The PC-FX was actually developed years earlier in response to the SNES but was shelved due to the continuing popularity of the PCE. The design was later pulled out of mothballs in an attempt to compete with the PSX and Saturn but by that time it was out of date.
Game Sack It was "upgraded" so poorly, it couldn't compete with most SNES games even, aside things like the cutscenes naturally. Which is sad. :/ The PC Engine contains some of the best games of all time, so of course hopes were high for the PC-FX...
RedHairdo They mainly just added a faster CPU, the graphics hardware was quite good on paper but like the Jaguar it was an example of great hardware poor software. The PS1 caught everyone by surprise. The main reason the Saturn is such a mess hardware-wise is because originally it was a 2D system and when Sega saw what they were doing with the PS1 they shoehorned a bunch of 3D hardware into it at the last minute.
Atomicskull What's even more sad is that the Dreamcast had a "Blackbelt" chip in the works to make DVDs run on the disc drive, it got scrapped. You could argue that would've let it survive for longer since they could get out there first with a video game console playing revolutionary DVD movies at the time.
@@atomicskull6405 it didn't take the US Branch of Sega by surprise. They knew 3D was going to be the big thing but of the next generation and they got SGi to develop them a chipset for a CD based system that they then pitched to Sega of Japan. Most of the hardware people at Sega loved the SGi chipset, however because of the politics of US vs Japan that made Sega such a mess at the time, they went with the awful Hitachi 2D/3D double chipset system with complex its complex CPUs that severely limited development on the system. Sega of USA then suggested SGi pitch to Nintendo as a kind of petty revenge. What could have been, and Nintendo got the best graphics chipset yet because of the refusal to use CD they fucked everything for themselves. It's ridiculous.
I bought a PC-FX back in the late '90s, and I also speak Japanese. The system may have limited capabilities and a relatively small library of games, but I still found a lot of fun to be had. Fire Woman Matoigumi and Blue Breaker totally rocked my world, and gave me tons of enjoyable playtime. Bought the ports of both of them too, but the FX versions are superior. Battle Heat is a great game, and there really is a lot more to the gameplay than you give it credit for. It takes a while to get the hang of it, and much longer to master, but it really is a unique and intense game if you are willing to learn it. Never played an FMV game that can get my heart racing and brow sweating like that game. It actually does have SFII style moves, but they're all performed with button VI, which might not have been intuitive. Der Langrisser FX is awesome, and Farland Story FX is also way better than you give it credit for. Maybe the load time is intolerable today, but I really enjoyed playing through it back in the day. The animation in the battles is beautiful and hilarious. This is the first game I played in the Farland series and I have since collected all the games for Saturn, PC, and PC-9801 because of it. Team Innocent and Miraculum were decent playthroughs. I agree with you completely about Zenki and Zeroigar. Like you say, Zeroigar is a decent playable shooter at best, but nothing special. You did a good job of covering most of the key games in the library. Maybe it would have been good to have Queen of Queens and Megami Paradise II in there, but good job getting your hands on most of the key games. I know it's hard to pass judgment on games due to the language barrier. I love your show and am glad you chose to cover this system.
Great comment, nice to hear from someone in the west (presumably) who bought this back in the day, as it would have been my same point of view at the time
Dear gamesack, you have actually helped me with my job. I work at a retrogame store and all your information, games, and knowledge has actually made me look kind of smart. You guys have probably helped me make my living in some way.
The main reason I compare this to the Jaguar is due to not being released outside Japan, while the Jaguar wasn't released in Japan. Between the two, I think Jaguar is the better console since it has more good games than the PC-FX with games like Rayman, Tempest 2000, Wolfenstein 3D, and the Iron Soldier series, while the PC-FX has less standout games; however, the quality of the PC-FX is somewhat lost for people that don't know Japanese. Expectations-wise, the PC-FX is a far bigger disappointment since it was supposed to be the successor the the popular PC-Engine, while the Jaguar wasn't as hyped since it came around the same time as the more impressive 3DO console did and Atari was no longer seen as a real competitor in the market by the time their console was announced.
I can see why it didn't sell well. I'm shocked that the sound chip is almost identical to the PC-Engine. It sounds lovely, but it makes it seem pretty dated for 1994
All my life I have been "that gamer guy who knows everything about every game" but that's why I love Game Sack so, so, SO much! You guys teach ME so much about games I have never even heard of! I'm your biggest fan :P
There's been 2 more games getting translated since this video: Zeroigar (the shooter) and Farland Story FX. Slowly but surely, we're getting more exclusive games from dedicated fans. I'm really hoping we'll see Blue Breaker, Boundary Gate and Miraculum translated someday.
I'm so glad I never bought this system. I was quite tempted when I saw it in Raven Games in London back in late '94. I definitely made the right choice going with the Saturn.
"It's an interesting game with some decent music that might actually be fun _if I could read the text._" Well, this is gonna be a recurring theme isn't it.
I really enjoyed the episode. Prior to viewing this episode I was unaware of this console. It's fun to learn more about new game systems and relive that really exciting time of the early to mid 90s gaming. Thanks guys. Best regards,
These are the best games on the system: Kishin Doji Zenki: Vajura Fight (good sidescrolling action game) Battle Heat (cinematic fighting game, it's hard to understand how it works at first) Last Imperial Prince (side scrolling ARPG) Fire Woman Matoigumi (one of the best reason to own a PC-FX) Megami Paradise 2 (another very interesting game) Akazukin Cha Cha (fun board game)
Thanks for covering this system. I remember GameFan magazine did a spread on Zenki and I really wanted it. So I bought a Zenki game on the Super Famicom. Not the same and I got stuck in one area. There was also a sequel to Kendo Rage on the PC-FX. I think it was an RPG. Anyway, great video!
A lot of the chips in the PC-FX are in the PC-Engine as well and I have seen an effort to "emulate" PC Engine games on the PC-FX. It's a long way from being complete, but it works.
