TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx 16

The PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16 has many variations such as the Duo, TurboExpress, and SuperGrafx. The SuperGrafx is recommended as it plays all PC-Engine games, graphically improves a few, and has 5 exclusive games. HuCard converters aren't hard to come by either. Also this system is home to many, many beautiful games with beautiful soundtracks and rather impressive specs for its time! If you like shoot 'em ups this is the system for you.

[* Denotes the game is also available on the Turbo CD]

[** Denotes the game is a SuperGrafx exclusive]

The List

Title	Genre	Description	Package Art
1941 Counter Attack**	Shoot 'em Up	Capcom's World War II themed arcade shmup comes to the Supergrafx. Has barrel rolls, thunder bombs, and bigass warships.
1943 Kai	Shoot 'em Up	Actually came out before 1941. It's a bit more hectic and has slightly different gameplay, but still good.
Air Zonk	Shoot 'em Up	Air Zonk came out after Bonk had started his mascot-dom on NEC's console. Air Zonk was an attempt to take Bonk, make him futuristic (rename him Zonk?), and make him have more of an 'attitude' (again to compete with Sonic). Then they took this character and threw him into a shooting game. And it was a triumph. This game is fast paced and fun, old school shmup action. Definitely one of the better HuCard games. Zonk went on to become the mascot for the Turbo-Duo! Has a sequel on the Turbo-CD but it's made by a different team, is one of the rarest (if not the rarest) and most expensive Turbo-CD games and really can't compare to this game. Both are on the Virtual Console.
Alien Crush	Pinball / Action	Wow a pinball game on the TG16. Actually a lot of fun, seriously. Creepy atmospheres and fast-paced pinball action keep you hooked onto this one for quite some time. The box-art is a liar, though. I mean, with it simply saying 'action' in the corner, you'd expect something like Contra, amirite?
Aoi Blink	Platformer	A platformer that puts you in random teams of three throughout stages. Each ally will have different attributes of speed and jump height, but most notably, weapon attacks. Many stages revolve around these attributes and enemies formations are placed regarding weapons, which makes you take advantage of each ally. Somewhat non-linear in a SMB3 kinda way.
Battle Lode Runner	Puzzle	Lode Runner involves making pitfalls infront or behind you to trap your enemies. Single player is standard fare, involving golds and escaping. The multiplayer takes some getting used to, but's a rather unique and fun experience. Also, if you love level editors, you'll have time to spend with this game.
Blazing Lazers	Shoot 'em Up	It's no secret that the TG16 was a system to own if you were fond of shmups. And with games like Blazing Lazer, there's no question as to why. A great shmup with good visuals and stellar gameplay.
Bloody Wolf	Run 'n Gun	Data East's answer to Contra, Commando, and Ikari all in one. Run around gunning up enemy soldiers and enter buildings to rescue hostages and find extra gear. You can even ride a motorcycle to tear through enemy lines! Lacks the arcade 2-player but has notable enhancements to make it better if you're going to solo.
Bomberman	Puzzle / Action	Despite the name, this isn't a port of the NES title. However, gameplay is the classic Bomberman gameplay you'd expect. Always a good time, especially in multiplayer. There's a story that no one gives a shit about.
Bomberman '93	Puzzle / Action	Another classic Bomberman game, although this one is vastly improved in the basic mechanics of gameplay and visuals. This one has a cult classic status for some reason I can't explain.
Bomberman '94 *	Puzzle / Action	I'm not sure how Hudson Soft kept managing to improve Bomberman, but they did. This one improves well over 93', and well past the first on the system. This game is Japanese Only though. If you prefer, you can find it on Genesis/MegaDrive as Mega Bomberman here in the West, although, people say they prefer the TG-16 version.
Bonk's Adventure	Platformer	Fuckwin platformer game that really outshined its main competition (Alex Kidd/Sonic), but was doomed to obscurity because of poor TG16 sales. Your main attack is your head. The level design in this game is fantastic.
