Top 20 Turbografx-16 Games

[digitalpress]

Discuss! This list represents the US-based HuCards only. CD's and PC Engine titles will be on another list, another day.

NOTE: for the complete list, look no farther than the Digital Press master database listings: http://www.digitpress.com/lists.htm

Aero Blasters
Air Zonk
Blazing Lazers
Bomberman ‘93
Bonk's Adventure
Bonk’s Revenge
Dead Moon
Devil’s Crush
Dragon’s Curse
Dungeon Explorer
Galaga ‘90
Legendary Axe
Legendary Axe II
Magical Chase
Military Madness
Neutopia
Ninja Spirit
Parasol Stars
Splatterhouse
Time Cruise

[Raedon]

Military Madness sold me on the TG16 back in the early 90's. I remember playing a demo of Bonk at Target and thinking "god this sucks compared to Altered Beast." but a friend got one for $99 a year or so later and had this game.. many many a night we played Military Madness until 4:00am.

[Kid Fenris]

I might stand alone on this, but I don't really care for the first Legendary Axe. It may have been impressive for its day, but the game just feels slow and chunky now, and aside from the huge final boss, the designs are rather bland. The first stage has a duo of ordinary-looking bears for a boss, and the end of level two pits you against a rock --a rock!

If you decide to replace the original LA, I'd suggest one of the following:

Bonk's Adventure: It was never quite the system showcase that NEC needed, but Bonk is still a solid, enjoyable platformer, and, in some ways, better than its sequel.

R-Type: Aside from some flicker problems, it's an extremely fun and accurate translation.

Soldier Blade: An excellent shooter in the Star Soldier vein, this one has a superb power-up system and some great bosses.

[jaydubnb]

Air Zonk: I just picked this game up not too long ago. Not the most indepth shooter, but there's a cheerful and playful look to the characters which is undeniably smile provoking...not to mention some of the more wackier power ups i've seen in a shooter. Pretty choice all around, with the only drawback being Zonk's somewhat clunky control.

Blazing Lazers: One of the top 10 TG16 shmups. Nuff said.

Bonks Revenge: The pinnacle of the series. Everything was a leap forward over the original EXCEPT for the removal of the head spin!!!

Devil's Crush: One of the most addictive games i've ever played. Cool hybrid of pinball and a shmup.

Legendary Axe: This game was coool 10 yrs ago, but upon revisting, drips in sucktitude. Stiiff controls and animation + suspect graphics. Boo.

[maxlords]

Legendary Axe 1 and 2? Neutopia? Time Cruise? Tennis? Hell no! Now granted, I count the Duo (with all it's CD glory as well) and the import stuff too, but there are a lot better games out there than those. I played Magical Chase a while back too and I thought it was SHIT. Certainly not worth the $100+ it goes for. My list would look more like:

Kunio Dodgeball (import)
Soldier Blade
Air Zonk
Bonk's Adventure
Military Madness
Silent Debuggers
Download (import)
Image Fight (import)
Dungeon Explorer
Sidearms
Devil's Crush
Parasol Stars
Cadash
Final Lap Twin
Final Soldier
Super Star Soldier
Gunhed
Ninja Gaiden (import)
Parodius Da! (import)
Splatterhouse

[ROBOTRON]

Blazing Lazers
Aero Blasters
Air Zonk
Psychosis
Military Madness
Galaga 90
Cybercore
Bonk
Bonk's Revenge
Dragon Spirit
Sidearms
Gates of Thunder-(CD)
Lords of Thunder-(CD)
Star Soldier
Moto Roader
JJ and Jeff
Legendary Axe
China Warrior
Splatterhouse
Bloody Wolf

[Neo-Jorge]

