DCEmu Asks - Sega Dreamcast a History & Whats the greatest Dreamcast Game Ever ?

[wraggster]

Hi all this is a network wide feature of sorts ill be doing for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system

Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.


http://www.dcemu.co.uk/dcemudc.jpg


Sega Dreamcast
Around March 12th, 1997 rumors began to surface about what began as a 64-bit upgrade for the Sega Saturn. Eventually news began to leak about Sega?s development of a totally new console. By June 1997, Sega had two different design specs under consideration to become the new console. One design was code-named ?Black Belt?, and the other code-named ?Dural?.

?Black Belt? was being designed by Sega of America. The console would sport an IBM/Motorola PowerPC 603e CPU with 3Dfx Voodoo graphics chipset. As a result of the programming difficulties of the Sega Saturn, Sega of America also approached big time Windows developer Microsoft to create an easy to program operating system for the console (Probably where Microsoft took an interest in the console market). Sega of Japan however began developing ?Dural? which would sport a Hitachi SH-4 CPU with PowerVR2 graphics chipset designed by old console rival NEC/Videologic (Maker of the Turbografx 16, Turbo Duo, and PC-FX). Both designs were brought to the big shots at Sega, and compared side by side. It was determined that the ?Dural? design would be used, but would incorporate elements of the ?Black Belt? design. As a result most of the members of the American design team quit the company. 3Dfx then filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Sega.

Sega worked with Microsoft, Hitachi, NEC/Video Logic and Yamaha to produce the new console. It was announced to the public as the Sega 'Katana' on September 7th 1997, and would be the first 128-bit console to enter the videogame market. Sega fueled the console?s hype by spending $100 million to launch it.

The system now called Sega Dreamcast was re-scheduled a number of times due to the demand for units. . Dreamcast was finally released on November 25th 1998 in Japan. By 16th July 1999, the Dreamcast was outselling the Nintendo 64 by a 3 to 1 ratio. Meanwhile in America, advertising for the Dreamcast was taking place and by August 1999 it had broken many sales records by grossing an estimated 98 million dollars. Europe also saw a successful release on October 14th 1999.

The Dreamcast was an impressive system boasting powerful specs, a simple to program Windows CE operating system, and a built in modem for use in internet browsing and online gameplay. The year long wait from the Japanese release gave 3rd Party Developers ample time to bring an impressive collection of software titles for the console's release.

After some delays, SegaNet was finally introduced. SegaNet gave Dreamcast users the ability to play games online. In January 2000, 30% of Japanese Dreamcast owners were online, and by February 17th this had risen to almost 50%. In the US over 300,000 people were using DC's Internet and in Europe over 200,000 were reported. It would seem that Sega had finally corrected the mistakes that plagued them in the past.

Even with the success of Dreamcast all was not well in the world of Sega. Sega faced numerous lawsuits from companies such as 3Dfx, and were attempting to recover from a failed merger with Japanese company Bandai that occurred in January 23 1997. The eventual release of Sony?s 128-bit over hyped successor complicated matters with it?s backwards compatibility and ability to play DVD?s (more bang for the buck). The President of Sega Sholchiro Irimajiri steped down and was replaced by Isao Ohkawa. One of Ohkawa's first steps is to issue an ultimatum and 500 million dollars to Sega of America to make the Dreamcast strong in the U.S market again. Sega began facing difficulties with price wars against Sony. Sega initially could not afford to lower the price of the console because they would never meet the break-even point ( losses from previous console failures did not help matters. Console manufacturers actually lose money for each console sold, and recap losses by licensing each game released for the console.) Obviously with Nintendo and Microsoft?s announcement of new consoles, Sega knew they couldn?t hold out.

On January 31 2001, Sega of America announced a major restructuring. The price the Sega Dreamcast dropped to $99.95 on February 4, and production of new Dreamcasts ceased on March 31. Sega left behind the hardware business and became a 3rd party software developer. Sega of Japan followed suit two days later.

The Sega Dreamcast was an amazing console, and possibly one of Sega?s greatest successes. It opened the gateway to console online gaming, and it's heart lives on in Sega?s NAOMI arcade board. It?s a shame that the Dreamcast?s success could not save Sega as a hardware company, but it?s amazing game library lives on in console and PC ports.

FACT: Sega?s choice to use a simplistic operating system to run it?s Dreamcast console was not only a benefit to 3rd Party Software developers, but also to private programmers around the world. Even after Sega announced they would no longer support the console, the Dreamcast lives on special thanks to these amazing private software authors. .

Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.

Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest Dreamcast Game Ever ?

Those of you have never owned or heard of a Dreamcast Check out DC News (http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/) and the Dreamcast Homebrew File Archive (http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi)

More DCEmu Console History Can Be Found Here (http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=281)

[steve520]

why does it say greatest nes game?

[JKKDARK]

Shenmue is the greatest game released on Dreamcast.

