Someday I'll have one. Every few months I get SO close to overpaying for one. Then the next time I check on them the price is even higher.
They're just hard to justify when my HSS-0130 works with my PCE stuff.
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PC Engine/TG Appreciation and Collecting Thread, Because who needs a 2nd controller?
- Thread starter gryz
- Start date
Someday I'll have one. Every few months I get SO close to overpaying for one. Then the next time I check on them the price is even higher.
They're just hard to justify when my HSS-0130 works with my PCE stuff.
Just got this today. Never played this before since I couldn't find it at any of my local importers but finally years later thanks to the internet I have it in possession and I think it's great.
MAGICOAL
Gauntlet/Dungeon Explorer/Neutopia clone. Play either one or two players with the unique jump button. You cannot pause the game but only bring up a menu option with the RUN button but in this menu you can switch between the two characters (Rhun or Melvy) even in single player (you will find that you need to switch between the two frequently to solve puzzles and to progress through the game), assign magics and weapons which you can change pressing the SELECT button during game play. Plus it's given me a great excuse to finally use the Memory 128 base.
Here during the save screen you can save to the memory 128
EDIT:
Graphics are colorful and have charm (cut scene are quite basically animated tho) and the music is great too (although the redbook audio sounds a little quiet for my liking) and simple but fun gameplay rounds off the package The addition of being able to jump onto things or over them this includes enemies and their projectiles adds an element of strategy rather than a straightforward hack slash/fire magic at the enemy etc.
Wow the player AI is really bad especially when there are enemies behind a wall, you'll find the 2nd computer controlled player just shooting at the wall and you can't move around unless you switch between the two characters.
MAGICOAL
Gauntlet/Dungeon Explorer/Neutopia clone. Play either one or two players with the unique jump button. You cannot pause the game but only bring up a menu option with the RUN button but in this menu you can switch between the two characters (Rhun or Melvy) even in single player (you will find that you need to switch between the two frequently to solve puzzles and to progress through the game), assign magics and weapons which you can change pressing the SELECT button during game play. Plus it's given me a great excuse to finally use the Memory 128 base.
Here during the save screen you can save to the memory 128
EDIT:
Graphics are colorful and have charm (cut scene are quite basically animated tho) and the music is great too (although the redbook audio sounds a little quiet for my liking) and simple but fun gameplay rounds off the package The addition of being able to jump onto things or over them this includes enemies and their projectiles adds an element of strategy rather than a straightforward hack slash/fire magic at the enemy etc.
Wow the player AI is really bad especially when there are enemies behind a wall, you'll find the 2nd computer controlled player just shooting at the wall and you can't move around unless you switch between the two characters.
Just got this today. Never played this before since I couldn't find it at any of my local importers but finally years later thanks to the internet I have it in possession and I think it's great.
MAGICOAL
Gauntlet/Dungeon Explorer/Neutopia clone. Play either one or two players with the unique jump button. You cannot pause the game but only bring up a menu option with the RUN button but in this menu you can switch between the two characters (Rhun or Melvy) even in single player (you will find that you need to switch between the two frequently to solve puzzles and to progress through the game), assign magics and weapons which you can change pressing the SELECT button during game play. Plus it's given me a great excuse to finally use the Memory 128 base.
Here during the save screen you can save to the memory 128
EDIT:
Graphics are colorful and have charm (cut scene are quite basically animated tho) and the music is great too (although the redbook audio sounds a little quiet for my liking) and simple but fun gameplay rounds off the package The addition of being able to jump onto things or over them this includes enemies and their projectiles adds an element of strategy rather than a straightforward hack slash/fire magic at the enemy etc.
Wow the player AI is really bad especially when there are enemies behind a wall, you'll find the 2nd computer controlled player just shooting at the wall and you can't move around unless you switch between the two characters.
Oh man, this looks great! I just snagged a copy for $11 on eBay. Thanks for the heads up!
Question: can my Memory Bank 128 sit between my system and the Multi-tap? It's just been sitting to the side for ages, un-attached.
yep it should work. It should be that the memory 128 plugs into the duo/pc engine then the multi tap should plug into the mem 128.
I tried different combinations such as plugging the tap first then controller into the 1st port and mem128 into the 2nd but alas it wasn't registering. I also was having some problems with the mem128 at first such as not being able to push down on the controller or select wasn't registering but it turns out that it wasn't plugged in all the way. Magicoal should ask you if you want to use the memory 128 after the first intro cut scene and after that there should be no problem from there on... although I am still early in the gameplay department.
