sixteen-bit
Member
I can not fuck up for this.
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PC Engine/TG Appreciation and Collecting Thread, Because who needs a 2nd controller?
- Thread starter gryz
- Start date
robot
Member
Some more Rondo this weekend. The game just keeps on impressing. So many cool details and hidden stuff.
Haven't beaten it just yet, hoping to soon!
One of my favorite boss battles ever.
I've always thought Maria was the only girl that needed rescuing, then I found 2 more! What happens when you find them all? Don't tell me!
One of my favorite boss battles ever.
Nope, never played it, but DE2 looks and sounds pretty interesting (sucker for well done 90s CD game soundtracks).
Some more Rondo this weekend. The game just keeps on impressing. So many cool details and hidden stuff.Haven't beaten it just yet, hoping to soon!I've always thought Maria was the only girl that needed rescuing, then I found 2 more! What happens when you find them all? Don't tell me!
One of my favorite boss battles ever.
Yes. Yes yes yes. Rondo has become one of my favorite games of all time. I'm on a business trip in Florida right now but man, damned if I'm not trying to 100% the psp copy to match my real PCE copy.
Best game.
10/10.
Ban Puncher
Member
Spill it, pig.
LOL ok!!!
EDIT:
I've actually always wondered why the pc engine seems to be the only console never to get it's own version of this game.. the person programming this is undecided on the format. could go HuCard, CD or Supergrafx exclusive (i think they scrapped the supergrafx exclusive but it was at some point taken into consideration because the you have a second background and more VRAM the code became simpler)..
the code they are using is based on : "VER 0.1 4.SEP,1986"(parent in MAME)
this is what they say:
I am working on a port.
I have started a year ago, now I am converting the remaining code in C++.
I have translated in C++ around the 50% of the main CPU code, slave CPU and MCU code is alredy converted and working(tested on my emulator/simulator).
For the audio part I have used a different method: I have written a specific emulator to extract the data sent to the sound chips.
There is still a lot to do, the C++ translation is only an intermediate step...
Update:
bubbles routines, collisions(slave Z80 code) and various other things are now converted into HuC6280 assembly.
Currently I'm working on enemies routines.
The first version will be for SuperGrafx then PC Engine(HuCard and maybe CD-ROM but I can change my mind)
Vid shows a build a few months old but the current build has got audio and nearly finished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73KirCdSgTc
much much earlier build..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6B0t0KXCAQ
pc engine screen captures of the game
sixteen-bit
Member
speedlolita
Member
Sometimes I turn on my Duo R just to admire the RGB quality.
Sometimes I turn on my pc engine just to listen to the music on those "chip" tunes..
It's not even the improvement in detail that makes it shine in RGB, like the NES. I'd say the color is the stand out. The system already has such wonderful color... The RGB adds so much depth.
IrishNinja
Member
..wait, these guys are bringing Bubble Bobble to PCE? yes please
BBPCE Day 1. Im glad they didnt go Supergraphx. Would've been the dumbest decision since...well alot of things.
Not really, unless you want to go all in with CDs too. If you just want to try out hucards, just get a cheap PCengine.
I have no experience with with the PCE/TG16 but in the last month I've grown an intense desire to own/play one. Shits expensive. (system)
Not really, unless you want to go all in with CDs too. If you just want to try out hucards, just get a cheap PCengine.
That's what it looks like to me. I kind of just wish they'd go Super CD on it instead of hucard. I don't really like the idea of jamming a 3d printed card into my system.
Agent Unknown
Member
So are pretty much all or most copies of Sapphire on eBay bootlegs now?
Bar81
Member
If it's new - pretty much 100% it's a bootleg. If it's used, there are legitimate copies on ebay - just use this handy dandy guide:
http://www.superpcenginegrafx.net/sapcomp1.html
As long as you can see the disc you should be able to tell if it's real or not.
How insane are the prices on the bootleg though? I've seen clearly marked copies selling for $150+!
Agent Unknown
Member
I'm hoping to finally get a doujin dance Duo-R sometime this summer but I need to wait until it's a unit that also has s-video and Hucard region switch. I don't have access to an RGB monitor currently and am in the U.S. so no SCART and I have both U.S. and import Hucards. I wish he'd just mod all his Duos with the same feature set.
Thanks. So how many years have the bootleg new copies been getting made? I remember back in 2000 someone on the old Turbo e-mail list claimed to be able to procure new copies occasionally, we're those possibly bootlegs even that far back or is this more recent?
Thanks. So how many years have the bootleg new copies been getting made? I remember back in 2000 someone on the old Turbo e-mail list claimed to be able to procure new copies occasionally, we're those possibly bootlegs even that far back or is this more recent?
If you get tired of waiting for Doujin, talk to Baphomet about RGB. His work is better than Doujin's.
