Is It Worth Getting

[Retrocool]

I have been debating on getting a pc fx instead of a supergrafx, but many folks have told me its not worth the money because it is not backwords compatible and that most of the games are not worth it.  The way I see it, with the list of games, there is bound to be a lot more good than bad.  I do not know...can i get any feedback?

[NecroPhile]

Compared to a SG, I'd say it's worth it (assuming one already has a PCE or Duo); you should easily find more than five games (number of SG titles) to your taste on the PC-FX.

[SignOfZeta]

It takes a pretty hardcore PCE fan just to even see the difference between a regular PCE game and a Supergrafx game. It wasn't a very significant upgrade and it wasn't well utilized.

Therefore, as questionably useful as the FX is, I'd have to say I recommend that instead. It's a completely different experience than PCE.

[Arkhan Asylum]

what kind of games do you like playing.

[Filler]

If you just want it to have an odd collectable system, either might be good. I haven't played (nor do I own) the SuperGrafx so I can't really comment on it's handful of games. I have played a bunch of PC-FX and I dearly love it.

Part of my love is sheer nostaligia. If you grew up with anime on VHS and LD, playing 2D systems like the PCE/PCECD (it was Genesis and Sega CD for me), and got really into all things Japanese then you will probably go nuts. The PC-FX is basically the most awesome system I could have imagined. I can really appreciate a game with a strong narrative even at the expense of gameplay. I actually really enjoyed the FMV experiments on the Sega CD like Time Gal and Sewer Shark at the time, and stuff like Lunar: The Silver Star and even the Sherlock Holmes game that came with the Sega CD.

When my friend got the PC-FX I ate it up. Great 2D and FMV based games, cute anime characters, and mysterious Japanese RPG, digital comic, and other story driven ADV games.

If you read no Japanese you will be stuck playing around 5 games on the system that are action-oriented and don't require much reading. They are great games. And if you happen to really like the pretty pictures, and trying to figure out games you can't read, you may still have fun slogging through some other stuff.

If you can read some Japanese, your options open up considerably. You can't expect the Moon from it, but the PC-FX has a lot to offer. Take a look at my YouTube reviews for a few PC-FX titles to get a taste of the games:

[SamIAm]

People are right when they say that it's important to consider what kinds of games you like, but there's more to it than that. I've had a PC-FX for a while now, and test driving a few more PC-FX games today, and I noticed a sad thing in general about most of what I've played so far.

Let's talk about budgets. This system apparently sold around 100,000 units before NEC discontinued it. This means that when any company made a PC-FX game, the business side of the production had to acknowledge that in all likelihood, they were only going to sell between 5,000 and 20,000 copies. Contrast this with the more popular systems, where selling 50,000 wasn't particularly difficult even in the Japanese market alone. Heavy hitters especially could count on selling hundreds of thousands of copies.

Unfortunately, this difference in scope of sales really affected how much money was put into PC-FX games. Frankly, even in the genres where the system supposedly does well, most games feel fairly low-budget. A few have a certain shine to them, but most of the system-exclusives look like they came from small development groups with very short schedules.

That's why ultimately, even the PC-FX's collection of RPGs, S-RPGs, love-simulations and miscellaneous gal-games don't hold up all that well against the best offerings from its rivals.

And so, even a person who enjoys the kinds of games that seem so abundant on the PC-FX still might not get much of a kick out of what is actually available. It's not like the PC-Engine, where there's a strong argument to be made for a lot of the shmups and RPGs being the best of their generation. With the PC-FX, it appears to be mostly average fare or worse. All in all, it's suited to NEC fans, collectors, and gal-game connoisseurs, but that's about it. To a general gamer, you might find a taste of some unique mid-90's gaming and anime, but if that's you, you've really got to ask yourself if that alone is worth the investment.

[BlueBMW]

Even if you don't like the games on the FX, it sure looks cooler than darnit sitting on your shelf!  And actually, the CD player function of it has some neat options

[esteban]

Get the PC-FX simply to enjoy audio CD's via the PC-FX media player and your home entertainment system.

I'm serious. I'm also crazy.

[Ji-L87]

Get the PC-FX simply to enjoy audio CD's via the PC-FX media player and your home entertainment system.

I'm serious. I'm also crazy.

I saw someone doing just that, in a room-thread over at the Rising Stuff forums once...I'm on to youuu.

