Goddam, I wanted to post this more than a week ago, but I simply did not have the time to work on it. At least you are seeing it before March ends! The Ides of March is a retrospective that spans three years in the life of TG-16 (1992-1994). Originally, I wanted to create a much more elaborate retrospective, but I quickly realized that I did not have time for such a project. Thankfully, March seemed to capture pivotal moments in the history of TTi, allowing you to catch a glimpse at the rise and fall of the TG-16 dynasty. Trivia: the Ides of March falls on the 15th.
Continued below...
R.I.P. The Old Archives (2003-2008)
The screenshots below (click images for full-size) were taken in March of 2005, the month I stopped updating the old site and it became moribund. I still love the big, goofy homepage anchored by the muscle-bound he-men. Bigger is better!
Now that I look at the old site, I'm not sure that the new layout I designed is much of an improvement. The old site was barbaric, certainly, but it was simple and easy to use. The new site, in contrast, is cluttered with crap. Plus, I like how the old format provided large images for each magazine's cover, instead of the tiny thumbnails used now. Oh well. Time marches on...
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03.16.08 - ELECTRONICS BOUTIQUE: DECEMBER 1993 CATALOG
Ha! The never-to-be-released Intelligent Link is advertised for $129.99 in this holiday season EB catalog. Originally, I wasn't going to write any commentary for this catalog, but then I realized that the Intelligent Link (and the CD-i Zelda games) would benefit from a brief explanation. Plus, this might have been one of the last EB catalogs to feature TTi's products. Sorry for all the blubbering and blabbering. Oh, if only I had purchased Dungeon Explorer II and Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure for a mere $49.99 apiece back in 1993!
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03.08.08 - 16 YEARS AGO... EGM (MARCH 1992)
Check out the few morsels of TG-16 coverage from an EGM of yesteryear: TTi announced that Tengai Makyo II (Far East of Eden II) would be localized for North America, Gate of Thunder was featured in a nice 2-page spread, Parodius was billed as the first 8 meg HuCard, Valis and Exile appeared on Sega's Genesis, etc. In other news, I still haven't decided the best format for the page scans, but I'm leaning towards "Bigger is Better." Widescreen and dual-monitors are where most folks are headed, and I want the page scans here at the Archives to look nice a few years hence. Unrelated: Two short weeks ago I was complaining about trying to make this site behave properly in IE7, and now IE8 is in the wild. Crap, one more thing to worry about.
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02.20.08 - FINALLY!
I am the slowest bastard on the planet. More than three years ago, I decided that I wanted to drastically overhaul and expand the TurboPlay Magazine Archives. And so, in March 2005, I made the last update to the "old" site and started working on the "new" one. In August of 2005, I registered tg-16.com and planned to launch the new site shortly thereafter. Ha! With no clear end in sight, I would tell folks, "Well, maybe I'll be ready in a few months..." 2005. 2006. 2007. 2008.
I am not completely happy with this new site (for instance, I'm still trying to make it look pretty in IE7), but after receiving a spate of email recently (apparently, the old site disappeared when Comcast scrubbed their servers clean around two weeks ago), I realized that launching the new site was long overdue. Long overdue.
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03.10.05 - NEARLY THERE: 20/21 MAGS!
Slowly, but surely, we are getting there, my friends. TURBOFORCE # 2 (32 pages) is now 100% online and available in all of its glory, courtesy of Layne and Matt. We at the Archives wholeheartedly thank (once again!) Layne and Matt for their undying support. Needless to say, the Archives would be sorely incomplete without their patronage. I was so inspired, in fact, that I prepared another issue -- TURBOFORCE # 3 (32 pages) -- to make this update a double-feature. Now, for the first time in the history of the Archives, all four issues of TURBOFORCE are available for your perusal... Do you know what that means? Yes, that's right, as of today, twenty (out of 21) known TG-16 magazines are documented in our online collections. Slowly, but surely, we are getting there.
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03.04.05 - ADDED COMMENTARY FOR DUOWORLD #1
So, you actually read the commentary I write for each and every issue preserved here at the Archives? Well, then I have good news for you... I finally added some notes for duoworld # 1. I must say, this premier issue of duoworld was superb ... and packed with tons of worthwhile content (you'll find something of interest, I promise!) In case you were wondering: no, my comment about John Madden Super CD Football wasn't a joke, I'm afraid. Please feel free to send me your copy so I can enjoy the Japanese college football video clips in all their glory. Keep your eyes open for the next update...
