24 replies to this topic

[BadHornet]

I bought one, and will be picking it up tomorrow. Would like to hear from those that own the console what they think about it. What are some of the better games to pick up?

[STICH666]

This is the best SHMUP console if I ever saw one. I haven't come across a bad one yet. Also, most arcade ports kick some serious ass on the TG16.

[bennybingo]

BadHornet, on Thu Jul 7, 2011 11:29 PM, said:

I bought one, and will be picking it up tomorrow. Would like to hear from those that own the console what they think about it. What are some of the better games to pick up?

One of my favorite consoles (after the Atari 2600/7800).

Some suggestions:

Blazing Lazers
Air Zonk
Double Dungeons (a nice dungeon crawl)
Neutopia
Bravoman

All of the above are fun HuCard games which can be acquired for reasonable prices (if you shop around). Often you will find bundles of games on ePay and even here in the market for decent prices. Take your time getting the games...the deals are out there!

[TheGameCollector]

In addition to the above list, I also recommend

Dragon Spirit
Dungeon Explorer
Neutopia II

[Armonigann]

The TG16 is definately a fave console of mine:


legendary Axe
Bonks Adventure
Ninja Spirit
Bloody Wolf


Devils/Aliens Crush

Super Star Soldier
Galaga '90
Cyber Core....

These titles can be had for kinda cheap as well, and so worth it

[bennybingo]

Fun fact: During my years skateboarding professionally, NEC (specifically TurboGrafx) was one of my sponsors. We even did a tour in the US to market the product, featuring skateboard demonstrations where spectators could try out the new systems (circa 1989).

Here is the only small article I could locate on the web about the marketing tour:

http://www.pcenginef...ic=1025.0;imode

I wish I had photos from back then... At least I still have the original TG16 console and games they gave me (all still working 20+ years later). I also have some old promo stickers and VHS tapes they would send us periodically to help promote the products. Fun times!

[Reaperman]

I like Galaga '90 quite a bit.
Though it's not a popular game, I've also had fun with RPG mode in Final Lap Twin.
I don't have either of the 'crush' games, which is something I'll eventually need to remedy.

With TG-16, I generally like the games, but I greatly dislike how the basic system nickle-and-dimed people to death. Composite-extra, multiplayer-extra, savegames-extra--not to mention the CD attachment and firmware updates.

[YAGRS]

I still love Splatterhouse. I believe that is the game that sold me on the Turbo.

Bonk's Revenge (the sequel to Bonk's Adventure) is a great game as well.

As mentioned previously, Alien Crush and Devil's Crush (both themed pinball games) are a lot of fun, and Dungeon Explorer is a great multiplayer game (if you get a Turbo Tap and extra controllers).

One game that I actually liked a lot when I was younger was Battle Royale. The controls were atrocious, but it could be fun with played with friends (again, it required the Turbo Tap and extra controllers).

[in the dark]

My favorite console when it comes to gaming and shooters.
I would recommend,
Soldier Blade (love this one next to Blazing Lazers)
R-Type
Dead Moon
Sinistron
Raiden
Aero Blasters
Side Arms

Samurai-Ghost (this is a personal favorite side scrolling slashing plateformer)
Ninja Spirit (a must have and play)
Vigilante
Victory Run

I second many that have been mentioned. This system is full of gaming fun.

[HatefulGravey]

Blazing Lazers and Splatter House get the most play on mine. You wont regret getting these two games ever.

[NE146]

I've ALWAYS thought Splatterhouse on the Turbografx was a big dissapointment. It had the gameplay down but it missed a lot of the graphics that made the arcade game what it is. But maybe I was just one of the few who actively played Splatterhouse in the arcade and got the game at launch expecting it to be 100% the same on what I considered to be the cutting edge console of the time aside from the Genesis.

One game that isn't mentioned but is a MUST HAVE on the Turbografx is Military Madness.! I still play to this day (on the ipad or via emulation, etc.)

Aside from that the games mentioned above are all great. I pretty much burned out on most all of them.. there's only so many times you can finish Galaga 90, Legendary Axe, Blazing Lazers, Ninja Spirit, and Bonk's Revenge. But if you've never played them before, then by all means get on it.

[BadHornet]

Thanks guys, appreciate all the suggestions and feedback!

