• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PC Engine/TG Appreciation and Collecting Thread, Because who needs a 2nd controller?

TeaJay

Member
Ahh that's good to know to send people there in the future.

I nabbed them too. My PCE Duo is still on the way, but this is how I'll be using it - with the Everdrive sitting in there most of the time. So I guess I'll just need these patched BIOSes to make sure everything will be okay.
 
'sup GAF

8oB2UxTh.jpg
 

D.Lo

Member
I honestly really love the design/look of the original PCE Duo best. I love the early 90s Japanese chic.

But
  • Reliability issues
  • AV cord out the side
  • Special giant sized power adapter
Are all too much.

R/RX looks kinda fat to me, but uses a Mega Drive II power, have AV out the back, and are much more reliable. Mine has lasted years with no issues now, after the duo I had before that died.
 
I nabbed them too. My PCE Duo is still on the way, but this is how I'll be using it - with the Everdrive sitting in there most of the time. So I guess I'll just need these patched BIOSes to make sure everything will be okay.

Yup you'll be all set.


Welcome to the club.

I honestly really love the design/look of the original PCE Duo best. I love the early 90s Japanese chic.

But
  • Reliability issues
  • AV cord out the side
  • Special giant sized power adapter
Are all too much.

R/RX looks kinda fat to me, but uses a Mega Drive II power, have AV out the back, and are much more reliable. Mine has lasted years with no issues now, after the duo I had before that died.

Not that it changes all that but you can buy an adapter from Console5.com that allows you to use the genesis model 1 power adapter with a regular Duo. That's what I did with mine.

I fully agree the Duo is so damn slick looking. I got such a damn good deal on my Duo that I couldn't say no to it's sexyness. Even with having to pay for it to be recapped, and RGB modded it was still cheaper than a Duo-R/RX, by a significant amount.
 
R/RX looks kinda fat to me, but uses a Mega Drive II power, have AV out the back, and are much more reliable. Mine has lasted years with no issues now, after the duo I had before that died.

Interestingly enough my PS2 slim / PSone power brick works just fine as well and makes a lot less heat.
 
I've recently been looking into purchasing a PC Engine Duo-R (RGB modded and such) and the news about doujindance is disheartening.

Would people recommend I not go with his work then? At 365 shipped that's not a terrible price.

I've been looking into Keith Courage as well, though I don't think he has Duo-Rs for purchase. I'm not sure of his prices either. I'll have to ask for a quote.

Any help is really appreciated here. I feel like PC engine might be the hardest retro system to dive into. Certainly feels like the most expensive system to pick up.
 
It's definitely one of the most expensive systems, but it really has so many awesome games. I personally would not buy a doujindance Duo-R. While his stuff may work for a lot of people, if you do run into a problem I've heard he doesn't repair his systems. Finding a modder who will work on one of his units is really tough too, since most just don't want to deal with it.

KeithCourage does amazing work, and I would see if he had any Duo-Rs for sale. If not I would try and buy a stock Duo-R and then send it to someone like Keith or Voultar to be RGB modded. You could also join the PCEngineFX forums and check on their some of the modders on their have systems for sale from time to time.
 

piggychan

Member
I've recently been looking into purchasing a PC Engine Duo-R (RGB modded and such) and the news about doujindance is disheartening.

Would people recommend I not go with his work then? At 365 shipped that's not a terrible price.

I've been looking into Keith Courage as well, though I don't think he has Duo-Rs for purchase. I'm not sure of his prices either. I'll have to ask for a quote.

Any help is really appreciated here. I feel like PC engine might be the hardest retro system to dive into. Certainly feels like the most expensive system to pick up.

Can also give this guy a try on there. Mickris. I personally haven't bought anything from him yet but I plan on doing so at a much later date.

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=18903.0
 

TeaJay

Member
Finally got my Duo! Such a sleek and futuristic looking console.


It has the insides fixed and a friend of mine worked on the CD drive a bit. I tried with a few backups and it had trouble starting Rondo of Blood, but after I lifted the other end of the console while starting it booted up just fine. Other backups I tried worked 100% so maybe there's something about Rondo backups? Or possibly the drive. But anyhoo, I got it loaded, played a bit, and immediately felt like it's one of the best Castlevania game I've played.

