PCEngineFans.com - The PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 Community Forum
NEC PC-Engine/SuperGrafx => PC Engine/SuperGrafx Discussion => Topic started by: Spector on March 11, 2006, 08:28:45 PM
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Hi kids
With the long awaited release of a USB Flash Cart for the PC Engine/Turbografx, I am starting to get more and more interested in buying a PC Engine myself.
I've read about the various formats and upgrades that occurred in Japan and the US, and I've also read that Japanese games will play on a US Turbografx via an adaptor, but US games won't play on Japanese machines without modding. That would suggest that the best thing for a newcomer to do would be to buy an American machine.
The trouble with that is that I think the US Turbografx looks awful. I think the Japanese white model is a magnificent looking machine, and I want it instead.
The question therefore is - did the Japanese PC Engine miss out on a lot of great American titles? I would guess not, but I'm not sure. I wouldn't want to get a Jap PC Engine and find that I wouldn't be able to play a lot of games on it. Also, is the fact that the games are Japanese a hindrance to the English-speaking gamer who mainly wants to play arcade/action games like Vigilante and R-Type?
Thanking you in advance...
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Great American titles.
Ahaha. Hahahahahahahaha.
Sorry.
Get yourself a Japanese Duo and you'll not look back.
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Every good game released in the US has been released in Japan. However, there are (overrated) games like Neutopia and Neutopia II that won't be as fun to play in Japanese since I'm going to assume that you don't speak that language.
What's this USB FLash Cart for PC Engine that you speak of?
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I pretty much thought that one of the replies would be along the lines of the first one. Jap is where it's at. I don't want to ask too much about the Duo right now, as that's FAQ territory. From what I've read though, it's an update of the orignal white machine and CD-ROM attachment in a simpler (though not as nice looking) all-in-one package.
As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this. (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=4a05e49beb0ec1ae5025df6b410dc448&topic=1791.0)
It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design. :)
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I don't want to ask too much about the Duo right now, as that's FAQ territory. From what I've read though, it's an update of the orignal white machine and CD-ROM attachment in a simpler (though not as nice looking) all-in-one package.
quote]
Yeah the Duo is essentially an all-in-one PC Engine and CD unit. If you are seriously considering getting into the PC Engine I can't stress enough how important a CD unit is. Also note that CD games are region free so on a Japanese machine you can play great RPGs like Ys and Dragon Slayer in English.
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Whoa! $159!! You can buy every PCE game in the world for that kind of money! MADNESS I TELL YOU!! :shock:
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I don't want to ask too much about the Duo right now, as that's FAQ territory. From what I've read though, it's an update of the orignal white machine and CD-ROM attachment in a simpler (though not as nice looking) all-in-one package.
quote]
Yeah the Duo is essentially an all-in-one PC Engine and CD unit. If you are seriously considering getting into the PC Engine I can't stress enough how important a CD unit is. Also note that CD games are region free so on a Japanese machine you can play great RPGs like Ys and Dragon Slayer in English.
Here's a follow up question... or two :)
Can the original white model, equipped with the CD-ROM add-on, play the same games as the Duo?
Question number two - I'm sure I saw the Duo on sale at my local GameStation store a couple of weeks ago (it had a copy of Shadow Of The Beast with it). What would be a good price to pay for it, in your opinion?
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The old white model can play any game, as long as you have the correct system card. There are three: The original, the Super CD Rom system and the Arcade card. The Super System card is build into the Duo and is essential, the Arcade card is a luxury as there aren't that many games for it.
Not sure of the price.
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If you are seriously considering getting into the PC Engine I can't stress enough how important a CD unit is.
I just want to pick up on that quote from a couple of posts back there. Is the CD-ROM unit really that important gamewise? I read a summary of the PC-Engine's history at http://www.videogameimports.com/pcengine.htm
and it comes out with the quote:
"The actual CD-ROM system held no internal memory, so a system card had to be plugged into the card slot of the Engine. The first version, 1.0, didn't last very long, and was quickly replaced by version 2.0. It held 1 MegaBit of RAM, which really wasn't a lot, and to be honest, apart form the huge intros and CD sound, the games were generally outshined by the HuCard games."
One man's opinion, but that summary is well written, so I can't dismiss it as tosh. I actually remember in 1990 reading some of the first European magazine reviews of the CD-Rom games and they were none too complimentary, suggesting that after an amazing 3 and a half minute animated sequence, you had an average game. So I'd really like to hear those in the know, like sunteam_paul, give me their own opinion.
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The majority of the high-class PCE games are on the CD format. There aren't that many interesting hu-card titles to be honest. And sure, there aren't that many interesting CD titles either, but they are still of the majority.
Off the top of my head:
[ul]- Ys I-II
- Ys III
- Ys IV
- Fray CD: Xak Gaiden
- Xak III
- Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
- The Legend of Heroes
- Brandish
- The Dynastic Hero
- Puyo Puyo
[/ul]
I'm not really into the PCE, so I can't give you that many recommendations, but those are all better than any hu-card game.
Conclusion:
Hu-cards = boring
CD-games = awesome
Get a Duo. Now.
Edit: You could say a PC Engine Duo is:
a PC Engine,
a PC Engine CD attachment,
a PC Engine CD interface unit,
a System Card 3.0,
and a Tennokoe Bank....
Combined.
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Conclusion:
Hu-cards = boring
CD-games = awesome
They're a lot of great hucards and most of them are better than thoses on CD. It's true if you like RPGs than the better games are on CD, but for a everything else you don't want to miss out on the hucards.
