Cost at launch: 40,000 Yen ($350.00)
SPECS:________________
Processor speed: 7.16 Mhz
Graphic capacity: 16-bit
Sound: 16 bit stereo
Memory: 126 Kb
Resolution: 512 x 256, 4096 colors (256 concurrent)
Format: NTSC, PAL
Software type: Hue Card (region specific)
Ah, the much desired NEC PC Engine Super Grafx console! This system was brought out to compete head to head with the Super Famicom system. It brings tears to my eyes when I talk about this system because its costs doesn’t support what you receive in return when you buy this system. This system in my opinion is over-rated. Consider this a PC Engine on steroids, small doses at that. This unit was only released in Japan and did not sell very well due to its price. It comes in a long line of NEC computer system releases. The Supergrafx system followed the PC Engine and the Turbo Duo systems. The main benefit one can expect of the Super Grafx game is that it has four times the work RAM for the main Computer Processing Unit (CPU) when compared to the original PC Engine. It also supported dual video processing chips which allowed for TWO scrolling backgrounds compared with the PC Engine which only supported ONE scrolling background. It had to compete with the other 16-bit systems like the Sega Genesis, which had two scrolling background capacity as well. Also one of the biggest advantages was when you added on the peripheral attachments, the Super Grafx system allowed you to play ALL the PC Engine Hue cards, PC Engine CD’s, PC Engine Super CD’s, and PCE Arcade CD’s. On top of this it has the capacity to play the SUPER GRAFX Hue Cards, of which a grand total of 6 were released. Hmmm, did I miss something? You heard me right, a grand total of 6 Super Grafx Hu Cards/games were released for the Super grafx system.
Doesn’t sound like it justifies the price of the system does it? Well if you’re a die hard NEC PC Engine fan, it really is a nice addition to your collection. When your unit is properly supported, it opens up approximately 700 games to your playing capacity. Not too shabby. You won’t get a noticeable improvement in the audio quality though. It sounds basically the same as the PC Engine. The graphic capacity has a resolution of 512 x 256, but most of the Super Grafx games run at 256×224. The system looks beautiful. It looks like it has power. In actuality it is not much different than the regular PC Engine console.
The Supergrafx console is fairly rare to find in the United States. I have about 10 units at the present time. I like it because it really looks cool. This is the hu card console that I prefer.
CLICK ENTER BUTTON TO SEE PC ENGINE AND TURBO GRAFX GAMES ON SALE AND IN INVENTORY
