NEC's attempt to boost up it's ailing TurboGrafx 16.
While the system was quite small in Japan (where it was called the PC-Engine CD-ROM2), the TurboGrafix CD was made substantially larger, most likely in order to fit with the enlarged TurboGrafx 16 console. The enlarging of hardware in the US by NEC was in part due to the perception that Americans simply prefered their things large. However, this had the side-effect of making the system look far less attractive. Also, the initial price of $400 made it an unnattractive buy. Worse off, even the Turbo fanbase would mostly stay away, waiting instead for the Turbo Duo (PC Engine Duo in Japan), which combined Turbochip and CD functionality into a far sleeker system.
In addition to being extremely bulky, the unit required a "System Card" (a TurboChip with information needed to access the CD drive) to be inserted into the TurboGrafx 16's card slot. Updated system cards were later released to give the unit the same memory capacity as the updated Turbo Duo.
A plus for the unit is that it had an internal RAM, allowing for users to save their gameplay without buying seperate RAM modules for their system.
Full-motion-animation was not used much in games for the Turbo CD, this being before the "multimedia gaming" fad that the Sega CD and the 3DO fell into. The cinematics in the games were usually anime in nature, which served to partially hide the limits of the unit's 1X CD drive, with some of the most beautiful cutscenes being present in Ys Book I and II, Cosmic Fantasy 2, and the remake of Valis: The Fantasm Soldier.
The system didn't have that many games released for it, but with no region lock on the CDs, it was entirely possible to play Japanese CD-ROM games, so long as they did not require the Japan-only Arcade Card.
TurboGrafx CD - Recent Games
TurboGrafx CD - Upcoming Games
| Name | Platform | Developer |
|---|
| Platform Name: | TurboGrafx CD |
| Release Date: | Aug. 1, 1990 |
| Online Support: | False |
| Install Base: | 0 |
| Original Price: | $400 |
| Producing Company: | NEC Technologies, Inc. |
| Total Games: | games |
|
Yuko Asho first in Valis: The Fantasm Soldier |
4
|
|
Ranma Saotome first in Ranma 1/2 |
3
|
|
Bonk first in Bonk's Adventure |
3
|
|
Adol Christin first in |
3
|
|
Genma Saotome first in Ranma 1/2 |
2
|
|
Ryoga Hibiki first in Ranma 1/2 |
2
|
|
Akane Tendo first in Ranma 1/2 |
2
|
|
Sherlock Holmes first in |
2
|
|
Maria Renard first in Castlevania: Dracula X |
1
|
|
Retsu first in Street Fighter |
1
|
|
Japan first in |
5
|
|
Earth first in |
3
|
|
Space first in Spacewar! |
1
|
|
Dungeon first in |
1
|
|
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari first in |
1
|
|
Palace first in |
1
|
|
Persia first in Prince of Persia |
1
|
|
Moscow first in |
1
|
|
Europe first in |
1
|
|
Transylvania first in |
1
|
|
2D first in Computer Space |
10
|
|
Jump first in Donkey Kong |
8
|
|
Non-Player Character first in |
6
|
|
Magic first in |
6
|
|
Combo first in Street Fighter II |
5
|
|
Melee first in |
5
|
|
Martial Arts first in |
5
|
|
Cheat Code first in Manic Miner |
5
|
|
Game Over first in |
4
|
|
Health first in |
4
|
|
Sword first in |
6
|
|
Fireball first in Super Mario Bros. |
4
|
|
Whip first in Vampire Killer |
3
|
|
Potion first in Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord |
3
|
|
Water first in |
3
|
|
Axe first in |
2
|
|
Meat first in |
2
|
|
Knife first in |
2
|
|
Longsword first in |
1
|
|
Giant Axe first in |
1
|
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