I remember playing the Turbo at a Haunted house event in a Suburb of chicago and saying wow this is great I have to have this.
I got to play great games like Splatter House ,Lengendary Axe, Keith courage, plus of course everyone's favorite giant head hero Bonk.
Well About a weel later I ventured off and got it with the add on CD player which at the time was a bit expensive but I had Y's and last alert and nothing else in the world mattered to me at the time. Remembering being the only One on the block to have this system I used to have boatloads of Friends come over to play it and Y's was always our Favorite game, that was untill China Warrior and Vigilante came home. All in all I can Say I had some great memories and it helped me make many friends to which this day I still have. I have now become an Nec loyalist and I now collect so many Import games for the pc engine due to this. It's great to see how some of the games were altered a bit from thier release here in the USA.
Take example Splatterhouse which in the USA version you dont get to see the Cross of Christ when you reach the last level. In JJ AND JEFF there are so many antics that you dont see. In the japanese version there is constant Farting and what not. Truly Great Stuff.



Thanks

[metal_head]

Hi,

I'm in the UK and TG 16 stuff isn't very common here...I could really do with some more cards, but of the few I've got I really like Cratermaze. It just seems like a fun game to play.

I also seem to get hypnotised by Pac-land, though I dont know if the TG 16 version is a good one.

Everybody seems to want Jap PC engine stuff rather than TG 16.

[Zap!]

Is it just a coincidence that there are no CD games mentioned in that list? If yes, I understand you are talking about card-only games. But if no, I certainly can't see why Ys: Book I and II could not be in the top 25, when it is clearly THE best TG game ever.

[Querjek]

I personally like Air Zonk, Parasol Stars (Already listed), and Pac-land, if that helps any.

[JackDark]

Strip Fighter 2! :D

[DeputyMoniker]

What would you guys reccomend as a great RPG? I'm looking for a deep story (preferably dark) and magic. Any suggestions?

[AtariBuff]

my fav:

Cybercore :D

[Zap!]

It's been a year and a half since I said it, and I'll say it again: WHY IS YS: BOOK I AND II NOT ON THAT LIST?!? Sorry to yell, but I've been playing video games since 1979, have been on a TV show (TV Pixxx), edited a fanzine (Zap!), hold a world record (Monster Lair), and played 1,000's of video games, and that game is still my favorite video game off all-time, and always will be. It deserves much more credit then it gets.

[DeputyMoniker]

It's been a year and a half since I said it, and I'll say it again: WHY IS YS: BOOK I AND II NOT ON THAT LIST?!? Sorry to yell, but I've been playing video games since 1979, have been on a TV show (TV Pixxx), edited a fanzine (Zap!), hold a world record (Monster Lair), and played 1,000's of video games, and that game is still my favorite video game off all-time, and always will be. It deserves much more credit then it gets.

"This list represents the...HuCards only. CD's...will be on another list, another day."

[vintagegamecrazy]

I like most of the original list but I would take Splatterhouse off, it's decent but I don't know if it's a top 20, I would consider replacing it with Power Golf. The game has old graphics but the gameplay is fantastic.

[sickdrummer420]

It's been a year and a half since I said it, and I'll say it again: WHY IS YS: BOOK I AND II NOT ON THAT LIST?!? Sorry to yell, but I've been playing video games since 1979, have been on a TV show (TV Pixxx), edited a fanzine (Zap!), hold a world record (Monster Lair), and played 1,000's of video games, and that game is still my favorite video game off all-time, and always will be. It deserves much more credit then it gets.

wow, its been a year and you didnt read the first post. It clearly says that the list is hu-card only. Sorry, didnt mean to bust your balls :D

[bangtango]

I was partial towards:

Battle Royale
Bonk's Adventure
Keith Courage
Splatterhouse
Vigilante

[sabre2922]

NINJA SPIRIT!

and is it just me or was the turbo version of Splatterhouse the BEST version? even better than the sequels on Genesis?

luved Splatterhouse on turbografx-16.... all the gory COLORS! is it 16-bit or not? who cares!? it kills nintendo! ..... oh sorry for the flashback it happens in old age.

[alec]

So long as Blazing Lasers and Bonk's Adventure make the list I won't complain. I would also really like to see Alien Crush make the list as it is one of my very favorite games.

