I love the TurboGrafx! It's actually my newest retro console, and I've really grown to enjoy it.
For years I wanted to get a TG16, but I never came across one that I felt good about the price. I was always planning on getting the North American version of the console, since that was the one I was use to seeing. But then the Super SD System 3 (SSDS3) was released. The SSDS3 plugs into the expansion port of a TG16 or PCE and does several things. It has a Genesis 2 style AV output that does RGB. You can insert a micro SD card and run HuCard games. You can even use the SD card to run CD games. It will store save game data, and also act as a System/Arcade Card. So it's like an RGB mod, flash cart and ODE all in one. With that, I decided to finally get a TG16, but instead of the NA version I would get a PCE. And specifically a black one. Just look at how awesome a black PCE with the SSDS3 looks...
And I love how small it is. I currently have limited space for my 13" PVM setup, and I love how I can turn the PCE sideways and just shove it between two consoles.
I guess I would be lying if I said Rondo of Blood wasn't a huge reason I became interested in the PCE in the first place. But I guess just having an affinity for retro gaming, I was always curious about an underdog console. In North America, it was the NES, SNES and Genesis that dominated those years. So the Master System and TurboGrafx were like, "Whoa, what are these!?!?!"
I feel like the TurboGrafx library has some solid gems, but only a fraction of the PCE and CD library were released in North America. But although there were a ton more games released for the PCE in Japan, when you dive blindly into the PCE library some of the games can be a tad weird. Still, there's plenty of gems.
I might have to credit the PCE with me finally getting into shmups. I never used to like shmups. Maybe I was finally coming around on them anyway, but it was on the PCE that I really started to enjoy them. Particularly Air Zonk. I know it's more of a cute em up, but I guess that's what drew me in. Being a shmup newb, bullet hell wasn't going to get me into the genre LOL. I'm not even a huge fan on cute em ups (some of them are so cute I wanna puke) but Air Zonk is just so damn charming. I love the sprites, I love the colors, and I love the music. It's the first shmup I ever cared to beat.
After enjoying Air Zonk so much, I naturally tried out other shmups for the console. Luckily, there's quite a few to choose from and many of them are great. I really like the R-Type port. I've made it to level 3, which is much further than I would have got in a shmup prior to owning the PCE. There's a handful of others that I thought were a lot of fun, but I hoped around between games pretty fast so I can't recall their names. Except Blazing Lasers, that one I remember being pretty awesome.
So even though the SSDS3 was what finally drove me to get a PCE, I didn't get one for a while after getting the PCE (they're expensive). So for about a year I owned the PCE with only a handful of games to get me by. For some reason, I decided to get Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. I told myself that I should because it was the NA pack in game, and it would be like experience the console if I got it back in the day. Well, Keith Courage is just an really bland game. A lot of people saying this choice for a pack in really hurt the console, and although we all know there's other reasons, I really agree. It should have been packaged with The Legendary Axe or Bonk's Adventure.
The Legendary Axe is a great example of the PCE. It has wonderful sprites, really nice colors, and great chip tunes. A lot of people like to compare it to Castlevania, and I think that's fair. You move at a slower walking speed, so I can see how people make the comparison. I think the sequel is even better. The level design and enemy attack patterns are definitely an improvement over the first game.
I love the controllers. It's basically an NES controller, but with turbo buttons! Some games use run or select as a third button, which can be a tad annoying. That's why I picked up the Avenue Pad 3 (gives you a third face button that you can set to run, select or off) but I'm usually too lazy to switch to it LOL. If I owned the console back in the day, I probably would have been pissed off that a multi tap is required for even 2-players, when the competitor consoles all had 2 controller ports. But it's not a big deal today, I picked up a multi tap along with the console.
Rondo of Blood... It's one of those games that has become so popular and talked about that people start to roll their eyes when it's brought up. But it really is a well made game. In terms of graphics, it's leaps and bounds from earlier games on the console. And Konami made good use of the CD format with a killer soundtrack. It's not my favorite Castlevania game, but there's no denying what a great game it is. It's definitely one of the best, if not THE best platformer on the console.
Hmm... Maybe I'll play a little Air Zonk or Legendary Axe this morning.