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[Staff / New YouTube embed plugin test]

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[Buy/Sell/Trade / WIB: Terraforming, Might & Magic III, Dungeon Explorer II, etc...yeah I know.]

Hi all,

I know these are hard to find but I'm throwing this out there in case someone here would like to make a deal outside of eBay to a known collector (and not some reseller).  I've decided to re-finish my Turbo collection (it was complete back in '09 before I did a massive Pcenginefx auction sell-off).  Please PM or reply to this thread if you have one to sell, or know of one (besides eBay).

Beyond Shadowgate
Bonk 3 (HuCard)
Bonk 3 (SCD)
Camp California
Chase HQ
Darkwing Duck
Dead Moon
Dungeon Explorer II
The Dynastic Hero
Ghost Manor
Godzilla
Might & Magic III
Super Air Zonk
Terraforming

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / PC Engine/TG-16 Music (MIDI to MML to SQUIRREL)]

So my long-time friend pinged me on Skype a few weeks ago and said "hey, let's make some PC Engine music!"  So we did:

.pce version download is HERE.

I'm also working on a PC app (seen below) where you will be able to preview dozens (if not hundreds) of combinations of waveforms & envelopes.  Screenshot of WIP app below:



Our goal is to help spread the word about Squirrel, at the same time make it even easier for people to get into making MML music - more to come!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / VC Forum Closure Notice]

Get in your last words - I will be officially closing down this forum any day now and archiving it for future generations.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / MOVED: Gear Replacement - Turbo Cd - Nec Pc Engine - Pinion - Interface Unit - New]

This topic has been moved to PC-Engine/SuperGrafx Sales & Trades.

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=17226.0

[PC-FX Discussion / From the pcengine-fx.com Archives: PC-FX Magazine Photography]

Over the years I've been commissioned to provide high-res photography for print magazines that covered the TurboGrafx-16, PCE and PC-FX systems.  I was looking through my vast archive of NEC-related media and came across a selection of high-res "beauty shots" that I took of the PC-FX & games circa 2008.

I haven't done anything with these yet, but if anyone would be interested in ordering prints of anything I post up, I'll see what I can do.


First image is (at least to me) a really beautiful shot of the PC-FX.  In this image I wanted to make the FX appear tall and elegant, without blemish.  I remember the lighting was really tricky on this one as I needed the right amount of bounce light illuminating the side so that the detail wouldn't get lost.  The graduated background near the top is also done in-camera - no Photoshop work!  Looking back at the image now, I probably would have rotated the console a little bit more towards the camera as the logo on the front is almost illegible.




The next shot here is of the PC-FX launch games.  Again, tricky lighting as the games were standing on top of a reflective black surface (again, no Photoshop...I like to do as much in-camera as possible).




This is another beauty shot of the FX.  For this one, I wanted to include Rolfee in the shot somehow (she was the mascot after all) and so I used a 60" plasma HDTV in the background with a custom Rolfee graphic that I put together in Photoshop.  After everything was framed the way I wanted it, the last bit was to get the lighting in the front and side of the console just right.




Pretty simple plain shot of the FX against black.  Nothing crazy going on here.




For this shot, I was showing how the PC-FX front expansion slot worked with the FX-BMP.  Had to get a hand model for this one.




No PC-FX article can be complete without mentioning Zenki, which I feature in this games photo.




Yep, there are adult games on the FX...(again, FX articles usually like to mention this point as well).

[Buy/Sell/Trade / HuCard/TurboChip 3D Printed Cases - CLOSED]

I'm happy to finally announce the availability of my 3D printed HuCard case!  Creating the case from scratch and bringing it into reality literally took hundreds of test prints, detailed measuring, and months of trial and error to get to this point and now I'm making it available exclusively from pcengine-fx.com!

History of the case: pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=17972.0






All colors are sold in bundles of 3 and may be mixed.  When ordering, please indicate which colors you would like and how many.  Each case also comes with a new CD jewel case lid - just insert your loose HuCard and manual and you'll be all set!

NOTE: "Turbo Orange" comes with a solid black HuCard case arm, while the black case comes with a semi-clear arm.




1 Pack (any 3 cases)[/s]

• USA: $24 (includes Priority Mail flat rate shipping)
• CANADA & INTERNATIONAL: TBD (please contact for pricing)

2-8 Packs (bundles of 6 to 24 cases)
USA (includes Priority Mail flat rate shipping)[/s][/s]

• 2pk/6 cases = $48
• 3pk/9 cases = $66
• 4pk/12 cases = $84
• 5pk/15 cases = $102
• 6pk/18 cases = $120
• 7pk/21 cases = $138
• 8pk/24 cases = $156

INTERNATIONAL: TBD (please contact for pricing)

For orders beyond 9+ packs, please contact for pricing.

Printing of cases will start once payment is received.  Printing may take up to 2 weeks (all depends on my workload).  If international, lead time may be longer.



Please PM me with the following info:

• Full real name
• Mailing address
• # of packs & color choice

I'll then PM you back with PayPal payment instructions.  Once payment has been received, your order will go into the queue for printing!



- Why are you including a CD jewel case lid?
Due to the nature of personal 3D print technology, the HuCard case fits a particular brand of CD jewel case lid.  To avoid fit issues with other case lids, one was provided for you that fits the case properly.

- I need the spine stickers for the cases!
You're in luck - Sparky sells them here! pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=5150.0


- Hey none of your colors match the exact color of the original HuCard cases!
I never intended for the case color to match the original, so this is expected.


- What are these fine lines on the case?
Personal 3D print technology works by melting plastic (called "filament") and "drawing" the 3D model of the object onto a heated piece of glass, one small layer at a time (in this case, each layer is 0.2mm thick).  This means that yes the finish of the physical model will have fine lines which is expected.


- Will your case fit on my CD shelf/TurboGrafx game box?
Yes!  The case is only a fraction thicker than the original HuCard case, but will still fit perfectly in any CD holder/shelf/TG game box just fine.  The slight additional thickness was added to the case for rigidity purposes.


- Can I order the case in different colors?
Yes!  See above...

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / TurboGrafx-16 #TileArt for Windows Phone - Soldier Blade]

As I was waiting for my latest revision of the HuCard case to finish printing, I decided to take on a quick project - #TileArt for Windows Phone:


Made a custom lock screen featuring the artwork and title treatment from the game intro in front of the stars from lvl 1.



Upon unlocking the phone, you see select sprites from the game in front of a parallax scrolling background as you swipe up - check out my video to see it in action:

Here are the rest of the photos:




To see some REALLY cool #TileArt, check out this video from the guy who created the app:

[General Gaming / Gear VR Appreication Thread - Holodeck in your face!]

Back in 1991, Sega announced "Sega VR" which was going to be the start of the consumer boom of VR technology.......other companies cashed in on the VR craze of the early 90's, but ultimately failed in the consumer space due to fact that VR failed on its promise to "transport you into another world" due to technological limitations and the rise of the Internet.

Now, it's 2015 and VR is finally making a comeback – the long-awaited consumer Oculus Rift (hopefully!) will be released this year, Sony and Microsoft will also most likely release helmets for the PS4 and Xbox One this year, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift DK2 are out now, and even more HMDs (Head Mounted Displays) were announced/shown at CES 2015.  Now that technology has caught up with the original promise of VR (to transport us to other realistic worlds/new experiences), the limit is now our imagination.

Now that I got the intro out of the way, this thread is about VR experiences – specifically on the Samsung Gear VR!  I just received mine on 1/12/15 and after waiting 20 years for VR to return, I'm happy to say that it is even more amazing now than it was back in the day.  For those who don't know, the Gear VR uses the Note 4 for display and audio, and has additional sensors/hardware in the HMD (Head Mounted Display) for extremely accurate head tracking.  Also included in the HMD is a touch pad for additional navigation and a sensor that knows when you are wearing the device to turn on the display.

The magic of effective VR is that it will make you think you are actually in another place (called "presence") - just watch this video of a guy who had his co-workers try out his Gear VR for the first time:

There are many other videos out there of people trying out the Gear VR and/or Oculus Rift with equal if not more intense reactions!

Just some of the "experiences" I've had with Gear VR:
- Flying suspended below a helicopter with a 360 degree view of the lush landscapes of Iceland
- Watching a movie from the surface of the moon

- Swimming with an array of 3D futuristic marine life:

- Being transported thousands of miles above the Earth and then sitting center stage in a Cirque du Soleil performance:

It may not seem like much from a screenshot or YouTube video, but when you actually experience the feeling of "being there" it suddenly takes on an entirely new meaning.  There are also many game demos currently available as well that are being made or ported from the Rift for the Gear VR which I'll be trying out very soon - but so far I'm loving the experience and can see myself spending a lot of time in this new world......

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / 3D Printed HuCard Case Development (NOW AVAILABLE!)]

So after learning about a few people that posted creating replacement HuCard cases, I've decided to work on my own version as well.  The purpose of this project is to:

1. Teach myself how to 3D model an object from the real world
2. See if a HuCard case can be 3D printed
3. Use the finished printed HuCard case to replace old/broken HuCard cases

Here is a shot of how much of the case I have modeled so far:



I almost have the proper size of the case down to exact dimensions but it's slow going as I tweak one setting, then I have to re-print which takes about 3hrs....but it is coming along nicely.  After the case is done, I'll work on the plastic arm and the borders for where the HuCard will sit.

I have no plans to mass-produce this model (no injection molding) but I may offer to print this up to people if it turns out good....too early to say right now.

11/17/14 UPDATE
Case model is complete - pricing/bundles to be posted next.

11/18/14 UPDATE
Due to a color density issue with new spool of filament that just came in, pricing/bundle details will be delayed.  Can't estimate when this will be resolved at this time.

12/12/14 UPDATE
Well I had hoped to take orders before the holiday but looks like this won't happen for multiple reasons:
- I will be purchasing a 2nd 3D printer in the next few weeks which will not only be at least 2x faster, but will also give me better print quality.
- I will be on vacation starting the 23rd, so nothing will be printed till after the 6th anyway.

Once I get the new 3D printer, I'll evaluate the print of the case, make any tweaks (if needed) and start printing cases en masse, which at that time ordering details will be provided.

1/7/15 UPDATE
Just waiting for my new 3D printer to arrive...once put together and configured, I'll then be able to re-print the case and do any re-tweaking to the design (if needed) before going into full production.

1/27/15 UPDATE
New MakerGear M2 printer has arrived and is still being broken in.  Not getting the surface finish I want yet from the printer so still in the tweaking stage.  No ETA yet until I can get the surface finish that I expect.

2/11/15 UPDATE
Print quality out of my new 3D printer is finally where I want it so one issue down - now I'm back to putting the finishing touches to the model and verifying that it fits correctly with the top case.....

2/18/15 UPDATE
Spending some extra time right now to find ways to cut down on print times for the case (takes about 2h45m currently).  I think I can cut this down by 30-45mins without sacrificing the quality of the finish or changing the print resolution but will require a few extra days of testing.  At the same time I'm tweaking the model to tighten up tolerances for when the top case is attached.

2/21/15 UPDATE
I'm happy to announce that I have completed the final tweaking/fitting phase of the model and so far have 3 fully assembled HuCard cases!  After I get a few more done I'll then be finalizing ordering details, taking photos/videos and all that good stuff.....we're close!

