Messages

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: PAL Turbografx]

Did it really come out in the UK? I've been gaming here for a long time and never had a sniff of an official release.

From my understanding it was test marketed at a small handful of electronics and toy stores only in 1990 and only in the Greater London area.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: PAL Turbografx]

I do all of my Hucard gaming on PC Engine, but I got a Turbografx pretty cheap, a PAL version. I looked up on Wikipedia and it said that this version had a limited run - does anyone know how limited, or does anyone have any background info on the european release?

It apparently came out in the UK and Spain (since there is a version of the box that has been seen with Spainish text and the European style unit) and was test marketed in 1990 only. Something like 12 or so games came out. For a while there were a few sellers on ebay.co.uk with European TurboGrafx units for sale. They look different than the US system, they have a different color scheme on the logo and controller, a different box and most noticably are missing the 16 in the title.

Added in edit: Here is an example auction of the European model http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TURBO-GRAFX-16-CONSOLE-NEW-BOXED-FREE-GAME-OFFER_W0QQitemZ120103232882QQcategoryZ72501QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD7VQQcmdZViewItem
And another one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEC-TURBO-GRAFX-PC-ENGINE-CONSOLE-UK-PAL_W0QQitemZ300096531208QQcategoryZ123439QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD7VQQcmdZViewItem

Oh and just curious, since you have a PAL TurboGrafx is there any chance you could take some up close pictures of it. I'm really curious as to how different it looks. All I've seen is of pictures on ebay which usually are low res and from a distance away from the unit.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Various PCE system reliability questions]

As those who have followed my botched HOP-M3 install have learned, I'm thinking about picking up a new Duo, or possibly a PCE Duo or Duo R or RX. Does anyone have any recommendations on what's more reliable. I don't need US HuCard support so I don't need a domestic Duo, I'm thinking about getting a PCE Duo or Duo R based on the cost but my mind can be changed.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Dragon Slayer]

Seldane is right,that game sucks in every way possible. Cant comprehend on how anybody would actually like that game. Its A waste of time and money.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong - Dragon Slayer is in everybody's top ten list of Turbo rpg games.  Wait...... maybe that's because there's only about ten rpgs anyway.   

If anybody wants to play a TG16 rpg, the choices are limited and Dragon Slayer isn't any worse than most of the other available titles.  Now Deep Blue - that's definitely a waste of time, money, effort, and brain cells (and I'm fairly certain that it can cause cancer).

I kind of disagree with Dragon Slayer not being any worse than the other available titles, I think Cosmic Fantasy 2 is a much much better game personally.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Dragon Slayer]

I didn't like the MD version's graphics to be honest. Things were bigger, but looked goofier (and choppier maybe? can't remember). Just something about those little sprites and bright colors of the Duo version I admire so much. Also I remember playing a ROM for the SFC version and it had the small sprites of the Duo version, but it had like very little colors or something, really weird.

The voice acting is the best the first boss that you fight says something like "Why don't you go la di da da" i know its not a direct quote but what ever it was, was quite histerical to me.

I love this line, I was laughing so hard at it. I also love how the chick of the game (not Mika, the one on your team) sounds like a straight up hooker.

A.k.a. Lazer Dork's "best dubs ever" list.  ;)

Right on!

Even the opening is damned hilarous "Ah, my dear prince LOOOOOOGAN" It sounds like someone doing a ridiculously over the top Lucky the General Mills cereal character impression with an overlapping California accent and speaking pattern. It's just horrendous. The only game with comparably ridiculous voice acting in my opinion in Shining Force III for Saturn and/or Last Alert.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Dragon Slayer]

The game sucks in every way possible, no doubt about that, but it still has a certain charm to it. I like the voice acting, myself. In a weird way.

Heh, the voice acting is the most interesting part of it. I used to work for a print magazine back in the so called heydey of gaming magazines and towards the end of my run there we did a "worst dubs ever" list. I know it was in the top 5 along with Last Alert.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Girls don't dig Bonk]

Have any of you guys ever known a girl who actually owned a TG16 or a Duo?

Nowadays, it's quite common to find girls who are into, say, the PS2.  Back in the 16-bit day, girls in general didn't care for games quite so much, but I've still met many who owned an SNES.  Usually, it was Mario World and/or Mario Kart that reeled them in (to their credit, those are two of the very few good games for the system).  I've also met a few who had a Genesis, often because of Sonic or the Disney games. 