Bonk's Revenge*	Platformer	This game is absolutely everything a sequel should be, god damnit. It takes everything that was right about the first, and improves it. The stages are bigger, the abilities are more varied, the colors are more crisp, and it's just overall better. Which is a great thing, since the original was a fantastic game to begin with.
Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure*	Platformer	Bonk, but with multiplayer features. Most people can't put there finger on it, but this game is actually not as good as the first two. Kind of a dissapointment. It's mostly due to the weaker level designs and uninspired new abilities. However, don't get me wrong, it's still a fun game, but go for the original two before shelling out for this one.
Chew Man Fu	Arcade / Puzzle	550 levels of ball rolling puzzle action and racism against the Chinese!? You bet your ass you'll dig it! Put your balls into the appropriate slots. You can also kill enemies with your balls. (Note: I don't know why they just didn't stick with this cover instead)
Columns	Puzzle	It's fucking Columns. If you didn't have a Sega system to play it on, here's your chance. Match and chain falling gems for a high score.
Detana! Twinbee	Cute 'em Up	Has a unique and cool bell-power up system that changes what you get when you shoot a bell X # of times, team-up attacks in two-player, gorgeous stages, great soundtrack, and despite being cute as a button, this game gets hard as big bronze bells.
Devil's Crush	Pinball / Action	The spiritual successor to Alien Crush, Devil's Crush is another creepy, fast paced pinball romp that will definitely get you addicted. Made by the same team and everything.
Dungeon Explorer	Adventure / RPG	This is like somebody wanted to mix Gauntlet with an RPG game, so they did. Very, very fun with friends.
Dragon's Curse	Platforming / Action-RPG	(Port of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap on Master System.) You play as a mighty, but cursed hero who got turned into a dragon. By beating down other giant dragons, you can get "cursed" with new forms such a merman, a mouse-man, etc. Each form has situational advantages which the game is designed for masterfully. Comparable to Zelda1+Zelda 2, but is closer to Faxanadu. Just as good as the Master System game but they didn't really take advantage of the TurboGrafx superior specs.
Fantasy Zone	Cute 'em Up	One of the Cute 'em up pioneers. This has you playing as a sentient futuristic winged ship that shoots down various critters in a looping plane then taking on the stage boss when they've had enough. Before that happens, be sure to upgrade by spending money at the shop ships in stages. The Master System version is arguably better.
Final Soldier	Shoot 'em Up	Another shmup in Hudson's "Soldier" series. This one lets you choose which weapons power-ups will grant before the game starts. (Amusingly, it was only the third Soldier game of eight.)
Genji Tsushin Agedama	Platformer / Shoot 'em Up	One of the best games you've never heard of. A platforming shmup ala Monster Lair, but without the hunger bar. Notable for it's power-up boosted charge-shot system which launches SIXTEEN different attacks depending on your level of charge. Japanese only, but you never need to read anything. Gets fuckhard later on, so master that roll and high jump.
Ghouls n' Ghosts/ Dai Makaimura **	Platformer	Without a doubt the single best port. Very accurate due to the SuperGrafx upgrade! The audio of the SuperGrafx was the only thing left unchanged from the PC-Engine, other than that the SuperGrafx is a PC-Engine on roids and manages an almost perfect port.
Gradius	Shoot 'em Up	Japan-only PC-Engine port of the classic arcade shmup. Closer to arcade-perfect than the NES version, and even contains an exclusive stage not found anywhere else.
The Legendary Axe	Platformer / Adventure	A great game, seriously. It won EGM's game of the year award in 1989, and for good reason. The Legendary Axe brings excellent gameplay to a system that was, at the time, very new. Probably one of top 5 must owns. Bears a strong resemblance to Aystanax on the NES. Creator, Tokuhiro Takemori, was also the designer on Astynax and considers this game a spiritual sequel.
The Legendary Axe II	Platformer / Adventure	This game bears almost NO resemblance to the first, and is much weaker in gameplay and design. It's pretty ugly too. However, it's still a good game in its own right. Just not nearly as good as the original. Still worthy of your playtime.
Magical Chase (US version)	Cute 'em Up	A somewhat obscure, but very fun and whimsical horizontal shmup. Your shooting star options, along with a few other factors can be modified at balloon shops. The US version had many notable improvments, so play that one for sure.
