http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/192px-TurboGrafx-16.jpg

''The higher energy videogame system''

The [=TurboGrafx 16=], known as PC Engine in Japan, was a [[The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames 16-bit]] console developed by HudsonSoft and sold by NEC that was released first in Japan in [[TheEighties 1987]] and in North America in 1989. Far more successful in Japan than it ever was elsewhere. Its mascot character was VideoGame/{{Bonk}}, or PC Genjin in Japan where the name was a clear pun on the system's name.

The most unique characteristic of the system was that the games did not come on bulky plastic cartridges but rather on thin Turbo Chips (Hu Cards in Japan), plastic game cards with connectors clearly visible on the end.

Discontinued? Yes indeed, the system did not sell very well in North America, competing as it did with massively successful Nintendo and Sega contemporaries. However its game library's inclusion on the [[VirtualConsole Wii Virtual Console]] has lit the fires of nostalgia in the hearts of the few gamers who played and loved the thing, as well as introducing these old gems to a newer audience. The system was, however, extremely popular in Japan, outselling the original Famicom. It was particularly favored for its {{Shoot Em Up}}s, which could offer nearly [[ArcadePerfectPort arcade-perfect]] graphics.

Like all the venerable systems, this one had a few add-ons of its own. One, the Turbo Tap, allowed up to five controllers to be connected where only one could ordinarily fit. Multi-player not exactly being a key feature of most of the games, this accessory understandably flopped. Another was the [=TurboGrafx-CD=] (PC Engine CD-ROM[[superscript:2]]) expansion, which opened more possibilities for the game library, especially with the Super System Card. The CD attachment was very successful in Japan, where it helped prolonged the lifespan of the system, but not so much elsewhere, to the point that [[NoExportForYou only a handful of games were ever exported]]. NEC later released the Turbo Duo, which was a [=TurboGrafx=] with a little extra RAM and the CD drive and Super System Card built-in. The American release is infamous for its advertising campaign, JohnnyTurbo. You can read the comics in their entirety [[http://sardoose.rustedlogic.net/reviews/jturbo/index.htm here]], as well as more info [[http://www.pinkgorillagames.com/pink_gorilla_news/johnny_turbo_vs_sega.php here.]]

One of the extensions of the PC Engine that was only released in Japan was the [=SuperGrafx=], which was simply a [=TurboGrafx=] with a extra video chip and more RAM. The hardware revision was a complete failure, only having five games specifically made for it. Slightly more successful was the Arcade Card, released in 1994 in a late attempt to upgrade the capacities of the system; it was mostly noted for ports of NeoGeo games.

Finally, in the portable market, [=TurboGrafx=] had a clear advantage thanks to its slim game cards. The [=TurboExpress=] handheld console was able to use exactly the same cards as the main console, so that it was essentially a small, portable [=TG16=] with a screen attached. Yes it was heavy, and yes it was a battery-guzzler, but it still was nice to have a lot of those games on the go.
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Specs:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Processors ]]

* {{CPU}} runs at a maximum 7.16mhz, although games could switch it down to 3.58mhz or 1.79mhz; most Hu Card games run at 3.58mhz to avoid overheating the system (As the Japanese PC Engine was quite small), though it runs at full speed for CD games. It's also an 8-bit processor, which led some to doubt it was really a 16-bit system.
* But like some other systems, the actual graphics are generated by a {{GPU}}, which is 16-bit. It actually has two of them, but they are practically identical, and just split color and display between them.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Memory ]]

* 8 KB of main RAM, 64 KB of VideoRAM, additional 192 KB of RAM (Turbo Duo only)
* The CD-Rom2 1.0 Hu-Card (and 2.0 and the bug fixed 2.1) adds another 64KB.
* The Super CD-Rom2 3.0 Hu-Card beefs up the 64KB to 256KB.
* The Arcade Hu-Card (still at 3.0 oddly) beefs it up more to 2 MB (for the Arcade Card Duo, 2.2MB for the Arcade Card Pro; the Arcade Card Duo is for the Duo models only, while the Arcade Card Pro was for the pre-Duo models)
* Supergrafx has 32 KB of main, and 128 KB of Video.
* Games on Hu-Cards could be up to 2.5 MB.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sprites ]]

* 64 sprites on screen (128 for the Supergrafx).
* Sprite size is a minimum of 16x16 and a maximum of 32x64.
* The system just has the sprite layer and one background layer (the Supergrafx has two).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Display ]]