EDIT
I am currently using the wireless tap connected to the mem128 and yes what a mess !
ingame menu screen
Ah I think there is a bug in this game. I just found this old thread and black falcon points it out. Game does not seem to load from mem128.
http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15246.0#quickreply
[quote author=A Black Falcon link=topic=15246.msg350473#msg350473 date=1401428795]
Okay, so I've been playing some Magicoal recently, and here are a few things I've found.
First, I also got stuck in the burning village early in the game for a while. The solution is that you have to use the key, which should be in one of your characters' inventories, as an item. It will unlock the door of that one intact building in town and allow you to proceed. Put the key into a characters' active inventory and use it on the door. Remember that you can switch between characters via the top button in the pause menu that "character select" thing at the game start is kind of pointless.
More importantly, I'm having issues with the Memory Base 128. Magicoal is supposedly designed to be MB128-compatible, and it's on the MB128 compatibility list, but unless I'm missing something, MB128 support is in fact completely broken. With both my (real) copy of the game on my TG16+CD (w/Super System Card) or an ISO of the game in Ootake, after the MB128 is plugged in/enabled in Ootake's menu, the game goes into MB128 mode, but always fails to actually load games. You can now copy Magicoal files between the system and MB128, though not other games' files -- this doesn't have a full memory manager as far as I can see. However, with the MB128 plugged in, you can only load from the MB128, not the system. This is an issue when files you load from the MB128 don't work! After hitting the button to load, the screen goes black and stays that way; need to turn off the power to get out of this, since the usual Run+Select to reboot shortcut doesn't work in Magicoal. This is really annoying -- few enough games support the MB128 directly as it is, and it's so incredibly convenient versus copying around blocks of backup memory data from the MB128 or Tennokoe Bank that I would at least want it to work in the few games it supports. Bah!
Third, the magic... okay, so you have various spells. Your two characters each can cast a different selection of magic, and you'll get more during the game. Simple enough. But sometimes I can't use some spells, and I don't know why! Is there some magic meter I can't see (or recognize) which determines when I can use spells? Because like, why could I use the fire shield for some time but not the magic-ball shot? I don't get it at all. If there's some kind of meter, it should actually make it clear where it is. I think some kinds of item fixed this, but I'm not sure why. I imagine the language barrier is the biggest problem here, but it is unclear, there's nothing I could see that clearly states why the magic wasn't working...
And last, your partner's AI is TERRIBLE! Basically, both characters are on screen at all times, but unless you're playing the game two player co-op (recommended if you can), you've got to rely on the AI to control the character you're not controlling at the moment. You can switch characters in the menu, but one is always AI.... and they're USELESS. Basically the AI will stand around and fire at the monsters, without taking in to consideration things like "walls" or "trees" that could be in the way. They will also sometimes stand there firing at the wall, keeping you from going around to attack an enemy, because the screen has to keep both players visible at all times. You could switch back and forth to force them to move forward, but that's awkward (you switch in the menu, not with a button, after all) and annoying. Even slightly better partner AI would have been great, not because this game is hard -- the beginning, at least, is pretty easy -- but because the partner is a problem sometimes.
Despite these problems, though, I do like the game so far; it's okay to good, I would say. The game really has fantastic graphics; this is one of the better-looking games I've seen on the system, for sure. There's almost no animation in cutscenes, but ingame graphics look really nice. The game also has a somewhat unique balance between adventure and action elements -- don't play Magicoal expecting it to just be all fighting like Secret of Mana or something, it isn't. You spend time wandering around towns trying to save people (can get items or magic if successful), talking to people to progress the story, etc. There are also some basic puzzle elements I've already seen, such as that bit with the key I mention at the top of this post. This is a fairly simple game, but it is fun. Of course the adventure elements would be better if I actually knew much Japanese, but still, it's alright; the combat in this game is fairly simple anyway, so I don't mind the breaks.
[/quote]
Oh, bummer about the 128! I should check on the batteries in mine I suppose, while it's on my mind.
The pain, though. I'm stuck at work late late late because we've got a production deadline on Friday for our current movie, but Star Parodius and that Alice in Wonderland Namcot shooter are in my mailbox at home.
Urgh. MAKE YOURSELF, MOVIES.
EDIT: Guys, everything is fine. I just discovered we have Scotch at the studio bar.
EDIT 2: GUYS. EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE. WE ARE OUT OF SCOTCH.
The pain, though. I'm stuck at work late late late because we've got a production deadline on Friday for our current movie, but Star Parodius and that Alice in Wonderland Namcot shooter are in my mailbox at home.
