RetroSnow: The PC Engine Duo-R (Overview)

[@erbwars]

Well. I literally just found your channel this morning. I’m literally power watching your videos. All of your videos are truly amazing. Thank you for the excellent content

[@snowcon3]

Thank you!

[@AenimaEater]

Just bought a RGB- and Region-modded Duo-R. It´s amazing!

[@Marc_Araujo]

I love my (recapped) TurboDuo but I always wished they released another revision including the extra horsepower of the SuperGrafx, the extra RAM/Bios of the Arcade System Card, and the 6-button controller for fighting games.

[@jamescree6331]

Great video. Couple of info points: People add an LED to indicate power. The existing LED only comes on when the CD drive is busy. I put a warm white power LED in mine and the red LED shines in the middle of the white glow when CDs are being used. The internal save memory is normal, powered RAM. Not flash. It is powered by an electrostatic capacitor (AKA Super capacitor) which charges in about 3 seconds and can keep the SRAM alive for months. The Duo-R and Duo-RX are identical, right down to the component level. Just the label and the fact that the RX comes with a 6-button pad seperates them.

[@cocacolaholic]

nice review, i have my duo r coming from japan next week

[@Jakeallen86]

Damn man, i didnt kno your colection extended THIS FAR. This is a great review, you covered EVERYTHING. Nice work again Snow

[@neonspecter8242]

Wow I can't believe this video is 12 years old now, I just bought my PC Engine Duo RX from Japan but it's not mentioned in this video, does anyone here know about the arcade cds for the system? It sounds like they were released at the end of the PC Engines life cycle and I'm trying to confirm I need to buy the arcade card to play them in the Duo-RX

[@snowcon3]

You do indeed need an Arcade card. The RX is is just basically an aesthetic update to the R. Either Arcade card will work. Check out my video on the Neo Geo ports for PC Engine where I go into some detail on the cards.

[@bartsimpson83]

Thanks for this thorough and informative video! I might be getting a Duo RX soon (I hope, I hope, I hope...) and this answered just about all the questions I had about it. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend the PC Engine version of Batman. Instead of being a sidescroller like the NES game, Sunsoft did an overhead action/puzzle game that really feels like it could have been an arcade game. Very cool.

[@leehyatt76]

Fantastic video! Very helpful information to know. I really appreciate it!

[@kinmanyuen]

so beautifull, even the first one with the dockingbox or either the reardock is slim and cool design.

[@ArabKatib]

Nice video! Thanks for the review! By the way, @ 6:48 .. you are kinda rough when handling your CDs..

[@snowcon3]

Arab Katib It's simply because I was doing everything one-handed since the camera was in the other hand. I assure you that I'm far more graceful with both hands. ;)

[@metalcoola]

Great video,i also grew up with Turbograpx,i only got 2 new games per year from my uncle in America ,but i still loved it :}

[@stratamaster78]

This system is #1 on my most wanted list. I am going to get the modded one that allows you to play both JP and US Hu-cards. They show up on ebay from time to time for about $300 w/ the region mod. I LOVE this system...Really nice overview man!

[@majesticlizard]

@cuttock: They weren't idiots. The one controller port was a design compromise to make the PC Engine small. That made it easier to use, more attractive, and cheaper to ship and distribute. Because the Duo and Duo-R are based on the PC Engine design, the one controller port design had to be carried over.

[@DontPaniku]

I think you just talked me into buying one of these.

[@jamescree6331]

DontPaniku Do it. It's a great system with a massive library of games.

[@AxeBlack84]

Maybe one day I"ll pick up one of these. I was always curious of these systems as a kid. Never owned one in the systems prim though. Great vid.

[@drseussisdeaddd]

I found one on ebay modded to play japanese and english hu cards.It was only 20 bucks because the cd drive didn't work but I opened it up and replaced the gear inside and it works perfect now.What a deal.

[@Aaron_TheRed]

nice episode man, thanks to all your info im finally gonna go ahead and pick one up this christmas!

[@snowcon3]

Thanks for watching! Yes, they DO exist, although they can be tricky to find. Luckily, they aren't terribly expensive when you do. Usually they run about $10 USD or so. I would recommend checking eBay.

[@Chantumon]

Nice video snow :) The Turbo is def my favorite system. From multiple inquiries I have made of PCEFX techies, it is actually an urban myth that Turbo Duos and PC Engine Duos overheat. It has to do with the very bad quality capacitors that NEC used for these consoles. As a result of these bad caps, many people today have duos with dead or failing sound. NEC started using better caps starting with the Duo-R, but it's a matter of time before those start to falter unfortunately.

[@majesticlizard]

Basically the pins on the back of the Turbo Grafx had composite video capability. All you have to do is connect the right pins to RCA cable and you have the same video and audio provided by the Turbo Booster, which had no electronic parts. NEC of America also waited two whole hears to release the Turbo Grafx 16 after it was released in Japan, giving Sega time to produce the Mega Drive.

[@johnnyjohnson]

Nice overview! I had no idea the PC Engine Duo-R even existed. Yeah, it sucks that you can only plug in one controller at a time. That's cool that the CD portion is region free. I like the fact that the stock controller has turbo switches, and that Avenue Pad looks pretty nice.

[@snowcon3]

@iowerth1 Yeah man I figured it was about time to show the Duo. It's truly an amazing system!

[@snowcon3]

@XFile2708 Thanks for watching man and thanks for the sub!

[@snowcon3]

@cuttock Good news for you, Cuttock; the Duo-R and RX are both white, but the regular model Duo is black. They both do basically the same thing, so it's really just about your aesthetic preference.

[@snowcon3]

@kuroichaos Thanks for the heads up dude! I don't have a US TG16 anymore to test it on, but I had always heard otherwise online.

