O___o Don't think I ever had that secret cheat code on my sony triniton tv's and neither do I have it on my current panasonic widscreen CRT although I can adjust the screen size on that.
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PC Engine/TG Appreciation and Collecting Thread, Because who needs a 2nd controller?
- Thread starter gryz
- Start date
O___o Don't think I ever had that secret cheat code on my sony triniton tv's and neither do I have it on my current panasonic widscreen CRT although I can adjust the screen size on that.
What model is it? Even better if you have chassis numbers.
On my Trinitron I have to switch the TV off completely, press two buttons on the face and turn the TV on while keeping the buttons pressed. On another TV I need to press a button on the remote before turning the TV on, and on yet another TV I have to press several buttons on the remote in a quick successions. The code is secret and is only written in the Service manual of the TV, not the user manual you got when you bought it.
I had models that looked very similar to this. they were 14" and 29". But it was around the years 1992 up till around 2000 then I sold them for a panasonic model, that was when widescreen CRTs were all the rage.
EDIT:
I don't think the majority of people knew of this shit back then otherwise it would have been posted in videogame mags.
Trinitrons definitely have it and I'm going to guess most of the other TVs out there do, too. It's the service menu for licensed repairmen. Some of the options can mess up your set so they're locked off to the general public, but if you look up your TVs model number you can probably find it online these days. My current TV has me turn it off, press a sequence of three buttons on the controller, then turn it back on.
The real issue is that all systems output is slightly different and there's no magic setting where they'll all fit perfectly (though mine is close enough to not bother me right now.)
The real issue is that all systems output is slightly different and there's no magic setting where they'll all fit perfectly (though mine is close enough to not bother me right now.)
some are a bit pricey now..
Jackie chan
vigilante
crest of wolf
ane san
double dragon II the revenge
renny blaster
downtown nekketsu monogatari
fighting street
Advance VG
Asuka 120%
fatal fury
fatal fury special
world heroes
art of fighting
martial champion
strip fighter
street fighter II'
Kabuki Itoryodan
I am playing through these two strategy rpg/action games. Shame they never got translated. Really liking them both a lot and because of the language barrier the rest of the non speaking japanese world will never know if these destined for much greatness.
One day when I can get hold of a capture device for macbook which records 240p images I will make a video guide on these games.
NHK Taiga Drama Taiheiki and Daichi Kun Crisis. Daichi kun is like a very early Harvest moon game! Both require back up RAM as there is much progress to be made and saved!
One day when I can get hold of a capture device for macbook which records 240p images I will make a video guide on these games.
NHK Taiga Drama Taiheiki and Daichi Kun Crisis. Daichi kun is like a very early Harvest moon game! Both require back up RAM as there is much progress to be made and saved!
Oooof. Bad news. You need a Super Grafx for that one.
Yeah I know about that. I don't have any PC Engine related console is what I was getting at.
eXistor
Member
Just got back from a retro convention, found one vendor that had basically quite a few rare-ish games, I ended up getting these. He also had Magical Chase for 400,-
I played them a bit on my Sony Trinitron and damn, I love gaming on that thing. Crisp-as-fuck image and zero ghosting. All in all a bit pricey, but hey, you only live once right?
I played them a bit on my Sony Trinitron and damn, I love gaming on that thing. Crisp-as-fuck image and zero ghosting. All in all a bit pricey, but hey, you only live once right?
Just got back from a retro convention, found one vendor that had basically quite a few rare-ish games, I ended up getting these. He also had Magical Chase for 400,-
I played them a bit on my Sony Trinitron and damn, I love gaming on that thing. Crisp-as-fuck image and zero ghosting. All in all a bit pricey, but hey, you only live once right?
Yolo!
Just got back from a retro convention, found one vendor that had basically quite a few rare-ish games, I ended up getting these. He also had Magical Chase for 400,-
I played them a bit on my Sony Trinitron and damn, I love gaming on that thing. Crisp-as-fuck image and zero ghosting. All in all a bit pricey, but hey, you only live once right?
I really wonder where the ceiling on the Japanese copy of Magical Chase is.
Nice collection though. Awesome pickups. I really want a copy of Rockabilly, but can't justify the price when I'm still having such a great time with PC Denjin on HuCard.
Side note: My Turbo Express goes under the knife today for a 3.5" screen install. If everyone could hold hands and pray silently for it, that would be good.
sixteen-bit
Member
Are you modding it yourself? Good luck regardless I'm sure it'll turn out great.
