@@zergilli9719 PS2 killed it selling over 100mil. At the time Nintendo kept dropping the price until it hit $99.99 just to move systems. It's always been a great system and people that had them loved them but it wasn't a success for Nintendo.
@@oblivieon1567 Yea, well Xbox ate into the Gamecube market more than anything too. It's like adding in a 3rd party candidate to an election. It ends up hurting one more than the other. Ultimately, Nintendo made the right decisions to not invest in graphics 1st.
never owned a TurboGrafx back in the day. thank goodness we live in a era of emulation and I've been able to play a lot of these games. love blazing lazers
I'm on looking to see what games to try. The PC Engine wasn't officially released in the UK but import shops had them, and they were often advertised for mail order. Even the gaming mags gave it a bit of coverage - often praising it's scrolling shooters. But it was always in the magazines and it looked excellent. I guess the market was saturated over here with home computers also competing for a slice of the 8/16 bit market.
It’s because it wasn’t mainstream! I had a tg-16, a tg-cd, a turbo express and a turbo duo! It was amazing and cosmic fantasy 2 and Soldier Blade were the best!
Many people didn't know that the console wasn't legit 16-bit back in 1989. Sega Genesis didn't pack in Sonic until 1991 and the TurboGrafx-16 was basically dead by then. It faltered because of Nintendo's bullying developers not bringing their games to other consoles. It also had very little commercial time on North America TV like Nintendo and Sega monopolized air time. Radio Shack in Canada would bundle separately Bonk's Adventure at many different stores.
I've been playing games for this system since 89. I saw/played one of these before I saw/played a Sega Genesis. This was the system that showed me what the next step in gaming after Atari/NES was going to be like and I was 100 percent for it. Though for me probably the most important game was Military Madness. I didn't know games like that were even possible. First Turbografx game I ever beat. Got me hooked on that type of gameplay which lead me to the Shining Force series, Final Fantasy Tactics, Warcraft 1 and 2, Starcraft, and even Dune 2000, among others. Might not have ever tried those games, if I hadn't been blown away by Military Madness.
@@paleo704 funny enough not even close. My uncle on my father's side who was still in his teens living with my grandparents had one and my cousin on my mom's side of the family had one. I was visiting one of them every weekend or staying over between a week to a month over summer vacation so I had regular access to one for a few hours every week. Not only that but I had an NES (well, "The Family" NES anyway). My mom worked at this corner story a street over with this other lady who had a son my age. When one worked the other would watch their kids. So when the lady worked the kid would come to my place where we'd play NES. When I was over his place we'd play his Master System. So despite only owning an NES before eventually getting a Genesis I got to regularly play everything from that era mostly for free.
Man Turbo Grafx-16 and PC Engine is like looking at night and day. Japan was blessed to have a way more compact console without the add-ons, great 3rd party support from big publishers like Namco, Taito, Konami, Irem. They experienced much more cinematic CD-ROM games than the western world did during the late 80s/early 90s. Most haven't experienced console gaming of that caliber until PlayStation. PC Engine was so ahead of its time but unfortunately in America Nintendo refused to let 3rd party companies release games for their competition. Same reason Master System bombed. Not to mention only Toys R Us stores and Babbage's carried anything Turbo Grafx-16 so unless anyone lived in a big city most never saw Turbo Grafx-16 in stores back when it was new.
The last part was my reason. Literally never, not a single time, did I see it in stores, or hear anyone I knew mention it, so I didn't know it existed until around 2015.
the TG-16 actually had a big plastic sleeve that would slide over the back CD player, it was kind of a weird design, the sleeve was half the size of the console but only covered the expansion port, console seemed twice as big as it needed to be.
I had this system as well as a turbo express. The turbo Express was amazing, because of its ability to play the home games while on the road. It used the same cards as the home system
The problem with the Turbo at the time was we kept reading about cool PC Engine games and those never came out in the US. Plus if we wanted to play multiplayer we needed the System and a Turbo Tap. If we wanted composite we needed the booster. It was just a hassle all the way around. The Genesis came with all of that out of the box. So it just didn't make much sense. I didn't have one until Toys R Us put them on Clearance for $30.
I've got the TG16, Turbo Duo, Turbo Express and 100+ games - I absolutely love the Turbografx. I didn't have it as a kid, but finally got it as an adult. Splatterhouse, Blazing Lazers, Neutopia - great games! Super Star Solider is a great game, but don't forget about Soldier Blade! Super fun! Cheers!
Poor distribution and zero advertisment . In Europe it was an exotic thing you could only read about in magazines. In Japan it was not a flop . Emulation helped along with the fact that rondo of blood was miles better than Dracula X
The very first console I bought on my own was TG16. Got it winter of 1989 at a Sears store. Legendary Axe and Blazing Lazers was the games I got that day.
My friends got it at launch and although graphically it was much better than the Nintendos we all had, it just didn't get a large library fast enough. The Snes came out a couple of years later and had more popularity and better games. In the end, my friend's TG16 library of 6 games didn't compare to my 15 game Snes library.
Most gamers were kids back then and could only get one console per generation. For those who weren't waiting for the next Nintendo, the Sega Genesis simply blew this one out of the water when it came to marketing. Every console that had a solid library has now become a cult classic among gamers who can now buy (or at least emulate) everything they missed out on as kid.
The sales were just very low outside of Japan. In Japan, it did better than Mega Drive/Genesis from what I recall, but that's because Hudson/NEC were much more well-known there at the time. Here in Europe it did even worse than in the US. I don't know whether this is fully accurate, but I recall reading somewhere that only a few hundred thousand units were sold all over the continent, and just in a few countries like France/UK... I knew about it back in the 90s, but didn't know a single person who owned it.
When I was a kids d, my parents couldn't afford to buy me a TG16, so I went door to door selling stationary and greeting cards for months to buy one of these along with the CD drive add on. Some real gems in that catalogue.
