TG16.. Booster ? / let me introduce myself

GoldenCage

GoldenCage

CAG Veteran
Hi all ,

I just joined the forum this morning looking for some advice and input on my newest fixation: the TG-16. Let me introduce myself and set up my story..

so I just moved into the country (North Carolina) from Brooklyn, NY. I am a bit of an artist and spent most of my time in Brooklyn unemployed, scowering the streets and thrift stores and trash cans for debris & gunk to decorate my house & use in artwork.. anyway, long story short, about a year ago I found a red bag next to a trash can that someone had wrote "WORKS!" on, in marker. I opened up the bag and much to my surprise - there was a beautiful TG-16 system, controllers and everything.
Let me flash back to 1990, I was 10 years old and a NES junkie !! My family never had too much extra money to spend on video games and the like.. I owned plenty of games but more often than not was a heavy duty game renter, pretty much had 2 or more games rented out of the local video store weekly. (let's set the stage - I grew up in rural southern New Hampshire). ANYWAY, my best friend at the time got a Turbo Grafx 16, and I was completely floored by the thing - I really really loved it, wanted it more than anything. Took me about 15 years but I finally got my own!

Anyway, I didn't start gaming again until a couple weeks ago, when I moved out of the city. I bought a couple of games I remembered on Ebay: Keith Courage (of course), Ninja Spirit, Chew Man Fu (had never heard of this one but a youtube demonstration sealed the deal!), Fantasy Zone and Dungeon Explorer. Anyway, I'm having a great time ,and all of this cost me (including the system, of course) about $40. (which is great, as I'm still unemployed, and have to watch every penny I let go of)

SO , the reason I joined and decided to bug you guys with my own personal problems - -- I WANT MORE !!!

this TG16 gaming lyfestyle is my new thing for sure .. although I'm keeping it pretty low key and laid back , lights out and the shades drawn, smoke in the air, etc etc.

anyway guys, it wasn't until this morning that I learned about the Multi tap . This is a no brainer for me - I gotta get one! I figure I'll be patient and wait until the next time I see a Tap + extra controller on Ebay and snag it.

another new find, and the thing I'm most curious about: TURBO BOOSTER. is it really worth it? Does it improve the graphics by a land slide? Am I going to notice? As I said before, I fancy myself a bit of an artist and I LOVE the early 90s video game graphics.. Huge waves of nostalgia wash over me.. I would have no problem laying down a couple bucks for a Booster if I was really going to notice the difference in the visuals. I like the cool synth music a lot too, and I understand the booster tweaks the audio and makes it better as well. What do you guys think? Does a newly converted TG fan need to shell out the dough for the booster or what? Also, I know this Turbo Booster Plus adds a memory card, which is definately cool. . . but I think they run about twice as expensive as the no-frills Booster, right?

I guess my first concern then, is wether to invest the money / time into tracking down a booster ..

If your grandmother only had a couple hundred bucks in savings but decided she loved the TG-16 and was having a hell of a good time playing it , would you reccomend the old lady spend some of her meager money on a Boost, or what?

Dying to hear from other Cheap Ass Gamers such as myself .. :bouncy:
 
Welcome to CAG. I think your lengthy initial post, along with the obscurity of the question, may have scared some people off.

From my research, the Turbo Booster Plus allows for saving game data and RCA AV cable input. Is that worth $30 or so on eBay? Depends on how much you play. Also, I don't know if every game is compatible. Most of the long ones (Neutopia, Military Madness) use password systems anyway, but it'd probably be nice for Splatterhouse or Bonk or something.

I probably wouldn't bother, personally, but I'm not in a TG-16 resurgence like you are.
 