Nah, it's in great hands over with Keith Courage at PCEngineFX. He's already replaced the caps (which apparently were 75% shot, despite it still working without audio) and installed a region switch. It's gonna come out good. I'm also getting an AV out jack installed in the bottom of the unit, which is exciting. He's replacing the COM port with one.
Got my wireless tap and controller today.
Nice! I hear these things are the only wireless pads that actually work. Please do a full writeup on it; I'd kill to have wireless pads for my PCE.
So my Turbo Express is done at the modder, and coming home. Here's what it looks like now:
New 3.5" screen
Recapped
Region Switch
AV output from the bottom COM port, so it can play on any TV.
It should come back to me in the next few days. Pictures when it does.
Wow so keith can replace the original screen with a bigger one?
initial impressions of the wireless is pretty good for something that came out more than 15 years ago.
It uses Infrared so it the pad does need to be aimed directly at the multi tap at most times otherwise you will lose connection.
I am not sure if there is any input lag so far I have tested it with Far East of Eden: Kabuki Den,Bikkuriman and Final Match Tennis and it seems good. Even what appears to be standing at least 7 feet away I am still getting a good connection response from the controller. The Multi tap is wired but at least the wire on there gives you a good metre in length. Controller uses 4 AAA batteries but time will tell on how long they last. My complaints are just the battery cover feels a bit loose and cheap. Plus I the small power on/off switch feels a little hard to nudge and rough on the fingers.
Will write up more later but will be after my trip sometime in July.
Awesome! That sounds promising! Can you use two with it, or just one? I wonder if the switch stuff and battery door are unit to unit, or are they all like that?
Keith can do the screen mod, but he's had a really hard time finding compatible screens. He's actually gone through three batches he ordered in the time my unit was with him, and all were incompatible for various reasons. He finally found one that would work, but I know he was getting super frustrated. Even the same packaging as previously known good screens didn't mean that the inside product was compatible.
Best to check with him and hopefully he finds another good source soon. Incredibly nice guy... I'm honored that he worked on mine and went through so many funky screens to find a match.
You can have up to 5 wireless controllers. There is a switch on the controller (just about the directional pad) that assigns a number. That switch clicks into place so it shouldn't slide out of place during intense gaming.
Holy CRAP, really? 5? Maaaaaaaaan. I do 5 player stuff with mine sometimes, and I would love to avoid all the people huddled around a precariously placed hub. I guess I could get more extenders too, though.
Had to go pick these up today at my collection depot.
The left one is not a game but classical music renditions of Falcom's games of the early 90's era on the first music CD. The second seems to be the synth stuff which is on the pc engine games and a 3rd mini cd which I suspect is pc data. Early games of Ys, Dragon Slayer Legend of Heroes, Brandish.
The left one is not a game but classical music renditions of Falcom's games of the early 90's era on the first music CD. The second seems to be the synth stuff which is on the pc engine games and a 3rd mini cd which I suspect is pc data. Early games of Ys, Dragon Slayer Legend of Heroes, Brandish.
Had to go pick these up today at my collection depot.
The left one is not a game but classical music renditions of Falcom's games of the early 90's era on the first music CD. The second seems to be the synth stuff which is on the pc engine games and a 3rd mini cd which I suspect is pc data. Early games of Ys, Dragon Slayer Legend of Heroes, Brandish.
Whoa, that CD sounds incredible. Are you interested in sharing the tracks, or is it something that I can still buy online with relative ease?
Also, my Turbo Express came back!
New Features:
Region switch on the bottom, which is incredibly welcome. Now I can play anything I own on it.
New screen, which while composite, has really nice image quality. It sort of renders things as smoothed, which looks awesome in Bonk. It's a MASSIVE improvement from the old screen. Extremely bright, and it might actually be way less taxing on my batteries!
AV Output, which runs out of the COM jack on the bottom. Basically, Keith replaced the COM port or rewired it to output AV Composite. When it's running AV Composite out to a TV, the switch on the upper right will turn off the internal screen.
It's long discontinued now. So I was shocked to see it appear on an auction. I will try and rip those tracks at a later date.
Plus I really want your TE handheld !!!
I'm so stupid excited about the TE. It really feels like a complete realization of what Hudson / NEC intended 20+ years ago. What remains to discover is whether or not I've gotten an improvement in battery life! My Eneloops definitely went past the original rating... I wonder if this screen is even more power efficient?
Did you have the caps replaced at least?
I will say, the new screen is a massive improvement. The only issue now seems to be actually finding a compatible screen. It took weeks for Keith to find just one for me... he kept getting ones that previously contained compatible hardware, but didn't now.
