My next target : a PC Engine DUO !

[enkyotmp]

Ok, now that I have Saturn. My next acquisition ( sort of ) would be a PC Engine DUO !

Again, anybody here with some good recommendations hardware-wise ? Any issues
with the hardware I should be aware of ?

I'm thinking of getting at least a DUO, the baseline model as far as I can tell. However
most if not all I've seen in auctions so far are DUO-R's so I guess thats the better
choice then. I've know there's a DUO-RX as well though, but I don't think its worth
the effort to track those down but who knows ?

My other choice is to find the CD drive ( forgot the model . . . ) to stick in at the
back of my Super Grafx. Like the DUO-RX I haven't found this thing for sale lately.
In fact, I believe its just as hard to find these days. But still, I think buying a DUO is
a better solution don'tcha think ?

Any thoughts people ?

[dj898]

PC Engine Duo-R or PC Engine Duo-RX would do nicely...

[hl718]

Personally I think the black Duo looks better than the white Duo-R, but if you're going white, might as well get the Duo-RX. At least then you can properly play Street Fighter II! ;)

-hl718

[ConsoleFun]

I like all the PCE Duos. The controller for the Duo-RX is by far the coolest though ;-) Six buttons for Street Fighter II and a very stylish look.

I have a Duo-R myself and love it. Never had the "audio crackle, then faint out" problem that many Duo users have. Never had problems playing backups I have made myself. I have been warned not to download ISO files from the net, which sometimes are intended for emulators, since incorrect TOCs will really tear on the CD-ROM drive.

As you all know, the Japanese Duos don't need a Kisado type converter to use the Arcade Duo card. ToToTEK's PCE-PRO 32M Flash Card also works great.

It is also possible to add RGB output for the Duo, and fix the import lockout protection:
http://www.gamesx.com/rgbadd/duorgb.php
http://www.gamesx.com/importmod/necjapmod.htm

Check out the pictures of my modified Duo-R in my collection thread if you like:
http://assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6836

Regards..

ConsoleFun

[dj898]

you can get Hori fighting pad which is also 6 buttons and imho better than NEC one...
also Duo-R/RX do not suffer from infamous audio problem...

for any kind of PC Engine mod I'd suggest to seek out D-Lite...
I've my SGX done by him and highly recommend whn it comes to PC Engine mod/repair... :D

[enkyotmp]

Okay, so good ol' Duo's have some audio problems. Gonna avoid these :) .
I wonder just how bad this problem is though, any specifics ConsoleFun, dj898 ?

Now correct me if I'm wrong but the only differences between the R and RX
models is just the inclusion of a 6-button pad right ? In all the pictures I've seen,
both models seem to be identical.

Anyway, I really don't see the need for a 6-button pad on a PC Engine though.
Yeah I do have a copy of Street Fighter 2 CE, but I don't play it much. Even when
I do play it I just set it to easy and just shoryuken my way up the top ;-) .

Well, whats a fair price for a Duo-R ? The ones on eBay seem to be overpriced,
but maybe its just me.

[the_steadster]

If you go for a standalone Cd unit, Theres either the CD-ROM 2 unit, which is often called the briefcase unit - the interface unit ifu-30 and the cd-rom drive - However it needs a system card and will need an adaptor to fit the supergrafx, or there is the super cd-rom 2, which has the super cd-card built in, and will not need an adaptor for the supergrafx. Its also more reliable.

I prefer the briefcase setup however, simply because its so damn cool!

[ConsoleFun]

Okay, so good ol' Duo's have some audio problems. Gonna avoid these :) .
I wonder just how bad this problem is though, any specifics ConsoleFun, dj898 ?

Check out this thread over at the neo-geo.com forums.
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showth...t=sound+issues

As dj898 pointed out, D-Lite is the man when it comes to PC-Engine hardware. I don't know him, but he seems to know a lot :-) I believe he also adds s-video output to PC-Engine systems (converting RGB to s-video).

Now correct me if I'm wrong but the only differences between the R and RX
models is just the inclusion of a 6-button pad right ? In all the pictures I've seen,
both models seem to be identical.

Yes, I believe they are identical inside, and they are only 1 year apart in age too.

Anyway, I really don't see the need for a 6-button pad on a PC Engine though.
Yeah I do have a copy of Street Fighter 2 CE, but I don't play it much. Even when
I do play it I just set it to easy and just shoryuken my way up the top ;-) .

I agree that a 6-button pad is not that important. But I personally just think the Duo-RX controller looks so cool.

Well, whats a fair price for a Duo-R ? The ones on eBay seem to be overpriced,
but maybe its just me.

I paid about 200 USD for my boxed Duo-R in very good condition. I bought an unboxed Duo-RX for a friend, in near mint condition, for 250 USD. You probably get away with less with a little patience :-)

Check out Game Choice Club too just to see what they have available :
http://www.gamechoiceclub.com/search...tegory=Console
...not that I recommend them.

Regards..

ConsoleFun

[sabre470]

there is the super cd-rom 2, which has the super cd-card built in, and will not need an adaptor for the supergrafx. Its also more reliable.

