Messages

[General Gaming / Re: SNK to announce new hardware ?]

I just now realized that there's no Crystalis :'( why doesn't SNK show some love for their pre Neo games. I would love to have some Victory Road or Guerrilla War arcade games on that.

That's my fault. I had mentioned the SNK 40th Anniversary software collection in the thread that was originally about the 40th anniversary hardware. So, the short answer is: hardware = Neo Geo, software = arcade/NES.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Ooh...Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast...that is a really fun game. I'm no good at it, but still managed to sink 20+ hours into it last year. Trying to perfect the drifting mechanic is addictive. One of my favorite PSP games.

[General Gaming / Re: SNK to announce new hardware ?]

Looks like there is a software collection also being released for SNK's 40th anniversary. Here's the blurb about it, edited slightly:

The SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION includes classic titles such as Alpha Mission, Athena, MOTHER @%*{*ING CRYSTALIS!!!!!, Ikari Warriors, Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road, Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue, Guerilla War, P.O.W., Prehistoric Isle, Psycho Soldier, Street Smart, TNK III, and Vanguard - with more titles to be announced! Get the complete experience by playing both the arcade and home console versions on many of these titles!

I was never a fan of Ikari Warriors, and thought that Athena was one of the worst games on the NES, but the inclusion of Crystalis is more than enough to make this an instant buy for me. I absolutely love that game, and was very sad when I played it again a few months ago and realized that the 30-year-old battery wasn't working anymore.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Pricey games]

Magical Story I

What's this one? 

That is an auto-translated name, so it might be called something else. The Japanese name is 魔導物語 I.

I saw it listed on the OCNK game shop page, which has a pretty comprehensive price list:

http://gameshop.ocnk.net/page/46

As for Nexzr, the Japanese stores I've seen it for sale at are around 20,000 yen. The Summer Carnival version is being listed at half that price.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Pricey games]

I presume you're not including things like the Hudson HE development academy CDs, which were only released to the graduates of the program, and now sell for thousands of dollars.

Here are some other pricey CDs:

Shogi Database
Magical Story I
Nexzr (original, not the Summer Carnival version)
Rayxanber III

Edit: For HuCards, Parasol Stars and Liquid Kids/Mizubaku Adventure are starting to get up there as well.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo games you should like that you don't. My example (Forgotten Worlds)]

For me, it's Coryoon. I love cute shooters, and really like Air Zonk (which is not due to nostalgia), so a game made by the same developers seemed like a sure thing. But I find I don't really enjoy playing it. My main gripes are the fruit, which is just everywhere and make it really hard to see enemies /obstacles /bullets, and the cycling powerups, where it's too easy to accidentally grab the wrong color.

As for Splatterhouse, it was one of the first games that I got for my Turbo back in the day, and I loved it. I tried playing it again a few months ago, and found that I didn't really care for it anymore. The effects and atmosphere are nice, but I just wasn't having fun playing it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I put in Air Zonk the other day, and made a startling discovery. The I button actually does something!

I don't have the manual, and when I had tried pushing I before, nothing happened, so I figured it was just a one-button shooter. I didn't realize I could HOLD the I button to unleash super fury.

I felt pretty stupid.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I've played Liquid Kids on the Saturn, but haven't tried it on the PC Engine. Any idea if the versions are different?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: WTB: TG16 Game cases]

Yeah, I've cannibalized a few Japanese HuCard cases to house my games without cases.

Which reminds me... I really need to hold some raffles to unload the games whose cases I have sacrificed. But that would presuppose that there are people that want Appare Gateball and Blodia.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I played some Legend of Hero Tonma today. First time I played it months ago, I somehow couldn't get past the first boss. I must have hit him a hundred times and he didn't go down, and eventually  I had to quit.  This time, I beat him in about ten seconds.

