Why the PC-FX sucks

[HyperTurboFox]

The Japanese equivalent of the CD-I

PC-FX - The PC Engine Successor but with no games. It's don't help that most of the PC-FX library is composed of Visual Novel, FMV & NSFW content. It's don't help that PC-FX is missing Bonk & Bomberman. Their Mascot which made the PC-Engine into the mass-success. Hell SotN easily make a killer titles on PC-FX.

PC-FX in two words : Wasted Potential

 

[AtelierTohka]

I follow a streamer on Twitch who loves the PC-FX. He even showed a few titles off that stand out for him.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

PC-FX went all in on FMV gaming and it backfired hard. That fad died off pretty quick. Saying it has no games is a bit harsh though. Def some stuff worth checking out. I'd honestly compare the PC-FX to the 32X, both bad hardware with a small but decent library.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 11:09 PM

haven't played any PC-FX myself but Team innocent recently got a translation and looks really cool.

Team Innocent: The Point of No Return - G.C.P.O.SS (English Patched) PC-FX ISO – RGT Repository

Version 0.9.1 (2025-02-12) All dialogue text is now timed to be synchronized with voice acting and lip movements. Saki's name plate in the Status menu now appears in English. Version 0.9 (2024-12-23) Initial release. These subtitled videos are accessible in this YouTube playlist. There are seven...

retrogametalk.com

 

[qw90700]

PC-FX library is composed of Visual Novel, FMV & NSFW content.

But this is what Japanese people want!!!! lol

And the industry didn't learn from this history. They made PS Vita a portable PC-FX in terms of tons of visual novels and sexual BS despite its a powerful console and relatively easy to develop games on it so on paper it could have way better library than PSP but all of its potential is wasted. No denying PS Vita has a few decent games on it, so as PC-FX but it's not in the context of overall "success" thing lol.

But PC-FX fail was because it was weak against rivals: It couldn't have 3D graphics but it was good for 2D stuff. My poor PC-FX was killed by SEGA Saturn and PS1 so I guess they wanted to play safe and spam visual novels and shit. They didn't think people would wanna play Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7 and Racing Lagoon on PS1 instead of making virtual 2D GF on PC-FX lolol.

But there is one thing era-specific calculation error to mention. These businessman who are no gamer looked at FMV games that using real pictures in games and all so they thought it's better than 3D. They thought about it like an ordinary businessman so they thought investing on 3D is bad for business "when we can make money by FMV" and underestimating gamers by reducing them to "horny teens". Not to mention another aspect in fail is reducing gamer profile to "little kids" too so they were like "dude just release some interactive cartoon BS to make money" too lol. So good thing other companies existed that showed 3D games + meaningful games beyond dating sims and shit is the future of gaming lol.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

But this is what Japanese people want!!!! lol

And the industry didn't learn from this history. They made PS Vita a portable PC-FX in terms of tons of visual novels and sexual BS despite its a powerful console and relatively easy to develop games on it so on paper it could have way better library than PSP but all of its potential is wasted. No denying PS Vita has a few decent games on it, so as PC-FX but it's not in the context of overall "success" thing lol.

The PSP has so many Japanese only visual novels it's not even funny, plus plenty of ecchi stuff. That kind of just carried over to the Vita. Difference is the PSP got a lot of other great things while the Vita not so much.

 

[qw90700]

The PSP has so many Japanese only visual novels it's not even funny, plus plenty of ecchi stuff. That kind of just carried over to the Vita. Difference is the PSP got a lot of other great things while the Vita not so much.

So? PSP overall has a great library as I said over PS Vita's library that is filled with rubbish. Your "glass is half empty" mentality works weirdly, mate lol.

PS2 also have rubbish games, so should we go so black and white and only cry for little black it has? Weird lol.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

So? PSP overall has a great library as I said over PS Vita's library that is filled with rubbish. Your "glass is half empty" mentality works weirdly, mate lol.

PS2 also have rubbish games, so should we go so black and white and only cry for little black it has? Weird lol.

Bold of you to assume all the VN and porno games are bad
Those games sell! however when that's all you have it's harder to attract the general audience.

 

[Bonkers225]

Zenki looks great. That's about it. Indeed a wasted opportunity. Terrible, terrible management.

