General PC Engine Appreciation Thread

[TruxtonTatsujin]

That's the route I went in, only after a few years of owning my PC Engine since game prices substantially risen. Ended up buying (2) Everdrive one for GEN/MD, and PCE (also own a flash cart for NDS). Playing on actual hardware is the best especially paired with a suitable old television. The problem I had, at the time, was playing ripped CD games since I didn't want to wear down my lens of my system- while I did end up playing a handful of bootlegs, I preferred to play the CD games on emulation instead.

Collection building took a back seat for me, since I decided to put my focus on finishing games I enjoy (in the past and what I recently discovered) that and waiting for the prices to ease up- which I don't see happening any time soon unfortunately.

Translation patches are also worth going through like you mentioned, many Hu-Card games don't necessarily need them but for CD games Tengai Makyou: Ziria is truly helpful. I've completed Ginga Ojousama Densetsu Yuna and have been playing through Madou Monogatari I: Honoo no Sotsuenji until I decided to take a break.

Translations Patches - Fan Made English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese... - RGT Repository

This is our full list of fan made translations of non-English games (mostly Japanese). All roms & isos are already pre-patched.

retrogametalk.com

Translations Patches - Fan Made English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese... - RGT Repository

This is our full list of fan made translations of non-English games (mostly Japanese). All roms & isos are already pre-patched.

retrogametalk.com

The new fancy, expensive as all hell PCE Everdrives are able to play CD games, no attachment needed. I do like to do a bit of collecting for fun, but playing is always my priority. You can still find some decent deals on the Japanese auction sites if you dig deep enough.

Lot of great translations have come out the past few years, but I also ain't afraid to dive into some of the more text heavy untranslated stuff. Was playing a lot of the Princess Maker 1 port and was able to get through it with relative ease. Helps that I can read a bit of Japanese. Zero4 Champ was looking to be a challenge though, glad that got a patch recently.

 

[aquova]

Wow, I didn't know they made a three button pad for it. How many games supported it?

I picked up a CoreGrafx recently, but I haven't had the time to really get into it yet. I was a bit surprised how many of the classic PCE games turned out to be PCECD titles instead, but I'm still having a good time playing the HuCard titles

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

So, has anybody ever played on the Express?

I saw one in person ONCE. It was at the National Video Game Museum of the U.S. in Frisco, Texas. Not the highlight of my trip, but I remember it being there. Otherwise, I know is a super collectors piece, but I need to know if anybody here has any experience with one.

 

[diet_orange]

An absolute paradise/treasure trove of Shmups for those that enjoy the genre. Really wish it wasn't so mishandled in the states where they only seemed to release it in major cities

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

An absolute paradise/treasure trove of Shmups for those that enjoy the genre. Really wish it wasn't so mishandled in the states where they only seemed to release it in major cities

That distribution makes a ton of sense, seeing as I’ve rarely seen anything for it in my areas of living.

I also wish it had come to PAL regions… at all? I mean, it did, but in quantities so small that (last I heard) we still have no clue how they were even distributed or what countries got them.

 

[diet_orange]

That distribution makes a ton of sense, seeing as I’ve rarely seen anything for it in my areas of living.

IDK, I've read that it was mainly because NEC/Hudson really didn't have a firm grasp on how big America was when compared to Japan? They should have probably reached out to a third party like Nintendo and Sega did when they released the NES and Master System

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

Wow, I didn't know they made a three button pad for it. How many games supported it?

I never used the third button, based upon this thread these are some of the games that support it.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

the 3rd button is just mapped to run or select, depending on what position the switch is in. Technically it would work with all games.

 

[Don Patch]

The PCE bops!
My input here is that if anyone is looking for a couch co-op romp, look into Be Ball.

Looks silly.
Seems unassuming.
Is a fucking BLAST!
And will low-key kick your ass in the later levels

It does a cool thing where once you beat the game there's 3-4 NG+-style whole games you can play. So, it just keeps going!

 

[DjQuick2008]

Final Soldier, Super star Soldier, Soldier Blade.

Seamless action.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

PC Engine Spotlight #8

Devil Crash
The sequel to the pinball game Alien Crush. This game improves upon it's predecessor by implementing a scrolling playing field, which is a big step up from the hard cut screen transitions Alien Crush used. The theming has also changed from creepy bio-horror to a more satanic one, filling the screens with monsters and demons, as well as pentagrams that had to be changed for the overseas version. Easily one of the best pinball games of the generation. The soundtrack takes it to the next level, with Toshiaki Sakoda as composer (best known for his tracks in Musha Aleste). The Game was later ported to the Mega Drive as Devil Crash MD, which adds more bonus tables and a final boss. (who looks absolutely insane)

Spoiler: Last boss of Devil Crash MD

 

[aquova]

I'll admit I was fairly unfamiliar with the PC Engine until recently, but the more I read up about it, the more I'm amazed by how many products they put out

• PC Engine in Japan
• Remodeled TurboGrafx-16 in NA
• PC Engine CD for the Japanese model, complete with interface unit to plug the two together
• A remodeled TurboGrafx-CD for NA
• A second, Super CD-ROM unit, which had more RAM and upgraded BIOS, and just stuck on the back of the PC Engine
• A new HuCard for older CD-ROM unit owners so they could have the better BIOS
• A PC Engine Duo all-in-one unit
• A slightly different Turbo Duo device for NA
• "R" and "RX" PC Engine Duo revisions, why not
• Two "CoreGrafx" revisions, again why not
• A SuperGrafx successor that 8 people bought
• A PC Engine GT handheld that could play HuCards
• A revised Turbo Express handheld for NA
• Something the internet tells me was the "PC Engine Shuttle"
• The PC Engine LT, where they stuck a PC Engine, the controller, and a screen altogether into one

