The TurboGrafx Mini - REVIEW - Game Sack

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hello and welcome to game sack today I'm going to take a look at the turbo graphics 16 mini console I realized that YouTube has probably overwhelmed with reviews like this and for that I do apologize but I do want to take my own personal look at this thing I was lucky enough to have the original turbo graphics 16 back when it was available at retail but I'll do my best to look at it from the perspective of someone who really hasn't messed with the console much or at least until much later but I'll also give my normal opinion as someone who's played with this stuff since it existed with that said let's start let's check out the packaging here's the box for the turbo graphics 16 mini and here's the box for the real turbo graphics 16 the reason why everyone likes the turbo graphics 16 was because of this smiling guy but he's nowhere to be seen on the mini this is heresy this is probably because they no longer had the rights to use his image but I would have loved it if they had found the kid and put his current old man face on the Box the shoes pants and hands have all been rephotographed the back of the box shows you covers for all 57 games included with the system included in the box is of course the turbo graphics mini console a controller and HDMI cable as well as a USB cable for power here's the mini next to a real turbo graphics hmm it's not very many is it wait it does say turbo graphics 16 mini on the box right yeah sure does hmm maybe I'm not familiar with the definition of mini you think in 2020 we'd have the technology to make it a bit I don't know Minear oh wow the system looks great as these mini consuls always do you have to remove the back cover to gain access to the HDMI and USB ports getting the USB plug inserted can be kind of a chore but there are a couple of ways you can route it one is out to the side like the original turbo graphics or you can stick both the HDMI and the USB through the same hole coming out of the back either way you're likely to leave these cables connected forever as it's not the easiest thing to gain access to them the included controller is close but not quite identical to a real turbo graphics 16 controller it feels really good though basically just like the real thing it even has turbo switches the select & Run buttons are a bit more mushy but all around it feels good in your hands what's nice is that the court feels about 20 times longer than the original cords which we're all way too short on the front there are USB ports for up to two players but you can buy a USB turbo tap for up to five players all right let's get into the features of the console you have your standard menu system and you can sort the games a few different ways I prefer alphabetically myself you scroll through the games in a similar fashion to Nintendo's classic consoles from a few years ago at first you're presented with the North American turbo graphics games down at the bottom you can change consoles in order to see the PC engine games scrolling through the PC engine list you'll see that there's a lot more here however some games like ease book 1 and 2 appear on both the Japanese and US side of the game selection menu I really wish that the games were compiled into a single menu with a note at the bottom of the screen stating which region therefore with maybe an option to switch the region if more than one exists it's kind of dumb not to have the US version of some of these games in here to play when you select a game I really like how it inserts itself into the card slot it's a really nice touch for the CD games the system card inserts and the disk spins up I tried pressing select to go onto the menu here which you can on a real system but it's just for show here still cool though there are also some super graphics games on here they insert themselves into a core graphics or a PC engine depending on how you have your option set up I kind of wish it would have inserted into a super graphics as for the CD games they load decently fast which is nice but not quite as quickly as you might think they would you can save your game on one of four slots at any time which is a common feature in these consoles you do this by pressing select and run at the same time to call up a menu and choosing a slot to save in then anytime the game is running you call up this menu again choose which slot to load and there you go there are also options for your wallpaper I prefer black myself like all of the mini consoles out there the video output is 720p only there are five different display options that you can choose from the first is a four by three sized image integer scale three times vertically so there's a bit of black on the top and the bottom then there's the full screen four by three mode with no upper or lower bars the pixel perfect mode results in no shimmering during scrolling for most games but it's too skinny there's also a stretched out wide screen mode with no black bars if that's your thing finally there's a turbo Express mode which is cute but come on you're not gonna use this you can also apply fake scan lines on top of each mode but they don't look very good actually they do look kind of okay in the fullscreen four by three mode but they didn't bother brightening up the game image so it still looks wrong oh and you can't enable the scan lines on the turbo Express mode there is very slight shimmering during the scrolling on most games if you're playing in a four by three mode but none of you're playing in the pixel perfect mode this can vary by game for example our type has a higher horizontal resolution than the large majority of game so no matter how you set this one up you're gonna get shimmering in the scrolling the pixel perfect mode is only pixel perfect for games that are 256 pixels wide but sadly defaults to the same aspect ratio for this game which is 336 pixels