Hello from South Carolina!

[MattJ]

Hey everyone!
I signed up on here a while back, but haven't had much time to explore the forum until now, so I thought I would introduce myself.

I never had a TurboGrafx-16 as a kid, I didn't even know they existed. You didn't see ads or see them for sell here in South Carolina! It wasn't until later in my freshman year of college, around Spring 2003, I heard someone mention the PC Engine when a classmate was talking about importing games. I was curious, looked into it, and discovered the PC Engine and the TurboGrafx! Well, I was never able to get my hands on an actual console until many, many years later. After finally acquiring one, I built up a collection of US games for it.

Due to time constraints from work and grad school. I sold off a massive amount of my game collection a while back (mainly NES and Sega Master System stuff), but I really missed the Turbo, so I've picked up a PC Engine Duo-R and have gotten back into the the system. For some reason, the PCE really stood out to me, and felt different compared to other systems. I had never honestly enjoyed shooters until I started to play some of the stuff offered on the PCE. I'm very interested in imported titles, especially stuff that never made it here to the US.

All the best!
- Matt J.

[Elder]

Hey Matt welcome to the madness.  The Turbo and PCE are special consoles.  I find if it connects with you, it'll take hold forever.  I have a massive amount of retro games and these days I find I split almost all my free time between the Saturn, TG16/PCE, and Neo Geo.

[ToyMachine78]

Welcome! Fellow SC'er here. Hope you are dry and well after this week. I assume you are, or you wouldn't be here talking about games lol

[MattJ]

Thankfully I'm in the upstate, Toymachine!
We did get quite a bit of rain in my parts, it did flood my basement but it is nothing like what's happening in Columbia though. I've got friends who live down in the midlands and I know they've had to deal with the aftermath. Some still don't have power and others are only just now able to get out of their neighborhoods after being surrounded by floodwaters. It's been real sad to see what has happened there. After this and the Charleston shooting, poor SC has had a rough year. 

Hope things are well in your part!

[esteban]

Welcome, comrade.

[turboswimbz]

Welcome,

Enjoy the PCE!

[NecroPhile]

Welcome aboard!

[ToyMachine78]

Welcome aboard!

Oh yeah, welcome! This thread has caused a lot of SC'ers to come out. I think we need to organize a meetup!

[VenomMacbeth]

Welcome aboard!

Oh yeah, welcome! This thread has caused a lot of SC'ers to come out. I think we need to organize a meetup!

Agreed!  There are some NC guys here too, myself included, that I'm sure could participate.

[EvilEvoIX]

Welcome aboard!!

[majors]

Agreed!  There are some NC guys here too, myself included, that I'm sure could participate.

NC checking in. I'm down for meetup...Of course, at Animazement in Raleigh we try to rep the turbo along with other retro goodness.

Matt, never too late to accept Obey as your lord and savor.

[MattJ]

Thanks for the welcome everyone! I'm glad to see there are other folks in the Carolinas here!

I would certainly be up for a meet-up sometime in the future. If only I can get some free time from work and grad school!! 

Majors, I openly accept Obey as my lord and savior and am bowing in awe before the PC Engine console collection you have in your signature.

[NightWolve]

Yeah, seems we do got quite a bit of Carolinians around here.

[GohanX]

NC in the hizouse!

[Warbucks]

Welcome Homie!

[Opethian]

ATODASO A FUCKING ATODASO

welcome aboard Lahey

[MattJ]

Thanks Opethian!

BTW, anyone got the HuCard shooter "Shithawk Blaster '94" for the PCE for sale?

[applejack8706]

Welcome to the forums!

[MattJ]

Thanks applejack8706!

[Bernie]

Put me on ignore...everyone hates me.   

[GohanX]

It's true.

[NightWolve]

Santa Claus Bernie!

[Bardoly]

Welcome to Pcenginefx!

[waynedoodle]

Glad to see another Palmetto patron on the site.  I'm in the SC upstate too.

