PC-Engine - Expensive to collect?

[Trenton_net]

Hey Everyone,

If I were to get into PC-Engine games and just plunk down some cash, say $200 usd, how many unique titles (I don't care how cheap/common) could you get for it? I'm assuming all come with cases, just not spines.

Any experienced users kind enough to enlighten me? (^_^);

[ASSEMbler]

Hey Everyone,

If I were to get into PC-Engine games and just plunk down some cash, say $200 usd, how many unique titles (I don't care how cheap/common) could you get for it? I'm assuming all come with cases, just not spines.

Any experienced users kind enough to enlighten me? (^_^);

Very expensive. You might get a bunch of shit titles for 1000 yen in good shape.

So, 20 crap games vs five good ones or one semi-rare one.

[Trenton_net]

Heh, if you don't mind me asking... What's the crap <--> non-crap ratio on the PC-Engine? (^_^);

I guess Famicom is cheaper to get into, given the larger install base of games? Or is that only true because there are more "junk" games to be had for cheap?

[ASSEMbler]

Heh, if you don't mind me asking... What's the crap <--> non-crap ratio on the PC-Engine? (^_^);

I guess Famicom is cheaper to get into, given the larger install base of games? Or is that only true because there are more "junk" games to be had for cheap?

Hmm.

The ratio of crap to good on hu card is high.
On CD, about 50/50 but anything cd is going to be more.

If I were you I'd bid on a large YJ package and save.

[Tatsujin]

you may get 1 to 5 uber great or up to 50 common crap games :)

[Baseley09]

Regardless, there are plenty of quality PC Engine titles to chose from, especially if you like arcade to home conversions and shoot em ups.

[ASSEMbler]

Most of the great games are about 4000-6000 yen I guess. Not bad considering it's probably less than the new price.

[ave]

If you are not looking for spine-cards, you can get some good amount of fairly nice games for 200$. If you are willing to bid on yahoo, you could save a lot of money. There are rarely any bundles in the middle pricerange (we're talking 10-20k yen with mint shooter & stuff) but lots of HuCard packages that can contain some nice games.

There's a lot of cheap stuff, it only gets really expensive if you're on the hunt for spinecard'ed CD/SCD games that are sought after. Like most of the real good games.

[GaijinPunch]

It's a good system, and regardless of price now, it's a fraction of what it was 10 years ago. The unfortunate side is most of the games are in higher demand in Japan than the west, so if you decide you don't want something, you may have to sell for a loss (or be patient).

The other downside, with MAME being so accurate, the arcade ports are somewhat non-important if your goal is re-experiencing the original.

[ASSEMbler]

Very true, many deals to be had.

[lkermel]

I personally still think PC Engine games to be more "affordable" than their TG16 counterpart. However, if you want to buy AAA titles, then $200 won't get you very far... but there are tons of excellent games for $20/$40 a piece, like the Star Soldier series or CD games such as Cotton or Gate Of Thunder...

[Tatsujin]

your US$200 to buy list:

Gate of Thunder
Winds of Thunder
Star parodia
Seirei Senshi Spriggan
Soldier Blade
Bomberman '93
PC Genjin 1 and/or 2

OR

Akumajo Dracula X
Gate of Thunder
Winds of Thunder

those games are all PCE exclusives (except for dracula x which you can have now on the PSP as a freebee, but so you can DL the others via VC etc.) and will keep you busy for quite some while.

[Trenton_net]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I think I will get my feet wet in some PC-Engine once I get out of my cramped apartment. I'll probably get a bunch of cheaper good games to start, then work my way to the more expensive ones to round out the collection (^_^);

[dj898]

don't forget there are bunch of unofficial(?) CD/SCD titles that will cost you...

[Tatsujin]

don't forget there are bunch of unofficial(?) CD/SCD titles that will cost you...

I can fairly say, that he needs not one of those. not until he runs for all the 735+ pce games exist. but then again, there are other titles which will cost him a hundredfold of those unofficials.

[GaijinPunch]

The unofficials are turds, to say the least!

[Jamtex]

Oh that just depends on how you look at them, a couple of the Games Express games are much better for their genre then the official games are...

