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NEC PC-Engine/SuperGrafx => PC Engine/SuperGrafx Discussion => Topic started by: lukester on April 10, 2016, 03:13:46 PM
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So from what I understand, a large number of people got into the PC Engine over the years, for one single reason.
They were Castlevania fans who heard about the "holy grail", Rondo of Blood, and just had to import a PC Engine or try out the game on their PSP.
Questions for those who this situation applies...
Is Rondo still your favorite PC Engine game? Have you been let down by every other game on the console? Was the bar set too high for your enjoyment of other games on the console? Or maybe just platformers?
In other cases, I think some people have only played Rondo and nothing else on the PCE, except maybe Ys. I've always been curious about this.
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I guess everyone here heard of the PC Engine before Dracula X.
Two or three EGM spreads hyped the game for me before I was finally able to get a copy (importers kept selling out). But it still greatly exceeded my expectations. It's hard to remember which games I definitely got before Drac X, because it was over 30 for sure, but as cool as it is, it was just another amazing Turbo/PCE game for me by the time I got 100% on it. I had Kabukiden, Ys I - IV, Neo Nectaris, Snatcher, Gate & Lords around the same time, so it it was hard for it to become my favorite game. I was certain that Ys I & II would always be my favorite game of any library, but Kabukiden took the crown and it doesn't look like that is going to change before I die.
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not being a fan of castlevania I was never too interested in rondo. That being said, after getting into pce and clearing about 20 games I finally decided to give rondo a shot after those nicely pressed discs were being distributed here. I've gotta say it's easily one of the best games for the system so far if not the best. very high quality in every regard. Doesn't really dampen my enjoyment of other pc engine games at all though.
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If memory serves, I've had 3 friends who were Castlevania fans that I let play Rondo who had absolutely no other interest in the system. I showed them some stuff I find cool since, but none of them were at all interested in the system's other offerings.
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Have you been let down by every other game on the console?
I'm not qualified to answer your first question, but I will say I was let down by Rondo. It's a great game, but when I first played it I thought to myself "So this is the game everybody is bouncing off their cocks about? Give me a break!".
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not my favorite but one of the best platformers on the pc engine just basically from a technical and artistic point and it has great playability and game design.
It wasn't the game that sold me on the pc engine CD-Rom initially that went to Wonderboy III simply because at that time it was one of my favorite arcade games and the new music tracks just elevated the game so I saved up a lot for it.
Anyway I think I have said this before but initial impressions of Rondo of blood I was disappointed with it because super Castlevania IV came out earlier and had flashier graphics, music and the whip mechanics even though it was a lot slow in gameplay I found it much more relaxing and tone very atmospheric.
When Rondo arrived I wasn't impressed with the anime intro, the music was standard synth all the way without any variety and the whip mechanics went back to the older gameplay styles. But the level designs, the sprite animations, some amazing level designs especially the raft falling water level stage and the ship level, and sound effects all add up to the sum of it's parts even though it was really tough game especially with Richter Belmont.
I think I am more appreciative of now than back then and pretty greatful we got a game like this for the pc engine.
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I like the game a lot, but I had the PCE for maybe 15 years before I got a copy. Because of my game playing history, I'm more likely to play an "inferior" game like Valis III than Rondo - I've probably played the former 50x more than the latter, even if rondo is a great game!
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I got my Duo at least a year before I'd seen anything on Dracula X, and 'twas nearly a decade before I actually got a copy to play, but I've never been disappointed.
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I was a big Turbo fan before the game was released and I don't think you're going to find too many people from my generation who discovered PCE via a Castelvania game. 1992 was honestly getting kind of late for the system so I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of people who bought a PCE system new did so before the this game was released. Your question really only applies to late comer "retro" types so maybe you'd get more relevant responses aiming that way specifically.
"How many of you noobs only have a PCE because of a "holy grail" that you don't even actually like?" Something like that.
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Discovered PCE from Rondo?
