Turbografx-16. Is it worth collecting/playing?

[m308gunner 352]

Sure, I could look around Youtube and other forums, but figured I'd start my search here. My only exposure to the Turbografx is from a commercial I remember seeing as a child. That's it. It looked cool.

So is the Turbografx-16 a console that's worth collecting? Are the games fun, and affordable? Are there only a few worthwhile titles and the rest are shovelware? Are the really fun ones stupid expensive? Any unseen pitfalls or problems with the games/system?

[Deadeye 1,556]

I played some Castlevania Rondo of Blood, Ninja Spirit, and Soldier Blade, which are great.  Now buying them and worth the cost is another topic, which I am interested in people's opinions as well.

[Crazy Climber 150]

15 years ago yes....these days it's not worth the price of admission in my opinion.  The prices are ape shit.

[MuNKeY 241]

There are some gems on the system for sure but ultimately I went pc engine and of course an everdrive only have a handful of hucard/cds. there are some great games (Bonk, Netopia etc) and a good for shmups as well but prices are insane on several of the good games, so all in all if your into collecting be warned it will get expensive, if your just wanting to play id recommend everdrive or that super sd system 3 (or whatever the newest cool thing for it is...)

[m308gunner 352]

Wow. Just took a look at eBay really quick. Backing away slowly...

[goldenpp72 1,111]

It's an awesomely fun system if you like arcade kinds of games but it's also really expensive and complex to deal with. It's likely my most valuable collection despite not being near as large. I'd stay away from the outer boxes unless you have serious cash. 

[PineappleLawnchair 88]

Don't even bother with the CD games unless you have hundreds of dollars to burn through. Only console i can think of where even Madden is worth serious cash.

 

[m308gunner 352]

7 minutes ago, goldenpp72 said:

It's an awesomely fun system if you like arcade kinds of games but it's also really expensive and complex to deal with. It's likely my most valuable collection despite not being near as large. I'd stay away from the outer boxes unless you have serious cash. 

Could you elaborate on the bold portion?

[oops 75]

hes probably referring to the fakes that seem legitimate also the japan releases and other things that could confuse people.

 

id say get a console and a flashcard.

 

there are some great games, especially if you like shooters.

[MuNKeY 241]

13 minutes ago, m308gunner said:

Could you elaborate on the bold portion?

taking a shot in the dark, but I would presume he is meaning you have to really watch the CD games as they can be faked (no copy protection) and there are SEVERAL 1:1 reproductions out there and also a company that makes them (PCE Works) and I made the mistake for falling for (from not reading for one when I bought them) and didn't know it until I opened one when I bought (off ebay) a sealed Spriggian 1 and 2 they were totally unmarked outside the seal but once opened its marked on the booklet and disc. 

Edited November 2, 2019 by MuNKeY

[goldenpp72 1,111]

Yeah reproductions are rampant and if you opt to actually play the games there is a lot to that. Like you basically gave to get a turbo duo unless you want to track down a tg16, a crappy cd add on and a super system card of sorts. It's not user friendly at all but I do love it. 

[Tanooki 4,524]

Back in 2017 I put over six months of research, thought, personal value questing into that question, but over getting back the one system I never did and that was the Duo (US.)  The more I dug into it red flags one after another appeared, and not just the typical garbage caps.  The gears and bits in there are fairly cheap and it can fail so it's more and more maintenance.  Then I figured if that I could forgive where next, so I looked at the games, but not just favorites, but the totality of it and the overseas market too.  I kept hitting more more bad mark after another.

Ultimately around Christmas before this gift card I had expired I imported a Core Grafx 2 instead with a small selection of games that were loose.  I basically at face value wrote off optical, put it in the back seat because you can get the briefcase module or just the CD module and system card anyway and some of those are more durable than the Duo.  What got me was the price and library.  Games in both regions where words don't matter like NInja Spirit, Genjin(Bonk), Gunhed, other shooters, arcade things, and so on they were far cheaper COMPLETE no less than a loose US TurboChip.  Then I saw what we didn't get, a library of like a N64 sized stack of HuCards vs about 100 for the US of which many are average to bleh anyway.  I can't even call it that the US had holes in the library, it has meteor strikes.  I couldn't find one good reason period to validate buying a US unit... Price, more frail, junkier library, smaller library.