I basically became interested in this system cause of Castlevania Rondo Of Blood, got the emu, and started checking out a bunch of cool games back in the early 2000's, the same for the X68000 computer, one Castlevania game and then I checked a bunch or awesome games, I wish that whenever they do the X68k mini, they make a version with a regular 10 button controller instead of a keyboard.
I got Blazing Lazers for Christmas back in the day, but my parents wouldnt let me take the entire system with me, while we visited the grand parents on christmas morning. I couldnt wait to get back home!
No, Nintendo pulled that stunt by combining the mobile gamers and the home gamers into one product...than add the people that buy multiple Switch consoles (and there are many). I don't think that will work again. And I think Nintendo knows that also.
I got this for Christmas and it came with Bonks Adventure , did they release it with a different game in different markets? The only other game I had was double dragon, it was hard to get games for this system.
Left for dead? When? In 1992? Because it’s been sought after for decades. People did sleep on it when it was “new” I didn’t I had it and it was my favorite system during the 16bit era.. but it is what it is… people just didn’t know what they were missing.
No doubt. I remember selling them when I was a store manager for Babbage's. They literally hit clearance pricing at one point, maybe $70 or so. Oh, to have one new at that price now. :)
Hey dude, I like your videos and love your enthusiasm for retro video games. I like that you show that there is always something to love about these games and consoles, even the most hated! Subbed!
I got my parents to get me a TurboGrafx 16 from Montgomery Ward when I was about 9 or 10...I remember opening it and playing Keith Courage and thinking, "It's ok". Until I realized, thr Blockbuster in my city (or any other rental stores for that matter ) didn't rent TG16 games AND none of my friends had one. I got sick one night and accidentally threw up on it and it stopped working...I wasn't too mad and got a Game Gear for my Bday the next year lol
For me its been the modding community thats further fueled my passion for retro gaming. Having all these modern options on original hardware the everdrives, signal converters,ports and english tranlations, bluetooth controler adapters to play with my favorite controllers. Its been amazing and im always excited for whats next.
I got my TG-16 some time around the year 2000 or the very late 90's. I became interested in it because Splatterhouse 3 on the Genesis is one of my favorite games and I wanted to own and play Splatterhouse 1. The Turbo wasn't the collectible it is now, but it was starting to show the signs of becoming one, so I figured I better get one while I can. I purchased a used one from Turbo Zone Direct and also several games. I also bought a Turbo Booster Plus and a Turbo tap. Later I bought an adapter for Japanese games. Funny thing is, I ended up not liking Splatterhouse 1 much at all. Cool graphics, but awful gameplay and too difficult to be fun ( at least for me). But I absolutely loved Devil's Crush and Alien Crush. I like Devil's Crush even more than Splatterhouse 3! I still have and play my TG-16, and have recently added a Duo R to my game room as well.
Devil Crush played better than Dragons Fury on Genesis though the Genesis version has a clear graphics advantage more detail versus the brighter colors on TG
I was one of those kids that was given one of these when I was younger by my grandfather and relatives. The only games ever completed were the two Bonk games. But sadly, it was lost during moving to a new home. So I was never able to play more than the Bonk games and the few other games that were with it. Too bad the console and its mini counterparts are too dang expensive to get or I'd love to replay the games again one day.
NEC did give away coupons for free Bonk's Adventure carts inside Turbo Grafx-16 consoles back in 1991. There was no stopping the hedgehog though. People wanted Genesis and especially SNES when it first came out.
@@KarnovJr Bonk should have been the pack in at launch. It was a very addictive game and he had plenty of attitude before Sonic ever showed up. Keith Courage might have been a better game than Altered Beast but it just did not have the name recognition as a launch title. Bonk played better than both of them. The Genesis port was very close to the arcade version and had the same wow factor: huge bosses, large characters, 2 player co-op and the transformation scenes. Sega was also showing Golden Axe with the fullscreen dragon magic fire attack in their commercials, which was also very close to the arcade.
@@KarnovJr The PC Engine was launched in Japan in 1987. The Mega Drive was launched over there in 1988. Both the Turbografx 16 and the Genesis launched in the U.S. in 1989.
He poses an interesting question in the title, but then says virtually nothing to answer it. And info he does provide is uninformed. Genesis did NOT defeat TG 16 because Sonic was the pack in. Genesis had won that war before Sonic was even released. And the TG16 was struggling in the US before the SNES was even out. My recollections? Sega had more games, better known games, way more marketing muscle, and the TG16 was really expensive.
I had TG16 and sold it on eBay many years ago. It is one of a few items I wish I didn't do that with! I'm glad you highlighted Military Madness as that is such a wonderful game. Devil's and Alien's Crush provided a lot of fun in our house. I'd say that Ninja Spirit is a highlight of the system. Great little system and a shame more people didn't know about it.
There were regional pockets where TG16 was pretty popular. The local electronics store in my small town had a large TG16 display and always had the new games. The mom & pop video rental place carried TG-16. I got one for Christmas probably 1990 or 1991, and had several friends as a kid that were rocking TG-16 too.
Don't think it was ever sold here in Ireland, but magazines talked about the PCE and it seemed exotic and mysterious. Never saw one until 2019 at a flea market where someone was selling a Core Grafx 2. Should have picked it up.
Honestly somehow tg16 feels like pico8 at times. I mean even though they are old, they feel surprisingly fresh and extremely entertaining. Also the color palette of tg16 is imo the best part of it. It just creates the mood you know
There's probably a lot of people just like me who as a kid wanted a TG-16 but whose parents weren't too keen on replacing the NES they'd bought a few years back, and by the time they were or the kid got old enough to work a job all three 16 bit systems had been on the market for a while by then. Most parents weren't going to buy their kid multiple systems when replacing an older one and part time jobs would likely only allow for one system, and the SNES and Genesis had better game libraries, so you're going with one of those. Now that we're adults with disposable income we may buy some of the things we missed out on as a kid. I'm getting ready to buy a Sega CD even though I know it's really not that great, although it does have some pretty fantastic titles, and it's going to be the first version even though it's more expensive and more prone to breaking than the 2nd version. It's the one I drooled over in the store and when I would go to my rich cousin's house. I'd like a TG-16 myself just to have one.
