Alright, we’ve established on multiple occasions that the PC Engine and its American counterpart the TurboGrafx-16 (including its multiple add-ons and redesigns like the Turbo Duo, the CoreGrafx, etc.) were the greatest consoles ever released. Right?

Right?

Good. Glad you’re on board.

“But John,” you ask, “If these consoles were so good [which they were], why didn’t they ever receive a successor?” Well, my simple-minded friends, that would be a good question…if it wasn’t so absurdly stupid. You see, the PC Engine family of consoles did indeed receive a successor; at least in Japan. The heir to the NEC/Hudson console dynasty came in the form of the PC-FX, a machine that looked like a mini PC tower and consisted of a small library of games that were heavily inspired by anime and, in a few cases, hentai. In fact, this latter trait is one that is unfortunately most often associated with the console. Inevitably, when one brings up the PC-FX, it is immediately met with a response that goes something like, “The PC-FX? Isn’t that the console that had all those dating sims and nudie games?”

Okay, so there were a few of those. Maybe more than a few. Maybe if you had a stack of PC-FX games sitting in front of you and you randomly grabbed one, chances are the objective of that game would be to get a girl to take off her clothes and blow you. But here’s a tip: if you’re talking to a PC-FX aficionado, don’t lead with that subject. They tend to get a bit indignant.

Now that we’ve discussed the white elephant in the room, let’s get down to business. The PC-FX is an incredibly unique system with games unlike nearly any other console I’ve owned. The design of the unit is super-cool and I love having it around simply for it’s “neat-o!” factor.

But that’s just me and my opinion. Here are some facts:

1) The PC-FX was a 32-bit system released in late 1994, only in Japan.
2) It used only CD-ROMs, ditching the Hu-Cards from the PC Engine.
3) It had a six-button controller that looked like the PC Engine controller mated with that of the Saturn.
4) Instead of buying it as a full console, you could by a PC-FX card for your PC. Cool, eh?
5) The console was designed to be the ultimate 2D platform, resulting in it being severely underpowered when compared to the PlayStation and Saturn.
6) Just over sixty titles were released for the PC-FX

Those are the basic facts about the console itself. We should probably get down to talking about the games. (more…)

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SHOWNOTES

00:00-Show Intro
14:46-Drunk Dials
25:48-Mailbag
36:50-Dragon Quest IX Review (DS)
51:44-Retro Review: Side Arms (TG-16)
58:00-Feature Presentation: Interview with Hudson Entertainment’s Peter Dassenko-Producer – Bonk: Brink of Extinction
1:16:28-Five Things
1:32:25-The Last Shot
1:33:27-Show Close

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DGR: 07.18.2010

We all know the story of my old Turbo collection, right? I’ve told it so many times that it has to have gotten old by now. Well, I was perusing the PCEngineFX forums today when I stumbled upon this post showing a massive collection of Turbo games at the exact same store I sold my collection to many years ago. Now, I realize that dreaded event was over a decade ago, but one has to imagine that there are at least a few games left from my collection left in the stock, right? Check it out:

Could that be my boxed copy of Fighting Street? Are those my mint editions of Legendary Axe II and Impossimole? Is that the copy of Bloody Wolf that spent days warming up in my Turbo Duo? There’s really no way to tell, I suppose. But if you’re ever in North Hollywood, stop by and say hello for me just in case.

Game Dude
12104 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 764-2442
Open 7 Days A Week 11 am – 7 pm

It is not an overestimation to state that without the TurboGrafx-16 the Drunken Gamers would not exist. That alone is enough of a reason for it to be the greatest console I ever owned. But there’s so much more.

Forgive me if you’ve heard this one.

My parents divorced when I was eighteen months old. My Dad’s involvement in my young life was spotty at best. He moved around a lot and sometimes I’d go almost a year without seeing him. Our rare moments together were awkward, unfamiliar. Yet I cherished every one of them. I knew he wasn’t the best father, but he was my Dad and that’s all that mattered to me.

As I got older, his life seemed to settle down more and more until our visits gradually became more frequent. And it seemed that he came to realize what he had missed, and naturally he wanted to make up for that in any way that he could. Because my Dad’s not good with emotion or expressing himself through words, oftentimes his guilt manifested itself through gifts, sometimes of the extravagant variety. My Mom would come to dread my weekends away with Dad as inevitably I’d come back with some crazy gift like a set of paintball guns or a custom skateboard deck. You see, I grew up poor and my Mom knew she couldn’t match these expensive gifts. And while my Dad didn’t buy them for me to spite my Mom, there was a definite annoyance there.

The gift of the TurboGrafx-16 was apparently the last straw for my Mom. I had been begging for a game console for years as many of my friends owned an NES, but my Mom saw such a purchase as a frivolity in relation to our tiny budget. And while she gritted her teeth and congratulated me on my latest luxury gift from my Dad, I suspect something inside her said, “That’s the last time he one-ups me.”

