Retroshowcase:oldschool game reference!

Total reviews!

Handheld: 57

16/32bit Computers: 837

8bit Computers: 416

8bit Consoles: 58

16bit Consoles: 102

32/64bit Consoles: 107

128bit Consoles: 28

OnLine members

Currently: 16

Best on 8bit micro!

International Karate + - Commodore64
Xyphoes Fantasy - AmstradCPC
Arkanoid II - AmstradCPC
Pang - AmstradCPCPlus
Wrath of the Demon - Commodore64
Night Hunter - AmstradCPC
Barbarian - AmstradCPC
Prince of Persia - SamCoupe
Lemmings - SamCoupe

Best on 16bit micro!

Turrican II - Amiga
Shadow of the Beast - Amiga
Jim Power - Amiga
Agony - Amiga
Turrican 2 - AtariST
Project X - Amiga
Super Frog - Amiga
Flashback - Amiga
Dark Seed - Amiga
Flashback - Archimedes
Warlocks - Archimedes
Cannon Fodder - Amiga
Turrican II - PC
Universe - Amiga
Hurrican - PC
Tyrian - PC
Super Stardust - AmigaAGA
Pac-Mania - X68000

Best on 8bit consoles!

Pac-Mania - MasterSystem
The NewZealand Story - MasterSystem
Pang - GX4000
Batman Return of The Joker - nes
Battletoads & Double Dragon - nes

Best on 16bit consoles!

Jim Power - snes
Donkey Kong Country - snes
Aladdin - snes
Comix Zone - Megadrive
Alien Soldier - Megadrive
Blazing Lazers - pcengine
Raiden - pcengine
Super Star Soldier - pcengine

Best on 32bit consoles!

G-Darius - psone
Super Mario 64 - n64
ISS Pro Evolution - psone
Perfect Dark - n64
Dino Crisis 2 - psone
Resident Evil 2 - psone
Metal Gear Solid - psone
Oddworld: Abe - psone
Klonoa: Door To Phantomile - psone
Medievil - psone
Nights Into Dreams - Saturn
Flashback - CDi

Total hits!

Puzzle!

Random Old Ads!

Hardware information

PC-Engine / TurboGrafx-16 / TurboDuo	released in 1987
CPU: HuC6280 8bit at 3.6MHz MEMORY: 8KB RAM GRAPHICS: Dual 16-bit GPUs (HuC6260 Video Color Encoder, HuC6270A Video Display Controller), 64KB VRAM, 482 colors at once out of 512, 64 hardware sprites, Supports: 256 x 256 to 320x256 flicker free interlaced screen resolution. A 512x256 mode is possible through fiddling with registers, but not SOUND: Capable of generating clear digitized sounds and harmonized music. Use of "Turbo Booster" add-on, could generate stereo sound. MEDIA/STORAGE: HuCards/TurboChips up to 20MB size, CD-ROM (later models Turbografx-16 CD, PC Engine Duo/R/RX)
The PC Engine was a collaborative effort between the relatively young Hudson Soft and NEC. It was meant to be one of the most powerful consoles of its era featuring 16 bit graphics architecture (but using an 8bit CPU though) and was way better than its main competitors (Nintendo NES, Sega Master System). NEC's interest in entering the lucrative video game market coincided with Hudson's failed attempt to sell designs for then-advanced graphics chips to Nintendo in an earlier, lower-profile scenario similar to Nintendo's rejection of Sony's designs for a Super Famicom CD attachment which evolved into the PlayStation. The console was primarly released on Japan in 1987 with the name PC Engine, and two years later released to North America (and Europe) with the name TurboGrafx-16 and looked totally different than the white square looking PC Engine... A very small video game console, due primarily to a very efficient 3 chip architecture and its use of "HuCards" (Hudson Card; also referred to as "TurboChip" in North America and based on the BeeCard technology Hudson piloted on the MSX). The cards were about the size of a credit card (though slightly thicker). TG-16 featured an enhanced MOS Technology 65SC02 processor (dubbed the HuC6280 by Hudson) and a custom 16-bit graphics processor, as well as a custom video color encoder chip, all designed by Hudson. The console was way better than its main competitors NES (Nintendo) and Master System (Sega) because of its 16bit architecture being used for its graphics capabilities apart of its 8bit CPU. PC Engine could compete with the other newly released Sega Megadrive/Genesis and Nintendo SNES, well up to a point of course. The PC Engine was some serious obstacles in their way... The console had wonderful games, especially action shooters (such as 1943: Battle of Midway,Gates of Thunder etc), which were in most cases much close to the coin-op versions! But a total of 10 million units worldwide with only 2.5 million sold in the States, due to poor localization. That is, NEC successfully promoted the system in Japan using advertising in big cities only (!) and did it also and in the North America market! By 1991, the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 was all but dead...What a pitty for this great video games system!!!! VARIATIONS: SuperGrafx: duplicate set of video chips, four times as much RAM, twice as much video RAM, and a second layer/plane of scrolling. PC Engine Duo (Japan): Build-in CD ROM system + System 3.0 card, dark grey, headphone jack (R version packaged with a six-button pad) TurboDuo: the North American version of the Japanese Duo, an enhanced build-in CD-ROM drive, could play audio CDs, CD+Gs, CD-ROM2 and Super CD games as well as standard HuCards PC Engine CoreGrafx I/II: Dark/Light grey, blue/orange label, AV output
The PC-Engine / TurboGrafx-16 / TurboDuo (default) color palette

9-bit RGB 512-color palette (482 on-screen)