Five TurboGrafx-16 memories in honor of the system's 25th anniversary

I may not have the best memory in the world, but I'll probably never forget how I felt in the months, weeks and days leading up to the North American release of NEC's TurboGrafx-16, a games console that straddled the line between the 8-bit (think the Nintendo Entertainment System) and 16-bit (Sega's Genesis and the SNES) generations.

Specifically, I don't think I've ever been more excited about a system's launch than I was around Aug. 29, 1989, which is when the TurboGrafx-16 first hit store shelves on this side of the pond.

A lot of that "Turbo fervor" had been fanned, of course, by the magazine articles I'd read--over and over and over again--about this console's two-year-old Japanese counterpart, the PC Engine, and its extensive catalog of odd- and brilliant-looking games, including the handful that are mentioned below.

Sadly, and stupidly, after enjoying it for a good number of years, I sold my TurboGrafx-16 collection--which at one point included the base system, the pricey CD attachment, a TurboDuo and 30 or so games--via an ad in our city's main daily newspaper around the time of the Sega Saturn's Japanese release. (In fact, I used the money I made from this sale to buy an import Saturn--which I later sold to pay for a Dreamcast.)

Rather than dwell on that rather negative memory, though, I'd prefer to focus on a few positive ones, such as the following, on this, the 25th anniversary of the release of NEC's quirky and woefully under-appreciated (in this region, at least) console:

1. I'm one of about three people who enjoyed The Addams Family game--Don't get me wrong, even as a teen I knew this US-made (back when such a thing was considered the opposite of a good thing) action title was a turd, but I liked it all the same. I have a feeling some of that was due to my interest in the 1991 film this release was based on, but I also think it had something to do with this ICOM-developed game allowing users to explore the iconic Addams mansion and its grounds. That isn't going to be enough to make most folks fall in love with this often-iffy tie-in, of course, but it was more than enough for me at the time.

2. I bought my very first Japanese game (Detana!! TwinBee), along with my first converter cart, for this aesthetically challenged system--I can't remember the name of the retailer, sadly, but I know I had to place the order over the phone, and I had to borrow my parents' credit card to pay for it. Also, my mom had to help me modify the converter cart, as at first it didn't fit into the HuCard slot of my TurboGrafx-16 system. As for my memories of the game itself? Actually, it kind of bored me. Detana!! TwinBee isn't a bad shoot 'em up, of course, and it's grown on me in the ensuing years, but it's also nowhere near as thrilling as similar games like Parodius Da! or Coryoon.

3. I've always regretted not playing It Came From the Desert, J.B. Harold Murder Club and Magical Dinosaur Tour--Actually, I finally added the Japanese version of Murder Club to my collection late last year, but of course I've yet to play it. Still, at least it's a possibility at the moment. Anyway, you're probably wondering why I wish I'd played two TG-CD titles that have been heavily derided over the years? I'm not sure, to be honest. I think it's likely to be related to nostalgia, as all three of these games were released at a time when games featuring digitized video and the like were viewed as the future of the medium. It's clear now that view was a false one (to put it mildly), of course, but at the time some of these games were surprisingly appealing. Or at least they were to me.

4. The main reason I picked up the TurboGrafx-CD peripheral was for Monster Lair--Admittedly, by the time I finally wandered, awestruck and slack-jawed, into the local Toys "R" Us (man, those were the days) to pick up this mammoth add-on, Ys Book I & II had entered my consciousness as well, but that doesn't change the fact that Monster Lair is the game that pushed me to hand over $400 for it. Was it worth the price of admission? Well, no, not when you put it that way, but I never regretted either purchase, I'll tell you that much. Also, I still have a special place in my heart for this odd shmup-platformer hybrid and play it fairly regularly, so I'd say the original purchase more than served its purpose.

5. I didn't much care for Parasol Stars the first time I owned it--I'm guessing this may be the most shocking of all the TurboGrafx-16 memories I share in this post. After all, Parasol Stars now is one of my all-time favorite games (despite the fact that I think it pales in comparison to its predecessors, Rainbow Islands and Bubble Bobble). If memory serves, my parents bought this for me as a birthday or Christmas gift--without me asking for it, I should add. (Maybe they knew me better than I knew myself at that point?) I remember gamely giving it a go on a few occasions, but I also remember finding it a bit too precious and also not all that engaging. Thankfully, I've since come to my senses.