The PC FX, Japan's answer to the Jaguar. Seriously though, how could NEC go from having one of the most popular (in Japan) consoles of the 16bit age to a complete turd of a system? People always give Sega a hard time for console cock-ups but NEC sure showed them how to really kill your company's console hardware line (^o^)
I own a PC-FX. I actually bought it for Dragon Knight 4, mainly. I own most retail versions of Dragon Knight 4, as well as the PC engine versions of the other 3. So far, I also really like Blue Breaker, Last Imperial Prince, and Zenki. I also own Garland Story FX, Pia Carrot (sadly), and a sealed Battle Heat. (Lucky you can just burn them to CDRs)
Pretty fantastic look of the system, even if it's pretty much anime city. And yeah, I do gotta agree that it really looks more like a barely upgraded PCE. Nirgends in particular, that didn't look very good. Interestingly there's a few games on the system that don't have anime or whatnot, although most of these are ports (including one of JB Harold: Blue Chicago Blues and, of all things, Return to Zork) as well as an FMV-based wrestling/fighting game based on a Japanese female wrestling association. Said game was the only PC-FX game I'd seen in action before thanks to an episode of 1UP's Broken Pixels many years ago, and it's as clunky as it appears. Also, some of the stage layouts on Chip-Chan Kick! are straight up taken from Snow Bros., real blatant.
I'm new to your channel and it is great. I remember reading about this system in a issue of EGM (wow, I'm old) before it's eventual release and I remember it said it could possibly get a US release but it didn't happen. I figured NEC realized what happened with the failure of Pioneer LaserActive & decided not to. Great work and I subscribed.
I played RPGs in Japanese. I just make up my own story and dialogue as I go along. Not all the dialogue, just when I'm bored. New story event happens, just stop for a second, look at what's going on, make something up. Next picture breaks your story? Go with it. It isn't hard to do.
I'm one of those subscribers who just quietly watches content on this awesome channel and dutifully hits that Like button and Share. This obscurity is exactly why I'm here! Game Sack is indispensable as a source for gaming history; seriously speaking. Just today went through the X68000 and now find myself working through the PC Engine's legacy.
Yeah they did, but looking at that beat em up game they showed here, it's pretty clear this hardware would have been capable of some great 16-bit era style games had it caught on and programmers really gave it a workout. Too bad that period of gaming had pretty much come and gone by then.
I used to see this for sale in computer catalogues my Dad used to get. The name and design made me so hyped to get it. lol Dad was smart and didn't ever even consider it.
I was able to get my PC-FX pretty cheap from a Hard Off and I'm happy enough with it, I just wish there were more games available for it that take advantage of it's 2D capabilities, shooters, fighting games, platformers etc.
I love Hard-Off, I've found all kinds of awesome stuff there. My local store seems to be flooded with GameCubes and Famicoms though, not much in the way of unusual systems like the PC-FX. I did find a gold edition N64 for ￥300 once, that was pretty sweet.
***** An entire console for ¥300? Awesome. I found a lot of 16-bit RPGs at Book-Off, Mandarake, etc. for like ¥500-800, stuff that the English versions would sell for $50-100, when I was there five years ago. Interesting how much better-supplied Japan seemed to be in the retro department.
sanyr80 Well, it was in the junk section and needed a bit of work, but at that price and condition, how could you say no? Japan seems to be better supplied because there's not a massive retro gaming wave like there is is the west. I came from the madness of eBay to Yahoo Auctions and was surprised it how easy it is to win stuff for good prices. Just the other day I picked up a boxed and complete GameCube in excellent condition for the princely sum of... ¥1.
I find myself getting extremely thirsty for these episodes since you guys went to releasing them bi-weekly. I completely understand why but when I look through my subscriptions and find a new GameSack episode, I devour it like a mad beast and already crave more! Tell you guys what: if by some miracle I get rich, I will finance the hell outta your show with no strings attached. I'll just send you a huge, sweaty wad of cash every few months in exchange for some of the best entertainment on TH-cam. I'm honestly surprised no major company has decided to do this... Anyway, great episode as always and those end movies are just an incredibly delicious cherry on top.
Nice to see Langrisser II getting some mention! That's one of the best Strategy RPG games ever in my opinion. Thanks! It probably wouldn't be the most popular video ever and I know it's not your favorite types of games, but... Maybe an episode on strategy rpg hidden gems could be an idea?
My old video game magazines used to cover this console from time to time and it's cool to see it in action. I don't think the PC XF is for me even though I like anime a lot, but it was still a very fun and informative video.
I think only a die hard turbo graphics 16 fan would buy this. Though I here alot of people who do buy the pc engine mod it to play turbo graphics games.
Zeroigar also has a fan translation, oddly. It has a lot of anime cutscenes for a shoot 'em up. Why all the FMV for the PC-FX? In a major misstep, FMV is actually the strongest feature of the PC-FX. It can decompress 30 JPEG pictures per second while playing audio, so the FMV of PC-FX blows away the FMV of every other console of its generation (eat that, Final Fantasy VII!). Alas, they didn't get the memo that NO ONE wanted more FMV games. And since it never came stateside, we never got any proper FMV games either! No PC-FX Night Trap! On top of that, the console had no 3D processors. So the system was doomed to obscurity from nearly the start, since 3D was the trend of that generation.
As for the games... Zeroigar is a better game than the video makes it sound. The leveling up system is a nice touch and there's a ton of different weapons. On top of that, it actually HAS a story. FMV and all! It's definitely one of the top games on the system. Since the PC-FX has no region protection, the translation can be played on the PC-FX on a burned disc if the laser is strong enough (mine isn't, but they can be adjusted or replaced). The FMV fighting games also are more playable than the video makes it sound. Battle Heat actually has a fairly large move set, which can be found online. It is extremely confusing and not a great concept, but it's playable with a little more time spent and very unique. Kishin Douji Zenki FX - Vajura Fight is one of the best known games for anyone that knows about the PC-FX. It's a beautiful game, to be sure. Mechanically it's very light (both characters only have a few attacks), not very hard (on the default difficulty a lot of players will beat the game on the first go), and very short (about 40 minutes). "This is an absolute must-own if you have a PC-FX..." Good luck! This is an extremely rare game and sells in excess of $500 these days. It's rare even in Japan. We're talking that kind of rare. And the video is right, Chip Chan Kick is one of the better games on the system and is absolutely disgusting and disturbing. Skip all FMVs and don't even look at the cover! Do that and there's some classic arcade-type gameplay in there.