No for me learning that the SNES port was a watered down copy of Rondo. The. Learning that a castelvania game existed on the PCE/Duo was mind blowing.
I didn't grow up playing this system. I fell into it looking for something new and different. Was pleasantly surprised I had a small childhood connection to the system from playing one of the Bonk games at a older cousins house.
I got into the system more so braise of all he OTHER games I heard about and wanted to play.
I didn't even have a interest in Rondo until I leaned that copy of Dracula X I enjoyed as a kid had a better original game for the PCE that was CD based. Where as previously I thought the first cd based castelvania games where the two PS games Symphany and (that remake of the first game from the NES) chronicles?
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Is Drac X why you got a PC Engine lukester?
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Is Drac X why you got a PC Engine lukester?
My first game was on a pc compilation of bomberman games when I was 10 years old :)
When I got a Wii, I experimented with virtual console. I played a bunch of stuff but was not good enough to beat anything at the time.
I had the bonk games, jj and Jeff, bravoman, ordyne, galaga 88, rondo, bomberman 93, and a number of other stuff.
My favorite PC engine platformer is Bonk 2, though I understand rondo is a better game. To be honest, I actually prefer bloodlines! I'm not a big genesis fan either.
I'm not a big rpg guy, but I love the wonder boy games. Monster world IV especially. I have yet to play Ys IV and am excited for legend of Xanadu series. I hope blood gear gets a translation someday.
I have yet to play the spriggan series. I hate snes Aleste, love musha and gunhed. Same for castlevania.
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The bar was set too high when Ys I&II was put on CD for the first time.... but Rondo's aight, I guess... was def worth the 40 bux.
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I was into the TG16/PCE before Rondo. That said I think Rondo is a great game, I don't know if I would say it's the best game on the system but it's up there. I've really come to love the Japanese library because there's so many awesome shooters on it. I really wish we got more of these back in the day on our shores. The library for me is so not a disappointment.
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I always wanted a TG16 for Blazing Lazers and Dungeon Explorer, but could only have one console growing up, so it was the Genesis. I also didn't know anybody with the system, so it was always in my TODO list to get one once I "grew up".
In the late 90s, I was able to source myself a PCE Duo R, so I could play those 2 games, as well as the much talked about Dracula X. IMHO, Rondo of Blood more than lives up to the hype, as it's essentially perfect at what it sets out to do. It's got great presentation, fantastic level design and it is a decent challenge, without being unfair or frustrating; it's just fun to play. I'm not sure how people can be let down by the game, unless perhaps they were expecting 3D graphics or other unrealistic crap.
To me, this game and Lords of Thunder are reason enough to own a PCE.
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Oh, and to answer the question: no, I have not been let down by the library. On the contrary, I have been able to discover a lot of great games that I would've otherwise ignored, but honestly, Dracula X is the cream of the crop.
I don't think that's a knock on the rest of the library, as much as it is a testament on how good Rondo is.
FWIW, my favs are:
1- Dracula X
2- Lords of Thunder
3- Ys I and II
4- Devils Crush
5- Dungeon Explorer
6- Gates of Thunder
7- Ys III
8+ All the awesome shooters
The only game in the library that disappointed me was Blazing Lazers, which is just too much of a bore to get to the good sections later in the game.
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The only game in the library that disappointed me was Blazing Lazers, which is just too much of a bore to get to the good sections later in the game.
That blew my mind. But I respect your opinion.
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Have you been let down by every other game on the console?
I'm not qualified to answer your first question, but I will say I was let down by Rondo. It's a great game, but when I first played it I thought to myself "So this is the game everybody is bouncing off their cocks about? Give me a break!".
My thoughts exactly. It's a good game but is it really that good? I must admit I'm not too familiar with the Castlevania series but it doesn't come across as particularly special. That said I'm only on stage 2...
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My thoughts exactly. It's a good game but is it really that good?
