I just discovered the PC Engine CD

[shmuppyLove]

I was a huge Ranma 1/2 fan back in the day, and I remember there were a couple of Japanese SFC games that were pretty disappointing.

Were there any decent Ranma 1/2 games?

[xbl0x180]

I was a huge Ranma 1/2 fan back in the day, and I remember there were a couple of Japanese SFC games that were pretty disappointing.

Were there any decent Ranma 1/2 games?

The PC Engine CD and Super CD games redeemed themselves with their brief animation scenes, but the gameplay was real cheep and disappointing, almost on a NES level in look and control. In 1993, these were novelty games for us since we never saw anything like them at the local Toys 'R Us or other video game retailers (EB? I think they came later...)

[Bloodreign]

You know what's funny? in spite of all the copypasta you'd expect from an old school arcade game, the original Darius actually has the least amount of duplicate levels. Though the PCE-CD version has all the bosses that were originally planned, the levels don't quite work as well as they did on the 3 screens.

I still enjoy firing up my copy from time to time, but I haven't fired it up in awhile, thankfully it respawns you from where you die like the other games do. The arcade one slaps you in the face and makes you do an entire level over unless you're at a boss IIRC.

[Ganelon]

Yeah, if you found the SFC Ranma 1/2 fighters disappointing, then I doubt you'll have a fun time with any of the other games. That's been the case for most popular licensed anime series, such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hokuto no Ken, etc. A mix of graphical adventures, fighters, and puzzle games with game mechanics that are never quite on par with their non-licensed competitors.

For a game similar to Langrisser, Macross Eien no Love Song fits the bill. It uses a similar engine to PCE Langrisser so it's actually quite fun and much faster-paced than the Vasteel games. One of the bizarre tidbits about PCECD SRPGs is that of the dozen or so available, only Langrisser and Sword Master don't involve mecha.

[cj iwakura]

I like the SFC Ranma fighter, Hard Battle that is. I still have the cart. It's not great, but it's far from bad. Maybe get a tourney going somewhere.


I always wanted to try the PCE, but the price entry was too steep, and I bet it's even steeper now.

[drauch]

The Valis is pretty much my favorite PC-Engine title. Lurvvvv it. Not the most fluid controls, yeah, but man, I love fantasy anime girls.

[xbl0x180]

I just like the name "Valis" I think it was also semi-related to El Viento for the Mega Drive... same maker TeleNet? They were slated to make another game called Anette Again, which sounded cool to me at the time because it reminded me of something totally unrelated (Ami Again)

[drauch]

Yeah, I actually bought the Phillip K. Dick Valis book the other week, speaking of the name, that is I still need to get Annet Futatabi! It's actually part of the Earnest Evans series, which El Viento is part of--and they rule! I bought Earnest Evans on the MegaCD last year. It's a pretty cool game. It's got some weird animations in it, but I probably like El Viento a bit better since it's super frantic and you play as a cutey.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Some of the really interesting shmup Hu-Cards out there are:

NEC's own Download (the Engrish cursing is just hilarious...this is one PCE title that would've been cleaned up/sanitized for release Stateside).

Data East's OverRide (another cool shmup title with an arcadey feel despite being an original shmup title)

Soldier Blade (the 2nd one in the Star Soldier series for the PCE platform -- if an Super CD-Rom2 version was made, expect some beautiful cut scenes and more detailed lush hand-drawn sprites + redbook audio BGM to chill to)

Hyper Dyne Sidearms (this is only a 1P version of the famous 2 player co-op arcade PCB iteration but still retains the major gist of it in spades)

R-Type (was regarded as the port ever until the PSX port of R-Types was released...the US Hu-Card version sports the entire R-Type game on a single Hu-Card whereas on the PCE platform, it was split into two seperate Hu-Cards for the entire game because of smaller memory chips used in manufacturing the game itself)

Believe it or not, it was possible to buy Turbografx-16 & Turbo Duo games at the local Toys-R-Us, Babbages', Electronics Boutique, Montgomery Ward's, The Good Guys!, etc. back in the late '80s and into the early '90s. For some strange reason, I never did see such TG-16 nor Duo gaming merchandise sold at the local Software Etc. joint thoughout the early 1990s.

