TurboGrafx CD

TurboGrafx CD Specifications

The TurboGrafx-CD is an add-on for the TurboGrafx-16 allowing the console to run games from CD-ROMs. It was originally released in North America in 1990, as the Western counterpart to the PC Engine's CD-ROM².

While it had little success in North America, the device boosted sales for the PC Engine in Japan. It helped the PC Engine outsell the NES for a while (up until the release of the SNES) and become the second best-selling console of the 16-bit era, behind the Super Famicom (which later planned its own PlayStation CD add-on) and ahead of the Sega Mega Drive (which later had its own CD-ROM add-on, the Sega CD).

The add-on allowed the TurboGrafx-16 to play games from CDs instead of HuCards, which were the primary game format for the console.

The TurboGrafx CD also had several hardware improvements over the base system, including increased RAM, faster CPU, and improved graphics capabilities, which allowed for more advanced games to be developed for the system, such as RPGs with longer play times and full-motion video sequences.

The TurboGrafx-CD is a modified CD-ROM², though for the most part, the changes are purely aesthetical. Like the CD-ROM² the TurboGrafx-CD could theoretically act as an entirely separate CD player, however unlike its Japanese counterpart, it was never hinted as such. In Japan, the Interface Unit required to link a CD-ROM² to a PC Engine was originally sold separately, but the TurboGrafx-CD was always sold with the means to hook the system up to a TurboGrafx-16 through its rear expansion port, as was the (region locked) System Card allowing the console to communicate with the unit.

The TurboGrafx-CD is not region locked, and so can play any CD-ROM² disc regardless of where it originated from. In fact, such is the case with its design, the TurboGrafx-CD unit can be replaced with a Japanese CD-ROM² system and will still continue to function as expected. Likewise a TurboGrafx-CD can be placed in a Japanese Interface Unit and work alongside a PC Engine (or one of its many derivatives).

Some popular games for the TurboGrafx CD include "Ys Book I & II," "Castlevania: Rondo of Blood," and "Lords of Thunder." Despite its technical advancements, the TurboGrafx CD did not sell as well as its competitors, due in part to its higher price points and lack of widespread adoption.