wide the Japanese version is actually 352 pixels wide but it has more flicker as a result just FYI this game is the exception rather than the rule though actually I don't notice any shimmering if you're playing on the turbo Express mode so I guess if it really bothers you here's an option the entire shimmering issue could have easily been solved with a simple horizontal interpolation filter the video would be slightly softer but almost imperceptibly so if you don't notice or mind the shimmering that's a good thing and you shouldn't let any of what I'm saying here dissuade you from enjoying the system the sound itself is generally good in both card and CD based games if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty then it probably doesn't sound exactly like a real system down to the same exact frequency response but that's okay the beauty of the PC engine consoles is that it's generally easier to emulate accurately I don't have any issues with the sound quality that are worth mentioning what is worth mentioning though is the sound delay yep its back and it's just as bad as the Genesis mini the sound often occurs 7 frames after it was originally intended to occur if we're counting at 60 frames per second this is more noticeable on some games than others here's Box adventure on a real turbo graphics 16 the sound occurs right as his head touches something here's the turbo graphics mini hikes I don't know why this is such an issue with these mini consoles but clearly it is an ongoing issue no matter the platform again if you don't notice this or if it doesn't bother you then hey that's a good thing and you can ignore this observation that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist however another thing we need to talk about is the control while the controller felt good in my hands before I used it it does feel slightly stiffer than a real turbo graphics controller during actual gameplay nothing extremely significant though and maybe it'll loosen up over time but is there any control lag yes unfortunately there is my friend Chris tank tested this and found that it was between 3 to 5 frames behind real Hardware hooked up to a CRT I noticed myself dying quite a bit more on some games and this is probably why again a lot of these many systems have this issue still I was able to play most games decently well [Music] you [Music] for the most part if you've been happy with the performance of the past Nintendo and Sega mini consoles well then this one won't disappoint on the flipside if you've been disappointed with the performance then this is the same story you're gonna be disappointed here as well now on to the games that's right each and every one of them and there are others out of them I promise not to spend too much time talking about each title because overall there are 63 of them to mention as there are some hidden games in there as well let's start out with the turbo graphics 16 side of the console there are 25 games selectable when you have it in the turbo graphics 16 mode all of them are based on the North American releases and are in English airs on is a really fun shooter which is kind of based on bong everything here is excellent and it's a great inclusion gotta love the music too unless you don't alien crush is a really good video pinball game but it's nowhere near as good as Devil's crush which is sadly not on here for some reason still you can have plenty of fun with this one but really why this one instead I want answers blazing lasers is a nice overhead shooter that really stood out in this time it's music and sound give this one a fairly unique feel at least it did for me back then Bomberman 93 is a good choice if you're gonna include a Bomberman game lots of modes and options in this one and it'll keep you busy bonks revenge is the second ball game and it's probably my favorite the sound delay really annoys me in this one though listen his jump doesn't even start until he's nearly at the apex of his jump kadosh is an arcade port from Taito and it was localized by working designs he collect money and level up which adds a touch of RPG style gameplay to it it's okay I've certainly played much much much worse - man foo is a puzzle game where you need to push the colored balls to the matching squares I've got to be honest I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this one be sure to give it a try dungeon Explorer is like gauntlet for up to five players it's a fantastic game that everyone should play I'm gonna say 6 times 6 times minimum JJ and Jeff is a game that kind of plays like a cryptic version of adventure island it gets better the more you get used to its weirdness and how it works [Music] lords of thunder is an excellent CD shooter with amazing graphics and music I hope you like collecting gems there's a lot of shooters on here just say and I wish gate of Thunder was one of them military madness is a super fun strategy game if you like such things I do at least this one give it a try [Music] moto rotor is a racing game that's ruined because it's designed around multiple players all five cars have to be on the same screen at once and it's bizarre and it's just not fun utopia is a Zelda clone and a really good one if you can deal with link not being in the game you'll definitely enjoy this utopia 2 is another Zelda clone but this one is more refined now you can walk diagonally which is great still links not in here but I recommend it anyway new adventure island plays a lot like Adventure Island except new in fact I love how new everything is here even though the game is old its new unless do you think the title screen is lying so try out a new adventure island because this is the newest game on here ok ok I'll stop with that now ninja spirit is an excellent ninja game that's short but super fun and highly recommended it's pretty much mandatory that this one is on here parasol stars was one of working designs first localizations