How you discovered the TurboGrafx-16

[newgenturbofan]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the forum, so I thought why not see how others got into the turbo grafx.  I'm just curious and since I'm new to this system it will be interesting to hear what everyone else has to say. Personally, I heard about the system for awhile, but it wasn't until I downloaded a few of the classics onto my wii, that's how I discovered games like Splatterouse, Air Zonk, Neutopia, and Blazing Lazers. The first tg16 game I played and beat was Bonk's Adventure, which was a blast, but I hear Bonk's Revenge is better. I didn't download too many games, because I'm the type of guy who's got to own a physical copy of a game, btw i wouldn't mind if anyone would be willing to sell me any of your duplicates of any turbo game- i don't have any Anyways, I bet a lot of you guys grew up with the system, unfortunately I was born in 1991 so I was only a toddler through the rest of the tg16's lifespan. So that's it, how did you discover the turbo grafx and what was the first game that convinced you that this system was a good investment? It'll be great hearing others stories and maybe a few of you guys where like me and just discovered it recently!

[turboswimbz]

Welcome. GLAD TO SEE YOU HAVE FOUND THE WORLD'S GREATEST ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM! Good question, although I've read this thread many times, this always a good thread.  Head over to the sales/trade forum many people have extras to sell, trade.  I will say don't expect people to just throw you deals for no reason  i.e.keep this to a minimum, sounds too much like "I'm only here to take advantage of the community" I've only been here a couple of month's and posts like that generally garner a lot of hate if they become persistant->

btw i wouldn't mind if anyone would be willing to sell me any of your duplicates of any turbo game- i don't have any Anyways

after a few weeks here, you'll understand why some people are protective of the community, it's pretty awesome here. 
   That being said FiftyQuid has a system and some cheaper games up for sale at the moment, You may want to try there, But be warned the Wii is the much much much cheaper way to go.   
 
  To answer the orginal question:  BACK in 90 my dad got a used boxed turbo with games and all sort of extras for $75.  I then experienced my first video game BONK's Adventure.  The rest is history, played those same few games over and over and over.  Until recently I got back into it, found my way here, and love every minute of talking about the system.   

[MrFlutterPie]

Welcome to the 16 BIT REVOLUTION!!!

I discovered the joy of the Turbo only a few years ago myself.  Around 2007-2008 I was a locale game store and they had a Turbo and some games for sale.  It was pretty cheap ($60+Kieth+$5 off any game) so I picked it up.  I remember playing the demo model in front of Radio Shack as a kid.  The used to set up Bonk and Kieth but set the T.V to reset every 5 mins so it became a game of how far could you make it before it the game would reset.  I thought what hell I'll try something different and bought it.

I quickly fell in love and it's been my favorite system since

[syphic]

I bought a Genesis when it first came out. Loved the console. Was the only kid at the time who had it. I remember going with my father to Montgomery Wards and saw the TG-16 Display. I remember playing splatter house and Galaga 90 on it. I think the fact that it was obscure and new made me just want it! Anyways some friend from school hit me up because he heard I had a Genesis. He told me he had a Turbo Grafx with a bunch of games and wasnt too into it. Asked if I was down to trade systems. My Genny with a couple of games for his Turbo with like 10 games. I said yes and the rest was history!

[TR0N]

I'd say magazines such as electronic gaming monthly,even before nec even had commercials for it.Then other being playing it a friends house for the time first before i bought one.Hmm as for how i got one originally i can't remember if it was the jc penny's catalog or if it was toy's'r'us.

[PCEngineHell]

While I cant exactly remember the very first time I spotted TG-16, I remember most of my early exposure cam from early morning TV ads and also what was shown on Video Power.

[motdelbourt]

Gamepro's feature write-up introducing the Turbo Duo. So awesome. I'm sure I was aware of the TG16, but like the Genesis it didn't register for me at all, and I didn't know anyone who had one at launch.

After that I ended up somehow getting a Turbo Grafx 16 for 69.99 at Babbages, and some used games from Game Dude. Then a TG-CD, then 3.0 Card, and so on.