[B - Mark]

My favorite Turbografx 16 games:
- Aero Blasters
- Bomberman 93
- Bonk´s Adventure
- Fantasy Zone
- Vigilante
- Neutopia 1
- Neutopia 2
- Splatterhouse
- Victory Run

[77punk]

Ah man. The classic TG16.. my dad took me when i was young to a E3 or something like that where they reveiled the TG16, they claimed it looks better on a flat monitor and i was in Ahhh! The picture was so clear, the must have had the Turbo Boost on it atleast hooked right up to the NEC screens. I played bonk and from there figured out my future videogame obsession. I never got the CD unit that went with it, but got about 6 games the same christmas with the tap and two extra controllers. I was always mad that it never took off more in the states.

I remember looking forward to getting an express for my grades one year, if i got all A's and got B's and got nothing.. to this day i am still pissed, but 400 dollars brand new is crazy even today for a handheld. Im still looking to get one, eventually.

Splatterhouse, bonks, and Ninja spirit are my favorite!! GO NEC!

[Graham Mitchell]

It's been a year and a half since I said it, and I'll say it again: WHY IS YS: BOOK I AND II NOT ON THAT LIST?!? Sorry to yell, but I've been playing video games since 1979, have been on a TV show (TV Pixxx), edited a fanzine (Zap!), hold a world record (Monster Lair), and played 1,000's of video games, and that game is still my favorite video game off all-time, and always will be. It deserves much more credit then it gets.


I agree. It's my favorite video game of all time as well. And my friggin' Duo broke, so I'm hoping the Wii virtual Console figures out a way to emulate CD games so I can play Y's again.


And how come nobody mentioned Dungeon Explorer? I didn't play DEII, but the first one is amazing! It's got some of the best music they ever got out of that sound chip. I second the US version of R-type as well. I particularly dug New Adventure Island, also. Fairly advanced graphics, really--it had that dithering/Mode 7-ish effect that the SNES used. Not bad for what was really an 8-bit machine.

[cosmicpsycho]

after plenty of searching i recently found a tg16 at a flea market with 2 controllers and the tap for 20$. lucky me. as far as favs go i'd say,
bonks adventure
bonk 2
ninja spirit
r-type
galaga 90
im sure theres a bunch more, but im having trouble thinking

[greedostick]

the only list you will need

magical chase
dragons curse
blazing lazers
super star soldier
dungeon explorer
legendary axe
bonks revenge
cadash
fantasy zone
legend of hero tonma
military madness
ninja spirit
raiden
psychosis
r-type
shockman
soldier blade
space harrier
splatterhouse
Bonk 3

[Dr. Morbis]

I can' believe New Adventure Island is not on that list. Remove World Court Tennis and replace it with New AI. WCT is a decent tennis game, but nothing really stands out as exceptional; it does have an RPG mode that can be fun for a bit, but it gets repetitive rather quickly. New AI on the other hand has spectacular graphics, great funky music and it's just plain fun to play.

[nate1749]

Is splatterhouse really a great game though? I mean if you give it to someone (who likes classic games) who has never played it before, I don't think they'll like it. I remember liking it as a kid (due to nature of the game), but I've tried several times to get back into this over the past year or two (trying it occasionally) and it's just an awful game (and by that I mean very very boring).

Maybe my taste has just changed. However, I will say that if you're playing TG16 you should give it a shot since it's such a big part of it's history (at least I think), but on the top 20 games I'd easily take that off and put in the original bonk (that I'm working on right now, definitely held up it's value).

Nate

[Alfador]

So....where's the TG-16 CD list? I just got a Duo and I want to know some good CD games..

[Graham Mitchell]

So....where's the TG-16 CD list? I just got a Duo and I want to know some good CD games..

Y's Book I and II
Y's III is pretty good
Get one of those English-patched Y's IV ROMS as well.
That's all that's essential, but some other nice offerings are:

Valis III (is it really better than the Mega Drive version? Tough to say; it's got more levels, more detail, more cinematics and the story's a little more fleshed out, but the soundtrack blows and the visuals are actually a downgrade for the most part.