Pinball: Alien Crush, Devils Crash, Time Cruise
Adventure/Platform: Jackie Chan, Legendary Axe I/II, Dragon's Curse, Cadash, Shubibinman, Don Doko Don
Action: Bloody Wolf, Ninja Spirit, Splatterhouse, Genpei Toumaden I/II
Puzzles: Tricky, Beball, Bomberman, Volfield
Strategy: Military Madness, Hisou Kihei Serd
Racing: Moto Roader I/II, Outrun, Power Drift
Shooters: Raiden, Super Star Soldier, Soldier Blade, Gunhed, Xevious, Gradius, R-Type, Dead Moon, Aero Blasters, Metal Stoker, Dragon Spirit, too many to list.
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As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this. (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=4a05e49beb0ec1ae5025df6b410dc448&topic=1791.0)
It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design. :)
OK, did i just miss something? Why has no one been talking about this flash cart? you can take roms of any hucard game and play them on a real system??? is this true?
Question number two - I'm sure I saw the Duo on sale at my local GameStation store a couple of weeks ago (it had a copy of Shadow Of The Beast with it). What would be a good price to pay for it, in your opinion?
a used US Duo with Shadow of the Best? they could probably get away with charging as much as $200 for it. Probably no cheaper than what you'd pay online, but Gamestation isn't Ebay and it's hard to find a duo for sale in the real world. It's also worth not having to worry about shipping or sellers trying to scam you with a beat-up old deck. if you need a Duo and it's $150 or cheaper i would buy it.
Edit: You could say a PC Engine Duo is:
a PC Engine,
a PC Engine CD attachment,
a PC Engine CD interface unit,
a System Card 3.0,
and a Tennokoe Bank....
Combined.
one-forth of a Tennokoe Bank! :wink:
The question therefore is - did the Japanese PC Engine miss out on a lot of great American titles?
Good question. i remember seeing a list once of american games that were never released in Japan. what were they? Beyond Shadowgate was one. anyone know the others?
I just want to pick up on that quote from a couple of posts back there. Is the CD-ROM unit really that important gamewise? I read a summary of the PC-Engine's history at http://www.videogameimports.com/pcengine.htm
Why must this article turn our NEC community into a House of Lies! :x
"apart form the huge intros and CD sound, the games were generally outshined by the HuCard games."
ack!
"at a game show in 1995, Hudson showed a full Arcade CD shooter: Sapphire (GINGA FUKEI DENSETSU SAPPHIRE). They only sold it at the show, which is one of the reasons it's so damned rare and expensive (around £300)."
only sold at the show? more lies!
"The PC Engine was also released in the US, with the typically stupid name TurboGrafx-16. It was 're-designed' (looked pretty crappy) and was black."
Blasphemy!
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Buy a Duo or CD attachment. The shooters are awesome. the RPGs are awesome. The ACD fighting games are awesome. you have Vasteel, Dracula X, Double Dragon 2, Kazi Kari, River City Ransom, the Valis series...Shadow of the Beast has some awesome music and graphics.
yeah, i'm going to stop talking now...
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As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this. (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=4a05e49beb0ec1ae5025df6b410dc448&topic=1791.0)
It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design. :)
OK, did i just miss something? Why has no one been talking about this flash cart? you can take roms of any hucard game and play them on a real system??? is this true?
No one talks about it in fear that all the newbs will jump on it, make a big fuss about it, and the end result is the company increases the price because of high demand.
Actually this particular flash card is a revamp of an older model that has been out for over a year now in Asia.
I've been anticipating this since Sept 2005, but I'm more interested in their 128M flash card (its still in production).
Another company is Tototek. They've have flash carts for the pce and other 8/16-bit consoles for a couple years now, and very few know about them.
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Thanks for the info on the flash card, had no idea (and yes, that is a sweet box for it :D ) .
If you are into cheesy games like me, then there are some titles for TG16 that weren't released in Japan that you'll enjoy, as I do :D . It Came From the Desert, Beyond Shadowgate (this isn't a cheesy game, but never the less, an awesome game, though expensive), and whatever game that wasn't released in Japan :D . But yeah, those two games are neat.
And HuCards are awesome, they provide better linear gameplay for the more classic gamer.
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I've had the Tototek card for a couple years now. Haven't used it much, but it works. The Windows software is horrible, and actually getting the ROM images on the card is a pain, but once they're there....it works.
The only worthwhile Turbo exclusive HuCard that I can think of is Order of the Griffon, which is a very decent D&D RPG. The Falcon and Gunboat ports are a bit too ambitious for the hardware, and the rest of the Western software isn't anything special (although I like Tailspin). There's some excellent Western software on CD (Loom in particular), but since there's no region-coding it hardly matters whether you have a PC Engine or Turbo system.
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As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this. (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=4a05e49beb0ec1ae5025df6b410dc448&topic=1791.0)
It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design. :)
OK, did i just miss something? Why has no one been talking about this flash cart? you can take roms of any hucard game and play them on a real system??? is this true?
No one talks about it in fear that all the newbs will jump on it, make a big fuss about it, and the end result is the company increases the price because of high demand.
No way, they aren't going to raise the price because someone's mentioned it on a PC Engine forum. Chad Schell's Cuttle Cart for the Atari 2600 had lots of publicity, but they never went up. The more interest the better, as they'll keep making them.
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He meant hu-cards not released in Japan. Not CDs.
Playing an American CD on a Japanese system is possible.
Playing an American hu-card on a Japanese system is not possible. That is why he asked.
