NEC PC Engine

[@RetroGarst]

Wow! Thats advanced for the time. One of your best reviews and THE best PCE review I ever saw. Awesome! Keep it up.

[@MN12BIRD]

@JayBrownAlpha You can use a 9V Sega Genesis Model 1 power adapter and any standard RF box like the grey Nintendo box.

[@MN12BIRD]

Yeah I got the hookups with the CD-ROM interface unit otherwise a Sega Genesis Model 1 power adapter works great on the PC Engine alone. Actially I think the Genesis model 1 AV cable even works on a PC Engine Core Grafx or Core Graphx II (the ones with the AV output on them)

[@Revcharge]

OMG! this was my training wheels in video gaming back when I was 5! been looking for this due to nostalgia.

[@Ragtime4]

It was released in the NES era in Japan, which is a big part of why it did so well. It originally came out in 1987 in Japan.

[@clubhappybest]

A friend of mine (somehow) had the TurboCD and actually taped a playthrough of Download (or Download 2?) on freakin VHS. Watching it was basically the coolest thing I'd ever seen in 1992. I only saw PC Engine in the back of EGM, on sale from shady import places for like $399 and the PCE CD was like $599. So futuristic and rad, even when I saw it 3-4 years later (which is like a century in Moore's Law time, lol). Everything was so much more exciting before broadband internet and KZbin.

[@traphoot]

Nice video. I've been downloading TurboGrafx16/PC Engine games on the Wii's Virtual Console. I'm finding that the system is a hidden gem from the 16-bit days, having lived in the West my whole life. The system has the simplistic charm of the NES/Famicom, but with a graphical edge that puts it leagues ahead of that console. Great little system.

[@MN12BIRD]

They got the American design it was called the "Turbo Grafx" without the "16" on the end and it looked just like ours except the sticker. Apparently it was much less common over there so it's a little rare.

[@bartsimpson83]

I just bought one of these yesterday! I can't wait to get my hands on it. I've been collecting and researching a lot of the retro systems for the last couple of years and it really does seem like if you're interested in playing games more than collecting them (which I am), the PC Engine is the best system you could possibly get because there's a ton of great games for it and very few that are truly bad. Even a mediocre PC Engine game is still better than most other 16 bit games (or 8 bit games).

[@raypadilla254]

The crazy thing about the PC engine was that it's 8 bit 7.14 CPU had a 24 bit address bus and was actually twice as fast as the SNES CPU and probably the most advance CPU of the three 16 bit consoles! and it was only 8 bit, but what made it so powerful was it's two 16 bit gpu's! And it was meant to complete with the 8 bit NES in Japan, but since it was so powerful it actually started to complete with the 16 bit consoles! I personally love it and it's my favorite console of all time! Such a amazing piece of hardware!

[@thebonefish]

NEC really had a handle on the design of the PC Engine.

[@BlooditeDrakan]

Fascinating insight. It makes me wonder if I could find a bunch of side scrollers to pick up for the PC engine - but if only I knew japanese! Damn!

[@janX9]

That explains why my TurboGrafx is so lightweight. I always wondered why it was so big yet so light. I just knew they could make is smaller!

[@bigolebadassbob]

The Super CD add-on is definitely a must have to see what the PCEngine was truly capable of. I mean, games like Castlevania Rondo of Blood and Lords of Thunder look almost like new games that just came out today or something.

[@MNC122703]

Imagine this came out in the states the same time as japan , we might be playing the PC engine 5 right now

[@Nesmaniac]

Good video very informative. I've recently gotten into turbo grafx 16 stuff since I think it's cool but very scarce as well here in the states. I just see that this same setup is up on ebay for what seems to be a resonable price so I got on here researching and found this video.

[@MN12BIRD]

@xaer0knight No the PC Engine was the first video game system to use CD-ROM technology as it came out in Japan in 1988 the FMTowns came out in Japan in 1991 so the PC Engine has it beat by 3 years! Way ahead of anything else. But the FMTowns was the first stand alone video game console to be purely CD-ROM based, not an add-on.

[@ATARI800XLfan]

Thank you for the response. I was wondering though what are the dimensions of the Duo R the reason I ask is to see if it is about the same size as the PC engine CD combo, I am starting to run out of room for more systems so I am trying to save as much space as I possibly can.

