Famicom World

In this thread (http://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=11880.msg163923#msg163923) the topic of PC Engine was bought up so I thought we can continue the discussion here.

Some more good PC Engine games from the top of my mind:


Platform Games
The PC Engine doesn't have as many platformers as Famicom does, but here are a few anyway:
PC Genjin series - AKA Bonk, this is PC Engine's Mario.
Valis series - Famous action platform series for the Super CD format.
Akumajou Dracula X - Probably not as rare as people think, but still expensive. One of the best in the series (and that should say something). Super CD-ROM².
Rainbow Islands - Pretty much arcade perfect except for the loading times due to it being a CD game. CD-ROM²
Parasol Stars - Sequel of Rainbow Island. This is the original version and there's no arcade version. It was ported to some other systems though.
Fausetté Amour - Interesting hookshot platformer. Super CD-ROM²
Ninja Spirit: Saigo no Nindou - Great ninja action.
Makyou Densetsu: The Legendary Axe - Pretty hard action platformer.
Daimakaimura: Maybe the best SuperGrafx exclusive game. Good arcade port, but there are other good ports of the game for other systems. SuperGrafx HuCard


Shooting Games
There are tons of them but here are a few:
R-Type - On HuCard the game is divided into two cards. But a CD version contains the full game I think. Also US version contain full game on HuCard.
Gunhed - AKA Blazing Lasers. Haven't played it too much since I'm not so good at shooters, but it's one of the more famous titles.
Super Star Soldier - Hudson's famous shmup series.
Star Parodier - It's supposed to be a parody of Star Soldier like Parodius is for Gradius, but it actually isn't funny at all. It's gorgeous and fun to play though, even if a bit easy.
PC Denjin - AKA Air Zonk. Basically a STG take on the PC Genjin series.
Xevious - Better arcade port than the Famicom version.


Fighting Games
There are several good arcade ports of fighters, especially for the Arcade System Card:
Splatterhouse - Probably the best arcade port of this great horror beat 'em up.
Kaze Kiri - Great ninja action, but a bit rare. Super CD-ROM²
Street Fighter II′ (dash) - Came on an extra large (2.5 MB) HuCard. 6-button controller support.
Fighting Street - First Street Fighter game with a different name. No 6-button controller support. CD-ROM²
Garou Densetsu 2 - AKA Fatal Fury 2, very cheap and easy to find. 6-button controller support. Arcade CD-ROM²


Role-Playing Games
There are tons of RPGs but most of them require Japanese literacy. Some are translated officially or unofficially (but they are often dubbed :( ).
Ys Ⅰ・Ⅱ - Great port of the first two games in Falcom's famous action RPG series. Very cheap and easy to find, the manual is really short though. CD-ROM²
Ys Ⅲ - Unlike the other games in the series Ys III is a platform RPG like Zelda II. CD-ROM²
Wizardry series - Together with Ultima the father of the DQ and Megaten series (and Japanese RPGs in general). The PC-Engine ports were made by Naxat Soft instead of ASCII and are therefore not based on ASCII's Famicom version (unlike pretty much all other Japanese Wizardry ports for other systems).
Tengai Makyou Far East of Eden series - This is the Dragon Quest of PC Engine I guess. Based on old ninja legends but with a comical twist. The people behind these games, later created the famous Sakura Taisen series of adventure/simulation hybrid games.
Xanadu series - Has not much to do with earlier Xanadu games (which Faxanadu belongs to) it seems. Which seems to also be a common thing with games in the Dragon Slayer series which it also belongs to.
Neutopia - This is the Zelda of PC Engine. Uses either passwords or BRAM (backup RAM used for saving in games) to save. HuCard
Double Dungeons - First person dungeon crawler with two players simultaneously. HuCard
Dungeon Explorer - Overhead view dungeon crawler with up to five players simultaneously. HuCard
Popful Mail - Gorgeous looking platform RPG. It's different from the Super Famicom game and the Mega CD game. A bit expensive lately though. Super CD-ROM²