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03.01.05 - TURBOPLAY #14 RE-SCANNED
Yes, we hate crappy page scans. That's why we went back and re-scanned nearly the entire issue of TurboPlay # 14 (the last TurboPlay to be published). The old scans were horrid and we think you'll appreciate the new ones. PLEASE NOTE that we are still missing the last two pages of the magazine (pages 31 and 32) because the cover ripped years ago and we can't find it now! Maybe I'll throw the old scans for these pages back on the web... but I hope to have a proper fix soon.
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02.21.05 - DUOWORLD #1 & TURBOPLAY #7
At long last, we are pleased to present DuoWorld # 1 in its entirety. We re-scanned the entire issue because the initial scans were craptastic. Fans of the Urusei Yatsura anime and / or PCE CD game Urusei Yatsura: Stay With You will dig the feature on both in this issue. As if that wasn't good enough, we double your pleasure by providing you the entire issue of TurboPlay # 7 (100% online for the first time in the history of the Archives). Check out the wonderful behind-the-scenes peek at the making of It Came from the Desert! (a TG-CD game). Fans and haters of FMV games will dig it, I promise! It took me a weekend to scan these two issues and prepare the page scans. But it was worth it, no?
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02.11.05 - TWO MAGS SCANNED; THIRD FEATURE
True to their word, Layne and Matt have provided sorely-needed and much-appreciated scans for two TG-16 magazines: Duo World # 3 (16 pages) and TURBOFORCE # 4 (32 pages). We at the Archives cannot thank Layne and Matt enough: thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Up until this point, we had no information on these elusive issues. These scans will be available for the beta 0.3 update (spring). But that's not all, folks... the TurboPlay Magazine Archives are pleased to present their third special feature: Discovering import PC-Engine games in the early 1990's. This feature is a retrospective of Victor Ireland's Games Around the World, a column in TurboPlay that profiled Japanese HuCard and CD games. At the end of the article you'll find links to all 82 import games featured over the course of ten TurboPlay magazines. Thanks again to the Washingtonians, Layne and Matt! The credits have been updated to reflect their contributions.
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02.01.05 - TEDIOUS LABORS
After some debate over "form vs. function", I decided that "function" trumps all and that it was necessary to itemize each and every page for... yup, each and every magazine. Essentially, I have taken the original "table of contents" for each issue and added links for advertisements. I also went through all the "Games around the World" columns and listed the titles covered in each column... so now folks have a better idea of what PC-Engine games were profiled. Anyway, the reason I initially resisted itemizing every page was because: (1) it makes the "table of contents" for each issue very, very long and (2) it produces a "cluttered" and busy-looking page and (3) it's a lot of work. That said, I am quite pleased with the results. Now folks can see -- at a glance -- a detailed inventory of all the content in each magazine. I hope you will have an easier time finding exactly what they want when browsing through the magazines.
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01.24.05 - IN THE PIPELINE
Two weeks flew by and they weren't too productive. I apologize to folks who tried to email us here at the Archives -- I had the wrong address posted on many pages. I played around with the menu bar (improving the site's navigation) and decided that I will use CSS to make the site more aesthetically pleasing (I was sick of seeing underlined hyperlinks everywhere -- especially in the magazine entries, which are chock-full-o'-links to page scans. NOTE: Only issues # 1-5 are fully formatted thus far, # 6-14 will be finished in the next week or two. It will be months before the entire site is converted to CSS, of course.)
Good news: Two fine comrades from Washington -- Layne and Matt -- will be contributing scans of the entire issue of TURBOFORCE # 4. THANK YOU! You both rock! Also, thanks to all the folks who helped verify publishing histories for the various TG-16 magazines, especially Mr. Perry (slap-dash). As it turns out, a mere three issues of DUOWORLD (and only four issues of TURBOFORCE) were published. As always, if you can shed further light on any of the TG-16 publications, please contact us.
