Japanese Retro Computing : The NEC PC-9821 Home Computer

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Japanese Retro Computing : The NEC PC-9821 Home Computer

Рет қаралды 69,358

8 жыл бұрын

Here it is!. The NEC PC-98. Released exclusively in Japan and running custom version of MS-DOS and Windows, I discuss the hardware, and gaming as well as a buyers guide and how much you should expect to pay.
I also came across an excellent buyers guide with good information - check it out here - / buyingguideby98digger
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Пікірлер: 190

@Michirin9801 8 жыл бұрын

It sure is great to see the PC-98 getting more coverage in English! I love the system, especially the sound, it's probably my favourite FM synth soundchip, and so many of its games have spectacular soundtracks!

@MMSZoli 7 жыл бұрын

For me this system is completely new, and that Yamaha sound really blew me away! It is unfortunate, that the OPL2 Adlib/Soundblaster became the standard on PC, not this OPL4 one. Because of the OPL2 sound, the PC guys needed something more serious, and Gravis Ultrasound and other standards grew up from nothing. I think if there Would be a card with THIS FM sound + a stereo 16bit PCM for Digi, that could rule the PC market.

@WASasquatch 5 жыл бұрын

That sound is literally why I loved my Sega Genesis so much, it was amazing. Everyone loved their SNES and I couldn't get enough of the Genesis's FM soundchip. I'd listen to title screen music all the time just to jam.

@marisakirisame867 9 ай бұрын

Yep those OPN2 chips is cool

@YuutaTogashi0707 5 ай бұрын

The PC-98 used OPN and OPNA depending on the sound card actually@@marisakirisame867

@xMrCh33s3x 8 жыл бұрын

I've first heard about the PC-98 from Touhou so I went to this video for more info. Really did make me smile seeing Lotus Land Story in your list of favorite games for the system.

@Isaac-gh5ku 7 жыл бұрын

I am wondering if PC-98 Touhou games are compatible with the PC-9821 CX computer.

@obsoletegeek 8 жыл бұрын

A hidden gem for sure. So many Compile exclusives. Definitely a lot of great games for very little money.

@nekonekopanicnekonekopanic7335 4 жыл бұрын

Not state wide it is so hard and expensive to find a games let alone a working system

@scottbreon9448 3 жыл бұрын

It's a damn good computer for sure, although my favorite Japanese PC is the Sharp X68000

@Yuureiki 7 жыл бұрын

One thing I like about PC-98 is that it can run Touhou 1-5.

@legacyeevee8045 4 жыл бұрын

This is what I was expecting

@theluminousone5883 Жыл бұрын

Well I mean, they were literally made for the pc-98

@marisakirisame867 9 ай бұрын

Well, their FM synth sound pretty cool ( I'm just done making touhou 6 PC-98 edition )

@galemannman 9 ай бұрын

I have to run a special program to run them now 🥲

@BAKU2K2 9 ай бұрын

@@theluminousone5883Specifically the PC-9821 series.

@PSx1991 8 ай бұрын

Who came here after "16 bit sensation: another layer" anime?

@BushidoBrownSama 5 ай бұрын

Not me, do you reccomend it?

@Elytrii 5 ай бұрын

Me!

@Lee.Moriya 8 жыл бұрын

Really, really cool video. Gotta be honest I only know of the PC-98 due to the early era Touhou games (Which I'm glad you included!) Interesting to learn more about it and hear that awesome FM Soundcard, definitely worth the price of acquisition. Great setup, I'm jealous!

@marisakirisame867 9 ай бұрын

I'm buying this PC just for touhou

@meowmix6782 2 жыл бұрын

some really awesome looking shooters, love old pc-98 music thanks to chiru.no online radio, that Valkyrie fighting game looks great too

@viscountalpha 8 жыл бұрын

It's very cool! I couldn't help but watch your demo running behind you.

@artstatedigital 7 жыл бұрын

Great video (as always), and what a nice looking bit of kit. The FM sound is really nice. I may have to fire up an old PC and get my fix. ✌🏼

@mattsephton 2 жыл бұрын

Stumbled upon this old video of yours. Loving it

@airthrow 8 жыл бұрын

GREAT video, would love this style for every J-PC that I can't afford right now. I have an MSX2+ though. The sound is amazing!