The holy grail of TTI Hu-Cards is the one & only Magical Chase that TTI released in limited quanities Stateside in early 1994. I recall seeing my local Toys-R-Us getting a few copies of it in and selling them brand new for a mere $19.99 USD back in the day. Made the mistake of dismissing it as a little kid's shmup title & passed up on the opportunity to buy it new from the TRU store (but found out that it was a serious shmup title worth owning/playing later on). It fetches in the neighborhood of $1,400-$1,500 USD if in pristine & complete condition nowdays. Of course, the JPN region Hu-Card of MC can be had for a mere $140.00+ USD or thereabouts these days. Sure, the Southern California based Turbo Zone Direct sold brand copies of MC for $39.99 USD back in 1994 & into 1995 -- so most folks that scored a copy of MC managed to get their copy from TZD indeed. TTI made a deal with TZD to acquire all of their unsold TG-16 & Duo hardware/software and for them to sell it to the general public in 1995.

When U.S. retailers first got word that TTI wasn't going to be releasing the newfangled NEC 32-bit powered PC-FX console to the USA, they quickly decided to dump all their remaining TG-16/Duo wares at rock bottom prices in early January of 1994. Thus this was the start of the slow demise of TTI to shut down for good. So yes, it was possible to score a new Turbo Duo or even a new Turbo Express for a mere $99.99 USD during that time -- but you had to act fast to scoop up those crazy cheap-ass deals.

Even The Good Guys! had a special TG-16/Duo software blowout sale where all the games including both Hu-Cards + CD-Rom2 & Super CD-Rom2 gaming titles were all priced at five bucks a pop instead of their usual going MSRP rate! They were practically giving them away at that price. So it was possible to buy $1,000+ of TG-16/Duo software and end up paying a fraction of their total real worth -- talk about mere pennies on the dollar.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Jeneki]

There are three Ranma 1/2 games on the PC-Engine. One is more of a sidescrolling beatemup where boss fights are the major characters, one is more like a graphic novel where you progress a typical Ranma plotline (lots of japanese text in this one), and one is more of a 1-on-1 fighter with special moves (also had a hidden card game).

The last one is the most enjoyable to me, at least for single player where you unlock more special moves as you progress in the game. It has really bad balance in the pvp mode since Ranma can spam the totally broken final attack at will (imagine someone spamming an unblockable shoryuken with priority over everything).

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Hudson Soft's PCE Hu-Card release of Bomberman '94 is ace to play with four of your pals...makes for some really heated matches, especially on the High Speed Field stage. Throw in some CPU players into the mix and watch them go nuts. The addition of the kangaroos really spices up the gameplay even further compared to the PCE BM '93 port. The MD/Genny release of Mega Bomberman is based on BM '94 gaming engine (but only has support for up to four players max but is the same game nevertheless).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Drum]

Not strictly on-topic, but does anybody know if Gomola Speed is well-emulated on Magic Engine? I'm getting some heavy slowdown. The game is fantastic beyond that. How did I not know this game existed?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ZW0hXtGw8

[BIL]

I first played it in Ootake and can't remember any slowdown issues, in case ME proves problematic. Neat game. *Nice* music.

[louisg]

Gomola Speed seems really cool, but I could never manage to do anything in it. I'd like to see a video of it being played well.

If you wanna talk about under-the-radar PCE games including HuCards, there are quite a few good ones. I'd recommend...

- Splash Lake (kind of like Dig Dug 2)
- Metal Stoker (awesome, awesome futuristic tank game. solid.)
- I see someone's already mentioned OverRide. Too bad the eBayers seem to have discovered it too (ugh)
- Son Son 2, which is a Black Tiger style game (I think some of the same people worked on it). It's initially very hard, but becomes really playable once you figure out how to choose good items in the shop. Oh, and don't collect the skulls! I guess this one isn't so uncommon in PCE circles because I do see it come up a fair amount

And... some more stuff to try:
- Dynastic Hero, which seems like a great version of the Genesis game Wonderboy IV. I haven't played it as much as the Genesis version, but the CD soundtrack is exceptional and the gameplay/graphics seem identical to the original.
- Recently, I started playing the Jackie Chan game and was surprised at how well done it is! It's another one I can't 100% recommend since I haven't played through it all the way, but it seems really good. BTW if anyone has a copy of this and wants to part with it, lemme know

[BIL]

I was on a major Metal Stoker kick a few months back! Cool tank game - the corridor strafing and maze navigation bits are good, but it's at its best during the all-out boss battles (like that later one that pins you against a far wall and blasts away at point-blank with its lasers).