Other Genres
There are also many adventure, puzzle and games in other genres. Adventure games obviously often needs Japanese literacy.
Bomberman series - This is a Hudson console after all.
Tokimeki Memorial - The legendary first game in the series of famous ren'ai simulations. Great but more or less requires Japanese literacy. The PC Engine version is the original and is the only version with the "Force Gear" minigame. Mouse support. Super CD-ROM²
Snatcher - Remake of Kojima's earlier work. Pretty much the same as the Mega CD version but in Japanese and not censored.
Gaia no Monshou - Strategy/warsim game that is part of the Langrisser series. It's a retell of Elthlead, the first game in the series. HuCard
Gai Frame - Robot strategy/warsim game that is part of the Langrisser series. It takes place in the future of the timeline. HuCard
Zipang - Solomon no Kagi for PC Engine disguised as characters from the movie Zipang. This time it comes with passwords! HuCard


Homebrew
There are several homebrewed games and useful programs for HuCard and CD formats. Some are even for sale on pressed CDs so that they are not only playable on Duo-R/RX CD drives but also on the other CD drives that may have trouble with CD-Rs.
BRAM Tool - Useful BRAM manager by Chris Covell. It allows to view, delete, format and even edit save files in the 2 kB internal BRAM. It also allows to backup save files in another area of the BRAM under a different name to make editing safe. Comes both in HuCard ROM and CD image formats.
HuZero - Chris Covell's little F-Zero clone for PC Engine. HuCard and CD.
SuperGrafx Demo - One of very few SuperGrafx homebrew programs, demonstrates the SuperGrafx hardware. HuCard and CD. SuperGrafx
Atlantean - Commercial game sold on reproduced HuCards by Aetherbyte. It's a Defender-like shooter in a submerged world.
Pyramid Plunder - Another commercial game by Aetherbyte. It's an Egyptian-themed maze game. Super CD-ROM²
Meteor Blaster DX - Another shooter. Released on both CD-R and pressed CDs. Super CD-ROM²
Megaman PCE - Tomaitheous made several conversions of Famicom games to PC Engine (the PC Engine uses an upgraded version of the Famicom CPU). Megaman 1 even received a CD version with a redbook audio soundtrack.
TEOS - Custom firmware for the Everdrive v2.x, check out the backup note at the bottom of the post.


Recommended Setups

HuCard Only:
* PC Engine CoreGrafx I (or II)
* Ten no Koe 2 (or Backup Booster)
This setup has AV output and the 2 kB BRAM. Upgrading for CD games is very expensive and unreliable, but possible.
Alternatively if one wants the original white PC Engine instead of the CoreGrafx, one could replace the Ten no Koe 2 with a Backup Booster or even a CD-ROM² interface unit which both adds AV output. To manage BRAM, a game with a BRAM manager might be needed or an Everdrive and use the BRAM Tool homebrew program.


HuCard and CD:
* PC Engine Duo R (or Duo RX)
* Arcade Card Duo (or Arcade Card Pro but Duo is probably cheaper)
* Everdrive (or a bunch of System Cards, but the Everdrive is more useful and might even be cheaper)
This is the best overall setup with the only reliable CD unit that has quality parts. As it's the only CD unit that reliably plays CD-Rs, it opens up all the possibilities of homebrew and hacks. So this setup gives full access to all licenced and unlicensed games, hacks, translations, homebrew and useful programs on both the HuCard and the CD format (not counting LD-ROM² used for the LaserActive PAC). The sole exception is the SuperGrafx games. The 2 kB BRAM is built-in and powered by the charge in a capacitor, AV output is offered out of the box. The Everdrive may be used as a system card for earlier System Card BIOSes or Game Express cards which, added together with the Duo R/RX and Arcade Card Duo, allows 100% compatibility with CD games. Remember to only use the Everdrive patched System Card 3.0 ROM if loading it to the Everdrive for the convenience of not having to take it out when playing Super CD games. The hardware may be damaged if the clean 3.0 ROM is used with the Everdrive.
Also don't confuse the Duo R and Duo RX with the original black Duo or the Amercian Turbo Duo. Their CD drives are as bad as the standalone ones.


HuCard and SuperGrafx:
* SuperGrafx
* Ten no Koe 2 (or Backup Booster)
The only way to get SuperGrafx games is to get a SuperGrafx. Not very good for CD games though as the Super CD-ROM² is expensive, unreliable and large. Add that to the fact that the SuperGrafx is large and expensive the whole setup will be ridiculously large and expensive. SuperGrafx games are expensive but the Everdrive supports all 7 titles (and all SuperGrafx homebrew).
I don't know if Ten no Koe 2 and other backup devices requires the ROM² Adapter (normally used to connect the CD-ROM² interface unit to the SuperGrafx).
Also note that there may be regular PC engine games that does not work with the SuperGrafx so I can't guarantee 100% compatibility. There is a switch in the back of the console that sets the system in SuperGrafx mode (I) or PC Engine mode (II) in order to improve compatibility with earlier games though.