Military Madness	SRPG / Combat	A STRATEGY GAME ON THE TURBOGRAFX HOLY FUCK. This game is pretty good. Designed very solid, controls well, deep gameplay, hard as fuck. A must for strategy nuts.
Momotaro Katsugeki	Platformer	A well done platformer by Hudson based on Peach Boy Momotaro. Kinda like a mix of Bonk and Wonderboy in visuals, but with standard platormer action only you hack n' slash instead of just jumping on your enemies. The music is bright, cheerful, and rather Japanese as expected.
Neutopia	Adventure	A shameless Zelda ripoff, but hey, it's actually really good. Shmup experience helps here as bosses (and some enemies) like to use some bullet patterns in addition to rushing you. The Neutopia series had a spiritual successor in the Bomberman Quest/Story series for Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and DS (although the DS entry is weaker than previous games).
Neutopia II	Adventure	The slightly modified engine from the first makes a world of difference here. It's a bit closer to Zelda here, but still has that unique flair the first had. If you don't play 1, definitely play this if you've wanted an old-school Zelda in the slew of new ones.
New Adventure Island	Platformer	Something of a remix of the first game. It has superior controls and is notably more animated. It's less brutal too, as Game Over-ing won't send you back to the very start without Hachisuke (the Hudson bee mascot).
Ninja Gaiden	Platformer	A slightly more colorful version of the NES classic. Pretty much the same thing with better graphics, but some find the music to be inferior to the NES version. It's a Japanese exclusive game but theres a password to translate the game into English!
Ninja Spirit	Arcade / Platformer	Ninja Spirit is a port of a cool arcade ninja game. I don't know what else to tell you, I think it's alright. TurboGrafx lovers always rave about this game.
Parasol Stars	Arcade / Puzzle / Platformer	According to Taito, Bub and Bob from Bubble Bobble were actually humans who had been turned into dragons by evil monsters. They turned back into humans in the sequel. This is the third game, where you control Bub and Bob in their human forms, going through lots of fun puzzle platforming action. Reminiscent in gameplay of the original, but not exactly like it.
Parodius (DA!)	Shoot 'em Up	Port of the first Konami Gradius parody series. Pretty damn close to the arcade original. Despite being weird as heck, it still manages to be hard and is full of Konami and Gradius references for the fans. You might want to try the Super Famicom Version instead.
R-Type	Shoot 'em Up	This is, without a doubt, the best port of R-Type on early systems. It's not arcade perfect, it's better than the arcade version. Wow. The U.S. version managed to stick the game on one HuCard, but the Japanese version requires two, so if you're gonna get it, go with the Western port.
Raiden	Shoot 'em Up	Yup, another TG16 shmup. A great game in its own right, a very well done arcade port with an excellent soundtrack.
Salamander	Shoot 'em Up	(A.K.A Life Force) A spinoff to Konami's Gradius shmup series. This has a simplified power-up system and has horizontal and vertical stages that both work remarkably well.
Soldier Blade	Shoot 'em Up	Another great shmup, this one is noticeable for probably having the best gameplay mechanics on the system. It just feels much tighter than any of the other shmups mentioned in this list.
Somer Assault	Action / Platformer / Shoot 'em Up	This is a real love it or hate it game. It's an early Atlus game. You're a slinky that shoots stuff basically. It's fucking weird.
Space Harrier	Shoot 'em Up	A notably good looking arcade port. Fly around the screen and shoot weird aliens flying at you. A bit dated, but definitely worth trying at least once. The 32X has the best port by far.
Splatterhouse	Beat 'em Up	What is there to say about Splatterhouse? The series has cult classic status for its great gameplay, horrific atmosphere, and gory visuals. This is a port of the first arcade game, and the only available home-console version. The only real noticeable difference from the arcade is that the 'mask' is red instead of white... The two sequels to follow were ported to the Genesis instead.
Super Star Soldier	Shoot 'em Up	A Hudson shmup classic. A sequel to Star Soldier on NES, if you knew the first game, expect to be blown away by its sequel. The ante in this was shot lightyears ahead of shmups past. Still a wonderful game. And still quite hard.