The PC-FX is one of my favorite systems for being so anime heavy and unique. If you can read Japanese there are a lot of interesting Japanese adventure/digital comic style games and as well as RPGs and such. I really appreciate that you guys went over so many games! There are definitely others out there that might be worth a look like Ojousama Sousamou and Megami Tengoku II which I really enjoyed playing. Thanks for a great episode as always.
As a big Turbografx/PC Engine fan I have always been curious about this system, but after seeing this episode I won't be importing one of these anytime soon. Thanks for all the great content. This is easily my favorite channel on TH-cam.
Excellent episode for a piece of junk hardware, a sad departure for NEC. I believe that the PC-FX deserves a special place in history, along the CD-i, the Playdia and FM Towns Marty. A place where consoles go to die. I remember playing this nonsense on an collector's club meeting here in Brazil. Nonsense. The guy who owned one of these had a big house, lots of consoles and no time for playing. I also recall playing his Tera Drive at the very same day. He had a penchant for those excessive pieces of plastic. Keep the good job guys!
Nirgends was also released on the PC, exclusively accelerated with the PowerVR 3D card. The gameplay graphics are quite much better on the PC with accelerated 3D graphics.
Great episode! I gotta say a lot of these games looked like fun, especially the RPGs. I was saying to myself, "Man I wish they knew Japanese especially since they play so many games that are only in Japanese" then Dave says"I'd learn Japanese if I weren't so old." haha but you guys should learn! It'd make these strange Japanese games even more interesting to learn about!
No wonder that it wasn't released outside japan, it had mostly only rpg games on it amongst other reasons,it lack 3D capability,but 3d is still possible trough sofware, like the gameboy advance dit like in v rally 3,stuntmam asterix xxl etc,,,
It's possible but since neither of us own any Atari systems we would have to wait until somebody loans us one and games. That's how we were able to do this episode.
Dang I can't believe how bad the PC FX turned out despite it's PC engine heritage, I actually remember hearing about this system and reading about it as one of the systems that would exist along side the PlayStation & Saturn and actually compete with those two, and seeing screen shots of a couple of 3d games as well.., one in particular was a formula 1 style racer, wonder what happened to those, and in general what went wrong with the system. At the time I was aware of what 3d games consisted of and/or high quality 2d games, I suppose as a kid who stood by my TurboGrafx 16 and loved it, n knowing that Sega's jump from the Genesis/32x/Sega cd to Saturn meant moving from Sonic,Streets of Rage,Golden Axe etc to Virtua Fighter,Daytona USA,Sega Rally etc, and expected the same from NEC..where we would possibly get 3d or at least updated next gen 2d iterations of games like Blazing Lazers, Bonks, or Dracula X from the PC FX ....what a freaking disappointment.
Been anxiously awaiting for a new episode. I stream your channel every single night while in bed! Ha! I fall asleep to GameSack!! Love your stuff guys. :)
I saw one of these for sale at a retro gaming market in Leeds earlier in the year. I was sooooo tempted. Ended up getting a Wonderswan Color instead as my collection is starting to take over my house!
If the PC-FX was released in English-language countries (e.g. USA, UK, Australia), I guess it would've been called the "TurboGrafx-32" (since PC-FX is 32-bit and PC-FX might've sounded just as stupid of a name as PC-Engine; which sounded like a computer on a train).
Have to say, some of those RPGs look pretty interesting and fun. Of course my enjoyment would be limited by my ignorance of the Japanese language, plus I wouldn't want to pay $500 for a brick of a machine.
Hey guys, I saw a clip of Hi def Bomberman being played on what looks to be this system. I am very interesting to see or hear the backstory of this very cool looking game that is over 20 years old. From what I saw it was never released but boy was it ahead of it's time!
It's nice to see how much fun you guys have while making these videos. Don't let those dumb comments about your 'acting' let you down. Your videos are awesome, keep it up!
What I like about that PC-FX system is, it's so Japanese. All the games were based on Anime. But unfortunately like you guys said, that machine is not really capable of pushing 3D polygons unlike its competitors like Sony PS1. And also, that gamepad looks generic and ugly, they should designed a gamepad similar to Dualshock, XB or DC with 4 shoulder buttons. All in all, as a PC gamer I really like the PC-FX's design. You could pack a lot of powerful components inside its box like m-ATX mobo, especially in our era.
Lol, Never heard the PC-FX called a "console" before. Being from the UK, I've personally always thought of it as part of the early PC line up ( Amstrad, Commodore, Spectrum etc.) and something separate from the other regular consoles, but I suppose you are right. Its just the way it is presented I suppose reminds one of a PC tower. Have to agree also, education is never a bad thing and I learn something every time I watch one of Joe and David's episodes.
I never heard of it before - amazing episode as usual, thanks! Game Sack episodes are always a treat - like a TV program you would wait the whole week for back in the days...
I'm impressed you have this many games on it. I have read this is one of the most difficult systems to collect for and I have only ever seen screenshots of the games until now. Thanks Game Sack for another wonerfully crafted and informative video! Keep up the great work! 😆
It would have been nice to see a console fucused on extremely high quality 2D graphics. Imagine something 10x as powerful as this one, outputting native 1024*768.
Wow, that Zenki game seems a lot better than the one I played for my channel. I couldn't even figure out how to make it through the second level's energy barrier blocking the exit.
I had heard about this system and didn't know much about it, it's interesting to see it in action :). Thanks for the episode guys. While I agree that them learning Japanese would benefit the show, that's a pretty dedicated endeavor for some people who probably already have full time jobs and run a youtube channel. We also don't know what other things are going on in their lives that may prevent them from investing the time and energy they'd probably like to into the show. I think maybe the best bet as someone else suggested is to maybe consult a friend who knows Japanese and can translate...or at the very least give them an overview of the games in question so that they can make recommendations to those who are fluent enough to understand the language, and then tell those who aren't that they should probably pass it up or take the time to learn if they want to get anywhere as they have been doing. As their channel grows, and they keep trying their best to entertain us maybe in the mean time someone will see this and offer to help them. Let's face it, they are entertaining, the production values are really good, and they often at least try to cover things that most other shows don't. So, if someone loves this show and is fluent in Japanese, maybe they can work together with them to create a better experience and slowly teach them Japanese so that maybe one day they can do it on their own? I don't know, just my 2 cents. Great episode regardless guys :).