[CrackTiger]

EGM and GamePro. I got to see it and maybe try it at a local trade show before it became available in my hometown. I got a Genesis near launch and wasn't planning on getting a TG-16, but decided that I had to get one asap after trying Dungeon Explorer and Neutopia at a friend's house.

[reno5]

Radio Shack stand in the mall. Waited soooo long to have the money to buy one that when i finally could buy one they where letting them go for 49$ LOL.

[jlued686]

I think I first saw it in ads in magazines. As I recall, it may have been the Bonk's Adventure comic book style ad, though I could be mistaken. Either way, when Christmas time came around, my Dad took me to the store to buy my gift. I chose the Genesis, but it was $20 more than the TurboGrafx-16, so I went for that instead, saving my Dad a bit of cash. (What a nice kid!) Anyway, I was rewarded with great memories and gaming experiences, and to this day it's my favorite console ever (including the Duo).

[Drakon]

Turbo everdrive is how I got into the system.

[MotherGunner]

At Serramonte Mall in Daly City CA circa 1990.  It was a Turbo Zone "Island" setup in the middle of the mall.

[HercTNT]

I was at a friends house in 1991 and his father was playing neutopia on a giant tv. I never looked back

[PCEngineHell]

I think I first saw it in ads in magazines. As I recall, it may have been the Bonk's Adventure comic book style ad, though I could be mistaken. Either way, when Christmas time came around, my Dad took me to the store to buy my gift. I chose the Genesis, but it was $20 more than the TurboGrafx-16, so I went for that instead, saving my Dad a bit of cash. (What a nice kid!) Anyway, I was rewarded with great memories and gaming experiences, and to this day it's my favorite console ever (including the Duo).

When I finally bought one it was late December of 92. I hit Toys R US with a tad over 100 bucks and nabbed a system with Keith Courage for $49.99, and hit up the game selection where they used to keep slips on the wall along with a insert thing of the front and back of the games box so you could see what it looked like. Ended up nabbing Bloody Wolf, Legendary Axe, and Alien Crush. Was a hard choice because almost everything looked awesome and I was pretty stoked to get such cool games. A couple months later I ditched my Master System and Nes and used the cash to get Raiden and Aero Blasters and another title I think (yes I literally got rid of both systems and like 40 games in total to buy a couple more TG games).

I did not decide to get a Genesis until Oct 93, because Mortal Kombat had come out. I nabbed a Genesis core system for $99.99 and cashed in on the free copy of Sonic 2 mail in offer. From like Aug on till Oct I had acquired a few Genesis games in advance so I would have stuff to play (Pit Fighter, Fatal Fury, Altered Beast). Sonic 2 arrived to me in November. December 93 was great, because not only did I get to buy Splatterhouse 3 and MK on Genesis, but was able to secure a copy of Splatterhouse 1 on TG along with a few other titles. Always kind of had a great respect for both the TG and the Genesis. Always will due to such great gaming memories. Back then too after I got a TG many of my friends had seen how awesome it was and a couple of them were able to nab one too.

[thesteve]

saw the TV add at a friends house.
saw it at toysRus for $99 (friend got it)
saw it later for $30 and bought 1

[LostFlunky]

I originally saw a display at Radio Shack (and A&A Records) in Halifax, but I was a poor student.  All I had at the time was a 2600 and a bunch of games.

A couple years later, ( I am thinking fall of 1993 - EDIT - I just found the receipt - June of 1994) I bought one at Radio Shack in the Dufferin Mall in Toronto.  Bonk's Revenge and Galaga 90 came a short while later.


I still have it...

/IMG_9318.jpg
/IMG_9319.jpg
/IMG_9320.jpg

Geez, the protective plastic is still on the nameplate...

The receipt: /IMG.jpg

The truth is, yes, that is my original TG16 that I purchased in 1994, but, a short time later, I bought another TG with a bunch of games for $100 and have been using that one as a player ever since.