I was not born until 91 so by the time i started playing video games when i was 4 all i knew was the genesis, the snes, Gameboy, and playstation. I only owned a Gameboy and a ps1 at first but i never even heard of this system until i was in highschool. I still have never seen one in person
1:24 Umm, Yeah, and it starts with the words "7.6 litre PowerStroke Deisel"! Yet, tho, the TG-16 was my favorite childhood system. My base system became my CD-Rom2 system, which became my TurboDuo, which became a collection of almost 200 games... which may now one day become a small retirement villa in South-East France...
Nice video. I'm pretty sure the Sega Genesis didn't pack in Sonic until a year and a half later. So it was more like Keith Courage or Altered Beast for a bit there.
My childhood. Splatterhouse on the weekends, 3am, mountain dew. Had to keep checking mom was asleep. If she caught us playing that, it was: I'm telling your father. He was pretty chill though. Stern but forgiving. Those were the days 😂
I was amazed when we owned this console. I couldn’t even compare the size of the game. Just imagine, a credit card size?! That was innovation at that time compared to family computer, nes, or sega.
Ive seen two turbografx in person the first I found in an old barn as a teenager in a pile of stuff, don't remember what happened to it and wanted one again. Fast forward to last year and I was digging around in an old shed full of garbage and in the back was a box with a tg16, hookups controller and a multitap! So if anyone wants one there natural habitat seems to be old barns and sheds apparently
I and another kid in my neighborhood were the only two I ever knew who owned a TG16 back in the day. I worked all summer to save for it and I loved it, with Blazing Lazers, Bonk's Adventure, Legendary Axe and Ninja Spirits all being favorites.I traded it my senior yr in high school for a Sega Genesis (which I also loved), but I wish I had hung on to it. Still my favorite 8/16-bit era console.
Pc engine in Japan was released 1987 it competed directly with Famicom with its 16bit graphic processor and it had a great library of games. It came too late to the west when other 16bit consoles begin to surface and had a very limited library. Resurface of the console owns much of it to the discovery of the Japanese library of games which were never released overseas.
The pack-in game in the TG-16 I got as a kid in the early 1990's was Blazing Lazers, a great vertical shoot 'em up. I still play it on an emulator today.
Didn’t know it even existed until 92 was doing a sleep over with other boy scouts at the time and the kids house we slept at had one stayed up all night playing it had a great time with it
Other great TG-16 games you didn't list here are Final Lap Twin - a racing game with an underrated RPG story mode, Dungeon Explorer - an overhead RPG similar to Gauntlet but with boss battles and many many more classes than the basic 4 from Gauntlet, and Legendary Axe - a side-scrolling action platformer. And that's without getting into all the great titles on the CD and Super CD systems.
I'll second all these recommendations. Military Madness was my favorite game on the system. Alien Crush as better than Devil's Crush but the were both great.
TG-16 is popular now for the same reason Sega Saturn and Dreamcast are more popular with retro collectors than with consumers at the time. The sort of game retro people like tends to be quirky and nerd focused. The games that sold the Sega Genesis to the mass market were sports games. If you want to play a sports game now, you get the latest Madden. But if you want to play a quirky shooter, TG-16 is where it's at.
im a bit comfused .. some of the games here looks more like some advanced Sega 32 games quality 10:01 .. and then all of a sudden it shifts to an 8-bit baby NES games quality 9:05 ,, so which one is it ? lol
I had one for a while, though I got it at the end when I saw ot for 50 bucks with 3 games (the pack in, Power Golf and Victory Run, though the later two where mystery games). The problem was after that I could not find games after and it was hard to play it much with just 3 games.
Because it wasn't a flop in Japan it was huge there and you aren't only limited to the US releases now you can get all the cool stuff that came out in Japan back in the day.
Did you know that they make an HDMI adapter that snaps on the back in place of the stock cover? I have one and it works great! You get stereo sound with it.
I'm 40 years old now and inhad so much fun with this console when inwas kid... I would like tonhave the original back again... my fav game is cratermaze
Because of the quality of the games. It didnt have the ingenuity that NES had with the gun, floor pad, glove, interactive etc but it did have fun and high quality games. ive had the same console since I was a kid and still have my old games
This is tied with saturn for my favorite console... My parents gave me the choice of which 16 bit system to get for christmas and I saw that the turbografx and bunch of the games were at clearance prices - So i asked for that which was a great decision since i was able to get a system and a bunch of games instead of a system and one or two games... picked up tons of cheap games over the next year checking places clearing their stock and some garage sales.
I had a friend that bought one of these when we were teens. I LOVED playing Splatterhouse. The games were very expensive and he didn't have very many games. Played a lot of Pac-Land too.
i found 3 turbo grafx when i was roaming around. a friend gave me his turbo cd & he's turbo express. one day i went to a thrift store & i found a turbo do for $2. all it had was just the controller. so i don't know if it work's or not
i was one of those kids who bought the tg-16 upon release. all my other friends got the genesis. ya the games looked better on the genesis, but i had no regrets with my choice. i loved my time with it. i didnt buy another system until the n64 came out.
It's popular now because people who grew up as children during this era are adults with money. I had one as a kid. System is awesome and had games that smoked the SNES and GENESIS. Rondo of Blood could be argued to be a better game than anything Nintendo and Sega had during the 16 bit era.
