NEC PC-88

PC-88: History

 * The PC-8801 was a Zilog Z80-based home computer released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in Japan, in the year 1981. The PC-8801 was informally called the PC-88. It was one of the more popular 8-bit home computers in Japan right next to the MSX and Sharp X1. Some of the companies that produced exclusive software for the NEC PC-88 included Enix, Square, Sega, Nihon Falcom, Bandai, HAL Laboratory, ASCII, Pony Canyon, Technology and Entertainment Software, Wolf Team, Dempa, Champion Soft, Starcraft, Micro Cabin, PSK, and Bothtec. Certain games produced for the PC-88 had a shared release with the MSX, such as those produced by Game Arts, ELF Corporation, and Konami. Many, many popular series first appeared on the NEC PC-88, including Snatcher, Thexder, Dragon Slayer, RPG Maker, and Ys.


 * Nintendo licensed Hudson Soft to port some of Nintendo's Family Computer games for the console, including Excitebike, Balloon Fight, Tennis, Donkey Kong 3, Golf, and Ice Climber, as well as new editions of Mario Bros. called Mario Bros. Special and Punch Ball Mario Bros. and a unique Super Mario Bros. game for the computer, Super Mario Bros. Special.


 * The computer also had its own BASIC dialect, N88-BASIC. NEC's American subsidiary, NEC Home Electronics (USA), marketed variations of the PC-88 in the United States.

Hardware
For its time, the PC-88 (V2-mode) had high display resolution, but only could display 8 out of the 513 available colours simultaneously. The 640 × 400 mode was monochrome only. Its sound-producing capabilities were also much more advanced than most of the other machines of the time.


 * N mode: PC-8000 Series compatible graphic mode
 * V1 mode: 640 × 200 8 colors, 640 × 400 2 colors
 * V2 mode: 640 × 200 8 out of 512 colors, 640 × 400 2 out of 512 colors
 * V3 mode: 640 × 200: 65536 colors, 640 × 400: 256 out of 65536 colors, 320 × 200: 65536 colors, 320 ×  400: 64 out of 65536 colors


 * PC-88/PC88mkII
 * CPU: NEC PD780C-1 (Z80A-compatible)
 * Resolutions: ( N mode / V1 mode )
 * Memory: 40+8+24 = 72 KB ROM, 64+48 = 112 KB RAM
 * Sound: beep only


 * PC-88mkIISR/TR/FR/MR
 * CPU: NEC PD780C-1 (Z80A-compatible)
 * Resolutions: (SR/TR) ( N mode / V1 mode / V2 mode ) or (FR/MR) ( V1 mode / V2 mode )
 * Memory: 40+8+24 = 72 KB ROM, 64+48+4 = 116 KB RAM (MR = 244 KB)
 * Sound: beep + YM2203 ( 3 FM channels, 3 SSG ) Mono


 * PC-88FH/MH/FE/FE2
 * CPU: µPD70008 (Z80H-compatible)
 * Resolutions: ( V1 mode / V2 mode )
 * Memory: 40+8+24 = 72 KB ROM, 64+48+4 = 116 KB RAM (MH = 244 KB)
 * Sound: beep + YM2203 ( 3 FM channels, 3 SSG ) Mono


 * PC-88FA/MA/MA2/MC
 * CPU: µPD70008 (Z80H-compatible)
 * Resolutions: ( V1 mode / V2 mode )
 * Memory: 40+8+24 = 72 KB ROM, 64+48+4 = 116 KB RAM (MA/MA2/MC = 244 KB)
 * Sound: beep + YM2608 ( 6 FM channels, 3 SSG, 6 rhythms) Stereo + 1 ADPCM Mono


 * PC-88VA/VA2/VA3
 * CPU: NEC V50 (&micro;PD9002) 8 MHz
 * Resolutions: ( V1 mode / V2 mode / V3 mode )
 * Memory: 40+8+24 = 72 KB ROM, 512+48+256 = 816 KB RAM
 * Sound: beep + (VA)YM2203 ( 3 FM channels, 3 SSG ) Mono or (VA2/VA3)YM2608 ( 6 FM channels, 3 SSG, 6 rhythms) Stereo + 1 ADPCM Mono

Mario Bros. Special
Main Article: Mario Bros. Special
 * The game is not a straight port of Mario Bros., but an original platformer with adjustments to the graphics and sounds. There are four different screens. The stages involve Mario figuring out how to progress to the top of the screen, and some levels feature unstable platforms that shake if jumped on. This game marks the first appearance of Conveyor Belts.

