Steven Pendleton Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 On Sunday I FINALLY found a boxed SuperGrafx after almost 2 years of searching for one locally (and giving up because I couldn't find one). Box is very faded, a few parts are torn off of the front, and it costs like 35000 yen. Insta-pass. Didn't even bother taking it to the counter so they could open it so I could take a look at it. Still, that is only the second time I have seen a SuperGrafx locally since 2018. The first time was of course the loose SuperGrafx that I bought (without hesitation) in April last year. I used to see a decent amount of them, but not anymore. Anyway, I'm not buying another SuperGrafx just to get a piece of faded-ass cardboard and some styrofoam that will get put under my bed next to my Super 32X box and never looked at again, but it's always nice to see rare hardware in town. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Nice, yet depressing. I've walked away on stuff too. If it's that jacked up, and you get that price there's no sane way to rationalize it like nearly ever. The only time I did was some years ago, reverse cobbled a NES together into an action set box. Right after getting a box with all the inserts, bags, etc (missing console, rf, zapper, game, 2 controllers, had the other hook ups bagged up and all papers) a week later or two at a flea market saw the same box that looked like a toxic waste dump, but inside was a very clean console and an ac adapter. Beat the dude down from 20 to 10 because the box was going in the trash and that's about the only exception, growing where you started. But on a SG like that, yeah...2018-present and that's #2, pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Pendleton Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I figure it's just not worth it to buy another SuperGrafx just to get the box and stuff. Normally I'd see if there's anyone here that is interested in a SuperGrafx, but shipping prices have not returned to normal yet and it would cost at least 8600 yen to ship something to the USA right now unless shipping by sea, which takes 2~3 months, is okay. With that price on top of the 35000 yen, you might as well go get ripped off on ebay since you'd basically be paying the same amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboxray Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 And old audio demo I did back in 2011 for the PCE: Single channel, which is nice in that you don't have to pair a channel just to get a higher bit sample depth. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Arrived in my mail earlier today. Not happy about the condition the small package arrived in as I'm lucky they both arrived since my package was torn on the side where they could have easily slipped through. But I got them and only the PCE version shows any real sign of drama but they work fine! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Still waiting for my remute.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapicco Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 22 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said: Arrived in my mail earlier today. Not happy about the condition the small package arrived in as I'm lucky they both arrived since my package was torn on the side where they could have easily slipped through. But I got them and only the PCE version shows any real sign of drama but they work fine! What is this, and where can I learn more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 23 minutes ago, Sapicco said: What is this, and where can I learn more? It is a chip tune album on HuCards for playing on the TG-16 and PCE. But only the PCE versions are still available to buy. This composer has released other chiptune albums on cart in the past for the Genesis/Megadrive, and SNES. https://remute.bandcamp.com/album/electronic-lifestyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboxray Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) I picked up a vectorscope (videotek 675-tvm) that can look at component as well as composite video. Specifically, I wanted to look at the color part of the signals. That tells you pretty much all of the color characteristics of the colors in the signal. So anyway, I had purchased an RGB scart cable for the SSDS3, and a retrotink RGB2COMP transcoder. I had a 20" CRT that took component input, so I was curious about how it looked. Plus, besides graphic development on the PCE - I wanted to further inspect games that had more noticeable difference between the PCE's YUV palettes Vs the RGB output mod that a lot of people use (or emulators). But I ran into this issue that color was just waaaayyy too hot on my SDTV. I had to turn the color balance down to 30 (50 was "neutral"), an even then. It didn't really make sense why it was so 'hot'. After looking at it on the scope, I got the idea of just terminating Pb and Pr to 75ohms (with a T connector and a terminator), but leave Y alone. Sure enough, it completely fixed the issue. I need to investigate further, but I think the issue is with the TV and not the RGB output or the RGB2COMP.. but wow! What a difference. So much so, that