 

[qw90700]

Bold of you to assume all the VN and porno games are bad

I don't assume, it's just my personal preference!!!! lol

But I think there are so many visual novels and porn stuff people experiences therefore they wouldn't be easily to be satisfied. IDK much but I keep hearing some "legendary" stuff from both of them and people constantly complain "this new one is not good at all, this old one was better". Otherwise there are really good visual novels I do like that has no sexual BS and all, but it may be still what the visual novel fans may dislike. In the end it was a bad decision to have PS Vita focus so much on visual novels like turning such powerful console to "visual novel reader" device when it could have really great library way better than PS Vita. It could be even ports of games that is better than their PSP port or something. All the PS Vita potential is wasted!!!

Those games sell! however when that's all you have it's harder to attract the general audience.

Yep, and this is why PS Vita despite has decent games labelled as "rubbish console" as if it's totally a hopeless case. It may didn't have decent games to find as much as other portable consoles yet at least for me it was worthy to buy.

 

[Scotty]

Two words; "Wasted. Potential."

The library is really underwhelming. It's nothing but visual novels and ecchi games. Even the Sega CD had more variety!

 

[job32]

The Japanese equivalent of the CD-I

PC-FX - The PC Engine Successor but with no games. It's don't help that most of the PC-FX library is composed of Visual Novel, FMV & NSFW content. It's don't help that PC-FX is missing Bonk & Bomberman. Their Mascot which made the PC-Engine into the mass-success. Hell SotN easily make a killer titles on PC-FX.

PC-FX in two words : Wasted Potential

They probably just want to blast the propaganda straight into your head without all the having to pause to think what do i need to equip next?

(add the comma's where they may be, yourself)

 

[RETRO-VETRO RETRO-VETRO]

PC-FX it had the tech, but not the titles. It was supposed to be the successor to the PC Engine, which had hits like Bonk and Bomberman, but somehow forgot to invite them to the party. Instead, it leaned heavily into FMV games, visual novels, and... let’s just say “content not suitable for family game night.”

The hardware itself wasn’t bad it had a 32-bit processor and could handle some impressive visuals for the time. But while Sony and Nintendo were pushing 3D gameplay, NEC doubled down on anime cutscenes and static storytelling. It’s like showing up to a dance-off with a slideshow.

And yeah, the absence of Symphony of the Night–style action games was a missed opportunity. The PC-FX could’ve been a great platform for side-scrolling masterpieces, but developers just didn’t bite.

So calling it “wasted potential” is fair. It’s the console equivalent of a student who aces the entrance exam but then skips all their classes to watch soap operas. A fascinating relic, but not one that changed the game.

 

[Kanon_Magic]

There's a guy who explains it very well (in Spanish).

In short, the PC-FX is an incomplete console. The idea (from Hudson, the creators) was to make a machine, but NEC, the manufacturer and largest investor, didn't want to spend so much money, so they didn't let them manufacture it because it was too expensive(and use old chips, the cpu and the sound chips for example).

According to internet reports, the console was finished in 1992, but since the PC Engine CD was doing well in Japan, they postponed it.

It was then launched in 1994 without any improvements, and what happened happened.

This explains why high-budget games, such as Battle Heat and Team Innocent, were released right at the launch, as they had already been made beforehand.

The other "newer" games look significantly worse, because was no investment because NEC wasn't interested, and Hudson stopped making games for it(so no interest=no money=no good game=fail).

Post automatically merged: Today at 1:24 AM

But PC-FX fail was because it was weak against rivals: It couldn't have 3D graphics but it was good for 2D stuff. My poor PC-FX was killed by SEGA Saturn and PS1 so I guess they wanted to play safe and spam visual novels and shit. They didn't think people would wanna play Resident Evil, Final Fantasy 7 and Racing Lagoon on PS1 instead of making virtual 2D GF on PC-FX lolol.
lol.

In fact, the team inocent from PC FX is Resident Evil-style in terms of control and mechanics, and it's a launch game. The problem is the one I explained in a post above.

 

[ChronoArcaile2025]

The Japanese equivalent of the CD-I

PC-FX - The PC Engine Successor but with no games. It's don't help that most of the PC-FX library is composed of Visual Novel, FMV & NSFW content. It's don't help that PC-FX is missing Bonk & Bomberman. Their Mascot which made the PC-Engine into the mass-success. Hell SotN easily make a killer titles on PC-FX.

PC-FX in two words : Wasted Potential

Yep! You pretty much already summed it up in this one huge paragraph right here,this was the exact Reason the PC-FX was a commercial Failure,Lack of Games (or for that matter,lack of actual quality games) and when you don't have a Bomberman or Bonk title on there,than you know something is wrong,it's really sad that even the "Sega 32X" had more vatriety (And actual GAMES!!!!) and that Piece of trash was also a commercial failure from it's total library of only 40 Games......I mean Yikes!.lol

 

[El Pollo Loco]

It reminds me of the Sega CD. It had great potential, but Sega decided to focus on a few interactive FMV games, the biggest mistake of that decade.

