/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.1059926]

>Order old Famicom game from Japan
>due to either translational or clerical error, be sent this instead.

Whelp, looks like the Game Gods have decided that I am meant to start collecting PC Engine CD stuff.

First order of business is to import a PC Engine DUO-R, as I heard the components in these are more durable than the typical PC Engine/CD console combos. Is this true? Any particular pitfalls I should look for to avoid?

What's the ideal setup for playing PCE + CD games from Japan?

[Anonymous No.1059940]

It's true plus they're more compatible. I'd love to have one and should probably buy one while they can still be had at a half way reasonable price. I'm torn between that or an MSX2 though.

[Anonymous No.1059951]

>>1059926
I'm sorry that your wallet has been cursed by the Game Gods.

The only major pitfall I know of is the fact that just about every NEC console seems to need a cap replacement by now. This is especially a problem with the PC Engine/Turbo Duo/CD because the save files are kept up by a big-ass capacitor (although I've heard that one is less likely to go that the other caps).

[Anonymous No.1059958]

>>1059951

I've never replaced capacitors in a came console, but I've done it with televisions. Is it pretty much the same procedure?

If I need to replace some caps in an NEC console are they off the shelf radio shack parts or is it some sort of insane proprietary component?

[Anonymous No.1059981]

>>1059958
I've got a PC Engine Duo waiting on a cap replacement myself. From what I've seen, they aren't proprietary, but they're not all common parts. If you get one and, it needs a cap replacement, there are some sites that will sell you a full set. I've been thinking of going that route. There doesn't seem to be an economical way to get all the variety needed without buying in bulk and ending up with 100 of everything.

[Anonymous No.1059997]

My model 1 Sega CD needs so many of those lottle surface mount caps... So many. I just ended up refurbing my X'Eye instead.

I'm betting that the difference between a PC-CDROM and a Turbo Duo is very parallel to the difference between Sega CDs and the X'Eye/CDX - significant.

[Anonymous No.1060016]

So are there any must-have games for the PC Engine DUO?

I'm assuming that the Sailor Moon thing I got sent isn't going to be terribly exciting, though it's neat to have a 20yo unplayed disc game (this thing still has the reg card in it and the disc had that new "squeak" when I pulled it off the spindle)

When I was a kid, I never looked at the TurboDuo because it was way the fuck out of my price range. I remember the big games being Air Zonk and Loom. I had a TG16 but the CD unit was fuck-off expensive. The only kid I knew who owned one was a spoiled single child of banker parents.

[Anonymous No.1060018]

>>1059997
In terms of features, the main difference is all the CD games are region free on both, but the card games are not. Unless you want to buy a converter that costs as much as the already ridiculously expensive system, you'll need to pick based on if you'd rather have the ability to play US or JP card-based games.

[Anonymous No.1060082]

Out of curiosity, where did you order from?

[Anonymous No.1060107]

i opted for the more expensive Turbo Grafx 16 + turbo cd setup. getting a duo either ntsc or jap would be wise.

the games are pretty fun but you have to be pretty cutthroat to get them for a decent price.

[Anonymous No.1060114]

>>1059951
It's true that most PCE models suffer from capacitor problems, however the PC Engine Duo-R and Duo-RX(NOT the original Duo) have massively superior caps.

OP, I recommend you get a Duo-R. They aren't cheap, but they are very reliable.

[Anonymous No.1060125]

>>1059926
If you want to start collecting, make sure you also pick up a Ten no Koe Bank Card. They are VERY cheap,($5 range) and allow you to store 8000 kB of save data.(while a CD-system holds 2000 kB) You can't run saves from the Ten no Koe directly though, you have to swap them around.

[Anonymous No.1060145]

>>1060016
For the CD system, rondo of blood and Ys 1 & 2. The bomberman games are also good.

[Anonymous No.1060147]

I remember reading that the later revisions/two-in-ones of the PC-Engine/CD have inferior sound quality, much like the Genesis situation.

Can anybody confirm or deny this?

[Anonymous No.1060164]

>>1060147
Well, Air Zonk sounds just as awesome on my Duo-R as on my Coregrafx, so if it's chip sounds I haven't noticed anything. As for CD tracks, capacitor problems can make volume go down(while chip sounds stay normal) or completely mute CD tracks.

[Anonymous No.1060173]

>>1060082

I didn't order directly from a business, it was a friend-of-a-friend who owns a used game store sort of situation. I don't really care that my order got messed up, I see it as a good excuse to delve into the PC Engine collecting. I have tons of Nintendo/Sega stuff, but I never got farther into the NEC stuff than the TG16 I had as a kid. Game Gods have spoken, so I must start buying.

