Messages

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Wanted: Turbo Rear Port Cover]

Well, that sounds like a plan, doesn't it?

[Off-Topic / Re: "Archival Disc" - The next generation of optical discs from Sony and Panasonic]

it was Philips and Sony for Audio CD, I've got no idea if the same applies to CD-ROM. Panasonic was one of the few companies supporting DVD-RAM (no typo).

[Off-Topic / Re: To All The CD Based Gamers Who Once Used Carts]

So how about the C64 Datasette?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: (4/16/2014 - 4/22/2014) Game of the Week: Lords of Thunder]

Does playing Winds of Thunder count as well?

[Off-Topic / Re: Win98 on "real hardware"]

I loved A-Train, even if I totally sucked at it and preferred Sim City 2000 instead. SC2K is still my favorite city sim.

My first own PC was a 486DX2 running at awesome 66MHz. But the 4MB RAM made it very slow on some Win3.11 applications like Corel Photopaint, and IBM OS/2 would liked to have more RAM, too. Thankfully the graphics adaptor came with a driver disk to support up to 65k of simultaneous colors under both OS.

But for DOS gaming, this was a fine machine. Even if I had a half assed non-soundblaster card, I was able to get good sound out of many games, but the real thing would have been better I think.

I'd love to get into the good old times again with Rex Nebular, Leisure Suit Larry, Doom, Duke3D and so on. But the machine died one day, and I wasn't able to revive it. Oh well, some of the old games haven't aged that well anyway.

[Off-Topic / Re: Win98 on "real hardware"]

Ah well, that's too bad.

On another side note, I saw DOS-Box struggling with some hardware acceleration intense DOS games on modern computers. Even the sound support and some XMS/EMS ram management dependant effects weren't trivial to achieve.

[Off-Topic / Re: Win98 on "real hardware"]

Will such a VM setup be compatible with graphics hardware acceleration, sound drivers and memory management of DOS games and Win95/98/ME games?

[Off-Topic / Re: Random Pictures Thread]

Good old times when the WWF was still called the WWF.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Kids!!]

I ended up with Yandmans kids for soldier blade and parasol stars.......neither want to play any games and they wont clean the house and my god do they eat too much.....I want my games back.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Dracula X (PC Engine) Vs Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - which game is better?]

Well, both games did.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Dracula X (PC Engine) Vs Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - which game is better?]

That's what I did along with Gradius II to get an initial taste of the PCE, before spending money on the actual hardware.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Websites for pc engine games from Japan.]

+1 for Arcade Gear/Jap-Sai. I bought lots of Japanese PS1 and PCE games from them last year. Quality of the games have been outstanding, and the prices were really affordable. They put a good effort in packaging if you choose EMS and their customer support is really friendly, I had good communications with them.

Since January 2014, their store seems to be undergoing a major update, so you can't see actual prices. Let's hope they'll be back to regular service soon.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Did the Chinese obey the PCE on this one?]

Many thanks.
I am judging from what I've seen on numerous posts in many threads of this forum. My impressions from these posts told me that anything related to Nintendo seems to be rather unwelcome in this place.

I understand that some of the members who have been here for years won't change their bold behavior. That's fine with me. But showing more respect and mature behavior won't hurt either, will it?

I for myself like and own many old consoles, be it from NEC, Sega, Nintendo or Sony.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: can i get a good deal on bomberman or Bomberman 3?]

I am still confused as to which one you want. 

94 man.

fix'd.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Did the Chinese obey the PCE on this one?]

Expecting any respect for Nintendo products on a NEC forum is asking for trouble. Imagine telling a Sega forum how ear-piercing the Genesis soundchip sounds or complaining about warping PS1 textures to a Sony forum.

Decent R-Type clone, by the way. Back then, there was no port on the FC/NES, was there?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What are some of your faviorite two player games?]

Salamander performs very well in 2-player mode. It enables instant respawn and it helps to gain more continues throughout the game, so your chances of beating it are improved.

[Off-Topic / Re: tapatalk]

Disabling the auto-generated Tapatalk signature is easy and can be done within the app settings.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: New PCE/TG16 RGB amps]

Good job! Does this amp eliminate the annoying vertical "jail" bars?

Not really. However it isn't nearly as overly bright as the common transistor only RGB amp that many people use. It brings the video levels down to a more appropriate level so therefor the jail bars might not be as noticeable. thesteve has a fix for jail bars that works really well.

Thanks, I'll give your amp and Steve's jailbar fix a try!

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: New PCE/TG16 RGB amps]

Good job! Does this amp eliminate the annoying vertical "jail" bars?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Label Repair]

You should give clear Shoe Goo a try. I'm using it for re-applying lifted R/C car PVC/Vinyl decals on Polycarbonate (Lexan) and Polystyrene (ABS/PS) bodyshells. Also used by my better half for her cosplay costumes and weapons.

That stuff sticks like no other and maintains a good flexible bond without making the material brittle (unlike super glue / CA glue).

Beforehand, you should test any glue on a generic cd case with a generic label.

