Throw Back Thursday: The TurboGrafx 16 and the Best Games Which Defined That Lost Console

Before most of the country happily tramples one other on Black Friday attempting to cop an Xbox One or a PS4, it's important to remember one of the less fortunate casualties of gaming generations gone by: The TurboGrafx 16.

In the mid 1980s, Japanese computer giant NEC witnessed the financial windfall being reaped by Nintendo and realized there must be room in the market for a direct competitor. NEC partnered with Japanese software developer Hudson Soft to take on Nintendo in the arena of home consoles and released the PC Engine in 1987.

We here in the states would get a slick rebranding in 1989 when NEC's TurboGrafx 16 finally hit American shores. The TurboGrafx-16 went on sale the same month that Sega dropped the Genesis, and promptly tanked.

The parallels between Microsoft's original Xbox and NEC's console are worth pointing out.

Both Microsoft and NEC were computer companies with no previous experience in the home console field, and both were attempting to manufacture a goliath-beating console. Both Microsoft and NEC's consoles offered extraordinary power and technology, but suffered from initial missteps: Microsoft's massive first-gen Xbox controller and NEC's propensity for releasing un-needed hardware peripherals.

RELATED: Underground Kings: The 25 Best Xbox Live Indie Games

Sadly, Nintendo ran the Japanese gaming industry like a railroad magnate at the turn of the century. With a robber baron's approach to business, Nintendo blocked third party developers from producing titles for NEC. Sometimes forcing companies to sign non-compete clauses if they ever wanted to see their work appear on Nintendo's home console. In Japan, the TurboGrafx saw gains in the market with a robust game library and eventually settled into second place behind the NES for the remainder of that generation.

Here in the states, the TurboGrafx 16 was about as well received as a case of shingles. This writer was one of the only people he knew to own a TurboGrafx16. When conversations began about Mario and Sonic, interjections about how cool Splatterhouse was, and why wasn't anyone else playing Bonk's Adventure were, at best, met with confusion. It was the playground equivalent to rocking fake Jordans or telling everyone how much you enjoyed bottom shelf breakfast cereals. You were summarily dismissed.

RELATED: The 25 Best Indie Games of 2012

Thes system was remarkable in its ambition aimed at the American market. It was the first console of the 16-bit generation, it was the first console with an external CD-ROM attachment, and it was the first console to offer support for up to five players with multiple controller ports. It was also one of the first consoles to be quickly forgotten and relegated to the scrapheap that is Ebay Electronics.

The TurboGrafx 16 had a lifecycle that lasted from 1989-1995, R.I.P. Pour one out for the games that defined that lost console.

RELATED: 25 Great Cartoon-Themed Snacks From the '90s

Year Of Release: 1989

This. This right here is suspect number one when it comes to why the TurboGrafx 16 was such a forgettable mess in the States. Keith Courage in Alpha Zones was the initial pack-in title for the TurboGrafx 16 and looked embarrassingly dated even when it first released. Failing to showcase the system's 16-bit capabilities, Courage was a bland platformer that couldn't hope to compete with name recognition of competing systems' mascots.

See that asexual anime kid on the left? Yeah, when he wasn't dodging falling cats (for real) he was trying to cross a rainbow bridge to be inserted into that mech suit on the right. Most time mechs have jet boosts or wings, or really any redeeming qualities. This suit had the jump clearance of Bushwick Bill. The game was a bland flop that turned many off the system entirely.

After realizing their mistake, NEC tried to repackage their system's mascot as the far more accessible, Bonk.

Year Of Release: 1990

While not much to look at now, Ys I and Ys II was one of the first reboots/bundles from back in the day. It packaged both Ys and Ys II into a single title. Centered on a now familiar fantasy/RPG story that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Dragon Quest series, it was one of the better games on the TurboGrafx 16. If you were lucky it made you feel slightly less left out when everyone else was yammering on about The Legend of Zelda.

Year Of Release: 1989

One of the more easily translatable titles that made its way over the Pacific from Japan. For some reason cavemen are always portrayed as vaguely European and The Legendary Axe was historical white-washing at its finest. Featuring massive sprites, the title's characters seemed to tower over their Mario hued contemporaries. A caveman that hurled stone axes at massive fullscreen bosses made this one of the few TurboGrafx titles people still remember.

Year Of Release: 1992

What, you didn't have the TurboGrafx 16 Super CD-ROM detachable add-on? Well then you had to wait until Street Fighter II: Championship Edition made the jump to the Sega/Megadrive or the SNES system in order to get 16-bit graphics. It was a near perfect port of the arcade title, unfortunately in 1992, finding that CD attachment stateside was nearly impossible.

Year Of Release: 1989

That screen grab look familiar? Yes, Neutopia was the TurboGrafx 16's answer to Zelda, but that shouldn't disqualify it out of hand. Neutopia even surpassed its NES equivalent in some ways. Its story was more fleshed out and the RPG mechanics were stronger than Zelda. If you owned a TG16, chances were you owned this title.