I have the Japanese version, and didn't realize that the text between stages was in English (since I never got past the first stage before). Is there any difference between this and the US version?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: I held a copy of Sylphia in my hands at a store in korea yesterday]

6000 yen is about 60 USD. These days, it seems to go for around 400 USD.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I hooked up my SuperGrafx over the weekend and popped in Daimakaimura. Smooth controls and gorgeous graphics only highlight the fact that I royally suck at the game.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

After watching the Game Sack episode on retro accessories, and realizing that I already had a Genesis component video cable from HD Retrovision, I ordered an Engine Block from Stone Age Gamer to supercharge my SuperGrafx.

[Off-Topic / Re: What were your family videogaming rules?]

No rules per se at my house. I had the NES on the downstairs TV for a while until my dad brought home a surplus monitor from work with composite inputs, and set that up in my room. The TurboGrafx was hooked up to the downstairs TV as well, but I had to put it away when I was done playing. My parents generally watched TV upstairs in their room. No limits on play time, and when I started playing RPGs, I could sink 10+ hours in a row during the weekend or summer time.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Using your Duo as a CD player]

I used to use my TG-CD to play music CDs while I played HuCards. I also used it to play music CDs through the TV when I was doing work in the living room back in high school. Haven't done either in a while, though.

I did have fun with the Saturn as a CD player, as it offered speed up /slow down options.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: NEC PC from 1989 which uses the PCE CD rom drive]

The capability to swap music is very interesting. On the PC88 music CD, the Falcom selections are samples from the Perfect Collection albums, which had always confused me. It sounds like the system was designed to allow exactly that.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: NEC PC from 1989 which uses the PCE CD rom drive]

I'd seen that little furry guy before on a music CD:

http://vgmdb.net/album/10427

I wasn't aware of other similar artwork by the same artist. Good to know.

[Off-Topic / Re: Best 80s Comedies]

Real Genius was really good. The one hang-up I have with it is the scene where Val Kilmer is slicing a solid rod with a saw, and the other "genius" asks, "Is that liquid nitrogen?" I would have thought that two geniuses at one of the top tech colleges in the world would know the difference between a solid and a liquid.

[Off-Topic / Re: Best 80s Comedies]

I kind of liked the teen comedies of the time. My favorites include:

Sixteen Candles
Weird Science
License to Drive
Fletch (the original, not Fletch Lives)

I had watched the last two movies so much that I had them memorized.

As for TV, one show I like from the late '80s/early '90s is Charles in Charge. Very simplistic, but enjoyable. I like shows where I don't have to think too much.

Edit: oh, man, I can't believe I left out Weekend at Bernie's. Oddly enough, that movie is my 4-year-old niece's favorite film.

[General Gaming / Re: Limited Run Games]

I have not bought any LRG games before, and I echo a lot of the sentiments in this thread. I would much prefer a system where the demand is measured before the supply is created. For games that have already been released digitally, I would think that this would be fairly easy to do. If you want to keep things "limited" to satisfy the collectors, then make a limited version with bonus goodies or a special cover or some such thing. Limiting supply artificially (like LRG and Nintendo's hardware strategy) is maddening to me. Being able to sell these things in package deals that nobody wants is a good indicator that the price is too low given the demand. Then again, if they own the rights, they can sell it however they want.

I've already ordered Ys Origin and The Dragon's Trap from Play Asia, because I didn't want to deal with this nonsense. It seems that Asia has a better handle on how to manage this.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Do you play your games? Are you afraid of insertion marks?]

I do play my games, even multi-hundred dollar games. I have noticed some marks on some of my games, but I don't worry about it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I can't read Japanese either, but I played the heck out of Tokimeki Memorial on the Saturn and the PSP. I actually cleared the game with every character on the PSP version.

When I would play it, I would save before every date, and write down the first character of every possible response on a sheet of paper, along with the girl's name and the calendar date. If I picked the wrong option, I would reload and try it again. Eventually, I would see patterns that made a wrong choice less likely.

