What are some must get games for the PC Engine Duo?

[Whiskers the Wonder Cat]

Excluding Dracula X. I know about that. Thanks.

[rhiohki]

Alright...here's my picks:

Sylphia - if you can find it, a great shooter
Fausette Amour - again, if you can find it
Mystic Formula - cute platformer
Ane-San - another rare & weird all-girl beat-em-up
Kaze Kiri - expesive, but well worth it for a great ninja platformer.
Sapphire - another great shooter
Fray - another cute shooter/platformer
Popful Mail - totally different than the Sega CD version.
Spriggan - Another superb shooter
Rayxanber III - Yet another shooter...HARD, but not as hard as II though

There are plenty more, that should give you a good start..

[drwily008]

Another to try is: Alzadik Summer Carnival 92'

It is a multiplayer competetive shooter that you compete against each other to get the high score. Very enjoyable and good for many hours.

Can't think of anything besides what is named above.....oh yeah...Conan the Future Boy is an excellent side-scrolling platformer. It is based on the anime and has excellent character animation and some animated cut scenes. I really liked it as well!

[CosmicMonkey]

Gate of Thunder and Lords/Winds of Thunder. Some lovely oldskool shmuppery there for you. Both games are absolutely awesome.

[XYXZYZ]

Definately get Lords of Thunder. Also, anyone with a Duo should have Ys Books I & II. I still think the story is cooler than any Final Fantasy game. Hellfire S is another shooter I really enjoy.

Sylphia, Fausette Amour and Sapphire are all insane expensive, by the way. Sylphia's my favorite out of those three.

Oh, and add US$30.00 or so for an arcade card for Sapphire. The game itself usually goes for US$200-300.00.

[InsaneDavid]

If you're decent in the Japanese department (or your system isn't picky about reading CD-R's - there's a translation patch) then also look into Ys IV.

Check out Vasteel, it's a strategy game except the battles are played out action arcade style - think the NES version of North and South but in the future, in space, and in the anime style of most of the 'Duo / 'Engine games.

Neutopia and Neutopia II (HuCARD) are decent Zelda clones, and both are pretty challenging.

Kunio-kun Soccer (not the full title but that's what most will refer to it as) - a much more fleshed out and more detailed version of what was released on the NES as Nintendo World Cup.

Cosmic Fantasy 2 - an old school no frills RPG but it has an excellent story and a good amount of meat to it. There were a bunch of Cosmic Fantasy games released on the Duo in Japan, but this is the only one to be translated.

Cadash (HuCARD) - if you want a seriously long and difficult (no saving, no passwords) side scrolling adventure game take on this challenge.

[Bloodreign]

Gradius 2 - perfect translation from the arcade version, with an extra stage for your playing and dying pleasure.

Super Raiden - one of the best ports of Raiden though the hucard version is pretty good as well.

R-Type - yet another port of the old arcade game, it's good with story scenes between certain levels, but it lost a little magic with a remixed soundtrack.

Rainbow Islands - absolutely faithful port of the arcade game, the ending if you get the absolute best one, has a J-Pop song ending.

[klausien]

Already mentioned, but I need to second Seirei Senshi Spriggan. Not super expensive, and worth every penny.

Kaizou Ningen Shubibinman 3: Makai no Princess is great. Short and easy, but very cool. Best in the series by far.

I like Psychic Storm. It is a mediocre shooter, but it is relatively cheap and has a great vibe. Almost feels like a sequel to CyberCore.

All of the Vails games are worth a look, even the extremely dated Valis 2. Valis IV is the best by far in my book.

Indeed, everyone should play through Ys Book I & II, but I also recommend 3 & 4.

Super Darius is a favorite of mine. It is a very nice conversion of the original with excellent tunes and gameplay that has been optimized for the single screen implementation. Super Darius 2 is also good, though I am hot and cold with the remixed T's Music soundtrack. It all depends on how much you like Zuntata.

The ACD versions of Garou Densetsu 2 & Garou Densetsu Special (Fatal Fury 2 & Fatal Fury Special) and Ryuuko no Ken (Art of Fighting) are all very cool. Best versions outside the Neo originals. Not much else truly worth the asking price for the ACD though. Mad Stalker Full Metal Force is extremely mediocre and Strider is frankly pretty bad. Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire is cool, but waaaay overpriced.