The TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine - Review - Game Sack

[@GameSack]

This is the first time we covered a specific system. We didn't know what we were doing. Instead we just picked a few games to talk about and called it a day. We'll talk about the Turbo again someday and Bonk as a series will also likely get his own episode. Or at least half an episode.

[@Heliocentric]

Can you do an episode on terns like 8bit, megabit, dithering and interlacing? I think your younger viewers would enjoy your (dave's) presentation. Keep up the good work.

[@stgenerations]

You still don’t know what you’re doing. 😂

[@flyingsquadron]

​@@stgenerations burnnn

[@miketate3445]

Dave added so much with his unique delivery... Thanks for the memories, Dave.

[@jschildress1]

? What do you mean

[@MarioNintendoh]

@@jschildress1 Dave speaks like a good dad

[@NickJaime]

@@jschildress1 I think he means that since Dave left, the show isn't the same.

[@MrRiley1000]

Not unlike a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They are okay by themselves, but something special together, and will never be the same apart.

[@vesuviocat]

When I was a kid, the only thing I could afford was a TurboGrafx 16 which was $99 (after it had failed). It came with Keith Courage and a really fun golf game. It was great for me!

[@Trialwolf]

I finally found a Turbo just 2 weeks ago, having a blast with it. Got Legendary Axe, Galaga 90, Kieth Courage, Ninja Spirit, Chu Man Fu, Fantasy Zone, Bonk 1, and Victory Run.

[@stgenerations]

2 weeks ago… 11 years ago!!!

[@the.internet]

This video is 10 years old but as usual you're my go-to guys for finding games on obscure (to me) systems. I'm on a roll with retro games at the mo and I'm always down for your recommendations. So glad you're still doing your thing, GameSack.

[@GameSack]

Depends on who you ask. The sound capabilities are purely technical, 6 channels vs 8 for the SNES and 10 total for the Genesis. Some argue that the Turbo is PSG or a PSG/PCM hybrid. SNES is pure PCM and Genesis has 6 FM with one channel doubling for PCM and 3 PSG and one noise channel. Explaining this in a video isn't as easy as explaining the number of colors, for instance. I love the way the Turbo sounds. I don't necessarily think it sounds "better" but I still love it.

[@Sirynx77]

NEC acquired a license for those games from Sega, it allowed NEC to port games like OutRun, Shinobi, After Burner II though NEC's own NEC Avenue for the PC-Engine. Similarly, Telenet Japan got a license to port Golden Axe to the PC-Engine.

[@dylanmcconnell409]

Nothing but love for YS 1+2. My favorite pc engine/TG16 game back in the day and today as well.

[@SoldatCrinale]

man im glad i held on to mine. I still remember i bought this one too. Toys R Us back in the early 90s had an incredible deal for the turbo. I remember buying this system for 50 bucks and NEC was running a promo where you would get a mystery game included with the system. So thanks to good grades, dad bought this bundle and he threw in Bonk's Adventure as an extra. I got Final Lap Twin as mystery game. The RPG mode in Final Lap Twin made me lose hours on end. I loved it. I still have my turbo hooked and will play games of Moto Roader or Bonk's Adventure on it.

[@juliusnielsen7122]

Did your Grades got worse cause of that?

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

Joe and Dave, great video. I just did one myself a few weeks ago. I hope you can take a look at it. The TurboGrafx was vastly underrated and I was one of the very few people in school, during my junior high and high school years, to own one. I'm always glad to see videos made by those who are truly huge fans of the system.

[@Trialwolf]

Super System Card just came in and just played the hell out of Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, amazing game and playing it on the original system for the first time just makes it that much sweeter.

[@drseussisdeaddd]

One of my al time fav systems.Still have my original I got back in the day when I was 10 years old.I have a modded duo that I still use almost daily and my original tg-16 sits on my shelf.

[@udezulude]

@MrGameSack The Fm Towns Marty came out in 1991, but I stand corrected, the pc engine had the first CDROM in 1990, but as an add on, the FM Towns Marty was the first console with a built in CDROM.

