Finally got a PC Engine! Gimme some game recommendations

[Bakuma1997]

Gradius I is a faithful port of the arcade 1 with an extra stage, II is also great with a rocking soundtrack and also a exclusive stage, not as great as the NES port but still neat

The Bonk trilogy is also good, played the first one and i can say you will love it

As commented Neutopia is a duology of Zelda clones that copy the right stuff

While i prefer it on Arcade, my favorite Namco Arcade has been ported here, so give it a shot

 

[popckorn]

Dayum! I am very jelly!
I have been considering getting a Mini PC-Engine.
It is THE SHMUP CONSOLE per excellence.

 

[Pearly]

The two macross games on that are pretty good.

Castlevania rondo of blood is an obvious one

 

[Pikachun]

I recommend playing both parts of the Exile games
Some gameplay:
Exile
Exile: Wicked Phenomenon

 

[SpikeSlania]

Yeah, I feel like at this point I would just be repeating what people have said, but my votes for essential PC Engine games;
Ys Book 1 and 2
Ys 3
Ys 4
Castlevania Rondo of Blood
Neutopia
Neutopia 2
Bomberman 94

 

[popckorn]

Bonk's Series are REALLY COOL, they have great gameplay and superb graphics.
(Air Zonk is part of the series)

I was put-off by the weird bald kid (my cousin had cancer as a kid, so bald kids make me sad), but when I finally tried them (after a Youtube Review by a guy I respect) I truly understood why they are MUST HAVE and an unavoidable reference when it comes to PCEngine.

I am a SHMUP guy, but Bonk's Platformers are just as cool.

 

[Captain Murphy]

Aside from the games already mentioned above, you should also check out these ones as well:


Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (River City Ransom)

Didn't know PC engine had a cd version of these two. Very cool!

 

[Natsuyasumi]

My top 10 would be:

1. Mitzubaku Daibouken
2. Ninja Spirit
3. Bonk's Adventure
4. Soldier Blade
5. War of the Dead
6. World Court Tennis
7. Keith Courage in Alpha Zones
8. Dead Moon
9. Tiger Road
10. Don Doko Don

 

[gusdrew]

Oh man yeah, Legendary Axe is one of my favorite games in its genre. Great action-platformer. LA2 is alright too, but again the first game is better. Splatterhouse is cool too.

I'd actually purchase a PC Engine for playing Splatterhouse on it. I saw one of it at a gaming event last year, I'll never forgive myself for not being able to afford for that

 

[GuiPeli]

Everybody here already have recommended most of the best games. One that I remember now that did not be mentioned is Dead Moon

By the way, awesome aquisition my friend!

 

[aquova]

Coincidentally, I too just picked up a CoreGrafx unit + Turbo Everdrive. I'm curious how the region lock will work out, but I'm excited for it to arrive.

(Someone let me know if I bought the inferior model, I was really torn on which one to get)

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

Coincidentally, I too just picked up a CoreGrafx unit + Turbo Everdrive. I'm curious how the region lock will work out, but I'm excited for it to arrive.

(Someone let me know if I bought the inferior model, I was really torn on which one to get)

Congrats, have fun! I know I sure have been.
The CoreGrafx is just as good as the OG white model. Only reason I chose it over the others is for looks. Right now I only own the 1 HuCard game (Jaseiken Necromancer), but I plan on trying to pick up a big batch of games from the Japanese auction sites at some point. I don't think I'll bother getting the CD attachment, too much of a hassle to repair & maintain. I'd rather just rip the disc games I get and play em off the Everdrive instead.

From what I understand the HuCard games are region locked but the CD games aren't. The controller ports are different as well. You can get a converter for both of these. I don't plan on getting any TurboGrafx-16 stuff so I'm not that worried about it.

One other thing, if you're looking for a 6 button pad for a good price a highly recommend the Polymega one. It was made for their console but it works just fine on OG hardware. The price of the old official ones like the Avenue pad 6 and the Hori Fighting commander are kind of hard to justify considering how few games use them, Polymega pad is like half the price and feels solid. It also has a 3 button mode which I believe the other 6-button pads don't have.

RC04 - Turbo Controller

Polymega® Retro Controllers put the power in your hands with significantly reduced input lag, and also include a HOME button for navigating the interface without having to switch controllers. They plug directly into the controller ports located on Polymega® Element Modules over a wired...

polymega.com

 

[aquova]

I don't think I'll bother getting the CD attachment, too much of a hassle to repair & maintain. I'd rather just rip the disc games I get and play em off the Everdrive instead.

Can the HuCard Everdrive play the CD games without the attachment? I had just assumed I would be limited to original PC Engine games, but if not that's fantastic.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

Can the HuCard Everdrive play the CD games without the attachment? I had just assumed I would be limited to original PC Engine games, but if not that's fantastic.

depends which Turbo Everdrive you got. The PRO has CD-ROM support which is what I have, but the CORE and the other older model can only play HuCard games. It's twice the price but worth it as like 50% of the PC Engine's library is on CD.

You also need Krikzz EDFX expansion board to get CD audio out. It can be bought as a bundle. There's a mod you can do instead to get the audio but I also needed something to output RGB so I just bought the board.

 

[aquova]

depends which Turbo Everdrive you got. The PRO has CD-ROM support which is what I have, but the CORE and the other older model can only play HuCard games. It's twice the price but worth it as like 50% of the PC Engine's library is on CD.

Hmmm alright. I got a used one off ebay, I'm not certain which model it is, but I think it's likely the V2. I normally would be disappointed, but boy is the PRO model expensive. I might upgrade someday to get CD support, but as a first dip into the system I don't think I regret it.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

Hmmm alright. I got a used one off ebay, I'm not certain which model it is, but I think it's likely the V2. I normally would be disappointed, but boy is the PRO model expensive. I might upgrade someday to get CD support, but as a first dip into the system I don't think I regret it.

Still plenty of HuCard games to play. Also keep in mind that there's no copy protection on the CD drive. If you happen to get one for cheap that's an option as well.

Post automatically merged: May 21, 2025

Thanks everyone for your recommendations. Been compiling a big list with them along with other games I though looked interesting. Gonna try and finish them all, regardless of how long it takes. Already crossed a few off. So far I've played through the Bonk trilogy, both Air Zonks and done a few 1CCs in Street fighter II. Right now I'm working on Ys Book 1&2.

Wasn't planning on sharing it originally so excuse my extremely shit handwriting. Lemme know if there's anymore I should add or if I forgot to write some down.