[@kinmanyuen]

this thing is epic. superb design and cd-rom was new in the pc era around that time. But the unit is so small... i love it. The graphics looks better than sega and snes and had very accurate arcade ports like outrn and afterburner 2 showing off spritescaling.

[@dannyofthededd]

nec f@cking rocked...how great does that console look with the cd rom..like something straight out of an anime...i want one

[@MODDEDbyBACTERIA]

If you don't mind opening up your console, you can add switches to swap four pairs of connections that will make the console region free. (you also need to lift up one pin on a chip too); cost - for nearly free.

[@andyukmonkey]

I'd love to own a Pc engine but in the UK we didn't even get an official release of the Turbografix 16. I know there were some imports originally but i assume they're really rare nowadays.

[@raypadilla254]

This was a awesome console. It had a custom 8 bit cpu processor and two 16 bit graphics processors. For comparison the super Nintendo had a 16 bit cpu processor and two 8 bit graphics processors. And the Sega Genesis had a 16 bit cpu and one 8 bit graphic processor.

[@Lorfarius]

It makes me wonder what the insides of the TurboGrafx looks like. I'm guessing it's just a lot of empty space?

[@ATARI800XLfan]

Nice video. I have been looking at getting a Turbografx-16 I was wondering though would you recommend getting a Turbografx-16 or a PC engine. The reason I ask is that I have noticed how hard it is to find the HU-card adopter to play import games on the american unit and there are a few japan only games I am interested in like Afterburner II.

[@CEEPMDEE]

just imagine how much fun we would have had in the US with the nes, sega ms & pc engin/ turbo graf-x16 competing at the same time + street fighter 1 on a hu-card, kicking your friends ass at home. NEC could have made fighting street on a card. probably would have sold much more with FS aka SF1 on a card. they had so many games.

[@SSJSonikku]

Great video man! Yeah, that is the only reason USA HuCards can't be used on PC Engine. When I do get the system, I'm going to mod it play both JPN and USA games no problem. It is IMO the best way to play both regioned games, not those expensive converters.

[@schtive81]

Great look at the PC engine and the CD-Rom2, they really did build that think well. Too bad that the Turbo Graphx 16 looked like a weird award mess when it was attached to the CD add on, in comparison.

[@ScrewAttackEurope]

Which side did you open it though? The thing is that half of the board is empty. NEC made the machine bigger as they thought Americans assumed bigger was better.

[@cutemimi25]

I wonder what the European design of the PC engine is like (I know in America the Turbo Graphix 16 was bigger and wider) but did Europe get the Japanese design or the American design?

[@eviljoebob]

very cool. i know a little about the pc engine and i think that interface is referred to as the "briefcase unit" because of the handle and look of it. very cool thing though

[@SnapCraft316]

2 questions: (1) do you know if the black USA TG16-CD is interchangeable with the white Japanese CD? (2) can you just run the PC engine in the holding unit w/o the CD attached? Thanks

[@JerryTerrifying]

@MN12BIRD It'll be a while before I pick one up I'm sure. This habbit is getting to damn expensive. And likewise I hope you get yours working or find another one for a decent price. I want in on those sweet CD games damn it!

[@Lorfarius]

I love my PCE and when it's combined with the Super CDRom unit there's not a single retro console that's better.

[@thysawonn]

i just bought one today, all complete. i have looking for along time.

[@Raligard]

I wish NEC had tried harder and earlier to bring this system to us in North America. I have the US TG16 and CD-Rom. I've added a switch to the TG16 to allow for the use of US or Japanese HuCards. This way I can use the Super Arcade Card on my US system and play all games ever released for both systems. Only thing it can't run are SuperGrafx cards. I still have it and still play it. Street Fighter II, Blazing Lazers, Dungeon Explorer II and many more favorites for the system.

[@SSJSonikku]

That is awesome man! I want to find the PC Engine it, however, the GoreGrafx seems to be easier to find. The Interface and cd add on are also things I want to get as well.

[@NaokisRC]

@MN12BIRD What would you need to do? I think my NAOMI system is oxidizing and it aint pretty...

[@ScrewAttackEurope]

Yes, there's no copy protection on them either, so you can play imported games.