[Rex Dart]

Ninja Spirit's my favorite. Parasol Stars is great, and Cyber Core is a nice shooter with power-ups.

[HatefulGravey]

I played and enjoyed the Splatter House arcade machine, but I also knew better then to expect perfection from the TG16 version by the time I got it. I had played and enjoyed Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and a dozen other games that were ported to home consoles by then and had just come to expect a step down in just about everything from any arcade port at the time.

I keep hearing Millitary Madness is great, but I don't even have the game yet. The local game store has it but they don't have the CD case for it and I just don't want to get a bunch of loose cards in my collection. I don't have a pile for my TG16 yet, maybe 6 games at this point, but its one I keep a look out for. I love the games I have and I keep hearing good things about other games too.

[PsychoKittyNet]

I love me some Legendary Axe, once spent a whole weekend playing it.

[nonner242]

I cant say Ive played too many bad games on the system. But any arcade port is fantastic.
Gotta get some of those frwakin sweeeet imports to have the REAL fun.

Soldier Blade
Ninja Spirit
Air Zonk
Street Fighter II
Lords/Gates of Thunder
Vasteel
Bravoman
Blazing Lasers

I could just go on an on.

[HuckleCat]

I used to have a TurboDuo actually. Out of all the systems I owned, which was quite a few, I hate to say, the Turbo was actually one of my least favorite ones.

If you're a fan of "shmups", then sure, it's good I suppose, otherwise it was a lackluster system that featured mainly rip-offs of games that were popular for the Sega and Nintendo systems. (Shock-Man immediately comes to mind) A few here have claimed that the arcade ports were "great", and I'm sorry, they just were not. They're remembering the system through rose-colored glasses. Street Fighter 2 (which you have to import btw) was easily the worst version compared to the Genesis and SNES releases. (The only cool thing about it was that it came on a card.)

The other hassle about the system in general is that the games that are actually worth having only got released in Japan. Dracula X, an awesome remake of Castlevania, is easily the best game that came out for the system - and only in Japan.

The best thing for me about it was that I actually got the TurboDuo at the end of the 16-bit life cycle. I had picked it up at a Babbages outlet store, (where I had to go to get Amiga games) and they were selling all their TurboGrafix stuff for 80% off. I managed to get the system and about 20 games for under 100 bucks. 15 years later I sold it all on ebay for $600!!

Sorry to be sour grapes, but yeah dude, hope you A- are a big fan of "shmups", and B- didn't pay much.

[nonner242]

HuckleCat, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 1:02 PM, said:

. Street Fighter 2 (which you have to import btw) was easily the worst version compared to the Genesis and SNES releases. (The only cool thing about it was that it came on a card.)

Its more of a combo of stuff from the SNES and Genny. I still think it looks better than both. Has the nice vibrant colors and the darks too. And I love the music as much as the Genny if not more.

Personal preference here I guess.

But the real bonus was if you have a Turbo Express you can play these hucard games back then ANYWHERE!

Here is a compairison on all 3.

http://www.retro-san...et Fighter.html

[Reaperman]

nonner242, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 1:47 PM, said:

But the real bonus was if you have a Turbo Express you can play these hucard games back then ANYWHERE!

Yeah, I was drinking that koolaid until I ordered one and finally got to see one in person.
Advertisments suggesting the awesomeness of turbo express were greatly exaggerated.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Jul 8, 2011 2:06 PM.

[Eltigro]

I've had my Turbo since the early 90's. Don't remember the exact year.

Blazing Lazers: It's already been mentioned and was one of the first big games for the system. Stores used this on display consoles to attract people to the system. It is a great vertical scrolling shmup.

The Legendary Axe: Yeah, it's kinda linear, but it's a side scrolling platformer... Anyway, I always enjoyed this game and it is, again, one of the early titles for the system. Fun with good graphics. The end boss fills the screen and was a common screenshot on the back of boxes for the system and in adverts.

R-Type: This is a great version of a game that has been on just about every system known to gamers. Hard as nails and great graphics and sound. Again, one used to highlight the graphics on the system.

Raiden: Another vertical scrolling shooter. I consider this one to be a little more playable than some other versions due to the fact that the whole screen is used. (The Jaguar version has a big scoreboard taking up about a third of the screen.) Fun and decent graphics, the music is great but the sound effects, especially explosions, are a little weak.