Punch Ball Mario Bros.
Main Article: Punch Ball Mario Bros.
 * Punch Ball Mario Bros. was released on August 26, 1984. It is very similar to Mario Bros., but with a new object named the "Punch Balls" that could now be thrown to stun enemies.


 * Unlike the original game, the floor-level design is almost the exact opposite of the original game. For instance, the first platform above the floor in the original extends from the edges, with a gap in the middle. In this game, the platform is in the middle, with gaps around the edges. Footholds are sturdier and do not trip the enemy if hit from underneath like the first game - only the Punch Balls or POW Blocks could do this now.

Super Mario Bros Special
Main Article: Super Mario Bros. Special
 * Super Mario Bros. Special was released in 1986. While superficially very similar to the original Super Mario Bros., the game features original new levels and lacks a screen-scrolling mechanism. When a player reaches the end of a screen, the screen turns blank and loads the next part of the level. Jumping and running physics also differ from the original, providing a much more challenging experience than Super Mario Bros.. Adding more difficulty is the fact that the timer of the level runs much faster than in the NES game, which was already much quicker than the timers in the latest Mario games. Returning was Mario's Hammer from Donkey Kong, alongside a variety of past foes and new exclusive items from the earliest arcade Mario titles, Mario Bros. & Donkey Kong.


 * Due to the PC88's technology being slightly inferior to that of the NES, the audio and graphics differ slightly from the original NES game as well, although replicated closely. Additionally, the game does not include Luigi or a multiplayer mode.


 * List of Super Mario Bros. Special Staff
 * Programmed By: Yukio Takeoka
 * Courses Designed By: Ichirou Sakurada
 * Sound Effects Created By: Fumihiko Itagaki & Megumi Kawamata
 * Produced By: Takashi Takebe

List of Nintendo-made Mario-Related Games Ported to the PC-88

 * Mario Bros.
 * Super Mario Bros.
 * Donkey Kong 3

Trivia

 * Punch Ball Mario Bros.
 * It is possible that Punch Balls were the predesessors to Koopa Shells, as the behave similairly when thrown.
 * When a POW Block is thrown, the game's screen inverts its colors momentarily.
 * It is unknown why Hudson Soft was permitted the rights to make the game, and why they chose to.
 * Super Mario Bros. Special
 * Hudson Soft's mascot was Hu-Bee, a reference to the Hudson Hornet, a sedan from the 1950's built by the unrelated Hudson Automobile Company. Hu-Bee appears in Super Mario Bros. Special as an item that can be collected to earn 8,000 points.
 * In World 1-2 reaching the place over the Pipe leads to a bonus, but with a Pipe that still leads to the overworld, thus to the end of the level. In World 4-2, instead, the player finds an extra Pipe after the regular ones, giving the player the hope of a Warp. But it's a trap: entering on it leads to nothing, as the player will be stucked into. They can oly wait until the time gets to "000".
 * Hudson's staff took enemies from earlier Mario games, none of which could be stomped, and gave them new names. They are:


 * Chokichoki - Originally from Mario Bros.
 * [[Fighter Fly|Nakaji - Originally from Mario Bros.
 * [[Freezie|Tsurara) - Originally from Mario Bros.
 * [[Fire|Sigebou) - Originally from Donkey Kong.
 * [[Barrel|Tarusar) - Originally from Donkey Kong.


 * + Clocks, which can be found in this game, wouldn't appear again until 2010.
 * The "Lucky Star" is shaped like an atom, not a Star.