Cheapest way to play Turbografx CD games?

[theclaw]

I'd sold my bare-bones system as drives by themselves were too difficult to find. Not much use for a US TG16 without CD support IMHO. Only game I had for that was the crappy Pac Land.

[Smashed Brother]

Check out Magic Engine. Much cheaper than owning a proper system.

[theclaw]

Ah. Didn't think of that. Like JP Mega CD, the lone PCE CD game I've got is just for the sake of collecting Urusei Yatsura stuff. It's not what I was hoping to play.

As for normal games... I doubt finding a hucard converter in either direction these days would be worth such trouble.

[Smashed Brother]

Well, if you have either a US or JP system, there's a guy on here who can do a mod for about $50. Far cheaper and more practical than finding a converter, not to mention the ugliness of this huge converter w/hucard sticking a foot outside of your system!

But with the Magic Engine, you can of course play hu's from any region. You can also play the physical copies of your CD games!

[theclaw]

I don't have any system. I sold mine because I couldn't find a CD drive for it. They're virtually never sold by themselves working, ever.

I've only come across some broken ones on ebay. And that wouldn't do me any good.

[Smashed Brother]

You can get an all-in-one PC Engine Duo-R pretty cheap on the 'bay. Of course, shipping might be expensive! Get it region-modded for hucards (CD's are all region, as you may know) and you're good to go. No need to deal with finding standalone CD units (that are prone to failure) and/or expensive system cards!

[A Black Falcon]

Uh, cheap? Duo-Rs cost like $100-$200, plus like $70 shipping from Japan... they are in no way cheap. The TG16 and its addons and versions overall is a pretty expensive system to collect for. If all you want to do is play a few games, yes, emulation is very much the way to go... though I'd recommend Ootake over Magic Engine for an emulator.

[Ze_ro]

Uh, cheap? Duo-Rs cost like $100-$200, plus like $70 shipping from Japan... they are in no way cheap.
At some point, I'm going to end up spend something like $350 on a PAC-N10 for my LaserActive. Compared to *that*, a Duo-R is a bargain!

Unfortunately, aside from emulation, Duo-R really is the cheapest option.

--Zero

[Smashed Brother]

Uh, cheap? Duo-Rs cost like $100-$200, plus like $70 shipping from Japan... they are in no way cheap. The TG16 and its addons and versions overall is a pretty expensive system to collect for. If all you want to do is play a few games, yes, emulation is very much the way to go... though I'd recommend Ootake over Magic Engine for an emulator.

Compared to buying a US TG plus a CD add-on and a 3.0 system card, or even a US Duo? A Duo-R is actually much more affordable, even with shipping. Not to mention far more reliable. That's all I was trying to point out to the OP.

But yes, if you're interested in playing a few games, check out one of the emulators.

[todesengel]

Like what everybody else said, if you want the actual hardware for cheap get a Duo-R, I got mine for $160 shipped. Other than that the cheapest option is emulation.

[Arkhan]

Check out Magic Engine. Much cheaper than owning a proper system.

magic engine is 35$

Ootake is free.

There is no reason to get Magic Engine what so ever. :-/ the built in Magic System card is not a good clone of the actual system card either.




If you HAVE to have the real hardware, take it from everyone here: Get a Duo-R. They are the best bang for the buck. hands down.

[todesengel]

magic engine is 35$Holy shit Magic Engine is $35!! I remember when it was $15 and I thought that was expensive. I never understood why you had to pay for Magic Engine anyway, is it an actual company that made the emulator? (Sorry for taking the thread off track.)

[jeffg]

if you keep an eye out you can get a duo-r for $120 or so shipped

I got mine off neo geo forum for $120 shipped with hookups and a controller.

that is what i use along with a tg16 for US hucards


Or you can get lucky and find a TG16 CD system with 7 games on ebay for $55 buy it now.
:)

[Battlehork]

Yeah, Magic Engine is commercial software. It's actually still $15; the higher price also includes the PC-FX emulator too. Back in the day it was the only PC Engine emu that could do CD at all/well.

Ootake is just as good if not better at this point though.

[ConsoleAddict]

Can I play a Japanese CD game on any of these emulators? Or only American?

[Purkeynator]

Virtual Console is the route I went. I got a ton of great games (including Dracula Rondo) for a little over $100, plus they look great on my high def TV over component. Also no cards to worry about, reliability is excellent, and no turbo tap needed!

[InsaneDavid]

Virtual Console is the route I went. I got a ton of great games (including Dracula Rondo) for a little over $100, plus they look great on my high def TV over component. Also no cards to worry about, reliability is excellent, and no turbo tap needed!

Sadly though, you really don't own anything then. $100 on air. As has been said, Duo-R is the best option with the least fuss. I paid for Magic Engine years ago to support good software (I have no problem doing that) and still run v0.99 Beta 5 to this day. (I had problems with 1.0 as did many people)

[Arkhan]

Can I play a Japanese CD game on any of these emulators? Or only American?

Ootake is a Japanese based emulator.

but this is besides the point.