Tower of Druaga	Puzzle / Action-RPG	The first Arcade Action-RPG ever. You walk around Pac-man like levels killing slimes, wizards, demons, etc. collecting treasures, and try to open doors to higher floors via tasks. It's also screen-punchingly hard. There's a translation patch for "Druaga no Tou" that clears stuff up, but it's still hard. But you aren't a real man until you've cried at this game at least once.
Turrican	Run 'n Gun / Platformer	Turrican is a really cool game that was heavily, HEAVILY inspired by Metroid. There's a morph ball function, damnit. I hesitate to call it a clone or knock-off though, because it's a really interesting and fun game in its own right with plenty of its own ideas. Apparently the TG16 is the best version.
Valkyrie No Densetsu (Legend of Valkyrie)	Platformer / Adventure / Run 'n gun	A remix of the Arcade version, this features the woman who inspired Cassandra's alternate costume in the Soul Calibur series. It's a great action platformer that involves finding hidden secrets, helping people, exploring dungeons, and so forth. Has options for up to two players simultaneously and is totally fun.

Turbo CD

This is the list of recommended games released for the TG16's CD attachment add-on, the Turbo CD. The Super CD was an upgrade of the Turbo CD. No region protection so nothing to worry about.

The List

Title	Genre	Description	Package Art
Akumajōu Dracula X Chi no Rondo	Platformer / Adventure	This is the prequel to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Yes, it's a Japanese ONLY game, but that shouldn't stop you from getting it. Why? Because it's amazing. It's really that good. Plus, the CD add-on could play Japanese games without a converter or modification. You really owe it to yourself to get this game if you have a Turbo/Super CD. It was ported to the PSP (in English) WITH Symphony of the Night as Dracula X Chronicles, so check that version out if you're lazy. Also available on Wii Virtual Console.
Beyond Shadowgate	Adventure	If you've never played Shadowgate on the NES or early Mac, then go back and play that first. Done? Okay, now onto Beyond Shadowgate. Great adventure game in the style of early PC titles like King's Quest, except you can legitmately attack. Interesting sequel with plenty of cool scenarios. The series had a third game on N64, called Shadowgate 64.
Buster Bros.	Puzzle	Pop menacing bubbles with your harpoon gun. The stages start easy, but add more and more elements, such as ladders and barriers, to make things more challenging. Don't be a buster: hook up an extra pad, and play this game with a bro. Just be aware of your shots since sporadic bubble-bursting may lead into accidental player-kills.
Chiki Chiki Boys	Platformer	a.k.a Mega Twins. A port of the fun-tastic arcade game. Slash, magic, and super-jump your way through a fairly lengthy world filled with cute monsters to kill. After each stage you can buy upgrades to boost your abilities. Unlike most games, this has surprisingly fair-challenge water levels! You can also play with a second player, a feature some home consoles didn't include. It's a tad bit slower than the Arcade and Mega Drive/Genesis version, but still a damn good game. It's also kind of hard later on.
Cosmic Fantasy 2	RPG	Kind of a hard sell nowadays, but worth checking out for the Retro RPG-loving crowd. It didn't make any spectacular breakthroughs, but what it did do, it did well. It's sort of mix of fantasy and sci-fi, akin to Phantasy Star (Hey, wait a-). It also has quite a bit of cutscenes and voice acting, which are done pretty damn well. The script is also well done, but could you expect anything less from Working Designs? Try it out. Even if the plot's a bit cliche, it has some worthwhile unexpected twists.
Cotton	Cute 'em Up	Another fun cute 'em up. Like Magical Chase, you play as a witch. Uses a neat weapon system as well. Excellent soundtrack. Also on Playstation and sequels and spinoffs on numerous platforms.
Double Dragon II	Beat 'em Up	Double Dragon is a name you should know. Double Dragon II doubly so. Arguably twice as badass as the first game, Willy's gang are up to no good again and it's up to you to take them out. This game added a back-attack and a few new moves as well. The sprites look a little funky, but the action's as good as it ever was, even more so with 2 players. Added cutscenes and improved music make this a hit worth revisiting. Fun Fact: This version was made by Kid, the team behind games such as Ever 17!