[Ganelon]

Glad folks are calling Metal Stoker a tank game. For folks who read elsewhere that Metal Stoker is a tank shooter and are expecting something similar to Guardian Force, make sure you perform due diligence. There seems to be a video now that shows the actual game mechanics but years back, there was little info on the game besides that it was supposedly a shmup featuring a tank. I eventually bought Metal Stoker under that assumption. However, the game is actually a Granada clone that probably plays more like Gauntlet than a typical shooter. I was horribly disappointed but I'm sure Granada and overhead run 'n gun fans would be thrilled.

[Matskat]

SAID SOME STUFF
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I was wondering when you'd pop in!?

This thread makes me want to invest. So the consensus is TurboDuo-R w/ Super CD add on?
What about the "breifcase" with the core and the cd deal?

What's the best all in one package to hunt for?

OPINIONS NOW!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

SAID SOME STUFF
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I was wondering when you'd pop in!?

This thread makes me want to invest. So the consensus is TurboDuo-R w/ Super CD add on?
What about the "breifcase" with the core and the cd deal?

What's the best all in one package to hunt for?

OPINIONS NOW!

It's the latter variant PC Engine Duo RX console that you'd want. It's cool to play/own a TTI Turbo Duo setup but it requires a Hu-Card convertor or Kisado convertor for them Japanese Hu-Cards (unless it's been further region modded for dual compatibility with both JPN & USA Hu-Cards). The TD console has no problems running the JPN region CD-Rom2, Super CD-Rom2 games & Arcade CD-Rom2 based games (provided that you have an optional NEC "Arcade Card Duo" upgrade = gives the console an additional 16MB boost of RAM)...this Arcade Card Duo upgrade would apply to the 1st-gen PC Engine Duo console as well. If you use the traditional PC Engine Core console with the CD-Rom2 Interface briefcase setup, then you'd need to pick up an NEC "Arcade Card Pro" if you want to play all three CD-Rom formats with ease (it has a whopping 16MB of RAM + 2MB extra for the CD-Rom drive). It's needed if you want to play the only Arcade CD-Rom2 shmup title of "Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire" on a PCE/Turbo Duo setup.

The 2MB of backup RAM in either a PCE Duo or Turbo Duo console really isn't that much if you've got plently of Hu-Cards and PCE or TTI Duo CDs lying around. So it's generally recommended to pick up an NEC Tennokoe Bank Rom-Ram Hu-Card with it's whopping 8MB of data storage space. If you pick an optional NEC "Memory Base 128" unit, it interfaces between the controller input of any PCE console and said gaming controller -- saves game saves with a pair of double "AA" batteries and you're good to go.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Engine-Memor ... 53eb402c21

Note: It's techincally feasible to use an Memory Base 128 unit with an TG-16 console but you'd have to use a reverse Duo to TG-16 controller adapter to pull it off (& still be able to use a Duo controller with it as well).

TTI never sold either Tennokoe Rom-Ram Hu-Card nor the Memory Base 128 unit for the U.S. market (but NEC did sell the Turbo Booster Plus add-on accessory with built-in game saving functionality though for use with the TurboGrafx-16 console...just had to recharge the capacitor every two weeks or so to keep the TG-16 game saves from vanishing).

If you go with a PC Engine Core console, you can use an optional NEC Tennokoe 2 add-on as well for your game saves (it's useable with an SuperGrafx console as well).

I'd recommend picking up an Hori PC Fighting Stick...with a solid & hefty metal base, it won't budge around during a heated shmup session. It's ace for PCE shmups indeed. If you want a budget TG-16 arcade stick, the NEC Turbo Stick ain't too shabby...just would need an TG-16 to Duo controller adapter and you're good to go in that department. TTI never did release an color matching Duo schemed Turbo Stick for the Duo console though (although it would've been nice...basically a Turbo Stick with Duo graphics and an appropiate Duo controller interface).