[General Gaming / Re: Is the Sega Saturn Worth it?]

I really like the look of the Saturn Hardware and played with the idea of getting either a dark grey or white Japanese one.
However, there are simply no games of my interest that would have justified this purchase.

I can see the appeal for fans of 2D beat 'em ups. I can also see the appeal due to its good library of shooting games. But I don't care for the former genre, and all the Shmups I really want my hands on (e.g. Gradius, Parodius series and Salamander Series) are already in my collection for the PlayStation, and the rest of good shooters are covered by my Turbo Duo.

Back in the '90ies, I was in awe when standing in front of Sega Rally and Daytona - today they've lost much of their greatness to me and I really don't like the thought of playing a 3D racing game with a D-Pad. I'm not that big fan of the old Sega franchises, too, so there's little interest for compilation discs of the '80ies/early '90ies Sega Arcade games.

What I see is, a lot of Japanese Saturn games are way cheaper than their PlayStation counterparts. And damn, that console and controller are sexy.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Warning Do Not Store Your Looseies In One Of These !!!]

When I got one of those cheap sealed Blazing Lazers from ebay last year, the card and its sleeve were pretty sticky.

Getting rid of the messy sleeve and cleaning the Hu-Card with alcohol did the trick. I also found a local source for decent quality credit card sleeves that are doing their job fine enough.

[General Gaming / Re: And suddenly Wii and DS servers go offline in May]

???

[General Gaming / Re: And suddenly Wii and DS servers go offline in May]

Well, for those of you who were moaning about the Wii servers going offline, there's good news.

ngevan2k from Sufami.org has started decyrpting the Wii's server communication code and eventually managed to create private servers for Monster Hunter Tri.
If there are enough kind people to assist him, I'm sure we all will be able to continue playing Wii games online in the future.

So guys, quit the pathetic whining and help that good bloke, will you?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What happened to hit-japan?]

Visually unappealing consoles and accessories can be a fine source for spare parts.

[General Gaming / Re: And suddenly Wii and DS servers go offline in May]

Suddenly? The first wave of decline on Wii online activities started in June 2013. Nobody who stays tuned to Videogame news channels should be surprised at all. The Wii mini, which was released that time around did not even supported online connectivity.

At least the Virtual console and Wii Ware shop should be around for some time. So get your hands on some inexpensive TG-16 titles while you have the chance. And don't forget about the Konami Rebirth trilogy games: Contra Rebirth, Castlevania Rebirth and Gradius Rebirth are exclusive to the Wii... and awesome.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Gate olf Thunder Rear Insert?]

I found a couple I had saved in a folder on my PC. Here ya go.

Thank you so much. I was going to print my own disc case insert by using a photoshop template, but yours can't be topped.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Sell me Dungeon Explorer II ENG Please.]

Well, both Dungeon Explorer I and II (TG-16 versions) are available for the Wii Virtual Console at affordable pricetags. Just in case you'd be fine not getting your hands on a physical copy, so keep that in mind and think for yourself.

[Off-Topic / Re: Game Sack]

Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but I could never seem to get past the 2nd stage of Rondo. It seems like it's just a touch too hard, and I get sick of playing the same level again and again.

Rondo can be a bitch to play if you doesn't master using the secondary weapons. Try the stopwatch at the 2nd boss, this will give you a much better chance beating him.

As soon as you gain access to Maria as a playable character, Rondo will turn into a whole new experience for you.



I like both Rondo and SCIV.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: PC Engine Bookmarks]

I'd put all my bets on the Ys cover.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: PC Engine Bookmarks]

If there'll be upcoming printed PCE gamer issues, I'd appreciate some of your bookmarks.

I got the first printed PCE gamer book from you some months ago. It was very enjoyable to read and full of fun facts. Many thanks!

[General Gaming / Re: Uh, who likes the N64?]

If you guys want to repair your broken N64 control sticks, feel free to have a look at this thread:
N64 Stick Converter kit (PCB + Potentiometer)
This is essentially a kit that enhances the GameCube-style N64 replacement control sticks found on Ebay.



1. You need one of these from the bay. Seperate the housing, take the plastic stick and cut off the wires. Throw the crappy PCB and potentiometer in the bin.


2. These are the electronics from the kit (PCB with improved chip and improved potentiometer). Combine these parts with the housing, wires and plastic stick.



3. Profit!


I tried this by myself and can happily confirm the stick feels great and plays superior in GoldenEye, Super Mario 64 and many more N64 games. From there you'll never ever want to go back to the original control stick or even the Hori Mini Pad 64.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: WTB: Arcade Card Duo...]

So, arcadegear is charging $60 for the card shipped to the states...

For the cheap Arcade Card Duo, not the way more expensive Arcade Card Pro? At what shipping option (SAL, Airmail, EMS)?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: WTB: Arcade Card Duo...]

Have a look at Arcade-gear.com and ask them for a price, since they're rebuilding their website at the moment. I got mine from there in Oct 2013 for 15 €, including complete case and manual in very good condition.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What happened to hit-japan?]

