Turbo Grafx 16 System - Video Game Console

by NEC

Product Features

• The classic gaming system from NEC
• 16-bit

Product Details

• ASIN: B001AAAVPI
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,764 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

The TurboGrafx-16, known as PC Engine in Japan, is a video game console developed by the Nippon Electric Company (NEC) and released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989. There was no official PAL version of the system, but a grey importer (Telegames), provided a very limited release in the United Kingdom and continental Europe in 1990 as the Turbografx.[2] The TurboGrafx-16 had an 8-bit CPU and a 16-bit graphics chip capable of displaying 512 colors at once.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bonk's Adventure.., November 19, 2008

By 

EnergyWork (SGV, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Turbo Grafx 16 System - Video Game Console (Video Game)

NEC's TurboGrafx 16 originally came out in 1989 and was marketed as a "16-Bit" system to compete with the 16-Bit Sega Genesis. The system actually contained an 8-Bit CPU but it had a 16-Bit graphics chip. So pixel quality was on-par with the Genesis.

Of course, during the famous 16-Bit wars between Sega and Nintendo, the TurboGrafx was no competition and the system quickly slid into oblivion. I picked up a brand new TG-16 at my local Toys R Us in 1993 for only $50.

Although the Turbo never could compete with the Genesis or the Super Nintendo, there were still a small handful of fun games released for the system. The Japanese counterpart, PC-Engine, had a very large library of quality games since the system did pretty well in Japan.

Graphics-wise, Turbo games were very colorful as the system could display up to 512 colors. The games also tended to have less slowdown than both the Genesis and SNES.

The one major drawback is that you could only plug one controller into the system. Also, there is no audio-video output. You had to buy special adapters such as the Turbo-tap in order to plug in more controllers for multi-player games.

All the Bonk games, Y's Book, the only home version of Splatterhouse, and a decent amount of fast-paced shoot-em-ups make this a fun choice for enthusiast of the 16-Bit era.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First isn't always the Bestseller, December 21, 2009

By 

Will (Army, All over) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Turbo Grafx 16 System - Video Game Console (Video Game)

TG16 was the First to have Stereo sound.
-First console with DISCS instead of cartridges for games.
-First to have some outstanding multiplayer games- the Turbografx versions of Bomberman are still some of the absolute best.

The system didn't sell that well in the US- it was 3-4 times bigger than the Japanese version. All the add-ons made it VERY expensive. The US boxes for the games don't sell the fun very well.

That being said, I agree Blazing Lazers, Military Madness are must-haves.
I would also say that Bomberman (and Bomberman93 if you can find it,) and the BONK series are fantastic. Ys 1&2 is one of the most beautiful adventure titles of the era- not quite as fun as Legend of Zelda but has better artwork, story, and STEREO sound.

Of course, you can download all these titles on the Wii now- one of the biggest TG16 publishers (Hudson Soft) is also making a lot of other good Wii games..
That being said, these systems are great to keep around. The lack of moving parts (cartridges) means that the only thing that really breaks are the controller plugs.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Splatterhouse.. made me get this system !!, December 4, 2009

By 

N. Richko "tarkin" (the death star) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Turbo Grafx 16 System - Video Game Console (Video Game)

when the Turbo grafx 16 system was released in the late 80s..it had a lot of potential. competing with the sega genesis and even the nintendo nes..was a chore..but the tg-16 found a following and produced some great games..that are still fun to play today! i can still remember the commercials :)

the tg-16 system had a powerful processor much like an 8 bit system but it was jazzed up with more colors and better sound.. it had an optional turbo booster modual also.

it also had a great cd system add on for cd based games...it wasnt popular as much as the sega cd(which rocks!) but had a few great titles...mostly import though..

some of the games that stand out are Splatterhouse! love that game...think of resident evil where you control a hockey masked character(sounds familiar?) kicking the stuffing out of demons a lot of fun. the 2 sequels are on the
genesis as well as a remake coming to the playstation 3 and xbox360.

some other must haves are Bonk's adventure, blazing lasers, and alien crush(an awesomely creepy pinball game)

in short, i wish the tg-16 did better..it was a system that had a lot of potential but is still a lot of fun to play.