Urgh. MAKE YOURSELF, MOVIES.
EDIT: Guys, everything is fine. I just discovered we have Scotch at the studio bar.
EDIT 2: GUYS. EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE. WE ARE OUT OF SCOTCH.
Wait, Alice in Wonderland Namcot shooter? Also I still need Valkyrie no densetsu.
I think it's marchen maze. Originally isometric shooter/platformer in the arcade.
Yup that bug in Magicoal regarding the memory 128 is almost game breaking! Unless you have lots of memory space in your base CD-rom units you are pretty much screwed unless you don't mind re-connecting/dis-connecting stuff..
EDIT:
Also when the AI of the other character becomes stupid you can force them to follow you by pressing buttons I & II together.
Also if you see flying spirit/fairies switch to Melvy as she can converse with them.
Wait, Alice in Wonderland Namcot shooter? Also I still need Valkyrie no densetsu.
Yep, Marchen Maze. I saw the box when I got home last night and 10/10 boxwise. I also put it on the shelf, which was very fun. I have and like Valkyrie and this looks similar though people don't seem to like it quite as much.
I think the new additions bring me to 40 games for my PCE! Group shot coming soon.
As for the Scotch situation, this is what happens when your employer buys bottles that are dark glass. Nobody was aware of our dire stock situation until it was far too late.
IrishNinja
Member
almost as tragic as TG16 game prices nowadays, damn
Never forget that working in special effects is a dangerous business in which they pay for your meals to keep you at your desk, and sometimes run out of scotch. #thestruggleisreal
*SIGH*
Some of these pc engine games have modern day game bugs.... If only they had day one patches back in those days..
So I've encountered one from Magicoal where the game can save to external Memory 128 back up unit but it will not load from it as the game just hangs no matter how long you want to wait hoping it will eventually load from a long black screen.. You can only get round this by copying the save from the Memory128 to your CD's back up unit and then disconnecting the memory 128 and loading the game without it.
Another bug I just experienced is I just got Fray CD XAK Gaiden in the post and while loading up the game, it mentioned that I didn't have any save space and fair enough my CD Interface save back up unit was choc full of saves from Xanadu II, Magicoal, Kabuki Den etc with some of those having around 20 hours of save gaming in them...
Well I am assuming Fray is the culprit here since it was the only game I was playing all morning since the postman delivered it to my front door so anyway after a little Fray gaming I went back to try and finish Magicoal only to notice ALL MY SAVES were deleted it's as if Fray CD has a format memory option stealthily built in!!
After *oohs* and *aaahs* at some of the 2D works coming from Fray.......
I am looking at you with contempt FRAY CD !!!!
Some of these pc engine games have modern day game bugs.... If only they had day one patches back in those days..
So I've encountered one from Magicoal where the game can save to external Memory 128 back up unit but it will not load from it as the game just hangs no matter how long you want to wait hoping it will eventually load from a long black screen.. You can only get round this by copying the save from the Memory128 to your CD's back up unit and then disconnecting the memory 128 and loading the game without it.
Another bug I just experienced is I just got Fray CD XAK Gaiden in the post and while loading up the game, it mentioned that I didn't have any save space and fair enough my CD Interface save back up unit was choc full of saves from Xanadu II, Magicoal, Kabuki Den etc with some of those having around 20 hours of save gaming in them...
Well I am assuming Fray is the culprit here since it was the only game I was playing all morning since the postman delivered it to my front door so anyway after a little Fray gaming I went back to try and finish Magicoal only to notice ALL MY SAVES were deleted it's as if Fray CD has a format memory option stealthily built in!!
After *oohs* and *aaahs* at some of the 2D works coming from Fray.......
I am looking at you with contempt FRAY CD !!!!
foobarry81
Member
Mega Drive 2.
sixteen-bit
Member
Consequently, could I use a Genesis 2 one, or would that be dangerous?
If you were in the UK then yes it would as the voltage here is 220V. I think japan like USA is 110V ?
It should be fine.
I actually blew the fuse in the white pc engine back in the early 00's and managed to get hold of what I think was a glass 1amp fuse and had to solder it onto the pc engine and it came back to life again.
EDIT:
sigh* I can't find that list of the types of voltage on each different pc engine/cd rom units.
foobarry81
Member
Japan is 100V actually.