3/1/15 UPDATE
The HuCard 3DCase is now available here: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=18661.0

[News / 09.22.14 - PM security change]

As long as you have more than 5 posts, you can now send PM's without having to input the anti-spam challenge.

[News / pcengine-fx.com Site Re-design - UPDATED 3/9/15 (see reply 187)]

I am happy to announce that as of 8/30/14, I have begun the dev work on a entire site remake to bring PCENGINEFX into the modern era.  I've been wanting to do this for many years now and I've finally gotten the motivation to tackle this huge undertaking.

My goals for this remake are as follows:

Remember the past, while educating the new
A lot of us here grew up with the Turbo, but new gamers are discovering classic consoles every day.  PCENGINEFX needs to be a place of both remembering what was so special about the Turbo, at the same time educating new visitors about the entire line of NEC consoles.

Get out of the Internet "graveyard"
It has been ~6 years since the last news update (and thus, I've been pretty hands-off on the site as well) and the site design is now grossly outdated (in web standards).  To bring PCENGINEFX into the modern era, I'm creating an entirely new site engine which will feature:

- Fully responsive site design for every kind of viewing experience (monitor, tablet, mobile)
- Extensive, full-site search & game/system filter engine
- Comments section and user reviews on game Hubs for more interactive experience
- Streamlined backend interface for adding content
- Much, much more...

Combine all of PCENGINEFX into one
In short, I want PCENGINEFX to be "the IGN of NEC console sites" - the ultimate goal is to combine the news and features of pcengine-fx.com with the extensive content of the PC-FX World site, Turbo Memoirs, and important forum posts into ONE mega-site.  This will not only save $$$ with web hosting/domain registration, but give everyone the NEC console experience in one unified home.  This will take a ton of work....but needs to be done.

Game "Hubs" for each released title
PCENGINEFX has lacked a database of released NEC games....this will be a BIG part of the new site, featuring all-new reviews (with a modern, multiple person review system), new LARGE game screenshots captured directly from hardware, new gameplay videos scaled to 720p, cheats (old & new!), scans, guides, walkthroughs....you name it, each game will have as many of these features as possible.

Proper coverage to HOMEBREW & HARDWARE GUIDES
The new site design will also allow me to give proper coverage to homebrew games and hardware guides that generally only get announced on the forums.  These items of interest need more exposure and PCENGINEFX will finally be able to do that.

And lastly, yes - even the forum will change and morph into something different............but I don't plan on touching the forum until the bulk of the new PCENGINEFX has been established.

I'll most likely go live with the site once all of the US HuCards/CD-ROM2/SCD games have been added, but right now really can't say when this will be yet.

That's it.  I got a shit ton of work to do, but I'm excited for it.  I'll keep you all updated as things progress.

UPDATE 11/29/2014
I've made a new YouTube channel which will host all of the new 1080p/60fps videos for the pcengine-fx.com site remake.  Following the channel will give you a good idea on my progress.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrUmoS61-UPw-fDzSvnA4A

[News / 10.03.13 - New Forum Feature: Automatic Video Embed!]

Now you can copy and paste YouTube / Vimeo videos into your posts!  Enjoy!

GAME TV - Lords of Thunder (TurboDuo, 1993, Hudson Soft/Red)

[News / 10.02.13 - New Forum Feature: Tapatalk]

Been working on the forum all evening (tired!) but I did want to get this last feature implemented - pcengine-fx.com is now active on Tapatalk.

Now you can surf the forum with ease from your smartphone!  Enjoy.

[News / 10.02.13 - Forum Upgrades / Theme changes]

Hi all,

I had to upgrade SMF, my SQL DB and PHPBB to fix continued server load issues, which means the forum theme is now totally messed up

[News / MOVED: 09.28.2013 - PCENGINEFX RADIO (currently in testing)]

This topic has been moved to Media (Pcenginefx Radio & TV).

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15440.0

[Media (PCEFX Radio/TV) / 09.28.2013 - PCENGINEFX RADIO (updated 10.10.13)]

pcengine-fx.com/main/radio.html

PCENGINEFX RADIO IS BACK!  This is a 24/7, cloud-hosted Shoutcast stream dedicated to giving you tunes from the PC-Engine, TurboGrafx-16, TurboDuo and PC-FX!

pcengine-fx.com, the PCEFX Forums and Radio are all directly funded by YOUR support!  it is because of you that this resource is alive and kicking today.  To continue to support the site and Pcenginefx Radio, you can do any of the following:

OPTION 1: Click on forum banners
Don't feel like you have to go hog wild on clicking every banner you see, but if you click on a few each time you visit, this greatly helps!
OPTION 2: Paypal Donation
If you wish to make a more direct donation to the cause, you may send your donation to expired.

// HOW TO LISTEN //
*  Winamp, iTunes  https://us4.listen2myradio.com:2199/tunein/biineuoi.pls
*  Windows Media Player  https://us4.listen2myradio.com:2199/tunein/biineuoi.asx
*  Real Player  https://us4.listen2myradio.com:2199/tunein/biineuoi.ram
*  QuickTime  https://us4.listen2myradio.com:2199/tunein/biineuoi.qtl
*  Web Proxy  http://50.22.212.196/stream/biineuoi.pls

FOR iPAD/iPHONE USERS: Listen on your iDevice using the FREE Shoutcast App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shoutcast-radio/id299647180?mt=8 (search for "PCENGINEFX RADIO" once app is running)

Stream is currently limited to 9 SIMULTANEOUS USERS.  Lastly, PLEASE leave feedback if you like the show!

// SPECIAL PROGRAMMING //

Falcom Hour - One solid hour of only the BEST from Falcom's Ys series!
Showtimes: Daily at 12PM & 7PM PST

// CURRENT PLAYLIST as of 10.1.13 //
Air Zonk
Alien Crush
Battle Heat
Blazing Lazers
Bloody Wolf
Bomberman < Added 10.1.13
Bomberman OST
Bonk 3
Bonk's Revenge
Cadash
Cosmic Fantasy 2
Cotton
Devil's Crush < Added 10.1.13
Dracula X
Dragon Slayer
Dragon Spirit
Dungeon Explorer II
Exile
Exile 2
Falcom JDK Band 2
Fatal Fury Special
Fighting Street
Final Soldier
Forgotten Worlds
Gate of Thunder
Gate of Thunder 3-in-1
Jackie Chan Action Kung Fu
Kabuki Itouryodan
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones < Added 10.1.13
Last Alert
The Legend of Xanadu Arrange Album KLEENE
The Legendary Axe II
Lords of Thunder
Magical Chase
Motteke Tamago
Neo Nectaris
Parasol Stars  < Added 10.1.13
Parodius Da
Sapphire
Shadow of the Beast
Shape Shifter
Silent Debuggers  < Added 10.1.13
Soldier Blade
Star Parodia
Street Fighter II
Strider
Super Star Soldier
Terraforming
Valis II
Valis III
Ys I&II
Ys III
Ys VII
Ys SPECIAL COLLECTION

[Staff / Addition to mod privileges - new member approval]

Hi guys,

Everyone should now have the power to approve new member accounts.  Please check your account to see if I did it right.

When approving new forum accounts, please follow these guidelines:

1. If you see a member tab for both "Awaiting Approval" and "Awaiting Activation", only go through the "Awaiting Approval" list (it's up to the user to activate their own membership after we verify it)
2. When approving accounts, look for obvious signs that the account Username or Email Address is SPAM - though we shouldn't have much trouble with SPAM now that I use custom sign-up questions.
3. Also look for real accounts which have inappropriate usernames – the amount of inappropriateness is subjective of course, but I don't want anyone to have offensive, racist or usernames that are directly targeted towards other members. 
4. If the account(s) looks good, choose "Approve and require activation".

Anyone now should also have the power to approve deletion of accounts as well.

[News / 11.22.2011 - Forum back up & changes]

After a short downtime, the pcengine-fx.com forums are back up.  Shoutbox has been removed due to abuse.  Looking into other changes as well.

[Staff / User Watch: "Saibot"]

Below is an email I received from nectarsis about a conversation Saibot was having in the shoutbox.  Again, shoutbox comments are fair game so I am not doing anything to Saibot for his behavior and suggested that nectarsis just ignore him.  I am though documenting this for future reference.

\\\\\Begin email message\\\\\

This has been a fairly constant level of dreck here lately.  I got into with Saibot as his retardation has been annoying/pissing off more than a few people.  He says" the internet isn't real life, I''ll act however the fuck I want", etc.  I'm all for having fun/taling shit, etc on here...but there's certain people that just have no respect for anyone else on here..just gotten old.


[Sat 13:24] <Saibot> if they do then just smack them around a little bit like chop does to his bitches when they get out of line
[Sat 13:23] <Saibot> so there shouldnt be any teeth marks
[Sat 13:23] <M0N0PH0NIC> You've gotta pick 2 http://www.kodiefiles.nl/11_2/01_2/sis22.jpg
[Sat 13:23] <Saibot> dont worry i tought them how to suck dick ahead of time too
[Sat 13:20] <M0N0PH0NIC> Mmmm strum on some tits
[Sat 13:20] <M0N0PH0NIC>  d'oh!
[Sat 13:19] <Saibot> ill invite u over for some tea and strumpets
[Sat 13:19] <Saibot> sorry man im running low on cash, i had to spring for turkish hookers. next time ill spring for the good stuff and get you some russian ones
[Sat 13:17] <M0N0PH0NIC> I hope its booger green Gez
[Sat 13:17] <M0N0PH0NIC> You better not be sharing hookers without me
[Sat 13:17] <geralds> wtf a green game.com  Think
[Sat 13:17] <M0N0PH0NIC> Whats going on in here?
[Sat 13:17] <M0N0PH0NIC> ruffles
[Sat 13:16] <M0N0PH0NIC> And 3Dhoes
[Sat 13:16] <Saibot> dinner for sinners
[Sat 13:16] <Saibot> yes
[Sat 13:16] <Saibot> sn00tz
[Sat 13:16] <M0N0PH0NIC> He luvs teh gina
[Sat 13:16] <Saibot> i heard he likes 3doi
[Sat 13:15] <Saibot> i think i know him too
[Sat 13:15] <Saibot> oh ok
[Sat 13:14] <Saibot> does he like vaGINA
[Sat 13:14] <M0N0PH0NIC> He loves sex
[Sat 13:14] <M0N0PH0NIC> Some motherfucker I know
[Sat 13:13] <M0N0PH0NIC> /me skypes Vic
[Sat 13:13] <Saibot> WHO
[Sat 13:11] <M0N0PH0NIC> Wheres Vic @
[Sat 13:10] <geralds> oh i see
[Sat 13:10] <M0N0PH0NIC> I was gonna get an hemroid phone, not digging its style though
[Sat 13:09] <The Old Rover> it's way too slow to be useful though
[Sat 13:09] <M0N0PH0NIC> Because its better than an hemroid emulator
[Sat 13:09] <The Old Rover> the Android SDk comes with an emulator; I was trying it out
[Sat 13:07] <geralds> lol why do you want an andriod emulator?
[Sat 13:06] <The Old Rover> I started up the Android emulator and I fell asleep just waiting for it to boot up

[News / 1.11.2011 - Spam accounts no longer!]