I have a lot to say about this system, and still have mine, but I'll stop at this: I like Keith Courage, and it was the game that sold me on the console. I still like it better than any Bonk, and lord knows I've played through them all. There are 5 games based on Majin Eiyuuden Wataru, and Keith Courage is the best, followed by the NES game that plays a bit like Zelda 2, then the PS1 RPG... and then the 2 Game Boy games that are basically Tamogachi games. I like it better than Sonic as well, and Sonic was not the Genesis pack in game in 1989; that would've been Altered Beast.
@@orlandoturbo6431 I agree with you. I think the Bonk games are just more fun to play. I like Sonic's graphics and music, but Bonk just feels better to me, and has much better boss fights.
I have a TurboGrafx-16 and I brought it because of the graphics. It had a CD attachment and a portable system that you can carry around. I though it be a sure hit with all this stuff it has. All they needed was better games. They should have release Madden on Turbochip so everyone can play the game.That was a dumb move they did.
Had they chose Blazing Lasers as the packing game rather than the forgettable Keith Courage, the TG-16 might have gotten a better foothold in the highly competitive 16-bit game market.
I think Dungeon Explorer and 2 controllers would have also made a big impression, the game was like Gauntlet mixed with a RPG, the sound and graphics were great and so was the multiplayer experience. I think the only thing Keith Courage had going for it was the color palette, they fumbled the marketing in North America big time.
Pce works has a supergrafx set . I picked mines up plays exactly like the real thing they look identical , I still have all my turbo stuff ,my duo ,duo rx ,core grafx and supergrafx modded ,i still have my bonks 3 and neutopia II ,dungeon explorer II and I'm never selling any of it
I have this system. Came in a suitcase type set up and was a pretty cool system until I got my Sega Genesis. I still have them both but the last time I saw them was in the boiler room of my mom’s basement back in 2005. Pretty sure they’ve already rot to dust, but if not I just noticed they’re selling for a pretty penny today. 🤞
The snes I got had Donkey Kong Country as the pack in. I got genesis after my nes, then snes the next year/2 years later (cant remember) I never heard of the TG16 back on the day. I have the mini, and I wish i had back then.
I had one and really hated it. Got it cheap new at K-Mart because they were failing so badly in sales...i remember most of the boxes were pretty dinged up and I picked the worst one because it was marked even cheaper.. There werent enough games I was interested in. It's the only system I got rid of that I haven't missed or replaced. Nostalgia isn't there for me on this one.
4:52 You know what? Actually? Really, thanks for mentioning that. I can't play many of my older games and systems, except on a CRT. Knowing that a game may induce a "state" warns me off of playing it in RetroArch. Thank You.
The GameCube Was A Flop; Why Do People Covet It Now? ➡th-cam.com/video/xyGWGlgJOb8/w-d-xo.html
I put a modchip and large top case mod on my old Gamecube. Full size DVDs with a few games on each? Yes please
Gamecube was far from a "flop." It sold 21 million units and kept Nintendo as one of the big 3 until the Wii came out.
@@zergilli9719 PS2 killed it selling over 100mil. At the time Nintendo kept dropping the price until it hit $99.99 just to move systems. It's always been a great system and people that had them loved them but it wasn't a success for Nintendo.
@@oblivieon1567 Yea, well Xbox ate into the Gamecube market more than anything too. It's like adding in a 3rd party candidate to an election. It ends up hurting one more than the other. Ultimately, Nintendo made the right decisions to not invest in graphics 1st.
@@zergilli9719 Well you can make the same argument for Nintendo in 1985 and Sony in 1995. New competitors mean more innovation.
Technically, The Sega Genesis shipped with Altered Beast in 1989.
Not "technically". Literally. The Sonic the Hedgehog bundle didn't come out for a couple years, 1991, I think.
i guess i was lucky enough to get my mega drive much later years as a gift in my birthday 1992 & it was shipped with a better game in it ( Sonic 2 )
@@catsaregovernmentspies Technically and literally both mean "in actuality". 😁
It's crazy how many people think that the Genesis came out at the same time as Sonic.
@teddybeer6206 True. It took a few years before Sonic appeared.
the TB16 had that arcade feel, and that's what moved us to own them back in the 90's
never owned a TurboGrafx back in the day. thank goodness we live in a era of emulation and I've been able to play a lot of these games. love blazing lazers
I'm on looking to see what games to try. The PC Engine wasn't officially released in the UK but import shops had them, and they were often advertised for mail order. Even the gaming mags gave it a bit of coverage - often praising it's scrolling shooters.
But it was always in the magazines and it looked excellent. I guess the market was saturated over here with home computers also competing for a slice of the 8/16 bit market.
The PC Engine spanked it.They had more games in Japan. Nintendo blocked them from releasing more titles in the US.
It’s because it wasn’t mainstream! I had a tg-16, a tg-cd, a turbo express and a turbo duo! It was amazing and cosmic fantasy 2 and Soldier Blade were the best!
Many people didn't know that the console wasn't legit 16-bit back in 1989. Sega Genesis didn't pack in Sonic until 1991 and the TurboGrafx-16 was basically dead by then. It faltered because of Nintendo's bullying developers not bringing their games to other consoles. It also had very little commercial time on North America TV like Nintendo and Sega monopolized air time. Radio Shack in Canada would bundle separately Bonk's Adventure at many different stores.
BTW in Japan/Asia the PC engine (TurboGrafx16) was successful, the Sega megadrive (genesis) was not.
Later the Sega Saturn was very successful.
@@とふこactually pc engine aka turbo graphix 16 just flopped back then before it got popular again
I knew one kid who had a Lynx.
@@TheRealCaptainFreedom the atari handheld lynx?
@@josephfrye7342 Yeah.