[Bernie]

My dad got one for Christmas one year.  I want to say it was 1987 or 1988.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I just started getting really interested in Turbo from reading about it in Mags.  It was usually about 5% of each mag dedicated to these titles that I've never seen at friends houses or rental shoppes.  So I started to really wonder what it was all about.  When it came time for me to actually purchase a Turbo, I owned a SNES, NES, Colico Vision, and a Tandy CoCo.  I never actually played Turbo before I purchased one......

Sorry if I just post the same story every time a thread like this pops up ;)

I had gotten my two first ever paychecks in the summer of '94.  (I worked the summer sheering pine/ xmas trees making around 110-150 a week)  I had just over $200 on me and my goal was to walk into a local (next town over) game shoppe and pick up an Atari Lynx along with some games.  (I saw an ad in the paper for a Lynx + one free game for $50) So I was totally stoked to get the Lynx.

When I got there, I quickly grabbed a new Lynx ticket and started to pick out which games I wanted.  I had about $100 worth of goodies.  When I went over to the register to pay I saw a Turbografx under the glass display with a TON of turbochips.  The Turbo was $39.99 and games were around $3.99-$15.  So I started gobbling that up too!!  I got to the point where I had pretty much spent EVERY penny on Turbo and Lynx stufff.  So then, finally I got back to the register and was prepared to make my purchase.  The girl behind the counter said, "Wow we're getting alot today!"  And I responded- yes, now I just need to get the CD unit to play the CD games.  Then a guy behind the other register said "Hey we have a CD unit that just came in."  I was like.... O_O!!

He goes to the back and pulls out a Turbo Duo in box with Ys I&II, Gates 4in1, and Ninja Spirit.  He said, "Some guy just sold out his whole Turbo collection."  He told me that for the $200 I had in hand, I could get the Turbo Duo and all the games I had picked out (12 total) but I wasn't able to get the Lynx...

Needless to say, that Lynx found it's way back to the shelf and I went home with a HEFTY Turbo LOT and never really stopped playing. 
I can't remember EXACTLY the lot I had but I think it was [Duo w/ one controller all hookups. Ys I&I, Gates 4in1, Keith Courage, Ninja Spirit, Sonic Spike(Had no ideas what this was, thought maybe it was a Sonic game...lol), ShockMan, Legendary Axe, and possibly a few others...]

PS:  I also went back later in the summer to snag that Lynx deal.

[majors]

Manager at Babbages told me he knew a guy that won a contest with a TG-16, booster, stick, extra pad, tap and 5 games that wanted to sell. At the time, the retail was $300(I seem to remember) for everything but the seller would take $150 for the lot. I think it was 1990 (because I got my CD in '91). Games where Blazing, World Class Baseball, Bonk, Alien and Legendary.

I was a Genny owner since it dropped to $190 w/ Altered. Seeing that wall of games at Toys R Us that I could not play made me want to get a TG.

[esteban]

I first saw TURBOPOWER in Autumn 1989...a commercial during G.I. Joe re-runs in early afternoon after getting home from school (3:30-4:00?) on WPIX (Channel 11 in NYC). The next day, my brothers and I made sure to RECORD G.I. Joe (so we could re-watch commercial in slow motion). Soon thereafter we went to Toys'R'Us and played Blazing Lazers at kiosk.

While I cant exactly remember the very first time I spotted TG-16, I remember most of my early exposure cam from early morning TV ads and also what was shown on Video Power.

Heck yes. VIDEO POWER. I wrote about that show in the past (before the magic of YouTube) to describe it to people. WWOR (Channel 9 in NYC) aired that show early in the morning. The cartoon segment SUCKED, but I loved to see footage of actual gameplay during the other segments. Occasionally they featured a TG-16 game.

[Obfuscate]

One of my best buddies had one bitd and I use to play his and was like whoa!, this is way cooler than the NES and SMS that we had. When my parents said I could get a new system for Christmas was when the TurboDuo was first released in 92' and I got that. Best system ever, played it through about 96' and put it in a box not to rediscover the magic till 2009 when I stumbled across my old copy of Final Lap Twin. I busted out all my old stuff and now am hooked again buying, playing, collecting, and checking out sites like this one!

