from scratch on it?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ve heard rumblings of an attempt but nothing to show for it

[@EVOLSUCKS]

@alexc836 that's very cool. I've tried burning the pia carrot translation in the past but never got it to work. How did you do it ?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You need extremely good quality discs. The PC-FX hates burned discs. JVC Taiyo Yuden ones

[@robross6462]

Awe yeah!!! Cat pointer is back! Enjoyed this series a few years ago! Happy to see more

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

He’s always around here and there :)

[@yakmage8085]

These Japanese PC videos are really amazing thanks for putting these together

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you enjoy them :)

[@devilmingy]

Always love seeing the PC-FX get some love.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It was long overdue to reappear on the channel. Also I made this months ago and kinda forgot about it

[@devilmingy]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Better late than never. Between this and the PCFX Fan Club podcast, it’s great to see more discussion on this wonderfully misguided machine. Looking into the PCFX also let me discover the software library of the PC98, which also tends to go more towards slower paced gameplay sections framed by animated storytelling rather than the PC Engine’s arcade action.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Oh I think I did that podcast? A few years ago. But now I can’t remember

[@devilmingy]

@@VideoGameEsoterica indeed you did, and they finally out out a new episode a couple months back.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I figured it had to be that one because there probably isn’t a second PC-FX podcast 😂

[@kjj_photos]

If it helps anyone else, here are the games listed in the video. I wish these had been displayed on the screen or listed in the description because I had a hard time figuring out how to spell them based on what I could hear in the video. (Except for the ones which had english on the title screen) Kishin Douji Zenki FX - Vajra Fight Choujin Heiki Zeroigar (there is an english patch available) Team Innocent Chip-chan Kick! Farland Story FX (there is an english patch available) Ruruli Ra Rura

[@Laserdreamz]

Gamefan gave Team Innocent rave reviews when it came out, looked great in the screenshots. Was so pumped for PC-FX right from seeing images of the Ironman board in the early 90's & it's morphing capabilities, shame.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

So many interesting games were demoed for Ironman that never made it to PC-FX

[@MrAlan1828]

PC-FX also exsisted as a CBus card for the PC98 and PCI card for Windows 95 Japanese PC. The first emulator was Magic Engine FX the creators of Magic Engine

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ve always wanted one of those cards

[@dorfus]

Oh sure you’re showing this system but you won’t cover similar… ahem… properties… on the Saturn

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Lolol the game list is all tame here

[@ThomasSerruques]

nice to see some love for pc fx. nec was blind to 3d even more than sega saturn, shame.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The funny thing is they were and weren’t. They had 3D planned for it. They just changed their mind at some point

[@Shadowmask49]

Added this to my batocera build, what a bunch of hidden gem anime games

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Nice. Enjoy them!

[@ataribowlingcgc4465]

There are two games I play regularly from this system: Chōshin Heiki Zeroigar which is a decent shmup and Kishin Dōji Zenki FX: Vajra Fight which is an excellent platformer.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Zenki is a banger. Love that game

[@lknox1123]

Your videos are hurting my wallet VGE!! You already have me looking at arcade PCB setups and now this!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

VGE is not to be held responsible for any bad financial decisions 🤣

[@Hreasvalgor]

You weren’t lying when you said you had every system, but do you have a Nokia? I heard about this system from “game sack” channel. I do want to play team innocent on it looks like a interesting RE clone. I wouldn’t be interested in buying physical console or game but I would definitely emulate it!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

An NGage? No. I don’t much collect handhelds outside of the common ones

[@mrburns366]

Sometimes I wish Sega and NEC had teamed up together to make a console. I feel like they might still be around if they had.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Possibly. They both had great hardware but also both had bad business decisions. So it’s as likely they just would have died earlier

[@Kadamose]

@@VideoGameEsoterica They were bad decisions because they were pioneers in the field. There was no one to emulate or copy. Nintendo is still around because they sat back and waited (the SNES came out three years after the Genesis and was not that much of an upgrade and the N64 came out two years after both Sony and Sega had their 32 bit consoles on the market and was an absolute dumpster fire of a system.) Sega and NEC both deserve to still be around, but, sadly, they are not, and the industry has suffered ever since.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes it’s less interesting without Sega in the mix.