I have just implemented a multiple-question registration process which should prevent spam bots from invading our forum for good as well as make it easier for me to approve new accounts.  I just approved another batch of accounts today before the change was implemented so there might be some spam bots still lurking in here...if so please report them to the mods - thanks!

[News / Issues with site graphics]

I was just notified about an issue with all of the graphics on the site.  I have contacted my web host about the issue.

[PC/Console/Mobile Ports / Developing an app for Windows Phone 7...Pcenginefx style!]

So I have to admit, I am not a coder - however with the amazing free development kit for Windows Phone 7, I have started development on a application that will be NEC console related.  So far I only have a few blocking issues that I will need to learn how to fix to be able to start creating the main content of the app, but I fully expect it to take months to complete...

I'd love to make a Lords of Thunder port (which would be totally possible even for a non-coder like myself), but I highly doubt I could get it approved for the Windows Marketplace without Hudson suing me

[News / 10.07.2010 - Access the NEC Console Forum on your mobile phone!]

You can now access a mobile-friendly version of the forum on your phone!  To view it, access any of the below links to see which one looks best on your device.

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?imode
https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?wap
https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?wap2

Enjoy!

[Staff / Shutting down the Fighting Street forum]

So I'm going to be closing down the Fighting Street forum for good on Sept. 1st....just one less area to worry about for all of us, and maybe will cause some peace around here.

[General Gaming / Neo Geo (2011) short film status - Release on Feb. 16th!]

- February 15, 2011, 08:41:20 PM

Neo Geo: Bigger Badder Better (2011 Short Film, HD 720p)

Prepare yourself to experience the biggest, baddest arcade game console ever to be released for the consumer market! Showcasing the sleek design of the hardware, legendary character artwork, and the games that crushed the competition, "Neo Geo: Bigger Badder Better" is a cinematic tribute to SNK's 24-bit arcade powerhouse.

https://web.archive.org/../joystiq.com/../neo-geo-tribute-film... (Original, has comments)
https://www.engadget.com/2011-02-15-neo-geo-tribute-film-is-bigger-badder-better.html (Working 2021 link)

Joystiq (now engadget) broke the video early but here is my official blurb:

Neo Geo: Bigger Badder Better (2011 Short Film, HD 720p)

Prepare yourself to experience the biggest, baddest arcade game console ever to be released for the consumer market! Showcasing the sleek design of the hardware, legendary character artwork, and the games that crushed the competition, "Neo Geo: Bigger Badder Better" is a cinematic tribute to SNK's 24-bit arcade powerhouse.

Direction, creation and cinematography by Aaron Nanto
Cameras:
- Canon 5D Mark II & Sony FX-1
Camera Rig:
- Kessler Pocket Dolly camera rig w/ORACLE motion control system
Lenses:
- Canon EF 24-70mm f/1.2L USM
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
- Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Lighting:
- Lowel 750w Tota Softbox
Production Duration:
- Start: 5.2010
- End: 2.2011

I am very happy to announce that work is wrapping up as I speak for my upcoming Neo Geo short film and is planned to be released online on the evening of the 16th.  Links will be posted here once online.

Stills from the final film:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcenginefx/5440559223/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcenginefx/5440577391/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcenginefx/5441182074/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcenginefx/5440582979/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcenginefx/5441188264/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcenginefx/5440595497/

To fans of the Neo Geo:

I am posting to ask for your help and advice for a new tribute film I am working on for the Neo Geo system.  If you haven't seen what I've done with the NEC consoles, please take a look at the following to get a feel for my shooting style and cinematography.

Remembrance: A NEC Console Legacy Film

The NEC PC-FX: A Retrospect

TurboExpress: A Momento

Now that you've seen what I've done for the NEC consoles, I'm branching out to other systems and I'd love to do the Neo Geo next.  I personally own the Neo Geo CD (top loader) unit & CD games and I just sourced a Neo Geo AES to include in the film as well.  What I would like in terms of feedback from any Neo Geo fan is what games you would love to see featured in the film.  I wish to include as much gameplay footage as possible (similar to my PC-FX Retrospect film) but for time considerations can only feature up to 15 games and I want them to be the games that really capture the essence of what the Neo Geo is all about.

Please feel free to post here or even email me at removed with any thoughts, comments or suggestions on what you would think would make a proper Neo Geo tribute film.  Thanks everyone!

-Aaron

PS:  I have been trying to post this over where I should be asking this: www.neo-geo.com with no success.  Shawn (the webmaster) has approved my account (multiple times) but I am still unable to get this posted in their General Discussion forums.  If anyone has an account over there and could post this up that would be wonderful as I really would like to hear what the Geo community has to say before I start production on the film.

[Feature/News Archive / pcengine-fx.com News Archive (2001-2008)]

All of the old news posted up on pcengine-fx.com, archived for posterity.

December 22.2008 : NEC DOUBLE FEATURE FILM!
Presenting for the first time two unprecedented short films:

"Remembrance: A NEC Console Legacy Film" (4m44s - forum link)
Capturing the majestic beauty and form of an experience never to be forgotten, "Remembrance" brings you into the world of the NEC console legacy in a way never done before.

"The PC-FX: A Devotional Film" (7m13s - forum link)
"The PC-FX: A Devotional Film" was created to give people all over the world the experience of what the PC-FX is - a 32-Bit powerhouse with many games to entertain even the pickiest gamer.

I am very proud of both films as they give the NEC consoles what they deserve - grand recognition. Both films are available here in HD formats (720p) as well as streaming online from various video hosting sites. Enjoy and have a happy new year.

January 18.2008 : Forum updates and new section!
The NEC Console Forums has had an update with a real-time chat feature, and the "Pcenginefx Goods" section has been changed to "Pcenginefx Outlet" featuring games and hardware for sale.
 
October 31.2006 : TG-16 Virtual Console Games Announced!
Hudson has finally announced the first batch of Virtual Console games that you will be playing on the 19th of November! Click here for info!

August 18.2006 : Turbo On The Wii
In this first installment of Turbo On The Wii, we explore what Turbo/PCE games we would love to see on the upcoming Nintendo console!
 
August 18.2006 : Hudson Presents Bee TV Episode 1
Hudson as been not only busy with making games, but with making their own TV show as well - head on over there and take a look at Bee TV Episode 1!
 
August 18.2006 : And on the forums...
If you don't visit our NEC Console Community Forums, you are missing out on some great discussions! For example, NightWolve posted a new translated PC game "Typing of Ys" which you can download from his site.  The game is funny, simple and will test your typing skills as you go through level after level of the Ys games. Download it and discuss in our forums!

July 31.2006 : Mr. B Bee Part 2!
Continuing on with this admittedly strange production, this time we see Pretty Bomber trying to infiltrate the Japanese headquarters of Hudson Soft...and runs into a very colorful character. Enjoy, and make sure to comment in our forums!
DOWNLOAD Windows Media (28MB WM9)
DOWNLOAD Quicktime (68MB WM9)
 
July 31.2006 : PcenginefxTV now available on YouTube & other video sites
Select episodes of PcenginefxTV are now available on YouTube, Google Video, and Yahoo Video. This should give the show more exposure for those people who can't view the WM9 versions hosted here. You can search for "PcenginefxTV" on those respective sites, or you can check out the direct links in the PcenginefxTV section.

July 4.2006 : Mr. B BEE!
We have another exclusive here at pcengine-fx.com - this time we dig deep into our collection of goodies to bring you Mr. B Bee - an episodic look into Hudson's Japanese headquarters from back in the early 90's. Enjoy episode one, and let us know how you like it in the forums!

DOWNLOAD Windows Media (22MB WM9)

June 14.2006 : Hudson On The Floor E3 Video
Exclusively here at pcengine-fx.com, we bring you E3 show-floor footage...this time from Hudson's point of view. Check it out below!

DOWNLOAD Windows Media (37MB WM9)
Update 04.07.06: Video is now up over at Hudson's site, as well as youtube, google video and yahoo video.

May 22.2006 : Pcenginefx TV at E3!
We were on the show floor of E3 2006 not only covering the Virtual Console from Nintendo, but the upcoming titles from Hudson as well. Check out Pcenginefx TV EP6 (special E3 edition) to see what it was all about!

April 21.2006 : Hudson's President Talks Turbo
To celebrate the re-launch of Hudson Soft's web site, part 1 of a lengthy interview with the Hudson president himself John Greiner is available over at Hudson's site. As you can expect, Mr. Greiner has lots of interesting stories about NEC, the Turbo, and more. Check it out!
 
April 21.2006 : The Definitive Bonk
Ever wanted to know exactly where Bonk came from? Bonk made his debut appearance on our beloved NEC console, but he has been spotted on other systems as well as the arcade as well. Read up on our favorite cave dude in "The Definitive Bonk".
 
April 21.2006 : pcengine-fx.com & Hudson Soft Working Together!
Hello and welcome to the all-new pcengine-fx.com - your #1 source for NEC console information. We are pleased to announce that we are now working with Hudson Soft to bring you the best combined coverage for not only remembering the history of the PC Engine/TurboGrafx, but to the future as well - and what a great year for the Turbo this will be!

Now that we are working with Hudson Soft, what can you expect? Well for starters, Hudson will be mirroring episodes of PcenginefxTV in Windows Media, PSP and iPOD formats. We will also have shared (and exclusive!) articles related to anything Turbo or PC Engine related on both our respective sites. Lastly, with the upcoming revival of the Turbo on the next-generation Nintendo console, expect all of the coverage you could ever want related to the future of the Turbo!

We are excited to be working together with Hudson Soft to bring you complete coverage of the Turbo universe, and finally 2006 will be the year the Turbo (officially!) lives again!
 
April 21.2006 : New PC Demo Project - Dracula X
We are pleased to announce that a new PC demo project is now available, and this time we try our hand at Dracula X. Keep in mind that this version is extremely early, unoptimized, buggy and may run slow on machines lower than a 2GHz machine. Head on over to the Homebrew section to try it out.
 
April 21.2006 : Get ready for the Revolution - Pcenginefx @ E3
The next-generation Nintendo console is right around the corner - and we will be at E3 to see it in action! Expect photos, news and more related to the Nintendo Virtual Console and any Hudson news during E3!

[Feature/News Archive / The Lost Turbo Graphics: Part 1 (originally posted 10.14.2004)]

It is a known fact that some game developers like to put in their own special touch into the games that they create...a perfect example of this are the developers of past Atari games (look up the history of Atari game development to see what we mean). The Turbo had their own share of developer "easter eggs" which most have been left buried ...until now.

The following images were ripped and reconstructed from game code originally for pcengine-fx.com, and were not taken from any other website or source. If you wish to use the images for your own site, PLEASE ask us first. The deductions for each image are speculative and are based off of how the image is related to that particular game.



This is a partial reconstruction of what seems to be a hidden background or cinema from Dracula X. It appears to be part of an inferno.


Left: Appears to be an unused graphic of Ora's Orb.
Right: Unused warning screen for using the wrong System Card.


Left: A late 70's model Ford F-series 4x4 pickup.
Right: A large lizard...Species unknown.
Interesting to note that the PCE game Gradius II also include these same graphics.