Honestly, the most important strategy in the game is to try as hard as you can to not meet girls. Pick one activity to focus on during the weeks and make up deficiencies on Sundays, when you won't risk running into anyone new. Once you start third year, you won't meet anyone else new. It's far easier to manage everyone's feelings if you only have to placate four girls rather than seven. You'll always meet Shiori and Yumi, and you'll almost always be stuck with Saki and Megumi (my least favorite of the bunch). You can then focus on one activity to meet your chosen girl.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I tried Pop'n Magic for the first time a couple weeks ago, and I was surprised by how much fun I had.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Magical Chase bug?]

I've only played the PC Engine version, and can't read Japanese, but I think this is what the shop items do:

Speed: ordered from slowest to fastest. You start in the middle. Speeding up is always the first thing I do.

Fruit: one extra heart.

Elixir: automatically refills your hearts when you get down to zero.

Heart: use this to refill one heart. You use items by hitting II twice in a row. Items are used in the order that they are displayed, left to right: you can't choose which is used first.

Circle: use this item to launch a bomb that hits all enemies on screen.

X: I'm the fuzziest on this item. I think it makes your shot more powerful for a short period of time.

Incidentally, I have the Super PC Engine Fan edition, and haven't encountered this glitch.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Did Pcenginefx beat all licensed TurboGrafx-16 games in 2016...? NO (113/135)]

I'd try some shurikens but I'm afraid to fail the assassination and have to commit sudoku (the game DELETES THE GODDAMN SAVE when you die )

I think that's seppuku. Although the prospect of being forced to play sudoku until you die is fascinating.

[General Gaming / Re: Collection Pet Peeves - Buying Cases only for discs you have]

I know the feeling. I prefer having manuals and cases with my games (I don't care as much about boxes), but ultimately it comes down to how much it will cost to get them. I did buy a Dungeon Explorer II case and manual a few months ago: I had a photocopied manual that I wanted to upgrade, and a blank case. I also got a second copy of Gate of Thunder because my original did not have the manual, and it was just slightly more to get a copy with the manual and game than just the manual on its own.

It's case by case for me (so to speak). There are some games where I really want to have the manual or other items, and others that I don't care as much about. If the price seems reasonable, I'll go for it.

Then there are things like this. I saw this at a retro store today. Maybe a little out of my price range.

s9.postimg .cc/yqxb4ise7/DSC_0270_Smaller.jpg

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Convince me I was right to buy 1941]

I think 1941 has always been the most expensive SuperGrafx game, and the price seems to continue to climb. On YJA, I couldn't find a single copy had sold for less than 35,000 yen in the past 3+ months:

https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/closedsearch/closedsearch;_ylt=A7dPFtCAW2NZ_HYANAD3KP97?p=1941+カウンターアタック&aq=-1&oq=&ei=UTF-8

It also feels like the pricing at the top of the video game market resembles that of luxury goods, where prices consistently outpace inflation. They could crash, but as long as retro gaming is popular, that is unlikely to happen.

I got my copy late last year for 19,900 yen, which was missing the cardboard sleeve as well.

Congrats on finishing your SuperGrafx collection.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Long time lurker, new here!]

Well, if it makes you feel better, $40 in 1994 would be around $64 today, so it's not that much more expensive.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: The last of the MSR stock]

I wasn't part of the scene when this came out, and hadn't picked up a copy before now. Thanks for the tip: I've ordered a copy and look forward to checking it out.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbografx-Mini coming to the US in 2018? (Fantasy OBEY)]

I think you'd have to make sure you had some coverage of emblematic games for the system, even if there are some better ones available. For example, I don't think you can leave off Keith Courage.

I'd say:

1. Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
2. R-Type
3. Blazing Lazers
4. Bonk's Revenge
5. Air Zonk
6. Neutopia
7. Bomberman '93
8. Devil's Crush
9. Dungeon Explorer II
10. Gate of Thunder
11. Lords of Thunder
12. Military Madness
13. Parasol Stars
14. Ys Book I & II
15. Cosmic Fantasy 2
16. Magical Chase
17. Legendary Axe (or LA II)
18. Ninja Spirit
19. Splatterhouse
20. Ys III (if only for the soundtrack)

JP game: I can't see this being anything other than Dracula X.