But I can't recall ever running into a girl who was into the good old Turbo.  Sure, I've introduced a few to the wonders of the Duo (girls love Puyo Puyo CD).  But before me, they were quite blind to the light that is Turbo greatness.  What have you seen in your own experiences?

Yeah, but this was someone I met in Japanese class years ago so she probably doesn't count since the gamer/geek percentage in an envirionment like that is so much higher (and more hardcore) than the general population.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Is the plastic lens cover level with the case in a Duo]

The plastic piece appears to be fine, it just appears to be sitting higher than it did before. It's just very frusturating, I'm debating just buying a new Duo now

Holy crap, where have you been DragonmasterDan?

Just busy with life and other gaming related things, the fact that I messed up the HOP-M3 install last Summer kind of killed my advancement of my Turbo collection for the time being. But in that time I've been building up collections of other classic systems (Neo Geo etc). Anyway, I broke out the Duo fairly recently since so many games I already own are available for virtual console and played quite a bit, I then tinkered with the CD drive once again to see if I could rectify the problem to no avail. With a tax refund impending I may just invest in new hardware.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Is the plastic lens cover level with the case in a Duo]

The plastic piece appears to be fine, it just appears to be sitting higher than it did before. It's just very frusturating, I'm debating just buying a new Duo now

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Map of Turbo Game Stores]

The other place I know of in the Chicago area to add to Keranu's post is Gamerz Garage in Westmont Illinois on Cass avenue.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Is the plastic lens cover level with the case in a Duo]

Well it's been a while but I tried once again to get my Duo to work post my attempt to upgrade the laser with no luck. Does anyone in the community know if someone is still doing repairs (D-Lite seems to be gone lately). I'm out of ideas. It seems like the disc lens is higher than it was prior to my upgrade. At this point my option is either find someone who knows how to do a repair or buy another Duo.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Is the plastic lens cover level with the case in a Duo]

I checked my Turbo Duo - the lens and cover are a bit (3/32") above the case.  Hopefully, somebody else can offer some possible solutions.  All that I can suggest is the obvious (check all connections, etc.).  Good Luck!

Yeah, I've checked the obvious. I haven't worked on it in a couple of days but I will try some stuff again tommorow or Friday

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Is the plastic lens cover level with the case in a Duo]

I may have botched my HOP-M3 install. The install itself went fine but when I put it back together I had "Please Set Disc" every time. I've noticed that the lens and the plastic case on it seem a little elevated from the case which I thought should have been level. Right now I am figuring out what to do and if that is in fact the problem.

Can anyone else check the inside of their Duo and see if the lens and the plastic piece are level with the rest of the case?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Rerelease of the Turbo Duo...]

Why would you want to buy a clone when you have the original equipment at home already?

OD

It's newer, it has a chance of lasting longer even if it's made more cheaply just due to differences in technology.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Rerelease of the Turbo Duo...]

I want to get a Jaguar, but I'm not saying it's along the lines of the TurboGrafx/PC-Engine  regarding game quality.  Though who can argue about Raiden and ALien vs. Predator, and Rayman and Bubsy.  There were some good games.

Yeah there's some decent stuff, the original tempest 2000 is still great ( I own Tempest 3000 but not a Nuon to play it on). I have the CD add on as well but unfortunately I don't have any particularly fun games for it.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Turbo Duo for sale on Ebay with box and instructions.]

I would love to see those videos, it would kick ass to get that kind of promotional stuff as I missed most of that stuff as I was not from a very well to do family. I was happy just to have my Turbo Grafx back then and the few games I had.

A while back I asked Aaron the guy who runs this site about the videos, he apparently has both of them (and access to a video capture card) as well.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Rerelease of the Turbo Duo...]

Consider this: the Turbo Grafx was a flop when it was new (less than five million units sold)--imagine it being released today. They'd probably sell something like ten units. All to members of this site.

I'm not sure that 5 million units sold is a "flop" considering the gaming industry at the time. Yes in North America the platform came in third place but the term flop is a bit overboard. Systems like 3DO, Jaguar, Game.Com, and N-Gage were flops. The TurboGrafx had market recognition and stayed around for a while. That's hardly a flop

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Turbo Duo for sale on Ebay with box and instructions.]

