Is The FM TOWNS MARTY Worth Playing in TODAY!? - Console History and Review - THGM

[@Larry]

I wouldn't kiss my console if I were you, it was covered in (what I think is mud) when I first got hold of it! :D

[@RetroUnlim]

The question is, does it cut cheese? 😄

[@vidlink]

You never bothered to clean it?

[@frankschneider6156]

I like the system, but a Sharp X68000 or a NEC PC-9801 would be a much smarter investment choice than the Marty, especially as its library is relatively limited. But that's of course only if Larry won't have a terrible unfortunate accident next week and as a result would never claim his console back.

[@cloudstrife1983]

Hello you...

[@99nerka]

That was not mud Larry :P

[@brianoconnell6459]

I remember seeing the FM Towns when I was working at Sega of America back in the day, it was an impressive machine to say the least. Even the Sharp 68000 systems paled by comparison.

[@jaysistar2711]

I like seeing real people from the industry in the comments. I was at GameTap when we were considering emulation of the Towns FM Marty when we were working on our DOS emulator. We never got around to it, but its ports are impressive.

[@Prime-1111X]

Since I'm rich now from getting rid of my so called girlfriend, I would get this system just to say I've brought it !

[@sinephase]

ever find one or did you get a new GF? XD

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

The FM Towns Marty almost looks like a PS3 Super Slim.

[@Swordslinger-hb1ns]

Dustin Nunn though the ps3 slim’s way, way more powerful in what it can do in contrast to the FM Towns Marty.

[@caiusmadison2996]

@@Swordslinger-hb1ns the no duh statement of the year award goes to... This guy.

[@caiusmadison2996]

@@matthewcoreyhall agreed, it doesn't have one.

[@braikingboss9137]

I just ordered mine today!!!! It came with5 games and the floppy is working as well 🔥🔥👍

[@velosiped135]

I decided 'yes', it was worth investing in. It's a unique console that we never got to experience here in the States, and it has some older games now that many of us haven't played other ports of. I picked up one game so far; Pu-Li-Ru-La, but am interested in a few others like, Ultima IV, Emerald Dragon, and Brandish (if I can get the floppy drive working). Another great video! I enjoyed it immensely.

[@schtive81]

The FM Towns Marty is interesting because it has an AMD 386 variant CPU inside the system, which makes it the first console to use a 32bit x86 CPU. The next console after to have an x86 32bit CPU is the original Xbox, which has a Pentium III derivative of some kind . I've had a DOS PC in the past with a AMD 386 33MHz CPU, which would not be that different from the one in the Marty. But the Marty has a custom graphics core and looks like it is much better at handling 2D scrolling graphics than the PC I once had. It's neat hardware. I can see why there were still developers making games for it up to 1999.

[@daishi5571]

Just for clarification - CPU was an SX variant so was 16 bit (data bus being 16 bit) however internally the CPU was 32 bit so it was rather wasteful when computing in 32 bit, It was like the 68000 in that regard.

[@MrSEA-ok2ll]

Being an SX, not a DX cpu makes the bus 16 bit. The OG Xbox had a P3 Celeron 733. The Marty is disappointing since it has amazing sprite support, unlike a PC, yet produced games not any better than a Sega CD.

[@segaunited3855]

Pentium III was a Dual 64-bit Instruction x86 ISA, NOT 32-bit.

[@unorthdoxcleric6953]

Wow if that's correct that blows my tiny mind. Thanks for the interesting info

[@segaunited3855]

@Interlace Pentium III was a Dual 64-bit CISC x86 CPU. The Pentium II and Pentium III lines were 128-bit, but Split Cache Instructions on 32-bits per die.

[@latinsizer]

Most of the fm town games came in these huge cases and have some of the best artwork I seen on any cover.

[@joeyparkhill8751]

I think we all should say thank you to Guru Larry for loaning THGM an FM Towns Marty #FactHunt #GuruLarry

[@jordanf2022]

Love the sapphire background music!

[@nesskeaton]

Shooty shooty Japanese-y is my favorite gaming genre.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Blazing Lazers, Super Star Soldier, Aero Blasters, Axelay, & the R-Type series are my faves! Can't wait for R-Type Final 2 😁!