Copies have been made in the past couple of years by a guy named Tobias in Germany. We know they aren't real. Definitely a very convincing reprint. The main thing is the thickness of the inside ring and the text CARE4DATA.
Speaking of Tobias, he sent me the promo free translated RPG Discs. They're quite nice, and much better than his other bootleg reprints. Check them out:
Oh, shit, what's that behind that last one?
Boom. I have one of these now. So folks, TALK TO YOUR COWORKERS ABOUT YOUR HOBBY. One of my friends at work's brother is a collector who is cleaning out, and I got all of this (including the Neo PC 128) for $120. AC and RF cables not pictured, but I've got those too.
I didn't realize the TG16 was made in Taiwan. I thought they made everything in Japan?
This is an old post I found from somewhere else
[quote author=Ceph link=topic=737.msg8114#msg8114 date=1127757045]
Hi folks, I'm new here. I just discovered this forum and since I'm a long time fan of NEC's litte wondermachine, I chose to register. After looking around a bit I found this topic.
I'm very sorry I didn't come here earlier so I could have warned you: The copies of Sapphire which that guy sold on ebay are indeed counterfeits.
They were made around mid 2001; not '99 or 2000 as this scammer writes on his page. I was in Tokyo at that time and I am pretty sure there were NO fake Sapphires then.
The people who made them (most likely in Asia) did not have access to Hudson's original printing templates, so they had to use an original copy as "master" which they scanned. Since the original was printed using the offset printing method, the colored parts consist of tiny little dots, while black lines are very sharp. When reprinting it from the scans, this could not be duplicated, of course. That's why the counterfeits are slightly blurred / out of focus. When you look closer, you'll also notice that the colors don't quite match: All parts that are yellow in the original are almost orange in the copy (for instance the katakana writing), the purple vest of the girl on the cover is blue in the counterfeit.
Another thing the fraudsters didn't manage to replicate exactly is the factory seal's tear strip: The original was approximately 0.5cm from the bottom while theirs is higher up in the middle of the katakana letters. Maybe their equipment couldn't do it or maybe they had no original sealed copy for reference. Another thing they simply _could_not_ copy is the serial number on the inner ring of the original CD, which is identical for all original copies.
Those counterfeits were produced for one purpose only: To scam unsuspecting collectors out of a lot of money. Of course this only worked for a short time (until it became known that counterfeits were out there).
I had a good laugh when reading that German scammer's website http://sapphire.anime4ever.de/
"Alternative copies" - what a funny euphemism. Basically all he writes there is complete bullsh*t. Why would a game copany issue a second print run to keep prices down on the secondary market?? Hudson never did such a thing, and not a single shop in Tokyo claims they did. This is, plain and simple, a lie.
Too bad so many of you fell for this. I contacted ebay about the counterfeits several times, they chose not react (just as usual). The guy who sold the counterfeits on ebay (ebay name asian_dvd_classics) knew full well he was selling bootlegs - that's why his auctions were set to "private"; that way the people who bought the fakes couldn't even be warned. You may think that $60 for a nicely made replica isn't a bad price... I'm sure it wasn't for asian_dvd_classics who paid considerably less when he purchased a box full somewhere in Asia and made some $10000 selling them during the past 3 months. I for one think that even $5 is too much for a bootleg. I also think that he is a criminal who should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent. Anyone here know his real name?
[/quote]
http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=737.90
We know exactly who he is, and it's not that hard to get in contact with him. He lists his contact info on https://pceworks.wordpress.com/. His name is Tobias, and there are a number of strange recent events surrounding the discs I linked to above. Effectively he made a full production run of English translated RPGs (the two I showed) without paying the translation creators.
To atone, he offered to send free copies of just the game discs (without his fancy packaging) to anyone interested. That's what I've got above there; he even mailed them for free.
EDIT: Whoops, didn't realize that you were pulling up an old post! Sorry.
LOL it's fine.. I 've never ever been lured towards Sapphire real or fake and I don't know why.
sixteen-bit
Member
Some Japanese company is making a retron 5 type machine which supports all the same consoles as the Retron 5...as well as Supergrafx and PCE/TG16 chips.
i hope they don't follow R5's stolen code approach
It looks like it's going to be called the RETRO FREAK
http://www.cybergadget.co.jp/retrofreak/
I think this is the game select menu
Looks like it's going to have all those filters to smooth out the graphics too. I guess it's probably a pc with different game slot attachments to it.
EDIT
Ooo looks like it's going to have HDMI connection..
It's a pretty good game. I like it a lot, and have one of the bootlegs. I wouldn't pay $160 for a bootleg copy though.
Yeah, it's probably running Android with something real similar to the Retron stuff running on it.
