Guide to Dungeon Explorer II for TurboGrafx-16 CD
16-bit CD games are often mocked for their abuse of full-motion video and terrible voice acting. Other times the games are rightfully called out for being minimal upgrades over the cartridge equivalent. The high price of the 16-bit CD systems didn't cause them to fail, oh no, people will pay out the nose to have the flashiest game console around. What they won't pay for is a flashy game console with a catalog of sub-par games.
Not all the games got it wrong though. Buried among the Tom Zito productions were a few gems that showed exactly what the 16-bit CD era could have been. They sported rich (for the time) cut scenes, amazing soundtracks, larger worlds, and updated game play. One such game was Dungeon Explorer II for the TurboGrafx-16 CD. I dare say that if more games like it were released then maybe, just maybe, the 16-bit CD platforms would have lasted a bit longer.
It had the misfortune of being released for a system on its last legs at the time. It could have worked on the Sega CD, it could even have worked on the SNES with the cut scenes trimmed down. Instead it is banished to relative obscurity unless Hudson takes a huge gamble on releasing it for the Virtual Console.
So then why bother making this guide at all? Darn good question.. I guess for the same reason I created guides for Phantasy Star III, Tombs & Treasure, and It Came from the Desert.. because I guess I like making guides for unusual games, because if I don't then no one else will, because maybe by making a guide it will generate some interest in the game, do any of these reasons work for you? Really it's all of the above I suppose.
This guide is currently a work in progress. I originally planned to hold off on posting it until everything was complete. It's taking longer than expected so I opted to post it early rather than leave it sitting on my hard drive for months. Specifically there are a couple maps missing. This is the same approach I took with the Complete Guide to Phantasy Star III so trust me when I say it will (eventually) be finished.