Top Left: An unused background found in the 'Sadler meets D'Payne' section.
Top Middle: A character we didn't see in the game. Looks like he is a rebel fighter.
Top Right: This graphic looks like the knights in Albee Town.
Middle Right: A woman character that didn't make the cut.
Bottom Left: A male character that didn't make the cut.
Bottom Middle: A man that was never found in the game.
Bottom Right: An alternative graphic of the hero, Sadler.


Left: This graphic was used as a marker for unused character pic slots. English translation is "Who are you/Who is this". (Thanks to John for the translation.)
Right: This looks like it has to do with the game's intro, although it's never used. The text is not in correct order.


Left: Two character sets
Top Right: The System Card warning screen that was never used.
Right Bottom-Left: A small programmer's marker.
Right Bottom-Right: A graphic of the Turbo D-Pad and II button.


Left: A programmer's marker.
Right: A company logo design of some sort.


A mostly re-constructed PC-Engine Bonk from the US GoT kiosk demo CD. The "spotlight" Bonk intro was taken out and instead replaced by a different version for the kiosk disk, however the gfx were left in.

[Feature/News Archive / Meteor Blaster DX (originally posted 8.15.2004)]

Meteor Blaster DX is the latest release from MindRec - if you've played the ROM version that was released late last year, this SuperCD release has improved all aspects of the game - graphics, additional levels, power-ups, CD audio, multiple-playable ships, game cinemas and more!

Check out the screenshots and promo video for Meteor Blaster DX below and please support further Turbo development by purchasing the game - you can buy it directly from MindRec ($20USD).

http://mindrec.com/meteordx.php
http://mindrec.com/info.php?id=BTCD0402

Meteor Blaster DX features the following:
- 99 game levels & 20 separate backgrounds
- Power ups (Shields, Weapons, Warp)
- Boss character
- Game Cinemas
- Full CD Audio (17 tracks for MBdx)
- 2 bonus games: Implode Caravan Version and Loop
- Hidden features / cheats

Meteor Blaster DX is the latest PCEngine SCD release from MindRec. MBdx takes the previously released Meteor Blaster game and adds many new options. Gameplay starts off similar to the old Asteroids arcade game. You start off with a small number of meteors that need to be destroyed, and as you get further in the game, that number (and their speed) increases.
	You can select from one of 4 different ships for the game. Each ship has its own benefits and drawbacks. There are also powerups that will allow you to enhance your ship's performance while in the game
Meteor Blaster DX features in-game cinemas (including parallax effects in the opening cinema and title screens).
	Other new (or improved) game features include: Hostile UFOs Boss Character Shields Improved Sound effects CD Audio Soundtrack Powerups Hidden secrets...
The free PCE ROM version of Meteor Blaster is available here.The SCD version of Meteor Blaster DX is available from the on-line MindRec Store as well as Good Deal Games, and RetroPlace.You can contact the author of Meteor Blaster by sending email to Bt Garner

DOWNLOAD PROMO CLIP (.wmv, 5MB, 315Kbps)
(You must have Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher to play)
Right-click to SAVE AS to your hard drive, or for fast connections, left click to stream.

Here is an exclusive interview with the creator of Meteor Blaster DX - Bt Garner!

PCENGINEFX: I want to thank you for taking time out of your schedule to share some of your insight into Meteor Blaster DX.

BT: You are very much welcome.

PCENGINEFX: So the most exciting aspect about this release is the fact that the game utilizes the storage and power of the SuperCD format. Can you tell us what enhancements Meteor Blaster has over the ROM version?

BT: The SCD version is almost a different game. When the ROM version was released late last year, it was more of a 'concept' piece to see if there was any interest in a full release. There was, so a lot of nice features were added to the SCD version. Aside from better gameplay, the graphics have all been updated. You now have 4 distinct ships to choose from, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. In-game cinemas have been added, improved sound effects, CD audio, and a lot of nice backgrounds for the stages. Additionally, I have added a couple of bonus games on the CD: Loop, a never before seen puzzle game; and the Caravan Version of Implode. This is a special timed version of Implode that was written for MAGFest 2002. Only 3 copies were made, so this is a chance to give it a little more exposure. I have also added some hidden features.

PCENGINEFX: Any hints as to how to find the hidden features?

BT: All the hidden stuff is from either repeated actions, or from key strokes at certain points in the game (and by game, I mean on the CD). Look for patterns, if a certain key combination does something at one point, it may do something somewhere else. Or maybe the mirror of it does something too.

PCENGINEFX: Being the 2nd SuperCD release from MindRec (the first being IMPLODE), I'm sure there were things that were learned from the making of IMPLODE that were brought over to the making of Meteor Blaster DX. Was it easier this time to develop the game, or harder because of all of the extras that IMPLODE didn't have?

BT: In some ways it was easier, but harder in others. The more you develop for an environment, the better you become at it and the more quickly you can develop. However, in order to produce a title that is professional, you also need to test the limits of what can be done. Implode had no scrolling, and very little on-screen action. Meteor Blaster DX is on the other side of the map. I have included parallax effects in the game opening, and scrolling backgrounds wherever they were appropriate. 6 months ago, I had not done too much with the scrolling, so I have to throw myself into the code to get everything figured out to create the effects that I wanted to see.

PCENGINEFX: What changes in testing did you implement this time around verses the test period of IMPLODE? Was the test period longer?

BT: Implode had a very limited "beta test" (1 week), for MB I used a group of half a dozen beta testers over the a period of 5 weeks. This worked out great. It is always hard to have someone criticize your work, but you just need to tell yourself that it is ultimately for a better game. I was reluctant to add a few things that some of the beta testers had requested, but after thinking about it, decided that certain things should be added or changed.

PCENGINEFX: When did you have the idea to make Meteor Blaster, and why choose a shooter? Did you look at any other games for inspiration?

BT: In the summer of 2003 I was toying around with a shooter for the PCE (tentatively) called Tixe. One of the stages of Tixe is an avoid the meteors stage, this eventually evolved into Meteor Blaster. I chose to pursue the MB game since Tixe has a few technical issues that need to be resolved before any work can continue on it.

PCENGINEFX: What was your favorite part of the design process for Meteor Blaster DX?

BT: Taking a "known" style of game and adding extras to it. Meteor Blaster is clearly based on "Asteroids" -- but there are so many new features in MB, that I am pleased that it can stand alone.

PCENGINEFX: I'm sure you had a few hurdles (technical & non technical) to overcome during the development of Meteor Blaster DX. Can you share any of them?

BT: The 2 biggest issues that I had to overcome were: scrolling backgrounds and sound effects. As you will see in the game, the backgrounds are no longer an issue. Sound effects are still not up to the level where I would like them. They are getting there, and they are certainly acceptable in their current form, but there is still room for improvement.

PCENGINEFX: I am probably correct in saying that Meteor Blaster DX is the most technical game MindRec has created to date. What other technical goodies do you wish to implement in your next SuperCD title (if you plan on one)?

BT: It will really all depend upon what genre I decide to pursue next. I did a small demo of a moving parallax stage for a "Dracula X" style game, so that is possible. Tixe is still on the back burner as well, and I would love to do an RPG for the PCE (my personal favorite genre). Each of these has its own set of challenges.

PCENGINEFX: Have you ever thought about doing a multiplayer game? (to utilize the Tap?)

BT: Yes, and I have a few things that are in the "thinking about" stage,
and one of those is a multiplayer game. In it's current process it
is a small game, so nothing that would be a stand alone title, but perhaps
something that would be a bonus game on the next release. But it is
really too early to say.

PCENGINEFX: There are still just a handful of people out there who can program for the Turbo and even less releasing anything for it. What is the largest roadblock in your view to overcome the lack of homebrew development for the Turbo?

BT: Letting people know that there is are homebrew tools out there. There is also a small but devoted community that is willing to help any aspiring coders.

PCENGINEFX: I'm sure there are people out there who are wondering why you are releasing games for an non-supported system. Why do you create games? What drives you to create?

BT: I create because I can. I would love to be able to make new games for the PS2 or Xbox. But let's be honest -- Dev Kits for those systems are very expensive, plus you need to have a lot of graphical artists who can help get all those polygons looking just right. The PCE is a great platform since the homebrew tools do exist, and there are enough people out there who can and are willing to help with the graphics. Aside from that, it is neat to be able to take a gaming concept and 9 months later have a polished SCD in front of you, and to be able to sit back and know that this is your work.

PCENGINEFX: Can you share any of your plans now that Meteor Blaster DX has been released? Do you plan to release another SuperCD in the near future?

BT: As I mentioned above, I have several things that I am considering, but nothing has been decided yet. I relaxed during the month that it took to get the CD pressed and am now in the process of looking at the various options I am considering, and weighing the options to see what is feasible.

PCENGINEFX: So how do people go about purchasing Meteor Blaster DX?

BT: TZD (TZD.com) will carry it, and of course you can purchase directly
through the MindRec.com website. Other retails have spoken to me about carrying the game, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

PCENGINEFX: So getting a little more personal, how do you relax when not working on MindRec projects?

BT: I have not had much time for relaxing over the last year... between my day job, the Meteor Blaster projects, and my family roles. I spent the month of down time learning a few new software skills (which will probably not help for anything I do in the PCE arena), and worked a bit more on my music making skills.

PCENGINEFX: What's one of your favorite games on the Turbo/PCE?

BT: Startling Odyssey II -- an all around great RPG. Great story, great gameplay, and pretty easy to complete with little or no knowledge of Japanese.

PCENGINEFX: Thank you very much for your time Bt and we look forward to seeing more games from MindRec in the future.

BT: It has been a pleasure, as always.

[Feature/News Archive / PC Genjin PS2 Mini-Review (originally posted 12.19.2003)]

PC Genjin Vol. 3 - JPN PS2 - 3,000Yen - Release Date: 12.4.03


PC Genjin (Bonk's Adventure) for the JPN PS2 is volume 3 in Hudson's "good price" series of classic game remakes, and for the most part Hudson Soft has done a very good job at re-creating the original Bonk on the PS2 (it is almost an exact port from the PC Engine)


When you start playing, you will feel right at home with the controls, which have been mostly unchanged from the original. The sound FX is straight from the PCE, and the music has been remixed in redbook audio.


Overall, the game is a fun remake of the original Bonk's Adventure, with 3D graphics, but keeping with the original 2D gameplay. If you have a JPN PS2, and you have played the original Bonk, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. Let's hope Hudson continues to do other quality remakes of other PCE games!
 
For an in-depth review, please visit Insert Credit!

[Feature/News Archive / IMPLODE: The Turbo Lives Again (originally posted 5.23.2002)]

Many years after the last official release for the American Turbo system, comes a new home-brew commercial release from MindRec known as IMPLODE. It is a puzzle game similar to Tetris, but with a twist - the blocks appear from the right and it's up to you to delete groups of 3 or more like-colored blocks.

We had the opportunity to interview the creator of IMPLODE, Bt Garner - telling us all about the game, release details and more...



Pcenginefx: Thank you Bt for taking the time to talk about IMPLODE, I'm sure you are very busy.

Bt: My pleasure -- I do tend to keep myself busy, between my day job, maintaining several web sites, and the normal day to day things, I often wonder myself where I find the time for projects such as Implode.