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes	RPG	One of Falcom's many entries of their legendary Dragon Slayer series. This one is not action, but turn-based like some of the later games. It's still quite solid, since no matter what the genre, Falcom likes to put alot of effort into their games. As Prince Logan, you venture to find companions and conquer evil. Sadly the second game was not localized. Typical Falcom, yo.
Dungeon Explorer II	Action-Adventure / RPG	The Gauntlet-like RPG is back, and bigger and better than ever! Choose one of 8 character, switch characters, get new characters, talk to people, slay monsters, take on bigass bosses (each of whom are quite varied in strategy), explore new areas, avoid traps, learn new information and abilities, oh, and explore dungeons! And like the first, up to 5 players can play at once! One could go on and on about this game, but this good fellow sums it up masterfully.
Exile	Platformer / RPG	A curious Action-RPG about a 12th century Syrian Assassin who time-travels, kills religious and political figures, and smokes weed erryday (among other drugs). And he's the good guy! It's kind of like Ys3 in terms of gameplay, but a bit harder and cheaper at times. Still, the story is hella crazy and the action is fine. Just beware of the sequel, since it's accidentally super-hard. You can read more about the interesting aspects of the series HERE.
Final Zone II	Run 'n Gun	A game in the vein of Commando and Ikari Warriors, but notably faster-paced. You can have multiple weapons at once, you have different teammates, and there's even some vertical shmup sequences. It even has a story woven into it, with cutscenes between stages, making it feel kind of like you're playing the action sequences of a movie. The action, music, and voices are pretty well done, but holy shit, have you seen the US cover art? Trust me you don't wanna. At least the in-game graphics are a lot better...
Fray in Magical Adventure	Run 'n Gun	A spinoff to the Xak series featuring heroine, Fray. Oddly enough, no versions of this play exactly the same. The PC versions play the most RPG like, and the Game Gear is pure action, putting this one at a nice in-between. All 3 are run n' gun shooters though, comparable to Legend of Valkyrie, thanks to the upgrades and jumping. If you liked that, you'll likely enjoy this. There's some Japanese text, but brute-forcing your way through it isn't too hard.
Gain Ground SX	Strategy	Sega's strategic shooter is back! Warriors of all kinds have been gathered to face fierce challenges, but if they band together, they can overcome this threat! Carefully maneuver around enemies and take them out from safe areas, and be sure to rescue fellow warriors that you find. Remember! They act as your extra lives, so take caution. As you gain more characters, you'll find they have different modes of attack. This makes some of them better for some stages than others. Sadly, this version lacks 2-player.
Garou Densetsu Special	Fighting	a.k.a. Fatal Fury Special. This is one of the classic SNK fighters that many Neo-Geo lovers adore. Well, now the Turbo-Fans can get in on the act, too! Pretty solid port, and the CD audio is damn cool.
Gate of Thunder	Shoot 'em Up	Whoo, another shmup. This one has a cult-status for two reasons: it had an amazing soundtrack, and it was a pack-in game for it's US release. Since there is no real package art for the US version, I used the Japanese one. The U.S. version comes with Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, and a secret Bomberman title. That's a damn good pack-in.
Ginga Fukei Densetsu: Sapphire	Shoot 'em Up	A vertical shmup from Hudson. Good enough for me. Oh, and it supports 2-players? Even better. One of their last entries on the Turbo family, and definitely one of their better, yet fairly unknown games, since it never made it stateside. It uses some REALLY neat visual effects for a console that's not too known for visual "punch". I mean, just take a look at this video and try to keep your jaw from dropping, especially considering the usual PCE fare.
Godzilla	Fighting	A fighting game where you tear shit up as Godzilla or one of 14 other big badass monsters. Not only is it good, it's fucking Godzilla, you shouldn't think twice about wanting to play this because you already know you want to.
