9/9/99-9/9/09

10 years ago a system launched that was ahead of it's time. Sega went all out in what turned out to be their last effort to make a console and it was maybe their best. At a launchprice of $200, and what may still be the greatest launch lineup of games ever,the Dreamcast shattered sales records at launch but never sustained them. It had state of the art graphics, I dont recall ever seeing a graphical leap as large as the one for the PS1/N64 to DC, to me it was a huge difference. The console was home to so many firsts, so many innovations that all consoles use today. Out of the box it came with a built in modem and was the first ever console to have online play as a standard, absolutely free. Their sports games changed the sports gaming landscape. They created genres, started trends, they pushed the envelope like no company does. This was Sega at their best and it is a damn shame it ended so quickly. But for those 2 and a half years the Dreamcast was the home to so many clasic games.

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2

Sonic Adventure 1 was the DCs biggest launch game, unlike the Saturn this console needed a Sonic game and it got an excellent one. Sonic's first trip into 3D was a memorable one. It had some adventure elements which some might not like but it surprisingly still felt very sonicish.

Sonic Adventure 2 took away the adventure elements and focused more on the action of the levels. SA2 set the template for how most sonic stages in 3D work. I love the scoring system that was made for this title, I lost so much time mastering the Sonic/Shadow levels. There was so much content in this game it was staggering. To me it's still the best 3D Sonic game.

Soul Calibur

Best console port of a fighting game ever? This game was released to the highest reviews ever bestoed on a fighting games. 10's galore and worthy of them as it was a near perfect fighter.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica

Code Veronica is easily one of the best RE games. It was a huge game for a RE title and had a great story. It also gave us the return of everyones favorite sunglasses wearing villain. CV is one of the best titles on the DC.

Phantasy Star Online

The first ever online RPG on consoles and to me still the best online experience I have ever had. PSO is as addicting a game as I have ever played. I lost more hours to this game than any in my life I feel. To have this kind of online co-op, so early on, on 56k modems, it makes me laugh when games cant get it right with today's tech.This game is a masterpiece.

Jet Grind Radio

The game that started the cell shading craze that we still have today. It's art stylle caught the attention of everyone, it also helped that the game was a blast to play as well. Once again I totally unique and original Sega title.

NFL 2k and NFL 2k1

NFL 2k shook the sports world. Sega had to choose between having EA support their console or keeping the title they were making with Visual Concepts, they took the gamble and choose to stick with their own product.Some say not having EA was part of their undoing, I say who cares cause they beat EA in their own game. NFL2k became the standard for football games when it was released.

NFL2k1 took it even a step further becoming the first ever console online football game. This franchise forced EA to work hard on making Madden a competitor and what we got was the best years of football titles... until EA got exclusivity and became lazy bums again. During the DC days all of the VC sports titles were the best. Sega had the best football, basketball and hockey games.

Crazy Taxi

No Sega console is complete without awesome arcade ports and Crazy Taxi was one of the best. It was pure fun, such a simple premise but it ad perfect execution. This game is a blast.

Virtua Tennis

Another sports title that was leaps and bounds ahead of everything else. Virtua Tennis easily became the best Tennis game ever. I am no fan of Tennis but this game is fun as hell.

Skies of Arcadia

The Dreamcast was home to some excellent RPGs as well none as celebrated as Skies of Arcadia. It takes traditional JRPG gameplay and puts it into a unique setting and with some interesting twists. It's definetely one of the most loved Dreamcast titles.

Seaman

Screw Project Natal, Sega had you talking directly to a video game character 10 years ago. This crazy weird game is proof of Sega's willingness to try anything. It has Spock as a narrator, nowthats cool.

Power Stone

A launch title favorite, Power Stone became a multiplayer hit. It is a 4 player fighting at its finest. I great game to play with friends and a great game overall.

Shenmue 1 & 2

This is probably the most talked about franchise to come out of the Dreamcast. We have all heard stories of its massive budget and how it failed. It's a weird game to be sure, once again Sega shows it's a risk taker. To those that did enjoy it, it is probably one of the best video game experiences they will ever have. When I first saw Shenmue in motion there was no game that looked as good. I still feel no game has ever recreated that feeling of being in an actual city. The level of detail to every nook in cranny is unmatched. Like it or not this series is what perfected the QTEs that so many titles use today. I think Shenmue 3 will always be the most requested sequel that may never happen. At least we have these two games.