Pcenginefx: First off, tell me a little about your group MindRec.

Bt: Mindrec is primarily me, with a whole lot of help from certain persons. We do small contract jobs here and there and the funds that we have made from those jobs is the underlying funding for the entire Implode project.

Pcenginefx: Did you always have a SCD release in mind? Why are you going though the entire process of making a commercial game to sell rather than releasing the game like your previous ones?

Bt: No, there have been a fair number of PCE projects that I have started on, and not completed (for whatever reasons). I had no idea where Implode would end up when it got to the end; whether it would be a real commercial release, another abandoned effort, or something in between. It was kind of a fluke, actually, that made it possible for this to become a SCD project. My day job has forced me to spend several weeks a month in Europe for the last 15 months, and on my trip over there in March I started working on Implode. By the time I came home I had much more than a "proof of concept" beta done, so I just kept working on it, adding enhancements, making corrections. By the time I started getting feedback from my early beta testers, I was getting a strong indication that people wanted this as a 'real release,' so I started looking into it.

Pcenginefx: I can imagine that going all-out on this release was and is a very difficult task. What hurdles did you have to overcome in the process of this title?

Bt: Lots...the major unknown for me in this venture was the "CD packaging," so I studied up on everything that I needed to know about printing. Unfortunately, all that studying didn't help any when it came to actually making the artwork, so I ultimately decided that it would be worth it to outsource that. Luckily, I have found a person who has excellent skills and will greatly add to the overall look of the Implode package. We are still in draft stage right now, but I am very much looking forward to seeing the final artwork when the time comes.

Pcenginefx: Will MindRec be the only place selling IMPLODE? What about other retailers (TZD, etc)

Bt: At this time, we have been talking to several other retailers about Implode, and generating a bit of conversation. I know that at least one mail order firm will be selling Implode, but the full details have not been worked out at this time, so I cannot give more details at this time.

Pcenginefx: How much will IMPLODE cost? Will there be a discount for bulk orders?

Bt: No price has been set yet, but it will most likely be in the US $20 to US $25 range. It will be available at a discount to any resellers that wish to carry it.

Pcenginefx: When will the game be released?

Bt: Middle of July, give or take a couple of weeks. Since this effort is small, and there are no corporate CEOs urging me to "Get it out, and get it out now." Instead, I want to make sure that everything is as close to perfect as possible. So the schedule is a little flexible. Once the artwork is done, and the last few additions are made to the program, it will be 3-4 weeks before I have the CDs in hand ready to distribute.

Pcenginefx: What kind of reactions have you received from people about the selling of the IMPLODE SCD?

Bt: Mostly favorable. A few persons have been upset that I am not giving away all this time and effort, but most persons have been quite excited about a new "real" release.

Pcenginefx: If IMPLODE sells well, do you have plans for another Super CD title?

Bt: It's not ruled out...the main concern is to not lose our shirts on this. A fair amount of time and effort has been spent on Implode, and now a fair amount of money is being paid out to get the CDs made. I know that a lot of PCE developers are watching to see what happens, hopefully a moderate success will encourage others to release new games (and if Mindrec survives, we may even be willing to release some of those titles). If, however, the day after Implode is released it winds up on download sites, then you can pretty much be assured that this will be the last real release, since it would be unrealistic to expect anyone else to shell out the amount of money needed to press a CD, only to see it exchanged for 999 worthless CDs that can't be sold due to piracy.

Pcenginefx: You are the creator of the popular Turbo List and pcecp.com catalog project. How does it feel to be one of the most known figures in the Turbo community? What drives you to do what you do?

Bt: I hardly consider myself to be a "most known" figure in the Turbo community. Granted there are quite a few people out there who know me, and have dealt with me, but I feel that it is due to the time that I have been involved in the community. To be involved for as long as I have, has a certain level of responsibility to give something back, and that has been the main drive for the "information" sites that I run. I try to make information available in a way that I would want it available, if I were looking for it, because at one point I was.

Pcenginefx: I'm sure you have some interesting Turbo related stories...can you share a few of them?

Bt: I don't think that I do, actually..I am a fairly private person, so short of recounting the heart thumping night that I beat Gate of Thunder for the first time, or Drac X, there's just not a lot there that wouldn't bore the average reader to tears. I don't have any all night "Bomberman'94 Frag Fest Finished Off with an Orgy" stories, sorry. And considering the average gamer, that's probably a good thing.

Pcenginefx: Are there any other projects that you might be working on that you would like to share?

Bt: There are several things in the planning stage, but nothing will be decided until we see how this release does. That is not to say that if it flops that there will not be a future release, but the success or failure of Implode will decide on the size, scope and release medium of any future projects.

Pcenginefx: Thank you again for your time and for the interview. I wish you the very best of luck in this new release!

Bt: You are most welcome, it was my pleasure.

For further info and in insider view of IMPLODE, check out darkcityproductions.com!

[Feature/News Archive / PC-FX & TG Devotional Video (originally posted 6.11.2001)]

This is our video tribute to the PC-FX, PC Engine and the TurboGrafx. These systems should always be remembered as being loved by thousands, if not millions of gamers from around the world and should never be forgotten. Enjoy our tribute to the NEC line of systems.

DOWNLOAD CLIP (.wmv, 5.3MB)

https://www.pcengine-fx.com/main/pc-fx-tg_devotional_video.html

[Feature/News Archive / TZD: The Interview (originally posted 5.9.2001)]

pcengine-fx.com presents an interview with Turbo Zone Direct, the only company left supporting the TurboGrafx in the United States...

Pcenginefx: First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. It is a real honor to be talking to the company that has been supporting the Turbo legacy all these years.

TZD: Legacy? And all this time I thought it was because I was the last one out the door at TTi? I mean they DID tell me to turn off the lights.

Pcenginefx: So tell me, I assume you are the head manager of TZD? What exactly do you do?

TZD: TZD is a corporation, started by 2 ex-TTi employees. But this year I bought out my partner, so that makes me chief cook, bottle washer and bathroom maintenance engineer.

Pcenginefx: Can you tell me how many people are employed at TZD?

TZD: There are four full timers here, been with me for eons. One of them was actually a gamer from TTi. When we first started in May 1994, I had eight employees, all ex-TTi gamers. Since I had the excruciating task of laying off about 20 gamers, at least I could spare that many from the bread lines here in L.A. I'm happy to report I am still in touch with a few of them and some of them are still in the game biz and happy for it. One started a skateboard company and he's rich, another (who needed a map on his dashboard to find his way to work each day) started a T-shirt business and he's doing very well.

Pcenginefx: I don't know how involved you were in the history of the NEC/Hudson Soft/TTi relationship, but from what you do know, can you enlighten us as to what happened behind-the-scenes and how each company felt during the downfall of the Turbo?

TZD: I was director of Sales for TTi so I was involved in many of the details. There were NEC people running the hardware and financial end and Hudson Soft folks running the software and management of TTi. The president was a Hudson guy, but honestly the decisions were being made in Japan. THAT was the problem. Some of these decision-makers knew very little about the American consumers and even less about American video game marketing. I've told the story a hundred times, but in 1992 TTi was offered an EXCLUSIVE on Mortal Kombat. But this one particular software guru in Japan said "I think Americans are tired of fighting games." Need I say more?

Towards the end, management canceled the American release of Street Fighter 2 because the royalties were higher that the expected sales, then we canceled some of the best of the PCE titles like Ys IV, Ranma 1/2 and Love Songs, Spriggan, Neo Nectaris etc. etc. Then our good buddies at Working Designs thought the Sega CD was IT and ditched TTi so we never got CF 2 or Vasteel 2 or the promised conversions of the SNK titles we had longed for in the U.S.

Advertising was the final blow. See, in Japan, you can buy advertising time in three TV markets and you've covered 90% of the country. In the US if you've bought three markets, you've barely scratched the surface. The decision-makers were appalled at the real cost of the type of advertising expenditures necessary to introduce the Turbo Duo to the U.S. Sega and Nintendo outspent us 10 to 1 in TV ads in 1992. What we had left was guerrilla marketing and that may be why to this day there is an intense following for this platform. We knew it was a great product, the retailers wanted anyone else to succeed to help keep Nintendo in check, the few fans that we did have offered us nothing but encouragement and support, but in the end, we got beat by what I call the blacktop peer pressure. Back in the early 90s if a kid went to school knocking Nintendo or Sega, or worse, touting the Turbo, he'd probably go home that day with a black eye. To be cool you had to have the same video game system that everyone else had, and that sure wasn't the Turbo Duo.

Pcenginefx: I can relate to that. All though my school years I supported the Turbo (very publicly I might add) and I remember having countless arguments about what system was better with my friends. I've always tried to support the Turbo in any way that I can, be it though word of mouth or though pcengine-fx.com.

Pcenginefx: Let's theorize for a moment and say that Mortal Kombat did make it out on the Turbo, and that it sold like hot-cakes. What do you think would have happened after that? Having an exclusive on such a game surely would have made NEC/Hudson stand up and take notice.

TZD: One big title could have made a big difference, but it is impossible to assume it would have given both NEC and Hudson the cajones to spend the gazillion dollars needed to make any further inroads on market share being contested between Sega and Nintendo. Don't forget that soon after the 16 bit war erupted, our friend Trip Hawkins was talking about a revolutionary machine called 3DO. Believe me, that had the folks back in Japan very concerned.

Pcenginefx: Back in 1994 when the PC-FX was released, I'm sure many people asked if TZD was going to carry the FX unit and games. Did TZD ever had the option to carry the unit or was the option just not there?

TZD: By then we were losing our connections in Japan, many of the wholesalers we were buying from didn't even carry it, and my partner at the time said skip it. He was afraid the titles were too "Japanese" and wouldn't go over with Americans. Also, NEC had intended the platform to be a computer peripheral much like Microsoft is positioning their X-Box platform. We knew that we couldn't localize any of the other software they intended, so we just chose not to get into that. But maybe the real reason is that this future-ex partner no longer worked within TZD after May of 1995 and he was the only one that spoke Japanese.

Pcenginefx: I'm happy to say that there is a growing fan base for the FX, not only in Japan but in North America and in Europe. Looking back though, it was unfortunate that we couldn't get a North American distributor for the FX, but you are right that it would have had a very limited distribution if brought to the US because of the nature of the games.

Pcenginefx: I'm not certain how much interaction TZD has with NEC, but has working with NEC been an enjoyable experience?

TZD: Some of my favorite people in the video game business were the NEC people. One guy was around since the original 1988 TG-16 launch, and he was responsible for every stick of merchandise sent to the U.S. from Japan. The CFO of TTi was also a NEC person, but he was so shy, we hardly ever spoke. Others said I scared him (I'm 6' 4", he was a lot shorter.) Most of the other management types were from Hudson Soft.

Pcenginefx: In light of your recent announcement of reduced inventory and warranty work ending, some people have expressed their concerns as too how much longer TZD can remain in business. Can you give us more detail on this issue?

TZD: We hope to be around forever, I'll probably be buried in a crypt lined with copies of Power Golf.

Pcenginefx: I'm sure every Turbo fan will be happy to see TZD thrive in the years to come. So do you play videogames often? If so, what games or systems do you play?

