I forget how old I am, maybe 32. This console may not be part of "my Gen" since I was born in 88 but seeing as I can spidey-sense the worth/fun-factor of these games as I missed out on about 98% of them, looks like the TurboGrafx-16 is a pretty awesome buy
I’m so glad I got one of these when I did. I play it often, and it’s worth quite a bit now. It’s amazing how much effort they put into the menu, the game selection, and the overall presentation.
That sound effect is not of the disc spinning because if it was, that buzzing sound would be constant. That sound effect is the sound of the gears moving the laser pickup back and forth doing rapid seeks in an attempt to boot the disc.
Hey Johnny, many great memories. In about November 1989 I stood for about 15 minutes staring at the Genesis and the Turbograx trying to decide which to go with. I compared specs, and judged that the turbografx was able to do better sound, with an additional peripheral that plugged on the back. I had recently gotten a HIFI VHS that was cable to my stereo, so that's what led my decision. R-Type, Splatterhouse, BloodyWolf and Bonk were where I lived for a year or so. I even got some giant box arcade stick sold through one of the magazines. I sold it to a co-worker sometime in '91. I've regretted getting rid of every console I've owned... thanks for the memories, I hope you are doing well. Whenever I watch _any_ of your channel, it cheers me up, Thanks!
I always wanted to own a Turbografx 16 when I was a kid. My older brothers friend had one and I played it for maybe an hour and never got to play it again. I just ordered TG16 mini and I am so excited to play it.
I believe this is a must have for a “Real Gamer”. Not so much for the casual gamers. There is a bunch of classics in this mini to satisfy the hardcore fans.
I wish I could up vote this more than once , the amount of enthusiasm and love you have for this system , although I've never played the turbo graphix 16 , just to see your amount of joy and enthusiasm, has added to my day, I'm really glad to see that you're feeling a lot better as well , keep making these fabulous videos and we'll keep watching !
You got me to play Ys viii, which has become one of my favourite games in recent years, so I wanted to say thank you for that! I'm curious about the Ys games on here, but not sure if I'm ready to fully take the plunge on the console. Maybe once it comes to Canada without having to import it I'll take a look. Thanks for the review!
Nothing makes me happier than seeing new Ys fans! If you're interested in Ys I and II and don't want to buy a TG16 Mini, you could always look up Ys Chronicles I&II on Steam! They're remakes of the games featured here, made by Falcom themselves. The remake is really faithful to the originals in terms of gameplay and everything, but it features some beautiful 2D graphics and various options for the soundtrack, including a completely arranged soundtrack, with actual instruments rather than synths played by Falcom's in-house band, the jdk Band. You can find it pretty cheap on Steam, and it's a great way to start diving deeper into the Ys series. Good luck with that!
I got a PC Engine Mini a couple weeks ago purely for nostalgia reasons. It turned out to be more enjoyable than I expected based on a couple other reviews, but your reaction and experience are much closer to mine. If you're into your 40's then this is a wonderful trip down memory lane.
I was just thinking how I dislike not only the guy on the Trubo Grafx box, but stock images of people in every product, but yeah, I am curious enough to want to watch something like this.
the modding community will definitely come through, as they did with other consoles, they'll put all the games on this machine. thank god! also they will fix the lagged games
@Neon Pizza Yeah the run ahead input latency is arguably the most important emulation feature in the last 5 years to come out that doesn't get talked about enough. For years while playing Super Mario 3 on emulator I kept dying or falling into pits thinking maybe my reflexes are slowing down from getting older. Now when I play Mario 3 with Run Ahead enabled I play just as well if not better than I did a as kid. I realized the problem wasn't me it was the input lag lol
As someone who only grew up with PC and Nintendo; I was always intrested in Turbografx/PC Engine, but never was able to try it, maybe it wasn't available in my area. I got the mini and played Ys Books I and II and was blown away -- it's one of my favorite games ever now. These games have a style and edge that the SNES/Genesis never really were able to capture -- and that CD audio kicks so much ass.
I got the PC Engine Mini a few weeks ago. I really prefered the console design over the TG-16 mini, plus the delay of the TG-16 pushed me into getting it because I wanted to ensure I would have these games. I am happy with my purchase, especially since it came direct from Japan and is what the Japanese gamers are playing. I hope you enjoy your TG-16 mini, HappyConsoleGamer.
Finally got mine. Coming from the UK It's my first foray into the TurboGrafx and I gotta say, why the heck wasn't this system more popular? The graphics and sound on so many games just blow the Megadrive and SNES out of the water. Lords of thunder is amazing. Even if it seems laggy and unplayable if you've played it on real hardware. I haven't and so it comes across as fine for me. I do prefer ys books 1 and 2 on the PSP but this version is definitly worth a play through. And so much better than the master system version I have. Thanks for the recommendation John. Youve never led me astray and I appreciate all the time and effort you put into recommending amazing experiences for us.