Year Of Release: 1991

You'll notice that throughout the TG16's lifecycle it was awfully fond of SHMUPs (shoot em ups). The genre accounted for a massive amount of real estate in a relatively slim pool of titles. Super Star Soldier was one of many shooters that the Turbografx had on offer. Like all shooters, this one rewarded procedural weapon upgrades. Lightning, missiles, energy rings, and fusillades of bullets were all at your disposal.

Year Of Release: 1989

One of the granddaddies of the modern shoot 'em up, R-Type was an arcade banger when it dropped on Japanese arcade cabinets in the late 80s. Spawning multiple sequels on nearly every console of the last 30 years, it was the TurboGrafx 16 port that was the most faithful to the arcade edition. The 'bydo' enemy in the series was very clearly lifted from early H.R. Giger Alien creature designs.

Year Of Release: 1989

Obligatory ninja title for a new system? Check. If there's one thing American children love more than plumbers it's ninjas. Ninja Spirit should be remembered more fondly than it is. Easily on par with classic NES titles like Legend of Kage, Spirit was unforgiving in its difficulty, but gorgeous in its execution and exploitation of players' missteps.

Year Of Release: 1990

Gaze upon the glory of what military strategy sims looked like in the year 1990. GAZE UPON IT! Fighting for control of the moon may look sexier in James Bond films, but this was as close to war-porn a budding console general could get on the TurbGrafx16. The title even got a recently updated port on WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade, and PSN.

Year Of Release: 1993

OK, maybe the TurboGrafx 16 could have done with a more diversified library of titles. Lords of Thunder was another sidescrolling shmup in the same vein as R-Type.

Year Of Release: 1993

Bomberman on the TurboGrafx 16 was easily one of the best versions of the classic title. Allowing up to five players to simultaneously play at once, and boasting graphics that exceeded anything the NES was putting up, the TG16 version of the game was superior in nearly every way.

Year Of Release: 1990

Only slightly better than playing snake on your old Nokia, Gomola was a cross between a puzzle title and a dungeon adventure title. What it lacked in plot it made up for in effective use of the console's graphic and sound capabilities.

Year Of Release: 1992

Care to hazard a guess as to what type of game this might be? Yup. Another SHMUP. Fun as they are, there's only so many times you can be blasted out of space.

Year Of Release: 1989

Blazing Lazers was actually called Gunhed in Japan, not that it matters to anyone these days. The title was based off a Japanese live action movie. It was the prequel to Super Star Soldier and was, surprise, surprise, a SHMUP.

Year Of Release: 1990

Managing to combine several of my personal and favorite pastimes: Satanism and Pinball, Devil's Crush was a pretty dope game for 1990. Think if Slayer were somehow allowed to design a pinball game and you've got the gist of Devil's Crush. Robed monks, flaming pentagrams, and disembodied skeletons all made this game far superior anything the NES was pushing.

Year Of Release: 1989

While made more famous by his inclusion on the roster of the Marvel vs Capcom series, Strider's title on the TurboGrafx16 was easily the most loyal to the arcade title. With far superior sound and graphics to the SNES and Sega versions of the title, Strider on the TG16 was required owning.

Year Of Release: 1990

With the overt theft of Jason Vorhees most recognizable accessory, Splatterhouse is still remembered to this day as one of the most gory and bloody arcade games of the late 80s. Goalie mask appropriation aside, the TG16 port of the game was so bloody it required one of the first ever warning labels for a home console title:

"The horrifying theme of this game may be inappropriate for young children... and cowards."

How's that for putting you on blast?

Year Of Release: 1992

Equal parts Blade Runner and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the obliquely referential Snatcher was released towards the end of the TG16's short life. A cyber-punk, neo-noir detective story that centered on 'snatchers', androids that were murdering and replacing their victims. Hyper-stylized and a title that could have really helped the system stay afloat if anyone had been made aware of it. A port was released for both the Sega CD and the Sega Saturn, but we all know how that worked out.

Year Of Release: 1989

The literal definition of too little, too late, Bonk's Adventure was the TurboGrafx 16's attempt to repackage itself as direct competitor to Mario and Sonic. Unfortunately, the musky failorade that was Keith Courage was still too fresh in gamers' mouths for Bonk to be effective. Brightly colored and scored to attract legions of children away from their NES and Sega consoles, Bonk's Advenure never managed to take a foothold. It spawned two sequels and then quietly disappeared until its re-release on the Wii's virtual console.

Year Of Release: 1993

One of the few gems that could be lorded over the NES set was Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. I don't know what the fuck a Rondo is, but apparently it was full of all of the blood. The tenth installment in the Castlevania series, Rondo was a Japanese exclusive, unless you owned the TurboGrafx 16.

The still amazing Symphony of The Night was the direct sequel to Rondo and non-TG16 owners had to wait until 2010 to get a virtual console port of Rondo of Blood. One of, if not the, best titles for the ill-fated NEC console.