I've been playing games for this system since 89. I saw/played one of these before I saw/played a Sega Genesis. This was the system that showed me what the next step in gaming after Atari/NES was going to be like and I was 100 percent for it. Though for me probably the most important game was Military Madness. I didn't know games like that were even possible. First Turbografx game I ever beat. Got me hooked on that type of gameplay which lead me to the Shining Force series, Final Fantasy Tactics, Warcraft 1 and 2, Starcraft, and even Dune 2000, among others. Might not have ever tried those games, if I hadn't been blown away by Military Madness.
You must’ve had rich parents
@@paleo704 funny enough not even close. My uncle on my father's side who was still in his teens living with my grandparents had one and my cousin on my mom's side of the family had one. I was visiting one of them every weekend or staying over between a week to a month over summer vacation so I had regular access to one for a few hours every week.
Not only that but I had an NES (well, "The Family" NES anyway). My mom worked at this corner story a street over with this other lady who had a son my age. When one worked the other would watch their kids. So when the lady worked the kid would come to my place where we'd play NES. When I was over his place we'd play his Master System. So despite only owning an NES before eventually getting a Genesis I got to regularly play everything from that era mostly for free.
Man Turbo Grafx-16 and PC Engine is like looking at night and day. Japan was blessed to have a way more compact console without the add-ons, great 3rd party support from big publishers like Namco, Taito, Konami, Irem. They experienced much more cinematic CD-ROM games than the western world did during the late 80s/early 90s. Most haven't experienced console gaming of that caliber until PlayStation. PC Engine was so ahead of its time but unfortunately in America Nintendo refused to let 3rd party companies release games for their competition. Same reason Master System bombed. Not to mention only Toys R Us stores and Babbage's carried anything Turbo Grafx-16 so unless anyone lived in a big city most never saw Turbo Grafx-16 in stores back when it was new.
It's the same console lol 😆
The last part was my reason.
Literally never, not a single time, did I see it in stores, or hear anyone I knew mention it, so I didn't know it existed until around 2015.
the TG-16 actually had a big plastic sleeve that would slide over the back CD player, it was kind of a weird design, the sleeve was half the size of the console but only covered the expansion port, console seemed twice as big as it needed to be.
I had this system as well as a turbo express. The turbo Express was amazing, because of its ability to play the home games while on the road. It used the same cards as the home system
Flexing on us gen x poors
The problem with the Turbo at the time was we kept reading about cool PC Engine games and those never came out in the US. Plus if we wanted to play multiplayer we needed the System and a Turbo Tap. If we wanted composite we needed the booster. It was just a hassle all the way around. The Genesis came with all of that out of the box. So it just didn't make much sense. I didn't have one until Toys R Us put them on Clearance for $30.
got mine at Toys R Us back in the day too, seems they were only store that sold them.
I've got the TG16, Turbo Duo, Turbo Express and 100+ games - I absolutely love the Turbografx. I didn't have it as a kid, but finally got it as an adult. Splatterhouse, Blazing Lazers, Neutopia - great games! Super Star Solider is a great game, but don't forget about Soldier Blade! Super fun! Cheers!
NEC really dropped the ball in the West.
They sure did they should have just shipped PC engine and change the name but not the console. Wasted time hurt them badly
They certainly did. We couldn't even buy this console in PAL world. Not that the 50hz versions of consoles were worth purchasing in the first place.
Poor distribution and zero advertisment . In Europe it was an exotic thing you could only read about in magazines. In Japan it was not a flop .
Emulation helped along with the fact that rondo of blood was miles better than Dracula X
The very first console I bought on my own was TG16. Got it winter of 1989 at a Sears store. Legendary Axe and Blazing Lazers was the games I got that day.
Solid choices
My friends got it at launch and although graphically it was much better than the Nintendos we all had, it just didn't get a large library fast enough.
The Snes came out a couple of years later and had more popularity and better games.
In the end, my friend's TG16 library of 6 games didn't compare to my 15 game Snes library.
Most gamers were kids back then and could only get one console per generation. For those who weren't waiting for the next Nintendo, the Sega Genesis simply blew this one out of the water when it came to marketing. Every console that had a solid library has now become a cult classic among gamers who can now buy (or at least emulate) everything they missed out on as kid.
Be honest. Sega and Nintendo blew away the TG16.
The sales were just very low outside of Japan. In Japan, it did better than Mega Drive/Genesis from what I recall, but that's because Hudson/NEC were much more well-known there at the time. Here in Europe it did even worse than in the US. I don't know whether this is fully accurate, but I recall reading somewhere that only a few hundred thousand units were sold all over the continent, and just in a few countries like France/UK... I knew about it back in the 90s, but didn't know a single person who owned it.
When I was a kids d, my parents couldn't afford to buy me a TG16, so I went door to door selling stationary and greeting cards for months to buy one of these along with the CD drive add on. Some real gems in that catalogue.
I just found one at my local flea market and jumped on the chance to finally own one in 2023. Came with blazing lazers too!
I basically became interested in this system cause of Castlevania Rondo Of Blood, got the emu, and started checking out a bunch of cool games back in the early 2000's, the same for the X68000 computer, one Castlevania game and then I checked a bunch or awesome games, I wish that whenever they do the X68k mini, they make a version with a regular 10 button controller instead of a keyboard.
Never owned a turbografx growing up, I'm glad the minis are a thing. I've been having alot of fun with it
I got Blazing Lazers for Christmas back in the day, but my parents wouldnt let me take the entire system with me, while we visited the grand parents on christmas morning. I couldnt wait to get back home!
That's a fun memory. Adulting has lots of responsibilities, but at least you get to play your games when you want to. :)
You needed the TurboExpress!
@@chfgn I saw it in a few stores, back then, but that was probably not going to happen! :) The Analogue Pocket has become my 2023 Turbo Express
No, Nintendo pulled that stunt by combining the mobile gamers and the home gamers into one product...than add the people that buy multiple Switch consoles (and there are many). I don't think that will work again. And I think Nintendo knows that also.