Otherwise it's great. I hit the Everdrive in and tried some games, and it was lots of fun. It's practically an unknown console to me at this point, so I'm going by the recommendations on this thread.
 
Finally got my Duo! Such a sleek and futuristic looking console.



It has the insides fixed and a friend of mine worked on the CD drive a bit. I tried with a few backups and it had trouble starting Rondo of Blood, but after I lifted the other end of the console while starting it booted up just fine. Other backups I tried worked 100% so maybe there's something about Rondo backups? Or possibly the drive. But anyhoo, I got it loaded, played a bit, and immediately felt like it's one of the best Castlevania game I've played.

Otherwise it's great. I hit the Everdrive in and tried some games, and it was lots of fun. It's practically an unknown console to me at this point, so I'm going by the recommendations on this thread.

congrats! so jealous =) it looks so smooth.
 
I've recently been looking into purchasing a PC Engine Duo-R (RGB modded and such) and the news about doujindance is disheartening.

Would people recommend I not go with his work then? At 365 shipped that's not a terrible price.

I've been looking into Keith Courage as well, though I don't think he has Duo-Rs for purchase. I'm not sure of his prices either. I'll have to ask for a quote.

Any help is really appreciated here. I feel like PC engine might be the hardest retro system to dive into. Certainly feels like the most expensive system to pick up.

It's definitely one of the most expensive to collect and play for but trust me when I tell you Neo Geo AES takes the cake. I bought one of those recently and at just the perfect time...a flash cart was announced for preorder a week later.
 

piggychan

Member
Finally got my Duo! Such a sleek and futuristic looking console.



It has the insides fixed and a friend of mine worked on the CD drive a bit. I tried with a few backups and it had trouble starting Rondo of Blood, but after I lifted the other end of the console while starting it booted up just fine. Other backups I tried worked 100% so maybe there's something about Rondo backups? Or possibly the drive. But anyhoo, I got it loaded, played a bit, and immediately felt like it's one of the best Castlevania game I've played.

With the DUO is it possible to get the mini game to load up for Dracula X. the one that requires the system 1 card?

rHW2MrO.gif
 
With the DUO is it possible to get the mini game to load up for Dracula X. the one that requires the system 1 card?

rHW2MrO.gif

Can't say I ever heard of this! But I'm new to everything Turbo. I recently picked up a US Duo and Rondo of Blood but haven't noticed and loading screen mini game. I thought I also read that it wasn't good to run the bios from earlier system card since the newest version was already pre loaded on the Duo.
 

D.Lo

Member
Can't say I ever heard of this! But I'm new to everything Turbo. I recently picked up a US Duo and Rondo of Blood but haven't noticed and loading screen mini game. I thought I also read that it wasn't good to run the bios from earlier system card since the newest version was already pre loaded on the Duo.
Only Everdrive V2 (V1 is fine as it has no extra RAM), and there are patched bios files available that fix the issue.

It's not a 'loading screen' game, it's a piece of software on the disc that runs if you have the incorrect system card aka operating system. Many games have these, sometimes they're just a message and sometimes a minigame is included as well.
 
In theory a fully recapped and modded black Duo is just as good as a Duo-R (with mods), correct? I feel like I'll have to shell out a lot more for a Duo-R and I'm not really sure its worth it. It sure is pretty though.

A non-doujindance Duo-R is pretty expensive from what I've seen. Neither Keith Courage, mickcris nor MNKyDeth have one either. Anyone have a rough price on one? I'm see a regular recapped Duo with mods at $330.00 from mickcris. I think I might have to stay with that one.
 
In theory a fully recapped and modded black Duo is just as good as a Duo-R (with mods), correct? I feel like I'll have to shell out a lot more for a Duo-R and I'm not really sure its worth it. It sure is pretty though.

