Heavy Unit
TurboGrafx-16 · 1988
About this game
Heavy Unit is a side scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game developed by Kaneko and published by Taito in 1988.
It was ported to the PC Engine and Sega Mega Drive by Taito and was released on December 22, 1989.
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There was also a Mega Drive port by Toho entitled "Heavy Unit: Mega Drive Special" released on December 26, 1990.
The player takes control of a star ship that can transform in to a mecha by obtaining a specific type of power up.
Set in 2013, mankind's first artificial star and planet, "Le Tau", is under attack from genetically modified alien monsters.
The player must navigate a "Heavy Unit", a heavily armed, transforming mecha, in order to defeat the onslaught and protect the human colony.
The player's ship had two forms: a space-ship and a giant robot.
Players started controlling the Heavy Unit in its space-ship form as default.
As they progressed, they could change the ship into its robot form, thus changing its firing mode and mobility.
A checkpoint was active however and the Heavy Unit only had one hit.
Power Ups are dropped by a specific enemy ship which appears in fixed points during the levels.
Every level of the game contains a mid-boss and a final boss.
Both the ship and the robot modes use two fire buttons, one for the primary (frontal) fire and one for auxiliary fire.
The ship mode uses a frontal laser gun which becomes a spread show with the power ups, plus missiles which drops like bombs as auxiliary fire.
The robot mode has a frontal laser gun which increases in power with the power ups plus homing missiles as auxiliary fire.
An interesting element of the game is represented by the hidden bonuses (usually 1UP) which can be revealed by shooting certain parts of the scenario or by continuously hitting certain indestructible enemies.
There is at least one hidden bonus in every level of the game.
About TurboGrafx-16
Known as the PC Engine in Japan, the TurboGrafx-16 (1989) punched well above its small form factor but never found a large audience in North America, leading to one of the smallest console libraries of its generation in the West. That limited Western release makes complete, boxed TurboGrafx-16 games some of the scarcer finds in retro console collecting today.
Gamevaro tracks Heavy Unit for TurboGrafx-16 with separate market values for loose, complete-in-box (CIB) and factory-sealed copies, sourced from real eBay sales. Prices also vary by region — PAL, NTSC-U and NTSC-J releases of the same game often sell for different amounts due to print run sizes and regional collector demand.
Adding Heavy Unit to a Gamevaro collection takes seconds — search by title or scan the box barcode, and the app fills in cover art, release details and current pricing automatically. This TG16 release dates back to 1988.
Market values by condition
NTSC-U
Recent sales
| Date | Type | Region | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-20 | Loose / Item only | NTSC-U | €45.21 |
Rarity & condition
Only a handful of market sales have been tracked for Heavy Unit, suggesting it doesn't trade hands very often — a sign of relative scarcity compared to more common TurboGrafx-16 titles.
Complete-in-box (CIB) copies typically command a premium over loose cartridges/discs because the original box and manual are more fragile and get discarded or damaged over time — fewer complete sets survive.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Heavy Unit worth?
Heavy Unit for TurboGrafx-16 is currently worth €45.21 loose. Prices are based on real sales and update regularly on Gamevaro.
Is Heavy Unit rare?
Heavy Unit has only a handful of tracked market sales, suggesting relative scarcity compared to more common TurboGrafx-16 titles.
What's the difference between loose, CIB and sealed for Heavy Unit?
Loose means cartridge or disc only, CIB (complete in box) includes the original box and manual, and sealed means factory-sealed and never opened. These are tracked as separate market values because the price gap between them can be significant, especially for older releases.
Ratings & Reviews
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