Import Valis IV- it's a better game. Very challenging, cool tunes (the whole reason you got the CD ROM back in the day.)

Monster Lair-part of the Wonder Boy series, but plays uniquely. Sort of like Atomic Runner, Gumshoe and Xexyz--a platformer that auto-scrolls. The game is very simple, and the only reason this couldn't be a card is because of the gawdawful calypso soundtrack. But it's really fun and addictive.

Somebody will tell you to get Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. I haven't ever played it, so I don't know if it lives up to the hype or not. I do know that it'll run you a hundred bucks, and it might show up on the Wii Virtual Console for 8 bucks in the near future.

Gate of Thunder/Lord of Thunder are fantastic shooters, also.

Exile: Wicked Phenomenon has the potential to be amazing. Unfortunately, I think the game is impossible...I got stuck very early on and I maxed out my character's stats to a rediculous degree, but the stupid Grim Reaper thing kills you in like 2 hits. On top of that it takes up about half of your internal RAM, so be prepared to make some sacrifices to play this.

Avoid Cosmic Fantasy 2. It's abysmal and requires that you clear your RAM entirely in order to save. That was Working Designs' first CD-based game in the US and I was convinced that they were retarded at that time. Thank God they redeemed themselves with Lunar and Popful Mail down the road.

I've heard great things about Vasteel as well.

Hope that helps.

[Natty Bumppo]

If you like these sort of games (Boxxle 1 & 2, Shove It ), Boxy Boy is a lotta fun.

[COUNT SMRIFNACK]

Yeah, we need a top 10 TG CD/Duo thread!!!

My fav. CD games: (in no order)

Lords of Thunder
Cotton
Last Alert
Gates of Thunder (Lords is better IMO)
Syd Mead's Terraforming
Sapphire (I only have a CD-R so I have only played it through an emulator:-/)
Super Air Zonk
Dracula X (also just a CD-R:-/)

Ok that's 8, close enough.....

[DKTheArcadeRat]

For normal US TG-16 HuCard games:

Splatterhouse
Bonks Revenge
Chew Man Fu - WHY HAS NOBODY SAID THIS GAME YET?

Chew Man Fu is a totally awesome puzzle game and it looks really nice, I've had it since I've had my TG-16 and its gotten the most play out of any of my games for it.

[the.golden.ax]

1. Parasol Stars
2. Galaga 90
3. New Adventure Island
4. Super Star Soldier
5. Devil's Crush
6. Bonk's Revenge
7. Alien Crush
8. Time Cruise
9. Shockman
10. Keith Courage (really... play it)

[Acadin]

Way back in the day when the TG-16 came out I had an Aunt who played a part in the first Sherlock Holmes cd game. Needless to say my Grandmother bought the system and the CD addition (wish I owned it now). She of course bought the Holmes game and only one other... Keith Courage.

So my only experience is the horrible Sherlock Holmes game and Keith. I still remember that rainbow fondly.

[IMJ]

Awesome thread!
Actually, Vigilante was always my number one favorite. I was so excited when the game went from Arcade to a home system. That's #1 on my list. ;)

[retro junkie]

Bonk's Revenge
Ninja Spirit
Galaga 90
Parasol Stars
Side Arms
Blazing Lazers
Sinistron
Soldier Blade
Bomberman 93
Dead Moon
R-Type
Alien Crush
Air Zonk
Raiden
Samurai-Ghost
Bonk's Adventure
Tiger Road
Aero Blasters
New Adventure Island
Vigilante
Dragon Spirit
Psychosis

I also like playing the PC Engine games W-Ring and Street Fighter 2 with a converter.

[PresidentLeever]

Alien Crush
Air Zonk
Blazing Lazers
Bloody Wolf
Bonk’s Revenge
Chew Man Fu
Dragon’s Curse
Dungeon Explorer
Legend of Hero Tonma
Legendary Axe
Magical Chase
Military Madness
Neutopia
Ninja Spirit
New Adventure Island
Parasol Stars
R-Type
Splatterhouse
Soldier Blade
Super Star Soldier

[ButtonMasher123]

I just got this system from ebay over the weekend and I'm loving it right now. There aren't a lot of games for it as there were less than 100 US Hucard releases, but the games that are good for it are usually really good.