[KiddoCabbusses]

If you want to think of it in terms of a price comparison point: I was able to get a working and pretty decent-conditioned PC-FX for around $120 shipped, while in comparison I have not been able to get any of the higher-end PCE models (Duo or SuperGrafx) because the price barrier is way too high for me (Ones I see around tend to go at least double what I paid for an FX).

It's also a lot easier to burn a CD of a game you want to try out on the PC-FX - after all, how could I play the Pia Carrot fan translation if it didn't take a burned disc?

I'm sure most of the other points have already been mentioned; It seems to boil down to whether you want a niche system with few games or a niche add-on with even less.

[BlueBMW]

Now if someone say has a US Turbo Duo, but no way to play pc-engine hucards... then I'd say definitely go for the Supergrafx.  But if you've already got a Duo-R or some sort of PC engine core system, the FX would be the better choice.

On the Supergrafx however, there are 5 (7) games, of which 4 are pretty decent.  Aldynes is a decent horizontal shootie, Daimakaimura is excellent, Granzort is ok, 1941 is good, but a little pricey.  Battle ace is pretty meh IMO.  The other two Darius plus and Darius Alpha are good, but will also work on a regular pc engine.  Darius Alpha is quite pricey btw hehe.

[Arkhan Asylum]

The PC-FX loses alot of its appeal if you don't dig RPGs or digital comics.

[blueraven]

Get the PCFX. I'd say, unless you dont already have a core/pce,

[Duo_R]

Do u have one Bluerave?

Get the PCFX. I'd say, unless you dont already have a core/pce,

[blueraven]

Do u have one Bluerave?

Get the PCFX. I'd say, unless you dont already have a core/pce,

I don't. I haven't been able to find one for a decent price, or repairable

Just EMU and what i hear from others.

[Retrocool]

People are right when they say that it's important to consider what kinds of games you like, but there's more to it than that. I've had a PC-FX for a while now, and test driving a few more PC-FX games today, and I noticed a sad thing in general about most of what I've played so far.

Let's talk about budgets. This system apparently sold around 100,000 units before NEC discontinued it. This means that when any company made a PC-FX game, the business side of the production had to acknowledge that in all likelihood, they were only going to sell between 5,000 and 20,000 copies. Contrast this with the more popular systems, where selling 50,000 wasn't particularly difficult even in the Japanese market alone. Heavy hitters especially could count on selling hundreds of thousands of copies.

Unfortunately, this difference in scope of sales really affected how much money was put into PC-FX games. Frankly, even in the genres where the system supposedly does well, most games feel fairly low-budget. A few have a certain shine to them, but most of the system-exclusives look like they came from small development groups with very short schedules.

That's why ultimately, even the PC-FX's collection of RPGs, S-RPGs, love-simulations and miscellaneous gal-games don't hold up all that well against the best offerings from its rivals.

And so, even a person who enjoys the kinds of games that seem so abundant on the PC-FX still might not get much of a kick out of what is actually available. It's not like the PC-Engine, where there's a strong argument to be made for a lot of the shmups and RPGs being the best of their generation. With the PC-FX, it appears to be mostly average fare or worse. All in all, it's suited to NEC fans, collectors, and gal-game connoisseurs, but that's about it. To a general gamer, you might find a taste of some unique mid-90's gaming and anime, but if that's you, you've really got to ask yourself if that alone is worth the investment.

This is a lot to consider now.  Growing up and watching a lot of anime in my life time I do love RPGs and digital comics but my japanese is poop.  I already have a TG16 and Duo and over 100 plus games for the system (American and Japanese) and what I have seen for the PCFC as far as games go look really good to me,  I might just hold out  and see how i feel about it and save a little more money just incase  I do want to pick it up later on.

Thanks to everyone who responded.. i do really appreciate your views and comments. 

BTW does anyone have any video sample of the  cd quality and options.. im kind of curious now since a couple of you have mentioned it already.

[NecroPhile]

The best thing you (and anyone else mulling over a PC-FX purchase) can do is check it out first hand by downloading the trial version of M.E.F.X. and a pile of isos. 

[Aggie Tsubi]

The PC-FX is definitely WAY more worthwhile than the SuperGrafx, although either way you go, you have to accept that you're not looking at a huge library. The PC-FX only has, what, about 60 games? And a great number of them are quite text-heavy, and not many are action-oriented.