@Chrispynutt 8 жыл бұрын

I really like how the upgrade slots are handled, that's so slick.

@WASasquatch 5 жыл бұрын

That beauty sounds amazing, and is really appropriate for the time-frame, and games you featured. Definately subscribed for more great content (which I'm sure there is... it's 2019 lol),

@ToddsNerdCave 8 жыл бұрын

dat FM sound! The machine sounds brilliant.

@fr_schmidlin 7 жыл бұрын

Nearly all Japanese machines feature brilliant FM soundtracks. Tip: Search on KZfaq for FM soundtracks on the MSX, Megadrive and X68000 too. :)

@Trimint123 6 жыл бұрын

By the way, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive also used the same FM sound chip.

@porjay 8 жыл бұрын

Love your videos! Great work can't wait for the next one.

@pneptun 8 жыл бұрын

man, your channel is loaded with some fine enterntainment, you totally deserve more subscribers! maybe do a few more colabs with The Obsolete Geek (who's channel is awesome too. actually his mention of your channel in one of his videos is what brought me here) Keep up the good work!

@alex76gr 8 жыл бұрын

Excellent addition for your collection. I wish you enjoy it. Greetings from Greece! :)

@galin3world 6 жыл бұрын

PC98 is one of my favorite computer system of all time and I'm so happy to see some western video about it. thanks for this video.

@danielfalin 5 жыл бұрын

wow, amazing is so old FM sound card, had all solid capacitors ?!! I have never seen something like this on a pc hardware from that era

@facudscgamer 7 жыл бұрын

great video. it was very useful, I want one of these and I didnt know that yahoo japan had an auction site

@Shot97 8 жыл бұрын

Great luck with the cheap "junk" PC-98! Too bad about the shipping. Cool you went the extra mile with the sound card. There were some quality titles and ports put out for some of the Japanese computers, the MSX is another good one. I love seeing some of the Japanese Adventure games, they're all so different to our adventure games and just packed with sexual innuendos.

@jonnyretro3128 8 жыл бұрын

Awesome mate, those games look cool !

@warcatbattalion 9 ай бұрын

16 bit sensation

@allanreyesr1623 8 ай бұрын

😂

@kloakovalimonada 8 жыл бұрын

God I love FM synthesis.

@josephfrye7342 6 жыл бұрын

me too mate ;)

@wingsofwinter2600 Жыл бұрын

Everyone else: Touhou Project Me: Rance series Seriously though the Alicesoft main screen for their 90s games mentioned PC-98 a lot so I got curious

@ramens Жыл бұрын

Rance sucks

@CRTcade 8 жыл бұрын

Hey buddy, how's it going? Awesome machine and what deal, a machine listed as junk, in perfect working order. Great buy, and games look great!

@mikepartin571 2 ай бұрын

oh man, PC-98 gear! Can't believe I haven't found this before now.

@MrBamcito 4 жыл бұрын

The games are so smooth! :O

@scottbreon9448 3 жыл бұрын

It's a damn good computer for sure, although my favorite Japanese PC is the Sharp X68000

@104d_3rr0r_vince 8 жыл бұрын

Best t-shirt on youtube.

@ModernVintageGamer 8 жыл бұрын

you havent seen my Charisteas Euro 04 shirt yet ;)

@ApolloniosIX 6 жыл бұрын

YES! Best Shirt on YT!!! please more of it! :D

@meowtrox1234 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing BGM!

@gamerdude0 8 жыл бұрын

Very cool thumbs up

@HsienKoMeiLingFormerYANG 6 жыл бұрын

It’s can download or play around 6000 game plus Doom, possibly Wolfenstein 3D, SimCity, Space Hulk and other western game. Lord Monarch, Corpse Party, Brain of the Dead, Policenauts and Slayers (SFC/SNES) were one of best classic. For 120$, That play more than actual pay console.

@MsMadLemon 6 жыл бұрын

It's Thanks to 'Bad Apple' and 'Lotus Land Story' that i know of the PC--98.. and now thanks to you that I know all about it. Thanks for the great video! :o)

@LuteNYC 8 жыл бұрын

What's the song that's playing at the very end?