TZD: Of course I'm prejudiced, I'd put up a Bomberman match with four friends against darn near anything out there, and we'd have more fun too! My son works for THQ and they gave him a PS2, but I donated a couple of Duo's and guess what they play on their break? I think the PS2 has some awesome capabilities, but for pure fun it's hard to beat some of Hudson's shooters or RPGs. Eye candy bores me since I have the attention span of a gnat.

Pcenginefx: Seems like more and more often, we all go back to our Turbo systems to get a good dose of gameplay in now and again. I play my TurboExpress often when I'm on a trip or on my lunch break.

Pcenginefx: Out of the current or upcoming video game systems coming out, which one catches your eye?

TZD: I'll be in the Microsoft booth at E3 so I'll answer that question another day.

Pcenginefx: Do you have any thoughts on Sega's decision to be a software-only company?

TZD: Marketing hardware is about the least profitable and the development of the hardware the most expensive proposition out there, so it may be one of their best moves yet.

Pcenginefx: Which character is your favorite - Bonk or Zonk?

TZD: Bonk is a classic, I keep a 5' version of him with me in the warehouse every day. He's my hero.

pcengine-fx.com would like to give a big thanks to Steve at TZD for this interview and wish him and his company the best in the years to come.

[Feature/News Archive / Turbo Moments From Around The World (originally posted 3.1.2001)]

Anyone who has been exposed to the TurboGrafx or PC Engine can tell you - they all have a unique experience to share - that defining moment that made them realize that they were playing something special - be it a first experience with the system, or maybe meeting someone who was directly connected to the development of a game, its important to remember those times. Below you will find firsthand accounts from Turbo fans from around the world - their most memorable moments from turning on the system for the first time, to meeting a PC Engine developer - it's all here. Read on, and enjoy.

TURBO MOMENT #1 - From Jeremiah Kenworthy:
I remember waiting for arguably the best import shipment of games I had ever made. I was in so much anticipation! Then finally, they came, from 2 different orders on the same day!! This was a day of magic... For on this day I received Dracula X, Macross 2036, Ys 4: The Dawn of Ys, and Vasteel 2 in that order. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. I really never imagined games could be THIS good. I mean you hear about all of these titles that you feel as though you'll never get a chance to have, and figure how can they be as good as people say?? Oh boy, how little I knew...

Dracula X: Where to start? ;-) This game is regarded as the best in the Castlevania series with good reason. Now I am a huge Castlevania fan (own every game), and I was not prepared for this. With graphics twice as good as those in Super Castlevania 4 (they are more comparable to SOTN or Dracula X2, the PSX sequel), a sound track to die for, half of the game hidden, multiple playable characters, anime style cinemas, incredible new play techniques, weapons and level designs, choose your own path, end bosses that humble you, and revisited levels from other Castlevania games... If this was the only Duo game to my name, and I only had one Duo, I would buy another Duo just to make sure I can always play this game.

Macross 2036: What more could I have asked for? Robotech/Macross (one of my all time fave anime) on my favorite system!! YES!! Someone understands!!! =P Anyway, this game has just under 45 minutes of animation, and the graphical quality of this game is superb! The voice acting is also straight from the series! I remember the first time I got to level 3. I had to put the game on pause and just stare. (Which wasn't the best idea in the world since the main thing that was impressing me was the complicated line and sprite scrolling which is kinda hard to see on pause. ;-) I also love the wide variety weapons you can use. This is game is not in contention for best shooter in the world (though I love it), but it is a somewhat unique title with more to like in it than just shooting.

Ys 4: The Dawn of Ys: How little I knew when I first turned this SCD on that it would become my most loved and fondly remembered game experience... I am VERY into the Ys series (again, have all of the games), and the just the opening to this game is... is... ..even today one of the absolute most emotionally moving openings in existence!! And you don't have to know Japanese to feel the great emotion and inflection of this game. (Though Mr. Nanto and I can attest that knowing Japanese sure would have helped us pass it a lot faster. ^_^ You really have to be patient with it if you don't speak the language, and there are 2 spots that my take you forever to figure out. (Looking back, how in the hell did I think up dressing like a guard to get into a certain castle??? here) This game is so incredible it was the first to make me cry just from the beauty, and revisiting old friends. <sniffle> On a side note, I think I actually enjoy the story more since I don't know logically what its about, only emotionally. Well, I do know generally what it is about, I did pass the first 3 games. ;-)

Vaster 2: Before Starcraft, this was my love... Although quite different from the first Vasteel (which I also love), this game really makes you feel as though you're a part of something. You play as "Voice Knuckle", and you have a girlfriend named "Digi Norton". (Don't ask. =) After witnessing the death of your mother, and in fact the whole planet, from space at the ruthless hands of "Aggaris", and his armada of starships, you vow to have vengeance. The story is very intense, and viewed through wonderful/plentiful anime scenes. Plus, there is a great plot twist at the end, which I'm not going to give away. (hehe) Storywise this game has little (if anything) to do with the first game, which is true for a majority of Turbo sequels. (i.e. Gate of Thunder/Lords of Thunder, Legendary Axe 1&2, etc.) Vasteel 2 is another of my fond memories as it was one of the games that got me through some troubled times. This game is also one of the few SCD/ACD hybrids.

TURBO MOMENT #2 - From Darkfact21@aol.com:
My favorite PC Engine moment of all time was the first time I ever played Ys Book I and II. I was one of the lucky kids back in the late 80's early 90's who got a TG-16 with the CD player system. I'll never forget that Christmas, I believe it was the Christmas of '89. I opted to pass on the -Genesis- the ultimate 16-bit revolutionary system and went out on a limb and got the TG-16. Little did I know my parents were going to fork out that much cash to get me the CD attachment + games. Anyways, I will never forget when I opened up that system and hooked it up. Keith Courage rocked my world! Then behind the Keith Courage box was a shiny box with a beautiful backdrop, a castle, a rainbow, and a sunset. I had never laid my eyes on such a beautiful box. This had to be a dream. Little did I know the game lying there was none other than the almighty Ys book I and II. There will never, ever be another moment in the annals of gaming like the inception of an RPG like Ys into your world. That cold dark winter day I embarked on a journey that I'll never forget. That day I saw myself playing a game on a CD-ROM. I couldn't believe my eyes! Here, all my friends were still playing NES and I knew at that moment the dawn of a new era had begun. Some had just gotten the Genesis, there were no TG-16 players out there that I knew of yet and the SNES was still years from launch. This was a great time to be a gamer. As I played through Ys Book I and II a legend was to unfold before my eyes. Then when I saw the review of the game in Electronic Gaming Monthly I knew it was true. Former editor-in-chief, Ed Semrad, the gaming guru, was 100% correct on his review when he and the crew score it a perfect 10 across the board and said :The Perfect Game Has Just Happened" So let me conclude this by saying this is my favorite PC Engine moment of all time, not to mention my favorite gaming moment of all time. Ys Book I and II is still my favorite game today. There will never be another game like it. Thank you Falcom for this cherished work of art. Thanks to the greatest system of all time for this gem. Without Ys Book I and II I would have never been a gamer. It made me who I am and made me appreciate the Video game in general. Thank you Ys Book I and II you truly are the perfect moment.

TURBO MOMENT #3 - From Chris
My favorite Pc engine moment was the day I got Dracula X. I think it was in 1993. It was snowing really hard outside and I was invited to my friends house to hang out. As soon as I opened the package for Dracula, I was drooling everywhere. Then, I remembered that I had to leave to go to my friends house. I was thinking, "should I call him up and tell him that I'm sick?" Anyways, I drove towards his house, only to make it to his street (which was a huge hill). The road to his house was so icy that I had to turn back. Hehe. So I drove home, called my friend up and told him the roads were too icy, then, I threw in Dracula X, and played the best adventure game ever!!!

TURBO MOMENT #4 - From Mike Leconte
January 28th 1990. For my 10th birthday I received a PC Engine. I was totally blown away by the sound and graphics! (Vigilante, Dragon Spirit, Bloody Wolf & Space Harrier were some of them, it was early days ;)!! For Xmas 1990 I received Gunhed. My favourite vertical shooter of ALL time! Some other hucards that left me breathless were Soldier Blade, Twin Bee and Street Fighter II.

January 27th 2001. Received a PC Engine GT with Devil Crash from eBay auction. How can I even begin to describe the most amazing, sexy looking hand held that is 10 years old for god sake!!! Even Devil Crash has yet to be surpassed as a pinball game!

TURBO MOMENT #5 - From William Jones
When I first got my TurboGrafx w/CD, I had only seen still shots of Ys Book I & II. After I got home and got everything hooked up, I popped Ys into the CD drive and experienced my first taste of Turbo heaven. I knew I had made the right choice. Of course, that made it hard on the other games I would eventually get being spoiled by Ys right of the bat. :-)

TURBO MOMENT #6 - From George Palamara
My favorite PCE moment (as opposed to Turbo moment) has to be when I got to meet the father of the PC Engine, NECs Gotoh Tomio.

A few years ago I got an e-mail asking me if I would sell my copy of SD Gundam for the Virtual Boy. I said no, but the buyer wrote back and offered me $800.00 for it. I said OK, if the cash actually shows up (I didn't think he was for real) it was his. He said that he would be in Tokyo where we should meet and he would pay me.

So we met in Akihabara, he was for real - and shelled out the $800.00. But more importantly he mentioned that, since I was a big PC Engine fan (he knew from my web site and wants list), I should go out to dinner with him because he was meeting acouple of Japanese friends who had "something" to do with the PCE (though he didn't know the whole story as it didn't interest him).

A few hours later, at a local Japanese restaurant, I was introduced to Mr. Gotoh and another gentleman who was a former software developer for NEC and other game systems and computers.

Mr. Gotoh proved to be a very quiet and humble person, and was genuinely surprised to find out that anyone was "still interested in such an old game system." He was also impressed when I told him that my collection contained about 90% of what was available hardware, software and accessory wise.

He also remembered that a year later when a magazine writer approached him to do a story on the PC Engine. It seems NEC didn't keep any examples of the numerous accessories and hardware that they released and he called me to ask if they could used my collection for the story that was being written. Of course I agreed.

We have gone out to dinner a couple of times since then, though ever since NEC Avenue folded and he was transferred to a new division within the company, and my job grew busier and busier, we fell out of touch. Maybe I'll try to track him down this year to see what secret new project he is working on for NEC for the near future...

TURBO MOMENT #7 - From George Palamara
Before the Turbo Expresses general release in 1990 it was put on sale in 3 U.S. cities - New York, Chicago and L.A. just before Thanksgiving. In N.Y. the only place selling it was N.Y.C.s most famous toy shop, F.A.O. Schwartz (see the movie "Big"). My friend Adam and I had gotten ourselves on a reserve list and got the call one afternoon that they would be on sale the next day.

We got up early, drove to Manhattan, parked out front of the store and went inside. It was a mob scene! The people around the electronics counter were already lined up 10 deep. We tried to buffalo our way in closer but it was no use with the tough New York crowd.

At one point a clerk stood on a chair or something to address the crowd : "We only have XXX Turbo Expresses left!"

Unplanned ahead of time, but in unison my friend and I both shouted "We'll take 'em all!" even though neither of us had any idea how many she said were available.

