Was it nostalgia or curiousity

[LINK398]

How did the everyone first try out the TurboGrafx 16 and then decide to buy it and really get into it. For me personally it isnt nostalgia at all. While I do like 16 bit graphics I never had this console back in the day and didnt even know about it at all. I had a Sega Genesis and later got a Nintendo 64 along with other consoles that I bought myself. I was just curious about this one and decided to buy it and really like it a lot. While I dont own the CD attachment Im happy with the regular console

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Since I bought it when it was new, it certainly wasn't nostalgia.  I bought it because it had cool games I wanted to play, some of which were sampled in store and others I'd only seen in magazines.

[johnnykonami]

I got it for Christmas when everyone else was getting a SNES or Genesis instead.  I was pretty impressed by Keith Courage from the TV commercials I guess!  They really sold the underworld part where you fight in a mech.  To be fair, I still think KC is pretty cool.

[wildfruit]

I didn't know of the console til last year so no personal nostalgia

[kentuckycc]

My rich friend had one when I was little and I always wanted one. The HuCards were so cool. Fast forward 20 years and I finally buy one to try out some working designs exclusives. Turns out the WD games are pretty average among some other really great titles for the system. This console was, by far, the biggest missed opportunity in the US.

[Opethian]

it was...the games

[munchiaz]

curiosity for me. I got my turbo graf back in 2011. But i knew of it, and i had gate of thunder on my Wii VC. I did some reseatch after playing gate, and found so many other games i wanted to play. Fast forward to now, and i love everything about the console (except KC)

[majors]

Got my TG a year after I got my Genny just 'cause I could not stand seeing all the TG-16 games at TRU that I could not play. Same reason I got a SMS after my NES. I was on the Nintendo hate train by then, so SNES was not an option. Been loyal ever since.

When Saturn and PS came out, I fell from the turbo-wagon a little bit but my TG-16 CD-ROM w/ ACD setup was always in my entertainment center. PCFX forums brought me back to my true love about 6 years ago and meeting all the obeyers at cons solidified my faith again.

[esteban]

I loved NES, played SMS at friends' homes, then BAM!

16-bit consoles just dropped from the heavens out of nowhere in September 1989.  I had not been paying attention to the next generation of consoles, and 100% of folks I knew were going with Genesis.

Genesis was awesome, but then I saw a commercial for Blazing Lazers and a bunch of TG-16 launch titles.

BLAZING LAZERS was reason for choosing TG-16 over Genesis. Had there been a gorgeous, intense shoot-em-up like BL available as launch title for Genesis, my decision would have been much more difficult.

Truxton/Tatsujin is a great game (I love old skool Toaplan), but even if it was available at launch, BL would have edged it out.

Trü storie.

[LS650]

'Back in the day', I was a broke university student.  I remember seeing the TG16 and the Turboexpress for sale in Radio Shack all the time, but there was no way I could even think of affording a purchase.

I didn't really get back into gaming until about 2000 or so.  Over the last ten years I've collected quite a wide variety of older systems, mostly 8-bit era items such as the Atari 2600 or the Intellivision.  I've seen quite a few folks commenting in various forums over the years that they really liked the TG16, so I tried out a few ROMs via emulation and liked what I saw.  I bought a TG16 eventually and I am really enjoying it.

[ToyMachine78]

It was curiosity for me. I got my TG16 for Christmas in 1990. I remember how awesome it looked in the ads and commercials. Especially the footage of Legendary Axe and the Jagu boss fight. Plus I was a huge horror fan and Splatterhouse was as enticing to me as crack to a junkie.

All my friends had or were getting the Genesis. I planned on getting a Genesis too cause you couldn't find the Turbo around my town. Alas, I opened the wishbook that year and there it was.. the turbo. It was so sleek and sexy. But I was more torn than ever... Genny or Turbo? Always being the black sheep, I chose the turbo. So that year I got the turbo, legendary axe, splatter house, and TV sports football. Best Christmas ever!!!! Thank god for the other games... Had I been stuck only with Keith Courage, I would have died, and would have been very embarrassed to show my friends lol The story would have probably turned out a lot differently.

Shortly after I got RType for free through a mail in promo. I later(1992) bought the CD unit once they slashed its price in preparation for the release of the duo.

So that's my story!

[mossman43]

When I was in 5th grade my best friends father worked for NEC here in Massachusetts. My friend was obviously the first of the group of us to have it, but his dad showed us a pricing list that he could get the systems and games for. I asked my mom (I love you mom!) to get me a system and she did because it was better than buying NES games for their retail prices. All of my games came right from his dad and ranged in prices from $10-$20 for the employees, so I had the opportunity to get whatever was coming out. The best day was when I got Splatterhouse and Ninja Spirit in the same order. It was fucking amazing playing those two back to back! Unfortunately his parents ended up getting divorced and he moved to Pennsylvania and I haven't heard or seen him since. Anyhow, I've loved the system ever since!

