but the atmosphere, sense of mundane purpose and world building has never been bettered by any game.
I'm rarely interested in RPG/Adventure games, but I really enjoyed Shenmue 1 & 2. The graphics and overall design seemed quite incredible back in the day, and there was a lot of charm and wonder that kept me captivated. They are very special games that deserve all the love and praise they've received over the years.
Daytona USA 2001
Once you lower the control sensitivity and acclimatise to the steering and shift down drifting, it's one hell of an Arcade racer.
I've never found a way to truly feel comfortable with the control, but I'll give it another bash with low sensitivity. The beautiful graphics and uplifting vibe always keep me coming back to it, so it would be nice to really enjoy how it plays.
More than any other platform, I feel the Dreamcast remains one of the best consoles of all time. Its diversity and quality is unmatched.
It still pains me to think that the Dreamcast had a very short lifespan. We got a lot of good to great games, but the library should have ended up much broader. The machine was essentially finished by the end of 2000, so I guess devs stopped making games before that when the writing was on the wall. So the tech wasn't pushed further and further over a proper 5 year period that is the norm with popular consoles. It's a shame that more gamers didn't embrace the Dreamcast and all the good stuff it offered.
Shenmue - One of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. Esp me and my mates playing the Jp version. SFIII 3rd Strike - This was next-gen Street Fighter. Amazing. Rez - It was special in 2001 ... but it's even better now. Crazy Taxi - A proper arcade game. Loved the feel of the crazy drift. Space Channel 5 - Who doesn't love a bit of Ulala's Swingin' Report Show?
I never played much 3rd Strike on the DC. It was always Double Impact. There was a gambling arcade in Manchester Picadilly Gardens that had a Soul Calibur and Double Impact machine at the back. Myself and some friends would play them at my house and whenever we met up in town.
I have 19 of the titles on that list, way too difficult to call.... but I'll have a go.
For arcade conversion quality:
Crazy Taxi For novelty controller innovation (in home consoles):
Samba de Amigo For genre defining brilliance:
Rez For pioneering the online console MMO:
PSO For providing the greatest, yet endearingly clunky, episodic story-telling and mini-games of the era:
Shenmue
I've never found a way to truly feel comfortable with the control, but I'll give it another bash with low sensitivity. The beautiful graphics and uplifting vibe always keep me coming back to it, so it would be nice to really enjoy how it plays.
It still pains me to think that the Dreamcast had a very short lifespan. We got a lot of good to great games, but the library should have ended up much broader. The machine was essentially finished by the end of 2000, so I guess devs stopped making games before that when the writing was on the wall. So the tech wasn't pushed further and further over a proper 5 year period that is the norm with popular consoles. It's a shame that more gamers didn't embrace the Dreamcast and all the good stuff it offered.
I'm of the opinion that the control in Daytona USA, both Arcade and all home releases, don't control great. It's really sensitive, the collision detection is janky and the drifiting is great but only if you don't touch another competitor! However, 2001 is the most refined but the default control is just as bad, so a bit of tinkering will get Daytona controlling the best it ever has. Still not perfect though!
I've always been a huge Dreamcast fan. I had my first part time job back then so could afford to buy it on day 1, loved the launch games and it really felt like we got 1 stunning new game each month, till the day it croaked it. I used to be of the opinion that (As Edge once said) that 'The Dreamcast was killed by the imagined power of the PlayStation 2' and there's still some weight to that theory as the PS2 hype train was in full swing, off the back of the unstoppable PlayStation.
However, part of the blame lays in Sega's lap. It had the excellent Mega Drive and because of fear of commiting to the next generation, or attempts to suck more money and life out of it, they released endless add ons and accessories that cost several hundred each. I feel that started to erode the buying public’s good will and then the high price and 3D issues of the Saturn then started to switch the public over to Sony. Despite all the gloom, a recent Podcast (Cane and Rinse) reminded me, the console sold over 10 million units in a real short space of time and that normally would be great, but Sega were running on empty and needed more to keep afloat.
Despite those issues, it's sad as the Dreamcast was just so far ahead of any other console at the time, it would have been stunning if the console gained traction, Sega were in a stronger place and the console had another 3 years to really stretch its legs.
I never played much 3rd Strike on the DC. It was always Double Impact.
Double Impact is strange, because it's a very good fighter, but it ended up being overshadowed by 3rd Strike. You rarely see mention of Double Impact but lots of talk about how special 3rd Strike is.
I remember being amazed by Crazy Taxi in a local arcade back in September '99, then buying the Dreamcast port in January 2000. I was blown away by having an arcade perfect port in the home. That's when I got to really appreciate the game's nuances and overall design. Great memories.
the console sold over 10 million units in a real short space of time and that normally would be great, but Sega were running on empty and needed more to keep afloat.