I loved the PC-FX, I bought it because it was supposed to replace the PC-Engine but it failed miserable but I got some pretty nice collection and the Anime Freak cd-rom magazine was pretty cool. I wanted to try some war simulations like Power Doll but never found it. I also got some video animation combat sims that were uhmm interesting... Still have my unit with the games...
I also have Zenki for the PC-FX and it's great. I watched the anime for it and enjoyed that too. I should try to find a friend to play 2 player Zenki with. That should be pretty fun.
I've been binge watching all your old failed console videos and this one actually looks like had some potential. I'm actually blown away by Zenki FX, and there are a ton of now old-school J-RPGs, which always a plus in my book.
Another great video from you guys! The ending was hilarious! Was always very curious about this system as it was hyped up in the magazines I used to buy back in the day. Thanks!
The thing is, NEC were often cheap. The Turbografx-16 and its single controller port, the Supergrafx aka a rushed PC Engine 2 with still single controller port and other parts from the Turbografx or here the PC-FX which was hardly up to par. But the worst is still the Supergrafx, what a scam! Same CPU, sound and single controller port as the Turbografx, just a few video modifications and almost 2 times more expensive than a Genesis while still not being better overall. And I don't even talk about how bad it looks when hooked to a Super CD-Rom²... Anyway I might enjoy some Turbografx games but these systems tend to be overrated.
I didn't even know about this console. Great video as always guys! Now about the anime intros and cut scenes, I really like them. I remember how impress I was when I saw some intros for the PS1 (like wild arms or psychic force just to name a few).
That very 1st game has haunted Me forever, I remember seeing it an old game fan magazine and not being able to remember what system it was on, thank you guys for finding it!
I'm surprised you guys didn't mention the steep price tag for many of these games. I paid more for Chip Chan Kick than I did for the console itself! I found some good walk thrus online that made both Team Innocent and Boundry Gate enjoyable. Not my favorite system, bit still pretty cool to own.
and I think this missing eyes thing is about this "you" are the main character as it´s in many jrpg´s. like "..." meaning that you are saying what the protagonist is saying. I hope it´s understandable as I´m german and it´s hard to explain in another language... :D
this word doesn´t exist in german but "Lang" means long and "Riss" means crack.. but there is no "Risser" in german... btw: "Nirgends" is also a german title meaning "nowhere"
lady1kaka That would probably explain why "Langrisser" came up as "Langrisser" in the translator. My German's rather rudimentary and is in desperate need of brushing up.
The PC-FX was actually developed years earlier in response to the SNES but was shelved due to the continuing popularity of the PCE. The design was later pulled out of mothballs in an attempt to compete with the PSX and Saturn but by that time it was out of date.
Atomicskull It wasn't just "pulled out of mothballs". It was upgraded. It just wasn't upgraded very well.
Game Sack It was "upgraded" so poorly, it couldn't compete with most SNES games even, aside things like the cutscenes naturally. Which is sad. :/ The PC Engine contains some of the best games of all time, so of course hopes were high for the PC-FX...
RedHairdo They mainly just added a faster CPU, the graphics hardware was quite good on paper but like the Jaguar it was an example of great hardware poor software.
The PS1 caught everyone by surprise. The main reason the Saturn is such a mess hardware-wise is because originally it was a 2D system and when Sega saw what they were doing with the PS1 they shoehorned a bunch of 3D hardware into it at the last minute.
Atomicskull What's even more sad is that the Dreamcast had a "Blackbelt" chip in the works to make DVDs run on the disc drive, it got scrapped. You could argue that would've let it survive for longer since they could get out there first with a video game console playing revolutionary DVD movies at the time.
@@atomicskull6405 it didn't take the US Branch of Sega by surprise. They knew 3D was going to be the big thing but of the next generation and they got SGi to develop them a chipset for a CD based system that they then pitched to Sega of Japan. Most of the hardware people at Sega loved the SGi chipset, however because of the politics of US vs Japan that made Sega such a mess at the time, they went with the awful Hitachi 2D/3D double chipset system with complex its complex CPUs that severely limited development on the system. Sega of USA then suggested SGi pitch to Nintendo as a kind of petty revenge.
What could have been, and Nintendo got the best graphics chipset yet because of the refusal to use CD they fucked everything for themselves. It's ridiculous.
I bought a PC-FX back in the late '90s, and I also speak Japanese. The system may have limited capabilities and a relatively small library of games, but I still found a lot of fun to be had. Fire Woman Matoigumi and Blue Breaker totally rocked my world, and gave me tons of enjoyable playtime. Bought the ports of both of them too, but the FX versions are superior.
Battle Heat is a great game, and there really is a lot more to the gameplay than you give it credit for. It takes a while to get the hang of it, and much longer to master, but it really is a unique and intense game if you are willing to learn it. Never played an FMV game that can get my heart racing and brow sweating like that game. It actually does have SFII style moves, but they're all performed with button VI, which might not have been intuitive.
Der Langrisser FX is awesome, and Farland Story FX is also way better than you give it credit for. Maybe the load time is intolerable today, but I really enjoyed playing through it back in the day. The animation in the battles is beautiful and hilarious. This is the first game I played in the Farland series and I have since collected all the games for Saturn, PC, and PC-9801 because of it.
Team Innocent and Miraculum were decent playthroughs. I agree with you completely about Zenki and Zeroigar. Like you say, Zeroigar is a decent playable shooter at best, but nothing special.
You did a good job of covering most of the key games in the library. Maybe it would have been good to have Queen of Queens and Megami Paradise II in there, but good job getting your hands on most of the key games.
I know it's hard to pass judgment on games due to the language barrier. I love your show and am glad you chose to cover this system.
mrjakeskazekiri Thank you and thanks for the insight on some of these games.
Great comment, nice to hear from someone in the west (presumably) who bought this back in the day, as it would have been my same point of view at the time
Dear gamesack, you have actually helped me with my job. I work at a retrogame store and all your information, games, and knowledge has actually made me look kind of smart. You guys have probably helped me make my living in some way.