colors look soo much closer to original composite output of the PCE.. but with the high end of the colors having that extra saturation. It was like the best of both composite and RGB; removal of the over saturated warmth of the palette in the low and mid (flesh tones look correct like on the original PCE composite), but colors in the highend are very "rich and vibrant". Like I said, unclear if this just an edge case with my TV set as I don't have another set of component options to compare it to (yet. I'll be getting my Genesis next week. And a component cable for my MisTer), but it might be option for others out there having similar issues (for RGB to Component). I will be receiving a 20M2U PVM this week, so I'll be able to verify on that as well. Edited March 18, 2021 by turboxray 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 (edited) So I got my stimulus money and I want to fulfill my dream of owning a PC Engine CD system. What's the best place to get a Duo? Edited March 20, 2021 by DragonGrafx-16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Black_Tiger Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Keith Courage on misc PC Engine boards is the best overall. https://www.facebook.com/turbografxfan/ After he refurbished my TurboDuo it now loads CD games faster than it did new and Gate of Thunder's loads are now instant. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 3/19/2021 at 8:16 PM, DragonGrafx-16 said: So I got my stimulus money and I want to fulfill my dream of owning a PC Engine CD system. What's the best place to get a Duo? Never mind I found a good Duo RX. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 3/17/2021 at 6:51 PM, -^CrossBow^- said: It is a chip tune album on HuCards for playing on the TG-16 and PCE. But only the PCE versions are still available to buy. This composer has released other chiptune albums on cart in the past for the Genesis/Megadrive, and SNES. https://remute.bandcamp.com/album/electronic-lifestyle Finally got this! Threw my PCE into my sound system and cranked it, very cool album (though not all tracks are for me, some of the voice samples I think hurt the music) Have to agree with what you said on shipping....mine came in a tiny bubble mailer, with the huey wrapped in....a f'in piece of copy paper. I am honestly surprised the thing made it from Germany in one piece. Would like to get more albums like this though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtmonkey Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 I've been playing a lot of PCE the last week and thought I'd post some random thoughts here. Ys Book I & II I imagine back in 1990 the cinemas, music, and voice acting must have been mindblowing, but I'm not sure about this one. I found Book 1 to be really enjoyable, just the right length with great pacing and a killer soundtrack... but Book 2 is quite a slog. I feel like the game is 95% solving mazes and 5% fighting bosses (and this is coming from someone who normally loves mapping RPGs). I'll finish it, but I think I prefer Ys III. Gate of Thunder Simply amazing. Plays like a dream, has a great soundtrack, and the graphics are very impressive with lots of parallax scrolling. I'm slowly working my way to a one-credit clear and it's very satisfying improving my skills. PC Genjin aka Bonk's Adventure There's a lot to like about this one. Great graphics, a fantastic (surprisingly atmospheric) soundtrack, and lovable characters... especially Genjin himself. It's a shame that the game itself is so boring. My biggest problem with this game is the level design. You basically just walk to the right killing enemies in most stages, and when you do get to a stage that requires platforming, it becomes infuriating due to how slowly you move, how far you get knocked back when you get hit, and how long the game is. You can (thankfully) get through a good number of the more boring stags by jumping and spinning right to the end lol. It really needs a password system, because playing such a repetitive game in one go is really tedious. I was able to get to the boss rush section, but simply lost the will to continue. Dunno if I will ever finish this one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 8 minutes ago, newtmonkey said: I've been playing a lot of PCE the last week and thought I'd post some random thoughts here. Ys Book I & II I imagine back in 1990 the cinemas, music, and voice acting must have been mindblowing, but I'm not sure about this one. I found Book 1 to be really enjoyable, just the right length with great pacing and a killer soundtrack... but Book 2 is quite a slog. I feel like the game is 95% solving mazes and 5% fighting bosses (and this is coming from someone who normally loves mapping RPGs). I'll finish it, but I think I prefer Ys III. Gate of Thunder Simply amazing. Plays like a dream, has a great soundtrack, and the graphics are very impressive with lots of parallax scrolling. I'm slowly working my way to a one-credit clear and it's very satisfying improving my skills. PC Genjin aka Bonk's Adventure There's a lot to like about this one. Great graphics, a fantastic (surprisingly atmospheric) soundtrack, and lovable