[@Animated__Freak]

great review dude!

[@Chantumon]

@kuroichaos The tap used for the (US) turbo duo is actually white, and much harder to find than the PCE one.

[@snowcon3]

@dde12321 Thanks bro! I know not too many people have these so I thought it would be a cool one to look at!

[@PaleDeth]

Sweet review, i actually have both a -r and a -rx. bought the -r only cause it had and RGB mod.

[@nitrofurano_]

11:09 you could mention homebrew games, no problems at all on that

[@majesticlizard]

However, the people at NEC of America in charge of the Turbo Grafx were another story. The Turbo Grafx was internally almost identical to the PC Engine, but they made it twice the same size and sold it for the equivalent of $75 more than they were selling the PC Engine for in Japan in 1989. If they were going to make the American version larger, they should have built the Turbo tap into the system. The American "turbo booster" was also a scam as the Turbo Grafx had hidden composite video.

[@PaleDeth]

@snowcon3 Yeah i too am planing a supergrafx buy in the future. yes i got it from Doujindance, am EXTREMELY happy with that buy.

[@cdreyes81]

I was thinking, your tv stand looks oddly familiar. I have the exact same one.

[@neros77]

Thank you so much for the info vid :-) I'm going to buy one very soon :D But I need RGB mod!

[@AkasaurusRex]

Japan and NA voltage is the same right and are these guys region free will american duo discs work on her maybe even european ones? I love the Japanese white version! :)

[@snowcon3]

They are region free when it comes to the CDs, just not the HuCards.

[@AkasaurusRex]

So a european cd can run on a say the japanese duo console?

[@NEScapades]

A system I'll definitely keep in mind on eventually getting. The CD art on Fighting Street was pretty bland. I like the hucard door as well. I hate having to keep cards in the master system and tg16 just to keep dust out. Are the NA/Jap turbo taps different? That would suck if the taps and controllers aren't interchangeable. Awesome overview of the system.

[@snowcon3]

@PaleDeth Oh man, nice! I do still want to pick up a Supergrafx at some point if not just for that awesome port of Ghouls n' Ghosts. As far as the RGB mod goes, did you end up getting one from Doujindance?

[@ReviewUA-jy7xi]

The Duo RX also came with a greatly expanded internal save memory, 32k I think.

[@jamescree6331]

Arnold101Knight Yeah. 2000 blocks (2kb) in every system.

[@treedeblue]

Are you picking up analogue’s new offering?

[@snowcon3]

Most likely not. These days I still have the Duo R that’s in this video, and a PCE/CD combo (briefcase unit) that I play on most of the time. I think I’m all set on PCE for now! (Not even counting the TG16 mini)

[@treedeblue]

@@snowcon3 yah u have a pretty dope collection

[@snowcon3]

@stratamaster78 I wouldn't bother spending extra on the region mod, just because I can't think of any hucard game that's not available as a Japanese version (and usually cheaper too)

[@snowcon3]

Magical Chase (USA version) and Darius Alpha for example.

[@snowcon3]

@Jakeallen86 Haha thanks dude! Yeah, I dabble in a bit of everything :D

[@Arcadiality]

I love this system. Looking at it always reminds me of an early 90s printer. Not as beautiful to look at as people scream about imo.

[@frankmaka2763]

Im new to Japanese game playing, so could someone tell me if I need a power converter for Japanese consoles? No really talks about it so I thinks its fine but some comfirmation would be nice. Got to be ready when I get my own PC engine. Turbografx 16 just isnt enough, and the Japanese library of games is worth it.

[@nitrofurano_]

it is actually an 8bit system with 16bit performance

[@chackokhan]

I just acquired a PC Engine Duo R, do I need to use a converter to play it here in the US? Sorry, I see that someone else below asked this question but, I don't see answer.

[@snowcon3]

Nope! Everything should work just fine out of the box.

[@jamescree6331]

chackokhan It's not safe to do that. Japanese AC is 100v. You're better off getting a US adapter that outputs 9v (in the correct polarity).

[@hksrb25s16]

Hi Friend, what are you using for US Power Supply?

[@kendoish2504]

I've got a Duo-R but sadly it does not work. I got it off ebay from a Chinese seller and when i finally got it, no power. I have seen video's of people replacing the caps and such but i would probably just screw it up. I hate that i have one and can't play it.

[@phantomdragonv2x]

Duo RX also came with better hardware, not performance-wise but quality-wise, better caps, resistors, etc. Or so I've heard anyway

[@jamescree6331]

phantomdragonv2x The board and components are identical. It just came with a 6 button pad.

[@nimaiiikun]

is it a composite cable? i'm wondering how hard it is to hook it up to modern lcd tvs

[@snowcon3]

+nimaiiikun Yeah it is. Works just fine on an LCD.

[@snowcon3]

@johnnyjohnson Even funnier, when I ordered it and received it, the guy forgot my controller. So I had the system and a bunch of games but I couldn't play it until he sent me the pad. It was killing me!

[@MovieFanatic25]

snowcon3 will this work on a american samsung LED TV?

[@snowcon3]

Haha, yes. Yes it is!

[@FlintG]

Can you play back up super cd games?

[@snowcon3]

Yes, as far as I know.

[@E180TEKNO]

i love the PC Engine the games is funny all game pc engine

[@goldgriffin100]

I hate when some of theses guys with their youtube videos feel the need to smack everything violently with their fingers. I mean if your showing us with camera and we can here audio then you don't need to smack it with your fingers to show us what your talking about. I don't know if it is a nervous tick or something, but it very annoying.

[@marcw6801]

Dude i hate you i'm so Nerd jealous nice dude i wish i could find 1 not 500 bucks.