PC Engine

The PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16 in North America, 1987) had a VDP capable of handling up to 64 sprites at 16 colours on screen with a 512-colour palette — impressive numbers for 1987. Hu-Cards — named for Hudson Soft — were credit-card-thin media, easy to store and nearly impossible to break. The CD-ROM² add-on (1988) was the first CD-ROM drive for a home console, opening the door to full voice acting, FMV cutscenes and orchestral soundtracks. Gate of Thunder, bundled with the PC Engine Duo, is still considered one of the finest horizontal shooters ever made. The CoreGrafx II variant had native RGB output — highly sought by European collectors who connect it to SCART monitors.