A non-doujindance Duo-R is pretty expensive from what I've seen. Neither Keith Courage, mickcris nor MNKyDeth have one either. Anyone have a rough price on one? I'm see a regular recapped Duo with mods at $330.00 from mickcris. I think I might have to stay with that one.

I think I've heard the laser on the Duo-R/RX is supposed to be better than the Duo but it is my understand that overall reliability is supposed to be similar if you've had your Duo recapped. That is the route I went, 1 because I think the original duo's look better and 2 it was the much cheaper option. Even with recapping, and RGB modding added to the price my Duo was cheaper than a stock Duo-R.
 

TeaJay

Member
Having a great time with my Duo. Only bummer are the slight jailbars, but from what I hear, it seems to be a common problem with RGB modded PC Engines. I don't feel like sending this back to anyone for another mod (or even know what to do to it) so I'll live with it.
 

piggychan

Member
Having a great time with my Duo. Only bummer are the slight jailbars, but from what I hear, it seems to be a common problem with RGB modded PC Engines. I don't feel like sending this back to anyone for another mod (or even know what to do to it) so I'll live with it.

I got a jailbar mod done by keith courage although I read that if you are confident with modding you can do it yourself.
 

Serge85

Member
Well gaf, here is my most recent purchase, a Duo R , I also got a multitap, Everdrive, and extra controller....

pcengine.jpg


Oh, and I modded the console for RGB and S Video output, I think I'm in heaven :)


Having a great time with my Duo. Only bummer are the slight jailbars, but from what I hear, it seems to be a common problem with RGB modded PC Engines. I don't feel like sending this back to anyone for another mod (or even know what to do to it) so I'll live with it.

Hey TeaJay, Fixing the jailbars is very easy, you just have to replace 2 ceramic capacitors, here is a link explaining the fix with some pictures:

http://etim.net.au/av-driver/pcebars/

Hope it helps.
 

Bar81

Member
Well gaf, here is my most recent purchase, a Duo R , I also got a multitap, Everdrive, and extra controller....

pcengine.jpg


Oh, and I modded the console for RGB and S Video output, I think I'm in heaven :)




Hey TeaJay, Fixing the jailbars is very easy, you just have to replace 2 ceramic capacitors, here is a link explaining the fix with some pictures:

http://etim.net.au/av-driver/pcebars/

Hope it helps.

Is the DUO mod pic the same for RX and/or Super CD-ROM2?
 

mickcris

Neo Member
Is the DUO mod pic the same for RX and/or Super CD-ROM2?

for the duo-r and -rx they are here:

GixxyuHl.jpg


same component id numbers as the duo but these are on the bottom of the pcb (under where the HuC6260 sits on the top). for the super cd-rom2, you would want to do this mod to the console you are hooking up to it.
 

mickcris

Neo Member
I "guess" you could solder the caps on top of the original ones, (they are tiny!) for an easier install.

not really sure that would be easier. the old ones are not that hard to remove. just use a soldering iron tip that can hit both sides at the same time. also best to put some new solder or some flux on both sides to make them come off easier.
 

Bar81

Member
for the duo-r and -rx they are here:

GixxyuHl.jpg


same component id numbers as the duo but these are on the bottom of the pcb (under where the HuC6260 sits on the top). for the super cd-rom2, you would want to do this mod to the console you are hooking up to it.

Thank you.
 

piggychan

Member
I don't know if it bothers any of you guys but certainly its causing some kind of ruffling in the pc engine community but looks like there are going to be boot legs of the following games.

They look very close to the originals but it's only if it has been opened then you can tell a small difference between the original and the pce works. So you might have to beware if you are buying one as sold brand new still in shrinkwrap..

https://pceworks.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/akumajo-dracula-x/

draculax_banner_.jpg


https://pceworks.wordpress.com/2016/11/03/quintessential-works/

https://pceworks.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/xmas-double-feature/
 
They look very close to the originals but it's only if it has been opened then you can tell a small difference between the original and the pce works. So you might have to beware if you are buying one as sold brand new still in shrinkwrap..

I wonder why they bothered adding that.
 

D.Lo

Member
I don't know if it bothers any of you guys but certainly its causing some kind of ruffling in the pc engine community but looks like there are going to be boot legs of the following games.