Wait what, so i shouldnt use a UK MD2 psu on a PC-Engine (JPN) then?, the transformers is external on PC-Engines right, just like the Megadrives and SNES systems. If i plug a UK MD2 psu into a JPN PC-Engine will it blow internal fuse?
depends are you just going to get a base unit and play only the hu cards? Or a CD Rom unit that plays both CDs and HuCards?
These are just the japanese consoles on their own. They all run on same voltage psu.
I'm in the UK too and I just use a cheap psu that I purchased from Tesco's. You need to get that polarity correct and keep it set at 9V.
If you are going to get a Briefcase Interface Unit, Duo or Duo-R then you will definitely need a different PSU for these. The Briefcase set up will be the hardest one to get a PSU for.
I really want to say yes but I am not 100% sure and I can't find that bloody list of the types of power supply units for each pc engine that's lurking somewhere on the internets... >___>
I got a SEGA UK PSU. Is this the same one that you have ? because this is the one that works with the pc engine.
EDIT:
I am crap when it comes to voltage !_!
Just bought this adapter, should be more than enough with 2amp....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171789456254?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171789456254?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
PixyJunket
Member
Wow, and Gunhed. Son Son II ain't bad either.
The rest is mostly filler (some good stuff, mind you, but probably not a lot of stuff you'd buy individually).
That's a steal.
IrishNinja
Member
^yo what
i mean what
i mean what
D.Lo
Member
You're calling R-type CD, PC Genjin 1 and 2, Rabio Lepus, Tiger Road, Saint Dragon, Heavy Unit, Valis 3 and 4, Legion, Side Arms Special, and Genji Tsushin Agedama filler?
Actually yeah Valis 3 and 4 are crap. And I don't care about the Ranma adventure game or Carmen Sandiago, or the top left one which is some weird card game. But otherwise all are good to great games, there's no Mahjong or sports or digital comics (except Ranma).
IrishNinja
Member
aw man i love Valis 3, at least on the genny
PixyJunket
Member
I mean, I expanded on the comment fairly well, I thought.
Those are some decent games (well, not so much for PC Genjin), but I personally wouldn't be checking eBay for many of those outside of lots or surprise $1 grabs.
Okay, I do want the Valis games eventually for the cheesecake factor.
I've never been a fan of R-Type though.
D.Lo
Member
Eh, clunky poor animation actioneers. The Valis 1 remake on PCE is the best one overall.
I love R-Type, but R-type CD is not my favourite, it has a new soundtrack which isn't as good. I'll hock it and buy the card versions.
PixyJunket
Member
I have the card versions, if you would be interested in a trade or something.
You made out like a bandit...
There was a shooter where you could play as a TG16 console. I don't even remember the name of it.
First console to have a game with postmodern commentary?
This really is a great system though. It's the kind of console that doesn't have too many "hits" (Rondo being the exception), but game after game is solid, solid, solid.
So TG16 games individually don't often end up on "Top 10/50/100" lists, but the system as a whole has a fantastic library.
If I had the time and money, I would love to collect for this thing. But I don't need to tell you all what the prices are like, I'm sure you know better than I.
EDIT:
Unfortunately I have no way to check at the moment, but that might be it.
It wasn't necessarily the best shooter on the system, but being able to play as the console itself stuck out to me for some reason. It was like a microcosm of the kind of goofy strangeness that was part of the TG16's appeal.
First console to have a game with postmodern commentary?
PS1 MGS fans eat that! :3
This really is a great system though. It's the kind of console that doesn't have too many "hits" (Rondo being the exception), but game after game is solid, solid, solid.
So TG16 games individually don't often end up on "Top 10/50/100" lists, but the system as a whole has a fantastic library.
If I had the time and money, I would love to collect for this thing. But I don't need to tell you all what the prices are like, I'm sure you know better than I.
EDIT:
Unfortunately I have no way to check at the moment, but that might be it.
It wasn't necessarily the best shooter on the system, but being able to play as the console itself stuck out to me for some reason. It was like a microcosm of the kind of goofy strangeness that was part of the TG16's appeal.
foobarry81
Member
Star Parodier?
Oh god my heart flutters at the possibility of there being two games where you can play as a PC Engine.
That's an incredibly Western perception of the system. In Japan it had as many "hits" as any other console except maybe the Famicom or PS1.
Well I am a Westerner so... :3 can only speak from experience.
The only console that I'm more in-tune with the Japanese perspective on than the Western one is the Saturn. That Japanese Saturn library was golden.
My point, though, was more on the general consistency of the TG-16's library, rather than anything commercial. To me it just seems like the system has less shovelware than its peers - though it doesn't seem to have as many "stone-cold classics" like SMB3, Mega Man II, Zelda. Just a bunch of great games that, as a whole, are a compelling library.