[@IBEBIGRAY]

People don't realize how powerful this console was! It has a advanced 8 bit cpu running at 7.16 MH with a 21 bit address bus!! And had two 16 bit graphics processors capable of 512 available colors and 482 on screen colors, 241 for backgrounds and 241 for sprites, and 16 colors for each sprite! Although only one background layer but it can put sprites in front or behind that background layer! They could put multiple sprites connected together behind the background layer and multiple sprites connected together in front of the background layer and and pull of a convincing parallax scrolling effect along with line scrolling that could easily match the two layers of parallax scrolling of the genesis and four layers of the SNES!!!!! All in all even though it is a 8 bit console it could easily make games to match any 16 bit console of that generation!!!! It's really a 8/16 bit console! U can call it a really powerful 8 bit console or a 8 bit console capable of producing 16 bit graphics!!!! What ever you call it it is and was awesome!!!!!!!!

[@Sinn0100]

As always, I love your show. I am one of the lucky ones that saw the writing on the wall and purchased one years ago. It's a good console and has some excellent titles on it, sadly it did not do well in the US. Growing up I was a diehard Sega fan and almost completely wrote the console off completely. When the Playstation made it's debut and was vying for the number one spot against the Sega Saturn. I was completely and totally lost trying to decide which system to buy. I was so lost that I purchased both on the same day (I continue to do this today). When I was leaving the store I noticed a Turbo Grafix 16 sitting all by itself covered in dust out of box. I inquired about the machine (it had a controller port stuck in the socket, apparently someone broke it off inside the console). They sold it and 10 games for $100.00, I even got Splatter House with it in box...Score. ;)

[@Rountree1985]

Thanks for the information on JB Harold Murder Club. I have this added to my Super Nintendo classic edition and haven’t gotten around to seriously playing it.

[@mikediloreto5965]

Based on rising prices I think that too many people appreciate it a little too much

[@asumz9141]

When I was a youngin, for some reason, I actually wanted this system over every other one on the market. It was when it first came out and I guess it was because it WAS so different thats why I wanted it. I loved it and hung on to it , defending it until the end lol ....cool to see it get SOME props!😁

[@lilong242]

I felt the same way. The games felt magical and other worldly.

[@iwonderifthisislegal]

I'm here in 2017....The Sack rocks

[@JSchaffer214]

@Zero Cool Relaxing in the year 2137. We've just discovered time control and have made it readily available to the masses. The first thing I've done is check out some old Game Sack videos on KZbin. KZbin was shut down by the Universal Government (led by the planet Nysti) in 2082. BTW, Do NOT take the Nystians to your leader! HACK THE PLANET!

[@iwonderifthisislegal]

@Timothy Shawn and I'm still here, bro!

[@MisakaMikotoDesu]

Insane how consistently good this channel has been all these years. Thanks for all the content.

[@Bigdog302V8]

a very underrated system! I had a lot of good times with the awesome games it had! I still have the Turbo I bought in 1989 and the CD rom setup I got around 1990. I remember being blown away by Ys books 1 and 2 back then and Dracula X in 1993 and of course when I got Gate of Thunder with the super system 3.0 card in 1992. Gate of Thunder's sound track is still one of the best I ever heard in a game.

[@storino03]

I was lucky to find a TG16 bundle last spring (2012) and that's what got me into this system. Great forgotten console!

[@juliusnielsen7122]

How much was it?

[@flyingsquadron]

​@@juliusnielsen7122 Was about 30 bucks all in.

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

It takes much more processing power to render polygons than it does to display sprites and other pre-rendered assets. Essentially it's the difference between meticulously re-typing a 20-page term paper and just scanning, copying, and turning in a three-pager. Not only is it a lot more work because there's a lot more information involved, but it has to render the polygons based on instructions from the game rather than just displaying the assets which are programmed to interact in specific ways.

[@tetrisdave]

@xhunter143 Yes! Konami did release Dracula X on the SNES. It's kind of a port of the PC Engine version with a new paint job and differently arranged music. I'm a fan of it but a lot of people aren't.

[@BadIdeaSociety]

I'm fairly certain that the original English soundtrack for the game was produced in Japan several years earlier when the game was available on PC. I think it is amusing that a lot of the dialogue that the parking lot attendant says in Japanese is played straight while the English track seems to have been produced by a person who watched "48 Hours" and assumed the game needed a vaguely Eddie Murphy-sounding character.

