Phantoon
I cuss you bad
Might be rescuable, depending on what's failed. If it's a reball then it's really bloody hard. Dodgy capacitors isn't as bad to fix.
Dunno, I really hate throwing stuff like that out, but fixing it is tricky
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Retrogaming Hardware
Dunno, I really hate throwing stuff like that out, but fixing it is tricky
ArugulaZ
Fearful asymmetry
That's a tough call. I have the Slim PS3 which isn't compatible with all PS2 games, but can run about a third of them through software emulation. (You'll need to jailbreak your system to run that many games; the ones available from the PSN store are considerably fewer.) The quality of the emulation is high enough that I never felt like I had to own an original PS3. There's much to be said for the convenience of just popping in any PS2 game and having it displayed in crisp, clean HDMI, though. Just as much can be said about the difficulty of fixing a fat PS3... chances are you will have to reball it, and that's an expensive process.
Brightening the backs of two N64 controllers (one watermelon red on top, the other whatever the clear blue color was called in Japan. The backs of both controllers are supposed to be clear white):
Thanks @Tegan for the inspiration and recommendation on which light to use, I finally got off my butt and tried whitening some of this ugly yellow plastic. Keeping N64 controllers submerged is a pain since they're shaped so oddly (and I thought I had more screws and stuff that'd fit better to keep them held down). If this works out well, I'll probably do my slightly yellowed Super Famicom next...
Thanks @Tegan for the inspiration and recommendation on which light to use, I finally got off my butt and tried whitening some of this ugly yellow plastic. Keeping N64 controllers submerged is a pain since they're shaped so oddly (and I thought I had more screws and stuff that'd fit better to keep them held down). If this works out well, I'll probably do my slightly yellowed Super Famicom next...
They're still soaking/being hit by UV light because of fucking bubbles lol.
RE: Gamecube HDMI - I use a "GC Plug" which to my eye looks good, I believe it outputs 720p. I can't seem to find the AliExpress listing where I bought it originally back in 2020, so maybe it's not for sale anymore or is currently out of stock? Dunno
In any case, I assume your Gamecube has the digital output port? Apparently that's the only way you're going to get HDMI out (I assume you know this, of course, but just in case I figured I'd mention it).
RE: Gamecube HDMI - I use a "GC Plug" which to my eye looks good, I believe it outputs 720p. I can't seem to find the AliExpress listing where I bought it originally back in 2020, so maybe it's not for sale anymore or is currently out of stock? Dunno
In any case, I assume your Gamecube has the digital output port? Apparently that's the only way you're going to get HDMI out (I assume you know this, of course, but just in case I figured I'd mention it).
What a special day
Well I’m glad I was able to find a careful well produced video explaining how to get the Retroid up and running because *boy* is it not intuitive if you have no idea what you’re doing.
Conversely, now that I do have it up and running woah dang.
Conversely, now that I do have it up and running woah dang.
That's been exactly my experience with the Retroid (and I did the upgrade kit!), that it's a lot of work to get it up and running, but it's far and away the best handheld at that size and price point once you get everything going.
Mega Drive Mini 2 announced, includes Sega CD games:
The Japanese games so far include Sonic CD, Silpheed, and Shining Force CD (the ringer as far as I'm concerned lol). Get Snatcher on there, Sega!
The Japanese games so far include Sonic CD, Silpheed, and Shining Force CD (the ringer as far as I'm concerned lol). Get Snatcher on there, Sega!
Updated list according to this tweet:
Bonanza Bros.
Fantasy Zone
Magical Taruruto-kun
Mansion of Hidden Souls
Popful Mail
Shining Force CD
Shining in the Darkness
Silpheed
Sonic CD
Thunder Force IV
Virtua Racing
Bonanza Bros.
Fantasy Zone
Magical Taruruto-kun
Mansion of Hidden Souls
Popful Mail
Shining Force CD
Shining in the Darkness
Silpheed
Sonic CD
Thunder Force IV
Virtua Racing
ArugulaZ
Fearful asymmetry
It's funny, because by a wacky coincidence, Sega Lord X just posted a list of the very best games for the Sega CD. I suspect many of those will appear in this second Genesis. Final Fight CD is an absolute must, and Dark Wizard and Robo Aleste are at least worthy of consideration. Probably Snatcher as well, since it's the only chance most Americans will have to play it in English.