At that the crowd got quiet and we were asked if we were serious. Naturally we said yes and they asked us to "follow them." We were escorted upstairs to a private room and at that point we were not sure if we were in trouble or what.

We asked what the deal was and they said this was the "personal shopper" room for their "better customers" who don't want to hob knob with the riff raff in the store below. We were offered soft drinks while a clerk went out to get the TEs.

There was a case of Expresses and then some still available. They were $325.00 each ($25.00 more than they would be a few weeks late on general release). They asked again if we wanted them all and we said that it was not up to us, but to Visa and Master Card. Soo...with a combination of 4 credit cards we bought them all.

Finally they asked if we wanted them delivered and we said no, out car was right out front. They said "What?!? You parked out on 5th (avenue)? Your car has probably been towed!" Honestly nether of had given that much thought, we just wanted the TEs no matter what we had to do to get them.

It all turned out well - the car was OK, we picked through the units for the 2 with the least amount of burnt pixels and kept them. We also held on to 3 others and gave them to friends for Christmas that year. The rest we sold to a guy who had an import game shop out on Long Island. As a small business he could not get any. We didn't make anything on them, but he owed us and that was much more important - it was the PC Engine games that he later got for me that started my collection, and helped make it what it is today.

TURBO MOMENT #8 - From ZBo@aol.com
The one moment that I cannot forget has to be the time I got my TurboDuo. I hooked everything up and popped in Ys Book I & II. The music was gorgeous, and so was the opening cinema, but when I heard the words "Ys, The Ideal Utopia..." my jaw dropped.This was the first CD game I had played, and I fell in lve right from the start. To this day, the Ys series is my favorite role playing games.

TURBO MOMENT #9 - From James Brooks
The very first video game that ever impressed me was Y's Book I and II for the Turbo-Grafx 16 with CDROM. That game made me very, very popular back in my Senior High School days.

You could say it was because of Y's that I became directly involved with the multimedia industry in the first place.

TURBO MOMENT #10 - From Rob Strangman
My favorite Turbo moment? That would have to be the first time I ever played Splatterhouse. I'd never played a game like it before... the character design, the music, and the overall B-movie feel of the whole thing. This was the game that cinched my decision to buy a Turbo.

TURBO MOMENT #11 - From ZetaGouki
It was the time when I first got to play a TurboGrafx-16. I was around 10 or 11 at the time. A good friend had one in the corner of his room that he never played. The first game I truly fell in love with was Final Lap Twin. I thought the RPG mode was just the coolest thing. And the rest is history... LONG LIVE NEC!!!!

TURBO MOMENT #12 - From Grubout
My favourite turbo moment was the disbelief I felt when--in an ultimate over-the-top moment--that giant bull, half of its body lopped off, lunged into the screen in Dracula X. I knew then that I was playing a masterpiece!

TURBO MOMENT #13 - From Charles
The only game I had when I got my pc engine was Bonk!, I still play it form time to time even now, hasn't aged as much as alot of games

TURBO MOMENT #14 - From benburnt0074
I still remember my first Turbo system. I was a paper boy and one of my customers invited me to play his new Turbo. Immediately after I was done I went out and sold all my Nintendo games and bought a Turbo Grafx 16.

[Feature/News Archive / Lords of Thunder Promo Tape (originally posted 12.21.2000)]

Remember the glorious time when TTi rolled out the TurboDuo back in 1994? Ahhh...those were the days. TTi was newly formed and ready to spend some money on something that is really important in the gaming industry - advertising. For those lucky few that sent in that little coupon for a free promo tape of upcoming games set for the TurboDuo, this was one of the tapes. Below you will find the full-length, original promo tape to one of the best games on the TurboDuo - Lords of Thunder.


Gotta run to my TV!


"I already have a Sega, but I would trade it in for this"


"Huh?"


"Really killer music CD sound..."

DOWNLOAD CLIP (.wmv, 20MB, 400Kbps)
(You must have Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher to play)
Right-click to SAVE AS to your hard drive, or for fast connections, left click to stream.

[Feature/News Archive / Lords of Thunder Comparison (originally posted 12.1.2000)]

IMPORTANT NOTE: All screen captures were done via a video capture card with each systems composite video connection plugged directly into the card. No altering has been done to any of the photos, which includes adjusting brightness, contrast, hue, color, or sharpness. In other words, the following photos have been untouched and very closely represent each systems graphic ability.

If you are a gamer, you should know this game. If not..well... I feel sorry for you Anyway, this is it - the big cheese - the comparison of all comparisons - the classic shooter Lords of Thunder compared on 3 platforms - the PC Engine, TurboDuo and SegaCD! We got it all here - high quality screen shots of each game, detailed differences between each version, and more...so let's get started!

THE INTROS & TITLES
NOTE: All versions of the game have the same exact intro with little differences.

PC Engine: Same intro as all other ports. Intro has narration during the first intro segment. Loading time only a few seconds.
TurboDuo: Same intro as all other ports. Intro has no narration (only music). Loading time only a few seconds.
SegaCD: Same intro as all other ports except animation seems a bit slower. Color in some scenes have a washed out look compared to the PCE/TurboDuo versions. Intro has narration all though intro. Loading time only a few seconds.

Screenshot #1 - PCE, Screenshot #2 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #3 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


PRE-GAME MENUS
PC Engine: Level select and armor select screens same as other versions. In the weapon/power-up store, the girl speaks in Japanese "How may I help you" and "Thank you very much" (with mouth movement).
TurboDuo: Level select and armor select screens same as other versions. In the weapon/power-up store the girl says nothing, with minimal animation.
SegaCD: Level select and armor select screens same as other versions. In the weapon/power-up store the girl says "How may I help you?" and "Thank you" in English (with mouth movement).

Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


GAMEPLAY & GRAPHICS
PC Engine/TurboDuo: Gameplay, graphics, and levels identical.
SegaCD: Levels same as PC Engine/TurboDuo versions. When character gets hit, he cringes, hindering your ability to shoot for a second. Graphics in majority of game looked washed out, having less vibrent colors than the PC Engine/TurboDuo versions. When you hit an enemy, it doesn't flash like the PCE/TurboDuo version.

Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


Screenshot #1 - TurboDuo, Screenshot #2 - Sega CD


CONCLUSION: As you can plainly see, the SegaCD version suffers from less colors and sharpness than the PCE/TurboDuo version. However, the SegaCD version is closer port to the original PC Engine version than the TurboDuo version is (shop girl for example). Also the BG music is re-mixed for the SegaCD version, with a less hard-edged sound to it (but retains the same melody as the original PCE/TurboDuo versions). So which version is better? They are both basicly the same game, but since we are biased at pcengine-fx.com we would take the PCE/TurboDuo version over the SegaCD anyday

[Feature/News Archive / pcengine-fx.com In Gamers Republic (originally posted 5.4.2000)]

In the Retro Archives section of Gamers Republic magazine, they reviewed Zenki for the PC-FX as well as mentioned pcengine-fx.com in the review.  Check it out below:

[Feature/News Archive / Interview with Mr. Eagan Rackley (originally posted 4.4.2000)]

Eagan Rackley, the author of the PC port of Keith Courage from the TurboGrafx-16 system, talks to us about coding, working on the project, and how he thinks Nintendo should be the "underdog" for once in the console race. Check out our lengthy interview below!

Pcenginefx: Hello Eagan, thanks for taking the time to talk about your project.

Eagan: It's really my pleasure to take time out to do this

Pcenginefx: So tell me, how long have you been working with programing?

Eagan: Not long at all really. I think anyone who's been programming for a substantial amount of time would probably want to kill me if they saw my code . I guess in detail I started programming when I learned BASIC way back when BASIC was cool On a Pc Jr no less! However, I really started to study C/C++ 1 1/2 years ago.

Pcenginefx: I see that you use a few different programs to create Keith PC, such as DJGPP, WinAllegro and Level-Editor. Can you tell us a little about each program?

Eagan:  Sure, I'd be happy too. Here's the brief rundown. DJGPP is a freeware 32 bit compiler written by DJDelorie. It's powerful, portable, and just generally all around awesome. It's released under the GNU public license. ALLEGRO is a freeware library that was originally written for DJGPP but has branched out into many other area's (such as Direct X, Linux, Watcom etc.). Allegro is also very powerful and portable. (As for) Level Editor, (it) is a great library written for Allegro by Henrik Stoketh. It's one of the best tile map editors I've ever used. The way its tools are set up makes it THE tile map editor for creating a parallax scrolling games. I wouldn't use anything else.

Pcenginefx:  You first worked on a DOS port of Keith PC, then you moved over to developing a Win9x version. What challenges have you faced so far in development?

Eagan:  Haha! I'd say the most frustrating one was trying to get the Win9x version of Keith to compile in C++. It never happened. Something about RSXNTDJ (used with DJGPP to write Windows programs) and DJGPP 2.8.1 wouldn't compile anything made with C++. I nearly lost my marbles. I've had plenty of small problems here and there with the code, however most of those were my own fault. I decided to choose Win9x for my main platform because Windows 98 and the newer sound cards like (the) Sound Blaster Live really didn't agree with the DOS version of Allegro. I will still be releasing DOS ports on major updates however for those die-hard DOS user's like myself I think another very frustrating thing about switching over to Direct X was losing my C++ code and have to switch over to C. I was really proud of that old code ;), and the C code just doesn't look as good.

Pcenginefx: Are you planning on porting over the entire game of Keith Courage?

Eagan: If you mean to different platform's yes I might even be able to port over to BeOS because of the portability of Allegro and DJGPP. My definites for the final product will be: DOS, Win9x, and Linux/Unix systems.

Pcenginefx:  Well, what I meant was, will you be porting over every level from the TG-16 game in your final release of Keith PC?

Eagan: Ahhh, sorry I'm a dork Yes, if I can I definitely will . I'm also planning on adding a few extra level's, and maybe some nice plot addition's.

Pcenginefx: Really? Can we maybe see some new characters?

Eagan: That will hopefully be included in the new plot twists and levels. I also wanted to (and this is a long ways away) create an alternate version will all new music and all new sprites. I also had dream's of redoing the sprites using polygon characters, sort of the way Oddworld did their sprites. It's all very tentative though.

Pcenginefx:  Wow...that sounds like fun! Well, how long do you expect it to take to do the entire (original) game?

Eagan:  That's hard to say. The most time consuming part for me is building the tile-maps. I'm hoping to have all of the overworld finished in a few months. Those map's are however basically simple. The Underworld map's might take me a little bit longer because they go up-down-left-right, so they're generally much larger. All in all I hope to have the complete game finished by next spring.

Pcenginefx:  Doing a project like this takes a lot of work. Who has helped you in the continuing creation of Keith PC?

Eagan:  Well, that's a large list. Basically I've done all the code/tilemaps (with the help of the tool's mentioned earlier of course). Nathan Hall and Jeremy Gilbert have help me a BUNCH so far. Nathan's done all the sprites for me and done an excellent job. If you just listen to the music you'll know what Jeremy's Done, it's awesome! I've been offered help from other people, but mostly I have to say I don't have anything for them to do right now. Sumide has offered to help with the sprites, but Nathan's built them all so far. Of course, the tester's group has been invaluable in pointing out the bugs so I can get them fixed:) The member's of the group are:

(in order that they offered to be tester's)
Ron Kiser
Orian Culu
Cobra CF2
Aaron Nanto (hey, that's you!)
and Quoth 09

Pcenginefx: <laugh> I'm glad to be a tester So, what inspired you to do a PC port of Keith Courage in the first place?