[@grumblekin]

Ys is considered to be a Legendary Game in Japan, along with Dragon Quest. If they had released a single Dragon Quest on PC Engine, NEC would have sold about 50 million units on that, alone.

[@GameSack]

@onetunafish The FM Towns Marty came out in 1993 in Japan. The TurboGrafx-CD came out in the US in 1990 and even earlier in Japan. I believe even the Duo came out before the Marty.

[@drseussisdeaddd]

I got my tg-16 in 1991 and it still works like a charm.Great system with some fun games.

[@xnamkcor]

The FMV between Ys I and Ys II is one of the best sequel links I've seen. I&II are pretty much one long game.

[@SnackRelatedMishap]

TG16 is a great console... Probably my favorite console-based pinball game ever is Alien Crush on the Turbo. Just a great library of games for that one... it's a shame that you can't find any at reasonable prices anymore.

[@Retroloft556]

I really regret selling my Turbo. I used the cash to buy a 3D0. Stop don`t look at me, I`m dirty! My favorites were Ninja Spirit and Alien Crush.

[@midnightshade32]

I lent mine to a friend at the time with my games for his genesis and games we all used to lend each other our systems no big deal. This asshole moved and didn't tell anyone. My system and games gone. I had both alien crush and devils crush, also ninja spirt, great games. My fav was the Zelda like game neutopia. I also loved bonks, bloody roar, legendary axe, dragon spirit, and the AD&D game order of the griffin. All amazing and well ahead of its time. There was something about the color pallette on the games that was so more colorful than the genesis, I was stuck with. Don't ger me wrong the genesis had good games too, but I loved my tg16.

[@canadianwhistledog]

The TG-16 was the first video game console I bought with my own money. One of my favourites rarely talked about was Shockman. It was hard as hell and to date, I've never been able to finish it without using the code to refill your life meter at anytime, but one of these days I will beat you Shockman. One of these days!!!!! lol

[@GameSack]

It'll be worth the wait. I hear Super System cards are hard to come by. I guess you could always get a JP version of the card but the converters are getting expensive these days as well. See that everybody? Because the Turbo was ignored when it was current, there's not enough stuff to meet demand so now it's all crazy expensive!

[@Saxcat20]

I bought a TG-16 just because of this video! Thanks guys!

[@lokakuu1985]

So did I, man, so did I! The TG-16 rocks, and these guys rock, too! :)

[@MrLordpistoia]

No you didn't

[@shitbrick5030]

now google super sd system 3. currently downloading all the cd games to my sd card for mine

[@mattfahringer148]

@@MrLordpistoia yes they did

[@GameSack]

@dave4shmups You'll have to mod your Turbo for video and stereo audio without it or the TurboBooster Plus. The CD unit acts as a TurboBooster Plus as well. We think this was a big mistake not to include composite video and stereo out on the basic system. At least they learned by the time the Duo came out.

[@cultofdis]

The production value of the show has drastically increased since this episode. And Dave got much better at voice overs. This is still one of my favorite episodes and I've watched it multiple times

[@Aurion89]

I paused the video at 1:58 to look at all the calender entries out of curiosity, and when I saw the entry "Pooty tang all up in here" on Oct 9th I couldn't help but grin. I became a fan after I happened upon the Neo Geo X video and have watched all your videos since. Keep up the great work, you two!

[@gamecollect101]

@kirgeez, You'd have to be crazy to think the Turbo/Duo is called the Shmup king by default (You probably owned the wrong games), there's easily over 100 Top shooters & endless gems (over 750J cards) between Hucard & the multi Cd-Rom formats. Gaiares, Thunderforce, & M.u.s.h.a are awesome games but when your contending against games like Gates of Thunder, Spriggan, Sylphia, Air Zonk, Magical Chase, Lords of Thunder (better version), Soldier Blade, Super Star Soldier & Salamander it makes it King

[@Kashmir23]

Keep in mind these games can be burnt so easily and pop in and play. Like he said just buy the Turbo Duo if you’re going to collect for these. Mine is region free and you may want to get one that has been refurbished bc they have a flaw. Some type of capacitor they used will break and leak over time so be aware of that huge one flaw with the system.

[@kevintown311]

I agree. It's so underrated. It was my first game system and I have very fond memories of this system and it's games.