Gradius II : GOFER no Yabou	Shoot 'em Up	Near-arcade perfect port of one of the best classic Gradius titles. Even includes a exclusive stage. Also available on Wii Virtual Console for 900 Wii Points
J.B. Harold Murder Club	Point and Click / Mystery	A detective game that's text-and-menu-heavy. This sub-genre has long been popular in Japan, but due to the loads of text, and because it is hard to get into, the games don't often go overseas and, as a result, only vibe with a niche crowd. That said, if mystery and investigation intrigue you, this good man can explain the game in better detail than I could ever hope to: Hear him out and give it a shot. Protip: Like in real-life, patience is key for this game.
Jim Power	Platformer	The somewhat infamous game on home computers actually had a console port outside of Sega and SNES! This version is pretty much lifted from the Amiga, but also has passwords, cutscenes, voices, and a delicious soundtrack rearrangement into CD-audio by that musical master, Chris Hulsbeck. That said, it's pretty damn hard, thanks to the one-hit deaths. If you actually want to beat this, you might consider the Atari version, which is made to be easier.
Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman 3: Ikai no Princess	Platformer	The sequel to Shockman, a pretty decent HuCard game. Part of a trilogy (and a gaiden game), this takes elements from the first two Shubibinman games; but, it's not a perfect mix as one would hope. It's a bit better than Shockman, but also less challenging and, at times, less inspired. However, it often exceeds at different areas, so it's sometimes hard to compare the two. Whether you play with a 2nd player or alone, you ought to give this a try, even if you never played Shockman.
Lords of Thunder	Shoot 'em Up	The pseudo-sequel to Gate of Thunder. It has similar mechanics and gameplay, but with a fantasy setting. You play as Landis, a pimp ass god-knight and savior of the lands. Choose the elemental armor of your choice (your main projectile is based on it) and even get up close and rip and tear with your sword. Like most PC Engine/TG16 games this has a great soundtrack, but is also metal as fuck. This game would make Dio himself smile with delight (if he ever played it).
Popful Mail	RPG / Platformer	Another of Falcom's classics. it's on a bunch of other systems but they're all really different. This one seems to be a revamped version of the PC-98 port. Visually this is the best version even if the characters are all much smaller. Music is just as good if not better than the other ports. This one wasn't realesed outside Japan though.
Puyo Puyo CD	Puzzle	Pretty much the Mega Drive game with CD quality sound and music.
Puyo puyo CD Tsu	Puzzle	Sequel to the game above, pretty much the Same as the Mega Drive game with CD bonuses.
Steam Hearts	Shoot 'em Up / Hentai	A bunch of sexy catgirl bosses are infected by a virus, it's up to you to subdue them and inject them with the only known cure: your man juice! The gameplay for the shmup sequences (the majority of the game) is kinda slow and congested compared to other versions, as the Super CD version was stripped (no pun intended). If you guessed, yes, it's Japanese ONLY. But Super CD games can be played on American systems without modification...you sick fucks.
Super Air Zonk: Rockabilly Paradise	Shoot 'em Up	This is a decent shoot em up. Not amazing, but definitely playable in any respect. It's definitely falters from the first entry Air Zonk (on HuCard), and it's probably because the games were made by two different teams. Still worth checking out.
The Dynastic Hero	Metroidvania	Port of Wonder Boy in Monster World on the Genesis/Mega Drive. Upgrade your weapon & armor and change helpers to explore the world. Contains different music from the Genesis/Mega Drive version that some might prefer. Also has added cutscenes.
Ys Book I & II	Adventure / RPG	The Ys series kind of takes off after Zelda in gameplay and puzzle construction, but story-wise, fits more along the lines of a Final Fantasy epic. A series with a huge cult status, many say the best way to play the first two is this version.
Ys III	Adventure / RPG	If you liked Ys Book I & II then, hey, you're in luck! Maybe. The third Ys and the last one localized on this console, Ys III is actually a side-scrolling game, kinda like Faxanadu, but much faster-paced. Different from the first two, but still fun and it continues the story. Play it and decide for yourself how you rank it with the others. Prepare yourself for what may be the second best Ys soundtrack ever, only to be topped by its remake on PC and PSP: The Oath in Felghana.