I had it and loved it as a kid. It wasn't a flop to me.😢
I got this for Christmas and it came with Bonks Adventure , did they release it with a different game in different markets? The only other game I had was double dragon, it was hard to get games for this system.
Bonk's Adventure was added to the system box around 1991- so the buyer got both Keith Courage and Bonk.
Left for dead? When? In 1992? Because it’s been sought after for decades. People did sleep on it when it was “new” I didn’t I had it and it was my favorite system during the 16bit era.. but it is what it is… people just didn’t know what they were missing.
No doubt. I remember selling them when I was a store manager for Babbage's. They literally hit clearance pricing at one point, maybe $70 or so. Oh, to have one new at that price now. :)
T16 was inferior to the competition.
Hey dude, I like your videos and love your enthusiasm for retro video games. I like that you show that there is always something to love about these games and consoles, even the most hated! Subbed!
Thank you! I appreciate your kind words and I'm glad you enjoy the videos!
It's H.P. Lovecraft, not H.K. Lovecraft.
I got my parents to get me a TurboGrafx 16 from Montgomery Ward when I was about 9 or 10...I remember opening it and playing Keith Courage and thinking, "It's ok".
Until I realized, thr Blockbuster in my city (or any other rental stores for that matter ) didn't rent TG16 games AND none of my friends had one.
I got sick one night and accidentally threw up on it and it stopped working...I wasn't too mad and got a Game Gear for my Bday the next year lol
For me its been the modding community thats further fueled my passion for retro gaming. Having all these modern options on original hardware the everdrives, signal converters,ports and english tranlations, bluetooth controler adapters to play with my favorite controllers. Its been amazing and im always excited for whats next.
I got my TG-16 some time around the year 2000 or the very late 90's. I became interested in it because Splatterhouse 3 on the Genesis is one of my favorite games and I wanted to own and play Splatterhouse 1. The Turbo wasn't the collectible it is now, but it was starting to show the signs of becoming one, so I figured I better get one while I can. I purchased a used one from Turbo Zone Direct and also several games. I also bought a Turbo Booster Plus and a Turbo tap. Later I bought an adapter for Japanese games. Funny thing is, I ended up not liking Splatterhouse 1 much at all. Cool graphics, but awful gameplay and too difficult to be fun ( at least for me). But I absolutely loved Devil's Crush and Alien Crush. I like Devil's Crush even more than Splatterhouse 3! I still have and play my TG-16, and have recently added a Duo R to my game room as well.
Devil Crush played better than Dragons Fury on Genesis though the Genesis version has a clear graphics advantage more detail versus the brighter colors on TG
I was able to acquire the TurboGrafx 16 mini two years ago and I am enjoying playing the games to this day.
It flopped in America. It did fairly well in Japan
I was one of those kids that was given one of these when I was younger by my grandfather and relatives. The only games ever completed were the two Bonk games. But sadly, it was lost during moving to a new home. So I was never able to play more than the Bonk games and the few other games that were with it. Too bad the console and its mini counterparts are too dang expensive to get or I'd love to replay the games again one day.
If it came out with Bonk as its hot game to get we might've had a different console landscape
NEC did give away coupons for free Bonk's Adventure carts inside Turbo Grafx-16 consoles back in 1991. There was no stopping the hedgehog though. People wanted Genesis and especially SNES when it first came out.
Maybe then the TG 16 would have sold 15 million instead of 10 million.
@@KarnovJr Bonk should have been the pack in at launch. It was a very addictive game and he had plenty of attitude before Sonic ever showed up.
Keith Courage might have been a better game than Altered Beast but it just did not have the name recognition as a launch title. Bonk played better than both of them.
The Genesis port was very close to the arcade version and had the same wow factor: huge bosses, large characters, 2 player co-op and the transformation scenes. Sega was also showing Golden Axe with the fullscreen dragon magic fire attack in their commercials, which was also very close to the arcade.
@@lazarushernandez5827 PC Genjin wasn't even out yet in Japan when Turbo launched in North America.
@@KarnovJr The PC Engine was launched in Japan in 1987. The Mega Drive was launched over there in 1988. Both the Turbografx 16 and the Genesis launched in the U.S. in 1989.
He poses an interesting question in the title, but then says virtually nothing to answer it. And info he does provide is uninformed. Genesis did NOT defeat TG 16 because Sonic was the pack in. Genesis had won that war before Sonic was even released. And the TG16 was struggling in the US before the SNES was even out. My recollections? Sega had more games, better known games, way more marketing muscle, and the TG16 was really expensive.
Just got a turbo16 few weeks ago, I love it so much. I wanted one since 1992
It's crazy how many people think that the Genesis came out at the same time as Sonic The Hedgehog.
I had TG16 and sold it on eBay many years ago. It is one of a few items I wish I didn't do that with! I'm glad you highlighted Military Madness as that is such a wonderful game. Devil's and Alien's Crush provided a lot of fun in our house. I'd say that Ninja Spirit is a highlight of the system. Great little system and a shame more people didn't know about it.
There were regional pockets where TG16 was pretty popular. The local electronics store in my small town had a large TG16 display and always had the new games. The mom & pop video rental place carried TG-16. I got one for Christmas probably 1990 or 1991, and had several friends as a kid that were rocking TG-16 too.
Another incredible console review Blaine! Thank you!
Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Don't think it was ever sold here in Ireland, but magazines talked about the PCE and it seemed exotic and mysterious. Never saw one until 2019 at a flea market where someone was selling a Core Grafx 2. Should have picked it up.