[@shedwardaax]

REALLY been digging your videos lately! This one on particular, as I knew nothing of the FM Towns. Love the hardware specs you share on each console as well. HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA Bid daddy Top Hat!

[@Tokyodriving]

Got my FM Towns pc for 3000 yen (20~ pound) in HardOff. Got super lucky. It even has the Cyrix 133mhz process and 104mb ram. Cd drive works too. Love it! Play Raiden and Truxton 2 almost every other day.

[@sunwentai1]

Ah... I laughed SO HARD upon seeing that framed picture of Billy Mitchell. Well played, sir! :D

[@gordonbobby1]

As a collector and a gamer I definitely want to add this to my collection.

[@superpan218]

The FM Towns Marty is the Amiga CD32 done right.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

6:37 Once Street Fighter 2 came out a 6 burron FM Towns Marty controller came out. it is very rare but I have seen pictures of it

[@TheRestartPoint]

Flying Shark has no ending, it loops from stage two to five for ever. I used to play it in one of my Dad's favourite pubs when I was a kid, loved it but it's bastard hard! Toaplan became Cave later and made DonPachi etc

[@stevensonchambers5577]

I just recently learned about the existence of the FM Towns. Now I am finding out about the FM Marty

[@AcornElectron]

I had my first hands on with it at Blackpool Play expo last weekend along with a stack of other unusual consoles. Interesting and cool.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Cool, I believe they all belonged to Quang of Asobi Tech. A friend, patron and gentlemen who has leant me other hardware to review on this channel before.

[@AcornElectron]

Top Hat Gaming Man yes I spoke to him briefly whilst playing the sharp/Nintendo tv, pleasant chap no doubt and fantastic that he brought so many of these more obscure consoles. @Harry, I think the Marty was next to the PSX ps2 box

[@dazrael5658]

Yeah the C64 GS was on the same table as the Marty, just on the other side. The guy who owned most of the unusual consoles on that table had an insane amount of machines and we had a fun Q&A to see if I could name a console he didn’t have. I found one, the Master System Girl 👍 I hope he gets his museum idea off the ground, I’d love to see a Super A’Can.

[@Banderpop]

There was a Truxxton 2? I need to check that out. One Marty game I would have liked to see mentioned would be Sega's Last Survivor. A 3D multiplayer arena shooter which used sprites. Again an arcade port though.

[@skins4thewin]

Holy hell I love that sound effect when the boy attacks in that game at the end of the vid.

[@chrispacheco8590]

Reminds me of the top loading 3D0, not just in appearance but games and function, would pic the Marty over the 3D0 to collect for.

[@dodgykebaab]

Watching the Turbo Outrun footage had me screaming “PUT IT IN HIGH GEAR YOU MUPPET!”

[@Ric_Roar]

FM Town Marty is the only console to have an uncensored Splatterhouse I believe.

[@osurpless]

Well, the 2010 entry on Xbox 360 also known as Splatterhouse has each of the original 3 games unlockable.

[@Ric_Roar]

@@osurpless Hmm... Interesting. Two questions... Is the game still available on Xbox Marketplace AND is the version of the original that's included uncersored?

[@osurpless]

@@Ric_Roar Doesn’t look like it has a digital version, nor is it backwards compatible with the Xbox One. I’ll plug in my 360 shortly and check it out. I guess the church scene in level 5 (I think) is the best proof?

[@osurpless]

@@Ric_Roar Played through the first two levels (the Poltergeist boss is frustrating...) and it is the uncensored version. The best proof is the white mask and the “insert coin” message in the lower right on the intro, so cool to see it is the arcade version as well.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

@@osurpless - Splatterhouse 1 port is buggy in that version, though. Audio is off & hit collision is too. Best port is on the most recent Namco Museum collection. I played it on Switch & it's spot-on to the arcade 👍.

[@oofio]

This is funny, I just searched FM towns Marty, because I like the intro. And then this comes up :)

[@dava00007]

ouch, I just looked at the price of the system on ebay... this is SCARY! well thanks for looking into it!