@felenov Жыл бұрын

Versions of this architecture are still coming up on industrial machines from Asia. It's quite interesting looking st how those things sre built

@dave4shmups 8 жыл бұрын

Excellent video! How did you use Yahoo Japan auctions?

@soilbroker 5 жыл бұрын

Great video, loved the shirt!!..Greece rocks!..waiting for Charisteas T-Shirt!!!

@scarletremilia3310 3 жыл бұрын

3:24 Dawn of Touhou Project!

@IotaWasN0tHere Жыл бұрын

PC 98: A collectors item for Touhou fans

@MariaAnderssonX 8 жыл бұрын

This is an amazing machine to play old hentai games on^^

@Isaac-gh5ku 7 жыл бұрын

Maria Andersson official Or even old Corpse Party and Touhou games.

@dragonwarriorz1 5 жыл бұрын

I went down to the comments to see how long it'd take for somebody to say "hentai". It didn't take long!

@pikaszablak7933 4 жыл бұрын

That is the main reason I would get a PC98 I love old school anime and eroge.

@SuperSmashDolls 3 жыл бұрын

@@dragonwarriorz1 The PC-98 is arguably THE reason why Japan assumes "PC gaming" = "filthy, filthy porn".

@slightlyloyal1442 3 жыл бұрын

Agreed, best breakthrough system to play eroge games i think.

@seireiart Жыл бұрын

I believe this is the same computer ZUN have used to develop the first 5 Touhou games.

@cortexauth4094 4 жыл бұрын

I saw Touhou whoa, I wasn't wrong when I subscribed you earlier

@jendorei 4 жыл бұрын

Oh god, I want to buy this.

@joefell5311 3 жыл бұрын

Very nice and niche system

@crunchsixfoe 6 жыл бұрын

Love that stuff that's listed as junk and turns out all good

@funknotik 2 жыл бұрын

Does anyone know if the pc 98 had a way to make music on it? Like a DAW or a tracker software like teh one on amiga machines?

@superbravo666 7 жыл бұрын

Amazing classic cool PC :)

@Lachlant1984 8 жыл бұрын

Were there any ports of PC-Engine/Turbografx games released for the PC-98 platform? In particular, games such as Bonk's Adventure or Bomberman or Blazing Lazers or other such games.

@Lachlant1984 7 жыл бұрын

Well considering that Bomberman was a Hudson Soft title, I'd be somewhat surprise if it wasn't released on the PC 98 since Hudson Soft and NEC both worked on the Turbografx system.

@TransKingFormers 6 жыл бұрын

is there anyway of emulating this on a jailbroken console such as original xbox,wii,360,ps3 or rasperry pi?

@djwille88 6 жыл бұрын

About that compact flash. I'm running a bunch of 9821x's at work (very old machines) I'd like to know what adapter you used to get this to work.

@Toyaddict81 Жыл бұрын

Great machine indeed. What is the name of the song at the end of the video (or what game does it come from)? @ 7:41

@josephfrye7342 6 жыл бұрын

ahhhh yes there it is one and only computer.

@MadsonOnTheWeb Жыл бұрын

I wish there were more about japanese machines

@slightlyloyal1442 3 жыл бұрын

Damn this was the first PC i've ever seen back in the days. Seeing this video, made me realise how underrated and the ridiculous amount of potential in this PC had to offer. Absolute beast of a computer. I was visiting a great old friend of mine who was himself was Dutch/Japanese and had a older brother who owned this PC. We played games on the PS1 and somewhat on the PC-98 with Windows 95 installed i believe. He had many games that we played like Touhou-series is what's called right? (fantastic series) i self was fundamentally speaking to little to even understand something, but i did know he played also playee some eroge games aswell lool. His library was insane. Is the PC available somewhere?

@NesNyt Жыл бұрын

Oh jeez here we go.....mine kept restarting and selected whatever it wanted on screen. Turns out a quarter was stuck between chassy and motherboard just sitting there shorting away

@PeterKr79 5 жыл бұрын

Which is a model of nec monitor?

@joseph0126 6 жыл бұрын

May I ask the CF card and IDE adapter specifications, thanks.

@Dvach_Hikka 7 жыл бұрын

Lately I saw a NEC PC-9821 laptop on the market, and I'm total noob at PC-98. Do NEC laptops worth it?