[@Stinger2578]

Like he says in the video, it's an 8-bit processor (so 8-bit system) BUT the graphics are 16-bit - it keeps up with Sega Genesis and SNES - so it fits in with that generation. it's kind-of the 'in-between' system - between 8 and 16-bit. Kinda like the Dreamcast was the in-between PS1/N64 and the PS2/GameCube/Xbox. I consider Dreamcast as part of the generation with those other 3, the same way the TG-16 can be considered part of the 16-bit generation. They each started 'next-gen'.

[@Sirynx77]

BYW: Do you have a the cover for the interface unit for the PC-Engine/CD-ROM? Just asking because you didn't show it. That's why the interface unit has a handle. So you can transport the console to a friend's house. With the cover on of course.

[@real0228]

I have a gray one. But why there are so many colour for PC-Engine console? I see a gray one with orange logo or even gray one with blue logo. what are the differents with the colour?

[@maximumrisk2004]

How come I never saw any of those Card Systems in Austria? I mean there seem to be many systems that use those Gamecards. Also they appear to contain more information than a Gameboy cartridge which should have been around the same time. Just saying I dont understand how this Tech was not used further in Handhelds.

[@bencheshire]

best look at the PC engine on youtube, ta.

[@bigolebadassbob]

The PCEngine's processor was four times faster than the NES', twice faster than the SNES', and almost as fast as the Sega Genesis'. It was very powerful for it's time.

[@StickPeopleAndPuff]

@danielholmesmoo the reason is that (for the famicom atleast) companies resize the american version because they didnt think america would like cute little console and want "bulky, hardcore" gaming systems

[@MN12BIRD]

Yeah, if you don't mind importing games from Japan get the PC Engine. Much bigger library overall. You can get adapters to play PCE games in a TG16 but they're hard to find and not cheap.

[@Palmroxx]

Fantastic video.. Man, I don't know what it is about this/these system(s), but they have a insane amount of charm.. I've kind of grown bored of playing NES (and SNES somewhat with the exception of a few titles), but this system always screams to be powered on and have a blast :)

[@doujindance]

Did you know power supply issue of IFU-30(this unit system)? An original AC adapter is DC9V 1450mA. But, as for long time working of the CD-ROM unit. The precision of the laser to pick up data turns worse remarkably. By such circumstances, the Japanese PC Engine manias use by around DC10V to DC12V. And choice the electric current 2000mA. In Japan, it's most famous episode one of IFU-30.

[@gamecollect101]

The yellow can be completely reverted to pure white without even touching it...I do it all the time.

[@gamecollect101]

Yeah I love the system, to bad the CD-ROM gear in this first model is notorious for yellowing (just like SNES) and then becoming brittle and breaking, last thing I knew was that it was almost impossible to find a replacement for that gear. I'll still pick this up for collectible purposes and use the Duo-R instead. Akumajo!

[@Fizz826]

I still have mine with 4 games. it was really popular in Japan and Taiwan at the time. more then the sega mega drive.. the yellowing is from aging. asia is humid at most places.. i'm glad i can still find games on ebay for this! why is retro gaming so popular now? someone is selling this on ebay for $160 + $25 shipping...

[@sinistermoon]

You have awesome toys.

[@ScrewAttackEurope]

Did you ever own a turbographx as a kid Jake?

[@vasquez123100]

this system was made partialy by hudson soft right?

[@kennytheamazing]

Actually it can only display 482 simultanious colors out of an 512 palette.

[@6G3rm4N9]

what is the yellowing?

[@Noyjeetut]

Great video man, but I wish you told us why we got that bulky system compared to what Japan got.

[@JerryTerrifying]

I just right now got my PC Engine in the mail. AWESOME! I can't wait to track down the CD attatchment shit. I don't think one controller slot is stupid on the PC Engine. That helps keep it tiny which is fine. The TG16 which is huge for the sake of being huge...now that's stupid to only have one controller input.

[@Fizz826]

2 months ago after I took my PC-Engine and CD-ROM2 system out since then I've gotten 20 games on ebay all around $4.99 to $19.99 each! I play this now more than my xbox 360.. lol Currently I'm playing gate of thunder and Ys 2 ..

[@zinakan]

So can we play the games for this small pc engine console on the north american turbografx 16 console?

[@MN12BIRD]

Nope, you need a special adapter card to play PC Engine games on a TG-16. Without the adapter the games won't work.