[@timothyreuscher8511]

Fun fact, but rather unknown. The Marty had the BEST version of Marble Madness.

[@jonniefast]

i loved that game 🥺

[@roberthornibrook6344]

It had some of the best versions of Wizardry and Ultima on it. However, its about as ridiculous as the NEOGEO as far as prices are concerned.

[@dbnpoldermans4120]

The Real 3DO. Isn't it the R.E.A.L 3DO?

[@jonniefast]

P.A.N.A.S.O.N.I.C R. E. A. L. 3. D. O. H.O.M.E. V.I.D.E.O. &. M.E.D.I.A S. Y. S. T. E. M. B.Y. E L E C T R O N I C A R T S

[@davezanko9051]

It's the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, which was manufactured under license by multiple companies, of which Panasonic called their models the FZ-1 REAL and FZ-10 REAL. Why? Dumb early 90s marketing speak.

[@megagrey]

Ys cutscene on that monitor! ^_^ And there was a Truxton 2? Well I want a Marty now...

[@autofox1744]

THGM: "Meaning that this is the only way to get hold of a physical copy of this game." Me: *Laughs in Supergun*

[@TexasHollowEarth]

I love supergun references 👍.

[@daviddyer3543]

Was a devkit made for the FM Towns? It would be nice to make some NEW games for it!

[@oldirtygamer]

I love the tumb nail!

[@retrogames_jp1404]

used to have two Martys. only one with a working disk drive though - never bothered to fix the belt on the second one... in the end sold off both and sticked to my FM Towns II UX 40. Also only kept the Viper Series as software and sold off my copy of Splatterhous LOL

[@nicktaylor8032]

Truxton 2-oooo. Ooo-ooo. 2-ooo. Had me in stitches. Surreal, but really funny. Subbed!

[@JakonDeluxe]

Larry needs to upen a freaking museum or at least upload a video tour of his game room.

[@RapideWombaticus]

Stuck in 'L' on Turbo Outrun huh? Great review mate 😎

[@PSYK0MANT1S]

0:33 in and we already have seductive console fondling. Bravo. You sir get a sub from me. Keep up the great work.

[@simonbutterfield4860]

That final shooter game reminded me very much of Sega's Zaxxon that played in the arcade. A friend of mine also had the Amstrad CPC port Sorry isometric 2.5 D one

[@dazrael5658]

I remember being quite impressed with the Marty back in the day but simply put there are much better ways to play these games nowadays than on a hampered machine. Even the X68000 isn’t worth it if you want arcade conversions. However if you want it as a collectors piece (and have the money) then it’s cool. A copy of Splatterhouse for £500 though 😬

[@JohnnyProctor9]

What other English talkies were on the FM Towns besides Ultima 6 (which is one of my favorite games in the series mind you)? I've heard that it had an English talkie version of Monkey Island as well LONG before the PC did...is this true and do these games run on the Marty?

[@frankschneider6156]

Several of the Lucas Arts Adventures, including Maniac Mansion and Zack McCracken. The Towns Marty ports are considered the final versions.

[@weebledustbinn5723]

I always wanted to know how Snatcher one of Kojima's early games looks on this. It's ok on TG-16.

[@MrSEA-ok2ll]

I am amazed that with the fairly powerful system spec's many titles are similar to the Megadrive regarding quality... especially considering the price. However, CD ROM based hardware was something new and exotic, so many companies tried to cash in on the this with high price tags. An old friend of mine purchased one in the day for $1000 Canadian...I remember playing Microcosm.

[@jamesslayer8528]

32-bit consoles. order of release, first to last: FM Towns Marty, Panasonic 3DO, Amiga CD32, SEGA Saturn, Sony PlayStation, NEC PC-FX.

[@nathanjedrej792]

I love the small text on the front. There was an nec shop in Edinburgh, the staff didn't know what a PC engine was so my hopes of importing one way back in the late 80s never happened!

[@greensun1334]

Playing Super Street Fighter 2 with only two buttons would be a nonsense anyways... The port looks quite decent, it has an arranged sounttrack, big and detailed characters, but no real parallax scrolling, just like the 3DO version of Super SF2 Turbo.

