SuperGrafx
Encyclopedia
The SuperGrafx video game console
is an upgraded version of NEC's popular PC Engine
(North America: TurboGrafx-16) system. At first it was known as the PC-Engine 2—which was purported to be a true 16-bit system with improved graphics and audio capabilities, not expected to see release until 1990. However the final machine, named SuperGrafx, was released earlier than expected, in late 1989, only provided modestly enhanced graphics over the original PC-Engine, had audio that was the same as the PC-Engine and had no 16-bit CPU, just the same one as the PC-Engine.
Compared to the PC-Engine, the SuperGrafx has four times the amount of working RAM for the main CPU, a second video chip with its own video RAM, and a priority controller chip that allows the output of both video chips to be combined in various ways. SuperGrafx has support for two independently scrolling background layers, like the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, instead of the PC-Engine's single layer.
The SuperGrafx was not well received, due to a lack of software written to support its enhanced abilities; only seven titles were ever released.http://www.defunctgames.com/shows.php?id=review-619 There were no CD, SCD, or ACD games written that took advantage of the SuperGrafx platform. Game software was also very expensive, with games approaching $110 USD
. However, the SuperGrafx can play PCE HuCards, PCE CDs, PCE Super CDs, PCE Arcade CDs, and the native SuperGrafx HuCards. These titles combine total to a very respectable library of nearly 700 titles.
It is very common misconceptionhttp://nfggames.com/games/pce/ that the extra video hardware and capabilities were taxing on the system's CPU, with speculation that this was the reason not many games were developed for the system. Despite having the same CPU as the PC-Engine, it was more than capable of keeping up with the new graphic enhancements, as the majority of the workload was handled by the VDPs.
One accessory of note was the Power Console, designed to add a full flight yoke
, throttle
and keypad
to the SuperGrafx, sliding over the entire console. Besides a prototype, no Power Consoles were ever produced.
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
is an upgraded version of NEC's popular PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
(North America: TurboGrafx-16) system. At first it was known as the PC-Engine 2—which was purported to be a true 16-bit system with improved graphics and audio capabilities, not expected to see release until 1990. However the final machine, named SuperGrafx, was released earlier than expected, in late 1989, only provided modestly enhanced graphics over the original PC-Engine, had audio that was the same as the PC-Engine and had no 16-bit CPU, just the same one as the PC-Engine.
Compared to the PC-Engine, the SuperGrafx has four times the amount of working RAM for the main CPU, a second video chip with its own video RAM, and a priority controller chip that allows the output of both video chips to be combined in various ways. SuperGrafx has support for two independently scrolling background layers, like the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, instead of the PC-Engine's single layer.
The SuperGrafx was not well received, due to a lack of software written to support its enhanced abilities; only seven titles were ever released.http://www.defunctgames.com/shows.php?id=review-619 There were no CD, SCD, or ACD games written that took advantage of the SuperGrafx platform. Game software was also very expensive, with games approaching $110 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. However, the SuperGrafx can play PCE HuCards, PCE CDs, PCE Super CDs, PCE Arcade CDs, and the native SuperGrafx HuCards. These titles combine total to a very respectable library of nearly 700 titles.
It is very common misconceptionhttp://nfggames.com/games/pce/ that the extra video hardware and capabilities were taxing on the system's CPU, with speculation that this was the reason not many games were developed for the system. Despite having the same CPU as the PC-Engine, it was more than capable of keeping up with the new graphic enhancements, as the majority of the workload was handled by the VDPs.
One accessory of note was the Power Console, designed to add a full flight yoke
Yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen...
, throttle
Throttle
A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...
and keypad
Keypad
A keypad is a set of buttons arranged in a block or "pad" which usually bear digits, symbols and usually a complete set of alphabetical letters. If it mostly contains numbers then it can also be called a numeric keypad...
to the SuperGrafx, sliding over the entire console. Besides a prototype, no Power Consoles were ever produced.
Technical specifications
- CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
: 8-bit HuC6280AHudson Soft HuC6280The HuC6280 8-bit microprocessor is Japanese company Hudson Soft's improved version of the WDC 65C02 CPU. The most notable product using the HuC6280 is NEC's TurboGrafx 16 video game console.-Description:...
, a modified 65SC02 running at 1.79 or 7.16 MHz (switchable by software). Features integrated bankswitching hardware (driving a 21-bit external address bus from a 6502-compatible 16-bit address bus), an integrated general-purpose I/O port, a timer, block transfer instructions, and dedicated move instructions for communicating with the HuC6270AHudson Soft HuC6270HuC6270 is a video display controller developed and manufactured by Hudson Soft. The VDC was used in the PC Engine game console produced by NEC Corporation in 1987 and in the SuperGrafx and TurboGrafx 16 also developed by NEC....
