My Gaming Education Part 3: The TurboGrafx-16

I was a bit of a gamer outlier during the mid 1980’s and early 90’s. I never seemed to play on the mainstream console or computer system, or at least ones that were mainstream here in the USA. When the Nintendo Entertainment System was the dominant gaming product, I had an Atari 7800 and Sega Master System. As computer gaming transitioned to IBM PC compatibles I stuck with my Atari ST until the bitter end. Game Boy? No way I had an Atari Lynx. This all changed with the release of the Sega Genesis in 1989, a system I bought the very first week it was available at Kay Bee Toys along with a number of disappointing release titles. Through no fault of my own, Sega’s plucky new 16-bit machine became a big success and, all of a sudden I was I the gaming mainstream. This however would not last.

In the early 1990’s I had a part time job at Babbage’s, a chain computer software store in the mall which eventually morphed into part of the now crumbling Gamestop empire. This was a wild time, with the original NES, Genesis, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Neo Geo, IBM PC games (both in 3 1/2 and 5 1/4 disk format, along with CD rom eventually), Mac software, Amiga software, and one small disregarded shelf offering NEC’s TurboGrafx-16 (TG-16 for short) all sharing space in the same tiny store.

You can just see the TG-16 display peeking behind the Game Gear section

The plucky TG-16 sold poorly despite a stream of new releases and a lot of hype early on from the gaming magazines of the time. Even the original NES near the end of its lifespan outsold the TG-16 hands down. The TG-16 was a rebranded, repackaged, and slightly reconfigured PC Engine which had been released in Japan 2 years prior by electronics company NEC. Despite the 16 in the game, It is technically not a 16-bit system but is capable of graphic and sounds near to the quality of the Sega Genesis and far superior to thoses found on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The PC Engine had a solid game library in Japan and the system itself was packaged in a very small and very cool looking enclosure. Games were also compact with credit card sized cartridges named HuCards packaged in music CD like jewel cases. The system was a big hit in Japan overall and even old sold the NES for a time.

I love the design of this, small and to the point

The very cool compact 5.5 inch × 5.5 inch original Japanese console design ballooned to over twice its original size into a large uninspired black plastic box for the USA. NEC decided to release the system in the USA with the terribly uninteresting pack-in title Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. Never heard of it? There is a good reason, it sucks. NEC was entering a crowded market (NES, Master System, Genesis, Atari Lynx, and even the Atari 7800) but still had a two year headstart before the release of the Super Nintendo.

One of NEC’s secret weapons was Hudson Soft, who had co-created the system and provided many of it’s more memorable titles. Early US adapters became frustrated with the system however when many of the cool Japanese titles never made it over to the States, or were heavily modified losing their character or uniqueness.

Alien Crush HuCard in it's CD jewel case

I bought my TG-16 a bit into it’s production, likely around 1991. NEC had sliced pricing of the console at some point during the debut of the Super Nintendo likely due to both the influx of competition and NEC over manufacturing the TG-16 as they failed to properly anticipate demand. I remember buying the system for 99 bucks (less than half of the debut price) and it included 5 free games. This included the excellent Bonk’s Adventure platformer and Legendary Axe, a slash and hack style game much like Taito’s Rastan. I think I also got Victory Run (a nice Sega Outrun style racer), Blazing Lasers (a decent space shoot-em up), and of course the original Keith Courage pack in which I think I played once. Many of NEC’s titles were somewhat odd; a lot of good shooters, some decent plaformers, bad sports titles, strange original titles, and poorly translated (but fun to play) RPGs.

Legendary Axe is a very fun Rastan like game

There were more than a few gems in the TG-16 library, especially with the addition of their CD-ROM, the first such device for a console beating the Sega CD by several years. I was personally a big fan of Bonk’s Revenge, Cosmic Fantasy 2, Alien Crush, Y’s Book I & II, Last Alert, and Soldier Blade. RPGs for US based consoles were limited and the TG-16 had a number of very good ones including Exile, Neutopia II, and Dungeon Master.