Ah, the joys of a broken home…

As an aside, getting the TurboGrafx-16 was an accident. My Dad and I were at the store and he asked me to pick out my birthday gift. I had seen ads for both the Turbo and the Genesis, and while the Turbo looked pretty damn sweet, I had watched an in-depth special on the Genesis, showing footage from Altered Beast and Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing. So when my time came, I opted for the Genesis. However, my Dad balked when we got to the check-out line and discovered the hefty price tag of $199.99. He said, “Let’s get that other one instead”, meaning the TurboGrafx-16, which was selling for a measly $10 less. It was all fine by me; I just wanted a game console.

So back to the story…
(more…)

Welcome to the Turbolog, an ongoing series intended to educate Robot Panic readers about the Turbografx-16 and Turbo Duo library. In each entry, I’ll be giving brief information about a game in the Turbo library as well as the game’s rarity and my personal rating, both on a scale of 1-5. We’ll be working backwards alphabetically by title. If you’d like to read all the entries in the Turbolog, simply click the “Turbolog” tag below each article.

“THE SKINHEADS HAVE TAKEN MADONNA HOSTAGE.”

This is still one of the most hilarious opening scenes in video game history, and never has there been a better reason not to play a game. Nevertheless, Vigilante is a fun beat-em-up in the style of Kung-Fu on the NES. One of the first titles to appear on the Turbografx-16, Vigilante was an early showpiece for the system with colorful backgrounds and large, detailed characters. With great music and an awesomely cheesy 80s plot, it’s always fun to pop Vigilante in the Turbografx and beat down fools with chains and crowbars.

The one major downside to Vigilante is the lack of a multiplayer mode. What made old-school beat-em-ups great was the ability to team up with friends to save the day. Unfortunately, Vigilante was a solo affair – and a repetitive one at that – meaning it doesn’t rank very highly when stacked next to classic arcade brawlers like Double Dragon, Final Fight, or Streets of Rage. Nevertheless, don’t hesitate to pick this one up. But when you beat the game, just tell the Skinheads they can keep Madonna; the world will be a better place.

Rarity/Cost (1-5): ** A fairly common game, Vigilante can be found easily on eBay or at retro game shops for reasonable prices.

Rating (1-5): *** A good, cheesy, 80s brawler that doesn’t quite reach the heights of its contemporaries. Vigilante is repetitive and archaic by today’s standards, but is still worth a look.

Welcome to the Turbolog, an ongoing series intended to educate Robot Panic readers about the Turbografx-16 and Turbo Duo library. In each entry, I’ll be giving brief information about a game in the Turbo library as well as the game’s rarity and my personal rating, both on a scale of 1-5. We’ll be working backwards alphabetically by title. If you’d like to read all the entries in the Turbolog, simply click the “Turbolog” tag below each article.

Another unlicensed sports title in the Turbo library, World Class Baseball substitutes familiar Major League Baseball teams with the Bangkok Buddhas, Tokyo Ninjas, Chicago Winds, and the Rome Togas. Amusing, yes, but this was no R.B.I. Baseball, which featured recognizable stars like Andre Dawson and Mark McGwire. Nevertheless, the game itself was an above average representation of video game baseball in the late 80s. The Pennant Mode requires players to defeat all sixteen of the team’s leagues before getting to the elusive Turbo Tigers. Most curious is the Watch Mode, which is exactly as it sounds: players sit and watch the computer face off against itself. Thrilling!

World Class Baseball looked slightly better than many of its contemporaries, but lacked the pizazz of the more popular baseball titles of the day. Unfortunately, as it’s the only baseball title on the console, Turbo gamers weren’t left any choice if they wanted to go nine innings.

Rarity/Cost (1-5): * There’s a good chance your local retro game shop has a stack of World Class Baseball HuCards lying around. These things are everywhere, and you should never have to pay more than $5 for a copy.

Rating (1-5): ** World Class Baseball isn’t a bad game by any means. It just wasn’t that great in its day and hasn’t aged very well over time. But if you’re jonesing for a simple old-school baseball game, you could certainly do worse.

Good friend and frequent Robot Panic contributor Dale “Gruel” Kulas invited us to appear on his podcast, On Tap, to discuss my personal favorite subject, the TurboGrafx-16!

Here’s the episode description:

Ep #89 – 2-15-2009 – It has been awhile since On Tap has done a system flashback, and what better one to do than one for one of the oft-forgotten 16-bit platforms, the TurboGrafX-16. Dale is joined by Dick in this episode, and they brought three special guests – John, Moe and Hilden of Drunken Gamers Radio, who happen to be some of the biggest Turbo fans out there. The TurboGrafX history is analyzed, and there is much love and reminiscing over its classic game library. (57 min)

Listen to us slobber all over the Turbo, naming some of our favorite games and favorite memories. The audio file is right here

Takahashi Meijin and a Master Higgins shirt.

