View Full Version : Question about TurboDuo
nate1749
01-16-2005, 05:32 PM
Does TurboDuo also play regular TG16 games (known as HU Cards?).
I was looking to get a TG16 and I thought that perhaps I would purchase the additional cd-rom, that is until I saw how HUGE and ugly it is. The TurboDuo looks like a much nicer system (appearance wise). I just wanted to make sure that is plays regular tg16 games as well.
Since it's name is "Duo," I would think it would be ridiculous if it didn't, but you never know. Also, if there's some other piece of random trivia about the system that you think I should know, please share (i.e. the duo won't play foreign games or something). Finding one of these systems doesn't seem to be all that easy either....
Nate
Graham Mitchell
01-16-2005, 05:37 PM
Yes, the Duo plays all US HuCards. It also plays all PC Engine CDs and Super CD's without any kind of converter. If you want to play anything requiring the Arcade Card, you'll need to get a converter and an arcade card. It will NOT play HuCards for the PCEngine, however.
A Duo is really the way to go because people are starting to have a lot of mechanical problems with the TG-16 CD-Rom unit, and they're huge, and you need at least a system 3.0 card to play any super CD's on it.
Also note that a lot of RPG's have huge Save files. Some, like Cosmic Fantasy 2 (and I think Vasteel) require you to completely empty your RAM before you can even save one game. I don't know if there was a RAM card or something made for the US Duo. Maxlords seems to know a lot about this, and he may know if there's a way around this. (I'm pretty curious too, actually.)
nate1749
01-17-2005, 02:39 AM
Thanks! So the Duo is what I will try to get... I don't really understand the whole PC Engine cds versus Super Cds, but I think you're saying it will play usa and foriegn cd games, but only american hucards (not foreign). Correct me if I misunderstanding. Thanks,
Nate
-hellvin-
01-17-2005, 02:47 AM
You will need a special convertor to play the foreign hu cards. The DUO also has the system card 3.0 built into it which will allow you to play all of the regular cd games and super cd rom games (I believe the dp guide tells you which ones are super cd, such as loom & dragonslayer). I really think it's a better idea to go for a DUO because it has compatibility for both the us and japanese CD games outta the box and you don't have to worry about system cards. A tg16 with a cdrom add-on is still quite expensive and then you have to search for the very hard to find and expensive hu cards which will allow the system to play the more advanced cd games.
Graham Mitchell
01-17-2005, 08:30 AM
Thanks! So the Duo is what I will try to get... I don't really understand the whole PC Engine cds versus Super Cds, but I think you're saying it will play usa and foriegn cd games, but only american hucards (not foreign). Correct me if I misunderstanding. Thanks,
Nate
Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to say! While you're at it, make sure you get every Y's game (all CD's, I and II are on one disc, III is domesic, and IV was never released in America). For HuCards, I recommend Dungeon Explorer, Military Madness, and any pinball game (Alien Crush, Devil's Crush, Time Cruise). Of course, there are very few bad games on that system, so hopefully you'll have a lot of fun with it no matter what you buy!
nate1749
01-17-2005, 01:12 PM
Great. I've never actually played a TG16 CD game, but my neighbor as a kid had a TG16 and we would play splatterhouse and bonk for quite a while. I'll write those games down to get, thanks!
Also, is the 3.0 one of the newer system cards available for the system? And what type of "converter," is needed to play foreign hu cards? Is this just a plug-in thing, or this a open it up and solder thing. Thanks again.
Nate
Also note that a lot of RPG's have huge Save files. Some, like Cosmic Fantasy 2 (and I think Vasteel) require you to completely empty your RAM before you can even save one game. I don't know if there was a RAM card or something made for the US Duo. Maxlords seems to know a lot about this, and he may know if there's a way around this. (I'm pretty curious too, actually.)
Get your Duo modded for Japanese HuCards and get a Tennokoe Bank. It's a memory card of sorts. That way you can back up all your save files and have room on the system's RAM.
http://www.darkcityproductions.com/duo/gfx/other/tennokoeC.jpg
AB Positive
01-17-2005, 01:55 PM
Melf's way, while more expensive, makes life a lot easier.
I do believe that the convertor (it just plugs into the HuSlot on the Duo, and you plug the PCE card into that) will use Tennokoe banks too, however convertors are known to be 'touchy' as in 'touch it and you may mess up the connection'. Nothing devastating, just irritating.
D-Lite sells modded Duos and he does great work.
-AG
rbudrick
01-17-2005, 04:49 PM
If you want to play Japanese hucards, get a Kisado converter. You will likely pay$75 to $100 for it, but they are the best. They pop up about every 2 months or so on ebay.
-Rob
Graham Mitchell
01-17-2005, 06:22 PM
Great. I've never actually played a TG16 CD game, but my neighbor as a kid had a TG16 and we would play splatterhouse and bonk for quite a while. I'll write those games down to get, thanks!
Also, is the 3.0 one of the newer system cards available for the system? And what type of "converter," is needed to play foreign hu cards? Is this just a plug-in thing, or this a open it up and solder thing. Thanks again.
Nate
The 1.0 card never came out in America, and the thought of a game designed for them is scary. 2.0 is the first one we got, and it's required to play all "TurbCD's", all the first-generation CD titles with either a fluorescent green spine or the black with color-coded (for action/sports/arcade/rpg) stripe on the spine. 3.0 cards are what the duo comes with built in. They play Super CD's, which are in a WHITE CD case and usually have the logo "Super CD-ROM^2" (the 2 is superscript) somewhere on the packaging. These games are considerably more advanced than the first generation games. Some of them even have scaling and rotation effects, which are pretty crazy to see on a system that, at it's core, is really an 8-bit machine.
Hope that clarifies.
If you want to play Japanese hucards, get a Kisado converter. You will likely pay$75 to $100 for it, but they are the best. They pop up about every 2 months or so on ebay.
-Rob
I believe www.tzd.com is currently selling them.