 Taiwan’s Super 16 Bit Console You would be mistaken for thinking Super Nintendo was the only 16bit console that was Super. There were two others. The PC Engine Supergrafx and the lesser known Super A’Can, codenamed F-16. This Taiwanese console from Funtech, aka Dunhuang Technology, was seriously delayed coming to market. Released late in the 4th generation cycle of videogame consoles, 1995. Which by then saw the 5th generation already underway. Funtech was unknown, even in Taiwan, but its parent company UMC, United Microelectronics Corp, was Taiwan’s first Semi Conductor manufacturer. Who’s microchips were used in most Taiwanese electronics, including the first Taiwanese console, GameBoy competitor, the BitCorp Gamate. The Super A’Can used a Motorola 68000 CPU at 10.6MHz, faster than the Megadrive’s 7.6Mhz. It also had a second CPU, a 6502, seen in the Atari 2600, NES and C64, running at 3.58Mhz. Graphics and audio were custom chips provided by UMC. Able to display 256 colours from a palette of 32,768 like the SNES, but at a higher 320x240 resolution (discounting SNES Hi-Res modes). It supported scaling and rotation for the 320 sprites and 2 of its 5 background layers, as well mosaic and transparency graphic features, similarly seen on the Mega CD and SNES i.e. Mode 7. The 320 hardware sprites were 256x256 pixels in size, severely besting the Megadrive’s 80 32x32 sprites with 2 background layers, as well as the SNES’s 128 64x64 sprites and 4 background layers. Audio wise it boasted 16 channel PCM sound, twice as many as the SNES, and more than the Megadrive’s combined sound chips FM, PCM, PSG and noise channels. On paper it was a 16bit killer, closer to the Neo Geo in specification. Physically the console looks like a Japanese Super Famicom, crossed with an American Super Nintendo, dipped in dark grey paint. The Power, Eject and Reset buttons are located and look almost identical to the SFC. On the back are ports for power, as well as standard red, white and yellow RCA phono connectors for composite AV. Early models had RF, but was later removed to save costs. The controllers are, again similar to the SNES, but no where near as comfortable. Cheap feeling plastics, rubbish DPad and small shoulder buttons make it inferior. They also were equipped with a Turbo switch on the back. A 9pin DSub connector is used, like on the Megadrive, although not compatible. Late to market, the Super A’Can released at the budget price of 2,900 New Taiwanese Dollars, about £70 in UK money, on par with the Megadrive in 1995 Taiwan. But by then people had moved on to Saturns and Playstations. Sadly the limited 11 released games were mediocre and just similar to other 16bit system games. The 12th game, Rebel, didn’t quite see a release, being completed after the console was cancelled. Funtech had planned a Sega 32x-a-like add on, that would have added extra processing power, 3D capabilities and other features. Also there was to be a CD-ROM peripheral, that would have connected to an expansion connector on the side of the console, but they never appeared. It was all too little, too late. Who knows what would have happened if it was released earlier. Could the Super A’Can have gained enough traction as the most powerful 16bit console to have become a success? Not just in Taiwan, but worldwide. - Asobi Quang DX October 2019 Back |