When I bought my TurboDuo back in the day, the pack-in HuCard was Ninja Spirit. I had received two promotional videos from TTI prior to buying my system...both were similar (TurboDuo Power! Anyone else remember these?) but one said that Dungeon Explorer was the pack-in and the other said that Ninja Spirit was the pack-in. I still remember the zine though...it had info on playing thru the first part of Ys.

I went to the 1991 - 1994 Summer CES's and got those promotional videos from signing up with something at NEC's booth. Around a year or so ago I found one of the two videos "TURBO DUO POWER! WITH TWO MEGABIT TECHNOLOGY". I remember them both.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: korean releases on ebay??]

check out this guy's auctions - has another as well

Korean release or bootleg, or Korean bootleg??

The Vistar (sp) was HuCard only. Those are bootlegs

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Rerelease of the Turbo Duo...]

Am I the only one who remembers the majesco genesis 3 and game gear?
 :

The Game Gear 2 and Saturn 2 were never released on the Market. Masjesco had the rights to release both of those and made mock ups but never released them to the market in the late 90s. I was actually really looking forward to the Saturn 2 since I uhhh... collect Saturns...

The Genesis 3 did moderately well for its price though it had problems with some games.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Rerelease of the Turbo Duo...]

I saw thos Famiclones on ebay.  I really don't like them because they look ugly and lack the original controller.  I was just curious about an official re-release, at the least a niche market.  I don't like the Flashback units that have 30 Atari games because it is limited.  I thought I was the only one who thought it was sort of an idea.  

If you want a nice Turbo Duo with a box and everything, I found one for $400 on Ebay:

eBay Turbo Duo system

Keep on posting if interested.  

Best Buy and GameCrazy were selling Mesiah Famiclones earlier in the year (which take original NES controllers). Frys Electronics had another one for sale. There's a lot of different Famiclones floating around now.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Rerelease of the Turbo Duo...]

Seriously, even if Nintendo did this with the SNES, it would be a total flop.

I'm not so sure about that, think about how well Famiclones sell to this day, I see Famiclones even in major chain stores here and there. A Super Famiclone might not be a terrible product though it would obviously be a niche product. If Nintendo released it themselves I'm not convinced it would be as horrible of a failure as you might think, but they obviously can't "think big" with it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Dynastic Hero... How many copies exist?]

So this game has a rarity of 9 on DP.  2 are on ebay right now, at the 200+ mark.  How many of these are out there?

It's really low run, I admitteldy overpaid for a copy quite a few years ago myself too. So just in people replying to you I can confirm the existance of two copies.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Turbo Duo for sale on Ebay with box and instructions.]

There is a Turbo DUo on Ebay that says that it's new.  But I think it's almost new because it doesn't have the six game offer inside and the magazine.  Maybe that was only on the first batch.  Here is the link:

Turbo Duo

Buy at your own risk, but it is a nice one on ebay.  Nicer than others.  

By the way, I am NOT the seller.  I'm just passing the word along since I am awaiting my Turbo Duo through UPS.  I did not get it from Ebay.  I did pay $100 more than the buy it now of the above item, but it comes with all the bonus games, and magazine.  Actually I got mine new.

The later batches had 6 games but the HuCard varied from bundle to bundle, It went from Dungeon Explorer, to Ninja Spirit to several others from what I recall.

TZD was selling game-less TurboDuo's a few years ago too

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / More crap from Hit-Japan]

Just as a follow up to the post I had earlier. I just got this email today.

Date:       Mon Jul 17 01:52:38 2006
From:      eBay Member: hit-japan <sm-member@ebay.com>
[ Add to Address Book | Block Address | Report as Spam ]
To:      <dragonmasterdan@excite.com>
Subject:      Payment reminder for eBay item #320005666986 Samurai Showdown 2 NEO GEO AES Brand New Import JAPAN

Dear danbailey,

You are the winning buyer for the Samurai Showdown 2 NEO GEO AES Brand New
Import JAPAN.  Thank you for your business.

Your payment for this item hasn't been received yet. If you haven't sent
payment, please follow the instructions below.

