Hello, everyone! I’m A_alla_quarta, and I welcome you to this
second part of my overview about the games built-in in the
PC Engine or Turbografx Mini. Last time, we talked about the history and
the general features of the Turbografx, and we explored the line-up of American titles
included by Konami in its new mini version. Today, instead, it’s time to take a look at
the other half of the console’s library. After the opening, we’re going to immerse ourselves
in the world of the PC Engine Mini’s g
ames coming from the Land of the Rising Sun. (Zero Wing - Legrous/Stage 2) (Ys VIII - Overcome the Rocky Path) RETROGAMING WONDERS TURBOGRAFX MINI
JAPANESE LINE-UP (PART ONE) The first title on our list is
“Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo”,
(A.N: Actually pronounced "Ci no Rondo") certainly better known in the West as
“Castlevania: Rondo of Blood”. This game, published by Konami
in 1993 on the PC Engine CD, represents one of the most impressive installments
in the popular Castlevania franchise,
and even though it wasn’t released
outside of Japan until 2007, it’s also one of most beloved. In spite of the similarities,
it mustn’t be confused with “Castlevania: Dracula X”, which came out on the Super Nintendo in 1995, and is known in Europe as
“Castlevania: Vampire’s Kiss”. At its core, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood reproposes
the same formula of its predecessors, but, taking advantage of the
PC Engine CD’s capabilities, it implements a whole bunch of
noteworthy improvements. First of all,
the title features
rich and detailed graphics, which are top quality both during the gameplay
sections and the animated sequences. Even more impressive is the magnitude
of the musical arrangements, which take full advantage of the
potential of the CD format, raising the epicness and the glumness of Castlevania
atmospheres’ to a whole new level. As regards gameplay enhancements, Rondo of Blood offers the option to save
the game on the console’s memory and a good replay value. Replayability is gu
aranteed by the chance
to unlock a second playable character, namely the little Maria Renard, and mostly by the non-linear layout of some stages. In these levels, if Richter Belmont falls
from certain platforms, he won’t die, but gain access to an alternative path, which leads him to the same boss, but in some cases is going to increase the
percentage of completion of the game. Even though the original Rondo of Blood
never came out of Japan, a remake called “Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
”
was released for the PSP in 2007, and there you can also unlock the
original version and Symphony of the Night. In addition, even if the japanese version is still very
playable regardless of the language barrier, in 2012 a group of fans created a patch that,
other than translating the texts, replaces the japanese dialogues of the original game
with the english ones from the remake. (Japanese voice) Reaper: "Time to test your strength!" Such dedication represents one of
the most important evide
nce of the quality and the reputation of
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, whose inclusion in the Turbografx Mini’s library
was therefore essential, an absolute no brainer. (Howl) Next up, we have “Aldynes”, a horizontal-scrolling shoot’em up
developed by the team Produce! and published by Hudson Soft in 1991. It’s one the 5 titles that, at the time,
were available exclusively on the Supergrafx. In this shoot’em up, the player takes
control of a vehicle called Aldynes, facing the need to constantly f
ind the
right balance between offence, which takes place pressing
repeatedly the button II, and the summoning of a front shield,
which activates holding the same button. Both from a technical standpoint and gameplay-wise, Aldynes presents a decent craftmanship. Even without the chanche to rely on the rich
quality offered by the support of CDs, the soundtrack turns out to be
adrenaline-filled and engaging. The visual appearance, although pleasing, fails to take full advantage of the
Supergrafx’s
capabilities, and, except for an impressive handling
of the background in stage 3, the title seems to offer nothing that wasn’t already
within the reach of the regular Turbografx. Finally, as regards the playability, just like in many shoot’em ups of the time, Aldynes features a high difficulty level, which can make it frustrating for
novices of the genre, like myself. Luckily, at least the player can count on
the presence of unlimited continues. So, in the end, Aldynes’ case is similar to the o
ne
we saw last time talking about Psychosis: i.e. it’s a good game, which however ends up getting overshadowed on
a console offering so many superb shoot’em ups, like the PC Engine. (Aldynes - Stage 4 Theme) Appare! Gateball, which apparently
means “Awesome! Gateball”, is a sport title created by Westone and released in Japan by Hudson Soft in 1988. This game, as the name suggests, is focused on gateball,