[@skins4thewin]

Nice video, however I do wish you would show a much larger variety of the games for the system. The main thing we are interested in here is the games, so show them off while you have the chance!

[@jotakux7489]

Why do you still have a picture of billy Mitchell still up? As a warning of who not to let in?

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

I like to salt mine online.

[@jotakux7489]

Top Hat Gaming Man then hats off to you for that great background gag.

[@hopefulwarrior4953]

I'd buy for all the exclusives like some of the RPGs and Hentai games.

[@PhillipORiley]

WTF?! A framed picture of Billy Mitchell? You're hitting hard trying to troll the viewers. lol

[@mikelopez3093]

Best gamer of all time!

[@Retro_Royal]

It makes me want to punch ppl ^^

[@MacheteEnima]

Billy Mitchell is a Hero

[@duckpwnd]

Will you do more videos like this for the FM Towns Biff and the FM Towns Doc?

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Amusingly there is a device known as the Doc Marty which I could cover one day lol

[@EngineerOfChaos]

I think you said it yourself. It's a really high entrance price and there are other ways of playing most of the games on it. If it wasn't so expensive then it would be worth getting for the history alone. So, for most people that just want to play good games and nothing more, then I would probably have to say it's not worth it at all.

[@TheRealGara]

Great video. I'm it's popular enough that you can revisit it. I would love to hear more about titles that are English friendly and games that are exclusives or better/changed from other consoles. The arcade ports are interesting but with mame being so easy it doesn't seem worth it to get the system for its great ports.

[@danieljimenez1989]

The comment that the only way to get Truxton 2 is to get it for the FMTowns is pretty odd... you could also buy the arcade board, of course.

[@chrispacheco8590]

I have it on Coin Ops ignite on Linux running through xbmc.

[@atolm1]

never thought id be jealous of a console #waaa LOL. I was hoping you'd have played R-Type on it, looked amazing!

[@TexasHollowEarth]

... was looking for a comment about the awesome R-Type port 👍.

[@zdp-189]

I love the FM Towns Marty, one of few last consoles I want to buy. I do have a few games I can emulate, one is a cool side scrolling shooter where you could add enemies, textures, etc. like RPG maker, only SHMUP form- Super Shooting Towns. Plus I love the Raiden series and own all 5, another arcade perfect port of the 1st one, and my fav is on, believe it or not, the Atari Jag!

[@JolliAllGenGamer]

After seeing this vid on the FM Towns marty I decided to make my own youtube vid about this hard to find console.

[@oskarkej7606]

what about the genesis 32x combo I know that it was a console plus addon but it was still enhanced to 32 bits

[@davezanko9051]

Came out after the Marty (and the 3DO and Amiga CD32, though that last one barely counts as it was discontinued after 8 months when Commodore filed for bankruptcy and was therefore off the market by the time the 32X was released. Of course, the 32X itself was a total market mistake, born of poor corporate communication; with no one outside of the immediate hardware development team being sure as to when the Saturn would be ready (with many thinking it was two years away), a stop-gap in the form of the 32X was concocted for release at the end of 1994. And then the Saturn itself was ready by the end of the year. The 32X should have been cancelled then and there.

[@andy7666]

Lovely machine, I always enjoyed looking at the different games in my magazines. Very expensive back then and still so today but tres cool if you can afford the thing. Arcade perfect and better even with that CD sound (though the load times and language barrier are a thing to bear in mind).

[@redtormaximo5530]

I TOTALLY don't know about any game series called Viper, Viper GTS, Viper V6 or anything like that.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

me neither...

[@NotABot55]

Eroge tends to run under most people's radar, even if they're long running series like Viper or Rance (both of which have had some of their entries receive official and unofficial English translations.) Chances are that if it originated on the Marty and got stupid popular, it was later ported to either the PC 9800 series or to Windows (and there weren't many of those.) ...oh, and the Viper eroge series was there before the Dodge Viper line, in case you're wondering.

[@M0rinkashi]

Viper Racing perhaps?