Item title: Samurai Showdown 2 NEO GEO AES Brand New Import JAPAN
Web Address: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320005666986
Item number: 320005666986
Buyer User ID: danbailey
Seller User ID: hit-japan

Your total is:
$0.01 per item
$0.00 insurance
(not offered)
$0.00 Sales discounts (-) or charges (+)
$25.00 shipping/handling

-----
$25.01 = Total


Please send me your shipping address and payment. The following payment methods
are accepted: PayPal, Other


If you want to mail your payment, please send it and include a copy of this
page to:



Yoshiko Hasegawa
2-11-8 East Hiraoka Park
SAPPORO, Kiyota KU 004-0882

Again, thank you for your business.

I was nice enough to reply again pasting the earlier email and refund the seller sent me despite the fact that it's THEIR fault the transaction didn't go through and also THEIR fault for not deleting my order from their late payment queue after that!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Duo Lens Replacement - Walkthrough]

Hmm.. I checked my account at NintendoRepairShop.com despite having a paypal reciept for payment when I logged in it said my order for the screwdriver never processed. I used the email tracker thing to email the guy. I was expecting to get that screwdriver by now

Update, the part was apparently on back order. I should get it soon

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Duo Lens Replacement - Walkthrough]

Hmm.. I checked my account at NintendoRepairShop.com despite having a paypal reciept for payment when I logged in it said my order for the screwdriver never processed. I used the email tracker thing to email the guy. I was expecting to get that screwdriver by now

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Duo Lens Replacement - Walkthrough]

My HOP-M3 has arrived, the screwdriver for it has not....

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / PC-Engine Converters]

I understand.  I think I saw the WH-301 on ebay.  Here is the link:  http://cgi.ebay.com/PC-engine-to-US-game-converter-like-new-Turbo-Grafx-DUO_W0QQitemZ320006531680QQihZ011QQcategoryZ49230QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

I don't know how to make short links.  Just click on it.

How about the Mirai converters.  Or whatever it's called.  They show it on PCengine fx systems guide.   I found a brand new Turbo DUo for $500 and I can't afford a $100 converter right now.  I'll have to save up for later.

TZD also has convertors, though I'm not sure of the quality.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Duo Lens Replacement - Walkthrough]

Thanks jlued686 for the post.  FYI, Electronix is out of stock on those lens as of today.

They called me on Monday and said they would restock it in a few days and my order would ship then. So I'm guessing/hoping it's only temporary.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / KUN backup unit?? by Koei]

I'm not too fond of Hit-Japan, but one cent for a brand new AES cart...c'mon, that's a believable mistake. The price for EMS shipping doesn't seem that out of line given the size and weight of an AES game.

An aside, can anyone think of any other system that had as many add-ons, peripherals, and permutations as the PC Engine line? Honestly, after fifteen plus years of following the Turbo/PC Engine, I'm still surprised now and then by new gear for the system that I haven't seen before. Virtual Cushion still takes the cake though.

NES/Famicom has a LOT of weird stuff obviously, from a robot that plays with you to the power glove to the power pad, to the U-force. Let alone all the clones and various other weird things out there.

[Off-Topic / i need neo-geo.com forums back NOW....]

I like the fact that they have a trader feedback system.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / KUN backup unit?? by Koei]

What'd he do?  I've never had a problem with hit-japan although many complain about his condition rating system (it's very variable).

He backed out on a sale.

I bought this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320005666986

A few hours later when I checked my email I noticed he had refunded my money with a note

thanks, but sorry, there are mistake at listing. Price should be $60 not
$0.01. my staff made mistake.
I'll refund you. really sorry.

Considering he was already charging quite a bit for shipping 60.00 seems quite unreasonable  a quick look at the http://www.neo-geo.com/guides/aesguide.html Neo Geo AES price guide shows the game itself is only worth 20-40 complete.  

While he did refund my money it stil pissed me off, I definitely wouldn't buy from him ever again.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / KUN backup unit?? by Koei]

That seller just recently screwed me over so ... just as a word of advice don't buy from him.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Duo Lens Replacement - Walkthrough]

awesome thanks

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Superpcenginegrafx.com updated]

sweet!



very exellent CrackTiger -  I believe that is the slightly larger EGM article I was looking for, on Ironman.   good job man.