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I think my initial first hand exposure to the Turbob was from Montgomery Wards and Service Merchandise and Babbages a little later on.

[Keith Courage]

Same here, I got to play it for the first time at Montgomery Wards Electric Avenue. They had Vigilante on display. They also had a Genesis on display as well but it never held my attention. I have no clue why. Then a few months later my dad bought me a complete CD setup. The local pawn shop had a TG16 system with the CD add on, Ys1&2, Monster Lair, Fighting street, and of course Keith Courage.

[PCEngineHell]

Same here, I got to play it for the first time at Montgomery Wards Electric Avenue. They had Vigilante on display. They also had a Genesis on display as well but it never held my attention. I have no clue why.

Because it didn't have Vigilante.

[CPTRAVE]

I was at home watching cartoons, and saw the commercial of the TG-16 Supersystem. I just had to have it.

[Tatsujin]

From german game mags. They covered the pce right after its release. And... i fell in love, because it had
R-Type in ARCADE quality. Nobody could beat that for years.

[BigusSchmuck]

My first exposure was playing one at Toys R Us. I'm willing to bet there are other people here who probably had a similar experience. Anyway, I didn't get my Duo until late 94ish and got Ys books 1 and 2 for it after reading EGM's review that the best game ever just happened. Been playing my Duo ever since.

[esteban]

RANDOM MEMORY: In 1989, when I got my first TURBO, Toys-R-Us was still selling some Atari 2600 cartridges! No joke.

You may continue...

[arex]

Greetings!  First time poster here. 

I can't remember if my first exposure to the TG-16 was the commercials or one of the gaming mags.  All I remember is seeing the super colorful graphics in Bonk and I was sold.

Although I used to get into frequent fanboy debates back in the day on the Prodigy Network (pre-internet as we know it) as to why the TurboGrafx was superior in every way to the Genesis, I'm really fan of pretty much all video games.  Growing up, I was fortunate enough (thanks, Mom & Dad!) to have been able to own multiple competing systems from each generation--NES, SMS, TG16, GameBoy, TurboExpress, Lynx, SNES, Genesis/Sega CD, Neo Geo, 3DO, N64, PlayStation, PS2, GameCube, GBA, Wii, PS3, XBox 360.  However, to this day, the Turbo remains my favorite system, with the most fond memories. 

I couldn't get enough multiplayer matches of Bomberman '93, Dungeon Explorer, Battle Royale and even MotoRoader.  And the day I brought home a Turbo CD and powered up Ys Book I & II...being wowed by the CD-audio and animation of the game's intro may be my number one fondest video game memory.

I was such a turbo fan(atic) that even though I already had a TurboGrafx w/ CD, I traded my Neo Geo with its small collection of games for a TurboDuo.

[RyuHayabusa]

I had seen the TG-16 commercials and lots of pics in EGM, Gamepro, VG&CE and was kinda interested. Then one day I walked into a Red Giraffe Video that was selling all their TG-16 stock dirt cheap. All their consoles were $10 a pop and games were $2 or $3 each. This was back around 1993. I picked up 2 consoles and a boat load of games, Splatterhouse, Legendary Axe, Bonk, Vigilante, Alien Crush, Bloody Wolf, Blazing Lazers, Keith Courage, etc. It was the deal of a lifetime. Keep in mind that the consoles didn't come with the boxes nor did the games, only their jewel cases but still a great deal. Ended selling one console years ago but I still have the other hooked up right now. Would've been nice if they had some Turbo CDs for dirt cheap prices, that would've been heaven.

[newgenturbofan]

Wow, its really interesting to hear everyone's stories, makes me wish I got into the tg-16 earlier! That's really cool how Lost Monkey even kept the receipt from back then. I noticed many of you guys saw commercials and ads, which reminds me of something I read earlier. I heard that NEC marketed the system heavily in the bigger cities across the US. I'm not sure if this is true or not. Can anyone confirm this?