I've bought several games and accessories for PS1 and PCE from Hit Japan. Packaging was good, and the condition of the items was very good. Not far from the excellent packaging and item condition of Arcade-gear.com, however AG benefits from outstanding customer support and friendly staff.

On the other hand I had rather negative experiences with sellers within Europe.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE CD ROM Not Reading CDRs]

Did actually anybody ever HAVE experienced "CD rot" on pressed media, or just HEARD about it?

I'm not talking about CD-R or LD.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Scart RGB to Component converter worth the cost??]

This cable does not work as a converter. It will only work on TVs that are able to accept analog YPbPr signals on the (usually digital only) HDMI socket.

I don't know of any TV that would be able to support such an uncommon feature.

The positive reviews of this cable are misleading: one review is just praising the seller for returning the product, and the other review is pure nonsense.

[General Gaming / Re: Games you consider Underrated?]

F-Zero? Here in my country no one cared about this game, it was Top Gear all the way, people often mention to this day that the best Racing game they ever played. Of course people often exaggerate but it was very popular at the time.

It's great to hear that Top Gear at least got its well deserved love in some places of the world. Just out of curiosity, where are you located?

[General Gaming / Re: Games you consider Underrated?]

I'd like to throw Kemco's Top Gear (SNES) in the mix. Back in the early '90s, I felt it was overshadowed by F-Zero and Super Mario Kart. But surprisingly enough, it has aged well and thus is still very playable today - unlike its Lotus series predecessors on the Commodore Amiga.

What made the game unique for its time were the day-to-night transitions and pit stops, which added some strategic twist depending on what car type you were driving.


This game should be enjoyed with a friend in the cooperative multiplayer split screen mode.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / WTB: PCE Duo: power switch cover, Eject button cover, disc lock lever cover]

I got the silly idea of making my Turbo Duo look a bit more colorful. That's why I would like to equip it with the switch/button covers of the PCE Duo. I wonder if anybody got some spares at hand, e.g. from parts donor consoles?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE CD ROM Not Reading CDRs]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to give it a try. I've also been reading through the Duo laser replacement/pot adjustment guide. I'll have a printed copy of that guide right next to me when I'm doing the repair.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PCE CD ROM Not Reading CDRs]

I'm only familiar with the Turbo Duo, but I still would like to know, which of the pots have been adjusted?

Since I'm experiencing a similar issue with my Duo: It refuses to load burned media (tried different CD-R brands and burning devices) that I ripped from my original copy of Ys 4 using Turbo Rip. The system startup screen then shows a place disc error or load disc error.

Heck, even with the original CDs, my Duo sometimes has trouble reading them. This manifests in not being able to advance from the game's title screen or sudden muting of CD BGM, until the next song is selected by the game.

The Turbo Duo has been fully recapped recently. All original discs are in flawless condition. The laser lens itself has been cleaned.

Just in case, I've already a replacement HOP-M3 laser pickup unit ready amongst my spares. But beforehand I would like to know if some pot adjustments might be able to solve my problem.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: REPAIR GUIDE - TurboDuo: Sound Fix]

I had the same issue, mostly with digitized speech sounds. A FULL recap solved the problems. Some of the caps had seized really bad. Often you wouldn't see damage to the PCB underneath them until you removed the old caps.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Good AV/S video Switch??]

Most trouble comes when you have to deal with 21-pin RGB Scart switches. They're usually rather disappointing, as even the more expensive models introduce faint noise patterns over the picture.

Composite and S-Video switches aren't affected that much from these symptoms, as they have much less signals to switch and transfer through their circuitry.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What PC-Engine Stuff did you get today?]

@Alucard555: There's a fan translation of Ys IV available by Burnt Projects, which will translate both text and speech.
What you still need (obviously) is the original CD.

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

Good point, I'm confident searching in Japanese and then using a website translator of your choice (you don't really need Chrome for this) could bring up more information. I'll try to see what I can accomplish and will post a link to a walkthrough or something like that along with an automated translation, if I'll be successfull.

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

Thanks! Now that's what I call an immediate reply.
Although I have to confess I still don't get it. I guess the last team that survives wins the game? 'Cause that is the only way I could think of, and I haven't played long enough to let all teams die.

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

Please excuse me for resurrecting this old thread.

I've been always a fan of the Dragon Half Anime, and when I saw the PC Engine game for a low price of under 10 bucks, how could I say 'no'?

Beforehand, I knew from some sources like pcengine.co.uk that this game is rather a deal of fan-service and I might never work out how to win in this quite chaotic game. All I found on GameFAQs were some cheats to instantly access the different endings. I haven't tried these cheats so far. Other than that, there isn't much more information about this game on the web, at least not in English or any other language I could understand.

But if you guys know how to beat the game, I would appreciate any advice. Even some sort of rough translation of the manual booklet would be fine. Cheers!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: PC Genjin 3 (Bonk 3) not working on region modded TE]

Have you already tried cleaning the cartridge contacts using alcohol? Even if they are looking fine, there could be some transparent layer of dirt on them. You can also try to clean the cartridge slot of your Turbo Express.