And there is so much more...

So dust off your Dreamcast and play it for one day. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Dreamcast.

Iga_Bobovic said:

A little mistake Vader. Power Stone was 2 players only, Power Stone 2 had 4 players.

Oh what do I know, I never played it.

Ravenprose said:

Dreamcast = meh.

Go back to the early 80's where you belong.

I bought my DC on 9/9/99 along with Powerstone, Soul Calibur, Hydro Thunder, and Sonic Adventure (the only 3D Sonic game that I've enjoyed despite its many flaws). I eventually bought over 50 games for my Dreamcast, more than half of those were at full price too. It was a great console that died way too soon; but at least that old Sega went out with a bang. 

Dvader said:

ASK_Story said:

I also had this game.



Traded it like an idiot. I was young. I didn't know.

Anyway, this is my biggest trade-in regret ever. *sigh* Still makes me sad after all these years.

I never even heard of it.

You know pirating was bad on this console when a dude at your school was selling any DC game for $3.

Yeah. My former roomate had tons of DC games. I was like, "What?! They're all on Sony DVDs!"

Anyway, it was back when Gamestop was Funco Land. I still remember trying to get back what I traded in. I came back to the store an hour later telling the manager that I regret trading it. I asked her if I can take back my trade. She wouldn't let me but told me to pay the asking price for it, which was like triple the trade-in credit I got. Even one of the employees I knew felt bad for me and said the manager should've gave me my game back.

Still, even then, Gamestop were a bunch of jerks.

Dvader said:

ASK_Story said:

Dvader said:

ASK_Story said:

I also had this game.



Traded it like an idiot. I was young. I didn't know.

Anyway, this is my biggest trade-in regret ever. *sigh* Still makes me sad after all these years.

I never even heard of it.

You know pirating was bad on this console when a dude at your school was selling any DC game for $3.

Yeah. My former roomate had tons of DC games. I was like, "What?! They're all on Sony DVDs!"

Anyway, it was back when Gamestop was Funco Land. I still remember trying to get back what I traded in. I came back to the store an hour later telling the manager that I regret trading it. I asked her if I can take back my trade. She wouldn't let me but told me to pay the asking price for it, which was like triple the trade-in credit I got. Even one of the employees I knew felt bad for me and said the manager should've gave me my game back.

Still, even then, Gamestop were a bunch of jerks.

Wow that is messed up.

Just thinking about that manager gets me angry to this day!

But it was a good lesson, I guess. Never trade in games that you'll feel would be valuable later on.

I still trade in a few games and re-purchase them later. But these are games that I can still find, so it's no big deal.

But I never trade in my valuables anymore.

All of the Dreamcast games I had back in the day:

4 Wheel Thunder
ChuChu Rocket!
Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi 2
Daytona USA 2001
DOA 2
Dino Crisis
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
The House of the Dead 2
Hydro Thunder
Jet Grind Radio
Kiss: Psycho Circus
Soul Reaver
Maken X
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
MDK2
Metropolis Street Racer
Mortal Kombat Gold
NFL 2K
Nightmare Creatures II
Power Stone
Q*bert
Quake III Arena
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Record of Lodoss War
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Samba de Amigo
San Francisco Rush 2049
Sega Bass Fishing (with Sega Fishing constroller!)
Sega GT
Sega Smash Pack
Sega Swirl
Shadow Man
Shenmue
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Soul Calibur
Space Channel 5
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter III: Double Impact
Street Fighter III: Third Strike
Test Drive Le Mans
Test Drive V-Rally
Trickstyle
Unreal Tournament
Virtua Cop 2
Virtua Fighter 3:TB
Virtua Tennis
Wetrix Plus
Zombie Revenge

Just over 50 games.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Dreamcast primarily because of that obnoxious controller.  Just never felt right in my hands. To this day I consider it the worst controller ever in modern gaming systems.  

However, Dreamcast games were the last ones that made me take a step back when I looked at the graphics.  Ever since then improvement in graphics just haven't been as dramatic.  But the first time I saw Sonic Adventure I was in awe.  The water looked amazing.  Hell, everything did for the most part.  Though no improvement in graphics could get me to like Big the Cat.  

Frankly I blame Big for the Dreamcast's failure... that and the controller.