A Black Falcon
Member
I think you exaggerate a bit -- I mean, the Super Famicom outsold the PCE many times over and surely has more "hits" from a Japanese perspective -- but yes, the PCE/TG16 certainly does have a lot more 'hit' games than most Westerners would recognize. But not as many as the SNES/SFC. The SNES got most of the top publishers' bigger-budget games, and the PCE's peak of popularity was 1988-1990 -- the period before the SNES released. It faded after that as the SFC rapidly took over. While for an addon the CD addon and Duo systems did fantastically well, combined they didn't sell as well as the HuCard system had, and that was far behind the SNES, and the SFC outsold the PCE CD + Duo something like ten to one in Japan.
Anyway, what would be some 'hit' titles on the system that people might not think of here? The Tengai Makyou series excepted, most are probably HuCards, since that's what sold the best. One that comes to mind is Image Fight. Of course everyone knows R-Type, but in Japan Image Fight apparently was also pretty successful, and the PCE version is good.
D.Lo
Member
No? It was successful in Japan but far less so than the Super Famicom, PS2, even arguably the Wii, PS3 and obviously every Nintendo handheld and the PSP.
I doubt the highest selling game on PCE would make the Super Famicom/SNES top 20 sales.
I think it's a very apt description on the system, it has a broad base of solid but mostly not world changing games which were solid but not spectacular sellers. It's particularly strong in a couple of niches like shooters, anime adventure/digital comics and traditional arcade action games. Its spiritual successor was the Saturn, which similarly excelled in some hardcore genres like fighting and shooters (and animu), but didn't have the big hits.
There are exceptions in terms of quality, it does have IMO the best action platfomer of the generation in Dracula X, and a few of its shooters are candidates for the best shooter of the gen (maybe Gradius II?). But it doesn't have many games of either the quality, importance or sales level of Zelda 3, Final Fantasy 6, Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Chrono Trigger, Star Fox, Super Metroid etc.
It's just a shame the system didn't get the support it deserved from developers, I mean it's basically an 8 Bit system and most of the arcade conversions on it were far superior to the Megadrive version which was supposed to be a more powerful machine and so the pce wipes the floor with the nes and master system and they were released around similar times.
Just imagine if the pce got the same support as the nes!!!
I see a list like this and think "Yeah, that's a damn fine list that summarizes a lot of the great classics for that generation." Then realize that the only two devs on the list are Nintendo and Square. You used to be able to list off Nintendo and Square's output, and have it be a reasonably workable list of the classics from that gen. How the mighty have fallen...*sigh*
As for best shooter from the gen, that's a good question. What did the SNES bring to the table, Axelay? Gradius III? Not too familiar with the SNES' shooter lineup.
baudelinog
Member
It would be an amazing game machine!
D.Lo
Member
Master System maybe sort of (two years earlier for the M3 in 1985, and it was really an upgraded SG1000), but not the NES. The Famicom was four years older.
In fact, that basically is the PC Engine's place in Japanese history, as a decently successful stop-gap in the long time period between the Famicom and Super Famicom, since it launched at roughly the mid-point between the two.
What makes it unappreciated is simply that it's the only console successful in Japan but not overseas. So there's a treasure trove of quality Japanese developed games that most people in the west have not played. As someone who loved Japanese games much more than western games (especially from that era), it's one of my favourites.
Square yeah (though they technically haven't exited for over ten years now), but Nintendo released more industry defining classics since then than they had at that point. Even now people question their hardware decisions, but (almost) nobody questions their software quality.
Definitely not Gradius III. Axeley, all three Parodius games, R-Type III, not much else. It's not a contender in the genre, and I'd say it's mostly not because of the CPU or anything like that (though it did cause issues in earlier releases), but because the market had moved on by the time the platform hit its stride, and so less were developed.
PCE and Mega Drive dominate the shooter genre for the gen, they'd locked in the hardcore shooter segment for the period.
My personal favourites are Gradius II, PCE Zero Wing, Ultimate Parodius, R-Type... I would love to play the Thunder games but I don't have the cash! Oh I used to have Rayxanber III that was awesome too.
No i ment the PCE, SMS and NES were release all around the same time frame....from the same 'Generation'
D.Lo said:
Dont forget Space Megaforce, Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie and UN Squadron
D.Lo
Member
They really were not.
Famicom: July 15, 1983
PC Engine: October 30, 1987
Over four year later.