A Hidden Gem Console! The NEC PC-FX! The PC Engine Successor! How To Emulate! Should You Buy?
Рет қаралды 7,732
9 ай бұрынSUPPORT THE CHANNEL : / videogameesoterica
Its been TWO years since I talked about the NEC PC-FX, the successor console to the PC Engine and TurboGrafx 16...and its one of the video game consoles I get the most questions about STILL! So just like the FM Towns Marty mega video we did...it's PC-FX retro gaming revisit time!
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Mike Puelinckx, Tony Escobar, H7, Ben Parfitt, Holger Schmidt, Tim Lehner, Shad Uttam, Dan L, Coupon Joe, Sunder Raj, Dorfus the Maple Syrup Man, John Booty, Richard S, Eric Gutt and Robert Alger!
The NEC PC-FX is definitely a rare piece of video game history but like all video games it deserves some historical preservation! Lately there has been a renewed interesting in the PC-FX with potential FPGA cores and optical disc emulators...and that means I have been getting a lot of questions about the hardware like....Should I buy a PC-FX? What are the best games to play on the PC FX? Is the PC-FX as bad as I heard it is? How do you emulate PC FX? is Mednafen the best emulator for PC-FX? Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? Ok a few of those you DIDNT ask...but you get the idea!
So I will be talking about the history of the PC-FX, the best games to play and how to emulate the console via Mednafen for the emulation enthusiast crowd! Because its a total gaming hidden gem
Because it has beat em ups (Zenki), Resident Evil survival horror (Team Innocent) and shmups (Zeroigar) just to name a few!
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
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VGE
#arcade #arcadegames #arcadegame #sega #segasaturn #emulator #emulation #gaming #gamingcommunity #retrogaming #retrogames #retrogamer #racinggames #racinggame
@baddealrage 5 ай бұрын
Awesome video, I had no clue that PC-FX existed but enjoyed some PC-Engine games. Can't wait to try suggested games.
@VideoGameEsoterica 5 ай бұрын
Def give them a shot. A decent amount to love on PC-FX
@skykitchen867 6 ай бұрын
I enjoy Hudson Games. Bought the Turbo Duo back in 1994 and it still works perfectly. Their side scrollers are superb.
@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын
Hudson always made great stuff
@skykitchen867 6 ай бұрын
They sure did!! :)@@VideoGameEsoterica
@CorporalDanLives 9 ай бұрын
I'm in Japan and I'm always surprised how I always see this thing for sale, and not at jacked up insane prices like everything else. You can grab one of these in the box for about 150 bucks at the current exchange rate and software seems plentiful. I really wonder how many of these things they managed to sell.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Oh I didn’t know you were in Japan. How’d I not know that?
@CorporalDanLives 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica actually today I just ran down to the really good hard off near my place and saw a batch of about five PCFX games, the most expensive was about 80 bucks and the cheapest was 15!
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I need to send you on a shopping trip haha
@Jabjabs 9 ай бұрын
I always love seeing the roads could have had but didn't take. PC-FX in magazines at the time was basically mentioned in such a brief passing you kind of questioned if it ever came out. Clearly it did but in the west we just were being dazzled by other things.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It barely registered on release and then faded into deep obscurity
@robross6462 9 ай бұрын
Awe yeah!!! Cat pointer is back! Enjoyed this series a few years ago! Happy to see more
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
He’s always around here and there :)
@nono1223 9 ай бұрын
Im extremely close to a full set for the PCFX. Only missing 8 games right now. Definitely love me some PCFX! My absolute favourite failed console.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Oh wow full set eh. That’s ambitious!
@nono1223 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica I had the luck to get Zeroigar and Chip-Chan Kick quite a few years ago for pretty cheap. Then I lucked into a (relatively) cheap copy of Zenki and at that point decided to just go for the full set. 😆 Now im only missing one good game (Power League FX). The others are the three Mahjong games (they are expensive for how crappy they are), Tokimeki, Pachio-kun, Sotsugyou R Real and the single release of Pia Carrot.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I’d love a copy of Zenki but I’ll never pay the price
@dorfus 9 ай бұрын
Oh sure you’re showing this system but you won’t cover similar… ahem… properties… on the Saturn
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Lolol the game list is all tame here
@nicolasrolke3538 9 ай бұрын
Ohhh this video is a real treat. Thank you. ⚡💯🔥🙏
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Happy to do it
@kyzermcslyzer8496 9 ай бұрын
I bought a NEC PC-FX back in 2020, and honestly, I love it. There are a handful of games that can be played without knowing Japanese, but what I personally love is WHAT can be done with the PC-FX, in terms of non-pixel art games, Team Innocence is a prime example in my opinion. Hopefully there will be a small revival of the PC-FX since a lot of niche consoles are getting both new homebrew games and fan translations nowadays.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Team Innocent has such a unique vibe and look that I don’t think has ever been done before
@weekendroady2060 8 ай бұрын
Is anyone even attempting homebrew on the PC-FX? It's easy enough to get one of these consoles and has so much potential to expand the library.