Btw- sorry turboswimbz if that came across the wrong way!

[turboswimbz]

No prob. that was kinda directed at someone else, who had just PM'd me some crap(brand new member), I shouldn't have suggested you were like that, my bad... And yeah you should have started earlier, but good news is you can still learn to OBEY.  lol.  I'm pretty sure that it is true there was more marketing in the cities.  Out where I lived, outside of the cities, TG16 stuff was very rare. 

btw KUDOS for starting a cool thread.

[DildoKKKobold]

My story is way different than most. I was trying to find interesting, multi-player co-operative games that would make an interesting Tool Assisted Speedrun (TAS). I found Dungeon Explorer, a totally unique game, in the fact that it had an amazing 5 player co-op mode.  After making that run, and really liking the platform, I chose 5 more games to make TASes for, 3 of which were published. At that point, I loved the turbografx as a unique platform, but I never thought I'd actually own one.

Fast forward 3 years, and I find the turbografx haul of a life time. I now am getting close to a complete turbografx/CD/SuperCD set. It turned my love into an obsession.

[tpivette]

My parents bought mine for Christmas in 89'... got Blazing Lazers as well. I was 11 at the time, so no job to afford my own games. Didnt really amass many unless it was my birthday or Christmas... but ended up getting World Class Baseball, Legendary Axe, Dungeon Explorer, SideArms, Neutopia, and Cadash. Also had a Turbo Tap, an extra Turbo Pad, and a Turbo Stick. When the Duo was coming out, I sent away for the promo video and begged my parents to get me the system for the next two Christamas's... to no avail. After that, I was old enough to drive and cars became my new passion.

Fast forward to about a year ago and I was helping my parents clean out their basement. Discovered the original system and all the hookups, Turbo Tap, Turbo Stick, SideArms, Dungeon Explorer, and Blazing Lazers. hooked it all up to my TV at home and to my surprise, everything worked! This rekindled my love for the system, and I've been having too much fun ever since!

[roflmao]

I got my first Turbografx-16 in 1990.  Back then I was a Sega Master System owner and *loved* R-Type.  One day a friend brought over his TG16 and R-Type and it blew me away.  The intro music at the start of the first level... OMG.  And the graphics!  It was love at first sight. 

I sold my SMS collection to purchase a TG16 as soon as possible.  And the rest was history. 

[JoshTurboTrollX]

RANDOM MEMORY: In 1989, when I got my first TURBO, Toys-R-Us was still selling some Atari 2600 cartridges! No joke.

You may continue...

In 1989 I was just starting to unload my 2600 games and needed a new game console for our family.

I took the kids to Toys R Us in then to pick out anything they wanted with their Xmas money.  They unanimously chose to get an NES.  I chose to get both the NES and a shiny new Turbografx and not tell anyone!  (I had only seen a few commercials about it, and read up about the "next generation" of gaming machines in papers) I brought it home and powered it up on a little 13" TV switch I had in the Garage.  Best night of gaming ever!  Played Vigilante and Keith Courage till the early morning.  On Xmas eve I decided to give the kids their NES a day early and they played it for a while that night but got a bit bored with it after a while.  In the morning they weren't expecting to open any more big gifts, but when they came out to the living room there was another big box waiting for them.. 

My Ex wife was still pissed that I did that.  I overspent by about double and gave myself an early xmas gift that year to boot!!  L O L

[esteban]

RANDOM MEMORY: In 1989, when I got my first TURBO, Toys-R-Us was still selling some Atari 2600 cartridges! No joke.

You may continue...

In 1989 I was just starting to unload my 2600 games and needed a new game console for our family.

