We go back into the depths of gaming history for a fond look at the NEC PC Engine. And then bringing the Retro to Present, match it up with something modern, the RG351V retro gaming handheld, to play the games on!
Retro/Present – PC Engine and RG351V Video
PC Engine Launch and Prices
The NEC PC Engine, known as the TurboGrafx in the USA, was launched in Japan in October 1987. With other countries waiting up to three years later! It launched in 1989 in the USA, priced at $99.99. It was $10 more expensive than the SEGA Genesis launched in the same month.
The PC Engine is perhaps quite well known for having a lot of different models over the years. We have the CoreGrafx, SuperGrafx, Shuttle, Turbo Express, the LT, the Duo and a bunch of third party models.
The Japanese PC Engine
I have bought in just three of them, I don’t have the full collection and we would be here all day talking about them. Instead we have three of the more important ones representing the main unique features.
First we have the PC Engine which was released in Japan. The USA version looks a bit different to suit Western tastes, but has the same functionality.
The PC Engine was branded as a 16 bit console, but actually had a 8 bit CPU with dual 16 bit graphics processors. It has 8K of RAM and 64K of video RAM. It and could display up to 482 colours on screen at once.
What are HuCards?
Games come on a HuCard (known as a TurboChip in US) which is the same physical size as a credit card, but a little thicker. This wasn’t the first time cards have been used on consoles. It was first done on the MSX computers. Then later on SEGA SG and Master System series which we will see in an upcoming Retro / Present episode. They could hold up to 2.5MB of data but did not have the ability to save data.
The PC Engine Duo series
Next we have the PC Engine Duo which is an integrated PC Engine and CD-ROM unit. You could however buy the CD-ROM unit separately if you already had the PC Engine. This is the Duo-R model which had a few cosmetic changes over the original Duo. The Duo-RX is the third model and comes with a six button controller. All three models feature an additional 192K of memory for the built-in operating system. So there is no need to use a HuCard for the CD OS like the separate unit.
PC Engine GT / Turbo Express
And finally we have the GT as it was known in Japan, and TurboExpress in USA. It was a fully featured PC Engine handheld which you could play all of your HuCards on. It had a 2.6 inch 400×270 resolution backlit LCD, which other handhelds such as the Gameboy did not have. For its time it was an amazing piece of kit, but it was prone to dead pixels as LCD technology was in its early stages. Playing some games was near impossible as the text was not easily readable on such a small screen. And lets not forget the batteries, it ate its way through 6 AA batteries which lasted up to 2-3 hours.
There’s many other models including the SuperGrafx, which had more RAM and improved CPU. Not many games were released on to take advantage of these additions. There is also the PC Engine LT which is a PC Engine with built-in flip up screen in a clamshell style case. It was and still is mega expensive. So if you want to buy me a Christmas present, this is top of my list 🙂
What are the best PC Engine games?
Over 600 games were released across the HuCard, SuperGrafx and CD-ROM formats. NEC and HudsonSoft both published their own games. In addition many third party companies including Konami, Bandai, Data East, Irem and Taito produced.
There are so many great games release on the PC Engine I don’t know where to begin! You have Bomberman, Adventure Island, Alien and Devil’s Crush. Then arcade conversions such as R-Type, Galaga, Final Lap, Gradius, Splatterhouse and Street Fighter II Champion Edition. The list goes on!
The PC Engine CD based games was aimed more towards the Japanese market with comparatively fewer releases in the USA. But there were still some decent games including Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, side scrolling shooter Gate of Thunder and the RPG series Y’s Book I and II.
Game Over for the PC Engine
The PC Engine was sadly discontinued in 1994 and saw over 6.9 million sold which is a good showing. For arcade fans like myself, the PC Engine remains a console associated with great arcade ports. It definitely has a place in my top consoles to come back to and play for hours. I did not have a PC Engine back in the day, instead having a Mega Drive around that time. I can remember the import games guy at Hackney Wick market and wanting some of those great arcade ports!
If you are interested in buying the original hardware you are looking at around £100+ for a PC Engine console .Around £200+ for a fully working Duo-R and anything from £300 to £600 for a TurboExpress depending on the condition. You can usually pick up HuCards for as little as £5 ranging up to £60+ each for the rarer titles. For the CD games you can get the Japanese ones for dirt cheap, and US or rarer titles for a bit more cash. Overall. it is not a bad system to build up a nice collection for!
The RG351V Retro Gaming Console
If you want to play these classic games on something a bit more modern, then the RG351V retro game handheld is a great choice! We went with the vertical orientation to keep in theme with the Turbo Express. But the RG351P or RG351M are essentially the same but in horizontal orientation.
The PC Engine does not require an ultra fast processor to emulate games on. The RG351 series is more than capable of running the games for both HuCard and CD. You can watch our full review of the RG351V from Anbernic to see all the details and what it supports. The link is in the description and at the end of the video.
Let’s first take a look at some of the features of the RG351V retro console. There’s a 3.5” 640×480 IPS display which looks amazing not just on PC Engine but all consoles. The display is crystal clear and the colours look great. And most importantly you can read the text on the games which had issues on the TurboGrafx handheld.
The original PC Engine had just two gaming buttons. This was later updated to six buttons, and you can switch between the two while in-game. This Anbernic model does have a single analogue stick which you can use instead of the D-Pad.
PC Engine performance on RG351V
In terms of performance and compatibility, you should have absolutely no issues at all with either HuCard or CD games on the handheld. It uses the Beetle PCE emulator and is well known for its performance and few, if any, issues with games. It simply works as if you were playing on the original retro console.
Emulator Save States and Online Mulitplayer
One thing of note is that the PC Engine did not generally support game saves due to the HuCard physical size. And instead games would use password text style saves which you would have to write down. You can do it the traditional way, or you can use the emulator’s Save State feature which allows you to save exactly where you are in the game at any time. You can then load and resume the Save State at a later date from exactly where you left off. It is definitely faster than making a note of the often long strings of alphanumeric characters.
Another great feature is the ability to connect over the internet with another player to play multiplayer games. The PC Engine had a multitap style expansion allowing for up to five players on supported games. All it requires is a WiFi connection and for each player to be using the same ROM file. You can be blowing up each other on Bomberman within a few minutes.
Summary
I think that outside Japan, the PC Engine was overshadowed by the Genesis and later the Super Nintendo. This was a real shame as there are some amazing games and arcade ports on for it. If you have always fancied checking out what the PC Engine has to offer, then the RG351V, or horizontal models, are the perfect place to get started with. We have only mentioned and shown just a handful of games for you to try, so there’s no better time to check them out, you won’t be disappointed!
Where to buy the RG351V?
You can learn more and buy the RG351V here. Or browse our range of handheld game consoles here.