[@MagisterHamid]

I have one and it’s one of the weirdest console in my collection. So many strange decisions by NEC. For a start as you mentioned no back wards compatibility and directly locking out the entire PC engine library, second why the hell is there no RGB out, only S-video. And third it’s a 2D console released just a few weeks after PS1 and Saturn. It was doomed from the start. And all those weird text based simulation games. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It is a master class on what NOT to do. But i love it anyway

[@BurritoKingdom]

It was supposed to be released in 1992. Remember that the PC Engine was released back in 1987. NEC delayed because of the success of the PC Engine. It was until the Saturn and PlayStation was announced that NEC was like we have a new console too.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

They sat on it way too long then changed nothing about it

[@ClassicCo-op]

I have a pc-fx and burned a handful of games. Definitely want to check out that horror game. That looks great! Do you know if any other co-op games other than Zenki and chip Chan kick?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There is a baseball game that I believe is 2P as is Battle Heat

[@tiagopereirasantossilva556]

I have Zork for PC-FX

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

A fun one to have on the shelf

[@AM-ss9he]

Now this would be awesome on the MiSTer.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

100% would be

[@ConfusionDistortion]

Had a PC-FX back in 2007. I enjoyed it, but as it was back then, it still is now. It should be treated no different than the Supergrafx. Battle Heat, Chip Chan Kick!, Kishin Douji Zenki, Super God Troopers Zeroigar, and Team Innocent are basically the only must haves if someone does have the system but cant read Japanese and wants physical copies of games. They could probably fumble their way through something like JB Harold or Dragon Knight 4, but it would be such a pain to do that it isn't worth it if you have to watch an entire play though just to get through it yourself. The ode kit was too expensive to warrant buying a system to use with one, given the fan translation scene is not that active and only a few titles have been worked on. I'd consider this system a emulation only thing unless you just have to own everything NEC. Much like the Supergrafx, owning the PC-FX wont enhance your NEC gaming experience any really. The best games for that experience are on the Pc-Engine/PCE-CD/TG16/TG-CD.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s just always a bummer that it had such good 2D graphical power and we rarely got it to see it flex its muscles

[@jd213_]

Another good game to get might be Der Langrisser FX, I believe it's preferred by Japanese fans over the PS/SS versions since it has more voices during battles or something

[@jd213_]

If one wants to play an SRPG in Japanese, that is. Maybe a translation patch will come someday, I believe there's ones for the MD/SFC versions

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It is a better version for sure

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes language is a huge barrier on PCFX

[@BrassMountainLion]

Ruruli Ra Rura looks adorable imo... not sure why VGE thinks it's ugly Great coverage of an obscure system, in any case! I recommend Queen of Queens just for the LOLs

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s charmingly ugly. But it’s ugly lol

[@dorfus]

FYI murdering those mailboxes in that Chip Chan Kick game is a very serious crime. Someone put an ice cream in a mailbox and got 5 years there- what do you think murdering like five or six of them would be?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Probably give you an award

[@nicolasrolke3538]

Ohhh this video is a real treat. Thank you. ⚡💯🔥🙏

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Happy to do it

[@masterninjahh]

11:25 dude that's the band that does all the dragon ball intros!!!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha really?

[@masterninjahh]

@@VideoGameEsoterica yeah look up head cha la and we gotta power from dragon ball

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ll check it out

[@snethss]

Here we go. Just now realizing you didn't cover this already.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I made this too long ago and kept pushing it

[@summerlaverdure]

hidden potential more like it, wish it did better

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It had the ability to succeed...then they decided FMV anime games were the future

[@summerlaverdure]

@@VideoGameEsoterica all we have to do is go back in time and tell everyone polygons are dumb LET'S DO IT 😎

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hahaha

[@BurritoKingdom]

I was always surprised that it was delayed 2 years due to the success of the PC Engine. One of the reasons the PC Engine was so successful was that it came out 3 years before the Super Famicom and ate up the Famicom's market share in Japan. Also, it was such a weird requirement that every game had to have FMV. Nudity = ok. Regular sprites=no

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

They really should have changed the design a bit more after they sat on it

[@miguelcarneiro1192]

If this cansole was retro-compatible i would get one, for sure

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Oh does it not work?

[@miguelcarneiro1192]

@@VideoGameEsoterica its a big mistake made by NEC :)

[@zazi77]

A core for the pocket would be awesome

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

We do need a core

[@zazi77]

@@VideoGameEsoterica yeah that's what I wrote

[@MarginalSC]

It's always presented as the hentai and FMV game console, so it's interesting to see more than just Langrisser shown.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes it’s got a lot more than just that :)

[@tiagopereirasantossilva556]

10:43 Gradius for PS2 is Shut'n' UP with RPG Element and when you died you can upgrade.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Been forever since I played that one

[@sjake8308]

Personally, I think Zeroigar more like the love child of a good Compile shooter and the Saturn version of Radiant Silvergun.

