Released in 1989, the Japan-only NEC SuperGrafx is one of gaming's greatest follies.
Rushed to market in order to compete with the Sega Mega Drive, it is part of the PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 family but contains only modest enhancements to the original system, which had arrived a few years earlier in 1987 to incredible commercial success in Japan.
Despite its imposing external casing and proposed (but unreleased) 'Power Console' accessory – a massive dual-stick controller which pre-dates Steel Battalion's monstrous peripheral by many years – the SuperGrafx was a massive flop at retail, selling just 75,000 units.
Only six games were ever produced (and one of those, Darius Plus, wasn't 'exclusive' as it would run on a standard PC Engine as well), and NEC quickly abandoned the system in order to focus on the mainline PC Engine family, which was expanded to include the Duo in 1991.
While it has gone down in history as an abject failure (well, apart from its amazing version of Capcom's Ghouls 'n Ghosts, which was the best domestic port for some time), the SuperGrafx's connection with the iconic PC Engine line means it's in high demand on the secondary market, with consoles now changing hands for massive sums of money.
One person who recently picked up one of these consoles is the talented modder and YouTuber Macho Nacho Productions, and he's put together a video showing him repairing and restoring the system to a point where it's actually 'better than new'.
The eight-hour procedure involves replacing old components like capacitors and installing a new AV mod, which means the SuperGrafx's picture is better than ever – and it's fascinating to watch it all happen.
At one point, the SuperGrafx's mainboard is placed in an ultrasonic cleaner to freshen it up. This is a seriously detailed restoration job and shows just how much work is involved when it comes to keeping vintage tech in tip-top working order.