I somehow missed that you posted this video a month ago. Regardless, mine arrived a few weeks ago from amazon and I was so happy; they were telling me December! One thing I really wanted with these mini systems was the ability to upgrade via USB or somehow. I dont want to jailbreak my Genesis and TG16 but they absolutely will need more games soon... Great video, I liked seeing your older TG16 stuff too. Thanks for making this whole lockdown a lil more enjoyable the past couple months.
That was a machine I completely missed at the time, being a poor kid whose parents could barely afford an Atari 2600 and a Sega Master. Then later, I stayed Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. But now, I can finally enjoy the Turbographix 16 games for a reasonable price... That is, if a Canadian retailer finally decide to distribute it.
Hi, Im from Mexico and I have 40yo. I only played one of this consoles in my entire childhood. But I love shmups and Castevania so its totally worth it for me. I already ordered one of these and Im planing to import a PC Engine Core which I think is more sexy. Great review btw.
When I got a Turbografx16 from Toy’s RUs, it came with KEITH COURAGE. I added Dead Moon, Soldier Blade and Neutopia. TG16 had better graphics and sound then NES and Genesis. I found the games to be slightly more fun to play than SNES but they were mostly Arcade shooters. I have my original NES, SNES, TG16, GENESIS, and PlayStation. I have the NES mini, SNES mini, GENESIS mini and PlayStation Mini. I definitely want the TG16 mini but I’m disappointed I won’t have Dead Moon or Keith Courage. It’s really a shame that today’s generation won’t be able to experience the gameplay and nostalgia of the 80’s and 90’s. Fortunately a lot of really good gams are included.
Finally, a youtuber who points out WHERE people are getting them. I've had mine preordered since the preorders went live. Thank you Johnny. Just tossed my order in and its getting shipped. I'm very excited for this.
Johnny, I have both the Pc Engine mini and Turbo mini... I prefer the PCE just because it’s easier to hook up. I love the console... it’s a blast. My friend had a console, but I never did growing up. So having one was important to me. I thought about selling the Turbo mini, but my 9 year old son won’t let me. He really enjoys the console. I have videos on my small for fun channel showing him play with it. Glad you got one!
Man the era from 1988 to 1993 changed the world forever. Cartoons became more and more badass, so did movies and other shows, comics were in the high age, and magic the gathering came out. Plus, of course, the change to 16 bit era and even early 32bit Full 3D gaming. Best era in human history ( lets just say 1987-1999 lol)
Thanks, great review. Just ordered mine for my birthday. Never played a Turbo Grafx 16 before and I’m from the 80’s. I’m a huge Castlevania fan and looking forward to Rondo of Blood the most. I do enjoy shoot em ups but they always seek extremely difficult for me. Maybe I can cheat and use save states to get further.
I love the Turbografx, I never had one back in the day, but I would go to my local mall and they had one set up outside a store and I would play as long as I could...so excited
I like the tg16 just got into these games recently because of this channel. I really like blazing lasers, r-type, splatterhouse, Neutopia, etc. great games.
I was waiting on this review, I remember you were the very first person to talk about this on RU-vid last year! I still have my original, and it still works! 👊✌️💯💯💯💯
Its perfect for me because as a kid i only ever got to see turbo graphix 16 once and only ever got to play it once. This is an opportunity to play the games i completely missed out on. My parents couldnt afford each system when it came out. I missed out on turbo graphix, neo geo, and panasonic 3do. There was just to many syatems. So yes this is perfect for me.
It's been a while since I watched your last video. Shame on me. It was when you were sick. I'm glad to see you're doing better. Keep the videos coming!
Why would anyone want one of the first generation 3D consoles? They were rubbish and 3D gaming didn't get good until the next generation (PS2 and GameCube).
@@JanetStarChild "didn't get good until the next generation" - so true...a lot of PS1 and N64 3D games have aged horribly (with a few exceptions like Waverace, Mario 64, and Metal Gear Solid).
As someone who grew up with a Sega Mega Drive in the UK, I had never heard of the TurboGrafx, I don't recall anyone, AT ALL, actually mentioning it or anything throughout primary school, highschool or university for that matter lol. But I will say, I've watched a lot of your turbografx videos the last couple of days and played some of the games via an emulator today (Alien crush, Bonk, blood wolf, splatterhouse, legendary axe, some of the shooters / ''schmups'' on there too) and wow, it is awesome, it really is. I felt like I was going back in time and experiencing a brand new console for the first time (basically I was, wasn't I ? haha) Gonna have to buy the PC Engine CoreGFX mini now and hopefully we can mod it to put on more games.
Nice review! If you are like me, and only keep one of these mini consoles connected at a time, I found it a nuisance to constantly pull the back cover off to swap consoles. To combat that, I used a Fire Stick HDMI extender out thee back of the cover. Now I can swap HDMI cables without removing the cover.
I'm so interested that I pre-ordered it via Amazon in November with a multitap and extra controllers that I'll never see at this rate. It makes no sense to me that they're available overseas but not available here. I'm just glad people are getting them and I have a better idea of what to expect when it inevitably makes its way to my house. Thanks for the review video, Johnny.