[Bklyn4ever]

My parents bought my brothers and I the system for Xmas one year.In addition to the system we got Vigilante, Blazing lasers, Legendary Axe, Victory Run, and China Warrior. Needless to say it was one of my best gifts ever. Twenty years later I am still playing the same system. 

[mossman43]

When I was in 5th grade my best friends father worked for NEC here in Massachusetts. My friend was obviously the first of the group of us to have it, but his dad showed us a pricing list that he could get the systems and games for. I asked my mom (I love you mom!) to get me a system and she did because it was better than buying NES games for their retail prices. All of my games came right from his dad and ranged in prices from $10-$20 for the employees, so I had the opportunity to get whatever was coming out. The best day was when I got Splatterhouse and Ninja Spirit in the same order. It was fucking amazing playing those two back to back! Unfortunately his parents ended up getting divorced and he moved to Pennsylvania and I haven't heard or seen him since. Anyhow, I've loved the system ever since!

dude... you should absolutely reconnect with your childhood friend...

* Nulltard looks around to make sure nobody is eavesdropping...

shhh...

* Nulltard whispers...

there's this thing called Facebook that you can probably find him on. You and me, we're from the same generation and I've gotta tell ya, pen pals I never thought I'd hear from again are on this thing aplenty. You should cyberstalk him, lure him to this community (or the non-community at DoxPhile) and catch up on old times. Once an obeyer, always an obeyer!

* Nulltard looks around again and gives the all clear sign.

So, yeah, that sports event, eh? Nothing like that! Wow!

lol, you are one funny dude!! That Facebook thing.....I tried, but no luck. I'm sure I will eventually find him.

[imparanoic]

I didn't know of the console til last year so no personal nostalgia

that's because pc engine or turbo grafx was never released in UK, thus, import only, in fact, it's the first Japanese console which was desirable enough to enable the hardcore gaming import niche industry in UK ( then Megadrive, then snes, then ps1, and so on)

the fact that previous generations of consoles (nowadays ntsc and pal difference are almost non -existant, unless wii which is still inferior) designed for UK is inferior, 17.6% slower with massive black borders, or consoles and games released two years later compared to the release dates in us or japan, helped the import industry

[wolfman]

Both, in my case.

First, I collect certain types of games (handhelds), second I like 8/16 bit graphics for their "analog" feel vs "modern" games, similar like people preferring analog photography to digital for its "feel". And third I was curious, what the LT would be like as a gaming platform. And I quickly fell in love with interchangeability of components...that IFU concept is really cool.

The great thing with this concept is - I can play portable multimedia games AND connect to TV if I wish to (though I have to RGB-mod it first...).

Well, this couldn´t have been any better in 1991, right? 

[Tatsujin]

I choose: best system ever!

[Dicer]

I choose: best system ever!

I concur

[Gogan]

It was neither for me as I bought it new bitd, and really, have never stopped playing it. My 11-yr old self would be proud. (And probably drool over the games I have now )

[munchiaz]

These stories are so awesome. I wish i would have discovered this console at a younger age.

[CrackTiger]

I got my TG-16 within the first year and Turbo/PCE has remained my number one console ever since. I still got and played everything else as it came out, but I always had a Turbo/PCE system hooked up and used regularly. Same deal with video games in general though. I've been playing everything I can get my hands on since about 1980.

[esadajr]

I knew about the TG16 back in 89 thanks to a department store. At the time I was happily playing my NES and didn't pay much attention.

Sometime in the late 90's thanks to the internet I read a bit more about the TG16, got an emu and a few roms but never really paid much attention to it, I remember playing some Cadash, Bonk and Ninja Ryukenden.

Sometime in the late 90's thanks to the internet I read a bit more about the TG16, got an emu and a few roms but never really paid much attention to it, although I spent good time playing some Cadash, Bonk 1 and Ninja Ryukenden.

Mid 2012 , out of curiosity, just like that I researched on it and really learned about all of the good games released for it and its Japanese counterpart, I just felt attracted to the platform (pretend you transport yourself in time and feel that "wow" factor). That's when I found out about Turboviews, the PCEFX forum and the conventions and decided it was the time to expand on my retro "collection".

[roflmao]

I got it because all my friends had mainstream alternatives.  NES, Genesis, eventually SNES.  I had friends with good taste in games bitd so I didn't feel the need to acquire what they already had. I wanted to have something worth playing that they didn't have at their house. That was also the reason I picked up a SMS.

[Tatsujin]

good one rolfmalol.

i also prefered the sms bitd over the nes. it had so much nicer colors.
at some point it has even nicer colors than the mega drive. lol.

now, the music was a bit of a different rabbit hole.
but im enjoying it a lot today through its much more lissenable FM musics.