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

I was a Genesis and later SNES guy, but always secretly earned for a Duo, drooling over all of the increasingly desperate soundings ads in EGM in the early 90s. Never had a chance to get one though. However, Magic Engine emulator came out in the late 90s and I got a chance to catch up on this library of games, some of which ended up among my 16-bit favorites. Definitely a great system with a very nice library of games. The games had their own unique look and sound, distinct from the Genesis and SNES. The system didn't really do parallax and line-scrolling that well, so most games are a bit flat looking. However, it made up for it with very large spite size and on-screen colors rivaling the SNES. Some of my favorites not mentioned here: Blazing Lasers (Gunhead), Gradius, Raiden, Soldier Blade, Bonk 3, Air Zonk, Spriggan Mark 2 and Ninja Warriors.

[@BadIdeaSociety]

I also want to push the game "Cosmic Fantasy 2" a little bit as it was the one of the first "Working Designs" titles to get any attention and the majority of the crew that designed the game are now bringing us the famed "Tales of" games from Namco. The battle system was tedious, sure. The music was monotonous, okay. But the characters did a bunch of things that normal RPG characters like making funny wisecracks, breaking the forth-wall, and talking with the gamer.

[@burntreynolds1068]

Damn guys, your delivery really improved a lot over time. It was like watching a different video!

[@DeenHoward]

I'm thinking of shelling out some cash for a PC Engine Turbo Duo-R. You guys' videos make me want to collect PCE and TG-16 games so badly.

[@MrFrancesc11]

thank you so much for mentioning splatterhouse! it is a true gem on the console

[@DrMcMoist]

That guy might lead a dull life, but he sure as hell doesn't have a dull voice.

[@slobodanlang7135]

3:02, just for some advice, when you guys are firing off a long Japanese title like Ginga Sapphire, could you put the text up on the screen that would help. Thank you for making this video, the production, sharing your knowledge, the research and game play footage. It's always nice watching your videos.

[@bigdeagle1331]

Watching you 2 talk about games reminds me of my buddy from school! We talked,traded and sold games with each other from 4 th grade to 12

[@TBelly]

I’m so addicted to TG16 right now that I am watching everything!

[@jakeborunda8125]

@gamesack, I loved my TG-16 when I had it! Thank you for paying homage to this under appreciate machine! Could you guys do an episode dedicated to all of the NEO GEO ports that went to all of the different systems and the difference between all of the various versions? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

[@Jumpboots_Jamstrang]

I found a TurboExpress at Goodwill. $5.00 "as is" with tv tuner. It worked for a couple of seconds, then the screen would white out. I replaced a couple of capacitors, and BOOM. Perfectly good system for under $10.00 total. Easily my best deal of all time.

[@dakotamike]

So awesome that the Japanese version of Rondo of Blood/Dracula X is still available on the wii VC.

[@GameSack]

Thanks for watching!

[@dave4shmups]

Great video! This console is DEFINITELY underrated!

[@GameSack]

In our defense this video is over a year old so there lots of things about it that are far from perfect. If you watch one of our current videos you'll see that our delivery has improved from "kind of" wooden to bona fide "forest full of redwoods" wooden. :P

[@GameSack]

Welcome and we love the Turbo! Be sure to check out episode guide (link in the description) and you'll see that we talk about Turbo games A LOT.

[@cakestalker]

Also the added benefit of using CD-R's is that you can play games like Castlevania: Rondo of Blood patched to English.

[@thekingofprussia7]

What no Devil's Crush? Sacrilege!!! Hands down one of the best console pinball games I've ever played. I love my turbo grafx 16.

[@ultratv9921]

This was the best review of the TurboGrafx16 I ever seen on the internet! Great job guys!

[@majesticlizard]

Magical Chase on the Turbo Grafx is not the same as Magical Chase for the PC Engine. The Turbo version was revised with much improved background graphics and character sprites.

[@benjaminshinobi]

I know it's not a good game so I'm not surprised it isn't on here, but for historical reasons the Turbo Grafx gets credit for having a port of Street Fighter I (Fighting Street)

[@radiantjet418]

I played Samurai Showdown on this system at a friend's house. Truly one of the best fighting games on any system!! I so would love to get a copy of the original game!