I took the kids to Toys R Us in then to pick out anything they wanted with their Xmas money.  They unanimously chose to get an NES.  I chose to get both the NES and a shiny new Turbografx and not tell anyone!  (I had only seen a few commercials about it, and read up about the "next generation" of gaming machines in papers) I brought it home and powered it up on a little 13" TV switch I had in the Garage.  Best night of gaming ever!  Played Vigilante and Keith Courage till the early morning.  On Xmas eve I decided to give the kids their NES a day early and they played it for a while that night but got a bit bored with it after a while.  In the morning they weren't expecting to open any more big gifts, but when they came out to the living room there was another big box waiting for them.. 

My Ex wife was still pissed that I did that.  I overspent by about double and gave myself an early xmas gift that year to boot!!  L O L

I almost cried reading this .

Such an awesome Xmas for the kids.

[Hollo]

Coming from a country that never had the PCE/TG released, I never had much interest in them - that was until a few years ago....  For long time here in Japan (been here for about 10 years now) I have hoarded every console I ever dreamed of owning when they were released.  Honestly though, I never thought about the PCE as it wasn't something that I had any nostalgia for.  Blasphemy right?!  Then a friend recommended I try a few games out, and in a few short years the PCE/PC-FX is what I am collecting for more than anything else!  I can't stop buying!!!

[CPU64]

I fell in love with the design of the TurboDuo, and the ads on EGM for Lords of Thunder made me feel funny inside..

[jelloslug]

I know I saw it in VG&CE and Gamepro but the EGM issue is the one that sticks in my mind:

[jelloslug]

Here is the VG&CE issue:

[jelloslug]

And here is the first ad I remember seeing (from an '89 Gamepro issue)

[Sadler]

...awesome pics...

That's incredibly cool, thanks for sharing!

[jelloslug]

And a little bonus:

[jelloslug]

I can scan any of the article, covers, or ads if anyone wants a better copy.

[esteban]

I can scan any of the article, covers, or ads if anyone wants a better copy.

HELL YES SCAN THOSE

https://archives.tg-16.com/help_us.htm#scanning

PM with any and all questions.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Nice mags!  Please do scan 'em in so The Cook can archive 'em.

[FiftyQuid]

Not sure how I've missed this thread?  

Anyway, unlike most here I was 18-19 years old when the TG-16 was released (born in 1973).  I was just finishing up high school and had a job that I'll call full/part time.  I was still living at my parents house rent free so I had money.  I saw the ads on television and I was instantly hooked.  Yeah, I had heard it wasn't a true 16 bit system, but I never got caught up in the 'bit wars'.  For me, it was all about graphics and the TG-16 had them even if it didn't technically have the other 8 bits.  To me the TG-16 just made more sense than the other consoles, but what really sold me was the hu cards.  We were all use to bulky cartridges then the hu card is released and it blew my damn mind.  No only did this little card contain a game, but it contained a game that was just as good if not graphically better looking than the competitors!  Oh, and as an added bonus you could take the SAME game and pop it into a TE.  This was mind blowing for me.  It made so much sense and I thought everyone else around me was a fool for buying anything else.  Then the CD-ROM attachment came out that could double as a portable CD player and I remember thinking "Wow!  Nothing is going to stop this thing!"  

In summary, I thought the console was awesome looking.  I thought Bonk's Adventure was awesome looking.  I thought Splatterhouse was AWESOME looking.  I thought the tech behind the hu cards, and CD-ROM was mind blowing.  The TG-16 had everything going for it.  I didn't even care that it only had 1 controller port.  I had friends, but they were too busy playing their Sega's and Nintendo's to come over to my house and play.  Besides, most of the games I was into were only single player.  Now that I think of it, it's probably why I tend to stay away from PS3 games like COD, MW3, BF3.  Multiplayer, even back then, didn't appeal to me.

I walked into Radio Shack and paid full price for my TG-16.  My first games were Keith's (of course), Bonk's Adventure, and Splatterhouse.  After that, I don't remember buying any additional games.  The ads on television stopped and I met my first girlfriend and got, uh... well I got busy.  

[jelloslug]

Here are links for scans of the articles that I posted earlier:

www.jelloslug.com/TG-16/

[Obfuscate]

Awesome, thanks jelloslug!