[esteban]

Roflmao and Tats: You both crazy. NES has such a great library of games. Crazy. 

[Tatsujin]

i didnt say it hadnt. but since the sms also had its fair share of very good games, i went more with the sega stream, and also because most of my frens already had a NES at homey, which i could play there or borrow

[pulstar]

It was a strange mix of nostalgia ad curiosity I remember seeing the PC Engine (and the Supergrafx) in the UK gaming press when in the late 80s and I always remember wanting one of them because the games looked awesome and so did the machine. I didn't actually pick one up until 2000's (a duo) and started picking up all of the cool games I had seen in the magazines decades earlier.

I did eventually sell that Duo and bought another last year.

[SuperDeadite]

Piracy.  Once I got that old iso of Dracula X to work on MagicEngine, I started downloading all isos I could fine, by chance Sapphire was one, and then I had to own it.

[Tatsujin]

trü störy?

[SuperDeadite]

yupe.  This was back when I was a poor university student.  Had no money, but my Japanese classes got me wanting to play imports.  So I started with SegaCD as it was cheap, but couldn't afford to import la PCE, so it was le piracy.  I took what I could get, man hearing Super Raiden for the first time blew my mind.  Wasn't until I moved here that I started to buy.  And now I have over le 100.

[roflmao]

Roflmao and Tats: You both crazy. NES has such a great library of games. Crazy. 

No doubt. But *all* of my friends had an NES. Anytime I wanted to play pretty much any NES game, I could go play it via one of my buds.  I wanted to bring a bit of variety to the table.   I still ended up picking up all those other consoles and games (back when they were cheap), so it was win-win, imo.

[jordan_hillman]

My story for collecting is probably as random as it gets on this forum. . . I am huge fan of the Double Dragon series (I own damn near every port of each game in the series), and about 8 years ago I found out there was an awesome port of Double Dragon II on the PC-Engine. At the time I had absolutely no idea what a PC-Engine was, but I immediately started researching and found out about the Turbografx-16, CD attachment, and TurboDuo from that research. Even better, I found out that the Turbo CD and TurboDuo were region free for CD games (once again, I had never known this console existed until 2006) and was able to pick up a copy of Double Dragon II for the PC-Engine for 50 bucks.

A couple of years later I finally got my hands on a Turbografx and Turbo CD for a reasonable price, but I had no Super System Card to play by beloved Double Dragon II  . About a year after that I was on the hunt for some Sega Dreamcast games at a local swap meet, and, while searching for games in stacks of CDs, I came across a complete US Super System Card!! The vendor had no idea what he had and sold it to me for 5 freakin' bucks!!

I've been collecting ever since that day

[jelloslug]

I have had a TG-16 since 1989. I had a group of video game friends when I was growing up and we made an effort to not duplicate stuff so we could all play a different variety.  I was hooked on the turbo from the first time I saw the PC engine in gaming mags of the time.

[Tatsujin]

yupe.  This was back when I was a poor university student.  Had no money, but my Japanese classes got me wanting to play imports.  So I started with SegaCD as it was cheap, but couldn't afford to import la PCE, so it was le piracy.  I took what I could get, man hearing Super Raiden for the first time blew my mind.  Wasn't until I moved here that I started to buy.  And now I have over le 100.

kewl

[Nec.Game.head]

I first played it I believe in 92 when it had a price drop to $99.99 .. An older cousin of mine owned it which I spent a lot of time with that year. He moved away and I didn't get to play it again until 2001. It totally took me back to my childhood days. Now I play and collect for it because it's a great console but more then anything out of pure nostalgia ...

[Phase]

yeah I first saw it at toysrus back toward the end of 92 when it was either 69 or 49 I can't remember then I saw a lot of the games were only ten bucks so I asked for the system for Xmas. then in the year of 93 bought many of the cheap games.
Now days I have more fun playing retrogames and don't really find these new systems appealing but for modern games I will do some PC gaming.

[HailingTheThings]

Curiosity. I am a cat, you know?

When I was younger I had no idea what a Turbo was. Had I not been a toy collector first, gamer second when I was little I'm sure I could've possibly stumbled upon it. *sighs* Eff eff eff.

...if only. 

[ahuffman]

For me it was curiosity. I was not aware of the Turbo growing up, I had a SNES and later a Genesis. It was not until I started collecting that I became aware of the Turbo and it's great shooters, which happens to be one of my favorite genres.

[Tatsujin]

I have learned about the PCE back in early '88 when they covered it in one of the german mags.

i was in instant love with it, because all the bright colorful arcade like colors (r-type f.e.) let my jaws drop beyond the carpet.

but it wasn't until early '90 that I finally could get my hands on one of those uberexpensive imported obey machines.

since back then it never let me down.