Welcome,

The regular turbobooster (I don't have a plus) does clean the graphics up a good bit (being RCA vs rf input). I don't know what they are going for lately, but I am very happy with mine. It is definitely a noticable improvement, atleast in my opinion. Happy TG hunting!
 
hey folks, thanks for all the responses.

let's see.. Violent Lee had me convinced I didn't actually need the Turbo Booster, as I couldn't care less wether the system was hooked into the TV via an RCA cable or the RF ... UNTIL Cpt. Insane-o suggested the apparatus actually does clean up the graphics. Being a graphic man, I'm all for it! I think you're right though, maybe I'll quit looking at Ebay & start combing the streets more for more gear.

Yeah, EvilMax, it was a good find! Recently I also found A GUITAR !
Recently I was also mugged and robbed, so I guess fate gives and takes too, huh.

anyway, get out there and find what YOU'VE been looking for!
(and that includes Bomberman for Urzi).

thanks guys,

PS Tell me more !
 
Quick follow up = I'm watching those PCEngineFX-TV segments on youtube.. Inspirational stuff!!

I gotta get out there and find a TurboDuo or CD!
 
[quote name='GoldenCage']Quick follow up = I'm watching those PCEngineFX-TV segments on youtube.. Inspirational stuff!!

I gotta get out there and find a TurboDuo or CD![/QUOTE]

Hudson just announced they will be putting TurboDuo/CD stuff on Virtual Console for those of us who own a Wii.
 
Its actually possible to get composite video and stereo sound directly off of the humongous pin connector on the back. This is what I was doing when I had mine hooked up. It's probably not quite as nice as the Booster, but it is an alternative you may consider. You can find the pinout online somewhere, if you're up for it.
 
A better alternative to the Turbobooster would probably be just getting the CD add on (or if you're a huge fan, a US Turbo Duo). Yes it costs more but it'll let you play more games (including JP CD based ones).

At this point I only have a Japanese Duo R hooked up which lets me play pretty much everything except US Hucards. It runs through A/V hookups (composite video?) and looks pretty good.
 
I am also having a turbo resurgence and was about to post about games people recommend. I have put in a good deal of cash so far, but what am I missing? (preferably on the cheap) This is what I have so far along with the price paid.

Neo Nectaris - $7
Davis Cup - $1.50
Sherlock Holmes - $1.50
Dracula X - $100
CD Denjin (Super Air Zonk) - $27
Alien Crush - $7
Cosmic Fantasy 2 (sealed) - $27
Exile (sealed) - $27
I already have from my TG-16 days
Bonk's Adventure
Air Zonk
Keith Courage
TV Sports Hockey
Military Madness
Bonk's Revenge (have access)
Raiden (have access)

I think I have all the good expensive games down (outside Bonk 3), so what cheap ones can I get?
 
Yeah, I'm thinking about getting the TurboDuo & selling what I've got now when that happens. Can you send me a link to the instructions for this mod, SkiDragon? I've worked on circuits before, I think I can handle it.

Otherguy, sounds like a great list there. A bit better than mine , although I think I've got more of the classics covered. So far I have:

Bonk's Revenge
Legendary Axe II
Keith Courage
Fantasy Zone
Bloody Wolf
Ninja Spirit
Fu Man Chew
Vigilante
Dungeon Explorer
Takin' it to the Hoop


so far all have cost me between $5 and $10 a piece.

I know a lot of gamers consider some of these titles far from perfect, but that isn't an issue for me. I say just have fun ...
 
I've been thinking about it, and aren't the CD games usually expensive? There's a lot of competition out there, they usually go in the $50 range? Am I right? I know some of the more rare titles can be $100+. I'm thinking maybe a Duo is going to lead me down the road of buying expensive games. Being a Cheap Ass Gamer, I may be better off sticking to the HuCards.
 
Yeah, CD games can be a bit more pricey, but it opens up the library as the jap Duo had an extremely long and healthy life span. Today I spent $25 on the Gate of Thunder/Bonk's Adventure/ Bonk's Revenge/ Bomberman package, which was a good deal (they sell for $40 plus), however still pricey.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top