[@JasonStevens]

These things are stupidly expensive in working condition. I've come close a few times to buying one but once they go over 500 euors it's just too much. As you mentioned the system really is handicaped by both the low memory, which leads into the slow CD-ROM, which you really feel when games have to re-load their state. Considering it's a 386sx in there, the port of Galaxy Force II is nothing short of amazing, especially when put against anything home system of the era. Although for my tastes I'd almost rather just get a GF2 arcade board for the insane pricing. I'm amazed how SEGA has not taken their old sprite super scaler games of the 1980's and converted them to VR, as it would be an incredible experience. But SEGA being SEGA is more content in selling endless Sonic, even if the better Sonic games are actually written by a super SEGA fan - Christian Whitehead, who has done far more to keep the Sonic 16bit era alive than SEGA. It's always interesting that the system runs MS-DOS and bundles the Pharlap 386 runtime to unlock the 32bit mode of the 32bit CPU. Shame that Fujitsu never could see putting their graphics/sound onto the PC98, but that's life. Great video!

[@bryanl1984]

Plot twist, Sony bought the molds. Second plot twist, Sony bought the console to censor it.

[@FranciscoSamour]

Better to get an IBM PC from back in the day. Same thing.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Great comment 👍. VR would be amazing for Sega arcade classics. The few 3DS ports like Afterburner & Galaxy Force 2 are super impressive in 3D.

[@jamesburke2759]

I agree, the version of turbo outrun looks very good and does not have the sped mod feel to it.

[@geeoneiii8968]

well done mate!

[@kazanyemmi]

think its time to take that picture of Billie Mitchell down

[@ironspyder-db8fd]

I love that retro thumbnail

[@vidlink]

Yay! One of my favorite obscure machines with a renowned obscure library.

[@m.x.1800]

Looks like this system could've been a lot of fun to grow up playing. However, the name sounds like some cringy middle aged hobo hopping trains whilst carrying a dirty knapsack. Thanks for uploading!

[@wolfetteplays8894]

How could you not mention Puyo Puyo for the FM Towns Marty? It quite literally has a higher graphical fidelity, voice samples, music, and sprites than its predecessor, and even has the console cheat codes from the SFC version. Literally perfection 👌

[@dorothyzbornak6324]

Ill give u a gew more years i preety sureyour channels content will hit1mill views.

[@_pulstar]

But you didn’t talk about the weird startup?

[@M31-Gaming-Boss]

Nice vidéo Top Hat Gaming Man

[@baroncalamityplus]

Wasn't viewpoint also a neogeo game?

[@SharifSourour]

Actually surprisingly cool! Want to learn more, but awesome.

[@disposablebasterd]

Why do you have a picture of Garret Bobby Ferguson?

[@houseoftheted637]

Look what I'm holding 😎

[@kalasatwater2224]

Any list of FM Towns English friendly games?

[@mazonemayu]

it has an a-ma-zing version of Kyuukyoku Tiger

[@Vlad-bu3mr]

i really need one of these...one day it will be mine....first world problems ;)

[@stevesmith1496]

I would have to say no. The high cost of literally everything and the easy breakability factor makes it an easy pass for me. Great video as usual though, good sir.

[@hybridvigga]

The question should be "is it worth paying for today?" when the games are a few hundred dollars each, it should be "is it worth the price?" When they are wanting $800 US for Splatterhouse, and $1000 US for Shadow of the Beast, the answer is no, you can get an X-Box one and a PS4, AND a couple of games, for the price of one game, let alone the console.

[@paranormalzen]

Sensible thinking, I approve.

[@arthurcollector4002]

collectors dont care about modern and common stuff

[@paranormalzen]

@@arthurcollector4002 Sweeping generalisation. Different collectors collect different things.

[@madisonwolfe777]

Thumbnail link

[@jonmccown2323]

Top Hat is The Man...