[@jgregoryj1]

Not sure if its been mentioned bu the Turbografx-16 was actually a 8-bit system with a 16 bit GPU, NEC marketed it as a 16 bit due to the GPU performance.

[@Chaos89P]

I find it amazing that the TurboGrafx's HuCards, or TurboChips, could hold games during that time.

[@demonsty]

yeah 256k - 1024k.

[@Chaos89P]

@@demonsty Hey, 1 MB was a lot back in the late 80s-early 90s.

[@marklinstom5145]

This reminded me of those Johnny Turbo ads that use to run in the gaming magazines. The ones that were like comics where some guy would go around and beat up the people who worked for FEKA, (SEGA), and would get the kids to play the Turbo Duo.

[@low_e_music]

Would love to see you guys revisit the TG16. Still lots of great games to check out.

[@GameSack]

Will do.

[@hughlingard]

Joe & Dave, thank you for an enjoyable and interesting episode, as always.

[@bmwolgas]

3:24 - There's no way Dave and I can cover all the games here. 10 years later - I'll cover every game ever made, all by myself!

[@superdupersubby]

Anyone know the song at 9:27? Been looking but I can't find it for a while now...

[@SuperSmashTVChannel]

What people don't understand is the great technological leap that 16-bit sounds and graphics are from 8-bit. Switching from 8-bit to 16-bit was just an incredible experience and the games show it. Of course today that gets lost, I went through that leap and the memories I have of the 16-bit TurboGrafx are amazing.

[@Anakunus]

You do know that it does not matter what "generation" a console is part of, right? What matters is that there is an 8-bit central processing unit in it, i.e. the data between the processor and the memory can be transferred in the serials of 8 bits maximum; thus, PC Engine (or TurboGrafX-16, as you call it) is an 8-bit console.

[@KaziSIqbal]

I hear some of the most memorable game music on game sack and the a few month later it just pops up in my head and I wonder where it came from and then I watch an awesome Game Sack episode and then I remember, which is cool.

[@superkon316]

I have all the 8bits & 16bits system and I have to say that turbografx-16 is my favorite system and still is. Thanks for the nice video guys. Looking forward for more:)

[@Tulase]

I like how the part 2 is only 189 episodes away! Awesome! I had to come back to watch this one first!

[@RetroGamePlayers]

When I first saw the TG16 I was about 9 and it was running in demo mode at a Fred Meyers store. The game that was running....Splatterhouse. I was like HOLY HELL

[@DrKringle1968]

Rondo of Blood... 2011: "Around the $100 range." 2015: Over $250 -_- sighhhhhh....

[@popespalace823]

rom

[@slobodanlang7135]

@@popespalace823 that's what I'm saying CD Rom image+Magic Engine final price $0.00.

[@Rountree1985]

Slobodan Lang some people want the physical copy

[@waltersobchak7275]

@@slobodanlang7135 what's magic engine an em??

[@drunkensailor112]

2020 140€

[@TheCuddlyKnife]

@Gunmetalhed SNES was pretty impressive for shmups, too. Gradius 3(good), Darius Twin(good), Axelay(excellent), Super R-Type(great). R-Type 3(great), and my personal favorite, Super Earth Defense Force(the best). There were more, but these were tops.

[@robjackson4050]

i still own mine from years ago it isn't a duo and i don't have the c.d. add on but still a awesome console

[@SoftOtaku]

How did I miss this video until now?! Great!

[@laghi72]

Hey guys, u forgot to mention the portable version of turbografx, the turboexpress (or PcENgine GT in Japan), by far the most powerful handheld system in those years..

[@abletothink]

I randomly found an original model Turbografx 16 in great condition at a local used game store. It was bundled with three games for $100 and had apparently been sitting there for almost a year. I impulsively bought it knowing almost nothing about the system and now I’m planning on modding it for RGB as soon as the kit I ordered from eBay from the seller RetroRGB recommended comes in.

[@thetruebause3122]

4:28 bear striking similarities to a game called Carnage Heart. I'm reading online that it was used as an inspiration for several games so I'm betting CH was one of them

[@BadIdeaSociety]

I loved JB Harold: Murder Club, but the game refuses to let you solve the case until you hear everything that everyone has to say and there is no way to bungle the case. If you switch everything to Japanese and just go to every location and just keep getting the people you interact with to answer the questions the case will essentially solve itself. You also have to arrest and interrogate everyone in the game. It is a shame because I had the game figured out in 3 hours.