I think because of the ridiculous high price tag that puts me off. I used to own a saturn game called Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru and that set me back about 130 UK GBP which I bought from a japanese seller, ebay around fall 2004. I remember at that time being ridiculed from a friend who I was talking to on MSN at that time because the Nintendo DS hit the stores and I was undecided on importing a japanese machine and instead went for Taromaru.
I buy my games so I can play them but because Taromaru being valuable I was always paranoid about scratching the game disc or creasing the instruction manual and it was pissing me off so after about a year I sold it off (made a profit from it), I guess that same thinking will apply to Sapphire hence I'd probably dislike owning it. Although I am probably going to have to pay that much when I get hold of Akumajo Dracula X. It was expensive buying it on import back in 93 but having to pay almost 3 times the amount just to own it again in 2015.... >__>
anyway some not so expensive pc engine games turned up in the post today.
fighting Run
Final Match Tennis
Monster Pro Wrestling (I love that cover)!!
Man, I'm just glad I got Dracula X when it was $90. Mine even came with spinecards. At the time I thought the price was insane and I was an idiot. Now look where we are.
I do like Taromaru quite a bit, but I'd never pay the real prices for it. Great two player game. Damned shame about the rarity... it's like a Castlevania beat-em-up.
What I'm really itching to try now is Renny Blaster, but HOLY CRAP those prices. And I hear it's mediocre.
robot
Member
I have the PCEWorks reproduction and it's a pretty cool game, but not worth the going price of a legit copy.
I am kinda worried that these replicas might end up being sold as legit copies soon.
robot
Member
If Sapphire is any indication, unfortunately they probably will. The reproductions are amazing quality, but making them so close to the originals was just a horrible horrible idea.
I don't recall mine having that PCE Works logo on the discs, will need to check when I get home.
Unfortunately I reckon it might. Just looking at the screens of the Japanese menus and some of them look awfully similar to the Retron 5. I bought one before I knew of the code stealing but I only really use it for 2 things. It's my go to NES/Famicom player because I'm too lazy/poor to RGB mod one of those things and I use it for any foreign games, as it can apply translation patches to foreign games while playing, which is pretty cool. If this thing comes out outside Japan and doesn't have stolen code I'll instantly grab one up for PCE HuCard games with translation patches (are there any lol?)
Most of the translation patch stuff I'm aware of is for the CD based games. Unfortunately, having just a Hucard player is like having less than half of the PCE equation.
speedlolita
Member
Apparently the modern PCE Works copy of Sapphire has a sleeve, rather than a manual. Game Sack covered Sapphire on their most recent episode, which is about bootlegs/repros.
Unfortunately I don't have the coin for real PCE software so I have an Arcade Card Duo, Turbo EverDrive and CD-R discs...
Mine has the full manual, and the mail-in registration cards. I want to mail them so badly. Frankly, the printing looks identical to my actual Arcade Card games. I really wouldn't know it was a fake. GameSack also showed an audio-jump thing before each track; mine only does it on the title screen, and it's not as pronounced. All other level music works as you'd expect.
I also have the Rockman and Space Fantasy Zone (that's the name, right?) bootlegs. Got them in the set with Sapphire. They're really just printed high-quality CDRs; the newer stuff is full pressed discs.
Agent Unknown
Member
Thanks for the info on spotting fake Sapphire copies guys. How much do Baphomet's units usually go for? Is he a member here?
Edit: Duh, he's a member.
Also, I saw pics of the Bubble Bobble homebrew project on Twitter months ago and am glad to see it's still on. I always thought it was weird PCE got a great port of New Zealand Story but not Bubble Bobble.
Edit: Duh, he's a member.
Also, I saw pics of the Bubble Bobble homebrew project on Twitter months ago and am glad to see it's still on. I always thought it was weird PCE got a great port of New Zealand Story but not Bubble Bobble.
You'd acquire the PCE and send it to him. He just did mine and it's incredible looking. Plus he's a stand up dude.
I don't know if he does the region switch though.
Fox Mulder
Member
might also have to try to jump on one from him, got my rgb n64 from him.
IrishNinja
Member
ehhh i don't really know about that guy
they say he does quality work, but can he RGB mod a Vectrex? what about a game.com? these are the questions we should be asking
IrishNinja
Member
i like that game dot com autolinks, those dudes really knew the score with that name
Did they actually have the .com at the time? Cause that'd be hysterical if they didn't.
Anyone want a Turbo Tap? For free + shipping? I don't really need the one I got with my TG16. Must provide proof of TG16 ownership tho.
IrishNinja
Member
oh man, would that work on my Duo-R? Mzo left a 3 player adapter but i think my roommate bishopcruz jacked that already (assuming someone else here doesn't need this)
Well, it's all the bigger TG16 port. So you'd need an adapter to the Duo R, and then an adapter between each PCE (or Turbo Duo pad) and the multi-tap. It'd be free, sure, but getting all the adapters might cost you tons more than just importing a PCE tap.