HuCard Portable:
* PC Engine GT
* COM Cable (or any 3.5 mm male-to-male stereo cable will do)
The PC Engine GT is a whole PC Engine in portable format and plays regular HuCards. It is therefore one of the most powerful portable consoles of its time. It eats batteries though and not very cheap, but the 2.6" backlit color LCD isn't that bad I heard. It seems to have problems with low quality caps though, so you might want it recapped. It has turbo switches for the pad buttons, headphone port, power supply jack and a port for a TV Tuner accessory (the TV Tuner allows to use the LCD and speakers from an external AV source besides tuning in TV). The link cable is supported by only a few games like Bomberman, and it requires two systems of course, but is inexpensive. It has no expansion port so it isn't normally possible to add CD support or BRAM to it, so games can't save.
Alternatively there is the semi-portable laptop-shaped CoreGrafx-like system, PC Engine LT. It is highly sought after though and goes for a lot of money. Also since it doesn't use batteries its portability is limited. It has integrated pad buttons with turbo, controller pad port, a reportedly pretty good LCD screen, AV output port, AV input port for an external AV source to use its speakers and LCD, TV tuner with antenna and a port for an external antenna, and is fully compatible with all the accessories for the white PC Engine and the two CoreGrafx systems. It needs the Super ROM² Adapter for connecting a Super CD-ROM² though.



Recommended Accessories:
* 5-pad Multi-Tap
* Original NEC Pad (preferably with Turbo)
* NEC Avenue 3
* Hori Fighting Commander PC
* At least one more 6-button controller (for 2 player in fighting games)
* One more controller for 5 player gaming
* PC Engine Mouse
* Ten no Koe BANK
* Memory Base 128 (or Save-kun)
* Everdrive
All PC Engine models only have one pad port so a Multi-Tap is required even for two players. There are 2-pad, 3-pad, 4-pad and 5-pad mutli-taps but I see little reason to get anything but a 5-pad one.

All official PC Engine pads (except some early white ones for the first model) and most third party pads comes with two levels of rapid-fire switches for buttons I and II. Even the built-in pad buttons for GT and LT comes with the switches. Third party pads may also have a slow-motion and other functions.

The NEC Avenue 3 was made for Forgotten Worlds. It's a 3-button controller, but the third button is really just an alternate RUN or SELECT button, so it doesn't really add any new inputs. For that reason it can be used with all games and are useful for games like Dracula X that uses SELECT for certain actions. There is a switch that sets which of the two buttons, RUN or SELECT, the third button should mirror.

Hori Fighting Commander PC is the best controller for the system IMHO. It's a 6-button pad and it has more functions than the Avenue 6. It has 3 levels (Avenue 6 has only 2) of turbo for all face buttons (though button I and VI shares the same switch), it has 3 levels of slow-motion and the mandatory 2-button/6-button mode switch like all 6-button pads must have so that earlier games doesn't freak out (e.g. Bomberman will try to walk in all directions at once in 6-button mode). The main reason to get this one isn't for these functions though, but for the excellent cross-shaped d-pad and overall good quality.
The Arcade Pad (the 6-button controller that comes with Duo RX systems) have separate turbo switches for all 6 buttons (but no slowmotion), but is said not to be very good. The NEC Avenue 6 or Hori Fighting Commander PC are probably better choices.
6-button controllers are said to be able to be used as 3-button controllers, but I believe that's BS. I haven't figured out how anyway.

The PC Engine Mouse is useful with certain games like Tokimeki Memorial and Doukyuusei. The two click buttons are actually the same as button I and button II on regular pads, and RUN and SELECT work like thumb buttons. However since button I is the decision button, which is the right mouse button, games usually allows to swap the two buttons' functions so that the left button can be used for decision.

The Ten no Koe BANK is a HuCard with battery-backed RAM and is used to back up the BRAM. One Ten no Koe BANK card contains 4 banks that are each as big as the whole 2 kB BRAM in the PC Engine. You can copy the BRAM to a bank or a bank to the BRAM, you can also swap the BRAM with a bank. You can't erase anything though and it's not possible to copy or swap individual files. The Ten no Koe BANK should not be confused with the Ten no Koe 2 which plugs into the expansion port and is one of many different ways to add the 2 kB BRAM to your PC Engine (which is only built-in on the Duo models).