The that is the problematic word here: are you comparing it to the praise that other people have individually given it, or to the image you created in your mind from combining all this praise?
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Rondo is jawsome. I was a early adopter to TG-16, I had already fell in love with turbochip games, and dropped the $300(I waited for price drop) on the CD-ROM and Ys was the singular greatest 16-bit console video game moment in my life by 1991. Local store had Rondo to rent when it came out, and I did and I LOVED IT! Prices where already getting $100+ even then, so I waited for a local friend to sell me his copy since I had already experienced it, no need to run and pay "new" prices.
Rondo was on my top 5 ever since playing it, and still is. As for the "disappointment" portion of the question; Stuff like Falcon, Gunboat, Ballistic, TV Sports, the Icom releases...are some fail for sure, but I never thought they would be good. So no, I've never been disappointed with my obey experience.
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I always wanted a TG16/PCE, since they were so scarce here back in the day. From Bonk to Snatcher, every magazine article I read about it was amazing. When I got into emulation, I played some hucard games of the plataform and was hooked; but when I played Rondo on a self-emulated file someone made, way before the launch of the PSP version, I decided to get the real console. I was not disappointed at all with the "rest" of the library, it amazes me all the time because of the huge amount of nice games it has and that I'm discovering and enjoying little by little.
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I was very proud of my Dracula X purchase in the 90's. It was the first time I decided to buy an import after seeing it in magazines and talking to sellers over the phone I found from EGM/GameFan advertising sections. Also the first time I was willing to spend $85 bucks for a videogame and having done that, I was later comfortable in also buying Ys IV for $55 from TZD. (http://www.ysutopia.net/images/Ys4TZDBuy.gif)
How I felt when I first fired it up on my Turbo Duo, well, I was bothered by not seeing the whip enhancements I saw in Castlevania IV for SNES, but with redbook audio music, cut scenes, multiple paths, an epic final battle with Dracula, I was plenty impressed with it!
When I think of what defines the Castlevania experience, it's Dracula X, Symphony of the Night, CS4, along with the first NES version which had the right difficultly level to make it a memorable bastard (Those bats! Damn those bats!)! I think Dracula X might be a tad too easy, but it's a masterpiece and I'm glad that Konami closed out the PC Engine CD console with it.
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When I think of what defines the Castlevania experience, it's Dracula X, Symphony of the Night, CS4, along with the first NES version which had the right difficultly level to make it a memorable bastard (Those bats! Damn those bats!)! I think Dracula X might be a tad too easy, but it's a masterpiece and I'm glad that Konami closed out the PC Engine CD console with it.
Couldn't agree more. IMO, Dracula X, SotN and CS4 are all equally as good, in their own way, and absolute must plays for anybody who is into video games.
The original Castlevania is such a tough, annoying bitch, that it is just immensely satisfying when you finally crack it.
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Being Castlevania is my favorite series of all time, it IS how I first learned of the PC-Engine. I originally knew of and wanted a TG-16 and it was years later that PCE was even on my radar. I own every Castlevania game and all but 5 are unboxed. Being a massive fan, I wanted to play each and everyone but I was not just going to drop cash on a system for just one game. This has never been an issue though lol, because of my love for gaming I always found plenty of great games and have kept all my systems since 1985 and have added a few older than that. After just a little research on the PCE/TG16 library, I was totally blown away of how many amazing games I was missing out on that I could not get any where else! To cut to the point, I almost missed one of the most amazing consoles that no one talks about enough. Now I own a beautiful briefcase setup that PCEngineFX Keith Courage has restored and am in gaming heaven. So take it as you will. Dracula X for me was more important than just a outstanding game. For me, it was the gateway into a new unexplored exciting world of PC Engine and a great group of gamer's to speak with.
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It was the last "real" game in the series, that's all that has to be said. CVIV is a wonky mess of bullshit (that whip is dump guys, no joke) and once CotN came out it became a different series.
Have you been let down by every other game on the console?