* Resolution is variable, but most games ran at 256x240.
* 512 total colors, but the sprite layer and the background layer each could have up to 241 at once (the two on the Supergrafx shared those).
* [[http://www.chrismcovell.com/PowerConsole/index.html the Super Grafx was able run 2 screens, however, it was never used in any retail software due to the system's bombing]].
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Notable games/series:
[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo''
* ''Alien Crush'' and ''Devil's Crush''
* ''Beyond VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' (It's a HudsonSoft console, what else do you expect?)
** ''[[VideoGame/{{Bomberman93}} Bomberman '93]]''
** ''[[VideoGame/{{Bomberman94}} Bomberman '94]]''
* ''VideoGame/{{Bonk}}''
** ''VideoGame/AirZonk''
* ''VideoGame/BlazingLazers''
* ''Bloody Wolf''
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Sokoban}} Boxyboy]]''
* ''VideoGame/{{Bravoman}}''
* ''Buster Bros.''
* ''VideoGame/{{Cadash}}''
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' (Super CD, [[NoExportForYou Japan only]]; rereleased elsewhere in 2010 on VirtualConsole and ported to {{PSP}} as ''The Dracula X Chronicles''.)
* ''VideoGame/ChoAniki'' ([[http://www.pspworld.com/sony-psp/games/challenge-write-cho-aniki-press-release-without-using-the-word-gay-011910.php The gayest]] [[http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/sexual-games/10.php game to]] [[WidgetSeries ever exist]].)
* ''VideoGame/CosmicFantasy'' (Japan-only save for the second game)
* ''[[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins Daimakaimura]]'' ([=SuperGrafx=] only)
* ''Detana!! VideoGame/{{Twinbee}}'' (Japan-only until its release on Virtual Console)
* ''[[VideoGame/DoubleDragon Double Dragon II: The Revenge]]'' (Japan only, a remake of the NES version)
* ''Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes''
* ''Dragon Spirit''
* ''Dungeon Explorer''
* ''VideoGame/DungeonMaster: Theron's Quest''
* ''Exile''
* ''VideoGame/FantasticNightDreamsCotton''
* ''VideoGame/FantasyZone''
* ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighter Fighting Street]]''
** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII Dash: Champion Edition'' (Japan-only until its release on Virtual Console)
* ''[[VideoGame/FireProWrestling Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag]]'' ([[TropeMaker First game]] in [[VideoGameLongRunners the entire series]])
** ''Fire Pro Wrestling 2nd Bout''
** ''Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Legend Bout''
** ''Wrestling Universe: Fire Pro Women: Dome Super Female Big Battle: All Japan Women VS J.W.P.'' (Arcade Card + CD game)
* ''VideoGame/ForgottenWorlds''
* ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}} '88'' (''Galaga '90'' outside of Japan)
* ''Gates of Thunder''
* ''[[VideoGame/MontyMole Impossamole]]''
* ''VideoGame/JackieChansActionKungFu''
* ''J.B. Harold Murder Club''
* ''VideoGame/KeithCourageInAlphaZones''
* ''VideoGame/{{Klax}}''
* ''VideoGame/LastAlert''
* ''The Legendary Axe''
* ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}''
* ''Lords of Thunder''
* ''VideoGame/MagicalChase''
* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic III: Isles of Terra''
* ''Military Madness'' (a.k.a. ''Nectaris'')
* ''VideoGame/{{Neutopia}}''
* ''New VideoGame/AdventureIsland''
* ''[[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ninja Ryukenden]]''
* ''Ninja Spirit''
* ''VideoGame/TheNinjaWarriors'' (Japan-only)
* ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble 3]]''
** ''VideoGame/RainbowIslands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2''
* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia''
* ''VideoGame/RabioLepus Special''
* ''VideoGame/{{Raiden}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{R-Type}}''
* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheBeast''
* ''VideoGame/SimEarth''
* ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}} [=CD-ROMantic=]'' (Japan only, released for the [[SegaGenesis Sega CD]] in North America and Europe)
* ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier''
* ''VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}}''
* ''[[VideoGame/StarSoldier Super Star Soldier]]''
** ''Final Soldier''
** ''Soldier Blade''
** ''Star Parodier''
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Strider}} Strider Hiryu]]'' (Arcade CD)
* ''Tengai Makyou'' (''Far East of Eden'')
* ''Franchise/TokimekiMemorial'' (Japan only, the first game was released here, and the franchise would later move on and thrive on {{PlayStation}}).
* ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'' (Japan-only remake)
* ''VideoGame/{{Turrican}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Valis}}'' I-IV
* ''Vasteel''
* ''VideoGame/{{Vigilante}}''
* ''VideoGame/{{Volfied}}''[[/index]]
* ''Franchise/WonderBoy'' {{Divorced Installment}}s[[index]]
** ''[[VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand Bikkuriman World]]''
** ''[[VideoGame/WonderBoyIIIMonsterLair Monster Lair]]''
** ''[[VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap Dragon's Curse]]''
** ''[[VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterWorld The Dynastic Hero]]''
* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series (while the series got its start elsewhere, a good argument can be made for it becoming a legend on the TG)
** ''Ys Book I & II''
** ''Ys III: Wanderers from Ys''
** ''Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys'' (Japan only)
* ''VideoGame/ZeroWing''
[[/index]]
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