Alright, I know what you're all thinking before I even hit "submit" — "here we go, another Nintendo/Sega dork trying to be edgy." Nope. I'm here to put some respect on the name of the console that NOBODY talks about but everybody SHOULD: the TurboGrafx-16.
Let's get the obvious out of the way — yeah, it flopped in the US. Yeah, NEC fumbled the marketing so bad it's basically a business school case study on what not to do. But sales numbers don't mean the machine wasn't stacked, and I'm tired of pretending otherwise.
The HuCard format was slick. Little credit-card-sized game cartridges before it was cool to have tiny cartridges. Loaded almost instantly, easy to store a stack of them in literally your pocket. Try doing that with a Genesis cart.
Bonk's Adventure. That's it, that's the argument. A caveman who headbutts dinosaurs to death. Peak gaming. Tell me Mario ever headbutted anything.
The shooter library is unmatched. People sleep on this so hard it's criminal. Blazing Lazers, Gate of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, Super Star Soldier — this console was basically a shmup factory and every single one of them still holds up. If you like bullet-hell style shooters even a little bit, the TG-16 library will humble you.
TurboGrafx-CD was ahead of its time. CD-ROM add-on before Sega even had theirs fully figured out. Yeah the load times could be rough sometimes and the FMV games from that era are goofy as hell now, but you have to respect a company trying to push into the future while everyone else was still cranking out cartridges.
Ys Book I & II is one of the most underrated RPG experiences on any console from that generation, full stop. The soundtrack alone deserves a shrine.
Look, I'm not saying it beat the SNES or Genesis in sales, marketing, or mascots. I'm saying pound for pound, game for game, the TG-16 punched WAY above its weight class and deserves way more love than the "who?" reaction it usually gets. It was the console for people who actually cared about tight gameplay over hype.
Anyway that's my hill, I will die on it. Roast me. 🔥
Who else had one of these growing up or picked one up used later? Tell me your favorite HuCard, I need more ammo for my collection.
TurboGrafx-16 is the best console ever created.
Respect for being first thread in here TurboGrafx-16. I remember the TG-16 🤣 This thing had an uphill climb with both the Genesis and Game Boy releasing around the same time. Not to mention the Super Nintendo. Looked up the TG-16 shmup list. You're right impressive for back then.
I am a Goddess..