@Darthsigmaballs Жыл бұрын

these days buyee shipping is pretty reasonable, import charges arent even bad. But the last time i imported a lot of things was a year ago so maybe times have changed again lol

@Lachlant1984 8 жыл бұрын

When you said ICA, did you by any chance mean ISA? Also, why does the sound card have a DC in socket on it? Wouldn't the card get all the power it needs from the interface bus? Clearly I don't know much about these PCs, in fact I know nothing about them.

@user-uk8sz8ws6k 7 жыл бұрын

C-BUS has a rather weak power output, cards that need external power are common.

@Link-channel 5 жыл бұрын

Does anybody know where to find that MSDP for DOS?

@ShmupsBR 3 жыл бұрын

Hello! What monitor do you use with it? I see it's a NEC AccuSync, but I can't read the model number. Thanks!

@whatifindinteresting3067 8 жыл бұрын

very cool videos. you really should have more views. You should reach out to others with similar channels to get some back and forth plugs for each other.

@ModernVintageGamer 8 жыл бұрын

thank you for the kind words!

@TheLemminkainen 8 жыл бұрын

What abou the video chip was it standard VGA?

@Zero.Requiem 3 жыл бұрын

Can i ask what is the brand and model of the monitor that you use? Thanks

@JD-jx6gw 4 жыл бұрын

How did an Aussie end up in the states?

@dave4shmups 7 жыл бұрын

How did you get Yahoo Auctions Japan to display in English?

@aceofhearts573 5 жыл бұрын

Make a video going over as many games as you can

@cyb3rklev872 Жыл бұрын

This is probably the only old PC I'd buy for the games it has instead of just emulating

@zangl2955 11 ай бұрын

Amigas are pretty fuckin cool too

@NemanjaVuj 8 жыл бұрын

So many V-scroll shooters... Is this the most typical genre for the system or your personal preference?

@ModernVintageGamer 8 жыл бұрын

personal preference, there is a wide range of games for the system. Be warned though there is an abundance of japansese 'hentai' games also

@4everIRide 8 жыл бұрын

Sweet......................................................................................

@twoquickcapri 8 жыл бұрын

I won one from Yahoo Japan for 1000 yen but I can get it to turn on. Did open it to take a quick look but didn't see anything out of place. Will have to dig into it later when I have the time.

@ModernVintageGamer 8 жыл бұрын

Yeah I've opened it up a few times. Does the standby light come on at all ? Hopefully it's nothing too serious.

@twoquickcapri 8 жыл бұрын

The system does nothing. No lights, no fans, and no bleeps. Hopefully it just a fuse in the power supply.

@twoquickcapri 8 жыл бұрын

I just realize that my 9821 doesn't have the the RAM expansion in the front like your system does. Will your system turn on with out it? standby light? I saw the simm slot next to the CPU thinking it was the RAM for the system but I'm now thinking it's for cache.

@snessy 4 жыл бұрын

Aaaand he never replied back.

@Acierer 7 жыл бұрын

Do you need to supply power to the DC-In on the sound card?

@ShaneStrife 4 жыл бұрын

It’s optional. It was put in there in case you had a lot of other cards eating up power on the 12V rail, and couldn’t power the sound card as well. As far as I know, they didn’t even come with power adapters in the box!

@hokman1 3 жыл бұрын

i know u can run iso's but isn't the whole point of this era is to have the cd-rom to play cd-rom games that really came to its prime at that time? And authencity is what makes the experience unique to have retro obscrue hardware?

@SatoshiMatrix1 8 жыл бұрын

What of a controller port? I can't imagine playing shmups with nothing but the keyboard.

@tfilefan 4 жыл бұрын

Satoshi Matrix PC-9801-86 Sound Card has an MSX compatible controller port which is directly connected to YM2608. Its DB-9 connector isn't compatible with ATARI joystick.

@unebonnevie 6 жыл бұрын

Japan web site you bought your PC-9821? Thanks!

@NekohitaTenko 5 жыл бұрын

The MASTA RACE !

@Miku01624 4 жыл бұрын

Touhou Project

@meowtrox1234 3 жыл бұрын

were some of the games here predecessor of ROCKMAN?

