After all, the PC Engine LT--which combines a PC Engine, a PC Engine controller and a five-inch monitor all in one lovely, kinda-sorta portable package--has long been perched at the very top of my personal "holy grails of gaming" list.
If you'd prefer to buy this beauty for your own enjoyment, though, I'd totally understand. I think.
Buy: complete-in-box PC Engine LT system
Boy, how many variations does one console really need? I remember seeing this in EGM way back in the day and finding it a total head-scratcher, why would you make a portable system that needs to be plugged into an outlet? These days that's how I play 3DS most of the time anyway so I guess it's not that weird..
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to tack on an extra $55 for shipping, though! That's almost three Analog NTs, and they're almost as portable! ;D
Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what was up with NEC at this point in time. They released three different variations on the PC Engine within a year or so of one another (the Core Grafx, Core Grafx II and the Shuttle), plus the LT, plus the Super Grafx. Kind of crazy. I guess the company decided this would be the PCE's last hurrah, eh?
ReplyDeleteAs for the ol' LT needing to be plugged into an outlet: well, I can't blame the designers for making that decision. Can you imagine how many batteries this sucker would've needed back then? Also, although this system is "portable," it's only portable to an extent--as in, it's portable if you want to play it in your bedroom rather than play the PCE that's plugged into the TV in your living room. Otherwise, it's actually not that portable, IMO.
Yeah, it makes sense from the context that some one might not have had a TV, like the screen you could hook onto the PSOne. It probably was meant for that kind of "stop the kids from hogging the TV" idea that seems so "novel" with the WiiU. :)
ReplyDeleteYep. I think this is basically the same thing as the PSone + monitor -- only more rare and a LOT more expensive XD
ReplyDeleteThat's a snazzy system right there, but the price is most certainly not right!
ReplyDeleteI did have a chance to buy a TurboExpress with some games fifteen-odd years ago. I think it was $75, which sadly was seventy five bucks I couldn't spare at the time. I kind of regret it, but you know, those old color handhelds have really not aged well at all. Probably better to just get an emulator for the PSP or DS and *pretend* it's a TurboExpress.
Oh, yes, the price for this one is insane. No question. Sadly, it isn't completely out of whack with others I've seen in the past. After all, these systems generally seem to sell for about $700-$1000 "loose," so with the box and all that jazz, $1400 is at least within the realm of possibility--although of course it's still nuts.
ReplyDeleteAs for the TurboExpress (or PC Engine GT), I've never much liked its design myself. It's kind of ... awkward. And it has a tiny screen. So, if I were to own a portable PCE/TG-16, it would either be one of these or I'd just go the route you suggested and use an emulator on a PSP or DS.
It would of been SUPER awesome if it include a CD add on. But that's...well impossible!
ReplyDeleteAh, the SuperGrafx. NEC's answer to the 32X, and even more disastrous! Its defenders are quick to mention Ghouls 'n Ghosts and 1941: Counterattack, but what about all the games that weren't those games?! Granzort is actually worse than its predecessor Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, if such a thing could be conceived.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the SuperGrafx is a curiosity at best, IMO, Jess. I actually owned one for a hot minute a number of years ago, but Ghouls 'n Ghosts and 1941 just weren't enough for me. (Aldynes is nice, too, by the way.)
ReplyDeleteI do kind of like its H.R. Giger-esque design, though, I have to say. Not enough to pick up another one, mind you, but still...
Ha! That would be interesting, wouldn't it? That said, I do think it's possible to hook up the LT to a Super CD-ROM2 system, although I think you either need an adapter or you actually have to mod it in some way.
ReplyDeleteHow can the SuperGrafx, released in 1989, be an "answer" to the 32X, released five years later? :)
ReplyDeleteYou've got a point there, Michael! So, really, maybe we should say the 32X is Sega's answer to the SuperGrafx :)
ReplyDeleteUh... look over there, a turtle!
ReplyDelete(runs away)
Ha! Yes, run away, Jess :)
ReplyDelete