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01.09.05 - 51 GAMES REVIEWED
Ahead of schedule, I am pleased to present a brand-new feature article to grace the Archive -- A retrospective on all of TurboPlay's game reviews (which is located in the "features" section of this website). Anyway, this wittingly-titled article provides links to all 51 TurboChip (HuCard) and TG-CD games that were reviewed over the life of the magazine. I still need to add some additional commentary, but I know some folks will appreciate having this available sooner rather than later. Did I mention that some of the links may be broken, and that some of the scanned images have been corrupted (why has this happened?). I will smash my computer if I have to redo any of those page scans. Seriously. Anyway, have fun reading the game reviews that are legible!
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01.01.05 - NEW & IMPROVED! TONS OF SCANS...
To celebrate the new year, we are pleased to present the new and improved version (beta .2) of the TurboPlay Magazine Archives!!! As promised, we have provided a deluge of page scans from nearly every issue of TurboPlay. Folks who are interested in page scans from duoworld & TURBOFORCE will have to wait until the next update (BETA 0.3) in spring 2005. We hope you like the new format for viewing the magazines (now each issue will have its own page). Over the next few months, we will be adding footnotes to each issue's profile -- an attempt to highlight some of the more interesting items found in each particular issue. As always, if you can help improve this site, please contact us! Enjoy!
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12.15.04 - SOON, A COMPLETE OVERHAUL
Page scans coming soon! After experimenting with different page layouts, I have finally decided on how I will format each issue in the TurboPlay Magazine Archive. The new format will make browsing / reading the magazines more intuitive, accessible and fun. Now, while the "official" launch for the BETA 0.3 of the Archives is Spring 2005, expect to see some previews in the upcoming weeks. GOAL: At least 1/4 - 1/3 of the pages for each issue will be available by spring. After that, I intend to steadily add page scans until at least 75% of the original printed content is online. Again, if you can help the Archive expand its collection, please contact us today!
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04.23.04 - MY APOLOGIES
The page scans have been removed to make room for content for my other sites. The page scans will be made available again when and if I can find the space. Keep your fingers crossed! Unfortunately, I don't have the money required to fund a real site, so this is the best solution I could devise. Sorry.
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04.10.04 - MASSIVE UPDATE
The beta .1 version of the TurboPlay Magazine Archives is finally launched! Content currently available: (1) a brief, illustrated history of TurboPlay Magazine, (2) a brief, un-illustrated history of duoworld and TURBOFORCE magazines, (3) cover scans for all 14 issues of TurboPlay, 1 / 3 issues of duoworld, 3 / 4 issues of TURBOFORCE accompanied by (4) the text of the "table of contents" from these 18 issues (manually typed in by me... yes, it was a painstakingly slow process). Also, there is no clear naming convention for all of these magazines: is it "TurboPlay" or "Turbo Play" ? Similarly, is it "duo world", "DuoWorld" or "duoworld" ? I want to call TTi's magazine "TURBOFORCE", but it might as well be "Turbo Force"... the problem continues when we consider NEC's official TG-16 newsletter, "TurboEdge". Anyway, when folks try to find this site using a search engine, they'll probably type in "Turbo Edge" ... but that looks ugly! But we want Turbo fans to find this site! Oh well. We'll probably be sloppy here at the Archives and use various naming conventions instead of sticking with just one.
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11.15.03 - THE BEGINNING
Currently, coverscans, basic bibliographic info and a brief summary of content are available for each issue of TurboPlay. I hope to expand the scope of this site and cover the other TG-16 magazines as well. Why did I decide to make this site? Well, I recently wrote a short article about the contests that my brothers and I entered in hopes of winning TG-16 paraphernalia from TurboPlay magazine. That article rekindled my interest in the old TG-16 magazines. After scouring the web and finding a dearth of information on TG-16 magazines, the concept for the TurboPlay Magazine Archives was born. The article that served as the impetus for this site became its first feature (by default, of course) and is entitled Pasta Art, TurboGrafx-16 and TurboPlay. I contacted my brothers to see if we still had the old issues, somewhere, anywhere. Lo and behold, we did. Those precious issues of TurboPlay were unearthed, after all these years, from a musty box in the basement (or was it the attic?). And so, the tedious task of cataloging and scanning TG-16 magazines began...
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