All Turbo Grafx-16 CD and PC-Engine CD games are region free. They will work anywhere. So, the answer is, you can play them all on an emulator. Until you get the real hardware, feel free to buy games and play them on your PC w/ an emulator. I used to do that at school with my laptop, lol.

You will need to locate System Card 3.0 rom to do this.

Don't invest in a TG-CD unless you are getting it for <100$ w/ enough games that their cost is around 100$. That way you can reassure yourself that you're only paying for the games mostly. The TG-CD will break on you before you know it probably. Buying them is like playing russian roulette.

[theclaw]

Ootake is a Japanese based emulator.

but this is besides the point.

All Turbo Grafx-16 CD and PC-Engine CD games are region free. They will work anywhere. So, the answer is, you can play them all on an emulator. Until you get the real hardware, feel free to buy games and play them on your PC w/ an emulator. I used to do that at school with my laptop, lol.

You will need to locate System Card 3.0 rom to do this.

Don't invest in a TG-CD unless you are getting it for <100$ w/ enough games that their cost is around 100$. That way you can reassure yourself that you're only paying for the games mostly. The TG-CD will break on you before you know it probably. Buying them is like playing russian roulette.

Uh, I don't follow. Why would I want to buy a TG-CD now? It wouldn't be usable without the base console, regardless of condition.

[Arkhan]

Uh, I don't follow. Why would I want to buy a TG-CD now? It wouldn't be usable without the base console, regardless of condition.

Oh, when I say TG-CD, I assume its the full setup. TG16, Interface unit, and CD unit.

Thats what I see most on ebay, is the full setup w/ some games.

[Ze_ro]

Virtual Console is the route I went. I got a ton of great games (including Dracula Rondo) for a little over $100, plus they look great on my high def TV over component. Also no cards to worry about, reliability is excellent, and no turbo tap needed!
My understanding here was that the OP wanted to play the actual retail CD games. I think every TG16 emulator these days can read TG-CD's through your PC's CD-ROM drive, so it's sort of like a big console (Hell, build a computer in a case like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811153068), and with the right emulators, you could ditch your SegaCD, TurboGrafx-CD, PSX, etc).

In theory, you'll still have to pirate the Super System 3.0 ROM image (or suffer with MagicEngine's replacement), so I guess it's not a perfect solution, but it's basically free.

--Zero

[erehwon]

This has been something that I've wanted to know for a while. I've wanted to pick up a Turbografx for a while. For the most part, the only games I've had an interest in are the Ys games.

It's just that the system is so expensive to get games for. I just don't know if I'll ever get one. I have a hard time paying more than $50 for any older console. The most I've paid for a classic console was $40 for a Laseractive. Guess I'll just have to wait for those PSP ports.

I'm wondering if there is a good TGCD emulator for the xbox? I have a modded xbox with xbox media center. I'm asking on the off chance that I actually find some of the Ys games.

[theclaw]

Ys games, huh? I did import some of the PSP ones. Unfortunate for my wallet it sounds like they're getting US releases after all.

[tomaitheous]

This has been something that I've wanted to know for a while. I've wanted to pick up a Turbografx for a while. For the most part, the only games I've had an interest in are the Ys games.

It's just that the system is so expensive to get games for. I just don't know if I'll ever get one. I have a hard time paying more than $50 for any older console. The most I've paid for a classic console was $40 for a Laseractive. Guess I'll just have to wait for those PSP ports.

I'm wondering if there is a good TGCD emulator for the xbox? I have a modded xbox with xbox media center. I'm asking on the off chance that I actually find some of the Ys games.

Well.. if you think $50 is expensive for a old game, then the TG16/CD isn't for you. Stick with emulation or just play the remakes of the Ys games on something else (Like the PC for instance. Ys 1 & II for PC has an English translation. So does the Ys 3 remake).

[erehwon]

Well.. if you think $50 is expensive for a old game, then the TG16/CD isn't for you. Stick with emulation or just play the remakes of the Ys games on something else (Like the PC for instance. Ys 1 & II for PC has an English translation. So does the Ys 3 remake).
I could pay more for an old system. I'm just really cheap. I've gotten almost all of my classic game stuff from garage sales, so I'm used to stuff being very cheap. I picked up a Vectrex for $2 and complete JVC X'Eye for $10, for example. I might pick up one of those Duo-r systems someday. I just don't have the extra money for that right now.

How hard is to track down the PC versions of the Ys games? Are these something I could just pick up from play-asia?

[jperryss]

I'm wondering if there is a good TGCD emulator for the xbox? I have a modded xbox with xbox media center. I'm asking on the off chance that I actually find some of the Ys games.

I've used both of the XBOX ones at one point and from what I remember they are pretty good. HugoX and I think Mednafenx is the other. From what I remember (it's been years) they ran CD games with minimal issues. It's a bit tricky formatting them correctly to store on the HDD (you can compress the WAV audio tracks down to MP3, which are smaller files, and as long as the CUE file is correct, they'll play fine) but supposedly they'll also run original discs right in the drive too.