I love it when you guys do obscure stuff like this. It's a great way to introduce these lost consoles for new players and collectors to rediscover.
I've nothing against all the sexiness that Japan enjoys, but seriously what's the deal with the little girls!?? That's bonkers, man.
"Chester the Molester turning on the power." Best and most memorable line in this episode.
The quality of this library seems to be better if you understand the language. Even so, this is essentially Japan's Atari Jaguar.
PinMike Apt comparison, I'd say.
At least the Jag's library wasn't 80% hentai games.
Seriously, Pia Carrot is just the tip of that sticky iceberg.
The main reason I compare this to the Jaguar is due to not being released outside Japan, while the Jaguar wasn't released in Japan. Between the two, I think Jaguar is the better console since it has more good games than the PC-FX with games like Rayman, Tempest 2000, Wolfenstein 3D, and the Iron Soldier series, while the PC-FX has less standout games; however, the quality of the PC-FX is somewhat lost for people that don't know Japanese. Expectations-wise, the PC-FX is a far bigger disappointment since it was supposed to be the successor the the popular PC-Engine, while the Jaguar wasn't as hyped since it came around the same time as the more impressive 3DO console did and Atari was no longer seen as a real competitor in the market by the time their console was announced.
@@pinmike8666 Except the Jaguar was released in Japan...
FIFA World Cup whhhaaaaa?! Oh my gawwwwwwwwd
I can see why it didn't sell well. I'm shocked that the sound chip is almost identical to the PC-Engine. It sounds lovely, but it makes it seem pretty dated for 1994
All my life I have been "that gamer guy who knows everything about every game" but that's why I love Game Sack so, so, SO much! You guys teach ME so much about games I have never even heard of! I'm your biggest fan :P
All those neat-o RPG's that seem fun as hell and the porn game is the one that gets translated XD Go figure
I guess the penis is mightier than the love for JRPGs.
Never doubt the lengths (heh...) perverts will go to.
GreatAwesomeReviewers HA
AlphaOmegaSin psst... I love you -creeper face- You smell different when you're awake (:
+AlphaOmegaSin Zeroigar was translated too
+AlphaOmegaSin
So.. the porn game? What about a porn RPG?
There's been 2 more games getting translated since this video: Zeroigar (the shooter) and Farland Story FX.
Slowly but surely, we're getting more exclusive games from dedicated fans.
I'm really hoping we'll see Blue Breaker, Boundary Gate and Miraculum translated someday.
They gotta do the FM Towns Marty. It would be funny for them to have to say it 100 times.
Excellent idea! That would be a great console for them to do.
That's still my favorite computer name ever.
Haakon Anderson I could see it already, whenever they mention the name.
The *FM Towns Marty (with picture of said computer)* had.....
I'm not a native English speaker so I can't see what's so funny about "FM Towns Marty".
@@kaisersoymilk6912 It's just that it has a person's name in it.
Getting a Game Sack is like getting your favorite food. It is always a great thing.
I'm so glad I never bought this system. I was quite tempted when I saw it in Raven Games in London back in late '94. I definitely made the right choice going with the Saturn.
"Interactive anime soft core porn"
That's 90% of the PC-FX's library.
"It's an interesting game with some decent music that might actually be fun _if I could read the text._"
Well, this is gonna be a recurring theme isn't it.
>"This is a family friendly show"
>shows hentai and lolicon
I really enjoyed the episode. Prior to viewing this episode I was unaware of this console. It's fun to learn more about new game systems and relive that really exciting time of the early to mid 90s gaming. Thanks guys. Best regards,
id like if you guys made a video on the pc-98
Fun fact dudes of Game Sack, there are 15 Pia Carrot games the last one came out in 2010.
Sunday morning, making coffee and discovering new Game Sack episode is out. Life is good.
These are the best games on the system:
Kishin Doji Zenki: Vajura Fight (good sidescrolling action game)
Battle Heat (cinematic fighting game, it's hard to understand how it works at first)
Last Imperial Prince (side scrolling ARPG)
Fire Woman Matoigumi (one of the best reason to own a PC-FX)
Megami Paradise 2 (another very interesting game)
Akazukin Cha Cha (fun board game)
Thanks for covering this system. I remember GameFan magazine did a spread on Zenki and I really wanted it. So I bought a Zenki game on the Super Famicom. Not the same and I got stuck in one area. There was also a sequel to Kendo Rage on the PC-FX. I think it was an RPG. Anyway, great video!
I saw they reviewed Battle Heat as well and said "Is this possible? A fighting game on the FMV based PC-FX?"
Same here, I still have my issue with it written :)
A lot of the chips in the PC-FX are in the PC-Engine as well and I have seen an effort to "emulate" PC Engine games on the PC-FX. It's a long way from being complete, but it works.
The PC FX, Japan's answer to the Jaguar. Seriously though, how could NEC go from having one of the most popular (in Japan) consoles of the 16bit age to a complete turd of a system? People always give Sega a hard time for console cock-ups but NEC sure showed them how to really kill your company's console hardware line (^o^)
To be fair with the Jaguar, Atari was already a joke to 98% of the human population by the time it was released.
I own a PC-FX. I actually bought it for Dragon Knight 4, mainly. I own most retail versions of Dragon Knight 4, as well as the PC engine versions of the other 3. So far, I also really like Blue Breaker, Last Imperial Prince, and Zenki. I also own Garland Story FX, Pia Carrot (sadly), and a sealed Battle Heat. (Lucky you can just burn them to CDRs)
Pretty fantastic look of the system, even if it's pretty much anime city. And yeah, I do gotta agree that it really looks more like a barely upgraded PCE. Nirgends in particular, that didn't look very good.
Interestingly there's a few games on the system that don't have anime or whatnot, although most of these are ports (including one of JB Harold: Blue Chicago Blues and, of all things, Return to Zork) as well as an FMV-based wrestling/fighting game based on a Japanese female wrestling association. Said game was the only PC-FX game I'd seen in action before thanks to an episode of 1UP's Broken Pixels many years ago, and it's as clunky as it appears.
Also, some of the stage layouts on Chip-Chan Kick! are straight up taken from Snow Bros., real blatant.