Some of my favs include,

Bonk's Adventure- Where is this on the top 20? Simple but addicting gameplay mechanics, timeless music, good level design. I'd put it up against any Mario or Sonic game and it will hold its own.

Blazing Lazers- This is currently my favorite old school SHMUP. It has killer music, great frantic action, and superb presentation. Nothing groundbreaking here, but the game just oozes style and its very hard to put down once you start playing. A game that people who aren't even into the genre would love.

Final Lap Twin- A racing RPG? who knew that it could work this well. This is one of the few old sports games that has aged well for me because there is lot more to do than just race.

Galaga 90- I always loved the original and this one takes nothing away from the core gameplay of that title. All the new additions are perfect. The third ship adds depth to the gameplay and I like how it turns into a vertical SHMUP in between galaxies to mix things up. This is a great pick up and play title.

Parasol Stars- This addition to the Bubble Bobble series of games captures the same magic that the first one had, but manages to still be a different experience. The graphics and music are amazing and pushed the console to the edge. This is one of the few good games that hasn't been released on Virtual Console either so the original TG16 is still the best way to go to play this masterpiece.

I recommend picking up this console to any retro gamer out there. Eventhough it is more expensive than other consoles I feel it offers a unique experience that makes it worth while in the end.

[Odonadon]

I'm going to go with:

1. Ys Book I &II
2. Galaga '90
3. Blazing Lazers
4. Bomberman '93
5. Sidearms
6. Bonk's Revenge
7. Final Lap Twin
8. Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu
9. Legendary Axe
10. Parasol Stars
11. Final Soldier
12. Ninja Spirit
13. Silent Debuggers
14. Space Harrier
15. Afterburner 2
16. Military Madness
17. Chu Man Fu
18. Dragon's Curse
19. Neutopia II
20. Devil's Crush

Pretty hard to keep the list to 20!

OD

[Joe West]

i dont know about 20...but these are my favorites:


Air Zonk
Blazing Lazers
Bomberman ‘93
Bonk’s Revenge
Devil’s Crush
Legendary Axe
Legendary Axe II
Magical Chase
Parasol Stars
Splatterhouse

[sidnotcrazy]

Final Lap Twin is amazing. The story mode is worth a play because it was for me the first RPG/racing game I ever played. I even found a gold race car body, and couldn't lift it because of its weight. Great game, and it always will stay with me as one of the finest on the console.

Legendary axe 1 and II are great. The first one with the level with the mazes was awesome. Also what about powering up your axe and fighting the last boss? I loved every single moment of those games. I just can't see if you love the 8 to 16-bit age, you have to see quality in these games.

[boogiecat]

Cotton of course and Shumps that i already forgot thier names/titles(i'll post it once i recall it!)..

[Nico87]

Bring on a Top 20 TG16 CD Games!

[knicksfan89]

Y's Book I and II
Y's III is pretty good
Get one of those English-patched Y's IV ROMS as well.
That's all that's essential, but some other nice offerings are:

Valis III (is it really better than the Mega Drive version? Tough to say; it's got more levels, more detail, more cinematics and the story's a little more fleshed out, but the soundtrack blows and the visuals are actually a downgrade for the most part.

Import Valis IV- it's a better game. Very challenging, cool tunes (the whole reason you got the CD ROM back in the day.)

Monster Lair-part of the Wonder Boy series, but plays uniquely. Sort of like Atomic Runner, Gumshoe and Xexyz--a platformer that auto-scrolls. The game is very simple, and the only reason this couldn't be a card is because of the gawdawful calypso soundtrack. But it's really fun and addictive.

Somebody will tell you to get Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. I haven't ever played it, so I don't know if it lives up to the hype or not. I do know that it'll run you a hundred bucks, and it might show up on the Wii Virtual Console for 8 bucks in the near future.