Eagan: Well, it was a string of messages on the Turbo List a while back. I think it all started by someone knocking Keith Courage. Then a number of lister's including myself replied with letter's singing the great praises of Keith ('cause we think it's one darn good game (and it is:)) Then there was talk of how the pack-in's compared on each system, and how Sega's pack-in had parallax scrolling, and was generally better than Keith. So, I thought it'd be nice if Keith could be remade to kick Altered Beast's #$## all over the place! So, since I don't know enough about Assembly to write a PCE game yet, I thought it would be a great project to re-create Keith on the PC. I've really enjoyed doing it so far, and so I guess the people who've helped and that have really kept me going on it too.

Pcenginefx:  Do you or have you thought about porting over any other TurboGrafx game in the near future?

Eagan: Haha...I had actually been working on an Ys clone named Wall for a month or two before I started on the Keith project. I actually still have a working demo of it, I was making it to work in high color. However, I think that most of the Turbo games are really great already. If I ever get a SuperGrafx and Grandzort I might consider doing that since I hear that's supposed to be the sequel to Keith.

Pcenginefx: Being a fan of the PC Engine/TurboGrafx systems, can you tell me about your
first experience with the system?

Eagan: I sure can...I remember it vividly. It was a long long time ago, and my brother and I had been saving up money for it. We had just about $100 when it went on sale at Babbages in NC for $99.99. Not only did it have Keith Courage, but the new on-sale one also included Bonk. We got our mom to take us out to buy it. I remember putting Keith in the machine and playing it for the first time. It blew me away. I thought the music and sound effects were top notch (and still do). It was a very creative game. Even after I traded in my TG-CD for a Duo way back when, Keith was still one of the games I played most:) (except for DE2, now that was one good game:). Another one of my fav's was Neutopia which was the first game I got. I remember seeing the clouds in the opening scene and thinking, "WOW, those look real!" They don't look as real now, but I still love that game.

Pcenginefx: I still remember my first experience with the system too. A long, long time ago So what next-generation systems (if any) are you interested in (either current or coming?)

Eagan:  Definitely the Dreamcast. However the only reason I'm really interested is because NEC did a lot of the hardware. I'm not as big on other system's as I've been on the Turbo, I'm really not sure why. I guess it's a sure sign that I'm getting older and set in my ways, and that the Turbo is still my favorite after all these years. I'd rather spend my money on it than anything else.

Pcenginefx: What is your prediction on the video game market during the next 3 years as the 128-Bit+ wars heat up? Do things like this even concern you?

Eagan: Well they do, but only because I want the underdog's to really take off and beat Sony and Nintendo into the dust. I don't know if that's even remotely realistic, but I'd sure love to see it happen to Nintendo especially, I don't want them to go under, I just want to see one of the smaller companies (like any of them are small start to really kick butt. The same way I want Linux to get more of the market against Microsoft.

Pcenginefx: It seems that most Turbo fans have the same feeling about "supporting the underdog." I'm the same way.

Eagan: Maybe we're all bitter about TTi? (maybe bitter isn't the right word)

Pcenginefx:  Well, TTi did do fairly well in the beginning, but it fell apart after the launch of the TurboDuo. It's sad to think back in that respect. So, I think Turbo fans have full right to be bitter about TTi.

Eagan: I think so too I really wish that the Turbo could've lasted longer, and then we could've seen great games like Ys4, and Dracula X here in the US. Then, maybe (the) PC-FX could've come over?

Pcenginefx: Well, I think that if the Turbo lasted longer, NEC of Japan would have changed their software development scheme to have more action games on the PC-FX...and then maybe an American release, however with the software that the PC-FX has now, it would be VERY hard to market the PC-FX in America because of the type of games the PC-FX has.

Eagan:  I remember hearing about those (from a certain PCFX fanatic I know). Yup, I definitely think you're right. I find it interesting that NEC choose those title's for their system, while the PC-Engine had been so successful in Japan.

Pcenginefx: Well, I thank you for your time in answering these questions, I wish you good luck on Keith PC and any other ventures you pursue in the future!

Eagan: Thank you.

[Feature/News Archive / TurboExpress In The Movies (originally posted 2.25.2000)]

Interestingly enough, in the 1998 movie "Enemy Of The State," the TurboExpress was used as a video/playback device for video captured onto a PCMCIA card. Though not shown working, the TurboExpress was shown in several scenes throughout the movie, and we have all of the scenes here for you to see.

VIDEO CLIPS
Click on any of the Windows Media clips below to see each scene where the TE was featured.
Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3, Clip 4, Clip 5

STILL SHOTS

The main title of the movie.


1st scene where the TE was shown. One of the characters is about to pick up the unit. Notice the NEC logo at the top left of the unit, and the wavy, almost whale-like symbol at the middle of the unit.


1st scene where the TE was shown. The character is about to slide out the card that is currently in the TurboExpress. Upon close examination of the original video, you can see the TurboGrafx logo on the game that is shown here, with a dark blue background. The title on the card is only in focus for a few frames, but I have determined that the game shown here is none other than the first TG-16 game released - Keith Courage.


1st scene where the TE was shown. Now with the game out. Notice the large "NEC Home Electronics" logo sicker on the backside.


1st scene where the TE was shown. Now the actor has placed a PCMCIA card in the HuCard slot of the TE. This card in the movie holds a murder video.


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. The 2 kids in the film pull the unit out of a bag and give it to the actor Will Smith.


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith examines the TurboExpress.


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith is examining the TurboExpress. Notice clearly the NEC and TurboExpress logo to the front of the unit, and part of the "whale" logo right below the speaker.


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith is examining the TurboExpress. Notice the left side of the unit - where it is indented, it seems more pronounced than on the "production" units..


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith is examining the TurboExpress. Notice clearly the NEC Technologies logo, and the "whale" graphic above it.


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith pulls out the unit to show Gene Hackman. Notice in particularly the center of the unit, where the "whale" logo as replaced the original "TurboGrafx-16" logo (given away by the black mark clearly visible behind the whale logo).


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith pulls out the unit to show Gene Hackman. This is the left side of the unit.


One of the last scenes the TE was shown. Will Smith pulls out the unit to show Gene Hackman. This is an almost complete view of the entire front of the unit.

[Feature/News Archive / Last Alert Re-Dub (originally posted 6.6.1999)]

Everybody and anyone who has played the TurboGrafx-16/CD has heard of Last Alert. If not, well..you are missing something special. Almost every Turbo nut hails Ys as the best RPG to grace the system..and rightfully so. So, in turn, many hail Last Alert as having the worst voice acting out ANY CD game to date...and they are not kidding! Sparing any more time, found here are the Pcenginefx re-dubs of the voice tracks found on the TG-CD Last Alert CD-ROM2 game, tracks 6 though 33 (sparing some of the musical tracks).  Please note, that these re-dubs are not made nor meant to replace the original tracks, but to put a new twist on the subject. These re-dubs are guaranteed to make you bust a gut!

Last Alert Re-Dub Download
3.1MB - 22 files - .wav format

[Feature/News Archive / README: Moving all features to the forum...]

To make room for an upcoming site overhaul, I am moving all of the pcengine-fx.com Features & Interviews into the forum for archiving.  If you have any questions or comments about this move, please post them here and not in a new thread.

[Feature/News Archive / Fake Turbo Ads (originally posted 6.20.1999)]

Let's pretend for a bit, shall we? Pretend that NEC was still in the hardware race with the TurboGrafx line of systems in America...what would their ad campaign look like? Well, we have concocted some ads that look good enough for NEC to use!

Make Yours Turbo Ad Campaign - "Turbo Colors"
Obviously inspired by the iMac "Yum" ad, if NEC were hip on the hardware, they would probably bring out different colored TurboGrafx-16 systems. If they did, it would look *something* like what this ad depicts...on the flip side, Apple would probably sue due to ad/copyright infringement. Yuck!



Make Yours Turbo Ad Campaign - "Follow The Leader"
Yes.....follow the leader. What better way can you say that your crushing the competition? On a side note, you will notice that there is a Japanese HuCard in this ad. I didn't realize this till it was too late



Make Yours Turbo Ad Campaign - "Any closer and you might go blind"
I personally like this one because of the little blurb about "who needs those overpowered, polygon-pushing systems?" Check it out...it's the TurboDuo ready to kick those 32 and 64-bit systems out into the gutter!

[News / Forum changes 2010.05.09]

Finally updated the banner to something more simple and changed the main forum icons to something NEC related.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / TurboExpress: A Momento (unboxing film)]

Remembering the NEC TurboExpress portable video game system in true pcengine-fx.com style, we present to you an unboxing in true cinematic style - enjoy!
TurboExpress: A Momento

[Buy/Sell/Trade / New Pcenginefx Auction: PC Engine to TurboGrafx HuCard Converter]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230419868117

aaronnanto.smugmug.com/photos/756733436_CttTP-X3.jpg

[Auctions / PC Engine to TurboGrafx HuCard Converter (ended)]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230419868117

aaronnanto.smugmug.com/photos/756733436_CttTP-X3.jpg

[Turbo Memoirs / "Remembering the NEC Console Legacy" New Wallpaper]

I'm currently in process of a site re-design and am taking new photos of the NEC consoles for the site.  Since I still had my shooting set still up I decided to make the below wallpaper:

aaronnanto.smugmug.com/Product-Photography/Pcenginefx-Wallpapers/10630722_WAxck/1/#739407862_B4vCP-A-LB

aaronnanto.smugmug.com/Product-Photography/Pcenginefx-Wallpapers/NECConsoleLegacy2010/739407862_B4vCP-L.jpg

If anyone would like the wallpaper, please let me know what size (largest size is 2560x1600) - thanks!

[Media (PCEFX Radio/TV) / New YouTube HD Videos (1080p Tests & New PcenginefxTV Animated Logo)]

PC Engine 1080p Test Video:

PC Engine 1080p Test Video #2:

PcenginefxTV Title Treatment (.10sec version):

[Turbo Memoirs / PC Engine Promo Photograph (circa 1987) re-creation]

Was bored this afternoon and decided to do a quick re-creation of the original PCE promo photograph.  If anyone would like wallpaper versions of this image (without the original image) please reply in this thread with the size you want.  Enjoy.

_{rucrpw.dm2301.livefilestore.com/y2p4_Ix6aatwFRHbUpgQACWvt2a2JqT8s3aWci4jjJAfByvPK16b-PP9e3yxlC7WY8E_ou19CCzRAuGKHZdfJv4vY_LMlX6ZL34cAfa8MPKbb0/PCE+Remake_small.jpg}

[Auctions / Pcenginefx eBay Lot: Super Air Zonk SCD, Dracula X, Shadow of the Beast, Exile..]

Impossamole NIB:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363229491&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Super Air Zonk SCD MINT
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363230356&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Castlevania Dracula X
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363231422&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Prince of Persia SCD
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363232273&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Dungeon Master SCD
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363232877&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Shadow of the Beast
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363233531&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Exile CD-ROM2
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230363234191&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT