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Retro|Spective X03: Dreamcast

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    Originally posted by Asura View Post

    Is the Saturn the only console with a 6-button layout by default?
    Didn't the PC Engine FX also have 6 button pad as standard too. My trouble was SEGA no doubt asked the clueless PS casuals when conducting its research. The DC pad should have had 6 face buttons as standard IMO

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      Could have been worse I guess and stuck to three like the 3DO and MD. Shame they didnt just lift the L1/2 R1/2 notion.

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        Originally posted by Superman Falls View Post
        Could have been worse I guess and stuck to three like the 3DO and MD. Shame they didnt just lift the L1/2 R1/2 notion.
        True, though the Dreamcast did popularise the idea of analog triggers. The Saturn controller had them too, but as that came mid-to-late in the system's life, they weren't noticed as much. Microsoft then ran with the idea. Analog triggers make a world of difference for racing games.

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          Originally posted by Asura View Post
          True, though the Dreamcast did popularise the idea of analog triggers. The Saturn controller had them too, but as that came mid-to-late in the system's life, they weren't noticed as much. Microsoft then ran with the idea. Analog triggers make a world of difference for racing games.
          Quite, SEGA Rally Plus was awesome on the Saturn with its analogue support for breaking and acceleration. I also liked how the USA version of Exhumed/Powerslave added in 3D pad support and so long before GoldenEye or Turok one could have analogue aiming and use the 6 face buttons for movement.

          SEGA really should have had the DC pad with 6 face buttons

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            It's a shame they built so much of the physical shape around the use of VMU's, they where ultimately useless even if there's a touch of novelty about them.

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              Got to love that beep when the battery was running low though, which was seemingly always. I must admit, I absolutely love the VMUs. But then I love the Pocketstation too and there deosn’t seem to be many who do. I liked the little features that you could access outside the game. Actually, I think I have always liked this because, now that I think about it, I loved the little thingy that came with Pokemon Gold and Silver on the DS too - Pokewalker, was it?

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                Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                Got to love that beep when the battery was running low though, which was seemingly always. I must admit, I absolutely love the VMUs. But then I love the Pocketstation too and there deosn’t seem to be many who do. I liked the little features that you could access outside the game. Actually, I think I have always liked this because, now that I think about it, I loved the little thingy that came with Pokemon Gold and Silver on the DS too - Pokewalker, was it?
                Yeah, I loved all that stuff too (though only the concept of the PocketStation, as it never got a proper release in the UK). The VMUs were a great idea with flawed execution; the battery life needed to be literally ten times longer, or be rechargeable. If I remember rightly, the batteries would run out in literally days and those batteries weren't cheap.

                I think the concept was sound, though. I loved how you could link up VMUs to exchange times in Sega Rally 2. In Japan, players could use the VMUs on some arcade machines too - though this actually creates a problem for some games; the Japanese Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is hampered by this as I think you can never obtain all of the characters without some access to the arcade.

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                  Originally posted by Asura View Post
                  I think the concept was sound, though. I loved how you could link up VMUs to exchange times in Sega Rally 2. In Japan, players could use the VMUs on some arcade machines too - though this actually creates a problem for some games; the Japanese Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is hampered by this as I think you can never obtain all of the characters without some access to the arcade.
                  The VMU should have had more memory and used AAA batteries IMO. They were great when used mind Sonic Shuffle made great use of them in multiplayer and I loved the VMU play calling in the NFL 2k series

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                    Thing is these batteries ARE cheap, but seemingly only in Japan. They've always been available at 100 yen shops and are used in a lot of Japanese electronics. AAA and such would have simply made it too bulky.

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                      Even if the batteries had run out (which they had - always) they were a cool bit of bling - I liked how they showed your health on Code Veronica, and how a tiny version of what was playing out on the TV showed on the screen for Virtua Tennis. Was it useful? No. Was it cool? Yes!

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                        Originally posted by Asura View Post
                        Yeah, I loved all that stuff too (though only the concept of the PocketStation, as it never got a proper release in the UK).
                        Yeah, I was importing a lot around that time and got one but I think I only had two or so games that actually supported it: Final Fantasy VIII and SF Alpha 3. I have been surprised since then that they haven't added the functionality as an extra in other releases of FFVIII. It would seem to me that a virtual Pocketstation would be easy enough to do.

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                          Funnily enough, the batteries are very easy to get now - you can buy a strip of them in most pound shops. Do your VMU, do the internal clock on your Saturn, leave all the other funny sizes in a drawer, forever.

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                            Spare a thought for the poor hens that lay them all day too!

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                              Another one of those quirky Sega ideas where it seems left field but was a low ball attempt at something that would later be popular, dual screening and walk away from home portable gaming

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                                Originally posted by Superman Falls View Post
                                Another one of those quirky Sega ideas where it seems left field but was a low ball attempt at something that would later be popular, dual screening and walk away from home portable gaming
                                That's absolutely true. It is funny just how many things can, in some way, be traced back to those Sega systems but they were just too early and/or didn't get it quite right.

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