[@Relugus]

The original PC Engine is perhaps the most beautifully designed console ever. Its amazingly compact (much more powerful than the NES or SMS, yet smaller). Such a shame they ruined such a fantastic design with the awful Turbografx16, which was made larger because Western (especially American) gamers would assume the small PC Engine was somehow under-powered.

[@n8great321]

Wow, imagine how rad you would look carrying that bad boy down the street with the handle. And playing SF2 with the two button controller would be terrible

[@MNC122703]

Dude IM dying for another video man its been to long

[@rdblitz10]

i have the interface unit but the problem is i dont have the ac adaptor for it can yoy please help me guys? thanks

[@ScrewAttackEurope]

BTW, you should open up your TG16 for a rather shocking surprise!!!

[@thepthepthep]

Have you considered using retr0brite on it?

[@jd24456]

awsome video

[@james42519]

retrobright is interesting. maybe i will try it some day. i looked on the web site and there are a few different recipes to make it. found it searching for retrobright in google of coarse.

[@xtraflo]

Thats crazy - I want one !!

[@gojordon1]

just think if the pc engine was release in america unchanged maybe NEC would have made a 3-D systems and still be around

[@DTM-Books]

Dude, you've got a Marantz stereo! Rock on! I love those things. What turntable do you have. The PC Engine is such a great little games console. The Turbografx never looked good. It always felt so light and empty. Now we all know why. The poor Turbo was always hamstrung from the very beginning. All the best PCE games couldn't come to the US, Keith Effing Courage was the pack-in, and it was $10 more than the Sega Genesis. The Turboduo was much better, but too little, too late.

[@cpnnpr]

I so badly want that system! Are you selling?!?

[@jiminboo]

Fucking awesome video, thanks Jake, didn't know most of the stuff you explained.

[@UnequivocallySpeakin]

Someone offered me one of these with 6 games for $60, do you think that would be a good deal?

[@2lobo777]

Its really cool, have it found its way to america, in a succesful way of course the videogame insdustry would have advanced like 10 years.

[@Pai3000]

Go for the pc engine. Games are much cheaper and easier to find. If you are planning on buying a cd add-on, then go for the duo R or RX (both japanese) because the original cd rom2 and the american duo are not very reliable (specially cd-rom2). By the way, cd´s are region free.

[@viestemnogotupi]

i've always wanted one! unfortunately, the price on ebay is more than i can afford :( someday maybe i will have the chance to own one...

[@elabit]

Nice marantz

[@dannyofthededd]

nec f@cking rocked...

[@Dante1122-k5t]

i cant test mine or play it no power adapter or voltage converter shame might sell if cant find them

[@terriblefilms]

I gotta get me one of those.

[@rhodesy761uk]

@danielholmesmoo they did a sensus and they say back then people think there getting a better deal if the thing is bigger not like today the smaller the better

[@MN12BIRD]

Nope. The motherboard is larger but clearly has a lot of spare, empty space on it.

[@TheSuperNESman]

dang I want a pc engine with the cd rom add on!Lucky man! >:\

[@于井然-s1e]

還可以買得到Pc engine嗎？

[@crazyiproshow]

Akumajou Dracula X !!! haha...i just like that game for the PCEngine

[@SitarKnight]

I so want one of these! Why do they have to be so damn expensive?!?! :(

[@MN12BIRD]

No unfortunately this is how I got my PCE/CDROM set without the cover.

[@mmmbbb246]

a little alchol on a paper towel will take away the yeller on the system like magic.

[@Vampire__Squid]

So, you're saying I should import a PC Engine instead of getting a Turbo Grapxics-16? the PC Engine has such a better console design and a bigger library but your words of wisdom will determine my choice

[@tatsujincorp]

you are right!

[@Snakif]

The PC-Engine is a 8bit console not a 16bit :)

[@Pai3000]

Don´t have the combo, so I can´t tell, but the difference is minimum compared to the advantages of NOT owning a combo. :D Go for the duo. Probably MN12BIRD is right.

[@anon6655]

and of course the SNES and the Genesis beat out the turbografx 16, but id rather have a turbografx16\PC Engine.

[@S6NS3]

Yes

[@thorgrim103]

pc engine is far more detailed then snes.

[@spiritro06]

lol i love that, genesi

[@drakgrotta]

it would have been nice if you played it a bit :)

[@VirtualVernon]

Ya Know...? LoL No! Actually I don't. "Boy he sure loves to say ya know"