TurboGrafx 16 Questions??

[oxymoron]

I was considering buying a TurboGrafx. Could you guys fill me in on the system. Things like where online is a good place to buy games, Whats a good price for the system and games, what to look out for, Is it worth buying, etc. I have already read the article on the site but am looking for more of a personal outlook. Thanks.

[BoneSnapDeez]

If you're a young guy without too much disposable income (which I think you are?) this is a damn hard system to collect for.

Unless you live in a city where retro gaming is very popular, you're going to have a tough time finding TG16 stuff in the wild.

Online, the price of the system has risen considerably in the last few years. I generally see them go for over $60, but you can certainly get lucky on a cheaper auction.

Decent games are almost always more expensive than NES/Genesis/SNES titles, but still cheaper than Saturn and Neo Geo (obviously) games. Expect to pay at least $12 for a good complete game.

You will probably eventually want to play CD games too. Especially if you like RPGs. Now, as you may know the TG16 has a CD attachment called the Turbo CD. There's also an all-and-one unit called the Turbo Duo. The problem is that the North American versions of this hardware are shockingly expensive.

For this reason any people recommend doing this: simply buying a PC Engine Duo (Japanese Turbo Duo). At "only" about $200 this is much less expensive than its American counterpart. CD games are region-free so you'll be able to play American and Japanese games on the system. The problem comes with the cards (HuCards/TurboChips) as the PC Engine Duo will only play Japanese card games. Thankfully, these games typically contain little text and are generally cheaper than their American counterparts.

My current set-up is this:
American TurboGrafx-16 - for American card games
Japanese PC Engine Duo - for Japanese card games and American/Japanese CDs

The game library is phenomenal, but as I said it's not an "easy" system to collect for. If you've got the time and money go for it!

[Opa Opa]

^Don't people usually mod a Duo for JP/US HuCard support?

Yeah, you'll need to spend money to collect for this system. I suggest emulating the popular titles and seeing if you like the games before dropping any cash on hardware.

[marurun]

Japanese hardware is much more available and more affordable than US hardware. You can start with a PC Engine or Core Grafx unit and always add CD capabilities later if you want to do it piece by piece. JPN games tend to be more affordable, too.

[AppleQueso]

^Don't people usually mod a Duo for JP/US HuCard support?

It's a very involved mod.
http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/pce/region.htm

[Hobie-wan]

Indeed, my Duo RX was the most I've payed for a used system and I'd also say where I've bought more pricey games. I have purchased more expensive individual PS1 and Saturn games, but overall there have been more $40+ purchases for PCE/TG16

[oxymoron]

If you're a young guy without too much disposable income (which I think you are?) this is a damn hard system to collect for.

I'm still in high school.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Right, that's what I figured. That's why I said that.

[Jagosaurus]

They have pin converter adapter for allowing different regions cards but they're hard to come by.

Keep in mind if you get a stock US TG16, RF out only. You'll need a mod, Turbo Booster, or CD add on to get stereo or composite AV. Huge downfall IMO.

[fastbilly1]

The cheapest way to do it would be wait until someone on the site sells a Coregrafx bundle. It has Composite/RCA out, and plays the much cheaper PCE games. Despite owning both, I really only buy PCE games since the same game, even with shipping from Japan, is usually cheaper. But the TG16 is still used for Military Madness.