The Memory Base 128 is basically a Ten no Koe BANK but instead of having 4 extra BRAM banks, it has 63 extra BRAM banks! It connects via the controller port and doesn't have its own interface program though, so it requires a game that has such a program. Only certain CD games has that so it's not normally usable for people without a CD. Some games support saving to it directly but still have no interface program for it. Two games that do have an interface program are Emerald Dragon and Private Eyedol.
The Save-kun is a clone released by Koei, it is identical in function and games will detect it as an MB128. It might be a bit easier to find cheap.
The saves are powered by 4 AA batteries and there is a LED that lights up when its time to change them. Good quality rechargable low-discharge batteries will last over a year without changing.

The Everdrive is most likely the best PC Engine flashcart. Supposedly it supports all games except for Ten no Koe BANK (it can't keep the battery RAM save) and is region free. It has a switch for swapping between the Japanese and American HuCard pinout and it automatically patches the region protection code in American games, after loading them, so that they can be played on a Japanese system without region modding it.
System Card ROMs works as they should so the Everdrive can be used instead of the System Cards. That's useful if one wants to downgrade a Super CD unit to version 1.0 (for Juuouki that crashes on later system cards), or for Game Express games. It doesn't have the System Card RAM though so it can't be used as an Arcade Card or a Super System Card in a CD-ROM² unit.
Note: Due to a hardware conflict the Everdrive may damage the hardware if the Super System Card 3.0 ROM is loaded to it. There is a patch however that makes it possible to use the ROM without risk.

Edit: Backing up BRAM save files!
There is now a very good method to backup BRAM using the Turbo Everdrive v2.x and the unofficial firmware TEOS (https://pcengine.proboards.com/thread/1301/teos-turbo-everdrive-v2-replacement). Instructions are included, TEOS is best loaded like any other ROM and should not replace the original firmware.
This allows dumping your 2 kB BRAM to the SD-card which you then can make copies of, load in an emulator, hack with a hex-editor, preserve forever or do whatever you want with. This is so great since most BRAM devices are powered by batteries or a capacitor which will run out if you don't play often enough, for not mentioning that 2 kB is very little (certain games like Wizardry pretty much uses it all up). Ten no Koe BANK, Memory Base and Save-kun are all great options but even those relies on batteries and you can't really copy the backups to a PC.

Note that this won't work with the older Turbo Everdrive v1 nor with the newest Turbo Everdrive Pro at the time of writing this (though I guess it is possible this will change in the future).


PC Engine Links:
http://www6.airnet.ne.jp/wataru/index2.htm - Great Japanese homepage to lots of things PC Engine. It has pictures of most different controllers and other hardware, and a huge FAQ (in Japanese) with all kinds of information.
http://pcenginefx.com - The Famicom World of PC Engine and PC-FX. It has a big forum but requires registration. Edit: The forum was more or less destroyed by spammers (basically some users didn't like how the forum was ran and went berserk). Half of the English PC Engine community took refuge at The PC Engine Software Bible Forum.


Edit: Added some more info.

Ah, I guess it's for the best that this been made its own thread. But yeah, PC Engine rocks, though I didn't get into collecting for it as I thought I would when I got mine... for a long time I even had my PC Engine console up for sale, but in the end I'm glad I decided to keep it... I just sold off half my collection for it, keeping only my favorites.

The two heavy hitters I'd recommend are Ninja Spirit: Saigo No Nindou (which I recall you recommended to me a while back, before I even got my PCE), and ESPECIALLY Genpei Toumaden: Kan no Ki. Despite how unique the mechanics are, I fell in love with this one pretty quickly. Definitely ranks up there with some of the Famicom greats.

Popful Mail is my favourite. Populous is a good port but get the CD version so you can use a control option that makes sense. Akumajou had decent replay value for a classic Castlevania. Street Fighter II' was good but the SFC got 'Super' just a year after.

Oh yes Popful Mail is a great platform RPG that includes Ys-style auto-combat and great artwork. It's a bit expensive though.
Populous CD version is an expansion with new scenarios according to the PC Engine Software Bible (http://www.pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Populous-The_Promised_Lands.htm). Do you mean it supports the mouse?