Edited to switch out Bonk's Adventure for Splatterhouse.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Any reason to have doubles of anything for games/systems?]

I have a few Turbo variants (base TG+CD, Duo, SuperGrafx), three PS2s (2 US + 1 JP), and I think that's it. I got the TG first, and the CD attachment back when it was new (one of the best birthday presents I ever got). I got the SuperGrafx used several years later at a game store for cheap, and didn't quite know what it was. Same story for the Duo: I got it used at a game shop in the '90s for less than the price of a Super System Card. As for the PS2s, my wife and I each had a US one when we met, and I also had a JP one to play all my rhythm games.

As for duplicate games, I have US and JP copies of Loom (JP copy was super cheap, and I later found a US copy), and two copies of Disgaea for the PS2. I do have a few games that don't work: a Salamander Famicom cartridge I got in a junk lot and a Mario Kart 8 disc that got snapped. Most of my games are happy and well. I have had two systems give up on me: my launch PS3 and my Sega Saturn. Which reminds me: I need to get a new Saturn.

[Off-Topic / Re: Anyone going to Too Many Games in Oaks PA next weekend?]

I hadn't heard about this convention before. I live nearby, so I might check it out with the family.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Is that a copy of DDR Club Mix I spy at the bottom of that Dreamcast pile? I played a ton of DDR on my Dreamcast back in 2000, like 4 hours a day. Mostly 2nd Mix, but with some Club Mix layered in.

There were a lot of great games I remember on the Dreamcast. Bangai-o, Record of Lodoss War, Skies of Arcadia, Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5, Samba De Amigo 2000, Gunbird 2, Ikaruga. I think the Dreamcast had the best balance of quality games across genres.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Military Madness (I'm sure you guys know... but...)]

Back at the end of the Turbo's life, Turbo Zone Direct sold a few PCE imports. I ended up ordering Ys IV and Neo Nectaris from them around Christmas. I didn't get too far into Ys IV due to the language barrier, but I had a blast playing Neo Nectaris over break. As others have said, if you've played Military Madness, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out Neo Nectaris. I think all of the commands are in the same order (move,  attack, info, end turn), as are the stats.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What makes Bonk good?]

I will also say that my kids love to watch Bonk. If I turn on my Duo, they get excited and ask to watch "the Bonk game". At that point, it doesn't matter that I wanted to play Gate of Thunder or Dungeon Explorer or Devil's Crush...it's now Bonk time. They like the art style and the big sprites, and they love the animation when Bonk eats meat. They just start cracking up when they see that.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What makes Bonk good?]

I think it was good for the TurboGrafx at the time it came out. There weren't a ton of decent platformers on the Turbo in the early days, and Bonk was halfway decent. The controls can be a little frustrating, though.

That said, you should give Bonk's Revenge a try. Most people think it's the best of the series.

[General Gaming / Re: Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap REMAKE]

That's great news. Looking forward to that.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

I will need to research that - I was hoping I could play PCE/Emulators on this thing like my PSP but unfortunately my firmware is too new for that to work (3.63)

How much did the PCE games run on the JP Sony store?

I believe the HuCard games are 617 yen, and the CD titles are 823 yen. You will need Japanese PSN cards to fill the account, which you can get at a place like Play-Asia. A list of available titles can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_Store_TurboGrafx-16_games

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

I got my Vita on a bit of a whim a couple years ago, and didn't play it much at first. A big part of the reason I got it was Remote Play functionality, because I love playing the Disgaea series, and the rest of the family hates it.

Once I learned I could create a Japanese PSN account and download some awesome PSX and PC Engine games on the Vita, I got way more into it. Harmful Park and The Adventure of Little Ralph alone make it worthwhile, but there's also Gate and Lords of Thunder, Dungeon Explorer II, the Soldier series... They play better on the PS3, but they're a lot of fun on the Vita as well.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

I completed my SuperGrafx collection late last year. My copy of Aldynes cost me 13,500 yen (with a beat up cardboard sleeve), and my copy of 1941 cost me 19,900 yen (without the sleeve). I honestly feel that I got a pretty good deal on both of them given market prices.