The NEC Avenue Pad 6 has built-in adjustable auto-fire + slow-motion functionality on the fly if it needed be + sports six seperate action buttons. Plus you can use it with either the JPN or USA versions of Super CD-Rom2 Forgotten Worlds with the proper three button functionality (compared to using a traditional two-button scheme PCE pad setup). Of course, NEC did release the Avenue Pad 3 with the highly touted third button for use with some PCE games that did take advantage of it (including the bundled SCD FW game with an Avenue Pad 3 controller). TTI never did sell nor distribute either of NEC's Avenue Pad 3 or Avenue Pad 6 controllers stateside.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[louisg]

Glad folks are calling Metal Stoker a tank game. For folks who read elsewhere that Metal Stoker is a tank shooter and are expecting something similar to Guardian Force, make sure you perform due diligence. There seems to be a video now that shows the actual game mechanics but years back, there was little info on the game besides that it was supposedly a shmup featuring a tank. I eventually bought Metal Stoker under that assumption. However, the game is actually a Granada clone that probably plays more like Gauntlet than a typical shooter. I was horribly disappointed but I'm sure Granada and overhead run 'n gun fans would be thrilled.

Yeah, it's definitely not in the vein of Guardian Force. I can't really say it's like Granada either just because it tends towards smaller and more linear areas-- I think a lot of of Granada is learning a good route for a level, and this is more or less missing from Metal Stoker. M.S. *does* have a bit more of an emphasis on dodging shot patterns, and indeed some of the boss patterns are very shmup-like. But I felt like Metal Stoker was at its best when you had base-infiltration stages like st1.

[CIT]

This thread makes me want to invest. So the consensus is TurboDuo-R w/ Super CD add on?
What about the "breifcase" with the core and the cd deal?

What's the best all in one package to hunt for?

OPINIONS NOW!

Get a Japanese Duo, Duo-R or Duo-RX.

Those are the most hassle-free entry point into the system's library. An RGB-mod is definitely recommended IMO.

You'll be able to play all Japanese HuCards, all region CD-Roms, and all region Super CD-Roms out of the box (so no Super CD add on needed), which amounts to about 95% of the PCE catalogue and most of the top-tier titles.

Here's what you'd need to play the remaining 5%:

12 Arcade CD-Rom games (like Sapphire, Strider, etc.) -> get an Arcade Card DUO
5 SuperGrafx games (like Aldynes, 1941, Ghouls 'N Ghosts, etc.) -> get a SuperGrafx
12 LD-Rom games (like Vajra, Vajra 2, etc.) -> get a Pioneer LaserActive with NEC Pac
12 US-exclusive HuCards (like Order Of The Griffon, Darkwing Duck, etc.) -> get a TurboGrafx16

The "suitcase" setup is really cool from a design viewpoint and as a collector's item, but it's usually more expensive and the hardware is less reliable as one of the gears for the laser tends to break (although replacements are available).

[Skykid]

The "suitcase" setup is really cool from a design viewpoint and as a collector's item, but it's usually more expensive and the hardware is less reliable as one of the gears for the laser tends to break (although replacements are available).

I know that gear, it goes brittle and crumbles right? I have a slightly different problem with my PCE CDrom2 unit: the gear sticks. If it's out of use for 24 hrs I need to open it and apply a tiny bit of pressure to manually turn the gear and then it all runs smoothly thereafter. I usually leave only a couple of screws in the base so I can do this if it hasn't been used in a while (takes about 1 minute.)

It's hardly a big prob but it's a weird one. I'm curious if anyone has had a similar issue and knows of a fix or where to apply a little grease (it's all quite delicate in there.)

[Kiken]

R-Type (was regarded as the port ever until the PSX port of R-Types was released...the US Hu-Card version sports the entire R-Type game on a single Hu-Card whereas on the PCE platform, it was split into two seperate Hu-Cards for the entire game because of smaller memory chips used in manufacturing the game itself)

Which is why Japan later got R-Type Complete for the Super-CD.