Rumor has it they didn't make enough for preorders in the US/UK so they are selling off what they produced in Japan and we have to wait. If you import it only costs 15 bucks more than retail. Just a heads up.
HCG, I followed your example and ordered the Core Grafx from Amazon Japan. Smaller than the needlessly over-sized TG-16, but also having turbo buttons, and English instructions (and French, German, Italian and Spanish.) I was immediately put-off by the input lag on Bonk's Revenge, but I adapted to it, somewhat. Daimakaimura was more playable, and awesome!
I immediately canceled my pre order on Amazon and got it off Amazon Japan as soon as I saw this video and I wish I had known earlier Definitely looking to add Ys 3 and 4 (Dawn of Ys is my favorite Ys) and any Legend of Heroes/Dragon Slayer games on here
I see that your lungs aren't still 100%. But it's nice to watch such passionate reaction to a console. Like a kid opening his Christmas present. Keep that passion up! And stay home!
Thank you so much for uploading this Johnny. I've been seeing these on ebay being scalped a little bit higher than cost, and I wondered where they were coming from. I was bummed when I heard my order was delayed, but thanks to you I was able to get on amazon jp and get one ordered. You just made this coronavirus thing suck a little bit less!
I'm 32, grew up with SNES and Genesis and beyond , never had a Turbo Graphx before but the 16 and 32 bit era really speak to me. These look awesome and love the third party games outside of the Sonic's and Mario's on the more popular consoles like Plok, Ristar, Vectorman, etc! Definitely considering buying one
To be fair, I've played that game on both an original PC Engine Duo as well as the Wii Virtual console and that game always felt laggy. It's just not as tight and responsive as other shooters but it's still WELL WORTH playing. The music, art design, enemies... the game just kicks ass.
I have it. It works fine. Maybe doesn’t have the TV on Game Mode or something. I own both. The original and the Mini. I notice no difference whatsoever.
It's totally playable on mine. I dont notice lag interfering at all.... I think it has something to do with individual tv setups. (dont use a hdmi input set up for HDR)
Awesome so want this! I don’t own my duo r or Turbografx anymore so I need this ! Love the PC engine library especially the cd games! Spriggan,Rondo, Star Parodier, Ys!
Idk if you're aware, but no. They don't do updates for these. But it almost seems as though the devs purposely overlook the fact that you can crack these suckers open and softmod the shit out of them because it has the micro usb port in the back to connect to a PC. My SNES Mini actually has many more Turbografx games than this mini, for example. It's only a matter of time before the gangs over at the mod community do it to this one as well. They cracked the ps1 and genesis mini really fast, too.
@@samljer There's no way he paid $120 for it. That's a disparity of $57. He's in BC and I'm in Ontario. There's a 1% difference in sales tax. I believe Import fees are Federal and not specific to each Province in Canada. He probably was mistaken on how me he paid.
Great video, I agree! More games should be in there, Bonks adventure to name a few, but I will say that Ys Book 1 & 2 is worth the price of the system! Awesome stuff!
As a younger retro gaming fan (I’m 21, with my first console being a hand me down SNES), this seems amazing to experience a more niche console like this. The input lag sounds like a huge deterrent though, maybe I should wait until the modding community comes through
I was 6 when this came out. My babysitters teenage son owned a Turbo Graphics. It's funny, I do remember this system blowing my mind, even at that young age! Specifically "Bonks Adventure".
I myself am a fresh graduate of highschool, and personally? I love the PC Engine/Turbografx! 😄 I prefer 2D games and am a huge collector when it comes to mini consoles. I'm really excited about this one!
Very nice recap and review, I've seen a few of the PC Engine mini variants knocking about in some specialist shops here in Japan. But for now I am happy to play the real thing with my SD System 3 :)
This is why I love this channel, the passion for everything you talk about really shows. I never played these games and I will most likely never buy this, but I loved the video. Thanks!
Hey, John. I want to thank you again for letting us know about Amazon JP. Mines came in today and it’s crazy because it only took 4 days from Japan. You’re a blessing.
Yep, enough good games on this to warrant a purchase. Just bought it from amazon japan, thanks to you! Though it seems my canadian dollars in Montreal aren't worth as much as Vancouver's... in the end, it went up to 175$ (still worth it!)
As you can see my profile icon is the PC-Engine Coregrafx which is my first ever console. So PC-Engine Mini is a must have ! Able to play Tengai Makyo 2, Snatcher, Neutopia 2 again on hdtv is a dream come true !
Congratulations Johnny! I have really been looking forward to this review because you're one of the top authorities on Turbografx! Hope you and your family are doing well!
So many good memories with dungeon explorer johnny! Also a huge duel dungeons fan. I was super jazzed when Nintendo brought those to virtual console in the Wii days.
Awesome video, Johnny! I'm debating between this and the PC Engine Mini for my first dip into the world of these consoles. Any big differences between them? It could be a cool way to step up to the real console
I'm a hardcore fan and had own a Turbografx-16 when I was a kid. However, money is tight. So unless there is a shortage, I'll wait for a sale before buying one.