[Anonymous No.1060176]

>>1060173
I love that attitude. I was mostly asking because I'm thinking a little of starting my own game collection so I figured I'll do some research in case I actually go with my idea.

[Anonymous No.1060178]

>>1060147

The problem is that I've read just the opposite; that the earlier DUO versions have a lot of quality issues and that the later revisions are more desirable because they are constructed of better components

[Anonymous No.1060182]

>>1060178
Oh, I guess I just meant that I heard Duos in general had lower audio quality than the PCE+CD as separate devices working in tandem. But what you say is interesting. I guess I'll look into these later models then.

[Anonymous No.1060192]

>>1060164
How much did you pay for your Duo-R?
These things are crazy expensive from what I'm seeing.

[Anonymous No.1060208]

>>1059926
Damn lucky. I've had trouble just finding a rom set for anything PC## etc.

Also every Sailormoon game I've played has been really good when you would think it would be anything else but good.

[Anonymous No.1060215]

i have a pc engine duo-r i been tryin to get rid of for a while now.
a lot od cd back ups, some original copys too (hot blooded soccer, shadow of the beast, tenchi muyo...) and some hu cards (dragon spirit, fire pro wrestling 2 and 3...
i'll sell you mine for 250$
im in arkansas (moved from L.A., beside the point)
[e-mail]

[Anonymous No.1060212]

>>1060016
Here's a few of my favorites:

Must-have:
Akumajou Dracula X Chi no Rondo(SCD)(Rondo of Blood, can be very expensive)
Air Zonk/PC Denjin(HuCARD)
Seirei Senshi Spriggan(CD)
Bomberman '94(HuCARD)
Bonk's Adventure/PC Genjin(HuCARD)
Ys Book 1 & 2(CD)(Get the US version for this one. It has fantastic voice-acting and isn't too expensive)

Very good:
Gradius II(SCD)
Bonk's Revenge/PC Genjin 2(HuCARD)
Ys IV(SCD)(Japan-only. Burn yourself a copy with the english patch, plus english dubs if you want)

There are many more, if you really want to get into PC Engine stuff prepare to dive into the more obscure stuff, a lot of hidden gems to be found here.

>>1060192
I got one with a HuCARD region switch, RGB mod and a replaced lazer. Set me back $200, but worth every damn penny.

[Anonymous No.1060218]

>>1060182

From what I understand, NEC had the same issues that plagued Sega. Namely, bios and storage.

The research I've done seems to indicate that buying a DUO unit is superior to buying the console and CD units separately because tracking down the cards and software needed to play certain things can be a costly pain, whereas these things are built in to the duo units. The later Japanese duo units are mechanically superior to the american release of the Turbo Duo, and although the card games are region locked, the CD games are not.

Therefore, the best solution seems to be a late-model Japanese DUO for all the CD games and Japanese card games, and then an american TG16 to play the american card games. If you have those two consoles, you should be good on NEC things

[Anonymous No.1060221]

>>1060218
or just mod your pc engine duo to play US hucards
it can be done

[Anonymous No.1060225]

>>1060218
Ah okay, that clears things up. I've still got my old TG-16 working flawlessly, so it's time to start saving for a Japanese Duo.

I was tempted to settle on a Core Grafx II just for the Japanese HuCards, but I suppose there are enough CD games to warrant a Duo investment.

[Anonymous No.1060231]

>>1060221
easier to mod a tg16 to play japanese hucards.

pc engine lack region protection outside of some pins moved around while the turbo grafx has a legit region lock on it.

so by switching some pins you can play jap hucards but the opposite is not true and requires alot more work.

[Anonymous No.1060239]

>>1059926
Thought that was Sexy Parodius from the thumbnail, I was just about to tell you what a lucky piece of shit you were.

What FC game did you mean to order?

[Anonymous No.1060240]

Here's a rundown of models:

PC-Engine(white): RF only. don't get this unless you plan on using a CD add-ons.

Coregrafx I/II: AV out. Best model if you plan on using HuCARDs only, also works with CD add-ons.

Supergrafx: AV out, capable of playing 5 exclusive games. Not worth the very high price.

Shuttle: AV out. Very expensive and completely incompatible with CD add-ons. Don't get this.

Suitcase CD add-on: Looks really cool, but often gets broken gears. Also yellows very quickly.

Super CD-ROM: Supports SCD without system cards. Better than the suitcase, but suffers from capacitor problems.