[Ray]

Around here in Europe the TG/PCE wasn't mentioned much apart from some magazines and some people in highschool like with the X68000 and Neo-Geo. I did try it out a few years back and it was like a revelation, so many criminally underrated games on an underrated system. I got myself a Duo and never looked back.

[thesteve]

a friend got one back in HS (89, 90)
we had NES, GENI, SMS, 2600 around, and it just blew them all away with how clean everything ran/looked
ive always had at least 1 since then
in 94/95 needed a handheld, but couldnt find an express so i bought a GG.
grumbling aloud that i wished it was the express in the barricks (basic training) another said ive got one
i said ill buy it from you
he said its broken
i said dont care
traded my new GG for a broken TE (blown fuse) which i still use

[esteban]

traded my new GG for a broken TE (blown fuse) which i still use

Nice. 

[csgx1]

in 94/95 needed a handheld, but couldnt find an express so i bought a GG.
grumbling aloud that i wished it was the express in the barricks (basic training) another said ive got one
i said ill buy it from you
he said its broken
i said dont care
traded my new GG for a broken TE (blown fuse) which i still use

Awesome story and a great trade.  Was that the beginning...your very first Turbo repair?

[dallaspattern]

I also got mine for xmas that year. At first I was bummed that it wasn't an NES w/Zelda or something, but I grew to like it more than any of the other systems (even when I eventually acquired a Genesis, NES & SNES). Something about it's underdog status kept me engaged, plus the games ruled. I remember renting games from Radio Shack every Friday after school, playing Bonk's Revenge for the first time on my Express (in the mall after I had it ordered in at RS), late nights rocking Vigilante under my comforter and being bummed when I got a malfunctioning CD component with the Fighting Street case to stare at until a new one came in. Awesome system. Upgraded to a duo eventually.

[thesteve]

in 94/95 needed a handheld, but couldnt find an express so i bought a GG.
grumbling aloud that i wished it was the express in the barricks (basic training) another said ive got one
i said ill buy it from you
he said its broken
i said dont care
traded my new GG for a broken TE (blown fuse) which i still use

Awesome story and a great trade.  Was that the beginning...your very first Turbo repair? 

had RF mod issues on my TG16 before that
broke the case as i didnt have a game bit, but made it run

[VestCunt]

I was attracted to both aspects of Turbo gaming: greed and collectibility.

[Tatsujin]

I was attracted to both aspects of Turbo gaming: greed and collectibility.

O:)

[Retrocool]

I never sold mines.. both the original with CD and my Duo are first day purchases for me back in the day (thanks mom, really THANKS) .. i just loved the system so much... I just never gave it up...

Eventually when I get older... something will happen......

[Paddyfitz18]

I bought the TG-16 right around the time of its initial release in the States, at the Toys 'R Us in Lansing, IL.  I just thought the games looked awesome and that it was going to be superior to the Genesis.  I never stopped thinking that way.

I have to say it was quite demoralizing when the system I paid top-dollar for (with high school job savings) started to be found in the bargain aisles.  Around where I lived, by the time the Duo came out, it was pretty obvious the demise of NEC console gaming in the U.S. was imminent.

But I stuck it out with my Turbo.  But keeping a nice collection intact was difficult given the transient/hobo lifestyle I lived for some years.  I sold and bought, lost and found, broke and fixed, but through it all here I am still digging the TG-16/PCE over any other gaming experience.

But here was I really want to know, gentlemen (and perhaps, ladies?):

Very recently I sat down and gave Keith Courage a play at length.  Got to the final boss, and overall rather enjoyed it.  I always thought Keith Courage was a decent game, particularly for a pack-in game.  Keith in the Nova Suit is still one of my favorite characters, just think he looks really cool.  Anyway, my question is, did anyone seriously not buy the Turbografx-16 because they did not like the looks of Keith Courage?  I mean, I always had the idea that a pack-in game was not to be taken too seriously, that it was a "freebie" "throwaway" or even just a sort-of "demo" game.   Who bases their decision of whether or not to buy a game system on the "pack-in" versus the quality of the game library overall?  I personally don't get that.   I mean, its just a pack-in game.  THE PACK-IN GAME.

Apparently free software must affect buying decisions for some folks though, then and now.  Otherwise, I suppose Microsoft wouldn't be saturating the media with their offer for a free copy of (shameless Battletech universe ripoff) Titanfall with that X thinmgamabob they just came out with. 

But really, I was fine with KC being the pack-in on the original turbo.  It really shouldn't have been a "make or break" for the console's success and I really can't believe that it was, even though I have heard some make that argument.

[Paddyfitz18]

^ Yeah, R-Type would have been a killer pack-in.  No doubt about it.  I remember when I first tried out that title on the TG-16 and the quality really blew me away.