VDC. - GPUGraphics processing unitA graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
: A multiple graphics processor setup. One 16-bit HuC6260 Video Color Encoder (VCE), two 16-bit HuC6270AHudson Soft HuC6270HuC6270 is a video display controller developed and manufactured by Hudson Soft. The VDC was used in the PC Engine game console produced by NEC Corporation in 1987 and in the SuperGrafx and TurboGrafx 16 also developed by NEC....
Video Display Controllers (VDCs), and one HuC6202 Video Priority Controller. The HuC6270AHudson Soft HuC6270HuC6270 is a video display controller developed and manufactured by Hudson Soft. The VDC was used in the PC Engine game console produced by NEC Corporation in 1987 and in the SuperGrafx and TurboGrafx 16 also developed by NEC....
featured Port-based I/O similar to the TMS99xx VDP family.
Display
- Resolution
- X (Horizontal) Resolution: variable, maximum of 565 (programmable to 282, 377 or 565 pixels, or as 5.37mhz, 7.159mhz, and 10.76mhz pixel dot clock) Taking into consideration overscan limitations of CRT televisions at the time, the horizontal resolutions were realistically limited to something a bit less than what the system was actually capable of. Consequently, most game developers limited their games to either 256, 336, or 512 pixels in display width for each of the three modes.
- Y (Vertical) Resolution: variable, maximum of 242 (programmable in increments of 1 scanline)
- Color
- Depth: 9-bit
- Colors available: 512
- Colors onscreen: 482 (241 background, 241 sprite)
- Palettes: 32 (16 for background tiles, 16 for sprites)
- Colors per palette: 16
- Sprites
- Simultaneously displayable: 128
- Sizes: 16×16, 16×32, 16×64, 32×16, 32×32, 32×64
- Palette: Each sprite can use up to 15 unique colors (one color must be reserved as transparent) via one of the 16 available sprite palettes.
- Layers: The dual HuC6270AHudson Soft HuC6270HuC6270 is a video display controller developed and manufactured by Hudson Soft. The VDC was used in the PC Engine game console produced by NEC Corporation in 1987 and in the SuperGrafx and TurboGrafx 16 also developed by NEC....
VDCs are capable of displaying 2 sprite layers (1 each). Sprites could be placed either in front of or behind background tiles. Each layer can display 16 sprites or 256 sprite pixels per scanline, giving the combined sprite per scanline limit of 32 sprites or 512 sprite pixels.
- Tiles
- Size: 8×8
- Palette: Each background tile can use up to 16 unique colors via one of the 16 available background palettes. The first color entry of each background palette must be the same across all background palettes.
- Layers: The dual HuC6270AHudson Soft HuC6270HuC6270 is a video display controller developed and manufactured by Hudson Soft. The VDC was used in the PC Engine game console produced by NEC Corporation in 1987 and in the SuperGrafx and TurboGrafx 16 also developed by NEC....
VDCs were capable of displaying 2 background layers (1 each).
Audio Capacity
- Six PSGProgrammable sound generatorA Programmable Sound Generator is a sound chip that generates sound waves by synthesizing multiple basic waveforms, and often some kind of noise generator, and combining and mixing these waveforms into a complex waveform, then shaping the amplitude of the resulting waveform using...
audio channels, programmable through the HuC6280AHudson Soft HuC6280The HuC6280 8-bit microprocessor is Japanese company Hudson Soft's improved version of the WDC 65C02 CPU. The most notable product using the HuC6280 is NEC's TurboGrafx 16 video game console.-Description:...
CPU. - Each channel had a frequencyFrequencyFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of 111.87 kHz for single cycle of 32 samples (while not in D/A mode) with a bit depth of 5 bits. Each channel also was allotted 20 bytes (32×5 bits) of RAM for sample data. - The waveformWaveformWaveform means the shape and form of a signal such as a wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract representation.In many cases the medium in which the wave is being propagated does not permit a direct visual image of the form. In these cases, the term 'waveform' refers to the shape of a graph...
s were programmable so the composers were not limited to the standard selection of waveforms (square, sine, sawtooth, triangle, etc.). - The first two audio channels (1 and 2) were capable of LFOLow frequency oscillationLow-frequency oscillation is an electronic signal, which is usually below 20 Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This pulse or sweep is often used to modulate synthesizers, delay lines and other audio equipment in order to create effects used in the production of electronic music. Audio...
when channel #2 was used to modulate channel #1. This was used to achieve FMFrequency modulation synthesisA 220 Hz carrier tone modulated by a 440 Hz modulating tone with various choices of modulation index, β. The time domain signals are illustrated above, and the corresponding spectra are shown below ....