For as much as people (including myself) bag on the Sega CD, there were some pretty good games on it. Probably not worth an additional $300 expenditure, but certainly worth playing. I'd even add Cobra Command and Road Avenger to that list, if only for their butt-kickin' animation. The gameplay is pure Dragon's Lair, but I appreciate the Japanese spin on things. It's like you're almost-playing an episode of the 1980s GI Joe series.
For as much as people (including myself) bag on the Sega CD, there were some pretty good games on it. Probably not worth an additional $300 expenditure, but certainly worth playing. I'd even add Cobra Command and Road Avenger to that list, if only for their butt-kickin' animation. The gameplay is pure Dragon's Lair, but I appreciate the Japanese spin on things. It's like you're almost-playing an episode of the 1980s GI Joe series.
Sarge
hardcore retro gamin'
Oh, yeah, the Sega CD was a far better add-on than the 32X, and it sported some great games. It definitely did more than the FMV craze, despite its reputation.
One could probably argue, however, that they should have gone the Duo route in not adding extra processing capability (that in many ways games didn't leverage) and instead just make use of the extra storage. The base Genesis was still pretty powerful - if the PC Engine could make the CD format work as well as it did, the Genesis could have as well.
One could probably argue, however, that they should have gone the Duo route in not adding extra processing capability (that in many ways games didn't leverage) and instead just make use of the extra storage. The base Genesis was still pretty powerful - if the PC Engine could make the CD format work as well as it did, the Genesis could have as well.
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
I ended up bringing it to the disposal event. My days of rooting around in hardware are definitely over, and even if they weren't, the PS3 wouldn't be the thing I'd want to root around in. Here's hoping it gets recycled into something. The guy who took it at the event said, "oh no, bye bye, PS3!"
In a bizarre twist of fate, the PS5 I miraculously managed to order showed up on the same day, so now I can't shake the suspicion I summoned it with a ritual sacrifice.
Phantoon
I cuss you bad
What would that have done to make the Mega Drive more appealing to the customer in 1994? It was ancient hardware, eight years old at that point, at a time where technological progression was at its most intense. At the point the 32X was released it was up against the PlayStation and the Saturn. When the Turbografx RAM cartridge was released, that was up against the SNES and the Mega Drive. The SVP adaptor may have worked, but it would've still been another unappealing add on when people wanted a full upgrade.
Phantoon
I cuss you bad
I know I found the concept of the 32X annoying; why would I blow £200 on something that would immediately be outmatched by everything coming, including Sega's own console? Add to that the feeling of being slightly burned on the Mega CD already and it gave Sega the feel of a company with interesting ideas but no compunction to stick with them and make them work.
Also, what were Sega thinking making the Saturn a 2D console initially? Everybody else, including Sega themselves (with the 32X) were going 3D.
Also, what were Sega thinking making the Saturn a 2D console initially? Everybody else, including Sega themselves (with the 32X) were going 3D.
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God dangit, I've been enjoying the PC Engine Mini so much, and with a birthday coming up in which I plan on having my wife load up my Sendico account (lol), I'm looking at buying a PC Engine and hopefully a CD drive too. Rondo of Blood prices aren't what they were in like 2008 or whatever (they're apparently like $150 on Sendico right now, as far as I can tell, not the $500+ Parish said he paid on Retronauts however many years ago), so maybe I'll pick that up since I've really fallen for that game lately.
In any case! I've never owned any type of PC Engine or Turbografx before, so I have some questions:
1. Is it region free? I.E. if I get a PC Engine and PC Engine CD, can I play both Rondo of Blood on it, and an American copy of Bomberman '93?
2. I've heard the PC Engines are notorious for needing to be recapped, which is something I can possibly handle as I have some soldering experience - is it difficult for a person who hasn't quite done fine soldering like on a N64 Digital, but has succeeded at pretty much everything short of that?
3. If I end up getting a CD drive, what system card should I go for, or do I have to pick up more than one for compatibility? I'm not looking for a huge PC Engine collection tbh, but I'm not sure how that works.
