Awesome thread, NeoZeed, one of many from you I've enjoyed lurking in. The TG16/PCE is my all-time favorite console, so I think this is an appropriate topic for my first post. If you weren't afraid to import, it had an incredible library, and offered some of the best schmupping you'll find on any platform. I've been burnt out on Japanese-developed games for years (with a few exceptions), but I still revisit my trusty TG16 collection from time to time.
Some of my favorites:
Snatcher (I'll take this over the Sega CD version any day of the week)
Dracula X: Chi no Rondo
The Tengai Makyo series, especially Manjimaru and Fuun Kabuki Den
Gate of Thunder (best schmup ever coded, IMO)
Lords of Thunder
Cadash
Star Soldier series
Gradius II
Cosmic Fantasy series
Exile and Exile: Wicked Phenomenon
Dungeon Explorer I & II
Ys Book I & II, Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (not canon, but crushes Mask of the Sun)
Legend of Xanadu I & II
Dragonslayer: The Legend of Heroes
Langrisser (best version of the first game)
Bonk series/Air Zonk
Valis series
Bomberman '93
Steet Fighter II CE
Ninja Spirit
Blazing Lazers
Sapphire
Emerald Dragon
Fatal Fury Special
It's unfortunate TTI handled the TG16 so poorly here in the States. From the horrible design of the system itself (coupled with the CD unit, it was an ugly, unwieldy monstrosity), to the insane pricing and total lack of business sense when it came to bringing titles over from Japan, it was a disaster from the very beginning.
On the subject of Ys Book I & II, it's interesting to note how unusually well that game was handled when it was localized. NEC produced an excellent translation that put most, if not all efforts of that era by other RPG publishers to shame. And the voice acting! YEARS ahead of it's time! Almost everyone in the cast was/is an accomplished professional voice actor, and it even featured a young Thomas Haden Church (Wings, Demon Knight, Sideways) in one of his first acting gigs as Goban the thief. Cool stuff. Too bad it all went downhill from there.
"Have no fear of perfection. You'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali
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