This is a page dedicated to cautionary info regarding console modding, arcade repairs, and I guess whatever else I feel like throwing up here. I've found over the years that a lot of mistakes I made while working on projects could have been avoided had I known certain things beforehand- it would have saved me a lot of time, heartache, headache, and especially money, but also would have prevented me from running into the repetitive situation of asking for help in Discord servers only to be met with "oh yeah, don't do that" or "oh yeah, that happens sometimes" in response.
The title of this page is a reference to the Dark Souls series of games and the blood pools that appear online to indicate where other players have failed. Hopefully these bloodstains ensure your success.
This is a WIP. If you're reading this rn it means I posted the page but haven't finished it.
The PC Engine was a console released by NEC (the Nippon Electric Company) in 1987 as a competitor to the Nintendo Famicom. It was developed as a joint project with Hudson who had first approached Nintendo about their BeeCard technology in the hopes that Nintendo would adopt the format or something similar. Nintendo declined and Hudson instead took their concepts elsewhere resulting in the creation of the PC Engine with NEC (who had developed the popular PC-8000 line of Japanese computers). Online gaming historians claim the PC Engine saw anywhere from "amazing" to "moderate" success in Japan but I've personally found it difficult to verify these claims due to the sheer amount of sensationalized "edutainment" content out there that tends to deliver this information with an exaggerated bias in either one direction or the other. What I can say with relative safety is that the PC Engine, despite its alleged success, has seen very little cultural impact on Japanese gaming culture and even "failed" systems like the Sega Mega Drive seem to see more popularity to this day in Japanese retro circles. Although the PC Engine has its dedicated fans in the West I've seen very little interest in the system from Japan and my general assumption is that "they really don't care". Other than a cameo in Hi-Score Girl, at least. Correct me if I'm wrong.
The original square PC Engine came in three main hardware variants- the classic white PC Engine, the revised "CoreGrafx" system (released alongside the SuperGrafx in Japan, NEC's failed attempt at a successor system), and the CoreGrafx II. All of these variants are largely similar in terms of internal construction and design with some slight differences. Both CoreGrafx systems support composite video output unlike the RF only video of the original PC Engine. The CoreGrafx uses an updated CPU which fixes an audio bug (but breaks the sound in certain games that relied on said bug) and the CoreGrafx II reverts back to the original CPU. Capacitor list is largely the same with a few differences between the systems and PCB layout differences are marginal.
The PC Engine's internal build quality is not stellar. It is a thin board with relatively mediocre construction and was seemingly produced in large "sheets" at the factory with perforated "breakaway" edges on the sides showing where the boards where snapped apart from one another. I've read that traces on these boards can easily sever but have thankfully not witnessed it myself, although I can confirm that pads must be treated with caution and care to avoid lifting. Even in situations where everything is done "right" there's a risk of lifting pads and on these boards it's best to be as delicate as possible while minimizing the amount of times heat and hot solder are repeatedly applied to these joints. If you need to desolder something flow some fresh solder into the joint and let the heat soak for a fraction of a second, just long enough to melt through the joint and let you suck it up right the first time.
The PCE, CG, and CGII utilize a ribbon cable to connect the main motherboard to the HuCard slot board. This ribbon is fragile and can potentially fail, snapping clean from the soldered joints connecting both boards. It's tightly compacted to help fit it into the shell and "unwinding" the cable too much without first squishing it back down again can cause the ribbon cable to press into the main board itself and bow it downward from the center. I haven't personally witnessed the board cracking from this stress but it's a frightening thought and care should be taken to prevent this.
Some CoreGrafx II systems have RF shielding on the bottom half of the case that is held down with an extremely strong adhesive tape. Removing this shielding is borderline impossible without completely mangling or destroying the shielding and damaging the case in the process. The tape is strong enough to apply serious pressure when pulled back on and it can and will warp the plastic shell. This shielding means that not all models of CoreGrafx II are compatible with mods that require trimming the shielding, such as Zaxour's TurboNanza (which is, IMO, a largely essential mod for PCE hardware). As of the time of writing I'm not yet sure if there's any exterior way to indicate whether a CGII has the taped shielding or not. Although I strongly prefer the s-video output of the TurboNanza the CGII's composite video is very, very good and is a completely acceptable alternative to a TurboNanza mod if your only goal is improved video signals (and compatible external RGB devices already exist if needed).
The voltage regulator and heatsink assembly on the PC Engine uses a screw and a small rectangular washer- the CGII uses a few circular washers in addition as well as a small bolt. Take care not to lose these.