Ninja Spirit: I haven't played this one since back in the days when you could rent TG games. So I may have a little bit of rose colored glasses on this one, but I do remember it was fun and looked great.

Splatterhouse: I never really enjoyed this one. Don't know why, but I didn't. Seemed a little too linear. I mean, Legendary Axe was linear, but at least there were some separate paths and backtracking and stuff. This always just seemed like a walk to the left kind of thing. To each his own. Most people think it's great and it does have decent graphics.

Military Madness: This was mentioned before and I second it as being a great game. The one player campaign is a little uneven (level 8 pissed me off for a long time), but the two player game is where this really shines. My best friend and I got into several arguments over this one. We would insist that while one person was making moves, the other player hid their eyes, so when we came back, we had to figure out everything that had happened. On the one player game, there is a way to switch sides with the computer, too. Don't remember what it was exactly though.

Bonk: Pretty much any of the series. I like the first one the best, but many prefer the later ones. Fun scrolling, jumping, bonking game. There's a reason the little cavedude became a mascot for the system.

Devil's Crush/Alien Crush: Fun pinball games. Both have a main board that is multiple screens high, but while Alien switches from one screen to another abruptly, Devil's has scrolling that makes it a bit easier to keep track of the ball. There are also rooms accessed by hitting ramps or lights just right that are kind of like minigames... killing a dragon or a bunch of satanic monks or whatever.

Neutopia I and II: Not sure if this one has been mentioned, but I'll do so here. Neutopia gets a lot of flack for being a Zelda clone. I'll admit it is very similar. But is that such a bad thing? Zelda was a great game and so is Neutopia. The sequel is similar, but has several improvements such as the ability to move in diagonals. Neutopia can be continued with a password code, but also is one of the games that allowed for saving on the Booster+ accessory.

As for CD games, there are several that I would recommend. I have only played these in emulation on the Wii, but they are great games.

Y's Book I and II: A RPG game with nice cutscene graphics and wonderful music thanks to the CD audio. It's a little odd in that "battles" consist of you just running into the bad guys, but don't think that means there is no strategy involved!

Gate of Thunder: In my opinion, this is the best SHMUP on the system, possibly on any system. Great balance, graphics, challenge, and music. My only complaint: I wish there was a way to adjust the relative volume of the music and the sound effects. Sometimes the music is too loud to hear the effects properly. Definitely watch a video of this one.

[GKC]

Love it! Games that would get my recommendation? All 5 that I own; Bonk's Adventure + Revenge, Galaga 90, R-Type and the Lengedary Axe. I still have quite a few games I would like to get for it these have given me a good taste of what the TG16 is all about.

[Algus]

My friend gave me Fantasy Zone the other day and I've been having a blast with it. It may be my top TG16 game. Unfortunately my Splatterhouse card is damaged and doesn't work right =(

[Drixxel]

There's no shortage of cool TG16 games to recommend, even with the fairly tiny (in comparison to the PC Engine) library. Tons of sleepers and split opinions, the stuff of good discussion! I second a number of the titles already brought up in this thread (definitely check out Devil's Crush and a Bonk), here's a few unmentioned thus far.

Cybercore: A very solid insect-laden vertical shmup with a certain Dragon Spirit flavour. Lots of firepower, vibrant visuals - altogether neat.

Ghost Manor: A damned challenging platformer with an interesting sense of exploration. The character design is a bit weird and the controls take some getting used to but it's a game worth giving a chance, I say. I'm quite fond of it.

Legendary Axe II: Better than the original, in my opinion, although the two games are of a decidedly different vibe. The smattering of weapons spices up gameplay and the game just plays great overall.

Space Harrier: While there are better console ports available, I've always dug this version of Space Harrier. It features a considerably smoother framerate than, say, Space Harrier II on Genesis, and turbo fire is a definite plus.

[DickNixonArisen]

The other thread kind of got me excited about how the system is cheaper than I thought it was - but how much do most of these games cost? Are they all roughly on par or are the imports especially expensive?

[AtariLeaf]

So many have already mentioned the best games. Excellent system and I love it. Its my favorite 16-bit system ( I don't care if its not a true 16-bit system either so for those anal nerds that need to mention that all the time - STFU )