[Trenton_net]

You guys mean games which were produced un-licenced right? Like strip fighter or something? Hrm... Speaking of games, which ones are ridiculously priced based on rarity alone and which ones actually have a high price because they kick ass?

[ave]

Akiyama jin = improve your math skills! No fun at all, costs 3000-5000$

Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire = defend a world full of render graphics, kicks ass & costs 300-500$

+ lots more.

I believe most of the pricier games on the PCE apart from some exceptions are quite fun to play.
Totally opposite to most expensive Famicom games that are either metal versions of mediocre games (Kinnikuman, Gundam Scramble) or some weird side genres that could be purchased by mail order (Space College etc.). >_<

[GaijinPunch]

I thought Sapphire sucked. The one that always justified the $100 price tag was Dracula X. There are cheaper ways to get it now, but if you've got an RGB monitor it's worth getting it on the PC-Engine modding the unit. It's a hassle, but worth it.

Quite a few rather pricey these day games (shooters around $25-$50) that are worth having. Spriggan, Sylphia (this is actually $150-$200 these days), Winds of Thunder, Gates of Thunder.

I think Sapphire is awful, but many disagree with me. Kaze Kiri is quite pricey. I like it, but some find it repetitive. Popful Mail is good but will require a bit of Japanese. Rainbow Islands is a faithful port. Soldier Blade, Shubibinman, Valis, etc. etc.

[Jamtex]

I thought Sapphire sucked. The one that always justified the $100 price tag was Dracula X.
Game tastes are always personal, personally I always thought the Dracula series was dull and repetitive so I personally wouldn't buy it. Sapphire is quite average, looks pretty though...


Popful Mail is good but will require a bit of Japanese.
If the PC Engine is good then the Sega Mega CD version must be pure sex then... :lol:

You'd be surprised on how many good PC Engine games you can find for under Y3,000. A lot of the Namco(t) games are normally cheap and very playable. The PC Engine does have a number of good puzzle /action games Puzznic, Blodia, Puzzle Boy, Spin Pair, Tricky, Be Ball and Doraemon for a couple of titles. A lot of the Namco games can be picked up cheap and most are quite good.

I'd do some research, using things like http://pcecp.com or http://www.pcengine.co.uk to find games you might like and then buy what suits your budget.

[Tatsujin]

I don't know what sucks in sapphire? it's not the very best shooter on the system, but a very good one. if the high price justifies its purchase is left to one's own. but dissing it just because its high price is nonsese.

btw. sylphia is higher atm. US$ 250~300 for a cibler minty is quite normal. it's almost on par with sapphire now.

[GaijinPunch]

Sapphire is quite average, looks pretty though...

Yepper. Hit box is huge, too.



If the PC Engine is good then the Sega Mega CD version must be pure sex then... :lol:

Also yes. The MCD version is superior (and this might be the only case!) but the PC-Engine version is heaps better than the SFC one.

[Daikaiser]

The pc-engine is only expensive if you buy on ebay or games that don't require Japanese. Some of the real gems require extensive Japanese knowledge and go for cheap which unfortunately, most people won't get to enjoy.

[bart_simpson]

But even some Nintendo stuff can be expensive to collect for two.
The pc engine systems are great i have one but yet to fix the cd-rom part.

[ave]

I would like to add that collecting PC-Engine games, if in pristine condition, is very rewarding. The quality of the packaging is very high and they look classy on a shelf. I like to think that my small PC-Engine CD-area is one of the prettiest parts of my collection, simply because of the beautiful variety in colorful spines and the neat design.

It comes at a hefty price tag though... hardly any mint PC-Engine shooter can be had under $30-50 these days. The best ones cost $100+, but they are also some of the best. Coryoon, Nexzr,... brilliant games at a brilliant price tag.

Tatsujin is really expensive, too, but I would take the $5 Mega Drive port over the $120 PC-Engine HuCard any day... I played this game a lot in each of the three versions and I found that the PC-Engine is surprisingly the in terms of graphics, music and playability.

[dj898]

if you start to collecting those "unofficial titles" they will cost quite penny as well... :p

[ave]

They are ok, around $10 a piece. There are some outliers though, especially those on CD.