Tag: engine

PC Engine Avenue Pad 6 – The best pad for the PCE?

I would say that the PC Engine Avenue Pad 6 is the best looking control pad for the PC Engine, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best way to control – specially if you ask my friend Frank. 😀

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If you’re looking for a control pad with 6 buttons for the PCE, then this is pretty much the only choice you have. There are many more choices in relation to joysticks out there, but when it comes to pads the choice is quite limited.

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Released in 1993, it was specifically designed for Street Fighter II. In fact I can’t seem to think of any other games off hand that do support the 6 buttons – it is early in the morning here though.

The pad itself has a nice set of turbo options, and overall I like the feel of it. Since getting a decent stick for the PCE I don’t use this at all though, and I guess that gives you some insight into my recommendations for buying one. If you can’t afford a stick for the PCE then I say go for it, but otherwise spend the money elsewhere. 🙂

NEC PC Engine Multitap

There comes a time in every PC Engine owners gaming life when they would like to have more than one controller plugged into their console. Why have only one port to begin with NEC?

When the time comes, this is what you’ll need: The NEC PC Engine Multitap.

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There isn’t a great deal to talk about when it comes to multitaps. You plug them in, and then suddenly that single controller port becomes 5 controller ports – that pretty much sums it up.

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Being that Hudson and NEC built the PC Engine as a collaborative effort, we should talk about the game series that arguably gave Hudson the most recognition, and also the game series that probably pushed most people to buy a multitap for their PCE – the Bomberman series. If anything, these 3 HuCards are the reason to buy a multitap.

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PC Engine multitaps can be picked up for around $15, but if buying loose they can be had even as low as one third of that. Well worth investing in. 🙂

PC Engine Memory Base 128

Misspent youth? Need memory? Well this won’t help with that I’m afraid, but it will help with game save storage. ?

The PC Engine Memory Base 128.

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Games for the PC Engine in the first few years didn’t really require a huge amount of storage space for game saves, but by the mid 90s that all began to change. Games were requiring more and more storage, and also collections were building, thus the issue of storage was becoming something that PC Engine owners were very mindful of viagra en andorre.

You’d think the logical choice would be to increase the internal storage within the consoles themselves, but the PC Engine Duo for example had only 2kb of built in memory with which to store save files, and as there were games released that could pretty much fill that whole thing something had to be done.

That’s where this guy comes in.

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One interesting thing is how this connects to the console. As you can see above, basically it is connected between the controller and the controller port on the console itself.

And now to a piece of advice for buyers. As I’m sure you’re aware the unit runs on batteries, and these batteries actually sit inside a housing within the Memory Base 128 itself, they don’t sit in the actual body of the unit directly. This means that if the little housing is not with the unit when you buy, you will not be able to put batteries in the device. The picture bellow shows in more detail what I mean.

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In use this device is a little on the tricky side. First of all, the game itself needs to be able to support the device, and any saving or loading of data will be done within the specific menu with the game – again only if it supports it. Nothing like the options of today that’s for sure.

Anyway, if you own a Duo and play many games that require large saves then this device is a must. Sorry it won’t help with your misspent youth, but you can’t have everything. ?

One last note. The Duo-RX did somewhat rectify the issue by including 192kb of internal storage. Just remember that if you want the poor-man’s RX (the Duo) then this is probably something that you will need to buy.

NEC PC Engine Pachinko Controller

Gambling is the fastest way to hell! Gamble with the lives of your children, the money you earn, or even the marbles you cherished back in your childhood – yes, I believe many of you may be that old – and you will be going to hell faster than the rest of us clean living folk.

So what do you do if you want gambling without all that eternal damnation stuff? NEC has the answer for you – the NEC PC Engine Pachinko controller set. 🙂

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Crap, I just realised that some of you may not actually know what Pachinko is. Pachinko is the Japanese version of slot machines, but instead of watching a graphical representation of wheels rotating around, you get to watch real metal balls fall over real metal pins. Hmmm, that may not still give you an accurate picture of what Pachinko is… Google is your friend if you want more info. 😉

Anyway, as I was saying, you are going to hell! Just kidding (probably)…. This particular set comes with everything you need to get your fix. You have the controller to give you an authentic Pachinko feel, and also a CD-ROM2 game disk. By the way, I am not sure if the game disk I have pictured with mine is the original that came with the set, as I bought that separately.

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The controller itself is everything you’d expect from NEC. It’s robust and feels well made.

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Another option for those who need a Pachinko fix, but don’t have a CD-ROM2 (or similar CD PCE system) can buy the HuCard version of the game. Being a hater of Pachinko (yes, I’m going to heaven) I have not given these two an A/B comparison, but often with HuCards they are either completely separate games, or simply cut down versions of the same thing. I am not sure if this particular HuCard is simply a cut down version of the CD-ROM2 game, or something completely different.

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As I mentioned above, I’m not a fan of Pachinko, but I am a fan of NEC/PCE and that’s why this particular set is in my hoard. 🙂

NEC PC Engine CD-ROM2 Interface Unit – The Suitcase Bomb

A very capable gaming machine that comes in a handsome go anywhere carry case? No, surely it can’t be true I hear you say. Well it is, but just make sure you don’t want to fit controllers, cables, or games in the same case. 🙂

The NEC PC Engine Interface Unit CD-ROM2.

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The PC Engine’s Interface unit is NEC’s answer to the revolutionary new media making it’s way into the market – CDs. Although being released before Sega’s MegaCD, there are parallels in the way that the unit needs the original base console to function. One thing that this unit has that the MegaCD doesn’t is the fact that it can be used with a single adapter – Sega probably should have looked at that… The unit can work as a stand alone audio CD player, however if you’d like to play games then you need the console, and the corresponding system card – more on this later.

Details

  • Release – 1988
  • Format – CD, although it needs system HuCards to run
  • Output – AV
  • Drive speed – Single
  • Price then – 57,800yen (thanks Frank)
  • Price now – $40 to $250

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As mentioned above the CD-ROM2 unit needs system card mounted in the PC Engine console to run CD based games. There were many games released for the system that actually required different system cards to run them. Buy a Super-CDROM2 game and you’d need the corresponding system card to actually play it. It was only later that all in one systems were released.

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One great advantage in buying the CD-ROM2 interface unit (other than being the envy of all of your friends who don’t have the cool carry case) was the fact that your previously limited PC Engine console could now output on regular AV instead of having to rely on RF. Of course being able to play CD based games was an extra bonus too. 😀

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There is one important thing to look out for when buying. Due to the poor quality plastic used for one of the cogs inside the CD unit itself, you don’t see many around that are indeed still fully functional. This particular part becomes very brittle, and pretty much falls to bits over time. Not easy to repair them either as you need to have the exact same sized cog.

All up, if you are planning to play CD based games on a regular basis I would not recommend getting one of these CDROM2 Interface units to do it. You’d be better off going for one of the Duo systems, or one of the other CD-based add-ons for the PC Engine. Still, the cool carry case still turns heads when I walk down the street with it – of course the faces on those turned heads seem to be laughing, but I know they’re laughing as a reaction to jealousy. 😀

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