- Konami's PC Engine Core GrafX mini, iconic console of the 1990s and 8 and 16 bit generations, has been available since Wednesday.
- Born of the meeting between the game publisher Hudson Soft and the manufacturer of electronic components NEC, the PC Engine is a technological marvel of its time.
- It includes games in all formats (HuCard, CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², Arcade CD-ROM², SuperGrafx, etc.), combined into two catalogs, that of the Japanese PC Engine and that of the American TurboGrafx-16.
NES, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Atari, PlayStation, Neo Geo… When will the madness of mini consoles end? Maybe when they fit in the palm of your hand and are (in) playable with a magnifying glass. It's the funny Sega project for its 60 years with the Game Gear Micro. But by the time it is released in the fall, retrogamers can plunge back into the crazy 1990s with Konami's PC Engine Core GrafX mini, available since Wednesday. Less known, at least in France, than its competitors from Nintendo and Sega, the console remains emblematic of the 8 and 16 bit generations.
As you already know, the pandemic context has delayed the production and delivery of #PCEngine #CoreGrafx Mini ...
We are pleased to announce that the console will be available for sale from 24/06! Thank you for your patience 🙏
pic.twitter.com/njykwg6hYh
An 8-bit console at the 16-bit level
"You have to realize that at the time, we are in 1987-1988, the 8-bit NES and Master System consoles land in France, and at the same time, you have the PC Engine in Japan," says Asenka, specialist retrogaming and at work in the excellent program Hard Looters , guide to the best geeks shops in Japan, broadcast on Game One and YouTube. It is also an 8-bit, but it is far ahead technologically. Some games are even more beautiful on PC Engine than on Mega Drive. "
A “gifted” machine to use the title of the portrait dedicated to him by JV le mag and which Gamekult publishes on its site. Born from the meeting between the game publisher Hudson Soft and the manufacturer of electronic components NEC, the PC Engine is a "technological marvel," writes journalist Yann François, with an 8-bit central unit but a graphics processor capable of generating 512 colors, something that only the next competing 16-bit will be able to achieve ”. It's also THE console for programmers, a Rolls for developers, adds Asenka. : "It explodes everything that exists then. We are talking about Atari ST, Amiga, NES. So when you see the R-Type game running on PC Engine, you hallucinate, you think you are in front of the arcade version ”.
A video that alternates 5 times a capture of the PC engine mini and the original hard with the frame rate. Not easy to tell the difference. Go back to prepare my test. # Pcengine #pcenginemini #retrogaming pic.twitter.com/oqwoMIDnAz
- mehdi (メ デ ィ) (@__mehdi__) March 19, 2020New look for a new life
Success in Japan, where it was the real competitor of the Super Nintendo (and not the Mega Drive), the PC Engine has become more discreet internationally, and in France, while enjoying an aura with aficionados . In the manner of the "inaccessible" Neo Geo. "As often with the Japanese, they have not seen beyond their island," says Asenka. The reviews talked about it, the specialists too, and a Paris store, Shoot Again, imported the first copies, but it was not until the company SODIPENG bought the rights and officially distributed it. A company of the Guillemot brothers, yes, the same brothers behind Ubisoft.
It's a new PC Engine model, revamped and renamed CoreGrafX, which is coming out in France - the United States will have the right to the TurboGrafx-16, a little lie since it remains an 8-bit. Different names found for mini editions, depending on the region of the world. In seven years of existence, the PC Engine will also know a number of extensions and variations, from the addition of a CD player (a first for a console) to the PC Engine GT, a color laptop. The PC Engine mini also ships games of all formats (HuCard, CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², Arcade CD-ROM², SuperGrafx, etc.), combined into two catalogs, that of the Japanese PC Engine and that of the TurboGrafx -16 American.
The queen of shoot'em up
Or fifty titles perfectly emulated and even recontextualized in French. The interface, very intuitive, allows to switch from one catalog to another, to choose its image format, or to know which version of the game we are playing. The player can therefore check at leisure the reputation of queen of shoot'em up , these Space Invaders shooters . “In terms of graphics, sprites and scrolling, it was indeed the dream machine for shoots, confirms the showrunner of Hard Looters . Lords of Thunder and Spriggan are among the best of their kind. We add PC Kid and Ghouls'N Ghosts , references of the platform game, role-playing games Ys , or the famous Bomberman .
"You should know that a game like Dracula X revolves around € 250 today for resale, and it goes up to € 1,000 for Sapphire ," explains Asenka. There you have them for € 109.99. »A higher price than other mini consoles, to which must be added the cost of a second controller, as if to remind that the PC Engine is primarily intended for nostalgic and collectors.
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