a niche sport similar to croquet. Essentially, in each match, 2 teams challenge
each other
hitting balls with a mallet to make them go in a specific order
through a series of gates. Once he has passed every gate, each player has to push his ball
into a dedicated hole, and the match is over when all the players of one
of the teams have completed the course, or when half an hour has already passed. Playing “Appare! Gateball”, sadly you can easily tell that this sport isn’t
the most fitting for a videogame adaptation, since it’s extremely low paced
and each game lasts so long. Plus, ther
e are the burden of navigating
through japanese menus, and a technical realization that’s pretty lacking, even considering that it’s one of the first
games released for the PC Engine. So, we can absolutely say that “Appare! Gateball”
represents one of the titles whose inclusion in the Turbografx Mini’s
library was the least needed. MY BALL PIECE OF SHIT - MY BALL Luckily, we can remove the bitter taste from our
mouth right away, with Bomberman ’94, immediate sequel to Bomberman ’93, developed an
d published in Japan
by Hudson Soft on December 1993. ...Damn liars! A Megadrive version, called “Mega Bomberman”,
came out on the Western market, but it was programmed by Westone and
it lacks some options and graphical effects. Going back to the PC Engine, despite featuring an extremely similar structure to its
predecessor, Bomberman ’94 isn’t devoid of novelties. First of all, in this sequel the goal of each stage
isn’t to get rid of all enemies anymore; you just have to destroy the green crys
tals
on the map and go to the exit. Speaking of power-ups,
this time you can ride a little dinosaur, which allows you to take an extra hit without dying, and the upgrades won’t be gone everytime you die, but instead they will last until the use of a continue. The player has the opportunity
to visit again previous stages, so he can collect power-ups before a boss battle. You can’t save the game on the
console’s memory anymore, but it’s not a big deal, since there are infinite continues and the pa
ssword system is still very simple to use. Overall. Bomberman ’94 offers more
variety than its predecessor, thanks to a more complex layout of the levels and to the daring employment of graphical
effects that were impressive for the time. Ultimately, despite the presence of its prequel, this title is so creative and fun, that it succeeds in the hard task of not feeling
redundant on the PC Engine Mini’s library. Let’s move on to “Bomberman: Panic Bomber”, created and released by Hudson Soft in 19
94
for the PC Engine Super CD-rom^2, and in the following years landed
on many other platforms. It’s a spin-off of the Bomberman series, in which our bombing robot challenges
enemies in a classic puzzle game, where you have to match 3 figures of the same colour. Panic Bomber puts at the player’s disposal
an infinite amount of continues and the ability of choosing
between 3 difficulty levels, however, there is no way to save your progress. Despite the charm of the graphical
presentation and the s
oundtrack, sadly, Panic Bomber lacks the personality that
characterizes the canonical Bomberman games, and it ends up being just another
clone of the "Puyo Puyo" series. Its inclusion in the catalogue of games of the
Turbografx Mini makes sense, though, because it adds a touch of variety
to what the console has to offer, and it can’t be considered
by any means a bad game. The next title on our list is “Cho Aniki”,
meaning “Super Big Brother”, which was developed by Masaya
and published in Japan
by NCS for the Super CD-rom2, on Christmas Day 1992. It’s a horizontal-scrolling shoot’em up, and it must not be confused with
its sequel, called “Ai cho aniki”. Especially since the silliness of this
first installment’s humor is nothing, compared to that of the second game! (Ambiguous bodybuilders' cries) In Cho Aniki, when the adventure begins,
and after the use of each continue, the player must choose between 2 characters. At their command, he must fight against
the invasion of the evil emper
or Bo Bill, who decided to turn every
star system under his control into centers for the production of
proteins aimed at bodybuilders. The 2 protagonists are controlled in a similar fashion, but they differ greatly for their special attacks, which can be used releasing the button II
after holding it for a few seconds. Idaten, the male protagonist,
emits a powerful straight beam, while Benten, the girl,
shoots a weaker but wider blow. These special attacks are basically
crucial to progress in the
game, because, despite the presence of infinite continues, it’s a really challenging game
at any difficulty level. In spite of a graphic design and a gameplay
which are just decent, Cho Aniki stands out for its unique soundtrack,
epic and funny at the same time, and its exuberant personality, which made it possible for the series
to go on for more than 15 years. For those who will buy a Turbografx Mini, checking this game out to have some
laughs will definitely be worth it. (Cho Aniki - Sexy Dy