Being a devout Turbografx fanboy, I am naturally an admirer of Hudson’s Takahashi Meijin. The inspiration for Adventure Island’s protagonist Master Higgins, Takahashi is somewhat of a legend in Japanese gaming, famous not only for Adventure Island, but also for his uncanny gamings skill. In addition to being Hudson’s spokesperson, Takahashi is known for his ability to press a controller button sixteen times in one second. That’s right: 16 times.

What, that doesn’t impress you? You think you can do better? Well, chump, prove it with Hudson’s Shooting Watch.

Available from NCSX.com for just over $20, this little controller-like device will measure your shooting speed, allowing you to compare yourself to the master. After opening the package, I was eager to see how I stacked up. (more…)

Welcome to the Turbolog, an ongoing series intended to educate Robot Panic readers about the Turbografx-16 and Turbo Duo library. In each entry, I’ll be giving brief information about a game in the Turbo library as well as the game’s rarity and my personal rating, both on a scale of 1-5. We’ll be working backwards alphabetically by title. If you’d like to read all the entries in the Turbolog, simply click the “Turbolog” tag below each article.

The Turbografx had a healthy library of sports titles, most of which were non-licensed garbage. And while World Sports Competition wasn’t exactly garbage, it was basically a generic title for fans of the Olympics. The box promises that you can “create an athlete who runs, jumps, and throws” in eighteen “exciting” events, and yes, some of the events here are actually pretty fun. Developed by Hudson, WSC includes track events, swimming, rowing, and other standard Olympic events and up to five players can compete using the Turbo/Duo Tap accessory.

Beyond that, World Sports Competition is pretty standard fare for the 8/16-bit sports game era, not really excelling in any particular area. But if you’re into busting out classic consoles with your friends, this may not be a bad one to tinker with.

Rarity/Cost (1-5): *
As is the case with most classic sports game, copies of World Sports Competition are plentiful on eBay and most vintage gaming shops. If you look hard enough, you should be able to find a copy for under $10.

Rating (1-5): **
While the single-player won’t knock your socks off, a bit of fun can be had out of the multiplayer. That said, few sports games age well, and WSP is no exception, and what may have been fun back in the early 90s may not hold up so well today.

Welcome to the Turbolog, an ongoing series intended to educate Robot Panic readers about the Turbografx-16 and Turbo Duo library. In each entry, I’ll be giving brief information about a game in the Turbo library as well as the game’s rarity and my personal rating, both on a scale of 1-5. We’ll be working backwards alphabetically by title. If you’d like to read all the entries in the Turbolog, simply click the “Turbolog” tag below each article.

Haven’t you always wanted to listen to bad digitized versions of Beach Boys tunes while playing video games? Don’t you wish they all could be California Girls? And aren’t you just enamored with late 80s skater-dude lingo? If you answered yes to all these questions, Yo, Bro might just be the best damn video game you’ve ever played. In Yo, Bro you play as a little skateboarding bear named Little Bro, and it’s up to you to save six different California neighborhoods from the evils of Professor Liverhosen. As you skate around town with your trusty slingshot, you’ll face up against dogs on rockets, giant mutant lizards and mice, killer bees, and oil slicks. Damn those dreaded oil slicks! You’ll need to rescue the neighborhood kids before the nasty ghouls get to them.

For the most part, Yo, Bro is a top-down game that controls clumsily and is far too goofy and cheeseball for its own good. But in between stages are little side-scrolling shooter levels where Little Bro flies through the air collecting power-ups (french fries, soda cans, etc.) and avoiding obstacles such as missiles. It’s not riveting gameplay by any means, but these little stages provide nice breaks from the brutally annoying main game.

Yo, Bro certainly isn’t worth seeking out unless you’re interested in the kitsch factor of the Beach Boys licensed music or the cheesy Spicoli-like quotes. Inexplicably, the game received a sequel titled Camp California on the Turbo CD a couple years later, complete with the return of the Beach Boys soundtrack. Camp California is a much different game in terms of gameplay, but equally poor in quality. But we’ll get to that another time.

Rarity/Cost (1-5): **
Yo, Bro is a game that’s not in very high demand. As such, you’ll be able to find it quite easily at online retailers or on eBay for under $20. Chances are, if you’re a collector, this will probably be one of the last games on your list.

Rating (1-5): *
Ok, so the game does make me laugh with its corny text, ridiculous enemies, and horrible soundtrack. But once this amusement wears off, what’s left is a really awful game. Unless you’re a completest, avoid Yo, Bro.