along with Kadesh it's one of those title games where you need to clear the screen and collect fruit it's good but not the best of these kinds of games I've ever played Power Golf is a powerfully bad golf game but hey it has good music its inclusion on here is just a waste of power ok there I go again I'll stop I promise actually I don't promise [Music] psychosis is an interesting horizontal shooter with some trippy visuals here and there it's definitely worth trying out our type is an amazing horizontal shooter and a classic game one of my favorite shooters I love the creature designs and the music in this version is my favorite out of any version anywhere it takes a lot of patience though [Music] soldier blade is my personal favorite in the star soldier series fun power-ups and excellent music make it even more enjoyable this would be a good time to talk about alternate versions on some games holding down the select button while you start it from the menu will give you an alternate version of that game soldier blade is one of these and it gives you a caravan mode this is basically a timed version where you try to score as many points as possible within that time doesn't sound like much fun but it actually is I'm totally stoked that they included bonus versions of some of the games on here I'll mention each of them as I go through this list Space Harrier is an awful looking port of the arcade but it does try to be quite faithful on everything else as a result it gets a pass but these days it's not for everyone if you're not a fan of the game this version probably isn't gonna win you over splatterhouse is a great game that was included after people complained about it not being present it's also the reason the box says I'm a true rating on it despite this game being pretty tame overall by today's standards victory run is a decent third-person racing game I like messing with the car parts to help out in the race I never cared much for the graphics though even when it was brand new I don't know it's just something weird about them east book 1 & 2 is a fantastic action RPG but modern gamers probably won't be able to get over the bump combat and not pressing a button to swing your sword still an incredible game though and I recommend you try to get used to the combat it's easier to control than you think [Music] now for the pc-engine games there's also a lot more hidden stuff on this side of the system so let's do this [Music] there are 32 games on the Japanese side but sadly four of them are repeats from the North American side first up is Akuma Joe Dracula X Rondo of blood I'm amazed and glad that this was included as it's one of the best Castlevania games of all time Bar None all dines is a horizontal shooter for the super graphics that's initially pretty tough until you get the hang of it I wish the colors were better but at least the music is pretty good [Music] gate ball is actually just croquet not sure why this game even exists in the first place much less was considered to be included here Bomberman 94 is the follow-up to 93 and it's just more Bomberman action Bomberman panic bomber is a CD game this is one of those match three of the same type of thing puzzle games but with the occasional bomb and stuff Cho Aniki is a horizontal shooter which reminds me of wings of war slash guy now GaN the genesis but this is a much sillier game and it's pretty fun dyma chimera is the Japanese name for ghouls and ghosts this super graphics version is really good of course it's tougher than the genesis version though are you up to the challenge because I am dragon spirit is a tough vertical shooter with cool power-ups and some really nice music I'm surprised dragon saber isn't on here actually I'm not surprised [Music] dungeon explorers here and it's the same just with a bunch of Japanese text instead of English fantasy zone is here as well it's a fun cooky game but I'm not sure why they included the Japanese version but the good news is that it doesn't matter because everything is in English fantasy zone is another game that has an alternate version if you hold a select button while choosing it from the menu the graphics and sound have been given a complete overhaul and are much better but they are still within the confines of the pc engine console this is really cool but unfortunately it's quite buggy if you die I died once in stage 2 and was resurrected in stage 1 with only 2 of the bases destroyed what the hell still is cool to mess around with Galaga 88 is known as Galaga 90 in North America it's the best Galaga game there ever was or ever will be I love it sapphire for short is a vertical shooter that required the high memory arcade card to play it's a great game but not as good as some of the other shooters on the console the original Gradius is here this one is more fun than you think the first game in the series would be cold select and you get an alternative version of gradius that's closer to the arcade the graphics are a bit better but honestly I feel that the sound is a big downgrade over the regular pc engine version [Music] Gradius to go for no yabo is the sequel this CD game is much improved but be careful because it's a lot tougher necromancer is a Japanese RPG I think why is this on here seriously the turbografx-16 mini was targeted for North America this makes no sense it has no business being here nectarous is simply the Japanese version of military madness with Japanese text as you'd expect 'not Opia is on here in case you hate being able to read it no you're safe files from the US side won't work over here same story with 'not Opia - same game but with Japanese text Ninja Gaiden is a fun surprise to see on here it's basically a port of the NES game with more color but also eye piercing scrolling that nobody ever wanted still if you love the NES games this one is absolutely worth playing if you press both the one and two button simultaneously at the title screen before