They look very close to the originals but it's only if it has been opened then you can tell a small difference between the original and the pce works. So you might have to beware if you are buying one as sold brand new still in shrinkwrap..

https://pceworks.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/akumajo-dracula-x/

draculax_banner_.jpg


https://pceworks.wordpress.com/2016/11/03/quintessential-works/

https://pceworks.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/xmas-double-feature/
i've bought the non-repros from there (Space Fantasy Zone etc) and seen the others on YouTube and they are all very clearly marked as PCEworks versions, with big logos on manual and disc.
 

TeaJay

Member
The disc is AFAIK totally different, but if the cover is the same, people have to be careful in buying from eBay on listings that have no pictures of the insides.

What's funny to me is that some people sell the repro versions on eBay for the similar prices as the originals.

I actually got the free Rockman CD from PCE Works. It's a strange experiment, but the CD quality soundtrack is excellent.
 

AmyS

Member
This game.

YBFww2R.jpg


This was my first ever import.

Dk2HRA0.jpg


2n2EFeP.jpg


Military Madness Neo Nectaris does not seem to be available on the iOS App Store or the iTunes store anymore. Maybe the Android version is ?
 

AmyS

Member
I forgot to include the Neo Nectaris preview from regular EGM (the one above is from EGM2).

4ncCmRk.jpg


If you've never played this and want a real challenge, there's no better game on the PCE/TG16/TurboDuo.

EGM preview, review and fact-file on the orginal TG-16 game:

mdWh5JH.jpg



Also, VG&CE's Military Madness Strategy Guide:


I like the artwork and love how they placed arrows on the maps :)
 
Hello, all. I was thinking about getting into the Turbografx-16/PC Engine for its vast shmup library. This would include both US and JP releases. Would something like this bundle be good for $450?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/162317330320

The seller advertises it as being region free + RGB modded + recapped. Is this a good way to jump in with the best picture quality and library support?

Just wanted the community's opinion.
 

piggychan

Member
Hello, all. I was thinking about getting into the Turbografx-16/PC Engine for its vast shmup library. This would include both US and JP releases. Would something like this bundle be good for $450?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/162317330320

The seller advertises it as being region free + RGB modded + recapped. Is this a good way to jump in with the best picture quality and library support?

Just wanted the community's opinion.

sorry little late, Would have been nice if the seller posted some pics of the machine up and running but as an auction it looks alright.

EDIT:

Can't stop listening to this since it's been posted on another forum and I'll share it here.

pce rendition of Streets of rage 2 - go straight

https://soundcloud.com/user-7165729...iro-pc-engineturbografx-16-arrangement-speedy

You should check out their remixed versions of Raiden too.
 

TeaJay

Member
That seller seems very legit and I agree that I would definitely pay extra for a console that's fully recapped and refurbished (esp. the CD unit) but I'd still say that's a bit on the expensive side. But I'd recommend getting one that's maintained properly instead of "as-is". Definitely get one with RGB, it blows the composite out of the water for PC Engine.

I paid 240 € for my Duo a while back (this same page!) albeit it didn't have the jailbar fix. But it's recapped too and has the CD unit tweaked. And it came with Turbo Everdrive so I counted the actual console to cost about 160 €.

You could of course ask him if he would do a console mod to order.
 

AmyS

Member
haha thank you again, they are awesome. I was just more stunned at those low scores of Ordyne.

Oh man, I didn't even think about that. I rediscovered Ordyne later, through emulation. Both the TurboGrafx-16 / PCE version and the arcade version. Last year I also purchased Namco Museum Vol. 4 on PSN so I could play the arcade version on PS3 and PS Vita. Love it.

Namco Museum Vol 4 (PS1) Ordyne (60fps) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6kA-_f_wY

TurboGrafx-16 version (60fps): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfIelXgrwjo

Arcade version (2-player, 60fps) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S86aOzUP_qc

arcade flyers:


PCE / TG-16 covers


GamePro magazine issue 9 - April 1990

 
Top Bottom