namite) Coming up next, we have “Dai Makai-Mura”, the japanese version of the super famous Capcom
classic known as “Ghouls ’n’ Ghosts”. The port included in the PC Engine Mini,
along the lines of what we saw with Aldynes, constituted one the 5 titles that could be
played exclusively on the Supergrafx. Under license from Capcom, it was developed by Alfa System
and distributed by NEC in 1990, 5 years after the arcade original. Compared to the much more famous
port for the Sega Megadrive, this Supe
rgrafx version is more faithful to the original, and features a more detailed and
well-defined graphical aspect. However, the colours appear more lackluster,
and the game itself is much harder, especially because of the limited amount of continues, the presence of just one checkpoint per stage,
instead of the 2 on the Megadrive, and the mere levels’ layout. Like in the other versions of Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts, at first the gaming experience can be very frustrating, because there are tons of enemies,
and usually their appearance is hard to predict. And besides, almost every weapon,
except for the javelin and the knife, turns out to be not very effective,
nor easy to handle. However, when you start learning the
patterns of enemies and obstacles, and get help from the code that increases
the number of credits up to 10,
(UPx2, DOWNx2, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, I, II) this title begins to show off the qualities
that made it a timeless classic. After all, then, even though the Megadrive version
p
robably remains the most enjoyable, Dai Makai-Mura represents a great choice
for the inclusion on the Turbografx Mini, and if you decide to be patient with him,
Sir Arthur won’t disappoint you. Dragon Spirit is an arcade vertical-scrolling
shoot’em up released by Namco in 1987, which in the following years landed on several
computers and consoles of the time. The version we’re talking about today was distributed
by NEC on the regular Turbografx, and it’s from 1989. Like Splatterhouse, Dragon Spi
rit,
too, is one of the 7 titles that joined the PC Engine Mini’s library for last. This shoot’em up puts the player
in the shoes of a dragon, able to attack both flying enemies, with the button II,
and the ones on the ground, pressing the button I. During its adventure, our creature can obtain an array of power-ups collecting eggs and killing flashing foes, and It can rely on 3 health points. Fighting your way across each stage
won’t be easy at all, since our dragon has a size that makes it
an
easy target for the enemy shots. In addition, there are no items
for you to recover your health, and every hit you take causes a
downgrade of the dragon’s skills. By default, the player can’t even count
on the support of continues, however, there’s a code to unlock 100 credits. In addition to a decent playability, Dragon Spirit offers a well-made
soundtrack and graphics that, even showing the normal limitations of a game
that came out early in the console’s life, display a great variety and inte
nsity of colours. Anyway, despite not being part of the Olympus
of the Turbografx masterpieces, Dragon Spirit is a good game, and a nice addition to its mini version’s line-up. Let’s go on with Fantasy Zone, a celebrated horizontal-scrolling
shoot’em up by Sega, which falls under the cut’em ups’ subgenre. The PC Engine version, created by the studio Bits Laboratory
and produced by NEC, made its appearance in 1988,
2 years after the arcade original. Controlling the adorable spaceship Opa-Opa, in
each stage we have to destroy a
series of alien bases and fight a boss. Unlike in most shoot’em ups, the scrolling of the levels,
instead of being unidirectional, can be directed both to the right and the left. During its missions, Opa-Opa can collect coins from the defeated aliens, and spend them in dedicated
shops to buy upgrades. These are available in limited quantities
or for a limited amount of time, but they’re still crucial to progress, because Fantasy Zone’s difficulty level is much
hig
her than what its look might suggest, even using the controller’s turbo
feature to shoot faster. Luckily, it’s also one of those games in which
practicing makes you achieve huge progress, lessening more and more
the initial sense of frustration. From a technical standpoint, the Turbografx port of Fantasy Zone is definitely
one of the best available on home consoles. Excluding remakes and collections
containing the arcade original, this is the only version offering at the same time elements such
as the minimap of the enemy bases left, the colored spot indicating their health condition, and boss battles featuring a proper background. The only flaws consist in the quality of the music, which is absolutely below the standards
of the PC Engine library, and the inconsistency between Opa Opa’s
movements and the scrolling of the screen, even though this defect affects all of the
game’s versions, including the arcade original. Overall, even if it’s not one of the prominent