 

[Kanon_Magic]

It reminds me of the Sega CD. It had great potential, but Sega decided to focus on a few interactive FMV games, the biggest mistake of that decade.

I disagree. FMV was what was wanted here in the West, but you're forgetting about the PC Engine CD. It came out in Japan in 1988 and only has one FMV game; the rest are games with tremendous pixel art, and it worked very well there.

The problem I see is that it wasn't different enough from the Genesis (and the cost), the FMV on the Sega CD looked terrible, and there were few “normal” games.

Lunar, for example, is a game that would not have been possible on a normal Genesis.

They should have released the Sega CD as a separate console, because all it lacks is a video output. It has its own CPU, reader, RAM, graphics chip, and sound chip—everything except the controls and video output.

This is different from the PC Engine CD, which only has RAM, a CD sample chip, and the reader, which is actually SCSI and could be used on a PC of the time.

 

[RETRO-VETRO RETRO-VETRO]

I disagree. FMV was what was wanted here in the West, but you're forgetting about the PC Engine CD. It came out in Japan in 1988 and only has one FMV game; the rest are games with tremendous pixel art, and it worked very well there.

The problem I see is that it wasn't different enough from the Genesis (and the cost), the FMV on the Sega CD looked terrible, and there were few “normal” games.

Lunar, for example, is a game that would not have been possible on a normal Genesis.

They should have released the Sega CD as a separate console, because all it lacks is a video output. It has its own CPU, reader, RAM, graphics chip, and sound chip—everything except the controls and video output.

This is different from the PC Engine CD, which only has RAM, a CD sample chip, and the reader, which is actually SCSI and could be used on a PC of the time.

First off, saying FMV was “what was wanted in the West” isn’t entirely off-base there was a brief FMV craze in the early '90s, thanks to the novelty of CD-ROMs and games like Myst, The 7th Guest, and Wing Commander III2. But that doesn’t mean FMV was universally loved. In fact, many FMV games were criticized for shallow gameplay and poor video quality, especially on consoles like the Sega CD, which struggled with compression and resolution.

 

[Kanon_Magic]

First off, saying FMV was “what was wanted in the West” isn’t entirely off-base there was a brief FMV craze in the early '90s, thanks to the novelty of CD-ROMs and games like Myst, The 7th Guest, and Wing Commander III2. But that doesn’t mean FMV was universally loved. In fact, many FMV games were criticized for shallow gameplay and poor video quality, especially on consoles like the Sega CD, which struggled with compression and resolution.

Yes, it's true, but for a few years, I'd say until 1995, the market was flooded with those games, especially on PC. Some of the first PS1 and Saturn games in the West are actually FVM (not counting those from 3DO).

It was the trend, then people got bored and changed their focus, but Sega just followed the trend of the moment. It's like when everyone was talking about 3D TVs back in 2010, it was the trend.

You can look it up if you want, the number of FVM games from 1992 to 1995, lots and lots, and then almost all of them disappeared.

 

[water_kooler]

Once I invited my brother to play Pia Carrot on the PC-FX emulator. It's hilarious and I recommend it.

For context, I used mednafen on a homebrew Wii. It runs poorly at 80% speed (about 48fps), so only the visual novels are playable. I tried Cutie Honey FX but i couldn't figure it out (I don't speak nihongo fluently). First Kiss Story is another good title but I prefer to have the PS1 version. The PC-FX also plays CDs and CD+G. Unfortunately, mednafen does not support CD+G data.

Team Innocent and Zeroigar feature impressive graphics. However, my Wii is too slow to handle it.

 

[RETRO-VETRO RETRO-VETRO]

Yes, it's true, but for a few years, I'd say until 1995, the market was flooded with those games, especially on PC. Some of the first PS1 and Saturn games in the West are actually FVM (not counting those from 3DO).

It was the trend, then people got bored and changed their focus, but Sega just followed the trend of the moment. It's like when everyone was talking about 3D TVs back in 2010, it was the trend.

You can look it up if you want, the number of FVM games from 1992 to 1995, lots and lots, and then almost all of them disappeared.

You're right that FMV had its moment especially between 1992 and 1995. The rise of CD-ROMs opened the floodgates, and developers were eager to experiment with video as a storytelling tool. Titles like Night Trap, Phantasmagoria, The 7th Guest, and Under a Killing Moon were everywhere, particularly on PC and platforms like 3DO and Sega CD.