@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын
I haven’t seen any unfortunately
@alexc836 9 ай бұрын
I’ve tried the English patches of Zeroigar and Welcome to Pia Carrot (I own both originals) and I have to say it really transforms the games if you don’t understand Japanese. Even Zeroigar, being a kind of “meh” shooter before, feels more satisfying when you know what’s happening. Pia Carrot is a little naughty and cringe in spots, but overall a lighthearted and fun digital comic. I haven’t tried Farland Story yet, but I see it’s fully playable in English too. It’s on my list.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Yes the system could use some more translations. (Pokes Team Innocent with a stick)
@alexc836 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica Seems like that one was started many years ago, I remember seeing pics. Was it abandoned? You said they hadn’t started yet - is someone wanting to start over from scratch on it?
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I’ve heard rumblings of an attempt but nothing to show for it
@EVOLSUCKS 6 ай бұрын
@alexc836 that's very cool. I've tried burning the pia carrot translation in the past but never got it to work. How did you do it ?
@VideoGameEsoterica 6 ай бұрын
You need extremely good quality discs. The PC-FX hates burned discs. JVC Taiyo Yuden ones
@Shadowmask49 2 ай бұрын
Added this to my batocera build, what a bunch of hidden gem anime games
@VideoGameEsoterica 2 ай бұрын
Nice. Enjoy them!
@yakmage8085 9 ай бұрын
These Japanese PC videos are really amazing thanks for putting these together
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoy them :)
@Charlie-Cat. 9 ай бұрын
Great unit this is VGE. I have the it in the collection. Haven't touched it in a while, but after seeing the video, I think I'll give a go now bro. 8^) Anthony..
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I’m not surprised you have one!
@Laserdreamz 9 ай бұрын
Gamefan gave Team Innocent rave reviews when it came out, looked great in the screenshots. Was so pumped for PC-FX right from seeing images of the Ironman board in the early 90's & it's morphing capabilities, shame.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
So many interesting games were demoed for Ironman that never made it to PC-FX
@devilmingy 9 ай бұрын
Always love seeing the PC-FX get some love.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It was long overdue to reappear on the channel. Also I made this months ago and kinda forgot about it
@devilmingy 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica Better late than never. Between this and the PCFX Fan Club podcast, it’s great to see more discussion on this wonderfully misguided machine. Looking into the PCFX also let me discover the software library of the PC98, which also tends to go more towards slower paced gameplay sections framed by animated storytelling rather than the PC Engine’s arcade action.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Oh I think I did that podcast? A few years ago. But now I can’t remember
@devilmingy 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica indeed you did, and they finally out out a new episode a couple months back.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I figured it had to be that one because there probably isn’t a second PC-FX podcast 😂
@lknox1123 9 ай бұрын
Your videos are hurting my wallet VGE!! You already have me looking at arcade PCB setups and now this!
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
VGE is not to be held responsible for any bad financial decisions 🤣
@ThomasSerruques 9 ай бұрын
nice to see some love for pc fx. nec was blind to 3d even more than sega saturn, shame.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
The funny thing is they were and weren’t. They had 3D planned for it. They just changed their mind at some point
@mrburns366 9 ай бұрын
Sometimes I wish Sega and NEC had teamed up together to make a console. I feel like they might still be around if they had.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Possibly. They both had great hardware but also both had bad business decisions. So it’s as likely they just would have died earlier
@Kadamose 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica They were bad decisions because they were pioneers in the field. There was no one to emulate or copy. Nintendo is still around because they sat back and waited (the SNES came out three years after the Genesis and was not that much of an upgrade and the N64 came out two years after both Sony and Sega had their 32 bit consoles on the market and was an absolute dumpster fire of a system.) Sega and NEC both deserve to still be around, but, sadly, they are not, and the industry has suffered ever since.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Yes it’s less interesting without Sega in the mix.
@BrassMountainLion 9 ай бұрын
Ruruli Ra Rura looks adorable imo... not sure why VGE thinks it's ugly Great coverage of an obscure system, in any case! I recommend Queen of Queens just for the LOLs
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It’s charmingly ugly. But it’s ugly lol
@ataribowlingcgc4465 9 ай бұрын
There are two games I play regularly from this system: Chōshin Heiki Zeroigar which is a decent shmup and Kishin Dōji Zenki FX: Vajra Fight which is an excellent platformer.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Zenki is a banger. Love that game
@AM-ss9he 9 ай бұрын
Now this would be awesome on the MiSTer.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
100% would be
@dorfus 9 ай бұрын
FYI murdering those mailboxes in that Chip Chan Kick game is a very serious crime. Someone put an ice cream in a mailbox and got 5 years there- what do you think murdering like five or six of them would be?
