The classic mini-console war heats up with TurboGrafx-16 Mini – E3 2019

By Seth G. Macy

TurboGrafx-16 has always been a strange duck. It gained widespread notoriety among playgrounds and tree houses in the early 1990s thanks to the TurboExpress and the fully powered portable version of the home console. But few of us who went through this bygone era knew anyone who owned one. But that will change with the TurboGrafx-16 Mini.

The latest classic retro mini console is for people like me, who want to find these days carefree but also have the money to spend what we have never had. Introduced by Konami, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini follows the gamebook originally written by Nintendo and enhanced by the Sega Genesis Mini, preloaded with console classics.

Which classics, ask yourself? It's funny, you should say something because I was about to list the titles advertised:

Announced Games for TurboGrafx-16 Mini

• Type R
• New Island Adventure
• Ninja spirit
• Ys Book I & II
• Dungeon Explorer
• Alien Crush

The TurboGrafx-16 was the first home console to have a CD-ROM attachment, which we take for granted now. But at the time, it was like looking through a portal to the very near future of 1995. Although it was never captured here in the United States, Japan (known as PC Engine) it made it impossible to give money to Nintendo.

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Why does Konami make a TurboGrafx-16 Mini?

The TurboGrafx was developed through a cooperative relationship between Hudson Soft and the Japanese electronics giant NEC. Hudson Soft was engulfed by Konami in 2012 and, although the company no longer exists technically, its properties are now owned by Konami. Konami has recently taken a step forward in the revival of the retro game, with the recent Castlevania Anniversary collection and the even cooler Contra Anniversary collection, whose release was announced at Nintendo's E3 2019 Direct.

We do not know much about the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, for example its number of games, its output, its cost and the person who manages the software. Although I admit it's a wishful wish on my part, knowing that M2 helped Konami with the Castlevania birthday collection gives me hope that it could help with the TurboGrafx- 16 Mini. If you do not know who M2 is, find out why retro gaming enthusiasts should be excited about M2 using Sega Genesis Mini software.