Do any of you have any TurboGrafx-16 memories you'd like to share? If so, please feel free to do so n the comments section below.

Five arcade classics I wish had been ported to certain handhelds

You may be wondering what prompted me to write this post. Strangely enough, it came to mind while I was playing the Game Gear port of Namco's quarter-munching classic, Mappy, last week.

While admiring the quality of the adaptation, I couldn't help but wonder why Namco ended its Game Gear ports with Galaga, Mappy and Pac-Man. What about Warp & Warp (aka Warpman), The Tower of Druaga or Dig Dug?

That line of thinking then led to me to ponder why some other arcade classics--like the five detailed below--were never ported to the following handheld systems despite the fact that they would've been perfect fits (or at least interesting fits) for each other.

Baby Pac-Man (DS or 3DS)--I've wanted to play this half-Pac-Man-game-half-pinball-machine oddity at home ever since I encountered it in a local arcade as a teen. I can see why it never earned a console conversion, of course, but a DS or 3DS version could've been (or could still be) magical. The question is: who would develop and publish it, Bally Midway or Namco? (My guess: neither!)

Detana!! TwinBee (WonderSwan Color)--For some strange reason, the folks at Namco only made one game, Beatmania, for the WonderSwan, and even then it was for the original black-and-white version of Bandai's niche-y handheld rather than its colorized follow-up. Why they never ported this pastel-coated cute 'em up to the WonderSwan Color is beyond me, as I have to imagine a lot of gamers would've enjoyed playing it with their portable of choice held vertically.

Dig Dug (Game Gear)--I'm sure the powers that be at Namco had their reasons for not green-lighting this handheld port, but for the life of me I can't fathom what they may have been. After all, the company's portable re-imaginings of Galaga, Mappy and Pac-Man are about as spot-on as could've been expected. (By the way, I also wish Namco had made and released a Game Gear version of Marvel Land--even though its graphics would've had to have been downsized and simplified quite a bit.)

Don Doko Don (GameBoy Color)--Don Doko Don has long had a place in my pixelated heart for all sorts of reasons, which is why it saddens me that Taito never released a handheld version. Although the GameBoy Advance could've received an arcade-perfect port, I think I'd actually have preferred to see one that was more of an homage to the original (a la Bubble Bobble for Game Gear), hence my call for it to be made for the GameBoy Color instead.

Mr. Do! (Neo Geo Pocket Color)--I don't know about you, but I think it would've been awesome it someone had brought this Dig Dug-esque game to SNK's brick-like handheld in some form or fashion--especially if they'd updated the graphics a bit like ADK did when they remade Make Trax for the system (after renaming it Crush Roller). Instead, NGPC owners were given a million pachinko simulators. Not fair!

Detana!! TwinBee x Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad x Rhythm Tengoku stickers

Scanning Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad's instruction manual last weekend--for yesterday's "Manual Stimulation" post--reminded me that stuffed inside of said manual was a small sheet of stickers featuring  this PlayStation puzzler's characters in a number of adorable settings and situations.

It also reminded me that I owned a few other sheets of stickers that were packed inside import games I purchased long ago--namely the PC Engine port of Konami's Detana!! TwinBee and Nintendo's Rhythm Tengoku (for the GameBoy Advance).

Detana!! TwinBee's sticker sheet can be seen below. I think my favorite is the one in the upper-left corner, showing Pastel cleaning WinBee's windshield, although the one in the opposite corner is awfully sweet, too.

And here, of course, is the sheet of stickers that came with my copy of Rhythm Tengoku:

Being the huge Rhythm Tengoku (aka Rhythm Heaven) fan that I am, I love all of these stickers, although I can't help but love the onion ones a bit more than the rest.

As for the Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad stickers: they're nice, too, aren't they? They're probably my least favorites of all the stickers shown here, but that doesn't mean I dislike them. In fact, I find the one's at the very top of the sheet to be really adorable. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with the little labels in the lower-right corner, though. Any ideas?

See also: 'Manual Stimulation: Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad (PlayStation)' and '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad (PlayStation)'