you begin the cutscenes will even be in English pretty cool PC engine is the Japanese version of the original bonks adventure again I'm not sure why this is on the Japanese side of a product targeted towards North American audiences especially when he's the consoles mascot this makes no sense at all salamander is a really cool shooter from Konami you might know his life force I like this one a lot [Music] even better is the alternate version of salamander that's on here this one adds voices for the power-ups which makes it more like the arcade the graphics and music have also been beefed up a bit now [Music] is the time to mention the hidden games highlight salamander and tap the select button twice and then begin the game you get a game called force gear from Konami this is really cool and everything is giant this is a CD game despite it playing normal PSG music it's still incredibly awesome though if you highlight salamander and tap to select button three times you get twinby returns from konami this is mostly a game where you try to destroy bosses as fast as possible it's kind of sparse this minigame was originally unlockable on the CD game in Japan called tokimeki memorial but that full game is only on the pc engine Mini not the turbo graphics mini moving on sprig in is from the same people who made Musha on the genesis this is a great game definitely better than Robo a last on the Sega CD snatcher is on here don't get excited it's all in Japanese sadly wouldn't use a good junk cutting you miss video and she lit up sprig and mark - is a side-scrolling shooter where I feel your ship or robot or whatever he is moves too fast for its own good decent game otherwise though star parodia is basically Hudson's take on Konami shooter parodies this one is a parody of the Star soldier series and it's fantastic super Darius is basically just the first Darius game on CD nothing exciting here at all really unless you're really into the first Darius game this is super Momotaro Densetsu - I can't even figure out what this game is some sort of simulation I think let's be real here it has no place on this console super star soldier is another good entry in the Star soldier series it's not as good as soldier blade in my opinion but it's definitely worth playing some people even prefer this one the Genji and high ki clans is an oddly named but interesting game yeah what he said I'm not very good at this version yet but it looks like it could grow on me [Music] the kung-fu is known as China warrior on the turbo graphics you get to punch lots and lots of idiot hummingbirds and sometimes maybe even people who could ask for more The Legend of Valkyrie is a nice overhead action game from Namco I really wish this one had seen a US release because it's quite fun finally e's book 1 & 2 is on here just in case you desperately need to play it in japanese for some reason [Music] there you go the turbo graphics 16 mini overall it's a good introduction to the system's library and if you just want a decent sample of the platform then this is a good purchase overall I don't feel that you miss out on anything significant by choosing the turbo graphics 16 minute over the PC engine Mini however if you get the PC engine Mini you will miss out on splatterhouse and salamander and you want them both because they are awesome and I like I said before I think this could be much much smaller and it should be a lot of people complain about the games that they included on this but these mini consoles are really only meant to be a small taste of a platforms entire library and there's no way they can include everything that technically should be on here it's just like I said a taste as for me this is really more of a curiosity that'll probably end up on the Shelf soon but the included bonus content on here was really surprising and really awesome what do you guys think about the turbo graphics and or pc engine Mini let me know in the meantime thank you for watching game set [Music] you the turbografx-16 mini is cool so you know what it needs to be a true winner Falcon from spectrum frickin alibi with Sulkin you can experience true aerial combat indistinguishable from reality falcon only spectrum holobyte can push the turbo graphics 16 to the next level with up to 12 real polygons 16-bit power falcon is the only software used to train all pilots military and commercial so stupid you don't even have falcon all you ever do is fail you don't even try hard enough I don't even know why I wished anytime with you you're so dumb the turbografx-16 mini does have a croquet game though hmm a miaar shot and then hit the ball with the mallet 16-bit power the next generation of gaming is here I'm sorry turbo graphics 16 mini I didn't mean to yell at you I promise it will never happen again I'm emotionally stable now you forgive me right

Channel: Game Sack

Views: 177,487

Keywords: sega, nintendo, turbografx, gameplay, videogames, retro, genesis, snes, nes, msx, trubo graphics, turbob, turbo graphics, turbographics, turbo grafx, turbo graffix, turbo grafics, nec, mini, turbo mini, turbografx mini, pc engine mini, coregrafx mini, core grafx mini, review, turbografx mini review, konami

Id: dyZHjUkr21M

Length: 24min 15sec (1455 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 06 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/STARCADE2084]

Joe's beard is looking extra mighty this week. Looks like he has the chromakeying dialed in better than in previous eps, he looks more fleshy, less grey.

I liked the rapid-fire reviews. No need to dwell, there are shitloads of others on YouTube who've already done this. Well done, Joe!

[u/sluggishschizo]

The TG16 was such an ugly console. They shouldve kept the PC Engine's form factor and just made it black.

I guess they were going with the "bigger = more powerful" angle. Like my ex-girlfriend used to say, bigger isn't necessarily better.

[u/Matthew0606]

I might actually buy this.