I've had my Turbo since 1990 but being the young kid back then did not have a whole bunch of games.  My brother and I did get the CD for Christmas but only had 4 games for it.  We got pretty darn good at Fighting Street and kicked ass in Last Alert before our gear gave out in college (we were using the CD as a standalone player to the boom box in our dorm room).  I replaced the gear last year and earlier this month my brother was home and played it.  He was surprised and humble to play again. 

I frequent some of the SC retro gaming stores and all I have come across in the wild was a stack of Real Sports Football.  Pixel and Pawns at Harbison was great but sadly just recently went out of business.

WD

[MattJ]

Thanks for the greeting WD!

That's a great story about you and your brother having a Turbo, enjoying it as kids, and now getting to play it again as adults! Just curious, where you living in the Upstate when you both were kids and got a Turbo? I've long wondered if the system was ever really sold or marketed in this area. I do not remember seeing any ads for it, or seeing any Turbo stuff for sale in local stores.

Yeah, it has been slim pickings finding Turbo stuff locally. I rarely see anything beyond Keith Courage at local stores and never see anything at flea markets. Though, as I mentioned in another thread, some TurboGrafx stuff did show up at '2nd and Charles' buy/sale/trade store in Greenville the other day. They're on Laurens Rd and in the same shopping  center as Petsmart and Guitar Center. I spoke with the clerks, they said most of the Turbo stuff had recently been sold, but they did have copies of Devil's Crush and Super Star Soldier, both are HuCard/Manual/Jewel Case. I'm not that up to date on what the going prices are for those games, but they were asking $60 for Devils Crush and $100 for Super Star Soldier.

- Matt J.

[EvilEvoIX]

I was just in Columbia for some business.  Great state never really spent too much time in it till then.

[MattJ]

There's a game store in Columbia, I cannot think of the name of it off hand at the moment. I stopped by there November last year while I was in Columbia for business on the USC campus. They had a couple of Turbo games back behind glass. Hucards only. Most were the sports titles and Keith Courage, but they did have a copy of New Adventure Island which I was really surprised to see!

[ToyMachine78]

There's a game store in Columbia, I cannot think of the name of it off hand at the moment. I stopped by there November last year while I was in Columbia for business on the USC campus. They had a couple of Turbo games back behind glass. Hucards only. Most were the sports titles and Keith Courage, but they did have a copy of New Adventure Island which I was really surprised to see!

Software Seconds and Pixels and Pawns are here.
 
Edit: I've never been to SS, and rarely visit P&P anymore. I've found that I can usually get a better deal on Ebay or Half as sad as that is. Plus there is much more variety.

[EvilEvoIX]

I went to SS, very pricey items indeed.

[MattJ]

Yep, I do believe it was Pixels and Pawns. It was in a large shopping center next to one of the main roads, and since USC had a home football game that evening the traffic was backed up for miles.

I do remember their prices being some of the highest I've ever encountered at a retro store. 

[waynedoodle]

Matt,
We got the TG16 from Toys R Us behind Westgate for maybe 75 or 100.  The CD was probably ordered from Sears but can't recall.  Santa gave it to us for being good teenage boys.  The 2 CD games we got after Christmas (Y'3 & Last Alert) came from Haywood Mall Baddges or Electronic Boutique, can't remember which one.

Only one other kid in our School had a TG16, we had to borrow a controller from him b/c ours shorted out!

I will have to Swing by 2nd in Charles next time I'm in Greenville.  Video Cavern aint bad but mostly have common NES et el.

[waynedoodle]

went by Software Seconds today.  Not a bad store but games were not clearly marked.  Overpaid for a SNES secondary remake controller.  They did have  a TG Express but no games.  They also had a Neo Geo MES which I have never seen in the wild.

[jelloslug]

Good to see another person in the Upstate

[MattJ]

Matt,
We got the TG16 from Toys R Us behind Westgate for maybe 75 or 100.  The CD was probably ordered from Sears but can't recall.  Santa gave it to us for being good teenage boys.  The 2 CD games we got after Christmas (Y'3 & Last Alert) came from Haywood Mall Baddges or Electronic Boutique, can't remember which one.