[@Demonskunk]

Wow, watching this old video, you guys have come a long way in quality.

[@GameSack]

Because it's in our other 57 videos.

[@locorobosj]

Great video guys! I love the TG-16. Please make more videos of TG-16 & PC Engine games!

[@godzilla7391]

I have the t-16,but not the CD attachment. I grew up with the Genesis, but my cousin had the t-16, and I had fun times spending the night with him playing it. Bonks Adventure, Keith Courage, Military Madness, Splatter house, and Legendary Axe bring back fond memories. I had to get one for my game room , if not just for those titles.

[@leshpar]

I loved my TG16 back in the day.

[@nicholauszamparello5892]

Actually the technical info was a bit off.. Here's what "justified" the 16-bit of the tg-16. It had a 16-bit ppu and the hu6502 was actually a dual core version of what was in the Nintendo.. The processor was actually a cross-development effort between Hudsonsoft and NEC. The reason they stuck with the 6502 was to make it easier for devs to move from the Famicom to the PC-Engine..

[@JusLsn]

Great vid.... but how do you not mention Bonk's Adventure? That was the flagship game of the console.

[@automan2k451]

I would also recommend Ninja Spirit and Sinistron. Then there is Neutopia 1 and 2 that are Zelda clones but they are really good Zelda clones.

[@bigslimmdawg1979]

I just bought my second turbografx this was my favorite console

[@edwardverver8090]

holy crap 2011 how did i just find your channel......FUCKING awesome now i have your whole library to watch.

[@SwankeyMonkey]

AuraOfRashida 1E1 Easily one of the better gaming channels out there right now. These guys bring perspectives from both sides of the console war boundaries and are pretty in depth with their commentary and insight.

[@shitocodone8940]

That's exactly what I said

[@mookiepercy]

This is and will be one of my favorite system awesome!

[@salozmen29]

When are you guys gonna do a Sega Master System video? Look forward to that!

[@danieleramponi6659]

my friends did too, and turned out that system was awesome and i have unforgettable memories from it.

[@LazyScoutJace]

I remember my idiot dad asked my brother and I if we still played our Turbo. At the time we were playing the Dreamcast and said 'nah'. We later found out that he dismantled it and threw it in the trash. *facepalm*

[@mintydog06]

LazyScoutJace I it's hard enough understanding throwing away a perfectly good working games console, but why did he feel the need to dismantle it?

[@LazyScoutJace]

mintydog06 My Dad always had a strong distaste towards our PC and video games. My brother and I didn't really do well in school around that time, so my Dad correlated our poor performance to our prominent game time. I dunno. I figured someone at his job mentioned video games = lazy kid = no success.

[@mintydog06]

yeah thats usually how it is. That's how most of the public are towards games even these days, they haven't got a clue. Hopefully you can get another Turbo now.

[@LazyScoutJace]

Yeah, I guess I could have been a better student around that time, but throwing their possessions away in front of them solves nothing. In my opinion, had he more involvement in my school life, I'd probably be more inclined to do better. Whatever, I have a BS in Chemistry and proved him wrong! Haha

[@AlucardMorgurth]

LazyScoutJace Hahaha! My father likes to dismantle everything, I don't know he just wants to see what's inside anything like a little kid, but he always asks first.

[@carlosbrandao1440]

This is for Joe Redifer: Have you ever heard of PC-FX? It was the successor to TurboGrapx-16 and all their 62 games have been released only in Japan...

[@SpiralPegasus]

@Playstationio actually, Joe didn't. Game Sack did an episode devoted to the PCFX.

[@Rountree1985]

Carlos Brandão of course he’s fucking heard of it. He had a goddamn video game channel.

[@TheReincarnatedDeath]

Now with Konami about to release a mini, it will get it's due appreciation.

[@charlie1234500]

@DejaVoodooDoll Man, I wish more people have the same mentality as you. Because that's truly what those people are. They're desperate to see failure.

[@Three_Beers_Before_Breakfast]

I have about 20 classic console. Plus handhelds. I still love my Sega stuff. Megadrive, Genesis, Sega CD, 32x, Saturn, Dreamcast. But I still love my NES consoles.