Great stuff

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I'll admit I was fairly unfamiliar with the PC Engine until recently, but the more I read up about it, the more I'm amazed by how many products they put out

• PC Engine in Japan
• Remodeled TurboGrafx-16 in NA
• PC Engine CD for the Japanese model, complete with interface unit to plug the two together
• A remodeled TurboGrafx-CD for NA
• A second, Super CD-ROM unit, which had more RAM and upgraded BIOS, and just stuck on the back of the PC Engine
• A new HuCard for older CD-ROM unit owners so they could have the better BIOS
• A PC Engine Duo all-in-one unit
• A slightly different Turbo Duo device for NA
• "R" and "RX" PC Engine Duo revisions, why not
• Two "CoreGrafx" revisions, again why not
• A SuperGrafx successor that 8 people bought
• A PC Engine GT handheld that could play HuCards
• A revised Turbo Express handheld for NA
• Something the internet tells me was the "PC Engine Shuttle"
• The PC Engine LT, where they stuck a PC Engine, the controller, and a screen altogether into one

Great stuff

In the time between 1987 and 1993, NEC made SOOOOOO MANY VARIATIONS! Very SEGA-like in that sense, lol.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

I'll admit I was fairly unfamiliar with the PC Engine until recently, but the more I read up about it, the more I'm amazed by how many products they put out

• PC Engine in Japan
• Remodeled TurboGrafx-16 in NA
• PC Engine CD for the Japanese model, complete with interface unit to plug the two together
• A remodeled TurboGrafx-CD for NA
• A second, Super CD-ROM unit, which had more RAM and upgraded BIOS, and just stuck on the back of the PC Engine
• A new HuCard for older CD-ROM unit owners so they could have the better BIOS
• A PC Engine Duo all-in-one unit
• A slightly different Turbo Duo device for NA
• "R" and "RX" PC Engine Duo revisions, why not
• Two "CoreGrafx" revisions, again why not
• A SuperGrafx successor that 8 people bought
• A PC Engine GT handheld that could play HuCards
• A revised Turbo Express handheld for NA
• Something the internet tells me was the "PC Engine Shuttle"
• The PC Engine LT, where they stuck a PC Engine, the controller, and a screen altogether into one

Great stuff

I was pretty confused when trying to figure out which model to get, but from what I gather the PC Engine Duo is the best one if you're going to play all physical games. However if you plan to use an Everdrive like I was the Duo is a bad choice. For the CD rom emulation on the Everdrive to work you have to detach the CD drive, which is obviously not possible on the Duo. Any of the standalone PC Engines are good for Everdrive use but I went with the classic white one.

The only games I can't play are like the 5 released for the SuperGrafx. In that sense you could say that's the best one, but with the price of them I wouldn't bother.

Post automatically merged: Sep 10, 2025

 

[aquova]

That's pretty much what I learned as well. I was really surprised to learn that the highest end Everdrive devices can simulate all of the CD-based games, but only if you don't have an actual CD attachment lol, so the Duo or having a CD-ROM is actually a downside.

 

[Mopeybloke]

I don't think I've seen a PC Engine competitor to Dragon Quest. It's weird the company didn't get on that bandwagon like SEGA did. I watched a video list of RPGs on PC Engine, and most of them didn't even qualify as RPGs.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

I don't think I've seen a PC Engine competitor to Dragon Quest. It's weird the company didn't get on that bandwagon like SEGA did. I watched a video list of RPGs on PC Engine, and most of them didn't even qualify as RPGs.

Tengai Makyou/Far East of Eden was NEC/Hudson's big "Dragon Quest" Killer. It was a big deal in Japan and sold very well. It's often credited as the first RPG on CD. The cutscenes and voice acting where very impressive for the time. Unfortunately almost the entire series is Japan only.

There is a fan translation of the first game:

Far East of Eden: Tengai Makyou - Ziria (English Patched) TurboGrafx-CD ISO – RGT Repository

Far East of Eden: Tengai Makyou - Ziria (English Patched) TurboGrafx-CD ISO Game ID: HCD9005. Languages: English Patched, Japanese. For TurboGrafx-CD / PC-Engine CD.

retrogametalk.com

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

PC Engine Spotlight #9

GaiFlame
GaiFlame is the third and final entry in Masaya's Elthlead trilogy of strategy games. While the previous two games took place in a more traditional fantasy setting, this sequel skips ahead a few millennia to add flying jets and gigantic mecha into the mix. The presentation was also improved greatly, with brighter graphics and brief close-up cutscenes of the combatants duelling it out. The gameplay starts out on a large continent map, which you move individual units around to different sectors before meeting enemies and commencing battle on a traditional tile based grid. The cover is drawn by Kunihiro Abe, best known for his work on Mobile Suit Gundam.

Gekkan PC Engine Issue 17 Feb. 90'

 

[ONecessario]

Such a great game...

Soldier Blade, 1992 - PC Engine

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

PC Engine Spotlight #10

Spiral Wave
Spiral Wave is an unusual hybrid space-opera adventure and rail shoot 'em up. You zoom around several planets from six different star systems, where you visit other characters and attempt to hunt down your target. Whenever you come across enemies, the game transitions to 3D action sequences like those in Galaxy Force, in which you shoot at enemies until you escape. Throughout the game, you can also obtain new ships and stronger weapons. While it's a fairly ambitious concept, the execution is a little flawed. The adventure/story scenes drag on a bit (even if you can read the language) and the shooting segments feel rather jank because of some dodgy hit detection. Regardless, I still think it's worth checking out if the novelty appeals to you.

Famitsu Dec. 91'

 

[ThunderBoy]