Anyway, I agree with that article. Turbo Grafx 16 is the single most ridiculous name I have ever heard. Especially considering it isn't a 16-bit system. Oh, and the system looks like hell, too.
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Regarding the Tototek Flash cards mentioned earlier. They are no comparison to this recent release. They were pretty dodgy and unprofessional, coming with no casing, just the PCB. Getting it to work was a nightmare. The tototek forum was full of people struggling to get it going. This new release is a much simpler USB device, and it holds twice as many games too.
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As for the Flash Cart, take a look at this. (http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=4a05e49beb0ec1ae5025df6b410dc448&topic=1791.0)
It comes with free shipping so it's not as expensive as you think. And you have to admit, it looks brilliant with that R-Type design. :)
OK, did i just miss something? Why has no one been talking about this flash cart? you can take roms of any hucard game and play them on a real system??? is this true?
No one talks about it in fear that all the newbs will jump on it, make a big fuss about it, and the end result is the company increases the price because of high demand.
No way, they aren't going to raise the price because someone's mentioned it on a PC Engine forum. Chad Schell's Cuttle Cart for the Atari 2600 had lots of publicity, but they never went up. The more interest the better, as they'll keep making them.
Spreading the info on this forum might not, but if someone advertised on a site that gets a lot of traffic, for example Slashdot, it just might.
Regarding the Tototek Flash cards mentioned earlier. They are no comparison to this recent release. They were pretty dodgy and unprofessional, coming with no casing, just the PCB. Getting it to work was a nightmare. The tototek forum was full of people struggling to get it going. This new release is a much simpler USB device, and it holds twice as many games too.
Tototek's pce flash card maybe of a lower grade compared to neoflash, but no way was it unprofessional. When their pce flashcard first came out, it was the best option for playing backup roms and it was better than using the MDG2.
As for the software it used, yes it was a pain but my biggest problem was getting the flash card to be recognized on winxp. After passing that hurdle, I never had problems getting it to work.
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Anyway, I agree with that article. Turbo Grafx 16 is the single most ridiculous name I have ever heard. Especially considering it isn't a 16-bit system. Oh, and the system looks like hell, too.
Whateva!
the name, the look of the system and the packaging are all awesome. It sums up and epitomizes everything that was going on in the late 80's-early 90's.
Words like "Turbo" were being thrown around a lot back then along with a lot of surfer slang. think of Rad Racer, Komami/Ultra, etc.
And spelling graphics with an X? well, that was just a stroke of genius on NEC's part. :wink: A marketing strategy Microsoft is coasting on years later. Who wants to play dorky video games on some sort of "PC"? Playing a "TurboGrafx" makes it sound like you're into some X-treme new sport. Hell yeah.
As for the packaging, the guy on the box even looks like Zach from Saved by the Bell, i mean, comon.
And maybe the little white PC engine looked kind of cool (two decades ago), but all the old units i've seen are scuffed up and dirty looking these days, while the good ol' TG16 abides in a cool shade of blackness. :D
(Yes, i probably do like it more for it's camp value than anything else, but it definitely was a sign on the times. Edit: and seriously, how cool do you expect a system to be that came packaged with a game called Keith Courage...jesus christ :roll:
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Well, can you explain the "16" then? What does it mean? Were they trying to trick people to believe it was a 16-bit system? Huh? Huuuh? :roll:
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Anyway, I agree with that article. Turbo Grafx 16 is the single most ridiculous name I have ever heard. Especially considering it isn't a 16-bit system. Oh, and the system looks like hell, too.
Whateva!
the name, the look of the system and the packaging are all awesome. It sums up and epitomizes everything that was going on in the late 80's-early 90's.
Words like "Turbo" were being thrown around a lot back then along with a lot of surfer slang. think of Rad Racer, Komami/Ultra, etc.
And spelling graphics with an X? well, that was just a stroke of genius on NEC's part. :wink: A marketing strategy Microsoft is coasting on years later. Who wants to play dorky video games on some sort of "PC"? Playing a "TurboGrafx" makes it sound like you're into some X-treme new sport. Hell yeah.
As for the packaging, the guy on the box even looks like Zach from Saved by the Bell, i mean, comon.
And maybe the little white PC engine looked kind of cool (two decades ago), but all the old units i've seen are scuffed up and dirty looking these days, while the good ol' TG16 abides in a cool shade of blackness. :D
(Yes, i probably do like it more for it's camp value than anything else, but it definitely was a sign on the times. Edit: and seriously, how cool do you expect a system to be that came packaged with a game called Keith Courage...jesus christ :roll:
:) Ditto!!!
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Well, can you explain the "16" then? What does it mean? Were they trying to trick people to believe it was a 16-bit system? Huh? Huuuh? :roll:
Seldane, are you teasing us just for fun? :) First you summarilly diss HuCards (tons of great games), but then you go on to diss the aesthetics of the console and its name?
There is an old thread in which I extolled the T-16 and TG-CD aesthetic. I love both the North Amercian and Japanese designs. Appreciating aesthetics doesn't have to be a mutually exclusive exercise. You can love both for the beauties that they are. I'll have to find the old thread...
As for the name TG-16 -- You can justify the "16" because the graphics processor is 16-bit (indeed, all of NEC's marketing proclaimed "16-bit graphics"), although the core processor is 8-bit. TG-16 is a hybrid machine, really. It isn't truly 8-bit, it isn't truly 16-bit. Where does it belong? Personally, I feel it is closer to the 16-bit era and belongs there, regardless of its technical limitations.