Quote from: Nightstar699 on September 06, 2015, 08:59:02 am
I'd recommend are Ninja Spirit: Saigo No Nindou (which I recall you recommended to me a while back, before I even got my PCE)

I guess I did, it's true ninja action! Comparing it to other ninja games you could say it has the atmosphere of Kage no Densetsu, the great control of Ninja Ryuukenden and the versatile weaponry of Kage. There's katana of course, shuriken, kusarigama (chain sickle) and grenades. You can make time bombs out of grenades by placing them on the ground.

Quote from: P on September 06, 2015, 03:22:09 pm
Oh yes Popful Mail is a great platform RPG that includes Ys-style auto-combat and great artwork. It's a bit expensive though.

Yeah, it's an awesome game with really good pacing. It wasn't that expensive when I picked it up, it was quite a few years ago though, maybe it's gone up in price?

Quote from: P on September 06, 2015, 03:22:09 pm
Populous CD version is an expansion with new scenarios according to the PC Engine Software Bible (http://www.pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Populous-The_Promised_Lands.htm). Do you mean it supports the mouse?

The CD version contains both the original Populous and the Promised Land expansion. You can change your controls to diagonals, which makes sense with the isometric perspective. Every other console version has this by default, the Hucard is the only version where it's missing.

Quote from: Issun on September 07, 2015, 01:40:32 am

Quote from: P on September 06, 2015, 03:22:09 pm
Oh yes Popful Mail is a great platform RPG that includes Ys-style auto-combat and great artwork. It's a bit expensive though.

Yeah, it's an awesome game with really good pacing. It wasn't that expensive when I picked it up, it was quite a few years ago though, maybe it's gone up in price?

Yeah it has gone up lately. I think it's getting semi-famous due to the eye-catching artwork in the animated scenes. I have a burned copy of it but I would love to have a CIB copy of it someday.

Quote from: Issun on September 07, 2015, 01:40:32 am

Quote from: P on September 06, 2015, 03:22:09 pm
Populous CD version is an expansion with new scenarios according to the PC Engine Software Bible (http://www.pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Populous-The_Promised_Lands.htm). Do you mean it supports the mouse?

The CD version contains both the original Populous and the Promised Land expansion. You can change your controls to diagonals, which makes sense with the isometric perspective. Every other console version has this by default, the Hucard is the only version where it's missing.

I see, I got the mouse so I hoped it was another game it could be used for, since I guess the game was originally designed with mouse control in mind.

No mouse support unfortunately, but I actually prefer the controller for Populous. It's pretty fast when you get the hang of it.

A few other good games I can think of: Valkyrie no Densetsu, Nectaris and Kawa no Nushi Tsuri Shizenha (one I've been meaning to play through for awhile).

I see, I actually don't like to use a mouse in games (especially if they go in real-time) and normally prefer d-pads if possible. But certain games has very slow cursor movements with a d-pad and seems to be made with a mouse in mind.

Kawa no Nushi Tsuri, that's my favourite fishing game series. Gotta play that one!

With apologies to Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi, Ninja Spirit is the best ninja game of all time.

I just recently bought a recapped PC Engine and CD system, partly since Dracula X has been my grail since...forever...and partly because it's a new frontier for me.

Other than Dracula X, so far I've spent most of my time on Hyper Dyne Side Arms (great, fun shooter adapted from a Capcom arcade title) and Dungeon Explorer.

I've burned several CD games as well, so far my favorite has been the shooter Gate of Thunder.

Updated first post!

Added some more games, added more detailed descriptions and added a little hardware guide about what IMHO are the most useful consoles and accessories.

 



PC Engine Mini looks like a must have :)

The PC Engine Thread (https://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=12155.0) already exists. Please use it. :)

 



Topic Merge!

Thanks!
Also, call me an idiot, but does the PCE/TG have built-in BRAM or is that a CD-ROM² thing?

BRAM is not strictly a CD-ROM² thing, it is used by HuCard games as well in order to save. Typically HuCards offers both passwords and BRAM saving. You can have BRAM without CD by using a Ten no Koe 2 or Backup Booster, but you can not have CD without BRAM since the CD-ROM² and Super CD-ROM² both comes with built-in BRAM (and if you have a CD setup you can't use a Ten no Koe 2 or Backup Booster, nor have you any need of them). In the case of CD-ROM², the BRAM is inside the suitcase-like interface unit which can even be used without a CD to add BRAM and AV ports to your PC Engine I think (although it looks a bit stupid without the CD).