The most fun you can have with giant food and an umbrella

The TG-16 had a few interesting exclusive titles which brought it some attention. Perhaps the best known of these is a CD-Rom version of the original Capcom Street Fighter arcade game retitled “Fighting Street” for the USA. Namco’s horror side scrolling beat-em up Splatterhouse was another exclusive for awhile at least, The Bonk series of platform games from Hudson Soft brought the TG-16 their own “Mario” or “Sonic” and were all very good games. Parasol Stars was a near perfect arcade port of the Taito classic, and one of the best games on the system. NEC also released a few licensed titles from Disney including Talespin and Darkwing Duck which are truly terrible. Late In it’s life span the TG-16 also became home of the fantastic Lords of Thunder side scrolling shooter.

Much of the hype around the system brought upon in the USA by gaming magazines started dying off around 1991 over frustrations of both regional changes with games entering the USA and more interesting titles never coming over at all. Third party support was very limited in the USA causing Hudson Soft and NEC to do most of the heavy lifting around software.

Someone's uncle must have owned a cheap flat black plastic factory

One of the strange quirks of the TG-16 was an add-on accessory known as the Turbo Booster. This large plastic device attached to the back of the system, making it even larger and more awkward looking. The Turbo Booster allowed the system to be connected via RCA style, or composite cables for a better quality sound and picture instead of the default RF connector. Even the original NES had built in composite outputs making this add-on device seem like a cash grab. Later in the TG-16’s lifespan the Turbo Booster Plus was released which allowed for game saves which was a handy feature but only worked on selected titles.

Save your nickles and dimes kids

During the early portable system wars (1989-1991), NEC released the outstanding Turbo Express capable of playing HuCards directly, but at a price. The Turbo Express was an eye watering $299 upon release in 1990 and could blow through a set of 6 AA batteries in under an hour. This was a luxury gaming device out of the reach of most players despite its impressiveness. I was already married to the Atari Lynx at this time, another system I have warm nostalgia for (which was also flawed in its own special ways). I probably would have jumped on the Turbo Express train despite the cost if I wasn’t already on the Lynx bandwagon.

Anything outside, of said designated square, counts as an autonomous unit for mid-mall snacking!

NEC continued to struggle with the system in the USA (a planned European release would never take place) and by 1992 released a combination system named Turbo Duo. The Duo combined the TG-16 and CD Rom drive into a slick package along with several very good game titles as pack-ins. The Duo was a heck of a deal, but the TG-16 already had the stench of death on it in the marketplace and gamers fled to the Sega CD and Super Nintendo. NEC soon ditched the Duo, selling the distribution rights of the system to TTI or Turbo Technologies Inc. New games came slowly, but TTI lost shelf space in most retail outlets and ended up switching to direct-mail sales. Crappy gimmicks to make the Duo look cool including a terrible "Johnny Turbo" comic book character (who looks like film maker Kevin Smith for some reason) made the situation more painful. The Duo, although a good system was dead on arrival in the USA and would never be more than a cult-classic console.

A great system that was too late to the party

The fate of the TG-16's Japanese cousin the PC Engine could not have been more different. NEC sold almost 6 million PC Engine consoles in Japan from 1987-1994. This included several variations of the system along with add-ons allowing for more powerful games. The PC Engine’s software library is made of up of an impressive 678 games, less than 1/5 of these would officially make it to the USA.  NEC’s follow up system the PC-FX did not share the same success, leading NEC to exit the gaming market all together in 1998.

RIght into the discount bin and out of our hearts

I came very close to buying a Turbo Duo back in the day, and I am somewhat regretful of it. I no longer own my TG-16, one of a number of items lost through a divorce and the passage of time. I do remember it fondly and also remember I was the only person in my gamer friend group who owned one. The TG-16 was a good “second system”, and took a back up position when compared to my Sega Genesis and in someways even my Atari Lynx and PC. TG-16 in the USA was an outlier in a crowed market which today enjoys a cult following. Let down by bad marketing choices, poor timing, a lot of lackluster titles, a lack of “must have games”, and the onslaught which became the 16-bit wars between Sega and Nintendo, it still carved a unique place for itself in the gaming lexicon.

The legacy of the TG-16 in the USA is interesting but still seems to be mostly a cult console. NEC released a TG-16 “mini” all in one system in 2019 with a nice selection of titles. Retro console manufacturer Analogue released the “Duo” a modern take on the Turbo Duo system with modern luxuries suck as bluetooth and 1080p output. For anyone who has not dived into the waters of the TG-16 I would suggest taking a brisk dip, you might be surprised what this cool little system has to offer.