4. For output - I have an upscaler that accepts either S-video or composite, so will that work? I know the base model white PC Engine (the model I want, aesthetically, I don't like the way Duos look tbh) is RF only, but if I get a CD, can I output composite, or do I need some weird add on? If I need an add on, what is it called?
I really know very little about this system lol. Thanks in advance!
In any case! I've never owned any type of PC Engine or Turbografx before, so I have some questions:
1. Is it region free? I.E. if I get a PC Engine and PC Engine CD, can I play both Rondo of Blood on it, and an American copy of Bomberman '93?
2. I've heard the PC Engines are notorious for needing to be recapped, which is something I can possibly handle as I have some soldering experience - is it difficult for a person who hasn't quite done fine soldering like on a N64 Digital, but has succeeded at pretty much everything short of that?
3. If I end up getting a CD drive, what system card should I go for, or do I have to pick up more than one for compatibility? I'm not looking for a huge PC Engine collection tbh, but I'm not sure how that works.
4. For output - I have an upscaler that accepts either S-video or composite, so will that work? I know the base model white PC Engine (the model I want, aesthetically, I don't like the way Duos look tbh) is RF only, but if I get a CD, can I output composite, or do I need some weird add on? If I need an add on, what is it called?
I really know very little about this system lol. Thanks in advance!
Becksworth
Aging Hipster Dragon Dad
Don't know any hardware particulars, but I think a lot of pre PSX/Saturn cd based systems didn't even consider the possibility of commercially available writable CDs, so you should be able to burn fan translations and what have you to CDRs.
See, this is why I post these sorts of questions here, because I didn't even think to ask about stuff like that. Thank you! Good to know, because maybe that's how I'll play Ys IV... and good to know, since I may pick up an American version of Ys Book I & II.
ArugulaZ
Fearful asymmetry
I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure the PC Engine and Turbografx-16 are region locked. In fact, I'm pretty sure Japanese and American games have different pinouts, so you can't use them in a system from a different territory unless you've got an adapter.
The TG16 (and presumably the PC Engine as well) has a large plastic cap on the back, which can be removed to reveal three rows of pins. That I/O is your ticket to higher quality video. Here's a pinout if that helps. There is support for RGB, although heck if I know how you would take advantage of it.
Wait wait wait, this is probably gonna be more useful to you. This guy knows what he's talking about.
playlegit.net
The TG16 (and presumably the PC Engine as well) has a large plastic cap on the back, which can be removed to reveal three rows of pins. That I/O is your ticket to higher quality video. Here's a pinout if that helps. There is support for RGB, although heck if I know how you would take advantage of it.
PC Engine + Shuttle Expansion Port
gamesx.com
Wait wait wait, this is probably gonna be more useful to you. This guy knows what he's talking about.
Turbo Grafx 16/PC Engine Buyers Guide: How To do it Right!
Real Talk By: “The Wizard” Jeremy Forest This is going to be something I wish I had back in 1998 when I started collecting Turbo Grafx 16 games. This is going to be a guide on how to bu…
playlegit.net
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Becksworth
Aging Hipster Dragon Dad
At a casual glance, I see recommendations to keep the write speed slower on the image burner to prevent errors and to use 650 MB CDRs over 700 MB ones as as the PC Engine CD is old enough it may have trouble reading the latter.
And the CDs are apparently region free, but you still need the system cards which I believe work like the regular hucards, so those would be region locked.
Oh christ, the Hucards are region locked, dangit. Oh well, there's not a ton of American only Hucard games I want, and Ys Book I & II in English will still work in a Japanese PC Engine. Thanks for this. Sadly, it's more complicated than I wanted it to be. Oh well! I'm still leaning towards a Japanese console at this point...I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure the PC Engine and Turbografx-16 are region locked. In fact, I'm pretty sure Japanese and American games have different pinouts, so you can't use them in a system from a different territory unless you've got an adapter.
The TG16 (and presumably the PC Engine as well) has a large plastic cap on the back, which can be removed to reveal three rows of pins. That I/O is your ticket to higher quality video. Here's a pinout if that helps. There is support for RGB, although heck if I know how you would take advantage of it.
PC Engine + Shuttle Expansion Port
gamesx.com
Wait wait wait, this is probably gonna be more useful to you. This guy knows what he's talking about.
Turbo Grafx 16/PC Engine Buyers Guide: How To do it Right!