I do too, but I think what made the PCE CD so fantastic is that it was made before FMV was a big deal. It had no built-in support for it, so none of that garbage came out for that system.

Not true at all. Both It Came From The Desert and Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective were released on the console.

[louisg]

louisg wrote:
I do too, but I think what made the PCE CD so fantastic is that it was made before FMV was a big deal. It had no built-in support for it, so none of that garbage came out for that system.


Not true at all. Both It Came From The Desert and Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective were released on the console.

OK, OK, *some* of that garbage came out for it But, not much. Those two titles actually used clever hacks to get video to work on the PCE. It didn't have the capabilities of the Sega CD which made full-screen video possible. I think what Sherlock did on PCE was load low-color tiles in as fast as possible, and animate it that way. I also found an It Came From the Desert YouTube video where someone purporting to be one of the authors was talking about the tricks they had to do to get that to work.

Bottom line: PCE CD wasn't designed to do video stuff, so more often than not, you got bigger badder versions of *good* games instead!

[Kiken]

OK, OK, *some* of that garbage came out for it But, not much. Those two titles actually used clever hacks to get video to work on the PCE. It didn't have the capabilities of the Sega CD which made full-screen video possible. I think what Sherlock did on PCE was load low-color tiles in as fast as possible, and animate it that way. I also found an It Came From the Desert YouTube video where someone purporting to be one of the authors was talking about the tricks they had to do to get that to work.

Bottom line: PCE CD wasn't designed to do video stuff, so more often than not, you got bigger badder versions of *good* games instead!

It wasn't designed to stream video directly from the disc like the Mega/Sega CD could do, correct. And actually, it took quite a while for full-screen FMV to appear on the M-CD/S-CD (I think Tomcat Alley was the first to use the whole screen for FMV). The Neo-CD couldn't stream video data directly from the disc either.

[louisg]

It wasn't designed to stream video directly from the disc like the Mega/Sega CD could do, correct. And actually, it took quite a while for full-screen FMV to appear on the M-CD/S-CD (I think Tomcat Alley was the first to use the whole screen for FMV). The Neo-CD couldn't stream video data directly from the disc either.

Right. I'm not sure exactly what's being argued here, but I do remember the Sega CD's big selling point being games like Cobra Command and Sewer Shark (which were both available at launch, AFAIR). I think the Sega CD had some kind of video codec support (in software?) and I somehow remember a lot of games with huge compressed chunks flying around, looking almost like ANSI graphics

[shmuppyLove]

R-Type (was regarded as the port ever until the PSX port of R-Types was released...the US Hu-Card version sports the entire R-Type game on a single Hu-Card whereas on the PCE platform, it was split into two seperate Hu-Cards for the entire game because of smaller memory chips used in manufacturing the game itself)
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I was shocked at how good R-Types was when I popped it in not too long ago. It's friggen spot on.

[Jeneki]

Japan later got R-Type Complete for the Super-CD.

Yea, I love that version. Sure it's not as arcade accurate at R-Types on PS1, but it has that super cheesy tacked on plot. I laugh my hind end off every time I watch those sequences, oh my god the over dramatic setup. Especially the stage 7 one, because what R-Type really needed was ... (withholding spoiler). LOL.

[Drum]

I first played it in Ootake and can't remember any slowdown issues, in case ME proves problematic. Neat game. *Nice* music.

Yeah, Ootake is fine for me. I wonder if it's my setup or me being dumb, I've seen vids on yt that were recorded on Magic Engine with no problems.

Bumping to say thanks for the tip (where are my manners?). I'm really loving the game. I only have a couple of issues: Breaking up from being hit in the tail and having to collect your stray pieces is too cruel a punishment, and it would have been nice to have a longer tail to make circling multiple enemies less fussy. Oh, and I think scoring is broken (I haven't really put it to the test). But in most other respects its the game I always wanted and always knew UPL had in them. Was this their last game? And what happened to the staff afterwards?
I haven't played a lot of PC Engine stuff and I'm sorry I skipped the system. Ton of cool/interesting games for it. Mesopotamia is boss.
Now I gotta try Rayxanber III.