Long before the Gizmondo, the n-Gage, and even the Sega Nomad there was that other portable gaming unit that nobody bought, the NEC Turbo Express. Part of the grand Game Boy / Game Gear / Turbo Express / Lynx collection of gaming contemporaries, the Turbo Express allowed gamers to play their favorite TurboGrafx-16 games on the go. Amazingly enough, the system could actually play TG-16 games whereas its competition required special game cartridges that would not work on the corresponding home console. Somewhere out there the Turbo Express still has admirers, and one of them has put together a loving ode to the little unit that never had a chance.
On the right side of the machine is the hub for the TV tuner, while on the left you have the AC power jack, headphone jack, volume, and brightness controls. Unfortunately, I have some issues here. First, the volume is too low even on the maximum setting. Everything's golden once you plug in headphones, but without them, you'll never hear much of anything while traveling, particularly on a plane. Also, the brightness control isn't very helpful. The medium setting, which is that sweet spot between too bright and too dark is just fine, and I've never run into a situation where I actually had to fiddle with it, so why it's even there is somewhat baffling.
I remember wanting a Turbo Express as a child mainly because it had that clever TV tuner accessory. Of course, at a cost of $300 just for the hardware, I was financially happy to stuck with my beloved Game Boy. Hudson's conversion of TG-16 classic Bonk's Adventure for the Game Boy in the mid-1990s did help me forget all about the allure of a TV tuner though.