6:42 "The game is completely in Japanese"
**game immediately displays English text** xp
I'm new to your channel and it is great. I remember reading about this system in a issue of EGM (wow, I'm old) before it's eventual release and I remember it said it could possibly get a US release but it didn't happen. I figured NEC realized what happened with the failure of Pioneer LaserActive & decided not to. Great work and I subscribed.
I played RPGs in Japanese. I just make up my own story and dialogue as I go along. Not all the dialogue, just when I'm bored. New story event happens, just stop for a second, look at what's going on, make something up. Next picture breaks your story? Go with it. It isn't hard to do.
Turbografx 16 is best console, too bad they really underwhelming. But technology just awesome and ahead of its time
I'm one of those subscribers who just quietly watches content on this awesome channel and dutifully hits that Like button and Share. This obscurity is exactly why I'm here! Game Sack is indispensable as a source for gaming history; seriously speaking. Just today went through the X68000 and now find myself working through the PC Engine's legacy.
This system never stood a chance against the Saturn and Playstation. Actually, the Genesis and SNES pretty much put it to shame.
Even the FM Towns is better than the PC-FX.
Yeah they did, but looking at that beat em up game they showed here, it's pretty clear this hardware would have been capable of some great 16-bit era style games had it caught on and programmers really gave it a workout. Too bad that period of gaming had pretty much come and gone by then.
I used to see this for sale in computer catalogues my Dad used to get. The name and design made me so hyped to get it. lol
Dad was smart and didn't ever even consider it.
I was able to get my PC-FX pretty cheap from a Hard Off and I'm happy enough with it, I just wish there were more games available for it that take advantage of it's 2D capabilities, shooters, fighting games, platformers etc.
I love Hard-Off, I've found all kinds of awesome stuff there. My local store seems to be flooded with GameCubes and Famicoms though, not much in the way of unusual systems like the PC-FX. I did find a gold edition N64 for ￥300 once, that was pretty sweet.
***** An entire console for ¥300? Awesome. I found a lot of 16-bit RPGs at Book-Off, Mandarake, etc. for like ¥500-800, stuff that the English versions would sell for $50-100, when I was there five years ago. Interesting how much better-supplied Japan seemed to be in the retro department.
sanyr80 Well, it was in the junk section and needed a bit of work, but at that price and condition, how could you say no?
Japan seems to be better supplied because there's not a massive retro gaming wave like there is is the west. I came from the madness of eBay to Yahoo Auctions and was surprised it how easy it is to win stuff for good prices. Just the other day I picked up a boxed and complete GameCube in excellent condition for the princely sum of... ¥1.
I find myself getting extremely thirsty for these episodes since you guys went to releasing them bi-weekly. I completely understand why but when I look through my subscriptions and find a new GameSack episode, I devour it like a mad beast and already crave more! Tell you guys what: if by some miracle I get rich, I will finance the hell outta your show with no strings attached. I'll just send you a huge, sweaty wad of cash every few months in exchange for some of the best entertainment on TH-cam. I'm honestly surprised no major company has decided to do this... Anyway, great episode as always and those end movies are just an incredibly delicious cherry on top.
I can’t tell you enough how much I love your hardware and spec summary videos. Great job “installing” the hardware upgrades 😅
Nice to see Langrisser II getting some mention! That's one of the best Strategy RPG games ever in my opinion. Thanks!
It probably wouldn't be the most popular video ever and I know it's not your favorite types of games, but... Maybe an episode on strategy rpg hidden gems could be an idea?
starting to watch all your episodes all over again . so amazing!
My old video game magazines used to cover this console from time to time and it's cool to see it in action. I don't think the PC XF is for me even though I like anime a lot, but it was still a very fun and informative video.
I think only a die hard turbo graphics 16 fan would buy this. Though I here alot of people who do buy the pc engine mod it to play turbo graphics games.
sakusakusakura nyo You can play all PC-FX games free on Vizzed
Dennis Forstner You can play all PC-FX games free on Vizzed
Zeroigar also has a fan translation, oddly. It has a lot of anime cutscenes for a shoot 'em up. Why all the FMV for the PC-FX? In a major misstep, FMV is actually the strongest feature of the PC-FX. It can decompress 30 JPEG pictures per second while playing audio, so the FMV of PC-FX blows away the FMV of every other console of its generation (eat that, Final Fantasy VII!). Alas, they didn't get the memo that NO ONE wanted more FMV games. And since it never came stateside, we never got any proper FMV games either! No PC-FX Night Trap!
On top of that, the console had no 3D processors. So the system was doomed to obscurity from nearly the start, since 3D was the trend of that generation.
As for the games...
Zeroigar is a better game than the video makes it sound. The leveling up system is a nice touch and there's a ton of different weapons. On top of that, it actually HAS a story. FMV and all! It's definitely one of the top games on the system. Since the PC-FX has no region protection, the translation can be played on the PC-FX on a burned disc if the laser is strong enough (mine isn't, but they can be adjusted or replaced).
The FMV fighting games also are more playable than the video makes it sound. Battle Heat actually has a fairly large move set, which can be found online. It is extremely confusing and not a great concept, but it's playable with a little more time spent and very unique.
Kishin Douji Zenki FX - Vajura Fight is one of the best known games for anyone that knows about the PC-FX. It's a beautiful game, to be sure. Mechanically it's very light (both characters only have a few attacks), not very hard (on the default difficulty a lot of players will beat the game on the first go), and very short (about 40 minutes). "This is an absolute must-own if you have a PC-FX..." Good luck! This is an extremely rare game and sells in excess of $500 these days. It's rare even in Japan. We're talking that kind of rare.
And the video is right, Chip Chan Kick is one of the better games on the system and is absolutely disgusting and disturbing. Skip all FMVs and don't even look at the cover! Do that and there's some classic arcade-type gameplay in there.
Still one of my favorite systems ever, looks-wise. Might even pick one up some day..
Just so you guys know I play a playlist of these every night and I hope you don't stop soon.
"Oh Sack. Good evening."
I laughed harder at that than I should have.
i was drinking when the intro showed you haphazardly launching chips into the expansion holes and now I think I need a new keyboard. thanks.