But I think the key distinction here is why FMV surged and how it was received. It wasn’t so much that players were demanding FMV it was more that publishers saw it as a way to market games as “cinematic” experiences. The novelty was strong, but the gameplay often wasn’t. Many FMV titles were criticized for being shallow, clunky, or visually compromised due to hardware limitations.

Sega definitely followed the trend, but arguably leaned too hard into it especially with the Sega CD and later with the PC-FX in Japan. Instead of using FMV to enhance gameplay, they often used it to replace it. That’s where the backlash started. By the time the PlayStation and Saturn hit their stride, FMV was already fading, and developers were shifting toward real-time 3-D graphics and deeper interactivity.

So yes, FMV was a trend but it was a fragile one. And consoles like the PC-FX suffered because they bet on a format that didn’t evolve fast enough to meet players’ expectations. It’s a classic case of chasing a wave that was already breaking.

 

[Kanon_Magic]

But I think the key distinction here is why FMV surged and how it was received. It wasn’t so much that players were demanding FMV it was more that publishers saw it as a way to market games as “cinematic” experiences.

true, but in the end, publishers decide what game go out to sale based of what they think the people will like

Sega definitely followed the trend, but arguably leaned too hard into it especially with the Sega CD and later with the PC-FX in Japan. Instead of using FMV to enhance gameplay, they often used it to replace it. That’s where the backlash started. By the time the PlayStation and Saturn hit their stride, FMV was already fading, and developers were shifting toward real-time 3-D graphics and deeper interactivity.

Yes, the problem is that the PC-FX was designed for several things, but it only ended up with FMV (the original design had a 3D graphics chip that later came out on PCs, for NEC PC 98 PCs), since it was cheaper and NEC believed that this was going to be the future.

With regard to FMV, I would say that it is a step aside. The problem I see is that it is much more difficult and expensive to make an interactive FMV game than a polygonal one, although they can be more visually appealing. For example, Battle Heat for PC FX is a fighting game that is playable and fast once you understand it, but that is the exception and not the norm.

What triumphed were simply the polygons of the PS1. If the PC FX had triumphed, we might have better examples of FMV games and not the limited ones from 1992-1995, since the first polygonal games were also quite limited but improved with time. FMV didn't have that opportunity.

 

[RETRO-VETRO RETRO-VETRO]

true, but in the end, publishers decide what game go out to sale based of what they think the people will like

Yes, the problem is that the PC-FX was designed for several things, but it only ended up with FMV (the original design had a 3D graphics chip that later came out on PCs, for NEC PC 98 PCs), since it was cheaper and NEC believed that this was going to be the future.

With regard to FMV, I would say that it is a step aside. The problem I see is that it is much more difficult and expensive to make an interactive FMV game than a polygonal one, although they can be more visually appealing. For example, Battle Heat for PC FX is a fighting game that is playable and fast once you understand it, but that is the exception and not the norm.

What triumphed were simply the polygons of the PS1. If the PC FX had triumphed, we might have better examples of FMV games and not the limited ones from 1992-1995, since the first polygonal games were also quite limited but improved. FMV didn't have that opportunity.

You’re right that the PC-FX was originally envisioned as a more versatile system, and it’s true that NEC had plans for a 3D graphics chip. But that chip the HuC6273 was never included in the retail PC-FX console. It only appeared in the PC-FX GA, a separate expansion card for NEC’s PC-98 computers. So while NEC had the tech, they didn’t commit to it in the actual console, which is a huge part of why the PC-FX struggled. They bet on FMV and 2D animation instead of real-time 3D, just as the market was shifting toward polygonal graphics.

As for FMV being more expensive and difficult to develop than polygonal games, that’s partially true, but it’s not the whole story. FMV games often relied on pre-rendered or filmed sequences, which could be costly, but they also sidestepped the need for complex real-time engines. The real issue was that FMV games were limited in interactivity, and that’s what players wanted more of. Polygonal games, even in their early clunky forms, offered dynamic control and emergent gameplay something FMV couldn’t match.

Take Battle Heat for example: yes, it’s fast and playable once you understand it, but it’s still heavily reliant on pre-scripted animations and timing-based inputs3. It’s more like a stylish interactive movie than a traditional fighting game. And while it’s a standout on the PC-FX, it’s also an outlier. Most of the library leaned hard into visual novels and passive experiences, which didn’t appeal to the broader gaming audience.