[@METR0lD]

I've always been fascinated by the PC-FX. The PC Engine/Turbografx was such a great console that was sadly overlooked outside of Japan. But it has an absolute banger of a library of shmups.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Pc-FX is a masterclass in “what not to do with your successor console”

[@8KilgoreTrout4]

What a fn beautiful little machine.. Like I'm born in the 80's and that design makes me moist haha

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Lolol

[@METR0lD]

[@kjj_photos]

I think this console struggled because they had to compete with other 5th gen consoles which could render 3D polygons (like PlayStation and Sega Saturn). If this console had been released a few years earlier, I think it would have fared far better.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Originally it was supposed to have 3D but that plan was removed

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

Heiki Zeroigar and Zenki are pretty much all I've played. These also that single screen not Bubble Bobble I've only just Confirmed working.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Gotta play Team Innocent!

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

I already have the bios in Retroarch might as well set it up

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Def should

[@PopeTheRevXXVIII]

I'm Surprised it doesn't have any kind of homebrew scene. Some talented sprite people could have a field day on it. It sure seemed to have the power for arcade ports. seemed like a slam dunk other than the No 3D thing.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes if they’d just prioritized nothing but awesome 32 bit 2D games and dropped the FMV stuff it would have been a console a LOT more people love today

[@makenoodle]

How does the Mister FPGA core for PCFX run? Does it run accurately?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There is no core yet :)

[@Jolly-Green-Steve]

You forgot Super Power League FX!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha I’m not a huge sports game fan

[@weekendroady2060]

Honestly one of the best baseball games in the sprite style graphics ever imo.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yeah I should have added it

[@allnamestakenlol]

That's one sexy looking system.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

She’s a beaut Clark

[@BushidoBrownSama]

it's too bad there is no known datasheet for the encoder, just imagine if it had B-Y & R-Y pins

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes it’s a weird encoded

[@Riz2336]

I think the backwards compatibility might have possibly saved this thing otherwise it’s not even really a video game console

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I mean it def has video games lol. So it’s a console. Just one where you need to cherry pick half a dozen good games

[@rodrigogirao8344]

That system was disconnected from reality, like NEC thought they were still going to compete with the SNES.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes it didn’t really make a TON of sense

[@MrNumberkid]

I like NEC

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Me too. Obviously lol

[@FoundOasis]

So this could connect to a pc or use dos?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Connect to a PC to use as a cd rom drive

[@protox07]

Awesome

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Thanks!

[@silverfoenix]

Ruruli Ra Rura😂I want to see a Japanese uttering this~ Really a missed opportunity, The system is a 2D powerhouse yet they cheeped out on the sprites? Castlevania main selling point was Sprite details + OST (ESPECIALLY SOTN)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

This is like a super late budget release and you can tell visually. But gameplay wise it’s worth it!

[@8bitnation419]

I was going to import this over, as the prices weren’t that bad until i realised it’s library consists almost entirely of FMV games which turned me off from purchasing it.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s not just FMV though. That’s why you should get one :)

[@8bitnation419]

@@VideoGameEsoterica There is always gems to be found but this could have easily been the Sharp X68000, except a more affordable version. I also wonder what kind of homebrew is on this, i would love to see some Arcade games ported to this. I still think this system despite its hidden gems is better left in Japan due to it mostly being an FMV machine that heavily appeals to a Japanese audience.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes and that’s the saddest part. It had such good 2D that barely got used

[@CorporalDanLives]

In my opinion this is an absolutely terrible console lol. My buddy imported one back in 2009 and was so hyped: The result was crushing disappointment. I feel like the Japanese 3DO lineup is much more satisfying.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Sure 3DO def wins but for the half dozen good games PC-FX has I still say it’s worth it

[@Cookiedon15]

Nice 👍

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I needed to revisit PC-FX and spread the love one last time

[@RetroRockGamer]

The problem was that at the same time the pc-fx came out with great 2D, the world was becoming obsessed with crappy first gen 3D.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It was def a transitional period

[@Bootyhunter1971]

Yep, kind of same thing that hampered the Saturn, although the Saturn could also do crappy 3d lol.

[@gargonovich]

The other problem for the PC-FX is that the PS1 and N64 are good enough at 3D to use it as 2D layers in addition to all the other stuff they're capable of. Even if 3D hadn't been as hot as it was, this machine would have been outclassed by those machines and the Saturn. NEC designed this machine to come out in '92, when it WOULD have been pretty impressive, but things were moving pretty fast back then and NEC blinked.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The delay was def not helpful for NEC

[@fv_ys_]

PC Engine custom 8 bit. PC FX 32 bit. Truly laughable. PC FauX would be more apt. The kiss of death follow-up twenty thousand leagues under the wii U.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Wii U was a good time all things considered

[@Vitreia]

Love these deep dives! You can definitely tell why this wasn't successful. Even putting aside 3D, the 2D is barely more impressive than what you'd see on the SFC/SNES, let alone its peers, the PSX and Saturn.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

They sat on a finished hardware design for near to three years then released it oddly enough