TG-16 & PC-Engine Magazine Scans + Instruction Manual Scans

A centralized source for TG-16/PCE Instruction Manual Scans is becoming a reality thanks to the tireless efforts of bernie at pcenginefx.com—THANK YOU Bernie & Company!

Our goal is to provide the highest quality scans. If you can help out in any way, please contact us! NOTE: In addition to individual game titles, we need instruction manuals for TG-16/PCE hardware and accessories. Eager to help? Read the scanning guidelines.

FUTURE-PROOFING: We are archiving the raw scans (.tif) in addition to any lossy format format (.pdf) to ensure that we can generate excellent reference materials in the future, too (a future where downloading a 550 MB file on your phone is routine).

Continued below…

SPECIAL THANK YOU…

I appreciate each and every person who has contributed to the Archvies over the past decade. However, some folks deserve special recognition for the tremendous amount of time and energy spent in their endeavors…

nullity (at duophile.com for superb new scans of every TurboPlay, DuoWorld and TurboForce…plus countless more from other publications)

dshadoff (for comprehensive, crucial scans of the ever-elusive Dengeki PC Engine, Gekkan PC Engine, Marukatsu PC Engine and PC Engine Fan)

bernie (for his unceasing drive to make the game manual project a reality—just don't let him near your DUO if he has a soldering iron or heat gun in his hand)

superplay (for countless random projects, such as scanning entire issues of PC Engine Fan, Dengeki PC Engine and Gekkan PC Engine)

…this site is significantly more useful and helpful to TG-16/PCE fans as a result of your efforts. Thank you. If it were not for your fresh, new, revitalizing contributions, the Archives would have been abandoned a long, long time ago. ▲

10.25.09 - TURBOBOOSTER WALLPAPER (PC / iPhone)

Behold, the gloriously svelte TG-16 + TurboBooster, now available as eye candy for your computer desktop and mobile devices. You see, folks had been ridiculing the aesthetics of TG-16 hardware for a long time, and I was sick of it. Sick of it. But what was I to do?

The Japanese PC-Engine was undeniably sexier than the TG-16…but did that necessarily mean that the North American console was an old crone?

The answer, of course, was a deafening, "NO!" ▲

08.31.09 - MONSTER LAIR WALLPAPER (PC / iPhone)

Twenty years ago today, Wonderboy III: Monster Lair became the sixth CD-ROM title released for the PC-Engine in Japan.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this game, why don't you feast your eyes on some Monster Lair Wallpaper (Standard, Widescreen and iPhone sizes available) and titilate your ears with tunes from the Monster Lair Soundtrack (Red Book)?

But wait, that's not all! We need your help answering some lingering questions about Monster Lair. Perhaps you can help us? Thanks. ▲

03.03.09 - KEITH COURAGE WALLPAPER (iPhone / iPod)

Run, Zakko, run! Don't let Keith ruin things for you! Needless to say, no self-respecting TG-16 fan should be without Keith Courage Wallpaper (iPhone/iPod Touch). Impress your friends and loved ones with Beastly Alien Dudes (B.A.D.)! 16 different designs are available, including all of your favorite dudes. That's right, they are all here: Kitty, Stitch, Big Face, Long Bones, Baron Chairman, Dr. Sting, Devil Foot, Dakkon, Possum, Dongoro, Zakko…everyone, except Mr. Roboto. Speaking of Mr. Roboto, you could always rely on TurboPlay Magazine to provide some helpful strategies for beating bosses found in the Alpha Zones. Of course, savvy readers already knew that Keith Courage in Alpha Zones was the North American localization of Mashin Eiyuden Wataru (Spirit Hero Wataru), a PC-Engine game based on a popular Japanese anime of the same name… ▲

02.13.09 - SPLATTERHOUSE WALLPAPER (PC / iPhone)

Happy Valentine's Eve! The second issue of TurboPlay Magazine featured a four-page ad that inspired today's TurboGrafx-16 Splatterhouse Wallpaper (PC / iPhone). And what better way to celebrate today, Friday the 13th., than to revisit Namco's homage to Jason Voorhees? To promote Splatterhouse for TurboGrafx-16, NEC used some creative, if bloody, advertisements. Notice how Rick is absent from the aforementioned ad? I think that his absence, and the ad's overall simplicity, is what I find so appealing, especially today. For more background information, be sure to check out the Splatterhouse-centric TurboPlay #2 (August/September 1990) which features the original four-page Splatterhouse advertisement, paintings of Rick and Jennifer by Alan Hunter, as well as a Splatterhouse Strategy Guide. ▲

