Building the ultimate PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16

[Justin]

...other than a Turbo Duo!

 

 

In my opinion this is the ultimate PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 build! Very cool to see this! This is how to take a yellowed and dirty old PC Engine and turn it into the ultimate build!

When the PC Engine launched in the United States as the TurboGrafx-16, they increased the size of the system to be 2x-3x larger than the original Japanese version, which was only about the size of an NES cartridge. This was a marketing decision as NEC felt an American audience felt "bigger is better" and wouldn't feel they were getting the same bang for their buck with the tiny PC Engine.

I've always disagreed with that. I think the tiny size of the PC Engine gives the system a very advanced, high-tech feel to it, especially at the time it was made. The compact size played well with the small form factor of the credit card sized HuCards or "TurboChips".

What I always wanted to see was a small, advanced-looking American PC Engine for North America - incredibly small and compact just like the Japanese PC Engine, but black with the neon lettering and accents just like the North American TurboGrafx-16. This is what we should've gotten in the USA, in a tiny box with a handle like the Atari 2600 Jr., but with a distinctly high tech feel, and a nice HuCard of Blazing Lazers or Bonk's Adventure as the pack-in game!

Where Nintendo was marketed as "Mario style" fun for the whole family, and Sega was "tough" with all their blast processing, TurboGrafx-16 could've found a niche as being "High Tech" - The Higher Energy Video Game System. I could see tiny, PC Engine-sized TurboGrafx-16s marketed as "high tech" and being sold through The Sharper Image, Brookstone and Hammacher Schlemmer in addition to Toys R Us and Sears.

This build turns a yellowed and dirty PC Engine brought over from Japan, and refurbishes it in an incredibly high quality smoked translucent shell for both the system and TurboPad from Retrogame Restore. The motherboard is gone over, a new cap kit from Conole5 is installed along with new HDMI Kit, and the control pad has a fresh new graphic inlay from GrafxGear. (Links below) I like that GrafxGear offers the Classic Overlays for TurboGrafx-16, TurboDuo, and PC Engine control pads, in addition to Original Overlays of GrafxGear's own design. 

This build still has a PC Engine motherboard that plays Japanese PC Engine HuCards and is unable to play North American TurboGrafx-16 HuCards without an adapter, but with a TurboEverDrive PRO you can play region free, and play all of the CD and Super CD games too! This build adds a TerraOnion Super HD System3 which includes many of the same features.

Outside of owning a minty fresh TurboDuo, this is the ultimate real hardware PC Engine build. Enjoy!

 

Products featured in this video:

► TerraOnion Super HD System3 Pro: https://shop.terraonion.com/shop/products
► Retro Game Restore Shell: https://www.game-tech.us/product/pc-engine-smoked-transparent-case/
► Console5 Capacitor Kit: https://console5.com/store/nec-pc-engine-coregrafx-coregrafx-ii-cap-kit.html
► GrafxGear Controller and System Decals: https://www.grafxgear.com/

 

Here's what you will find in this video:

► 0:00 Intro
► 2:55 Parts Overview
► 5:09 How to Install HDMI Kit
► 11:47 Features Overview
► 15:27 Pros and Cons
► 18:39 Final Thoughts/Conclusion

 

[RickR]

Wow!  Beautiful.