The PC-FX is one of my favorite systems for being so anime heavy and unique. If you can read Japanese there are a lot of interesting Japanese adventure/digital comic style games and as well as RPGs and such. I really appreciate that you guys went over so many games! There are definitely others out there that might be worth a look like Ojousama Sousamou and Megami Tengoku II which I really enjoyed playing. Thanks for a great episode as always.
As a big Turbografx/PC Engine fan I have always been curious about this system, but after seeing this episode I won't be importing one of these anytime soon. Thanks for all the great content. This is easily my favorite channel on TH-cam.
Excellent episode for a piece of junk hardware, a sad departure for NEC. I believe that the PC-FX deserves a special place in history, along the CD-i, the Playdia and FM Towns Marty. A place where consoles go to die.
I remember playing this nonsense on an collector's club meeting here in Brazil. Nonsense. The guy who owned one of these had a big house, lots of consoles and no time for playing. I also recall playing his Tera Drive at the very same day. He had a penchant for those excessive pieces of plastic.
Keep the good job guys!
Nirgends was also released on the PC, exclusively accelerated with the PowerVR 3D card. The gameplay graphics are quite much better on the PC with accelerated 3D graphics.
RetroCompaqGuy Holy shit how did I not know about this. It seems like a game NEC definitely would have used to promote their PowerVR campaign, too.
Great episode! I gotta say a lot of these games looked like fun, especially the RPGs. I was saying to myself, "Man I wish they knew Japanese especially since they play so many games that are only in Japanese" then Dave says"I'd learn Japanese if I weren't so old." haha but you guys should learn! It'd make these strange Japanese games even more interesting to learn about!
No wonder that it wasn't released outside japan, it had mostly only rpg games on it amongst other reasons,it lack 3D capability,but 3d is still possible trough sofware, like the gameboy advance dit like in v rally 3,stuntmam asterix xxl etc,,,
Maybe Dave should take those games to that sushi restaurant to get them translated.
Captain Karnage Ha! He would.
I would have to buy a lot of Sushi.
David White I'm still waiting for what's bad about that :P
xKetherx It's really expensive, that's all I could think of.
Gender Neutral Chibi Thing You can play all PC-FX games free on Vizzed
Wow, look at all those systems in the intro, you guys really have a huge sack!
I just realized something. Will you guys ever do reviews for games/consoles Pre-3rd gen? Like games for Atari 2600 or Fairchild Channel F?
It's possible but since neither of us own any Atari systems we would have to wait until somebody loans us one and games. That's how we were able to do this episode.
@@tetrisdave You don't have any Atari consoles? Shocking.
Dang I can't believe how bad the PC FX turned out despite it's PC engine heritage, I actually remember hearing about this system and reading about it as one of the systems that would exist along side the PlayStation & Saturn and actually compete with those two, and seeing screen shots of a couple of 3d games as well.., one in particular was a formula 1 style racer, wonder what happened to those, and in general what went wrong with the system. At the time I was aware of what 3d games consisted of and/or high quality 2d games, I suppose as a kid who stood by my TurboGrafx 16 and loved it, n knowing that Sega's jump from the Genesis/32x/Sega cd to Saturn meant moving from Sonic,Streets of Rage,Golden Axe etc to Virtua Fighter,Daytona USA,Sega Rally etc, and expected the same from NEC..where we would possibly get 3d or at least updated next gen 2d iterations of games like Blazing Lazers, Bonks, or Dracula X from the PC FX ....what a freaking disappointment.
GameSack I always enjoy watching your videos
Thanks for the great uploads
One of the best episodes so far! Congrats guys. I would leve to see you reviewing the Wonderswan btw.
Been anxiously awaiting for a new episode. I stream your channel every single night while in bed! Ha! I fall asleep to GameSack!! Love your stuff guys. :)
It is amazing how advanced the PC Engine was, while this system is quite out of date when released...cheers.
Just think. The CD-i could have been in production for longer than the WiiU.
I saw one of these for sale at a retro gaming market in Leeds earlier in the year.
I was sooooo tempted.
Ended up getting a Wonderswan Color instead as my collection is starting to take over my house!
If the PC-FX was released in English-language countries (e.g. USA, UK, Australia), I guess it would've been called the "TurboGrafx-32" (since PC-FX is 32-bit and PC-FX might've sounded just as stupid of a name as PC-Engine; which sounded like a computer on a train).
Behind The Videogame Years, always the best gaming show on TH-cam. Always chock full of games and little filler. Great job as always.
I remember the times when a full on anime intro made me all happy and humm... yeah...
Ah, good ol' Sega CD times!
Great video! You guys always make really high quality episodes
Have to say, some of those RPGs look pretty interesting and fun. Of course my enjoyment would be limited by my ignorance of the Japanese language, plus I wouldn't want to pay $500 for a brick of a machine.
Hey guys, I saw a clip of Hi def Bomberman being played on what looks to be this system. I am very interesting to see or hear the backstory of this very cool looking game that is over 20 years old. From what I saw it was never released but boy was it ahead of it's time!
Why are you guys doing this to me at 3am.. must watch...
It's nice to see how much fun you guys have while making these videos. Don't let those dumb comments about your 'acting' let you down. Your videos are awesome, keep it up!
Would love to see an MSX episode!
They did
What I like about that PC-FX system is, it's so Japanese. All the games were based on Anime. But unfortunately like you guys said, that machine is not really capable of pushing 3D polygons unlike its competitors like Sony PS1. And also, that gamepad looks generic and ugly, they should designed a gamepad similar to Dualshock, XB or DC with 4 shoulder buttons.
All in all, as a PC gamer I really like the PC-FX's design. You could pack a lot of powerful components inside its box like m-ATX mobo, especially in our era.
Man another console i never heard of. Which means i cant troll...... But you know what. I learned something today. And that is not a bad thing.
Lol, Never heard the PC-FX called a "console" before. Being from the UK, I've personally always thought of it as part of the early PC line up ( Amstrad, Commodore, Spectrum etc.) and something separate from the other regular consoles, but I suppose you are right. Its just the way it is presented I suppose reminds one of a PC tower. Have to agree also, education is never a bad thing and I learn something every time I watch one of Joe and David's episodes.
I never heard of it before - amazing episode as usual, thanks! Game Sack episodes are always a treat - like a TV program you would wait the whole week for back in the days...
