This machine is one of Sony’s MSX2 models. It features an attractive black and gray case with red accents and many LEDs and a couple of gadgety-looking slide controls to make it look cool. And indeed, it does look cool! I really like the style. The built-in floppy drive is a very nice touch, too.

It was purchased as a tested-working system, so it was no surprise that it booted right up. MSX 2 and MSX have BASIC on ROM, so I could begin using the system immediately.

I only have one game that is specific to MSX 2 – an RPG called Last Armageddon. I chose it because of its bizarre visuals. All of these photos are from the intro.

Of course, there is a big difference in image quality between MSX and MSX2. It is higher resolution and has a larger color palette. It also has analog RGB output, which grants a large increase in clarity. This is tremendously helpful in reading kanji, as the characters are too much of a blur for me to read over composite. The MSX1 games can all potentially benefit from being run on an MSX2, as well, as while the graphics remain the same, the clarity of the image is bolstered by displaying over RGB.

I enjoy the MSX2 quite a bit more than my first MSX machine. Although my first MSX had a keyboard and a cassette port for loading tape-based games, cartridges got a much bigger push, and you just connect a joystick and start playing the games, so it really felt more like using a console than a computer. Of course, that was just my experience based on what was cheaply and easily available to me at the time; MSX is a fully capable computing platform, too, but these disk games with all their swapping and having a game that requires keyboard interaction really gives me a more solid computing experience.