The idea that FMV “didn’t get the opportunity to evolve” is interesting, but I’d argue it did just not in the way polygonal games did. FMV had its window, and developers explored it across platforms like Sega CD, 3DO, and PC. But the limitations of the format low interactivity, high production costs, and aging visuals meant it couldn’t keep up with the flexibility and scalability of 3-D engines. Polygonal games improved because they were built on systems that allowed iteration and player agency. FMV, by design, was more static.

So yes, NEC followed a trend, but they doubled down on the wrong one at the wrong time. The PC-FX wasn’t just a victim of market timing, it was a victim of design choices that ignored where gameplay was headed.

 

[Lg42inchtv]

I did really enjoy the one shmup the PC-FX had called Choujin Heiki Zeroigar. A part of me wishes Kuma Soldier saw the day of light

 

[Kanon_Magic]

As for FMV being more expensive and difficult to develop than polygonal games, that’s partially true, but it’s not the whole story. FMV games often relied on pre-rendered or filmed sequences, which could be costly, but they also sidestepped the need for complex real-time engines. The real issue was that FMV games were limited in interactivity

The idea that FMV “didn’t get the opportunity to evolve” is interesting, but I’d argue it did just not in the way polygonal games did.

Well, one idea that comes to mind is similar to fighting games, for example, a classic Neo Geo or SNES-style fighting game, where you have to create the entire sprite with the movement(animations).

In a more modern PS1 or PS2 game, only the “bones” are animated, i.e., the arms, legs, and body separately. This saves on sprites and the work of creating them, but you need more power to rotate them.

Something like that would be a modern FMV game, a machine with a lot of storage and fast enough to read the animation frames. For example, if you touch the top, it moves up, it crouches if you touch the bottom, and you can rotate the camera freely because it's already recorded on the disc and you just have to access it quickly.

That would have been one way to go. For example, FMV would have continued with DVD, which would have had much more space and speed to do that. I think it's possible, but it's something that takes time, like creating a game. Both take time, polygons and FMV, but at the time, polygons were cheaper and more interactive.

Now it wouldn't make sense because PCs and consoles are already at a higher level than most FMVs of any era XP.

 

[RETRO-VETRO RETRO-VETRO]

Well, one idea that comes to mind is similar to fighting games, for example, a classic Neo Geo or SNES-style fighting game, where you have to create the entire sprite with the movement(animations).

In a more modern PS1 or PS2 game, only the “bones” are animated, i.e., the arms, legs, and body separately. This saves on sprites and the work of creating them, but you need more power to rotate them.

Something like that would be a modern FMV game, a machine with a lot of storage and fast enough to read the animation frames. For example, if you touch the top, it moves up, it crouches if you touch the bottom, and you can rotate the camera freely because it's already recorded on the disc and you just have to access it quickly.

That would have been one way to go. For example, FMV would have continued with DVD, which would have had much more space and speed to do that. I think it's possible, but it's something that takes time, like creating a game. Both take time, polygons and FMV, but at the time, polygons were cheaper and more interactive.

Now it wouldn't make sense because PCs and consoles are already at a higher level than most FMVs of any era XP.

That’s an interesting analogy, but I think it oversimplifies both FMV and skeletal animation. You're right that sprite-based fighters like those on Neo Geo or SNES required animating full frames, while PS1/PS2-era games used skeletal rigs to animate limbs independently. But that’s not really comparable to FMV, which isn’t rendered in real time it’s pre-recorded video, not dynamic assets.

The idea of a “modern FMV game” where every possible movement is pre-recorded and accessed instantly from a disc sounds cool in theory, but in practice, it’s wildly impractical. Even with DVDs or Blu-rays, the sheer number of permutations needed to allow free camera movement and responsive gameplay would balloon storage requirements and create massive bottlenecks. You’d need to record every possible angle and action, and the system would have to load them seamlessly. That’s not just a matter of “fast enough storage” it’s a design nightmare.

Also, FMV by nature is static. You can’t modify lighting, physics, or interactions dynamically. That’s why polygonal graphics won out they’re flexible, scalable, and allow for emergent gameplay. FMV couldn’t evolve in the same way because it’s locked to whatever was filmed or rendered ahead of time.

And while DVDs offered more space, they didn’t solve FMV’s core limitations: lack of interactivity, inability to respond dynamically, and the challenge of syncing player input with pre-rendered visuals. That’s why even during the DVD era, FMV remained niche used mostly for cutscenes, not gameplay.

So yes, FMV had potential, and some games like Her Story or Telling Lies have used it creatively in recent years. But as a primary gameplay format. XD