Honestly somehow tg16 feels like pico8 at times. I mean even though they are old, they feel surprisingly fresh and extremely entertaining. Also the color palette of tg16 is imo the best part of it. It just creates the mood you know
I hope Nintendo will include TG-16/PCE games for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
And all of the games from the virtual console
There's probably a lot of people just like me who as a kid wanted a TG-16 but whose parents weren't too keen on replacing the NES they'd bought a few years back, and by the time they were or the kid got old enough to work a job all three 16 bit systems had been on the market for a while by then. Most parents weren't going to buy their kid multiple systems when replacing an older one and part time jobs would likely only allow for one system, and the SNES and Genesis had better game libraries, so you're going with one of those. Now that we're adults with disposable income we may buy some of the things we missed out on as a kid. I'm getting ready to buy a Sega CD even though I know it's really not that great, although it does have some pretty fantastic titles, and it's going to be the first version even though it's more expensive and more prone to breaking than the 2nd version. It's the one I drooled over in the store and when I would go to my rich cousin's house. I'd like a TG-16 myself just to have one.
I was not born until 91 so by the time i started playing video games when i was 4 all i knew was the genesis, the snes, Gameboy, and playstation. I only owned a Gameboy and a ps1 at first but i never even heard of this system until i was in highschool. I still have never seen one in person
1:24
Umm, Yeah, and it starts with the words "7.6 litre PowerStroke Deisel"!
Yet, tho, the TG-16 was my favorite childhood system. My base system became my CD-Rom2 system, which became my TurboDuo, which became a collection of almost 200 games... which may now one day become a small retirement villa in South-East France...
People didn't understand how awesome it was and now they understand.
Nice video. I'm pretty sure the Sega Genesis didn't pack in Sonic until a year and a half later. So it was more like Keith Courage or Altered Beast for a bit there.
Correct.
My childhood. Splatterhouse on the weekends, 3am, mountain dew. Had to keep checking mom was asleep. If she caught us playing that, it was: I'm telling your father. He was pretty chill though. Stern but forgiving. Those were the days 😂
I was amazed when we owned this console. I couldn’t even compare the size of the game. Just imagine, a credit card size?! That was innovation at that time compared to family computer, nes, or sega.
So I guess you could say the TG-16 was the Ross Perot of the era! The SNES being Bush and the Genesis being Clinton, of course.
The controller was the only let down for me. But the games were great ! 💯
Ive seen two turbografx in person the first I found in an old barn as a teenager in a pile of stuff, don't remember what happened to it and wanted one again. Fast forward to last year and I was digging around in an old shed full of garbage and in the back was a box with a tg16, hookups controller and a multitap! So if anyone wants one there natural habitat seems to be old barns and sheds apparently
I and another kid in my neighborhood were the only two I ever knew who owned a TG16 back in the day. I worked all summer to save for it and I loved it, with Blazing Lazers, Bonk's Adventure, Legendary Axe and Ninja Spirits all being favorites.I traded it my senior yr in high school for a Sega Genesis (which I also loved), but I wish I had hung on to it. Still my favorite 8/16-bit era console.
Pc engine in Japan was released 1987 it competed directly with Famicom with its 16bit graphic processor and it had a great library of games. It came too late to the west when other 16bit consoles begin to surface and had a very limited library. Resurface of the console owns much of it to the discovery of the Japanese library of games which were never released overseas.
Fun fact the pack in game for the TurboGrafx In Europe Was blazing lazers.. It's a shame they didn't do the same in the US
Well it was a mess in USA so it got ported of splatterhouse sequels instead anyway
My cousin had one back in the day. It was the only one I ever saw. I was lucky to pick one up years ago before the prices got out of hand
The pack-in game in the TG-16 I got as a kid in the early 1990's was Blazing Lazers, a great vertical shoot 'em up. I still play it on an emulator today.
0:22 Sega Genesis came with Altered Beast as the initial pack in, it was changed to Sonic in June 1991 when it was released.
geez this takes me back. Was 14 when I owned one. Some other game mentions: R-Type and Legendary Axe.
Didn’t know it even existed until 92 was doing a sleep over with other boy scouts at the time and the kids house we slept at had one stayed up all night playing it had a great time with it
Every retro gamer knows the creed: "If it flopped back then, it's popular now."
I remember I got a Turbo Graphics and my friend got a Genesis. I loved the Genesis and he loved my TG16. The next Christmas I got a Genesis.
Other great TG-16 games you didn't list here are Final Lap Twin - a racing game with an underrated RPG story mode, Dungeon Explorer - an overhead RPG similar to Gauntlet but with boss battles and many many more classes than the basic 4 from Gauntlet, and Legendary Axe - a side-scrolling action platformer. And that's without getting into all the great titles on the CD and Super CD systems.
I'll second all these recommendations. Military Madness was my favorite game on the system. Alien Crush as better than Devil's Crush but the were both great.
I bought a TG-16 for $10 that came with FInal Lap Twin. Some of the dialog is pretty funny!
TG-16 is popular now for the same reason Sega Saturn and Dreamcast are more popular with retro collectors than with consumers at the time. The sort of game retro people like tends to be quirky and nerd focused. The games that sold the Sega Genesis to the mass market were sports games. If you want to play a sports game now, you get the latest Madden. But if you want to play a quirky shooter, TG-16 is where it's at.
im a bit comfused .. some of the games here looks more like some advanced Sega 32 games quality 10:01 .. and then all of a sudden it shifts to an 8-bit baby NES games quality 9:05 ,, so which one is it ? lol
I had one for a while, though I got it at the end when I saw ot for 50 bucks with 3 games (the pack in, Power Golf and Victory Run, though the later two where mystery games). The problem was after that I could not find games after and it was hard to play it much with just 3 games.
What was the fighting game called and that race car game.
H.K. Lovecraft? Is he any relation to H.P. Lovecraft?
Thanks for doing a video on am often forgotten console. It is still worth a pick up for retro gamers
Thank you! And I absolutely agree, definitely worth picking up.
I had one when it first came out. The games and graphixs was great. But was lonely as i was the only 9ne in the hood who had one.