But are we going to waste our time on dredging up all the techno-babble from ancient console wars? If so, I have the biggest offender: Sega's "blast processing" -- now that was pure marketing tripe. :)
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Well, can you explain the "16" then? What does it mean? Were they trying to trick people to believe it was a 16-bit system? Huh? Huuuh? :roll:
Of course! How else would NEC sell a 8-bit console when the video game market was dominated by 16-bit console.
It sure fooled me when the TG16 came out. The CPU maybe 8-bit but who cares. The system can display 16-bit graphics, and they're comparable or better than those produced on the genesis and snes.
I never really liked the design of the TG16 console, but I do agree with Vestcoat. Just the name Turbo Grafx was 10 times better than hearing PC-Engine.
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Of course, this was all at a time when all people cared about was "bits"...when it was never a significant factor to begin with.
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this thread is hilarious
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Seldane, are you teasing us just for fun? :) First you summarilly diss HuCards (tons of great games), but then you go on to diss the aesthetics of the console and its name?
A little, yes. :P But honestly, that whole hu-card thing was mostly because of ignorance. Like I mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm not much of a PCE boy (yet). I don't know much about its games and I got my first system a couple of months ago. Me and a friend used to play hu-cards thru emulation many years ago. That is why I even care about the system -- nostalgia. :wink:
I love the PCE, definitely -- but I've always had a grudge against the American/European equivalent. I just don't like it. :roll:
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Haha, Seldane said some things you shouldn't mention on a TG16 board.
Anyways you all know me, I love the TG16 design, even though it's dorky and I think the name "Turbo Grafx 16" is awesome stuff. Yes I admit the PC Engine looks cooler, but the TG16 has a better name :D .
HuCards are awesome. If you are more of a classic gamer, you'll especially like them because they focus on more simple gameplay, rather than more complex genres such as RPGs (that's what CD was for). HuCards are cute, work outstanding, and have great score games which only makes better competition with friends :D .
In a lot of the American TG16 ads, they mention the TG16 having 16 bit "graphic power", not processor. But as all the programmers here will tell you, bits should really never be compared. Though the TG16 technically has a 8-bit processor, it's way faster than the SNES' 16-bit processor and even a little faster than the Genesis/Mega Drive processor because of execution time, as the TG16/PCE programmers say.
Turbo Grafx 16 rulez! (Hah, and I had a Genesis back in the day)
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HuCards are awesome. If you are more of a classic gamer, you'll especially like them because they focus on more simple gameplay, rather than more complex genres such as RPGs (that's what CD was for). HuCards are cute, work outstanding, and have great score games which only makes better competition with friends :D .
In a lot of the American TG16 ads, they mention the TG16 having 16 bit "graphic power", not processor. But as all the programmers here will tell you, bits should really never be compared. Though the TG16 technically has a 8-bit processor, it's way faster than the SNES' 16-bit processor and even a little faster than the Genesis/Mega Drive processor because of execution time, as the TG16/PCE programmers say.
I am more of a classic gamer, so yeah, the HuCards are probably more my thing than Cd-Rom, as RPGs were never really my bag. But I do know now that some good arcade-style games came out on CD-Rom too.
The thing that impressed me most about the PC Engine was the colour and resolution of the graphics. They looked so good in screenshots. Along with the Megadrive/Genesis and SNES, the PC Engine represented to me the pinnacle in pixellated graphics. That's why I want one!
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I have to agree with Seldane about the distaste for the American equivalents - I always thought Turbografx-16 was a pretty horrible name. Even in those days I considered spelling anything with an 'x' or 'z' was pretty cheesy. Japanese all the way.
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I have to agree with Seldane about the distaste for the American equivalents - I always thought Turbografx-16 was a pretty horrible name. Even in those days I considered spelling anything with an 'x' or 'z' was pretty cheesy. Japanese all the way.
OK, it seems like only a handful of North Americans actually like the name "TurboGrafx-16" !!!
Rambling ensues.... (about the names of consoles) :)
As Keranu and vestcoat have already pointed out, "TurboGrafx-16" truly epitomizes 80's pop culture -- so much so that it is the SWATCH WATCH of video game consoles. I'll take an egregious name like "TG-16" over bland, boring names like "Sega Master System" and "Nintendo Entertainment System" any day.
"Genesis" and "Saturn" are kool names -- but they quickly lose their edge because it's hard to make an impression from a generic word. It's much easier to 1) create a new word or 2) combine two or more generic words when devising a console name. "Dreamcast" is a friggin' great name, AND it doesn't lose any ooooooomph the way "Genesis" and "Saturn" quickly devolve back into "normal" words. Perhaps if I hadn't gone to so many bible studies when I was a kid, I wouldn't be so jaded by "Genesis" (which is a kick-ass name, otherwise).
But you know what would have been much better than "Genesis"? Sticking with a biblical theme, I'd go with Leviathan (I like the imagery and connotations of this as well -- it could have worked!). Leviathan -- a console name that can still rid the world of heathens. OK, I'm joking about Leviathan. Or maybe not :).
I'm no fan of the Xbox, but I have to admit that the branding is cleverly devised. Does it compare to the beauty of "Dreamcast"? No way.
"Genesis" and "Saturn" are timeless words. Classic words. So I don't think that they will ever sound dated. They will always sound respectable. All of the other console names I listed, however, will quickly become dated.
On that note, "TurboGrafx-16" is wonderful because it is so HOPELESSLY dated. "Odyssey", "Genesis" and "Saturn" will stand the test of time, and our grandchildren will say, "Hey granpops, 'Saturn' would be a kool name for our virtual reality video game complex."