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Probably give you an award
@snethss 9 ай бұрын
Here we go. Just now realizing you didn't cover this already.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I made this too long ago and kept pushing it
@ClassicCo-op 9 ай бұрын
I have a pc-fx and burned a handful of games. Definitely want to check out that horror game. That looks great! Do you know if any other co-op games other than Zenki and chip Chan kick?
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
There is a baseball game that I believe is 2P as is Battle Heat
@MagisterHamid 9 ай бұрын
I have one and it’s one of the weirdest console in my collection. So many strange decisions by NEC. For a start as you mentioned no back wards compatibility and directly locking out the entire PC engine library, second why the hell is there no RGB out, only S-video. And third it’s a 2D console released just a few weeks after PS1 and Saturn. It was doomed from the start. And all those weird text based simulation games. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It is a master class on what NOT to do. But i love it anyway
@BurritoKingdom 9 ай бұрын
It was supposed to be released in 1992. Remember that the PC Engine was released back in 1987. NEC delayed because of the success of the PC Engine. It was until the Saturn and PlayStation was announced that NEC was like we have a new console too.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
They sat on it way too long then changed nothing about it
@tiagopereirasantossilva556 9 ай бұрын
I have Zork for PC-FX
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
A fun one to have on the shelf
@masterninjahh 9 ай бұрын
11:25 dude that's the band that does all the dragon ball intros!!!
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Haha really?
@masterninjahh 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica yeah look up head cha la and we gotta power from dragon ball
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I’ll check it out
@jd213_ 9 ай бұрын
Another good game to get might be Der Langrisser FX, I believe it's preferred by Japanese fans over the PS/SS versions since it has more voices during battles or something
@jd213_ 9 ай бұрын
If one wants to play an SRPG in Japanese, that is. Maybe a translation patch will come someday, I believe there's ones for the MD/SFC versions
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It is a better version for sure
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Yes language is a huge barrier on PCFX
@Cookiedon15 9 ай бұрын
Nice 👍
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I needed to revisit PC-FX and spread the love one last time
@miguelcarneiro1192 9 ай бұрын
If this cansole was retro-compatible i would get one, for sure
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Oh does it not work?
@miguelcarneiro1192 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica its a big mistake made by NEC :)
@tiagopereirasantossilva556 9 ай бұрын
10:43 Gradius for PS2 is Shut'n' UP with RPG Element and when you died you can upgrade.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Been forever since I played that one
@MarginalSC 12 күн бұрын
It's always presented as the hentai and FMV game console, so it's interesting to see more than just Langrisser shown.
@VideoGameEsoterica 12 күн бұрын
Yes it’s got a lot more than just that :)
@makenoodle 9 ай бұрын
How does the Mister FPGA core for PCFX run? Does it run accurately?
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
There is no core yet :)
@BurritoKingdom 9 ай бұрын
I was always surprised that it was delayed 2 years due to the success of the PC Engine. One of the reasons the PC Engine was so successful was that it came out 3 years before the Super Famicom and ate up the Famicom's market share in Japan. Also, it was such a weird requirement that every game had to have FMV. Nudity = ok. Regular sprites=no
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
They really should have changed the design a bit more after they sat on it
@Hreasvalgor 9 ай бұрын
You weren’t lying when you said you had every system, but do you have a Nokia? I heard about this system from “game sack” channel. I do want to play team innocent on it looks like a interesting RE clone. I wouldn’t be interested in buying physical console or game but I would definitely emulate it!
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
An NGage? No. I don’t much collect handhelds outside of the common ones
@allnamestakenlol 5 ай бұрын
That's one sexy looking system.
@VideoGameEsoterica 5 ай бұрын
She’s a beaut Clark
@METR0lD 9 ай бұрын
I've always been fascinated by the PC-FX. The PC Engine/Turbografx was such a great console that was sadly overlooked outside of Japan. But it has an absolute banger of a library of shmups.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Pc-FX is a masterclass in “what not to do with your successor console”
@8KilgoreTrout4 5 ай бұрын
What a fn beautiful little machine.. Like I'm born in the 80's and that design makes me moist haha
@VideoGameEsoterica 5 ай бұрын
Lolol
@METR0lD 5 ай бұрын
@PopeTheRevXXVIII 9 ай бұрын
Heiki Zeroigar and Zenki are pretty much all I've played. These also that single screen not Bubble Bobble I've only just Confirmed working.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Gotta play Team Innocent!