Real Talk By: “The Wizard” Jeremy Forest This is going to be something I wish I had back in 1998 when I started collecting Turbo Grafx 16 games. This is going to be a guide on how to bu…
EDIT: Ooh, they apparently can be region modded. That's something to look into...!
Sarge
hardcore retro gamin'
You'll often see PC Engines on eBay that have been modded with a region switch. This is how mine is, but I've never actually had to use it since the only HuCard I have is a Turbo EverDrive.
As far as the CD side goes, there's no region lock, so you can burn CDs. However, there's a big caveat there depending on what model you pick up. I got a PC Engine Duo, and it's quite persnickety about what media it wants. I've even used Taiyo Yuden discs burned at 4X that don't play nice. I eventually found a drive/disc combo that mostly works, with the disc of choice being a Verbatim Data Life Plus. Your mileage may vary. But the big thing I've learned is that the Duo-R and Duo-RX are apparently much more robust than the regular Duo, something I wish I'd known going in.
As far as the size of the discs, I've only run across one game that refuses to work properly for me on a 700 MB disc, and that's Last Alert. There's something with the track seeking that breaks, and I don't have any quality 650 MB discs to use (all the ones I have are trash). One of my go-to games for testing whether the burner combo worked or not is the 4-in-1 disc with Gate of Thunder and Bonk 1/2. If it can boot all of them and run the intro correctly, you're probably in good shape.
If you get a regular PC Engine and the Super CD, you'll want a System Card 3.0.
EDIT: Oh, one more thing that I thought was just my bum system - sometimes you'll see graphical distortions that almost look like a sort of combing artifact in a few games. If you're used to emulating, this is something they don't capture - I thought something was busted with my system. But it's legit, and an approximation of the behavior was added pretty recently to the MiSTer core, which certainly relieved me!
As far as the CD side goes, there's no region lock, so you can burn CDs. However, there's a big caveat there depending on what model you pick up. I got a PC Engine Duo, and it's quite persnickety about what media it wants. I've even used Taiyo Yuden discs burned at 4X that don't play nice. I eventually found a drive/disc combo that mostly works, with the disc of choice being a Verbatim Data Life Plus. Your mileage may vary. But the big thing I've learned is that the Duo-R and Duo-RX are apparently much more robust than the regular Duo, something I wish I'd known going in.
As far as the size of the discs, I've only run across one game that refuses to work properly for me on a 700 MB disc, and that's Last Alert. There's something with the track seeking that breaks, and I don't have any quality 650 MB discs to use (all the ones I have are trash). One of my go-to games for testing whether the burner combo worked or not is the 4-in-1 disc with Gate of Thunder and Bonk 1/2. If it can boot all of them and run the intro correctly, you're probably in good shape.
If you get a regular PC Engine and the Super CD, you'll want a System Card 3.0.
EDIT: Oh, one more thing that I thought was just my bum system - sometimes you'll see graphical distortions that almost look like a sort of combing artifact in a few games. If you're used to emulating, this is something they don't capture - I thought something was busted with my system. But it's legit, and an approximation of the behavior was added pretty recently to the MiSTer core, which certainly relieved me!
ArugulaZ
Fearful asymmetry
It's a shame that Analogue hasn't released its TG16 clone, and that its product runs are so criminally small. Look, guys. People will buy a freshly manufactured TurboDuo-compatible system that costs less than an actual TurboDuo, made with parts that aren't thirty years old. Really! This is a thing we want. If you build it, we will come.
(It's also a shame nobody's hacked the Turbografx-16 Mini so you can add games, but with such a low product run, I can hardly blame a lack of enthusiasm from the hacking community.)
(It's also a shame nobody's hacked the Turbografx-16 Mini so you can add games, but with such a low product run, I can hardly blame a lack of enthusiasm from the hacking community.)
Sarge
hardcore retro gamin'
My understanding is that yes, it will work as a System Card 3.0. I believe you need to run a patched version of the BIOS, though. It's in the EverDrive packs floating around out there, and probably other places as well.
EDIT: Note this is the 2.X EverDrive, the older 1.X versions were flash-based and can't do this.
EDIT: Note this is the 2.X EverDrive, the older 1.X versions were flash-based and can't do this.
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