titles on the Turbogr
afx Mini, Fantasy Zone’s presence brings a breath
of fresh air to the console’s catalogue, therefore it’s certainly a welcome addition. The next game on our list is “Galaga ’88”, the fourth installment in one of the most
influential series in videogaming history. Also developed by Namco, this Turbografx-16 port was distributed by NEC in 1989, and it landed in the West
under the name of “Galaga ’90”. The formula underlying Galaga ’88 is
the same as that of its predecessors, namely that of a singl
e-screen shoot’em up, which makes you undergo through a series of stages
with the goal of destroying all enemies. In this installment,
at the beginning of each game, the player has to choose between starting at the
command of a regular spaceship or a dual ship, which provides a double amount of firepower,
but at the cost of one life. Every 3 stages,
we’ll access to a bonus level, in which we have the opportunity
to collect points and extra lives, while every 10 stages it’s time to fight in
verti
cal-scrolling sections and defeat a boss. Depending on which warp dimensions you crossed
and which bonuses you gained, you can explore a decent range of different paths. Despite these novelties,
that add some more depth to the gameplay, Galaga ’88 remains a title with
a strongly minimalistic soul, characterized by very bare-bones visuals and by the almost complete
abscence of background music, which for the most part leaves the player
at the mercy of the loud sound effects. These features make G
alaga ’88
a game that’s not for everyone, which, however, is going to offer
many hours of pure fun and lots of satisfaction to those who still enjoy
the simplicity of the arcade classics from the 80’s. After Galaga, it’s time to talk about another title that made history, and l mean the celebrated "Gradius". Created by Konami, this classic
horizontal-scrolling shoot’em up made its debut in the arcades in 1985, and then it came out on several platforms,
obviously including the Turbografx-16 in 19
91. In Gradius, the player takes
control of the Vic Viper, a spaceship engaged in a lone battle against
the galactic empire of Bacterian. The spaceship can rely on a number of features
that nowadays are taken for granted, but made their revolutionary first appearance
right on the original version of Gradius. I’m refering to first to its unmistakable
upgrading system, in which, every time we pick up an icon,
we won’t immediately get a power-up, but the sliding of a cursor on a dedicated weapon ba
r. When this cursor indicates the power-up you want, you can install it on the Vic Viper
simply pressing the button I. This system confers on the title
a remarkable tactical depth, because the player must choose carefully
between taking an upgrade right away or hanging on a little more,
waiting for better weapons. The other shoot’em ups’ staple introduced
by Gradius consists in the "options", which are those little satellites
increasing our spaceship’s firepower. And finally, we should also than
k Gradius
for the birth of the Konami Code, which originally was meant as
a tool for the programmers to overcome the overwhelming difficulty of the game,
in order to test its later levels. Unfortunately, unlike what we saw
last time talking about R-Type, the Turbografx-16 port of Gradius doesn’t represent
a vast improvement over the previous versions. In fact, the graphical presentation and
the quality of the musical tracks don’t differ much from the ones already
seen 5 years prior on the NES, a
nd, in spite of the amount of time that passed
and the more powerful hardware available, Gradius is affected by unforgivable slowdowns
on the PC Engine as well. With “Gradius 2 – Gofer no yabo”, luckily we have a much different situation. Originally released in the arcades in 1988, this title was converted for
the Super CD-rom2 in 1992. From a technical standpoint, this port shows great improvements,
both in comparison with its Famicom release and the Turbografx version of its predecessor. The e
nhancements that stand out the most
are the presence of an appealing intro, a soundtrack that makes a really good use
of the CD format’s capabilities, and, most importantly,
the nearly total absence of the slowdowns that affected
so much the first installment. As regards the gameplay, Gradius 2 put us again in charge of the Vic Viper, but this time, at the beginning of the game,
it allows us to choose between 4 different configurations of
power-ups and 2 types of shield. The infamous difficulty
of the first chapter
returns in all its terrifying glory, even in what is called “Easy Mode”. Luckily, both games have cheat codes. Ultimately, despite the difficulty and the
technical flaws of the first installment, Gradius 1 and 2 still remain really fun titles. The presence of just Gofer no Yabo in the
Turbografx Mini’s catalogue would have been sufficient, but I guess Konami wanted to take the opportunity to pay tribute to one of their first big hits. Better this way.