But yeah, $300+ for Aldynes seems pretty excessive. I can see a copy for 14,000 yen from an online store in Japan, and you can probably save a good 20-30% by finding a copy on YJA.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ys IV]

Gah, they spelled Ys wrong!!!

Well, to be fair, the Ys IV disc label has an apostrophe in it.

I got my copy from TZD as well. When I saw they had copies of Ys IV, I immediately placed an order. I started playing it right away, but got lost in the language barrier fairly quickly. I revisited it years later and followed the GameFAQs guide to get through it. Otherwise, that part that NightWolve mentioned would easily have caused me to quit.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Japanese Games - What draws you in?]

I feel the same way about J-pop. If I could understand what they are saying, it might not be as enjoyable. I can treat the voice as another instrument and appreciate it that way.

For me, the appeal of Japanese games comes down to anime scenes, professional voice acting (which is almost non-existent in US translations), and game selection. The games that I like tend to be the ones that either never brought over or have a long delay because "Americans wouldn't like this". RPGs on 8 and 16 bit consoles are a good example of this, as are rhythm games in general. I've been playing IIDX for 15 years, and a grand total of 1 IIDX game has come over to the US in that time. Sometimes the developer takes a chance and brings over a niche game (like Katamari Damashii), but usually it just lingers in Japan. There are also a few excellent games that are developed by small developers that never get a chance to come over.

Having said that, I also can't pretend that all Japanese games are good. If I'm choosing a Japanese game, it is usually because I have a strong preference for the genre, or want to try something kooky. There is a lot of shovelware out there as well.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What Turbo game are you currently playing?]

I'm going back to am old favorite and tackling Dungeon Explorer II again. This time, I'm trying out a lot more character switching, which I don't recall doing much in the past.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: I've made an album with music covers for the PC engine]

Kudos for including Night of Fire, a staple of Super Eurobeat albums for the last 20 years. A PCE version of Para Para Paradise would have been sweet.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Your best hero..]

That brings to mind playing Star Parodier as the PC Engine. Ah, the self-indulgence of beating games on the PC Engine as the PC Engine.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Your best hero..]

One option sticks out immediately: Guy Kazama.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

Honestly, these days, the game is often the cheapest component of a package. In looking for a copy of a rare Super Famicom game, I came across a seller who had three copies available. The game by itself was £219, the game with the box was £789, and the game with the box and manual was £1199.

The logic seems to be that the box is more easily lost or damaged, so it is rarer and therefore more valuable. I'm not saying I agree with it, but that's what the market says. In the Turbo world, a loose Magical Chase was sold on eBay a few weeks ago for just under $1500. A complete copy sold a little after that for $5600.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Just bought a pc engine duo r from Japan]

The TurboGrafx pad has a slightly bigger connector than the Duo or PC Engine pads, so you will need to pick up a new pad for your system.

As for the power adapter, the US Duo adapter outputs DC 10V, with 1000 mA power draw. I don't know if the Duo-R is different than this, but I suspect they are the same. However, the SuperGrafx power adapter inverts polarity, so I could be wrong.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ninja Ryuukenden(PC-Engine) Vs. Ninja Gaiden(NES)]

This thread inspired me to play the NES version last night. By sheer force of will, I was able to beat it for the second time in my life. It took about four hours, and probably 90 continues.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: HuCard (Who Card or Hugh Card) You decide!]

Although going by the above logic, CD ROM ROM should really be CD WROM.  Since ROM² would really be R*R+R*O+R*M+R*O+O*O+O*M+R*M+O*M+M*M.

Sorry I wasn't clearer. My response was to ccovell (quoted above) noting that the sum he cited was really equivalent to (R + O + M)^2. As you point out, it's not the same as (ROM)^2.