Only the Duo models have BRAM built-in, since those have a Super CD-ROM² built-in which includes the BRAM. The Duos are missing the expansion port so you can't add a Ten no Koe 2 or anything (nor do you have any need to).

No matter what method you use to add BRAM to your PC Engine, it is always 2 kB (that's the "2" in "Ten no Koe 2") and supported by all games that use BRAM. The method it uses to retain the BRAM when power is off is different though. Some uses replaceable batteries (Ten no Koe 2 uses two AA batteries), some use a non-replaceable rechargeable battery (that lost its ability to recharge by now) and the Duo-R and RX use a large capacitor which holds the save files for about a month without turning on the power.

Quote from: L___E___T on June 15, 2019, 07:55:43 amPC Engine Mini looks like a must have :)

Ah yeah this looks cool. Konami owns Hudson nowdays so it's only natural that they jump on the emulator machine bandwagon and release a PC-Engine mini.
The games announced so far seems to be:
Star Soldier
The Kungfu
PC Genjin
Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo
Ys I·II
Dungeon Explorer
Most of them appears on the recommendation list. The Kungfu is like a demonstration of how big sprites the PC Engine can do, but it's not that great of a game. Nevertheless it is quite iconic for the PC-Engine. Since it's Konami/Hudson I hope for at least a Bomberman game as well and maybe Snatcher. You seem to need a multitap to play 5 players like on the real PC-Engine though.

US version instead have these announced:
R-Type
New Adventure Island
Ninja Spirit
Ys Book I & II
Dungeon Explorer
Alien Crush
A bit disappointing that it's missing some great games like Rondo in favour of a pinball game. On the other hand it has the brilliant Ninja Spirit.

Interesting that the European version will be designed like the CoreGrafx (PC Engine was released in UK as "TurboGrafx" which was just a PAL-modified TurboGrafx-16, but everywhere else in Europe only grey-import systems existed). It seems the European games are the same as the US games so far.

Quote from: L___E___T on June 15, 2019, 10:43:11 amTopic Merge!

Thanks!

I'm still confused. Does the standalone PCE have BRAM or not?

 



Reading that - Not inherently but yes, via a peripheral for carts that support it.  

Exactly.

Quote from: P on June 16, 2019, 02:51:33 am
Only the Duo models have BRAM built-in

Unless you have a Duo, you need to add the BRAM using a peripheral (Ten no Koe 2, Backup Booster, CD unit etc).

The PC Engine Mini is out! Manuals are also up for download (https://www.konami.com/games/pcemini/manual/jp/ja/)!
I didn't pick it up, but it appears that all versions will have mostly the same games unlike Nintendo's emulator boxes. PAL and NA regions will be identical in terms of games. There are a total of 60 titles (with 54 unique games) but no region gets them all. Japanese region of the mini gets 58 titles and the other regions gets 57 of the total 60 titles. Games includes several HuCard, CD, Super CD and SuperGrafx games of both regional versions (Japanese and non-Japanese), and this is generally the same for all regions of the mini. For example the game Kato-chan & Ken-chan is not included in any region of the mini, but the American localized version J.J. & Jeff is included in all regions. Sounds like a strange decision but it's probably due to licensing. Kato-chan & Ken-chan are among the most famous comedians in Japan (and BTW the latter, Shimura Ken, sadly passed away last month, RIP). Other games like Neutopia and Ys I II comes in both Japanese and English versions for all regions.

The Japanese region of the mini gets the Japanese version of Splatterhouse (which is the better version) while other regions gets the non-Japanese version (which is a bit censored and the main character has a different mask). Also the NA and PAL regions gets Salamander (Japanese version) which the Japanese region doesn't. On the other hand the Japanese region gets Tengai Makyou II and Tokimeki Memorial which other regions don't.


Regional differences summary:

Japanese region unique games:
Tengai Makyou II (J)
Tokimeki Memorial (J)
Splatterhouse (J)

NA & PAL regions unique games:
Salamander (J)
Splatterhouse (non-J)

Interestingly enough, all other games are the same for all regions. This includes several games with lots of Japanese text, like Super Momotarou Dentetsu II and Snatcher, the latter is pretty much unplayable without knowing Japanese. But this also means that great games like Dracula X (J), Ninja Spirit (non-J), R-Type (non-J) and Star Soldier (J) comes for all regions. This came as a pleasant surprise, and is not what was previously announced.