Despite those issues, it's sad as the Dreamcast was just so far ahead of any other console at the time, it would have been stunning if the console gained traction, Sega were in a stronger place and the console had another 3 years to really stretch its legs.
Sega put a lot of money into promoting the machine in Japan, America, and Europe. Remember Sega sponsored Arsenal FC with Dreamcast on their shirts. I guess all the marketing costs helped with sales but left Sega in a bad way financially.
The machine was also released at a strange time[1998-1999] when the casual market was still enjoying 32-bit gaming. I remember Driver being a big thing on the PS1, when at the same time the Dreamcast was launching in Europe. There was still life in 32-bit gaming at that point.
Also, Sega had dropped the ball with the Saturn in Europe and America, so that tarnished the Sega name in the West. Sony with the PlayStation were the new console kings. So that positive momentum carried on into the next generation with the PS2.
I remember journos projecting the idea that the PS2 was the 'must-have' next gen console that was worth waiting for. It was going to be a monolithic powerhouse that would destroy the competition. So all the next gen hype during '99 was focused on the PS2, despite the Dreamcast being around and having some great games like Power Stone, Soul Calibur etc... The Dreamcast ended up being quite an enthusiasts console that didn't appeal to the casual market. The fact that EA shunned the machine didn't help.
The Dreamcast has remained a niche machine that appeals to the enthusiast gamer. People see it as a console belonging to a bygone age where Sega were a big player in the console market. That gives it quite a cool image next to more mainstream machines like the PS2 and Xbox. But its short lifespan meant that its library of good games isn't very large, so there aren't loads of games to get excited about these days. Although, this topic does highlight most of the games that are still worth playing.
Really late to the party with the DC. I've said before in the DC retrospective thread, I went to a retro show and they had a DC shmup table with Trizeal, Ikaruga and Zero Gunner 2 and thought they were amazing, especially Zero Gunner 2.
[MENTION=7818]Malc[/MENTION] gave me his DC (legend) and I hammered some of those shmups.
Anything else seemed to suffer with only one analogue stick.
So for me, with no rose tints and not having played many of these, I'd say Zero Gunner 2, Ikaruga and Samba De Amigo.
Loads of the others, I played on other formats, Xbox, 360, Switch and PS2.
I keep meaning to set it up again and work my way through some games, but I'd rather play some modern games atm.
When I get tired of DLC, season passes and loot boxes, I may go back.
Is it worth changing the laser unit for one of those SD card readers?
As much as I thought it was pretty good back in the day, it's not a game that really grabbed me. I also don't see it being talked about, so it didn't make the final list. It's certainly a decent game though.
Illbleed is also missing. Leon Retro is trolling us all.
Illbleed is very much a cult game that has its fans but isn't generally regarded as a golden classic. And it's also not a game that interests me, as the style isn't my cup of tea.
There are plenty of good Dreamcast games that didn't make the final cut, such as Cannon Spike. I made sure to select lots of popular games and some gems that I regard as being something special. So there's a focus on what was popular/successful and a personal touch based on games I really like. But I did remove 'Super Magnetic Neo' and replace it with 3rd Strike, because I realised Capcom's game was more deserving due to its enduring popularity.
As much as I thought it was pretty good back in the day, it's not a game that really grabbed me. I also don't see it being talked about, so it didn't make the final list. It's certainly a decent game though.
I replayed Toy Commander recently, emulated on my gaming rig, upscaled for a widescreen HDTV, and it's actually even better than I remembered, since it occurred to me there's basically nothing else like it these days.
As much as I liked Capcom vs SNK 2, it's not a game I'm overly fond of. It also doesn't get mentioned much these days. So there's a personal touch to the games I included, but also recognition of really popular games within the mainstream and enthusiast markets. These topics are obviously created from my point of view, so there will always be discussion on games that aren't featured.
CvS2 will always feel like a PS2 game to me, mainly because we never got it on DC in the UK.
I replayed Toy Commander recently, emulated on my gaming rig, upscaled for a widescreen HDTV, and it's actually even better than I remembered, since it occurred to me there's basically nothing else like it these days.
Maybe I should have included it, so I'll give it another go. I can imagine it looking really nice upscaled.
All of those, apart from Confidential mission, are on the list. I felt that HOTD2 was more worthy of inclusion in the 'best of the best', but I know Confidential Mission is also a good game.
Obviously the list would probably be quite a bit different depending on the person putting it together, so it's somewhat based on my point of view. It's just a bit of fun really, so it's nice to have a bit of discussion and debate.
CvS2 will always feel like a PS2 game to me, mainly because we never got it on DC in the UK.
I didn't know that it wasn't released in the UK -- Alpha 3 and 3rd Strike were. I didn't feel CvS2 was popular enough against other DC fighting games to make the cut. Obviously, people who really like CvS2 would disagree with me. I think 3rd Strike is more popular.
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