PC Engine SuperGrafx

The PC Engine SuperGrafx (also known simply as the SuperGrafx) is a console released in Japan in 1989 and in France in 1990. It was originally developed as a true successor to the PC Engine as a response to the 16-bit consoles being released at the time, but was later released as a minor upgrade to the console similar in context to the New Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 Pro.

Like the TurboGrafx-16's games, the SuperGrafx's games were on HuCards. The console had four times the RAM as its predecessor, and able to show twice as many sprites at once and had the capability to have a second scrolling background as opposed to the PC Engine's single scrolling background. NEC would stop supporting the console one year later after selling only 75,000 units and focused on the PC Engine, which was still selling well in Japan at the time.

Why It's Not Super

 * 1) The console was rushed to market in order to be released before the Super Famicom and the Neo Geo.
 * 2) * When those consoles were released, the competitors' graphics capabilities blew the SuperGrafx out of the water.
 * 3) The console sold for 39,800 yen at launch and the games cost over 10,000 yen.
 * 4) Only 5 games in total were released for the console and none of them were worth buying the console.
 * 5) *Battle Ace: The only launch title for the system. A shooter viewed from the cockpit that gameplay wise is similar to After Burner.
 * 6) *Daimakaimura: A port of the arcade game Ghouls' n Ghosts that is closer to the arcade release than the Genesis port. It is the best-selling title on the SuperGrafx.
 * 7) *1941: Counter Attack: A port of the arcade game.
 * 8) *Madö King Granzört: Based on the anime of the same name. It is a side-scrolling platformer that looks like a PC Engine game except it has parallax scrolling. Its gameplay makes it a spiritual successor to Keith Courage in Alpha Zones.
 * 9) *Aldynes: A shoot 'em up that just like Madö King Granzört looks like a PC Engine game but with parallax scrolling.
 * 10) Out of the 600+ games on the PC Engine, only two games on the system received enhancements when played on the SuperGrafx, which are Darius Plus and Darius Alpha and all it did was have less flicker when more sprites appeared on the screen at once and added scrolling backgrounds.
 * 11) The specs of the console was barely worth paying for if you already owned a PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) It can play all PC Engine games and supports all accessories made for that system.
 * 2) Its port of Ghouls 'n Ghosts is great looking and is more arcade accurate than the Genesis version.

Videos
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Trivia

 * Many games that were in development for the SuperGrafx were either cancelled or had their development moved to a different platform. The most notable game is Strider Hiryu which was originally being developed for the SuperGrafx, but was cancelled due to its failure. It ended up being released for the PC Engine on the Arcade CD-ROM² format.
 * Aldynes and Daimakaimura are pre-installed games on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini and its regional variants.
 * At one point during the SuperGrafx's short-lived retail lifespan, there was going to be a large multifunctional peripheral for the system, the mh:cancelledgames:NEC Power Console, to be released in the Spring of 1990. However, it was cancelled because of the SuperGrafx's failure, as its low userbase would not have been enough to cover this accessory's production costs.