@PopeTheRevXXVIII 9 ай бұрын
I already have the bios in Retroarch might as well set it up
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Def should
@PopeTheRevXXVIII 9 ай бұрын
I'm Surprised it doesn't have any kind of homebrew scene. Some talented sprite people could have a field day on it. It sure seemed to have the power for arcade ports. seemed like a slam dunk other than the No 3D thing.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Yes if they’d just prioritized nothing but awesome 32 bit 2D games and dropped the FMV stuff it would have been a console a LOT more people love today
@BushidoBrownSama 3 ай бұрын
it's too bad there is no known datasheet for the encoder, just imagine if it had B-Y & R-Y pins
@VideoGameEsoterica 3 ай бұрын
Yes it’s a weird encoded
@Jolly-Green-Steve 9 ай бұрын
You forgot Super Power League FX!
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Haha I’m not a huge sports game fan
@weekendroady2060 8 ай бұрын
Honestly one of the best baseball games in the sprite style graphics ever imo.
@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын
Yeah I should have added it
@Riz2336 9 ай бұрын
I think the backwards compatibility might have possibly saved this thing otherwise it’s not even really a video game console
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
I mean it def has video games lol. So it’s a console. Just one where you need to cherry pick half a dozen good games
@rodrigogirao8344 4 ай бұрын
That system was disconnected from reality, like NEC thought they were still going to compete with the SNES.
@VideoGameEsoterica 4 ай бұрын
Yes it didn’t really make a TON of sense
@silverfoenix 9 ай бұрын
Ruruli Ra Rura😂I want to see a Japanese uttering this~ Really a missed opportunity, The system is a 2D powerhouse yet they cheeped out on the sprites? Castlevania main selling point was Sprite details + OST (ESPECIALLY SOTN)
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
This is like a super late budget release and you can tell visually. But gameplay wise it’s worth it!
@summerlaverdure 9 ай бұрын
hidden potential more like it, wish it did better
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It had the ability to succeed...then they decided FMV anime games were the future
@summerlaverdure 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica all we have to do is go back in time and tell everyone polygons are dumb LET'S DO IT 😎
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Hahaha
@8bitnation419 9 ай бұрын
I was going to import this over, as the prices weren’t that bad until i realised it’s library consists almost entirely of FMV games which turned me off from purchasing it.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
It’s not just FMV though. That’s why you should get one :)
@8bitnation419 9 ай бұрын
@@VideoGameEsoterica There is always gems to be found but this could have easily been the Sharp X68000, except a more affordable version. I also wonder what kind of homebrew is on this, i would love to see some Arcade games ported to this. I still think this system despite its hidden gems is better left in Japan due to it mostly being an FMV machine that heavily appeals to a Japanese audience.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Yes and that’s the saddest part. It had such good 2D that barely got used
@CorporalDanLives 9 ай бұрын
In my opinion this is an absolutely terrible console lol. My buddy imported one back in 2009 and was so hyped: The result was crushing disappointment. I feel like the Japanese 3DO lineup is much more satisfying.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Sure 3DO def wins but for the half dozen good games PC-FX has I still say it’s worth it
@fv_ys_ 9 ай бұрын
PC Engine custom 8 bit. PC FX 32 bit. Truly laughable. PC FauX would be more apt. The kiss of death follow-up twenty thousand leagues under the wii U.
@VideoGameEsoterica 9 ай бұрын
Wii U was a good time all things considered
@RetroRockGamer 8 ай бұрын
The problem was that at the same time the pc-fx came out with great 2D, the world was becoming obsessed with crappy first gen 3D.
@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын
It was def a transitional period
@Bootyhunter1971 4 ай бұрын
Yep, kind of same thing that hampered the Saturn, although the Saturn could also do crappy 3d lol.
@gargonovich 4 күн бұрын
The other problem for the PC-FX is that the PS1 and N64 are good enough at 3D to use it as 2D layers in addition to all the other stuff they're capable of. Even if 3D hadn't been as hot as it was, this machine would have been outclassed by those machines and the Saturn. NEC designed this machine to come out in '92, when it WOULD have been pretty impressive, but things were moving pretty fast back then and NEC blinked.
@VideoGameEsoterica 4 күн бұрын
The delay was def not helpful for NEC
@Vitreia 8 ай бұрын
Love these deep dives! You can definitely tell why this wasn't successful. Even putting aside 3D, the 2D is barely more impressive than what you'd see on the SFC/SNES, let alone its peers, the PSX and Saturn.
@VideoGameEsoterica 8 ай бұрын
They sat on a finished hardware design for near to three years then released it oddly enough
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