The Official Turbografx 16 Thread!

[newtmonkey]

On 9/11/2024 at 6:50 PM, newtmonkey said:

8bitdo M30 2.4g ("Genesis/MD mini" version)

Well, I've discovered an annoying problem with this controller.  After pressing a directional, the pad will sometimes continue to send an input to the receiver, even after you release the pad!  I can repeat the issue somewhat reliably by rapidly pressing a diagonal several times in a row.  At first I thought it might be interference or a defective controller, but someone else verified the same issue here: https://www.reddit.com/r/8bitdo/comments/17m46or/m30_24g_white_edition_not_released_inputs_issue/

 

Basically, it happens on anything other than the Genesis/MD mini, which makes it basically unusable on a PC, Switch, etc.

 

However, I also verified that the "fix" posted in that reddit thread works.  If you set the controller to Xinput mode (Mode+Up for 5 seconds), then the issue is resolved.  It's annoying to have to do this, but the Xinput layout is actually better suited for the PC Engine, as it maps Turbo II and Turbo I directly above the II and I buttons (A+B).

Edited September 12 by newtmonkey

[newtmonkey]

Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys

I finished this a couple hours ago.  It's a great looking and great sounding game, and I mostly enjoyed the 12 hours or so it took to complete it.  I even went and grinded a tiny bit (10 minutes?) toward the end to reach max level, which made the last boss pretty easy.  While it's overall a great game and a huge improvement over Ys I/II, it did get a bit tedious toward the end with some ridiculously giant mazes with basically nothing to find in them other than the exit.  The cool last boss battle and awesome ending make up for the annoying mazes, though.

 

The game has a nice secret after you clear it.  If you reset to the title screen from the "The End" screen, select "Continue," and then press button II, a menu pops up with a new "Developer's Room" option.  This lets you talk to all the people who worked on the game (represented as monster sprites), rewatch the major animated cinema scenes, and view the portrait graphics for each character.  You can also access a "New Game+" mode that starts you off from the beginning of the game with silver and gold bracelets that double the gold and EXP you earn when equipped.

Edited September 12 by newtmonkey

[newtmonkey]

Having played and completed basically nothing but RPGs for the 6 years, I've found myself a bit burnt out and decided to take a break and play some action games.  Since the PC Engine was already hooked up, I played a few games to find something to really focus on and complete.

 

Shinobi

This is a great looking and playing port of the arcade game, but it's missing so much stuff that it sometimes doesn't even feel like you're playing Shinobi.  It's missing Stage 2, the bonus stage, and even weapon power ups!  It's best to approach it as its own game, I think.  Anyway, I played it for a bit, but even though it looks awesome, I just wanted to shut it off and play the Sega Mark III version.  Maybe I'll come back some time.

 

PC Genjin: Pithecanthropus Computerurus

Yes, it's good old Bonk's Adventure.  There's a lot to like about this one, including the graphics and music... but I find it to be really dull, with very little going on in each level.  There's barely any actual platforming and the game often lets you skip what platforming there is by simply walking/swimming under it.  Bonk has to build up some momentum to get going, which I usually like because it gives a platformer some character, but it just feels sluggish here.  The game also feels way too long for how simple it is, and I usually start to get bored by the second or third world.  My personal record is getting to the boss rush at the end, but I simply didn't have it in me this time, and gave up toward the end of the second world.

 

Valis II

  I complained about the lack of actual platforming in PC Genjin, but this is taken to the extreme in Valis II, which consists mostly of your character running either to the left or right over a flat piece of land killing the same couple of enemies over and over.  I find it nearly impossible to play this game with any precision, because the enemies are fast and large enough that you have to react almost immediately when are scrolled onto the screen, and even with a powered up sword nearly every enemy takes 2-3 hits to kill.  If you happen to die, you go back to your weakest sword and now regular enemies take 5-6 hits.

  But it doesn't matter, because the game hands out lives and checkpoints like candy, and if you die at a boss with any extra lives in reserve, the game resurrects you on the spot with any damage done to the boss still in effect!  If you have just one life in reserve, you can literally stand next to boss and just mash the attack button, and you will win.  The game also saves your progress to the system memory, so it is nearly impossible not to finish this game unless you just get really bored and turn it off (which I did).