01.29.09 - BONK'S REVENGE WALLPAPER (iPhone / iPod Touch)

Happy New Year, you crazy bastards! And with the new year, a few changes: this site has been slightly re-organized, we have some goodies for you to download, and, most importantly, we promise to update regularly in 2009! Stop laughing about the last bit. Stop. To start things off, we are pleased to present a series of Bonk's Revenge Wallpaper for iPhone / iPod Touch. Folks without an iPhone / iPod Touch, don't despair: we have goodies planned for everyone, on all platforms. In fact, if you have any special requests, drop us an email and we will do our best to accomodate you. ▲

01.01.09 - VERY MERRY 1993 NEW YEAR

Electronic Games never had much TG-16 coverage. This issue is no different, despite the fact that Zonk is prominently featured on the cover. The most interesting item in the entire magazine, as far as I am concerned, is a rather mundane blurb about a stocking stuffer that all video game enthusiasts can appreciate: fingerless spandex gloves emblazoned with the TG-16 logo. There are a few additional morsels of interest in this issue (for instance, the editors nominated Dragon Slayer as a contender for multi-media game of the year), but this simply can't compare to $13.99 of gloved bliss. ▲

10.05.08 - LIKE AN ARROW…

Damn, it's autumn already…Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana (Groucho Marx). This site still suffers from a woefully incomplete database, among other things. Back in May I was working on some stuff, but the desire to finish any of it fizzled away. Well, I did make a page listing all of the publications dedicated exclusively to TurboGrafx-16, but I'm not sure if I ever made it available to you back in June, or May, or whenever things were fizzling out. Hopefully, the refreshing chill of autumn will rekindle my interest in these abandoned projects. Otherwise, I'll spend all my free time raking and bagging leaves whilst listening to the tunes from Valis II, Gain Ground SX, and Double Dragon II. Seriously. ▲

04.27.08 - BONK FOR PRESIDENT '92

Yes, believe it or not, Bonk ran for president of the United States in 1992. I've heard that bumperstickers were made to spread the word, but I cannot confirm it. It seems likely, though. Since NEC (soon to be TTi) didn't want to scare away any potential customers, Bonk ran on a children- and game-centric platform. April of 1992 had a few more neat things to offer, maybe you'll enjoy them (Working Designs started localizing Cosmic Fantasy 2, for example). And…the critics at EGM didn't find "Sea of Love" (title song from It Came from the Desert) worthy of mention in their reviews. Plus, I make some pretty unorthodox claims concerning Shubibinman 3.

UPDATE 05.17.08: Now you can print your own "Bonk for President" bumperstickers. Two sizes are available. Go out and buy some legal-sized paper today. ▲

03.29.08 - THE IDES OF MARCH: 1992-1994

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. ▲

03.16.08 - ELECTRONICS BOUTIQUE: DECEMBER 1993 CATALOG

Wait a second…the never-to-be-released TTi TurboDuo Intelligent Link is advertised for $129.99 is 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! ▲

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. ▲

02.20.08 - FINALLY!

First, did you know that ICOM Simulations intended to release a PC CD-ROM version of Beyond Shadowgate, but it was never released? The Duo got the game in 1993, the same year that ICOM Simulations was acquired by Viacom, which may or may not have affected plans to release the PC CD-ROM version.

Second, 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 TurboPlay Archives disappeared when Comcast finally scrubbed their servers clean around two weeks ago), I realized that launching the new site was long overdue. Long overdue.

To be honest, I'm surprised the old site was available for as long as it was (nearly two years) after I left Comcast. Over the years, I shared screenshots of the new site with a handful of folks, but, with each passing season, I'm sure most of them didn't think they would actually live to see the day the site went live. Ha! I can't believe I waited this long myself, since I completed 85% of the work in the Summer of 2005. Truth be told, I didn't want to launch the new site until it was "100% completed." Only now do I realize that, ultimately, this site will NEVER be completely finished. I should have known better in 2005. And 2006. And 2007. Oh well. ▲

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. ▲

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 CD•ROM² 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… ▲

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. ▲

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? ▲

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. ▲

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. ▲

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. ▲

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! ▲

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! ▲

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! ▲

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. ▲

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. ▲

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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