And "PC Engine" ? I am sorry, but this is no less a mouthful (or less ugly) than "TG-16". Concerns over aesthetics are highly subjective, of course, so I can't fault anyone for preferring "PC Engine". But to suggest that that PCE is categorically better-sounding than TG-16 is folly. Folly I tell you! (For the record, I like both PCE and TG-16 :) )
Now, MegaDrive -- that's a friggin' great name. Some might say it is rather generic, but to me it is akin to "PC Engine" -- except "MegaDrive" is much more successful in its connotation of "sheer power" and brawn, with poor "PC Engine" sounding weak in comparison.
I have no evidence to support this, but I think that the name "MegaDrive" was modelled after "PC Engine".
And "MegaCD" -- how great is that? And the fact that the spelling of Sega and Mega mirror each other?
OK, I'll have to stop. I fear that folks don't read long posts :)
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Hell yeah, Sega always came up with the best names. The first time I heard that the Genesis was called a Megadrive in other countries, I was actually a little bumbed out that we didn't get that name over here in the US since it sounded so burly. Genesis is awesome too, but Megadrive is just unbeatable, I still think it's probably the top coolest console name ever.
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I pretty much agree with Steve's post about these names. And shame on you guys who don't like the name "Turbo Grafx 16". I suppose you guys just didn't appreciate the 80's like I did 8) .
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What about Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Nintendo. Why is Super before Nintendo? As if the company name was Super Nintendo. It should have been Nintendo Super Entertainment System, but I guess that was the whole plan.
Super Nintendo Gamecube. :roll:
It is a good thing they didn't name the Dreamcast "Katana" -- that wouldn't have been a good name. People (parents, etc) would be worried about its content too, I'm sure.
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I didn't much care for the name Genesis either...There are very few cases in which altering the original Japanese name makes something sound better (obviously excepting pure Japanese language titles).
Wataru vs Keith Courage
Gunhed vs Blazing Lasers
Kujaku-O vs Spellcaster / Mystic Defender
PC Kid vs Bonk
Schbibin Man vs Shock Man
Aleste vs Power Strike
Goemon vs Mystical Ninja
Galbaran (Ys3) vs Demanicus (good grief)
All the alternate western names just sound dumbed down by comparison and always have. They are attempt to aim them at 'kids'. I was a kid at the time and I thought all the western names were just awful.
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steve, my console prototype was called Leviathan. :D
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Wataru vs Keith Courage
Gunhed vs Blazing Lasers
Kujaku-O vs Spellcaster / Mystic Defender
PC Kid vs Bonk
Schbibin Man vs Shock Man
Aleste vs Power Strike
Goemon vs Mystical Ninja
Galbaran (Ys3) vs Demanicus (good grief)
Blazing Lasers? You wish! It's Blazing Lazers! :lol: Worst name ever? -Yes.
Oh and it's Galbalan. And that's a pretty lousy name as well, I actually prefer Demanicus (not saying I like it though).
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Wataru vs Keith Courage
Gunhed vs Blazing Lasers
Kujaku-O vs Spellcaster / Mystic Defender
PC Kid vs Bonk
Schbibin Man vs Shock Man
Aleste vs Power Strike
Goemon vs Mystical Ninja
Galbaran (Ys3) vs Demanicus (good grief)
Blazing Lasers? You wish! It's Blazing Lazers! :lol: Worst name ever? -Yes.
Oh and it's Galbalan. And that's a pretty lousy name as well, I actually prefer Demanicus (not saying I like it though).
Blazing Lazers is a much better name than Gunhed, and it's my favorite pce game. But I really could care less about changes to the game's title name. Just as long as the name fits the game's theme.
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Just remember that a LOT of Americans were stupid enough to believe the whole "Blast Processing" BS that Sega was laying out there.
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Do you guys remember how the N64 was going to be the Ultra 64?
I always kinda liked that name, for the same reason i like TG16.
heheh
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Both of those Ys 3 names are pretty llama.
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Just remember that a LOT of Americans were stupid enough to believe the whole "Blast Processing" BS that Sega was laying out there.
Its not BS, they pushed the system as far as it would go under those very specific conditions... -just like every other game that features slowdown and/or flicker.
Nobody thought to come up with a snazzy name for it before(as far as I can think of).
The closest was with MLB2 or whatever it was called for Intellivision. The developer couldn't fix a game crashing bug in the game, so they marketed it as cutting edge technology in the maunal.
Also, Masters Of The Universe featured a new technology entitled "Super Graphics". If only they'd thought to sue NEC later on...
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steve, my console prototype was called Leviathan. :D
Oh yeah! :)
Now, as far as "Blazing Lazers" is concerned: it's a corny name, for sure, but I have to admit that I like it. I also like GunHed, because "Gun Head" has epic, kick-ass connotations. I actually saw the live-action movie for GunHed back when it was originally released -- that movie wasn't worthy of the name, because it did NOT kick my ass. The video game, however, does indeed kick ass.
"GunHed" is akin to "Blood Gear"
in that the two words juxtaposed in the title sound damn kool :)
"Blazing Lazers" is much better than "Lightning Force", IMO. But "Thunder Force" sounds very kool, indeed.
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Lords of Thunder is KOOLER than Winds of Thunder. It's official! Perhaps the only time a North American title was superior to its Japanese counterpart!