The Turbo GrafX 16/PC Engine/Core GrafX had my favorite 16-bit library. I still enjoy some of those classics till this day.
Because it wasn't a flop in Japan it was huge there and you aren't only limited to the US releases now you can get all the cool stuff that came out in Japan back in the day.
My cousin had one of these. It really flew under the radar screen as a home console.
2:52 - those port are not proprietary. That's just a DIN connector. PC Engine uses mini-DIN.
Did you know that they make an HDMI adapter that snaps on the back in place of the stock cover? I have one and it works great! You get stereo sound with it.
It barely outsold megacd in japan but jeez I didn’t know the turbo graphix16 flopped back then
I'm 40 years old now and inhad so much fun with this console when inwas kid... I would like tonhave the original back again... my fav game is cratermaze
Because of the quality of the games. It didnt have the ingenuity that NES had with the gun, floor pad, glove, interactive etc but it did have fun and high quality games. ive had the same console since I was a kid and still have my old games
Yeap NES was also pretty beastly for it's age blows away the Colecovision.
This is tied with saturn for my favorite console... My parents gave me the choice of which 16 bit system to get for christmas and I saw that the turbografx and bunch of the games were at clearance prices - So i asked for that which was a great decision since i was able to get a system and a bunch of games instead of a system and one or two games... picked up tons of cheap games over the next year checking places clearing their stock and some garage sales.
What year was this?
The Genesis launched with Altered Beast. Sonic didn't become the pack-in until a few years later.
I saw it on display at Sears or some other department store in the mall. Asked my parents for it on the spot.
I had one specifically for splatter house. Was awesome. Just wish it had more variety. Was mainly shooters. Cool little system.
I had a friend that bought one of these when we were teens. I LOVED playing Splatterhouse. The games were very expensive and he didn't have very many games. Played a lot of Pac-Land too.
I remember this feeling. I remember buying a new game and the 30 minute drive on the way home drove me crazy.
i found 3 turbo grafx when i was roaming around. a friend gave me his turbo cd & he's turbo express. one day i went to a thrift store & i found a turbo do for $2. all it had was just the controller. so i don't know if it work's or not
i was one of those kids who bought the tg-16 upon release. all my other friends got the genesis. ya the games looked better on the genesis, but i had no regrets with my choice. i loved my time with it. i didnt buy another system until the n64 came out.
Legendary Axe? Did I miss it in the video?
Not at all, and it's... legendary. Oh, to have more hours worth of video time to talk about the many great games on the TG-16. ;)
It's popular now because people who grew up as children during this era are adults with money. I had one as a kid. System is awesome and had games that smoked the SNES and GENESIS. Rondo of Blood could be argued to be a better game than anything Nintendo and Sega had during the 16 bit era.
Too bad Rondo of blood was as Japan exclusive and required an add-on. Sega and Nintendo had far better games.
I have a lot to say about this system, and still have mine, but I'll stop at this:
I like Keith Courage, and it was the game that sold me on the console. I still like it better than any Bonk, and lord knows I've played through them all. There are 5 games based on Majin Eiyuuden Wataru, and Keith Courage is the best, followed by the NES game that plays a bit like Zelda 2, then the PS1 RPG... and then the 2 Game Boy games that are basically Tamogachi games.
I like it better than Sonic as well, and Sonic was not the Genesis pack in game in 1989; that would've been Altered Beast.
I like Bonk series better than Sonic the hedgehog.
@@orlandoturbo6431 I agree with you. I think the Bonk games are just more fun to play. I like Sonic's graphics and music, but Bonk just feels better to me, and has much better boss fights.
@@bananonymouslastname5693 I wish they had more western style games like Robocop or Batman for the TurboGrafx-16.
I have a TurboGrafx-16 and I brought it because of the graphics. It had a CD attachment and a portable system that you can carry around. I though it be a sure hit with all this stuff it has. All they needed was better games. They should have release Madden on Turbochip so everyone can play the game.That was a dumb move they did.
Had they chose Blazing Lasers as the packing game rather than the forgettable Keith Courage, the TG-16 might have gotten a better foothold in the highly competitive 16-bit game market.
I think Dungeon Explorer and 2 controllers would have also made a big impression, the game was like Gauntlet mixed with a RPG, the sound and graphics were great and so was the multiplayer experience. I think the only thing Keith Courage had going for it was the color palette, they fumbled the marketing in North America big time.
I wanted one back then, just couldn't have every system...
Pce works has a supergrafx set . I picked mines up plays exactly like the real thing they look identical , I still have all my turbo stuff ,my duo ,duo rx ,core grafx and supergrafx modded ,i still have my bonks 3 and neutopia II ,dungeon explorer II and I'm never selling any of it
The tennis RPG and Bonk's were my jams back in the day.
Rondo of blood is the most beautiful original 8/16bit but game ever made.
I loved how colorful the games was on this system. I like my turbographic 16 over my genesis.
I have this system. Came in a suitcase type set up and was a pretty cool system until I got my Sega Genesis. I still have them both but the last time I saw them was in the boiler room of my mom’s basement back in 2005. Pretty sure they’ve already rot to dust, but if not I just noticed they’re selling for a pretty penny today. 🤞
The snes I got had Donkey Kong Country as the pack in.
I got genesis after my nes, then snes the next year/2 years later (cant remember)
I never heard of the TG16 back on the day. I have the mini, and I wish i had back then.
I had one and really hated it. Got it cheap new at K-Mart because they were failing so badly in sales...i remember most of the boxes were pretty dinged up and I picked the worst one because it was marked even cheaper.. There werent enough games I was interested in. It's the only system I got rid of that I haven't missed or replaced. Nostalgia isn't there for me on this one.
4:52
You know what? Actually? Really, thanks for mentioning that. I can't play many of my older games and systems, except on a CRT. Knowing that a game may induce a "state" warns me off of playing it in RetroArch. Thank You.