Mad Stalker Full Metal Force ~ PC Engine CD TurboGrafx CD
0The PC Engine CD-ROM² System (シーディーロムロムシステム Shī Dī Romu Romu Shisutemu?, pronounced "CD-ROM-ROM") is an add-on console that is attached to a standard PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, which can play new CD-based format games as well as audio CDs.
This made the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 the first video game console to have a CD-ROM peripheral, and first device ever to use CD-ROM as a storage medium for video games. It was released in Japan on December 4, 1988, and was released as the TurboGrafx-CD in the United States on August 1, 1990. The TurboGrafx-CD had a launch price of $399.99, and did not include any bundled games. Fighting Street and Monster Lair were the TurboGrafx-CD launch titles; Ys Book I & II soon followed.
NEC/Turbo Technologies later released the TurboDuo, which combined the TurboGrafx-CD and TurboGrafx-16 into one unit.
The CD-ROM² was followed by the Super CD-ROM² System (スーパーシーディーロムロムシステム Sūpā Shī Dī Romu Romu?) format, which was released in Japan on December 13, 1991 as both: an add-on unit for the PC Engine with built-in BIOS, and as a Super System Card (スーパーシステムカード Sūpā Shisutemu Kādo?) for the original CD-ROM² System, which adds 192KB of RAM required to play titles in Super CD-ROM² format.
Certain games in Japan were released in a third disc format, the Arcade CD-ROM² (アーケードシーディーロムロム Ākēdo Shī Dī Romu Romu?) (released in Japan on March 12, 1994), requiring the use of an Arcade Card (アーケードカード Ākēdo Kādo?). The Arcade Card was available in a "Pro" version designed solely for the original CD-ROM² System, and a "Duo" version that worked with the Super CD-ROM² System and all PC Engine Duo models (both adding a total of 2MB of RAM). These are not compatible with the TurboGrafx-16, nor with the TurboDuo, without an adapter.
NEC Home Electronics released the PC Engine Duo in Japan on September 21, 1991, which combined the PC Engine and the Super CD-ROM² into a single unit. The system can play audio CDs, CD+Gs, CD-ROM² and Super CD-ROM² games as well as standard HuCards. It was launched for the North American market as the TurboDuo in October 1992. The American version of Duo was originally bundled with one control pad, an AC adapter, RCA cables, Ys Book I & II (a CD-ROM² title), and a Super CD-ROM² including Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, Gate of Thunder and a secret version of Bomberman accessible via an easter egg.
The system was also packaged with one random HuCard game which varied from system to system (Dungeon Explorer was the original HuCard pack-in for TurboDuo, although many titles were eventually used, such as Irem's Ninja Spirit and Namco's Final Lap Twin, and then eventually a random pick). The Super System Card required for Super CD-ROM² format games when using the TurboGrafx-CD add-on was built into the Duo, rather than requiring the card to be inserted at all times when playing a Super CD title. Two updated variants were released in Japan: the Duo R (on March 25, 1993) and the Duo RX (on June 25, 1994).