I prefer the briefcase setup however, simply because its so damn cool!

I have a Super CDrom² + Coregrafx and it's a cool setup, I agree the SCD² is very reliable, mine was sold to me as broken!!! A little lense cleaning session later and it was good as new. :D

But yeah I agree again the briefcase setup is way sexier... :dance

Sabre

[enkyotmp]

Thanks for the help so far everyone !

It seems very likely that I'll be buying a Duo-R in the coming days. Only found a
few Duo-RX's and they don't come cheap. And I never saw a Super CD-ROM2 unit.

Now assuming I'll end up with a Duo-R, what accesories do you people recommend ?
I suppose I need to pick up an Arcade card or a Super CD-Rom card while I'm at it.
Came across something called a Memory Base 128 too, anyone here know what it
is ?

And how bout game recommendations :) ? Not too familiar with their CD based
games I'm afraid. Don't really need any more HuCard games too.

[the_steadster]

Thanks for the help so far everyone !
Now assuming I'll end up with a Duo-R, what accesories do you people recommend ?
I suppose I need to pick up an Arcade card or a Super CD-Rom card while I'm at it.
Came across something called a Memory Base 128 too, anyone here know what it
is ?

Right, with a duo you don't need a system card for the most part - you can play all CD-rom and super CD-rom titles with it as is. For arcade cd-rom games you will need an arcade card however, but there aren't that many arcade cd games.
The memory base 128 is just a memory card. There is some memory built into the duo, the memory base is just if you need more.

Basically the duo will do everything you need without any accessories - its from the good old days when you bought a console and didn't need any accessories to play it!

[Baseley09]

Thanks for the help so far everyone !

It seems very likely that I'll be buying a Duo-R in the coming days. Only found a
few Duo-RX's and they don't come cheap. And I never saw a Super CD-ROM2 unit.

Now assuming I'll end up with a Duo-R, what accesories do you people recommend ?
I suppose I need to pick up an Arcade card or a Super CD-Rom card while I'm at it.
Came across something called a Memory Base 128 too, anyone here know what it
is ?

And how bout game recommendations :) ? Not too familiar with their CD based
games I'm afraid. Don't really need any more HuCard games too.

LOL ^ looks like someone got there first :lol:

You don't need a system card, Duo's have Super System 3.0 built in, you'll only need an arcade Card Dup if you want to play the few ACD games.......

Memory base isnt really required anyway, Duo's have back up ram built in, unless you want to trade saves with other people?

[StarWolf]

Gate of Thunder and Winds of Thunder. And may you thoroughly enjoy the wonderful shmuppery of these 2 games. Oh and Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action. So many good CD games out there, depends what floats your boat.

And if you do end up wanting to play Arcade card games, you'll need an AC Duo, not the Pro version.

Edit: Just noticed Baseley mentioned the AC Duo.....

[KuKzz]

Memory Base only works with some games, it's like a direct memory card (plugs into controller port). I can recommend getting a teknotoe bank - it's a backup memory card which will allow your saves to live a liitle longer than on internal memory (it's in the shape of hu-card).

[hl718]

Gate of Thunder and Winds of Thunder. And may you thoroughly enjoy the wonderful shmuppery of these 2 games. Oh and Kaze Kiri: Ninja Action. So many good CD games out there, depends what floats your boat.

And if you do end up wanting to play Arcade card games, you'll need an AC Duo, not the Pro version.

Edit: Just noticed Baseley mentioned the AC Duo.....

Actually an AC Pro will work just fine in a Duo. It's not needed, but it'll work fine.

And if you do buy a Duo, it's worth tracking down an old System 2.0 card. Without that you can't access the hidden mini-game on Dracula-X. :)

-hl718

[dj898]

if you don't have PC Engine Duo but do want to play Arcad card titles and do have SuperCD-ROM module you can also use Arcade Duo on that setup as well...(doesn't matter what PC Engine you plug into SCD module)

[dj898]

Memory Base only works with some games, it's like a direct memory card (plugs into controller port). I can recommend getting a teknotoe bank - it's a backup memory card which will allow your saves to live a liitle longer than on internal memory (it's in the shape of hu-card).

there's tennokoebank II as well for PC Engine/CoreGrafx/SGX...
you can also do mod more easily with tennokoebank II since there's more space inside and you don't have to opne your PC Engine. :p

[enkyotmp]

Ok, again thanks for the help everyone ! Helped me narrow down my
choices, not to mention spending limit.

As for the games, yeah I now have some idea what to get. There seems
to be a crapload of anime-based games on CD and they seem to be cheap.
Gonna be looking into those first :) .

And theres the usual suspects like Dracula X, the shmups StarWolf mentioned,
heck even the much talked about Sapphire. I'm kinda concerned about the
presence of "copies" of these same games. But hey, thats my problem :) .

[StarWolf]

Yeah, there's been a fair few 'reproductions' of Sapphire popping up recently. Although they are very well made, the colours on the front cover are off. Sapphire's outfit should be blue/purple, not all blue. And I also reckon I've seen very well made Dracula X bootlegs as well too.

A lot of the anime games are those digital-comics.