To me the Japanese version is clearly superior with two more games, the better version of Splatterhouse and only missing one game, although a great one. I'm not a big shooting game fan though and I can read Japanese. If you can't read Japanese you mainly have to choose between a better version of Splatterhouse and Salamander, since both of the unique games for the Japanese region requires Japanese literacy.


It appears it's possible to start CD games without the correct System Card, which is an important feature considering many games have little easter eggs as part of the warning message that a Super System Card is required. Many CD games also have unique messages when played in a CD player, I wonder if it's possible to listen to these as well.

I'm interested, because I'm a bit curious in these games, but don't want to start collecting them or anything, so this could be a good option. Would also be nice to play Snatcher and Tokimeki Memorial in their original versions(semi-original for Snatcher). Of course there are games I'd want missing, like Gekibo or Toraete tamaru ka, but it's still a good deal.

Ten or so years ago I had a real PC Engine Duo-R (RGB-modded, too) which was certainly a sweet machine but I ended up selling it. I pre-ordered the CoreGrafx Mini day one, it has most of the system's games I'm still interested in.

In my opinion the CoreGrafx Mini is the best of the three. The game library is better (Salamander over JP-heavy and for me personally not interesting titles any day. Also the minigames unlockable in TokiMemo have been confirmed to be available in all three versions), its controllers come with Turbo switches unlike the JP one and it's a bit smaller than the TG16 Mini.

Now if Amazon.co.uk would only start shipping it...

I have never actually tried to unlock any of the shooting minigames in any version of Tokimemo, since it requires you to become a member of the computer club or something. But I read that all versions (except SFC and GBC versions) has a Twinbee game and another shooting game that is unique for every version. This is Force Gear for PC-Engine, Stardust Symphony EX (which utilizes the PS1's 3D hardware) for PS1 and Psyth (said to be the best minigame) for Saturn.
Also the Twinbee game is Twinbee Returns (based on the original Twinbee) on PC Engine and Twinbee Time Attack (based on both Detana Twinbee and Pop'n Twinbee) on the 32-bit systems.

Anyway, Tokimemo was a very successful game, so it's very cheap and common for all systems. A Japanese PS1 is also very cheap. Getting a CD-capable PC Engine setup isn't that cheap though. The easiest and cheapest path to take is a PC Engine Duo R or RX (not the original Duo) like I recommended in the hardware guide in the first post of this thread. It will be more expensive than most other retro systems, but it's not more expensive than buying the CD unit separately. Especially considering that all other CD units requires more service due to broken cogs and low quality capacitors (and they have trouble reading CD-R discs).
In the light of this, the PC Engine Mini seems like a very good and cheap alternative to collecting the original.


I have only played the Mega CD version of Snatcher, which is censored due to certain US laws I think, but it's an absolutely fantastic game. A 14 year old girl is changed to 18 years old and there are some nudity censoring, and removed scenes, while gore is not censored I think. It's one of the very few English-dubbed Japanese games I can stand, and it has the same translator and quality of translation as the Metal Gear Solid games do. The PC Engine version is probably the definitive version of the game. The original PC-88 and MSX versions are missing the concluding chapter of the game and of course the voice acting (which is excellent in both Japanese and English). The Mega CD versions has some new things though, including light-gun support. There are PS1 and Saturn versions as well, which I've never played.

I guess the censoring of the Jason mask in Splatterhouse might still be relevant today, and considering that, it's a bit surprising that Snatcher is included in all regions of the mini. Unless it was censored again?
I don't see the point of not including Tokimemo or Tengai 2 though. If they are gonna include some Japanese-heavy games, they might as well include all of them, and Salamander too.


Good point about the missing turbo switches on the Japanese region mini, Ghegs. It's based on the original white controller which at first came without turbo. White controllers with turbo are available but sold separately. If you are to get 5 controllers I guess you could collect all the regional variants. They all look very neat.

I still have my PC Engine, so I'm probably not picking up the mini. I hardly ever play my SFC mini either since I have a real SFC. I do use the SFC mini controllers as an IBM-PC joystick via a Classic Controller adapter though. The mini's controllers are USB so I hope someone will write drivers for them, and I might pick up a controller at least.


Looks like the board is made by Hori (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1Y-io5l1o4). All regions seems to use the same board, so the only difference is in the software, which probably won't matter if you mod it once that becomes possible, and in the physical shell and the included controller and box and stuff.