The PC Engine – or the Turbo-Grafx 16, as it was called in the States – was a quirky little beast, a fun system packed with original titles and top-notch ports. Alas, in the battle between Sega and Nintendo, it just couldn’t keep up, and NEC folded up shop on it sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, the awesome games remain.

And what better way to chronicle its magnificent library than with a cool book? Bitmap Books’ PC Engine: The Box Art Collection takes a look back at the artwork of the many PC Engine releases, including obscure favorites you may not have even realized came out. And it does so with a high level of class that both die-hard retro fans and reading connoisseurs can truly appreciate.

(Courtesy of Bitmap Books.)

Even if you’re not too savvy on the system itself – or its fascinating history – PC Engine is a must-own. And here’s why.

History Covered In Beautiful Fashion

With each entry included in PC Engine, you get details on what each game release was like. This includes popular favorites such as Bomberman ’93, Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo (Castlevania: Rondo of Blood), the Bonk games and even Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. But you also get a glimpse at titles that completely passed you by, like the underrated Don Doko Don. (Look it up.)

There’s some top-notch visuals throughout this book, with each picture of box art lovingly captured and blown up so you can see all their glorious details. We’ve never drooled at the sight of HuCards as much as we have here. (What, if you’re a retro gamer, you get it.)

(Courtesy of Bitmap Books.)

But with that, there’s also some outstanding text, detailing the history of each game, as well as what happened with the PC Engine itself. It goes over quite a bit as well, including some tidbits you may not have realizes – such as how pleased Sega and Capcom were to license their titles to the system (even with the Genesis in play, mind you).

There’s a Lot To Read Here, Mind the Price

In addition, PC Engine is going to be quite a read. The book is packed with over 370 pages of text, screenshots and tidbits, so this isn’t going to be something to merely “blow through.” Instead, we advise you to soak in every screenshot – and maybe even build yourself a game library while you’re at it. (If we could just find a TurboExpress with Air Zonk already.)

The book itself has outstanding quality, with paper that won’t tear easily and terrific sewn binding on the outside, to avoid wear and tear. Collectors can also get their hands on a special anime-style edition of the book to house the original in, though the general white and red design is endearingly designed.

(Courtesy of Bitmap Books.)

There is one thing — the book runs pretty costly, at around $70 AUS. That converts to somewhat higher in some markets. But you definitely get what you pay for here, so don’t let that scare you too badly.

The combination of savvy writing (from Sam Dyer and his team of experts) and the quality screenshots just brings everything together beautifully, a loving tribute to everything the PC Engine and Turbo-Grafx 16 ever were. In fact, the only product that we can think of that outshines this book is the PC Engine Mini/Turbo-Grafx mini, and that’s just because it has playable games. This is something that really complements it.)

Read Up and Learn Your Turbo History

Bitmap Books has released a number of tremendous books over the years, chronicling the history of video games. In fact, you could spend an afternoon looking through their collection and trying to convince yourself not to build a book library (and some of you will likely fail that task – they’re so good!)

But PC Engine: The Box Art Collection truly stands as one of their best releases to date. Not only does it look back on the troubled history of one of the video game industry’s most mysterious systems, but it unfolded with care and passion like you wouldn’t normally expect from a squad of authors. It’s terrific reading, and a must have for anyone that has retro blood pumping through their veins.

Now get to reading – and don’t forget to give Devil Crash some love!

GAMERHUB RATING: FOUR AND A HALF (OUT OF 5) JOYSTICKS.

You can get your very own copy of PC Engine: The Box Art Collection right here at this link!