characters... especially Genjin himself. It's a shame that the game itself is so boring. My biggest problem with this game is the level design. You basically just walk to the right killing enemies in most stages, and when you do get to a stage that requires platforming, it becomes infuriating due to how slowly you move, how far you get knocked back when you get hit, and how long the game is. You can (thankfully) get through a good number of the more boring stags by jumping and spinning right to the end lol. It really needs a password system, because playing such a repetitive game in one go is really tedious. I was able to get to the boss rush section, but simply lost the will to continue. Dunno if I will ever finish this one. People tend to give Ys III a bad rap, but I don't think it is too bad. It's a change in direction like Zelda 2 was, and I suspect it catches people off guard. The Ys IV English fan translation is pretty impressive. They even went so far as dubbing the spoken dialog. That dialog may not sound the best, but it still should be recognized for the effort. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtmonkey Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 @cybercylon Honestly, at this point I'm trying to just get through Ys I/II so I play Ys IV 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 I got the PCE version of the Remute album. Wish I could have gotten the TG16 version, but oh well, I have an adapter. (And I already ripped it to my SSDS3.) I also got FX Unit Yuki, which is a lot of fun despite the absolutely brutal knockback. From Atlantean and Insanity to Hypernova Blast and Implode, to this and Mysterious Song, I don’t know why the homebrew scene doesn’t get more attention. Some really great stuff is available, although it seems like there’s not much in active development right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 I might get FX Unit Yuki just to have a PC Engine game that's new now that I'll be able to play CD games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Personally I wouldn't waste the money, but if you were, I'd get into the queue for the analogue NT DUO. Modern parts, modern 'classic' output, no worries about the poor quality build NEC did on those things only being beat out on doing worse by Sega. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 To me.. Ys was almost ALL wandering around mazes. I took a pass on the Turbo version because I had already played the SMS version.. but still even with the sequels, that memory of the mazes pretty much made me take a pass on all of them as well. It was weird also seeing some of them look like side-scrollers too. I'm definitely going to have to visit the later games because it obviously evolved from that first one. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 23 minutes ago, Tanooki said: Personally I wouldn't waste the money, but if you were, I'd get into the queue for the analogue NT DUO. Modern parts, modern 'classic' output, no worries about the poor quality build NEC did on those things only being beat out on doing worse by Sega. I don't seeing it as wasting money and besides I got the RX not the regular Duo. It will be fine as it is a tested and working system. And I play on a CRT so I'm happy with composite. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboxray Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 1 hour ago, NE146 said: To me.. Ys was almost ALL wandering around mazes. I took a pass on the Turbo version because I had already played the SMS version.. but still even with the sequels, that memory of the mazes pretty much made me take a pass on all of them as well. It was weird also seeing some of them look like side-scrollers too. I'm definitely going to have to visit the later games because it obviously evolved from that first one. You took a pass on the CD version because you played the SMS version? Oh man, someone missed out hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboxray Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, DragonGrafx-16 said: I don't seeing it as wasting money and besides I got the RX not the regular Duo. It will be fine as it is a tested and working system. And I play on a CRT so I'm happy with composite. I did the nes2pce games on the PCE. I made a special version of Megaman CD with CD audio. It also has an 'easy' mode setting. Let me know if you're interested and I'll uploaded it... somewhere haha. Edited March 22, 2021 by turboxray 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Those NES2PCE converts aren't typically too bad, it's nice to see how they turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 9 hours ago, turboxray said: You took a pass on the CD version because you played the SMS version? Oh man, someone missed out hahaha Yes! 'Course you also have to remember the CD attachment for the TG16 was something around $500 retail as well so that was probably the bigger reason I took a pass That said, Ys for the SMS was pretty good! I played and finished it even before the TG16 was even a thing in the US and at the time there wasn't much else like it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.