So much nostalgia. So many memories. So many bad games and rip-offs that I never realized were bad games and rip-offs at the age of ten. The TurboGrafx 16 was my first home gaming system. My parents bought it for me because they were too cheap to get me a Nintendo. It was a great system, but as soon as I got another one, I forgot about it. But every now and then, I am driven back to the games, both good and bad, trying to relive my past.

Let's start with a quick history lesson. The Turbo came out in 1989 in the US and sold well in it's first month, only to be plagued by bad game translations and a lack of support. It's competition, the Genesis, quickly overcame it after the first month. Blah blah blah. That's about all I know.

While the developers of the system claimed that the hardware was 16-bit, part of the reason the Turbo bombed was because they never let the technology show. The graphics in a lot of the games look great, but beyond that-nothing. It's a shame, because we all know that 16-bit systems were capable of so much more. Furthermore, the Turbo also had tons of accessories and add ons, many of which served the same purpose. For example, the TurboTap, TurboBooster and TurboBooster Plus were all multiplayer links. The TurboBoosters were also supposed to serve some sort of innovative purpose, but any changes were undetectable. The Turbo was also the first system to introduce cd technology, but they introduced it in the form of an add on that cost more than the system itself. And all for nothing, because the cd player failed to take advantage of it's capabilities. The controllers had the same design as the Nintendo controllers, with the addition of rapid-fire switches and short, thick cords. You don't want to keep this thing in a cabinet under the TV unless you want to sit with the TV on top of you. But in all fairness, you could purchase a joystick with a much longer cord. Another noticable flaw is that the system only has one controller port, which means that if you want to play multiplayer games, you HAVE to purchase one of the links I mentioned above.

I know I just said a lot of bad things about the Turbo, but the good software make up for all the hardware flaws. To an extent. Make no mistake, the Turbo has a lot of great games that are worth spending money on, especially in the area of shooting games, but a lot of games are ripped off from other games for other systems. China Warrior-a very bad game, but an example nonetheless-is Kung-Fu for the NES. Tricky Kick, a colorful puzzle game, is parallel to Lolo. And Neutopia, one of the few rpgs available for the Turbo, duplicates the original Legend of Zelda. I don't mean just a few graphic and gameplay similarities in this case. I mean duplicates as in "this shouldn't have been legal". This isn't all bad, though. Was Zelda bad? Was Contra bad? The Turbo also introduced us to the caveman Bonk, who has an oversized head which he uses as his weapon. Another game, Legendary Axe, is considered by many to be the best adventure game ever made. Bloody Wolf is a challenging game for those of you who thought Contra lacked action. Parasol Stars, a Bubble Bobble sequel, is more addictive than smoking. There are dozens of great action-adventure games, but they all take a backseat to the superior shooting games. The reigning king of these games is Blazing Lasers, with it's challenging gameplay and unique power up system. But there are also excellent games in Dragon Spirit, Psychosis and Sinistron. These are the two kinds of games to buy. There are few rpgs, and the sports games are so bad that they make NFL Quarterback Club look like a masterpiece of gaming.

So the Turbo was unpopular in it's time, but it tried to be innovative. We play cd games now, which might not exist if not for the Turbo. So, in the spirit of innovation, nostalgia, and just plain fun, I give the Turbo 4 stars.

Recommended: Yes