  It doesn't even look or sound good.  I know it was an early release, but the "cinemas" are a joke, taking place in a tiny window in the middle of the screen, barely animated, and poorly drawn.  This thing was 6,780 yen when it was released back in 1989, which is equivalent to I dunno a billion 2024 dollars, and I cannot imagine how disappointing it must have been to spend your hard earned yen on this one.

 

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Overall, a very unsatisfying hour or so.  I'll need to do some research and pick some better games next time!

Edited Monday at 12:25 PM by newtmonkey

[newtmonkey]

Akumajo Dracula X Chi no Rondo

Playing this after trash like Valis II is like happening upon an oasis after a long trek through a desert.  I lost my save in between the switch from the SSDS3 to the Turbo Everdrive Pro, but I don't mind starting over.  I got to Level 4, and then went back and got through some of the alternate path stages (and also rescued Maria).  What a game!

 

---

 

After some time with the Turbo Everdrive Pro, I have to admit I'm somewhat disappointed, considering the cost of the device.  There are MAJOR audio synchronization issues during cinema/dialog scenes that load PCM audio from the "disc" (SD card).  Note that this is a different issue from the audio desynchronization issue people were getting with CD audio tracks on earlier firmware revisions (which was fixed).

 

What happens is that the game freezes for a brief moment when the Everdrive has to access the SD card to load the next PCM sample. This causes the audio to desynchronize from the video slightly, but is compounded every time a sample is loaded so it gets worse and worse the longer the cinema/dialog scene goes on.  In a game like Ys IV, which has long cinema/dialog scenes that are carefully synchronized to what's happening on screen, the audio can become desynchronized by several seconds, which somewhat ruins the experience honestly.

 

I've confirmed there are no synchronization issues (of course) on real hardware, nor is this an issue on the SSDS3 or Upergrafx.

 

Finally, I have been discussing this on the official Everdrive forums, and the issue has been confirmed by one of the moderators there, so it's not an issue with my console or my particular Everdrive.

 

So far, I've encountered the issue in Ys IV and Dracula X, and "ButcherGrindslam" on the Everdrive forums has also confirmed the issue in Princess Minerva and Nekketsu Legend Basballer.  I expect this to also be an issue for tons of obscure Japanese-only games, which explains why no one seems to talk about this.  However, both Ys IV and Dracula X are premier titles I would think nearly anyone would play, so it's bizarre that none of the usual YouTube reviewers mentioned it.  Some of the YouTubers do show footage of Dracula X, but it's only footage of the first stage so they never get to the point where the synchronization issue occurs (for example, when you rescue Maria).

[newtmonkey]

Valis II

I got to Act 4, and playing this game is a fucking miserable experience.  It plays like total crap thanks to floaty jumping and slippery movement, and every level is just a never-ending stream of the same two or three enemies running at you from both sides of the screen... but starting with Act 4 the enemies take even more hits to kill.  You also have basically one second of invincibility when hit, and due to all the fast enemies crowding the screen, it means that taking a single hit guarantees you taking a couple more.

 

Making it even more tedious is the fact that you lose your powered up weapon if you die, and so just like in Gradius or whatever, you might as well just stop playing because now even the weakest enemies will take 5 hits to kill.  You simply cannot keep up with the constantly respawning enemies like that.

 

The game for some reason has a sort of positive reputation, though I expect that's 100% due to people being blown away that their game was talking to them while barely animated pictures showed up on the screen.  That or the "sexy" main character who changes her outfit every stage.  If a game of this exact quality was released by LJN or some other US company back in the day, it would rightfully be seen now as complete garbage.

Edited 11 hours ago by newtmonkey

[roots.genoa]

I started playing Valis 1 on the Evercade (so the Genesis version). It's OK but very generic indeed, and I had to quit after a few levels (maybe 4 or 5) because of an awful boss I couldn't beat even with savestates. So I'm reluctant to try Valis 4 now, even though it's supposed to be better. I have the four games on PC Engine, but since there are no savestates for CD-ROM² games on the Duo, I'm not sure I'll play them a lot.