:)
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From this article - http://www.answers.com/topic/blast-processing
Blast processing ... ... a technical feature of the Mega Drive that wasn't replicated on the SNES - the ability for the CPU to be working on one visible section of map while the graphics processor displays another. Since only the visible part of the map is uploaded at any one time, this feature greatly increases the distance that the map can scroll from one frame to the next, but few if any people will have been able to discern that meaning from the advertising.
All three systems (MD,PCE,SF) had only 64k of vram, almost every game had a vartual BG map dynamically uploaded to the video memory replaceing the current background table. I consider Blast processing a load of crap. What blast processing in Sonic really was the ability to have the least amount of enemies on screen while moving the game speed as fast as possible :P
Final fight on the Snes was letter boxed so they would have enough time at the begining of the display raster and the end, to dynamically upload character frames(animation) into memory for the current screen - 64k vram simply wasn't enough to hold all the frames as once, but you didn't see Nintendo using it as a some marketing gimic - though it wouldn't have supprised me :roll: And the game still slowed down :lol:
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Wataru vs Keith Courage
Gunhed vs Blazing Lasers
Kujaku-O vs Spellcaster / Mystic Defender
PC Kid vs Bonk
Schbibin Man vs Shock Man
Aleste vs Power Strike
Goemon vs Mystical Ninja
Galbaran (Ys3) vs Demanicus (good grief)
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I'll give you my opinions on these names :lol: .
Wataru vs Keith Courage - I give it to Wataru here only because Keith Courage is a pretty silly made up name, but if they had a cooler sounding name, I would give it to the American side because Americans would undersatnd it more than just some Japanese word/name.
Gunhed vs Blazing Lazers - Blazing Lazers no doubt beats it, I love the cheesy title and you have to understand that you just can't release a name like "Gunhed" out in America because Americans won't know what the hell that means, since Japanese people are always throwing random English words together. ;)
Kujaku-O vs Spellcaster / Mystic Defender - Don't know of this game, but out of all those, I think Mystic Defender definitely sounds the coolest :D .
PC Kid (Genjin) vs Bonk - Bonk is a much more fitting name and I prefer it, though you gotta love the pun of PC Gunjin as it ryhmes with PC Engine. Of course in this case, you would have to change the name for America because Americans aren't aware of "PC Engine" :D .
Shubibin Man (or whatever name you want to use) vs Shock Man - Well neither name is really good here, but once again you can't really just use a strict Japanese name like "Shubibin Man" out here because us big, stupid Americans need something we can understand, but Shock Man could've definitely used a better name.
Aleste vs Power Strike - Aleste, no doubt :D .
Goemon vs Mystical Ninja - I really like both names here and it's hard to say which is better for me.
Galbalan vs Demanicus - I actually prefer Demanicus slightly more here, though Galbalan sounds kind of cool too.
The biggest deal is that Japanese love to throw random English words together in their title names, and this just doesn't work out for America and Europe really :lol: . "Radiant Silvergun? What is that supposed to mean!?!??! :D "
Here's a fun one to compare: Devil's Crush or Devil's Crash? I'll leave that up to you guys.
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PC Kid (Genjin) vs Bonk - Bonk is a much more fitting name and I prefer it, though you gotta love the pun of PC Gunjin as it ryhmes with PC Engine. Of course in this case, you would have to change the name for America because Americans aren't aware of "PC Engine" :D .
Shubibin Man (or whatever name you want to use) vs Shock Man - Well neither name is really good here, but once again you can't really just use a strict Japanese name like "Shubibin Man" out here because us big, stupid Americans need something we can understand, but Shock Man could've definitely used a better name.
PC Kid sucks. it's a description, not a name. It would be like calling Mario "NES Plumber" or something.
Do you guys remember that kid (who got kicked off this board) with the story about how everyone in his school said "Don't eat the Bonk"? Such a wonderful thing would never have occurred with a name like PC Gengin.
As far as Shockman goes, he looks and feels so much like Megaman i think it was a good name choice. Back in the day, all i had to do was hear the name Shockman and see a screen shot and i knew exactly what kind of genre the game was.
It's the same thing generic sodas at the grocery store do--they take a name similar to the mainstream soda they are based off of.
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Devil's Crush whoops Devil's Crash any day of the week. However, I don't fully understand the Japanese <--> English phonetics so I don't know if this is a fair comparison.
I think Bravoman is kooler than Shockman! (Shockman is too generic... but Bravoman is INGENIOUSLY _____________ ).
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Bravoman rulez!
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Shubibinman.. er shockman RULES!!
No way in H*ll is Bravoman "Cooler" The Shockman series as a whole rocks. The first one, IMO is pretty crummy. And the Second in the series (Shubibinman 2/Shockman (US)) is as close as getting a MegaMan game on our lovable TG16 as we can get. But man the two player simultanious gameplay rox!! Shubibinman 3 on CD is really sweet too, allthough a bit too easy.
Shockman 4 Life!!
My two cents-
TurboSage
Question: did either Beyond Shadowgate or Dn'D: Order of the Griffon ever come out in japan, or are those actual US only titles??
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I like Shubibinman better than Bravoman myself. Both are cool though IMO.
Question: did either Beyond Shadowgate or Dn'D: Order of the Griffon ever come out in japan, or are those actual US only titles??
They weren't released in Japan.
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PC Genjin is an awesome name! Why?
Bonk's Adventure in Japan was called PC Genjin, a play on words - it rhymes with PC Engine, and means Primitive Man. The shmup sequel was called PC Denjin, which means Electric Man.
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The biggest deal is that Japanese love to throw random English words together in their title names, and this just doesn't work out for America and Europe really :lol:
Here's a fun one to compare: Devil's Crush or Devil's Crash? I'll leave that up to you guys.