Gate of Thunder/Lord of Thunder are fantastic shooters, also.

Exile: Wicked Phenomenon has the potential to be amazing. Unfortunately, I think the game is impossible...I got stuck very early on and I maxed out my character's stats to a rediculous degree, but the stupid Grim Reaper thing kills you in like 2 hits. On top of that it takes up about half of your internal RAM, so be prepared to make some sacrifices to play this.

Avoid Cosmic Fantasy 2. It's abysmal and requires that you clear your RAM entirely in order to save. That was Working Designs' first CD-based game in the US and I was convinced that they were retarded at that time. Thank God they redeemed themselves with Lunar and Popful Mail down the road.

I've heard great things about Vasteel as well.

Hope that helps.


to answer your question about Valis iii, the MD version is better

[Graham Mitchell]

to answer your question about Valis iii, the MD version is better

I think that's pretty subjective. I think that aesthetically the MD version is better, but I think it's less of a game. It's really clunky and sloppily programmed. The learning curve sucks. It's ridiculously easy until you hit the ice level, at which point it becomes nearly impossible. I feel the game was rushed and poorly-tested prior to release.

The TGCD/PCE-CD version, meanwhile, feels slightly more arranged. It has much better pacing as well, with some really tough levels evenly interspaced with some moderately challenging ones.

I think I prefer the CD version myself for that reason.

[cr0n0]

I recall buying the TG back in 1990 just because of one game...R-Type. That is the first and last time I based the purchase of a console because of one game. Granted, I thought R-Type was ported beautifully to the TG, but as time went by, I envied my friends' Genesis and his lineup of games. Only good games I had were Aero Blasters, Neutopia (which quenched my thirst for a spiced up Zelda game at that time), Devil's Crush, Bloody Wolf and Bazing Lasers. I regret not buying Military Madness now. That game is awesome.

[mobiusclimber]

Is splatterhouse really a great game though? I mean if you give it to someone (who likes classic games) who has never played it before, I don't think they'll like it. I remember liking it as a kid (due to nature of the game), but I've tried several times to get back into this over the past year or two (trying it occasionally) and it's just an awful game (and by that I mean very very boring).

Nate

It's the game that got me into the system. I recently introduced a friend to the TG16 and showed him that game and he thought it was great. Only problem is the sewer level, neither of us could figure out how to get past those weird floating spike things. I got the Japanese version and could very easily jump over them, but that didn't seem to be the case in the US version. Weird.

At any rate, my experience has been that people who are into classic games can definitely get into Splatterhouse. Also, after playing the Genesis titles, the first Splatterhouse totally blows them away.

[Mason P.]

this list will be a good guide for me to purchase games.

[runinruder]

Sticking with HuCards released in the US...

Aero Blasters
Alien Crush
Blazing Lazers
Bonk's Adventure
Cyber Core
Deep Blue
Double Dungeons
Dungeon Explorer
Fantasy Zone
Final Lap Twin
The Legendary Axe
The Legendary Axe II
New Adventure Island
Night Creatures
Ninja Spirit
Psychosis
Sinistron
Soldier Blade
Splatterhouse
World Class Baseball

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

If I was just stuck with a US core deck, Id have to pick:
Cadash
Bonk's Revenge
Splatterhouse
Bloody Wolf
Chase HQ
Galaga 90
Blazing Lasers
Soldier Blade
Parasol Stars
Aero Blasters
Dungeon Explorer
Legendary Axe
Ninja Spirit
Space Harrier
New Adventure Island
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
Bomberman 93
Alien Crush
Neutopia 2
Samurai Ghost

[Arkhan]

just from the US:

Keith Courage
Silent Debuggers
Bonks Adventure
China Warrior
Sinistron
Blazing Lazers
Military Madness
Bloody Wolf
Parasol Stars
Cadash
Legendary Axe 2
Vigilante
Sidearms
Splatterhouse
Dungeon Explorer
Ninja Spirit
Neutopia
Veigues Tactical Gladiator
Deadmoon
Bomberman 94