Ha! The Toys R Us behind Westgate mall? No kidding! That's awesome that they had turbo stuff there. I loved going to that store as a kid. I don't remember getting a lot of video games there, but I did get a lot of Lego stuff from them, a large pirate ship in particular. I liked how the building was set up to build your excitement and anticipation to the highest level possible... There was that long, enclosed, entranceway after the front doors on the building's right hand side. You had to go all the way down it, passed the shopping carts, before turning to your left and seeing the whole building open up in front of you. I used to break out in a full sprint to run to the other side of the store where the Legos where. I've always thought they designed the store that way to purposely build up your excitement as much as possible. I still drive by there occasionally when I am in Spartanburg, I think the Toys R' Us moved across the street and the building is now a Chucky Cheese.

[MattJ]

Good to see another person in the Upstate

Thanks jelloslug!

[jelloslug]

Matt,
We got the TG16 from Toys R Us behind Westgate for maybe 75 or 100.  The CD was probably ordered from Sears but can't recall.  Santa gave it to us for being good teenage boys.  The 2 CD games we got after Christmas (Y'3 & Last Alert) came from Haywood Mall Baddges or Electronic Boutique, can't remember which one.

Ha! The Toys R Us behind Westgate mall? No kidding! That's awesome that they had turbo stuff there. I loved going to that store as a kid. I don't remember getting a lot of video games there, but I did get a lot of Lego stuff from them, a large pirate ship in particular. I liked how the building was set up to build your excitement and anticipation to the highest level possible... There was that long, enclosed, entranceway after the front doors on the building's right hand side. You had to go all the way down it, passed the shopping carts, before turning to your left and seeing the whole building open up in front of you. I used to break out in a full sprint to run to the other side of the store where the Legos where. I've always thought they designed the store that way to purposely build up your excitement as much as possible. I still drive by there occasionally when I am in Spartanburg, I think the Toys R' Us moved across the street and the building is now a Chucky Cheese.

I have fond memories of the old Greenville Toys R Us.  I grew up in Asheville so it was a once a year thing to go to Toys R Us since there was not one in Asheville at the time. It also meant that I was gong to get a new game!

[waynedoodle]

I actually worked at the Westgate TRU between 1996-1998.  I even remember when they had the TG Stuff on 75% clearance and still not moving the stock (did not buy anything) while we worked there.  My brother and I did pick up a SNES on clearance and a few games, mainly for Super Punch Out.  Gave it to our Nephew a year later after his was stolen. I was big on collecting he-man then from the wonders of the internet while in college.  I have a great MOC he-man collection just sitting in my closet. 

That store was awesome and we did purchase China Warrior, Legendary Axe, and Vigalante for 19.99 ea throughout the year in 1991.  I sucked being a broke as kid waiting on Santa or Birthday to bring you games.

I just need to find a Jap 3.0 card and I will be content with my current games.

[esteban]

I actually worked at the Westgate TRU between 1996-1998.  I even remember when they had the TG Stuff on 75% clearance and still not moving the stock (did not buy anything) while we worked there.  My brother and I did pick up a SNES on clearance and a few games, mainly for Super Punch Out.  Gave it to our Nephew a year later after his was stolen. I was big on collecting he-man then from the wonders of the internet while in college.  I have a great MOC he-man collection just sitting in my closet. 

That store was awesome and we did purchase China Warrior, Legendary Axe, and Vigalante for 19.99 ea throughout the year in 1991.  I sucked being a broke as kid waiting on Santa or Birthday to bring you games.

I just need to find a Japanese 3.0 card and I will be content with my current games.

Ha! Your story corroborates what was happening up here in NJ.

When my friend picked up Sega Saturn and games, I joined him. I was shocked to see 2-3 sealed copies of Vasteel on the counter for... $8-10.

I couldn't believe TRU had any TG-16 in stock still (it was goddamn 1995).

I bought one, asked if there was any other TG-16 stuff...nothing.

[waynedoodle]

My roommate in college bought the Saturn when it came out in 97. Played the shit out of SFII Alpha.

edit: I had to think about that Sega system and it was white, so he brought in the Dreamcast, not Saturn.