I remember that exact scan from years ago, brings back memories.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Working Replacement CD Laser Assembly by Hitachi?]

That's the one.

Thanks, I already bought a HOP-M3 from the link at the beginning of the thread. Just curious is their any improvement or for that matter success with CDR play backup, I have a number of scratched discs (and then backups of said discs) and my Duo is quite atrocious at reading CDRs which is the primary reason I'm buying this (that and preventative maintance I suppose).

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Working Replacement CD Laser Assembly by Hitachi?]

IT WORKS!

Full walkthrough with pictures coming soon!

.
Awesome!

Added in edit: Oh and also is this the right screw driver?
http://www.nintendorepairshop.com/shopexd.asp?id=83

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / I'd definitely be interested]

Unfortunately, I don't know yet...

My giant fingers accidentally pulled out one of those wires, so I need to reattach is somehow.

I'd definitely be interested in seeing if you have any success with the laser on a US unit.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Turbo Duo on Ebay]

400 is steep, 250.00 -325.00 is reasonable considering it has the original box and a lot of games.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Replacing internal battery?]

I've lost saves on my Duo too, I think a while back we had a thread on here mentioning how my Sega CD has kept saves for around a decade while being rarely plugged in while my Duo loses saves or corrupts them after a few months.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Working Designs is gone!]

I to this day still can't understand how to play Dragon Force for Saturn.
The only character i've tried is Wein.

Dragon force is a fairly complex game, the administrative mode alone would require several pages of full explanation. I'm just curious, did you get a copy sans manual?

Yeah no manual. I even tried following walk-throughs off GameFAQs but I didn't feel like reading them.

It requires a lot of reading, I could explain the basics of how things work but it would take forever. It's a fairly complex game. The GameFaqs walkthroughs might help if they explain the modes and how everything works like the manual does.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Working Designs is gone!]

I to this day still can't understand how to play Dragon Force for Saturn.
The only character i've tried is Wein.

Dragon force is a fairly complex game, the administrative mode alone would require several pages of full explanation. I'm just curious, did you get a copy sans manual?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Working Designs is gone!]

Victor Ireland posted the final fate of Working Designs on their message board today, being a Turbo publisher in the US, I thought it would be of interest to the board.

wayback://workingdesigns.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118916
Good Night, and Good Luck | 12-12-2005, 10:06 PM

Good Night, and Good Luck | 12-12-2005, 10:06 PM
First of all, sorry for being incommunicado for such a long time. It's been a busy time, as you'll see.

There's no easy way to say it, so I just will. Working Designs is gone. All the staff has been laid off and the office is closed and has been for some time. Yes, the website is still here, and I am going to do my best to keep it tucked away somewhere on the 'net so it doesn't become an illicit domain. (Of course, some of the haters may be of the mind that it's been illicit all along, heh!).

The most frustrating part of all of this is that I know that our fanbase is still there. Growlanser Generations sold well, but of course not better than it would have sold as two separate titles. We just spent too much time fighting the good fight to even get it out, and other games approved.

Though almost finished and substantially improved from the Japanese release, Goemon is dead for the US, and that was really the final straw. If I can't guarantee that the games I personally choose for us to release in the US can actually get approved and come out, there's no business to be done. There is a possibility that it may be released in Europe (as well as Growlanser Generations), but nothing is finalized yet.

I know many of you will have lots of questions, and there will be some I can answer, and some I can't. Sony has made it clear that they do not want the details of their dealings with any publisher made public. Suffice to say that you would buy what we wanted to sell if we could sell it.

I want to thank each and every one of you personally for being a fan, buying the games we released, and telling your friends. You HAVE made a difference, because you bought the crazy things we did. Thanks to YOU, there are deluxe packs, pack-in soundtracks, better packaging, great hint guides, and better localizations in general. We said it a lot, but it really was true. We were nothing without you.

For the future, there are still great opportunities. I have been in touch with a number of other publishers and manufacturers and I will be working with some of the WD staff to do games for other publishers for the time being, but not as Working Designs. One thing that holds a ton of promise is XBOX 360 RPGs, and I've contacted Microsoft about getting what's underway in Japan out in the US and helping to get more done worldwide. We'll see what happens on that front, but please let them know that YOU WANT MORE JRPGs here. There's some amazing stuff coming for the '360 in Japan, and I know I want it - I think you will, too.