Duo: One of the cheaper models, supports SCD games without a system card. Very good if you are willing to replace the capacitors.

Duo-R: The best model, but is quite expensive. Very reliable, since it has much better internal hardware.

Duo-RX: Same as Duo-R, but even more expensive.

[Anonymous No.1060251]

>>1060240
Oh, I forgot 2 more:

PCE GT: Portable Gameboy-sized HuCARD player, kind of like the Sega Nomad. Has capacitor problems and runs batteries dry in no time, but still pretty cool.

PCE LT: Very rare and amazing portable HuCARD player which kind of looks like the GBA SP. Has one of the best screens in existance, but expect extremely high prices for this one.

[Anonymous No.1060250]

>>1060239

I actually meant to order the famicom SMB3, but I consider this to be a fortunate mistake as it has sent me down the road of PCE-CD collecting and I've always neglected the NEC consoles. As I said in OP post, Game Gods and whatnot. It's fun to go down untraversed roads regarding console collecting

[Anonymous No.1060257]

>>1060251
Also, the LT is compatible with the suitcase, which means you could play any CD game on it. It isn't very portable like this though, but does have a controller port.

[Anonymous No.1060263]

>>1060240
>>1060251
>>1060257
God I am glad I'm not trying to get into PC-E myslef aside from emulation. That's kind of complicated. Seems like it's an expensive console/computer to pursuit too.

[Anonymous No.1060276]

>>1060263
A Coregrafx will set you back about $40-50, while the white RF-only model goes for lower. It's pretty expensive to collect for, but if you limit yourself to HuCARDs it's pretty easy to get a sizeable collection without it costing thousands of dollars.

[Anonymous No.1060298]

>>1060251

>PCE_LT

Yeah as I said in >>1060016
The only kid I knew who had a TurboCD was spoiled as fuck. He also had a Turbo Express. My god it was amazing for the time: a portable home console!

[Anonymous No.1060887]

>>1059940
what? what do you mean "more compatible"

the various CD combos can play anything provided you have the correct system card.

Duo-R/X is the best way to go. be prepared to maybe have to replace caps in case the audio skips.

the save files are handled by a capacitor which holds a charge while the system is powered off/unplugged.

most of the desirable software never made it over from JP. you're better off getting a Duo-R/X console as mentioned previously and mod it with a region switch for hucards. Can play everything with no problems (except for ArcadeCD games which require the expansion card).

[Anonymous No.1061591]

>>1060276
Or just get an Everdrive and set it to PC Engine mode.

[Anonymous No.1062120]

>>1060240
I think whenever I get around to collecting PC Engine stuff, I'll go with CoreGrafx-II + Super CD-ROM

[Anonymous No.1062957]

>>1061591
You mean an Everdrive can run from a standard American TG16 and play PCE games without a hitch?

[Anonymous No.1062968]

>>1062957
Yup. The TG-16/PCE is region-locked by swapping 4 pins around, the Turbo Everdrive supports both the PCE pinout as well as the TG-16 pinout. There are no internal lockout chips on the TG-16.

The PC Engine however does have internal lockout which makes it harder to run TG-16 chips on than vice versa. Apparently they did this because they were afraid TG-16 chips would enter the Asian market and sour perception of the system/games.(not kidding, this was NEC's response)

The Turbo Everdrive also supports PCE mode to circumvent that though.

[Anonymous No.1063001]

>>1062120
Not a bad choice. The Coregrafx II was made to go with the SCD-ROM. Very important: See that jumper cable on the left in this image? That's to allow power from the SCD to also feed the Coregrafx. Make sure it's included if you buy one, because they are nearly impossible to find loose.

[Anonymous No.1063002]

>>1062968
Holy shit, I had no idea it could do that. Maybe I'll hold out on buying a Core Grafx after all.

>they were afraid TG-16 chips would enter the Asian market and sour perception of the system/games
That's really bizarre. I can't even think of any western games for the thing. But wait, does that mean the early PCE models aren't locked? I mean, there was no TG yet to be afraid of.

[Anonymous No.1063009]

>>1063002
As far as I know, all PCE units have this lockout. They were planning to enter the American market like the Famicom did(with immense success, like we all know) but they also knew they would have to censor, rename titles or otherwise change cultural references like Nintendo did. The souring perception thing was their official response, but there was probably a more important reason: TG-16 games were cheaper than PCE games. They didn't want an import market to get going in Japan, which in America wouldn't really be a problem since PCE cards were more expensive anyway.

Kind of reminds me of the 3DS lockout...