I'm not qualified to answer your first question, but I will say I was let down by Rondo. It's a great game, but when I first played it I thought to myself "So this is the game everybody is bouncing off their cocks about? Give me a break!".
My thoughts exactly. It's a good game but is it really that good? I must admit I'm not too familiar with the Castlevania series but it doesn't come across as particularly special. That said I'm only on stage 2...
Maybe you should have waited the extra three minutes it takes to beat stage 3 of this decades old game before forming your opinion. That way you'd be %50 more informed.
Man, WTF...
Hey guys, I just wanted to take the time to mention...Star Wars. What's the big deal? Sure, I've only seen that part where the kid is fighting with his parents about power converters or something, but does it really get that much better?
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(http://junk.tg-16.com/images/honda_of_blood.png)
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(http://junk.tg-16.com/images/honda_of_blood.png)
Lol.
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I got Rondo on release (I worked at a Game Fan store) and as far as 8/16bit games go, Rondo has some of the best overall presentation, the music the little attentions to detail and everything. It's really a shame the Turbo was handled the way it was in the US, if things had been done differently and more games came to the US market things could have been very different. I will always hold the PCE/TG as my favorite of the 8/16's because the library speaks to me in a way the others do not, despite having a limited US/English presence.
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I have been dreaming of playing Dracula X on an actual console for decades! I've played the emulated version on PSP, Wii and PC. Castlevania is my favorite game series and I own them all, and have beaten each one, other than Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2. The first game I asked my parents to get for the NES in '87 was Castlevania. I am in the process of buying a Duo to play my copy of Dracula X for the first time. It's the only CV game I don't have a console for.
For me, DX is the main reason I am getting into the PC Engine. The reason so many CV fans freak out about this game is because it is undoubtedly the finest of the 16-bit era. That's saying a lot considering Bloodlines and CVIV, two very good adventures. I read about this coming out in a magazine and was blown away by the graphics and first impressions. Two or three years later I played Dracula X on the SNES and was kind of disappointed. I played the real deal for the first time emulated many years later and was amazed! I don't consider it the best title in the series, but it's definitely up there. In some small part due to serving as the true prequel to Symphony of the Night.
I never really had a chance to play the TG-16, save for a time at a Toys 'R Us with a few minutes of Bonk. There were a couple of kids in school that had them. But most people had SNES, so I got to play the two CV titles on there when we would switches consoles for a week or so. At home I was enjoying bloody Mortal Kombat and Dragon's Fury on my Genesis. I knew Sega had a CD add-on, but had never heard of TG-16 CD.
So while I'm not a noob to gaming and I grew up in the 16-bit era, you can absolutely include me in the group of those whose primary reason for owning a PCE is Dracula X. There are other games I am looking to play, like Splatterhouse, and of course Bonk. Faussette Armour and Renny Blaster look cool too. Can you tell I like platformers and brawlers?
I certainly can't speak to how Richter stacks up to the rest of the library. Still, I have to imagine with the number of "Top PC Engine Games" lists that I have seen which rank it at #1, it has introduced a good deal of hardcore CV fans like myself to that (all due respect), "other" 16-bit console from the 90's.
I will be sure and let you know my impressions once I get my new Duo and play a few levels.
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Castlevania IV is better than rondo, and bonks Adventure is better than both. Vigilante makes all three look lame. Madonna needs your help!
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Growing up I was playing Turbo Grafx 16 at my friends house. I was impressed and we played it all the time. I wanted a Duo for many years to play the Hu card and CD games. I knew about Rond of Blood when it came out. After playing Symphony of the night I knew I had to get Rondo of Blood some day. One day I got a Duo and Rondo later. I play a bunch of games on it. I want to play more CD games.
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I just started playing it and I love it. My main experience with the series prior to playing this was Castlevania IV, which I never thought would be topped.
It's actually reinvigorated my interest in the series and I think I'm gonna dig out my copy of bloodlines next.