-like sound qualities. - The final two audio channels (5 and 6) were capable of NoiseWhite noiseWhite noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency...
generation. - Optional software enabled Direct D/ADigital-to-analog converterIn electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...
which allows for sampled sound to be streamed into any of the six PSG audio channels. When a channel is in D/A mode the frequency is as fast as the CPU can stream bytes to the port, though in practicality it is limited to 6.99 kHz when using the TIMER interrupt with its smallest loop setting (1023 cpu cycles) or 15.7khz using the scanline interrupt. - There is a method that combines two channels in DDA mode to play back 8-bit, 9-bit, or 10-bit samples.
- The addition of the CD-ROM peripheral adds CD-DA sound, and a single ADPCM channel to the existing sound capabilities of the PC Engine.
Game Media
- HuCardHuCardA HuCard is a memory card developed by Hudson Soft. It is the size of a credit card and is used with the NEC PC Engine and SuperGrafx video game consoles. HuCards contain an integrated circuit that is placed close to the connectors and protected by a thin plastic shield...
: A thin, card-like game media. The largest Japanese HuCard games were up to 20Mbit in size. In addition to its own HuCardHuCardA HuCard is a memory card developed by Hudson Soft. It is the size of a credit card and is used with the NEC PC Engine and SuperGrafx video game consoles. HuCards contain an integrated circuit that is placed close to the connectors and protected by a thin plastic shield...
games, the SuperGrafx was backward compatible with all PC Engine HuCardHuCardA HuCard is a memory card developed by Hudson Soft. It is the size of a credit card and is used with the NEC PC Engine and SuperGrafx video game consoles. HuCards contain an integrated circuit that is placed close to the connectors and protected by a thin plastic shield...
games. The labels on SuperGrafx HuCards were upside-down relative to PC Engine HuCards; A PC Engine HuCard will read upside down on a SuperGrafx, while its own are right-side-up. - CD: The SuperGrafx was compatible with the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² unit, and could play all PC-Engine CD games with it attached. There were no CDs produced especially for the SuperGrafx.
Input/Output
- HuCard cartridge connector.
- EXT-BUS expansion connector. (for CD-ROM, Tennokoe 2, RAU-30, etc.)
- Standard mini-DINMini-DIN connectorThe mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector...
gamepad connector. - Enhanced I/O port with 8 output and 4 input pins.
- 5-pin DIN A/V connector with composite video and stereo audio output only.
- Power adapter jack.
- Compatibility mode (PC-Engine or SuperGrafx) switch on back of unit.
- The enhanced I/O port was designed for a multiple-input perhipheral that was shown in several game magazines but never released commercially.
Peripherals
- RAU-30 adapter Connects SuperGrafx to IFU-30 CD-ROM interface tray, as the SuperGrafx won't fit due to its unusual shape.
System Specific
All SuperGrafx releases were on SHuCard format.- 1941: Counter Attack1941: Counter Attack1941: Counter Attack is an arcade game in the "vertical scrolling shooter" genre made by Capcom in 1990. It was also released on Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for the PSP and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox....
- AldynesAldynesAldynes , or fully known as Aldynes: Mission Code for Rage Crisis is a horizontal scrolling Shoot em’ Up developed by Produce in 1991 for the SuperGrafx only for Japan...
- Battle Ace
- Daimakaimura
- Madō King GranzortMado King Granzortis a Japanese young children's animated television series that aired from 1989-1990. It was produced by Bandai Visual and animated by Sunrise animation studio. It also spawned 3 special direct-to-video episodes and two movie ....
Backwards Compatible with PC Engine
- Darius Alpha - Improved graphics when played on SuperGrafx
- Darius Plus - Improved graphics when played on SuperGrafx
Unreleased/Rumored
- Galaxy Force II (unreleased prototype)
- StriderStrider (arcade game)Strider, released in Japan as is a 1989 side-scrolling platform game released for the CP System arcade hardware by Capcom. It became one of Capcom's early hits before Street Fighter II, revered for its innovative gameplay and multilingual voice clips during cutscenes .-Plot: Strider is set in a...
(rumored)
External links
- pcenginefx - Enthusiast-run site for NEC video game consoles.
- Magic Engine - Commercial TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine/SuperGrafx emulator.
- Mednafen - GPL'd Multi-System Emulator that supports PC Engine(TurboGrafx 16) and SuperGrafx.