[@xtremekirby07]

My definitive favorite game for this platform has to be Genocide Square, a compilation remake of the two games of the obscure Genocide saga (which appears in the video at 5:45) which were originally released for the NEC PC-98 and Sharp X68000, but this remake polishes many things over the original two like balancing the dificulty, correcting hitboxes and making a more fluid control (still hard to beat tho, but It's worth and you have infinite continues), also adding some amazing FMV intro cutscenes along with remastered music tracks, also, most of Its text is in english so the story and other things are fairly easy to understand.

[@Azkahamm]

I’d love to own one or even an fm towns pc but I can’t seem to find the actual console anywhere!

[@alfredosilvaneto]

So it didn't have any protection against pirated games?

[@unlazinessboyo]

Ultimate rare! Wow

[@1Thunderfire]

I've played that game at 13:35. Weird as hell. :p

[@hatednyc]

Still angers me to learn of all the censorship we have Been subject to in the States. Treat us like fucking babies

[@ggbetz]

Both the Marty and towns are cute (love the vertical CD drive)

[@AssociationAdmirer]

The drive is actually horizontal; he was just holding the console on its side.

[@brianoconnell6459]

Looking at the back of the Marty, I see a port cover, let me guess, an MPEG-1 decoder for VCDs?

[@JonnBlanchard]

It could potentially hold a 2mb memory upgrade, although that's even rarer than the console and tends to slow the machine down

[@justinholmes5614]

Where would we all be without Guru Larry ?

[@madcommodore]

I remember when the original Fujitsu FM Towns x86 PC was covered, either ACE (forerunner to crappy EDGE of today) and TGM magazines, and there were detailed accounts of the true arcade quality sound and graphics cards locked in specifaction worked. Not too sure about how Fujitsu ripped off the design for the NEOS Mouse design so blatantly and illegally tut tut.

[@RetrOrigin]

I would rather get an FM Towns computer than the console if I had a choice. Probably will never get either to be honest.

[@messatsu1981]

fmtowns computer cost about double of the console

[@s3np411]

I wouldn't be surprised if the marty 2 had a faster cd drive.

[@absoluteclownworld]

Only worth owning for obscure collectors. If someone wants a system from Japan get a Saturn or PC engine duo R. Nice video man. Splatter house is best on this system.

[@Terry-oc7hz]

Confused as to how this console can be considered 32 bit. The 386SX CPU had a 16 bit data bus which seriously cripples it's performance when compared to the original 386 (DX) full 32bit CPU. It was created as a "cheap" 386 as the motherboard components could be lower spec due to the 16 bit data bus. However they were renowned for being barely faster than the 16bit 286. The original Mororala 68000 is also a 32 bit CPU with a 16 bit data bus, but I don't recall anyone referring to the Amiga CDTV as a 32 bit console!! Appreciate there is more to console capabilities than "bits". Looking at the games shown the graphics hardware was far beyond the average 386sx VGA pc!

[@daedalus547]

Databus doesn't determine its 'bitness' of a system, the NeoGeo is 24bit but has a 16bit data bus, are you telling me the Sega Genesis can complete on the same level? Because it can't it isent even in the same world in terms of graphics capibilities, the Super Nintendo by that standard is only 8bit but could hold it's own against the Genesis, again the databus does not determine its bitness, it never did, and never will. Using your logic N64 is not a 64 bit system but a Jaguar is, it's a load of hogwash.

[@caiusmadison2996]

I would buy every system ever if I had the money. I would make a legendary game room... wait... what's THAT? Last Gamer already did it?😥😑

[@juiceala]

Since you brought up the PC-98 it remonded me of something that I've discovered several years ago, believe it or not but Sonic The Hedgehog actually appeared (alongside a Puyo Puyo) in a hentai game on the console, I believe it was called "A Hard Day Night" or something like that, I always wondered if SEGA had anything to do with the game or even aware of its existance. But yes, Sonic The Hedgehog appeared in an official hentai game, I suppose it's not all that surprising when you concider many of his "official" appearences in recent animes such as Ben-To and Hi-Scoool! Sega Hard Girls.

[@yuvraj01]

Outside of CD quality music, from the games shown in the video, it wasn't really a console taking gaming to a new level, despite being the first 32-bit console, most of these 2d games, the Saturn could run without breaking a sweat..