Best TG16 Hardware Investment

Post by **Ivo** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:53 am

Can all of these systems be well emulated on the PC?
Just wondering.

Ivo.

Post by **ott0bot** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:57 am

NotBlaine wrote:Even with a Duo, you still may need to get the Arcade Card for certain games. Now, unfortunately the Arcade Card was never released stateside so you'll also need a Hu card adapter (which can be pricey as well). Remember if you get a Duo to get the Arcade Card Duo, not the Arcade Card Pro - the Pro was designed for non-duo systems and was/should be more expensive.

Bearing all that in mind, another option is to buy a Japanese Duo and perform a fairly simple mod so it'll accept US Hu cards as well.

It just becomes a question of how much you feel like crackin' open your Duo vs. paying for a Kisado adapter.

Then again... you can always steer clear of the Arcade Card games too.

I was considering this and the mod sounds pretty simple. Connect the 29 pin to a ground, but this troubles me:
"When you perform this mod, you will still be able to use both your Japanese HuCards, as well as US HuCards, although the US ones will still require an adaptor." What kind of adapter do you need in addition to the mod?

I know the Japanes library has so many more games, and if i were able to play the few US titles I have and on a more reliable unit that would be great.

Post by **marurun** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:49 am

In addition to US chip games having a region detect, which grounding pin 29 defeats, the US and JPN chip games have different pin-outs. So in addition to grounding the pin you also have to use an adapter or rig an internal mod that swaps the pins in the cartridge port so they line up with the swapped pins on the chip games. You can do it with an electronic switch or with a mechanical one, and though it's kinda a pain, it's not too bad. It's on par with installing a mod chip.

Also, the CD and Super CD units have a laser unit for which you can still buy replacements. They were a standard single-speed part. Further, US Duos and the dark JPN Duos (not R or RX) can develop leaky capacitors that kill your sound until you go in and replace them all. Now THAT'S a pain in the ass job.

Even though the US TG-16 w/CD and Super System Card w/ cart slot switch or adapter is probably the most flexible and potent option to play all TG16/PCE games, it's also one of the ugliest and since the TG-16 has a different controller slot from all the other systems it can be a pain to get controllers. JPN style controllers with the standard connector (even the US Duo switched to the JPN connector) are much easier to get.

Post by **Zer** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 2:19 pm

Ivo wrote:Can all of these systems be well emulated on the PC?
Just wondering.

Ivo.

Magic Engine emulates all TG16/CD/Super/Arcade games with not much inaccuracy, I think. And the other emulators aren't too bad either.

Post by **marurun** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:52 pm

Magic Engine is easy to use and has polish, but the sound emulation is quite poor. I prefer Ootake and Mednafen. Mednafen is as close to perfect as you are going to get in emulation and Ootake is close on its heels. The problem is that Mednafen is command-line only, though you can find some front ends and kludge them to allow you access to PCE/TG games. Ootake's interface can be annoying at times but is functional and easier to use than Mednafen.

Zer wrote:
Ivo wrote:Can all of these systems be well emulated on the PC?
Just wondering.

Ivo.
Magic Engine emulates all TG16/CD/Super/Arcade games with not much inaccuracy, I think. And the other emulators aren't too bad either.

Post by **Majors** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:41 pm

Isn't this a coincidence, I too am in the market for a PC Engine. I'm not to keen on the CD, just the Core. I play my HuCards way more than CD's. Haven't had too much luck, any leads? I'm wanting Core, Core II or even Shuttle. I can use a OG white one, since there is a A/V mod but looking at the other first.

Magic Engine is perfect for me, I'll have to try those other two just to see...er, hear the dif.

BTW, I have a lead on a Japanese Duo. Wish me luck!

Post by **marurun** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:57 pm

Play CD games with mixed PCM, ADPCM, and CD audio to see how Magic Engine really does mess up not only sound and sound quality but relative volume. Ootake and Mednafen get it perfect. Also, ME costs money and the others are free.

Post by **ZereoX** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:29 am

marurun- Do you have a Diagram of which Trace has to be change instead of buying a Hucard Adapter and maybe how to do it? So it can accept Japanese Games.

Post by **marurun** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:20 am

If you have a US system you don't need to cut and ground pin 29 on the CPU. Only US games have region code, meaning only Japanese systems need a mod to defeat the region code.

As for modding the HuCard slot, I have several links that should be helpful.

http://www.multimods.com/SlotMod1.html

http://web.archive.org/web/200512161852 ... D-Mod.html

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=4660.0

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=5227.0

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=5355.0

Post by **Majors** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:28 pm

Well, I just picked up a Jap Duo. $200 and included:

-Duo (duh)
-Power, video cable
-turbo tap for 5 players, 3 avenue 6 button controllers, 1 Hori pad, 1 Avenue 3 Button Pad
-Arcade Card
-Browning (SCD)
-Metamore Jupitor (CD)
-Kabuki Fighter (ACD)
-Record Of Lotus War (CD)

Added bonus: Batle Ace (loose), Ghouls'n Ghost, Granzort, JP SuperSystem Card 3.0 and JP System Card 1.0.