Portable advice needed

[Goblin]

I need advice on a new portable system. I already have a GBC, and a Lynx. I know I'll eventually own a GBA so for the sake of discussion lets not include that one.

I'm thinking about either a Turbo Express, Sega Nomad, or a GP32. I have extremely small collections of TG and Genesis titles, but both are systems I want to get into collecting for. I've got regular consoles for both, but I think I'll get more use out of the portables. I tried a GP32 over the weekend and was impressed with it. I was previously going to get one, but now I think I'll wait a little while until the emulation gets a bit better.

Any thoughts? Long term reliablity? What's the most I should pay for a decent package including the portable, an adapter, and a few games?

[chadtower]

TurboExpress may still be the best portable out there... though the GBA has likely surpassed it, finally, more than a decade later. It's definitely the best of the console compatible handhelds, that's for damn sure.

[RetroYoungen]

chadtower's got a good point, but I'd say the Nomad would be a better bet. It's easier to find games for, and there are tons of great games out there.

[evilmess]

I love my nomad and I just got virtua racing for it and it rocks!

It has a 3" (320 x 224) backlit screen and one of the coolest things about the nomad is the ability to play your games (1 and 2 player) on the tv with the A/V cable.

Games and accessories are plentiful and cheap!

The major drawback is that I've never been able to get more than 3 hours play time out of the 6AA batteries. So I usually use the AC power adapter.

Rumor has it that the Nomad can play imports but I have yet to test this out.

[Sothy]

Turbo Express is more exotic and neat to have because you never see them

But youll play the Nomad alot more and be able to find games easier.

If someone walked up and offered me either a nomad or a turbo express for free id pick the Turbo in case price is no object.

[Goblin]

Any other opinions?

I really want an Express, but I think I'm leaning towards getting a Nomad due to what people are saying concerning game availability. I'm researching pricing now.

[Daniel Thomas]

GIven your choices, I'd say go find a Turbo Express. It beats out the Nomad for one simple reason: it's so rare. How many of those units are still in circulation. You'll rake in the cool factor with that handheld, easily. And there are a lot of great PC Engine/TG-16 games to be had.

[AB Positive]

There are tons of great TG games too, so I'd do the Turbo Express. I'm trying to get a PC Engine GT to play the PCE games in case my region switch mod doesn't work. Ugh.

-AG

[MarkM2112]

I would personally go for the Nomad for a huge reason: Game Availability - you can still find a BUNCH of Genesis games at reasonable prices. I have almost NEVER seen TG16 games in the wild.
If battery life is an issue, you can use an AC Adapter, OR you can use a Game Gear rechargable battery pack, which is 100% compatable ($4.99 at Game Crazy).

[gwaine]

If you're considering the Turbo Express, you may want to go ahead and get the GP32 as it supposedly emulates the Turbo perfectly and probably has a better battery life, as well as all the other systems it emulates/will emulate (hopefully). I've had issues with AC Adapters for the Turbo Express...the AC adapter input on the Express tends to be loose and will turn the system off if you make sudden movements. I think it's more than an isolated case too...anyone else have this problem? This being said, you can't go wrong with a Nomad either, and I don't think the GP32 emulates the Genesis at this time.

[chadtower]

My TE has a bit of a loose power socket too... it's not that bad, but bad enough that you have to think about it when you use the system.