Turbografx or PC Engine?

[AppleQueso]

I'm kinda interested in these, and am considering buying one of them at some point. I'm not sure which would be a better investment though. I know that playing imports on the TurboGrafx is easier than playing US releases on a PC Engine, but if I'm going to end up playing mostly imports anyways, I wonder if the PC Engine might be a better choice in the long run?

So yeah, basically I'm wanting to know a few things:
I'm mainly into platformers, run-n-gun, arcade style gameplay, etc. I'm not really into shmups much though and I have other systems for RPGs... Will either system be worth it for me?
I'm interested in the CD add-on mainly for Castlevania. What else is on CD that makes it worthwhile?
Are there any notable US HuCard/Turbochip releases that didn't get a Japanese release? Or games that are significantly more playable in their US forms?

I think ultimately what I'm looking at is cost-effectiveness. Keep in mind I don't plan to buy one of these right away, but I could see myself going for one down the line (a few months to a year or so from now at most). Any suggestions or advice?

[eskil]

I'm not an expert on this system, but I found this site a while ago and figured it might come in handy… have a quick read through if you want. http://www.multimods.com/

[AppleQueso]

I'm not an expert on this system, but I found this site a while ago and figured it might come in handy… have a quick read through if you want. http://www.multimods.com/

Is that region mod PCB even available anymore? That site looks pretty old...

[Hobie-wan]

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... engine+buy
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... engine+buy
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... engine+buy

etc...

[BoneSnapDeez]

Haha there's been a lot of threads like this lately.

I have an American TurboGrafx-16 and a Japanese PC Engine Duo. I use the American TurboGrafx solely for American HuCards, and the PC Engine Duo for Japanese HuCards and Japanese and American CD games (no region protection on the CD games).

As you probably already know, the American Turbo CD add-on and Turbo Duo are incredibly expensive.

[AppleQueso]

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... engine+buy
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... engine+buy
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... engine+buy

etc...

How did I miss these anyway?

Haha there's been a lot of threads like this lately.

I have an American TurboGrafx-16 and a Japanese PC Engine Duo. I use the American TurboGrafx solely for American HuCards, and the PC Engine Duo for Japanese HuCards and Japanese and American CD games (no region protection on the CD games).

As you probably already know, the American Turbo CD add-on and Turbo Duo are incredibly expensive.

That sounds like the best solution, probably.

[ZenErik]

There are also those that mod PC Engine Duo R and RX systems with a switch to accept both US and Japanese hucards. I had one for a short while.

[ApolloBoy]

Just get a PC Engine and skip the TG-16 entirely. In general the PC Engine is cheaper to collect for than the TurboGrafx and it also has a much larger library filled with great games that were never brought over to the US. There are a few TG-16 exclusives but almost all of them aren't really worth the time.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I am a bit tempted to agree with ApolloBoy. You will be able to get by with just the PC Engine Duo. Keep in mind you'll only be able to play Japanese HuCards, but most text-heavy games were CD games and the PC Engine Duo will play North American versions. It's up to you, I got both because I'm a bit of console collector/hoarder.

So yeah, basically I'm wanting to know a few things:
I'm mainly into platformers, run-n-gun, arcade style gameplay, etc. I'm not really into shmups much though and I have other systems for RPGs... Will either system be worth it for me?
I'm interested in the CD add-on mainly for Castlevania. What else is on CD that makes it worthwhile?
Are there any notable US HuCard/Turbochip releases that didn't get a Japanese release? Or games that are significantly more playable in their US forms?

In general, it seems like most of my HuCards are action/platformer while most of my CD games are RPGs. Shmups seem to be represented across both the card and CD format, though I'm certainly not the authority on that genre.

Though you say you have other systems for RPGs, I would recommend checking out the ones made for Turbo CD. It's a small but solid library, similar to Sega CD. I'd highly recommend the Ys games for starters.

There are very few North American exclusives that are worth playing. In fact, of all the 1990s consoles the TurboGrafx and NeoGeo feel the "most Japanese", meaning that there's barely any western-developed games (this is a good thing, think of all the movie licensed crap on SNES/Genesis). Off the top of my head the only North America exclusives I can think of are some sports games. Not bad games, but not essential of course. This is why ApolloBoy is telling you just to get PC Engine Duo (at least to start out with).

Here's a pretty good site about the "best" games on the system (card and CD). I'm in agreement with this dude, he has good taste:
http://www.fantasyanime.com/museum/tg16/index.htm
Here's some info about the fantastic CD RPGs:
http://www.fantasyanime.com/garden/cdrpgs_main.htm

[AppleQueso]

PC Engine it is I suppose. It looks cooler anyway. Is the regular one the smallest home console ever? Sure looks like it...

Thanks for those links Bone.

I'll probably try getting a a PC Engine Duo if I can find one for a good price, otherwise I may just get a vanilla one and buy the CD addon later.