The Shapesmith
Member
That Turboexpress is a thing of beauty! Congrats man, I'm insanely jealous at just how good that looks. It didn't make me immediately get on ebay and check pricing on Turboexpress units or anything......I swear.......I'm a dirty liar. Ha
sixteen-bit
Member
Looks like the mod came out great, congrats!
It looks awesome and plays great, but I think the brightness of the screen might be an even bigger drain on the battery life than the old screen, unfortunately! I'll probably keep spare eneloops charged up and ready to go until another batch of the old screens can be found, or battery mods don't require dremeling out the battery bay.
Still, it's way better than the old screen.
Ohohoho. Wait. Think I figured out my battery situation. I've been using EARLY Eneloops, that are only 1900s. I'm going to get a set of the 2550 or 2450 or whatever they are Eneloop Pros in a bit.
RadarScope1
Member
I'm never in this thread but I thought maybe I could get a few impressions of Dungeon Explorer. It's only a $1.20 on the PSN sale and I like having retro stuff I can play on my Vita. More interested to know if it's worth a few hours moreso than if it's worth a buck.
DracoBlade
Member
Hi guys I have a technical question and thought this would be the perfect place to ask!
Though I would like to call myself relatively experienced with tech, it isn't possible to patch my original Castlevania: Rondo of Blood CD into english with the english patch is it?
I wouldn't imagine I can burn the English tracks onto the actual disc but maybe I'm wrong? (pretty sure I cant lol)
Though I would like to call myself relatively experienced with tech, it isn't possible to patch my original Castlevania: Rondo of Blood CD into english with the english patch is it?
I wouldn't imagine I can burn the English tracks onto the actual disc but maybe I'm wrong? (pretty sure I cant lol)
sixteen-bit
Member
no, it's not like the original disc is rewritable
It's good, but much greater in multi-player. Kind of a proto-diablo. Super fun with four friends, but it doesn't scale terribly well in 1UP. It's Gauntlet with more RPG stuff. What IS cool is that you can level up your character, get a password specific to your character, and play at your buddy's house with a powered up guy. It also has some of the best chip-tunes known to man. INCREDIBLE music.
You have to very carefully scotch tape a USB drive to the CD. Make sure it's FAT32 formatted though. That's the only thing the PC Engine can accept.
I have this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/16141896330...49&var=460443523657&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
It is just a glorified CD holder, but it does work fine.
I think DE2 is the go to game?
sixteen-bit
Member
It really is. Am I missing out by just owning the Sega CD version tho?
From what I understand the soundtracks are indeed different.
- edit - same melodies but missing the rock instruments? From the HG101 page. Can someone confirm?
Better graphics in the PCE version, too.
DracoBlade
Member
It's also really hard to tape it into the right section of the disc. My suggestion is to use a sharpie to draw a perfect re-creation of The Last Supper onto the disc back, but scaled and stretched to fill the disc. Once you have that drawn, you'll want to tape the drive with pins 1 and 4 attached to Judas' mouth and forehead, respectively.
Personally I think the Sega CD version sounds better, PC Engine version sounds more"synthy" for lack of a better word, whereas the audio in the Sega CD version is more layered.
Sega CD Title Screen
PC Engine Title Screen
More of a reverb sound on the Sega CD version too, which I like. Plus those thunder sound effects in the Sega CD version are HELLA FUCKIN' EPIC.
Both sound good. I still personally like the PC Engine version more.
*sigh* I am at the airport at Lantau Island. I only spent a week here in Hong Kong and it is over.. heading back to the UK.
I was on the lookout for pc engine stuff and eventually I found a place they sold it sadly the games were expensive. Hong Kong used to have lots of game shops and anime stores. Sadly they only exist in very few places now. will post some pics later when I touch down on English soil and get home.
I was on the lookout for pc engine stuff and eventually I found a place they sold it sadly the games were expensive. Hong Kong used to have lots of game shops and anime stores. Sadly they only exist in very few places now. will post some pics later when I touch down on English soil and get home.
How could you not know?!
BEHOLD: https://youtu.be/CAqoCf-TM2s?t=18s
The best promo video in existence, even better than the N64 promo tape and Lou Rawls 32X!
Also play Gate of Thunder.
Bar81
Member
That's the reality - most games aren't in the far east anymore. Even in Tokyo when I was there a couple of months ago there were only a handful of decent shops and the stock was really limited *especially* for PCE. Prices for anything good were pretty much ebay prices. The only advantage was you could physically inspect high value items before buying.
D.Lo
Member
True for HK, nonsense for Tokyo.
Go to Hard-Off in the suburbs and find literally millions of PCE games.