@InsaneWayne355 8 жыл бұрын

Does it not output any sound effects? All I heard was music.

@mauriceh7558 6 жыл бұрын

get a better hs and or speakers

@JohnDoe-wi7eb Жыл бұрын

Can PC-98 games play on windows 95?

@thepirategamerboy12 5 жыл бұрын

Is a voltage transformer required to safely use this in the US?

@Longlius 5 жыл бұрын

You shouldn't since the US and Japan use almost identical voltages and frequencies, and it's likely just a standard switching PC power supply.

@thepirategamerboy12 5 жыл бұрын

I see, but I still bought the transformer anyways. I really just wanted to be safe.

@usateiusatei 7 жыл бұрын

Do you have an original copy of Louts Land Story from Zun himself, or did you get a copy off the internet?

@ModernVintageGamer 7 жыл бұрын

i wish ! i would love to source an original Lotus Land Story - i found an image of it online instead

@usateiusatei 7 жыл бұрын

That'd be amazing if you did - I've seen prices going for about 1.5 million yen! Have you checked out Mystic Square yet?

@aretard7995 5 жыл бұрын

l o u t s l a n d s t o r y

@tHeWasTeDYouTh 4 жыл бұрын

so sad that Japan abandoned all of their PCs (PC-98, X68000, MSX, FM TOWNS) for IBM clones in the mid 90s!!!!! There are so many Japanese PC games from the 80s and 90s that will be lost in time because modern Japanese just do not care about PC games. So many awesome hentai games and visual novels!

@kwizzeh 3 жыл бұрын

It was simply because IBM clones were cheaper and more affordable lol

@mimichaten 3 жыл бұрын

us trade sanction laws crushed the innovative part of japanese industry, and then it just ended up benefiting china.

@alpzepta 2 жыл бұрын

Literally FM Town = Lifebook PC98 = Versa Pro X68000 = Dynabook = Protége and Tecra

@alpzepta 2 жыл бұрын

@@mimichaten Huawei Matebook won’t be as unique as the PC-98 I can’t believe China kinda take over and we all accept low quality junk electronic from China

@NesNyt Жыл бұрын

Fave games or all u got

@ahsanahmed3412 Жыл бұрын

MADE IN JAPAN IS GOLD QUALITY

@SkyeWelse 7 жыл бұрын

Great video! I had question about the monitor you are using. I can see that it is some kind of NEC Multisync, but I was wondering if you could tell me which specific model this is and if you've ever notice anything cutting off on the edges of the screen. I have my PC-98 Ce2 hooked up to a few monitors but they all seem to cut off the screen just a little bit. Thanks!

@HikariCalyx 7 жыл бұрын

Take a look to the information if it recognize the resolution, refresh frequency and Horizontal Frequency as 640 x 400 @ 56Hz, 24kHz. You just need to display a game's interface then make a auto calibration.

@AshtonCoolman 6 жыл бұрын

A $120 PC98 is unimaginable in 2018 😂

@REDMOON982 2 жыл бұрын

Even moreso in 2022

@TotemoGaijin Жыл бұрын

@@REDMOON982 And 2023, lol.

@joseluki 6 жыл бұрын

If it is a 486 is it compatible with any other western 486?

@simonrichard9873 5 жыл бұрын

The processor itself is the same as any other 486SX-33

@Longlius 5 жыл бұрын

It's a standard 486. The I/O pins are just wired up differently since the motherboard is a different standard.

@TalkSickMass 2 жыл бұрын

3:57 *gulps*

@atomiswave2 8 жыл бұрын

could you get this to run on dos box?

@ModernVintageGamer 8 жыл бұрын

no unfortunately you cannot. there is however a PC-98 emulator called Anex86 that should do what you need. i've never used it however so YMMV. thanks!

@Farsuvon 8 жыл бұрын

There is also the T98-Next and Neko Project II emulators. NP2 has been recently updated and is the best one if you can configure it properly and have the processor power for it. May not work with EVERY game out there. Anex86 works, but the sound quality bothers me. If you use that, you must change the sound setting to -86 to get the full OPNA sound for games like Touhou 4: Lotus Land Story in this video. T98-Next works well. It's a good middle ground for emulating PC-98 games.