Thanks for everything. It's a tough road ahead for games that aren't of the least-common-denominator variety. The choices you make with your hardware dollars are more important than ever for the generation that is upon us.

With that, I bid all of us...

...Good night, and Good Luck.

- Don't Believe the Hype -
Vic

Fan Comments:

Such a change a decade makes... As a response, I'll express my annotated memories.

10 years ago, I recall the Usenet era where very few people really knew that much about imports and "vicvideo" had quite a ubiquitous presence promoting lesser known games (and expressing strong opinions). The early hardcore Working Designs fans had already been formed from the SCD and TGCD days. So many games were possibilities for domestication yet so many also never came through. Many translations at the time still had plenty of grammatical inaccuracies and awkwardness.

7 years ago, I recall this message board in full boom back in its unrefined BBS format and the letters section brimming with new letters every couple of weeks. All eyes were on Lunar and over a half year's worth of magazine ads were on it. Conflict arose with Sega and amid much criticism from fans, the SS was abandoned. Soon afterwards, the largest collection on the PS would be revealed.

2 years ago, I recall the community here shrinking and fading, with the same few posters making all the posts. Whereas before, a whole page could be updated in a day, eventually it would take a week. News was getting out regarding SCEA's vehement treatment of games with 2D visuals or in niche genres unless they were budgeted or packaged together. Everyone waited on Growlanser as the next flagship WD localization.

Today, I see that a great company that defied standards, ignored naysayers, and became a catalyst for deluxe packaging is gone. Yes, I have at many times been annoyed by WD's liberal translations and abundant insertion of pop humor. I've also not seen why certain games were localized in favor of (what I'd consider) more deserving games such as the Langrisser games (although to Vic to his credit has acknowledged them as forerunners in their list of unlicensed titles in the past).

However, I can't deny that my roots into JRPGs and imports stemmed from WD's early works. Lunar, Vay, and Popful Mail instantly captured my interest and made me realize that I was really interested in this type of gaming atmosphere. Before I could afford an SCD, I spent years captivated by the magical art and format of WD's old Lunar and Popful Mail ads, intent on one day possessing them.

And I've fulfilled that intention, having purchased at least one copy (and sometimes more) of every WD title except Parasol Stars. By some odd (or perhaps not so odd) coincidence, it just so happened that the RPGs WD localized (as well as the Spaz label games) were many of the same ones that captured my interest. I would like to thank Working Designs towards that end in continually releasing games that were personally enjoyable in the uniquely un-mainstream way that WD did best.

While the majority of companies felt carts were the best form of storage, WD took the dare and became the first to embrace the CD medium. While the majority of companies thought JRPGs a lost cause in the US, WD took the dare and made a name for themselves later on with their topnotch SCD RPGs when the genre grew popular. While the majority of companies considered premium packaging and limited editions of games unsellable, WD took the dare and are largely responsible for kickstarting the quality packaging trend in console games.

As a diehard fan of WD, I'm saddened by its demise since the company represents many of the brightest memories of my videogame past. However, the future seems hopeful as WD takes a new form. Change is inevitable and I'm glad WD ended on a great note with Growlanser Generations. Although I can't embrace the 360 yet, I'm certainly interested in seeing what steps will be taken next. As a huge 2D fan, I can confidently say that I will gladly support any company's system that doesn't discriminate based on such demeaning visual criteria.

Anyway, best of luck to you on your future endeavors, Vic. Please keep the games going to 11.

I would just like to say, in response to this news:

This marks a sad day in the industry. WD was notable for their extraordinary translations that really breathed life into characters in a way I've never seen matched by even the current industry leaders in title porting. They provided the inspiration for me to actually get into games and literally the encouragement to pursue that dream. They selected gem titles that were often overlooked but then enjoyed such immense success here in the US that they were clearly desired. Their focus on RPG's and their unswavering devotion to top quality were perhaps their only mistakes in an industry that is becoming ever-more commercial and no longer leaves enough room for perfection. As they often said in response to a long title launch, "delays are temporary, mediocrity is forever."

No matter what else may be said, Working Design's games were never mediocre. It will be missed.