I would say that in my experience the odd Japanese names work far better for Europeans than they do for Americans who seem to have a lot of trouble with anything that's not plainly s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t for them. At least that's the stereotype, but it does seem you lot prefer what I would term as awfully cheesy and almost childish names to unique and weird sounding Japlish ones. So maybe it just is a cultural thing. (Demanicus? dear lord...)
I may well have to give this some time in a future podcast :wink:
And it's Devil Crash, not Devil's Crash in Japan.
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Wasn't the US version of Devil Crash 'softened'? Did they not remove certain graphics from the jap version that they thought weren't 'safe' for US audiences? I remember reading it in a retro-mag a couple of years ago.
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^ Oops, I got the name wrong. Anyway, as far as names go, "Devil's Crush" is way kooler-sounding than "Devil Crash".
And, to clarify another point: In my earlier post, I was saying that I like the title (name) "Bravoman" more than I like the name "Shockman". I wasn't judging the games themselves :). I can see how the confusion arose, so I just wanted to clear that up.
The biggest deal is that Japanese love to throw random English words together in their title names, and this just doesn't work out for America and Europe really :lol:
Here's a fun one to compare: Devil's Crush or Devil's Crash? I'll leave that up to you guys.
I would say that in my experience the odd Japanese names work far better for Europeans than they do for Americans who seem to have a lot of trouble with anything that's not plainly s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t for them. At least that's the stereotype, but it does seem you lot prefer what I would term as awfully cheesy and almost childish names to unique and weird sounding Japlish ones. So maybe it just is a cultural thing. (Demanicus? dear lord...)
I may well have to give this some time in a future podcast :wink:
Well, I think you'll find that we appreciate kool names as well as cheezy names.
Yo' Bro, as I have often said, is one of the most offensive titles ever concocted. And yet, for that very reason, I have grown to love it. "Bonk" works for North American audiences because it doesn't have any other connotations here in the States ("bonk" is like "snog" over in Britain, isn't it?). Now, "Bonk" is certainly not a sophisticated name... but it seemed to really fit the protagonist in the game (and his attitutude), so it worked. It's a lot better than "Aero the Acrobat", anyway. Call me "easilly amused". :)
As I noted in my initial post, slapping two words together can produce very kool results ("Blood Gear" is a great-sounding name, IMO, and I like "Radiant Silvergun" as well, even if it is a mouthful).
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I really don't think there is a big European / American cultural divide when it comes to video game titles. On both sides of the Atlantic, you'll find equivalent portions of the population who detest the bastardization of imported cultural products. I agree that there are stereotypes of the "unsophisticated American masses", but this image is fueled by the companies who insist on marketing / localizing / sanitizing products as if they were Kung-Fu films in the 70's. So, it's not so much that we "want" corny stuff, but rather that it has been marketed to us as "corny".
As a result, I'd say that there is a greater appreciation for cheezy stuff here in the states because we grew up with cheezy marketing and localization of content (Godzilla, Speed Racer, Kung Fu films, Ninja fads, etc.). The only imported cultural products we got to see were things that were seen as "marketable" (i.e. sci-fi and action films yes, historical dramas no) -- and even then the localization usually added a thick layer of cheese on top (witness the dubbing of any action film from 50's - 80's).
But, and here's the important distinction: we in the States can appreciate both the orginal art as well as the bastardized art. I loved watching Battle of the Planets when I was a kid. I didn't know that the stupid R2D2-esque robot wasn't in the original Japanese cartoon! I loved Robotech as well -- but I had no idea that it was a melange of different series! Guess what? I still like BotP, including Bleep or Zark or whatever that R2D2 robot was called. And I like Robotech as well, even if it was hacked together.
I think most folks differentiate original art vs. bastardized art. They often find a way to appreciate the bastardized art, on some level. :) It might be kitsch, but it becomes something more -- it finds a way into our hearts. It's hard to explain. We're not simply mocking something that's cheezy, we're appreciating the cheeziness. Ahhhh, it's hard to put into words :).
On a somewhat related note: I wouldn't give up the TG-CD localizations of Final Zone II, Last Alert (Red Alert) or Valis II for the world :)
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To put it simply, we Americans consume a lot of cheese, therefore we enjoy cheese, whether it be the food or in the bad fashion :D . I purposely go to old video stores to find a movie with the cheesiest looking cover and description so I can go home and watch it with my bros and have a good laugh :lol: .
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I would say that in my experience the odd Japanese names work far better for Europeans than they do for Americans who seem to have a lot of trouble with anything that's not plainly s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t for them. At least that's the stereotype, but it does seem you lot prefer what I would term as awfully cheesy and almost childish names to unique and weird sounding Japlish ones. So maybe it just is a cultural thing. (Demanicus? dear lord...)
Or perhaps you're just an elitist Japanophile?
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While I am tempted by the new PCE flash cart....I am passing on it. I like the anticipation of getting a game in the mail I've never played and popping it in for the first time. What fun would it be to get Terra Cresta 2 having already played it?
Still cool though...but I am happy with my HuCard collection as it is to be honest. Been on a bit of a craze as far as buying goes lately. Still a good handful of CD games I need though.
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I would say that in my experience the odd Japanese names work far better for Europeans than they do for Americans who seem to have a lot of trouble with anything that's not plainly s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t for them. At least that's the stereotype, but it does seem you lot prefer what I would term as awfully cheesy and almost childish names to unique and weird sounding Japlish ones. So maybe it just is a cultural thing. (Demanicus? dear lord...)