Besides, “melius abunda
re quam deficere”!
(Basically "Better more than less" in Latin language) The next game on the list is “Genpei Touma Den”, a title originally released by Namco
in the japanese arcades in 1986, whose version for the PC Engine was developed
by Now Production and published in 1990. it’s one the last 7 titles added to
the Turbografx Mini’s catalogue, and you’ll probably find it there under the name of
“The Genji and The Heiki Clans”. The main peculiarity of Genpei Touma Den consists in the combinatio
n of
different kinds of gameplay. In fact, it contains alternating stages that
belong to three different modes: there’s the “Small mode”,
with regular action platforming levels; the “Plain Mode”,
with a top-down action gameplay, and, finally, the “Big Mode”, which has the
properties of a side-scrolling beat’em up, as well as boss battles and
particularly large characters’ sprites. In each stage, the goal is to reach a “Torii”, which is a traditional japanese gate, and since many levels have more
of them, you can follow several different paths. In all of the three game modes,
the action is very fast-paced, and in a matter of a dozen stages the
difficulty level can get quite frustrating, but the presence of infinite continues
and the generally responsive controls maintain the experience enjoyable and entertaining. As regards the appropriateness of the controls,
the only exception is represented by the Big Mode, which requires some pratice to get used to it, since our hero responds with a
certain delay, and the way he moves
is very reminiscent of the super clumsy Earnest Evans
seen years later on the Megadrive. The originality, the variety and
the immediacy of the gameplay, combined with decent graphics
and a not lofty but perfectly fitting sound, make Genpei Touma Den a prominent title
in the Turbografx Mini’s library, and I recommend to check it out to anybody,
especially those who love some challenge. Let’s move on to
“Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire”, which means
“Legend of th
e galactic policewoman Sapphire”, and was developed by CAProduction and published by Hudson Soft for the
PC Engine CD-rom2 at the end of 1995. In this extremely sought-after
vertical-scrolling shoot’em up, we can play as one of 4 galactic policewomen, each one with her specific combat style. Sapphire is the one with the most balanced traits. Charlotte has a very quick spaceship,
but she deals minimal damage. Helena, who flies the slowest and most powerful vehicle,
represents the choice of the mo
st experienced players. And, finally, Jasmine features a
combat style which is halfway between Sapphire’s and Helena’s ones. Other than for the possibility
of choosing your character, Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire offers a playability
that’s pretty poor in terms of innovation. However, the fast pace of the action,
combined with the relatively low difficulty level, make it an extremely appealing title
for those who are new to the genre, and you can also enjoy it together with a friend. But the re
al highlight of Sapphire consists
in its superb technical realization, that pushes the PC Engine capabilities to their limit, and is one of the very few designed to take advantage
from the support of the Arcade Card Pro. Other than for a fascinating intro and different cutscenes depending
on the character you’re using, the graphics of this title also stand out
for the use of pre-rendered sprites. These, despite being two-dimensional, give you the impression of being
in front of proper 3D polygon
s, and they represent a really unique feature
in the console’s catalogue. To spice the whole up, there’s also a soundtrack that contains
some of the most rocking, brillant and unmistakable musical
themes in gaming history. Overall, then, even though it’s not a very interesting
title for expert gamers looking for a challenge, I think Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire
is one of the PC Engine games that, here in the West, we were missing the most. Therefore, especially considering
the price of the orig
inal version, its addition turns out to be one of the most
welcome on the Turbografx Mini’s library. (Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire - Boss Theme 1)
Comments
Bellissimo il video!