Based on the after credits skit, I'd like to see you guys do some anime reviews
I'm impressed you have this many games on it. I have read this is one of the most difficult systems to collect for and I have only ever seen screenshots of the games until now. Thanks Game Sack for another wonerfully crafted and informative video! Keep up the great work! 😆
It would have been nice to see a console fucused on extremely high quality 2D graphics. Imagine something 10x as powerful as this one, outputting native 1024*768.
I'm just now seeing your comment, but I recently was saying what if they pushed 2d to the limit before going 3d
@@modev4163 I think that would have been possible around the time the Dreamcast was released.
@@SalveMonesvol Same bro.! Dream cast could have had amazing pure 2d games
Wow, that Zenki game seems a lot better than the one I played for my channel. I couldn't even figure out how to make it through the second level's energy barrier blocking the exit.
Zenki's picture should have come with the definition of "Hidden Gem" in Encarta 95.
I had heard about this system and didn't know much about it, it's interesting to see it in action :). Thanks for the episode guys. While I agree that them learning Japanese would benefit the show, that's a pretty dedicated endeavor for some people who probably already have full time jobs and run a youtube channel. We also don't know what other things are going on in their lives that may prevent them from investing the time and energy they'd probably like to into the show. I think maybe the best bet as someone else suggested is to maybe consult a friend who knows Japanese and can translate...or at the very least give them an overview of the games in question so that they can make recommendations to those who are fluent enough to understand the language, and then tell those who aren't that they should probably pass it up or take the time to learn if they want to get anywhere as they have been doing. As their channel grows, and they keep trying their best to entertain us maybe in the mean time someone will see this and offer to help them. Let's face it, they are entertaining, the production values are really good, and they often at least try to cover things that most other shows don't. So, if someone loves this show and is fluent in Japanese, maybe they can work together with them to create a better experience and slowly teach them Japanese so that maybe one day they can do it on their own? I don't know, just my 2 cents. Great episode regardless guys :).
*Chip-chan meeting board*
"The lolicon crowd is an untapped market, lets get on that!"
I loved the PC-FX, I bought it because it was supposed to replace the PC-Engine but it failed miserable but I got some pretty nice collection and the Anime Freak cd-rom magazine was pretty cool. I wanted to try some war simulations like Power Doll but never found it. I also got some video animation combat sims that were uhmm interesting... Still have my unit with the games...
I'm pretty sure that the downloads of the Pia Carrot's rom & translation patch will be skyrocketed after this video ;-)
I also have Zenki for the PC-FX and it's great. I watched the anime for it and enjoyed that too. I should try to find a friend to play 2 player Zenki with. That should be pretty fun.
"Nirgends" is actually German and means "nowhere". :)
Oh hey we meet again
@@maestr02.06 Heya! :)
I've been binge watching all your old failed console videos and this one actually looks like had some potential. I'm actually blown away by Zenki FX, and there are a ton of now old-school J-RPGs, which always a plus in my book.
Why 90% of NEC PC-FX game library need to be Hentai?
Another great video from you guys! The ending was hilarious! Was always very curious about this system as it was hyped up in the magazines I used to buy back in the day. Thanks!
It just goes to show...
You never know what you'll pull out, when you reach your hand into that sack...
That...GAME...sack
I like how your shows are nice and long and how you keep the video games on screen more than you guys are. Very entertaining. Keep up the good work.
Things coming from Japan are either weird or totally awesome. Great episode, guys!!
Loved the way you tossed the upgrades inside the console over the intro ;). Great episode, had never heard of the sustem before.
The thing is, NEC were often cheap. The Turbografx-16 and its single controller port, the Supergrafx aka a rushed PC Engine 2 with still single controller port and other parts from the Turbografx or here the PC-FX which was hardly up to par. But the worst is still the Supergrafx, what a scam! Same CPU, sound and single controller port as the Turbografx, just a few video modifications and almost 2 times more expensive than a Genesis while still not being better overall. And I don't even talk about how bad it looks when hooked to a Super CD-Rom²... Anyway I might enjoy some Turbografx games but these systems tend to be overrated.
Wow. Are you ever going to run out of systems? Love learning about these from you guys
Absolution! Thank you for pronouncing FAQ as 'fack' instead of saying f.a.q. every time.
I didn't even know about this console. Great video as always guys!
Now about the anime intros and cut scenes, I really like them. I remember how impress I was when I saw some intros for the PS1 (like wild arms or psychic force just to name a few).
I always thought the PC-FX was an addon for the PC Engine, not a separate console.
[RUNT-ch] The things you learn in the Internet.
José Cuesta i just learned about star fox 2 for the snes. Crazy.
that annoying tyler kid The Internet is a magical place isn't it?
That very 1st game has haunted Me forever, I remember seeing it an old game fan magazine and not being able to remember what system it was on, thank you guys for finding it!
Japanese isn't so hard. All you have to do is memorize hiragana, katakana, vocabulary, conjugation, grammar, and around 2000-6000 kanji! lol.
As being Chinese I am pretty happy with all those kanjis.
"YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY? THE MORE THE MERRIER!"
@@subjektivegaming lol
It still isn't hard.
I'm surprised you guys didn't mention the steep price tag for many of these games. I paid more for Chip Chan Kick than I did for the console itself!
I found some good walk thrus online that made both Team Innocent and Boundry Gate enjoyable. Not my favorite system, bit still pretty cool to own.
and I think this missing eyes thing is about this "you" are the main character as it´s in many jrpg´s. like "..." meaning that you are saying what the protagonist is saying. I hope it´s understandable as I´m german and it´s hard to explain in another language... :D
lady1kaka as missing eyes give the protagonist less character and more room for you to put your own character into him
lady1kaka What does "Der Langrisser" mean, then? I only got the "Der." BTW I think you explained it well enough.
this word doesn´t exist in german but "Lang" means long and "Riss" means crack.. but there is no "Risser" in german... btw:
"Nirgends" is also a german title meaning "nowhere"
lady1kaka I get what you're saying. This makes sense.
lady1kaka That would probably explain why "Langrisser" came up as "Langrisser" in the translator. My German's rather rudimentary and is in desperate need of brushing up.