Or perhaps you're just an elitist Japanophile?
That's probably true 8)
After thinking about it, I'm not sure that what you prefer depends on all the culture business, but rather depends on what you saw first. If you grew to love PC Genjin as 'Bonk' then you will prefer the name, however if you knew it as 'PC Kid' then you would prefer that instead.
I have no problem with the anime Robotech, despite it being a shredded version of Macross, purely because Robotech is how I first encountered it. But the PCE/TG16 was never released in the UK (which had a big import scene at the time) so I am more familiar with, and prefer the original Japanese titles.
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After thinking about it, I'm not sure that what you prefer depends on all the culture business, but rather depends on what you saw first. If you grew to love PC Genjin as 'Bonk' then you will prefer the name, however if you knew it as 'PC Kid' then you would prefer that instead.
I have no problem with the anime Robotech, despite it being a shredded version of Macross, purely because Robotech is how I first encountered it. But the PCE/TG16 was never released in the UK (which had a big import scene at the time) so I am more familiar with, and prefer the original Japanese titles.
Oh snap, I think you nailed it. :)
From your perspective, I can totally see how goofy we must seem. JJ & Jeff! Chew Man Fu! Cratermaze! Boxyboy! Man, the list goes on and on :) .
I should also point out that Keranu and I are not representative of most TG-16 fans. Some North Americans actually have good taste ;) . Sadly, we do not.
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not to mention the AWFUL, I mean absolutely AWWWFFFUUULLLL US cover art for turbo games.
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I should also point out that Keranu and I are not representative of most TG-16 fans. Some North Americans actually have good taste ;) . Sadly, we do not.
It's true, believe or not, Americans are not clones of each other :lol: :shock: ....:wink:
I for one always found more appeal in the japanese counter parts. I never liked the botched art they replaced on the boxes, that's one of the reasons why I like Working Designs so much. There are excepts though, Robotech definitely being one of them - I love Robotech and the names and musics they created/changed in the series(Macross) are very memorable for me. Man, the opening theme track brings tears to my eyes :D
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not to mention the AWFUL, I mean absolutely AWWWFFFUUULLLL US cover art for turbo games.
I agree. But of course, now I really love the fact that we got that artwork -- at least we got something *special* to cherish all our own.
North America's wonderful contribution to the PCE world!
I'm not joking.
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not to mention the AWFUL, I mean absolutely AWWWFFFUUULLLL US cover art for turbo games.
I agree. But of course, now I really love the fact that we got that artwork -- at least we got something *special* to cherish all our own.
North America's wonderful contribution to the PCE world!
I'm not joking, but feel free to mock me :)
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not to mention the AWFUL, I mean absolutely AWWWFFFUUULLLL US cover art for turbo games.
I agree. But of course, now I really love the fact that we got that artwork -- at least we got something *special* to cherish all our own.
North America's wonderful contribution to the PCE world!
I'm not joking, but feel free to mock me :)
Just look at this guy's avatar.
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not to mention the AWFUL, I mean absolutely AWWWFFFUUULLLL US cover art for turbo games.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geocities.com/thirdwebsite/takin_hoop1.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.geocities.com/thirdwebsite/screenshots_takin_hoop.html&h=600&w=500&sz=96&tbnid=xGckLI0vG7t13M:&tbnh=133&tbnw=110&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtakin%2Bit%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bhoop%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG
Like this?
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Oh wow, that's got to be the most appealing packaging for any product I've ever seen. I wonder how many minutes it took for that game to sell out completely.
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Actually I kind of really dig that cover for Takin' it to the Hoop, in a serious manner. It's not so much cheesy, as the Bomberman cover was for example, but you know, it's basic and it has a nice 80's basketball touch to it, reminds me of Teen Wolf. 8)
American botched cover art rulez hardcore.
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Oh wow, that's got to be the most appealing packaging for any product I've ever seen. I wonder how many minutes it took for that game to sell out completely.
Seriously -- nothing like a FULL FRONTAL NOSTRIL SHOT to help sales :)
TRIVIA: Taken it to the hoop is one of the very few covers that were based around "realistic" photographs... Addams Family, Jack Nicklaus, Takin it to the Hoop... and then there's Exile 2, which has a clay diorama :)
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Clay Art covers are the best :D .
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I still think that ungodly artwork on the original Mega Man NES game is the worst American box art ever. He looks like he's 40, his pose is anatomically impossible, and the guy (I won't insult real artists by calling him an "artist") who drew it obviously didn't know anything about the game other than it was called "Mega Man".
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Oh wow, that's got to be the most appealing packaging for any product I've ever seen. I wonder how many minutes it took for that game to sell out completely.
Seriously -- nothing like a FULL FRONTAL NOSTRIL SHOT to help sales :)
Nostril AND Armpit.
no way dude. i like cheesy covers. i even like the mega man 1 cover...but if i could wipe every copy of Takin it to the Hoop from the face of the earth, i would. and it still wouldn't heal the scars that photo burned into my brain.
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C'mon guys, that Takin' it to the Hoop cover is great. Maybe if it didn't expose the armpit hair so much, you guys could dig it more. But for me, I still love it because of how it captures that 80's basketball feel :D .
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hahhahaha. what's funny is that the Takin' it to the Hoop photograph is supposed to convey "action" -- but it looks so static and staged to me. There's nothing dynamic in the photo to suggest "fast basketball fun". In fact, I think the basketball is glued to the rim.
Furthermore, I suspect that the model's hand is glued to the basketball as well. :)