My advice, if you must, get a Core Grafx system, buy what you like best, get a PCEverdrive/Turbo Everdrive, and go that route. If optical is your jam, look into the briefcase or CD unit that straps on the back and use that ED as a system card as it has the memory on it (just not enough for arcade card.)  A 1GB micro SD card will fit the entire US and JP library including translated stuff without a problem.  Also the CG system, it's RCA out of the box with a super clean image even on a modern TV plus the body is like the size of 3-4CD jewel cases stacked, that's it, so it's an easy fit.

[ERROR 8]

Yes

[LastCat 240]

Library of games as a whole is very expensive and let's not get started on finding CIB copies of PC Engine CD games with the OBI still present. Also there is a plague of repro CDs on eBay and it's almost impossible to tell it's a fake unless you do some through examination.

[empire 106]

System with an everdrive is worth owning, but collecting is nuts unless you want just loose cards

[ginoscope 14]

I love my Turbografx it was the second system I owned after the nes.  You need pretty deep pockets to collect for the US library as they tend to be pretty expensive.  The only other system more expensive than this is the Neo Geo Aes.  The games in the US were not produced in Nes numbers so some of them can be hard to find.  Even at game conventions they tend to not have many Turbo games.  I'm pretty proud of my collection and I am slowly working on it with no rush.  I tend to add a new game every few months lol.

If you just want to play and not collect all the suggestions above are valid.  My recommendation would be either a Japanese duo that has been recapped or a coregrafx and an everdrive/ssds3.

[MuNKeY 241]

I'm rocking a PC Engine briefcase with a CD unit and everdrive I love the looks of it vs the turbografx personally 

[aaronmjr 51]

I have a TG-16 with an add-on board to get RGB out of it. As far as the US library.. It's nothing special. I personally don't like shmups, so there wasn't much for me. With that in mind I don't see why people go so bonkers over this console. It's "ok" at best if you aren't into shooters. Some games like "The Legendary Axe" and "Final Lap Twin" are standouts for me. Final Lap actually has a "quest" mode that is a random battle RPG style adventure and is pretty fun.

[MrWunderful 2,580]

Outstanding Library to play. 
 

You missed the boat on collecting by 10 years, unless you dont mind spending big $$$$. 
 

Turbo Duo+rgb+ everdrive is the sex though

[DefaultGen 4,394]

TG16 is cool but overhyped a bit. Bonk isn't better than Mario, Legendary Axe isn't better than Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden, Neutopia isn't better than Zelda. Good games, but not 'worth' 10x what NES/SNES counterparts are. Other 8-bit systems can't rival its shooters though. It's a B+ console with A+ pricing.

If price doesn't matter, go crazy. Spend $100+ on Rondo of Blood, Gate of Thunder, Air Zonk, Ys, Nexzr, etc. There are sick PCE games, they just tend to be very pricey. There are not many $9 SMB3s or TLOZs on TG16/PCE. I would not buy random cheap games, save your money for the good stuff.

[Tanooki 4,524]

Price is entirely my main motivation for the everdrive and owning a pce engine. When some smart person makes something like the sssd3 without all the defects and doing HDMI I’m there.  I’d love to own my old CD US/JP library but the prices are just insultingly bad and unreasonable.  Like it was said. B system A price. 

[Teh_Lurv 238]

Aside from the price and repro issues, I've heard repeatedly the TG-16 collecting community isn't the most welcoming to newcomers of the hobby.

[dewisp02 47]

Depending on the type of collector you are. I am glad I picked up what I did when I did. There are still some titles I am wanting, but not really interested in paying the prices. Maybe one day in the distant future. 

Edited November 5, 2019 by dewisp02

[DefaultGen 4,394]

11 hours ago, Teh_Lurv said:

Aside from the price and repro issues, I've heard repeatedly the TG-16 collecting community isn't the most welcoming to newcomers of the hobby.

I agree but pour one out for our fallen brethren of 2019, PCEFX was also shut down early this year before NintendoAge.

I always think of this guy when I think of the Turbo community. A guy standing in front of a shelf full of games complaining about other people want to collect the same thing as him but aren't "true fans". And people that buy games to put them on a shelf, literally what he does, is unacceptable, lol.

 

[Tanooki 4,524]

That sounds like the thankfully dead PCFX forum that's for certain.  I signed up there towards the end when it imploded all of a sudden and while finding some info was good the people were insufferable especlally the clown that caused it all who eventually got booted before the site got dropped.  The NeoGeo group, at least if you deal with that clown forum is even far worse, but if you go into a larger space on facebook and elsewhere they're far more fun, welcoming, warm and have a good sense of sharing and humor around stuff I saw lacking in the TG/PC circles.