[Off-Topic / Religion]

I can say the exact same thing about evolution, that it's all based on faith & theory, while the Bible is based on hardcore fact.  There's really no faith involved in believing in intelligent design.  BTW, I also believe that it's possible for evolution in one's own kind.  But fish, can't evolve into a monkey.

There's faith involved in intelligence design in the sense that you believe some inteligent force designed everything. That's why there is so much of a controversy about it.

Also the idea of evolution isn't that monkey's evolved from fish, it's a gradual process over million and even billions of years that can quite easily be studied by looking at things like genetic evidence of how related various types of animals are. There is scientific fact behind evolution, is every single step between every living creature known. No, and it never will be due to the fact that a lot of the fossil records are lost in the seas of time. But the basic concept of evolution is more than just theory, the steps that evolution has gone through over the years as I said aren't totally known. But most of evolution is fact. There isn't any idea of "faith" behind the fact that humans and apes are related for example.

I won't that some of what is taught regarding evolution can't totally be proven and is theory, but the basic principle behind it (that animals evolved from more simple animals basically by mutation of traits which became beneficial via natural selection) is scientific fact beyond a reasonable doubt.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Picked up Dragon Slayer for $49.99. There are more left]

I picked up some famiclones (the awesome Neo Fami) from that site a while back. they're not too bad to deal with

[Off-Topic / Phantasm laserdisc set.]

I'm always worried about rot on old discs, I picked up a handful of discs SEALED from a going out of business video store and several had signs of rot

In that collection were the Criterion NON-Directors Cut of Blade Runner among other cool movies.

[Off-Topic / Religion]

There is something I am curious about in evolution and maybe someone here can answer it. If we really did evolve from star matter which evolved into tons of other things eventually leading to monkeys, which are supposedly are closests ancestors, then how come there are still all of these other creatures still living? Shouldn't everything have evolved at one point or how does that work according to the theory? We still have animals living from very long ago, shouldn't they have evolved yet?

Well ALL of those creatures aren't still living, many (and in fact most) species of apes (and early man) have become extinct and only a small handful remain alive today.

The idea of natural selection is that life with traits better adapted to its envirionment will be more likely to succeed in competition with others and it will then spread the traits that make it successful to others. Those with the supererior characteristic are better fed and better able to compete and as a result are more likely to breed and pass on these traits to their offspring, this trend continues until those without the new dominant trait fork off and breed only with their own or intermix with the dominant eventually becoming extinct. Many of these animals have evolved but not necessarily in massive steps over the years into their current state today.

 For an animal to become extinct it has to be throughly ravaged by predators, disease, envirionmental or out-competed. In this day in age where we as humans raise livestock and field crops to feed society we don't fight with monkeys for bannanas forcing them to starvation and eventual extinction.

Humans haven't really been competing with apes directly for food and resources for thousands of years. Neanderthals are a good example of what happens when something loses out due to competetion, eventually humans out hunted and out competed neaderthals and ultimately forced them to extinction.

With that said many species of apes are close to extinction due to hunting and poaching not due to being out-done by man.

[Off-Topic / Religion]

I'm a little late on this thread but the whole Intelligent Design thing quite frankly bothers me as well. We can prove Evolution, can we prove the exact steps every living creature has taken to get to where it is today? No. Does that give any creedence at all to teaching Intelligent Design, NO. It's totally based on theory and faith. Something which obviously does not belong in the classroom.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / 2 american PCE game-ads]

Awesome! I wish I owned those beauties

Scans for both ads are available here:
http://www.vgmuseum.com/ads/tg16/

But I would certainly be interested in seeing much cleaner scans of these two ads. Fix that scanner

NOTE: How many folks here think that the Splatterhouse ad looks like it was drawn by the same fellow who did the Keith Courage comic? Anyone have any info on who made the Splatterhouse and Bonk comics?

The third ad, linked above, must be from a comic book as well, because I have yet to see it in a glossy multi-platform gaming magazine (not that I've done an exhaustive search, but I've looked through a lot of old mags over the past few months).

Help

I have a somewhat expensive issue of X-men that has the Bonk comic in it. I saw it not too long ago when reading through it. Unfortunately, it's on newsprint paper meaning it won't scan well.