[wraggster]

whoops fixed now

[wraggster]

Soul Caliber is one of the games that made me buy the system, Ferrari F355 Challenge was another awesome game, Sega GT again was excellent too. Metropolis Street Racer and Quake Arena were excellent, infact theres that many great games i could chat all afternoon

[Galiano]

got to be shenmue, awesome game, although quake and unreal tourament should be right up there too

[SSaxdude]

My favorite Dreamcast game (and game of all time) is Jet Grind Radio. I just love how unique, stylish, and fun it is. Crazy Taxi, Rez, Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, and Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 are great Dreamcast games too.

[Elven6]

The Dreamcast is a awesome system, it had a ton of potential, just not the time to adapt! The greatest games will probably be the Shenmue series, Soul Caliber, Sonic series, to name a few.

[onetwentyeight]

i was a phantasy star online freak but spent many an hour with soul caliber which is the only reason the system still sits along side my other consoles today. the best part of the system was the "boonaka"? website where saves could be downloaded for any game from any region directly from the browser to your memory card. did it all the time for rentals when i didn't have time to finish and didn't feel like renting it again. the name was a reference to sonic's creator's disdain for cheating.

[hodey]

to add to the above, Piracy is what killed the Dreamcast. The first batches were made, and they did not turn off a switch that allowed programs to be booted off of a CD, and not just the giga disk media type. hence, you could play backups/homebrew without a mod-chip.

[Sonicboy 101]

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were definitely the best games on the Dreamcast. I've spent many great times on my DC, I love it. :)

[XDelusion]

Toy Commander!

[brunobelo]

Resident Evil - Code Veronica is one of the most impressive REs in the history. And I REALLY like Ikaruga, one of the best shooters ever! REZ is another awesome game. In fact, DC had a lot of awesome games. Mr. Driller is awesome too. :-)

[Homerun]

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

[royvedas]

Some randomly up-scaled ps1 game is probably the greatest - Tony Hawk 2 or Soulreaver or something. It didn't have any noteworthy games if you ask me (and yes - IT IS a legit point of view - Zillions of people NOT buying the system can't be wrong). Ooga Booga was probably fun for half an hour.

[osgeld]

the dreamcast is a prime example of sega's stupidity and arrogance

the company that has pretty much FAILED at its hardware attempts doesnt need to be pre-releasing a weak console, pissing off hardware manufacturers getting into lawsuits or leading the way with scary new technology

the year or so that this console lived it was amusing if it wernt for the homebrew (which was slow) this wouldnt be more than a speed bump like the master system and the 32x

sega still lives on with their games, but honestly i havent played one since i owned a dreamcast ... theres only so many times you can play 3d teenage jpop rock sonic without shoving a corkscrew in your brain, and theres not been a great deal of other- new product

[gutbub]

Well, I never actually owned a Dreamcast, but my sister did. I remember two games that I played everytime I went to her house.
1. Crazy Taxi- wow, I dont think I ever actually got a class A liscense, but who cares, it was fun.
2. Sega Smash Pack- Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Shining Force, and other games all on one disc? Freakin sweet. Too bad I don't own a Dreamcast, oh well, I guess I'll just have to go download those games on the Virtual Console.

[HI-Saturn]

Dreamcast is awesome I still play mine all the time. Best games for looks are Shenmue,Soul Calibur & Dead or Alive 2. I was excited to see a couple of sequels from the Saturn on the Dreamcast Fighting Vipers 2 & House of the Dead 2. But lets face it there were many fantastic games for it rez, Bangai-O, Crazy taxi, virtua-On, the sports series...etc..etc..

[ZeakStarwind]

I can't believe no one has said about this game and it is one of my favorite games. Grandia 2 is so good in its story and has a very dark side to it haha. Aside from the Sonic Adventure series, I have to say my top of all is Grandia 2 for the Sega Dreamcast. The others are Evolution 1 / 2 and also Jet Grind Radio. Great Games.

[benn]

i cant believe that no-one has mentioned chu-chu rocket and the free magazine game Sega Swirl

[spumiglia]

Absolutly without any doubt Shenmue 1 and 2, the gratest adventure an story ever!!!!

[Graxer0419]

Definately Shenmue

[dankbeats]

Jet Grind Radio. Game doesn't get any more "crazy awesome japanese" than this. Its really fun and looks glorious on a vga monitor.

[matt2k]

I would have put Shenmue on my list if it wasn't for the horrible voice acting. YUCK! "Wassup Bro"

Anyway here are my picks:

Skies of Arcadia
Jet Set Radio
All Fighters - SF3, Garou, GGX, SC..and many more.
All Shmups - Ikaruga, Gunbird 2, plus dozens more.
Sword of Berserk
Virtua Tennis
NFL 2k series - still better than todays Madden.


Great System with great games. All Genres. Very few systems can accomplish that.

[Cast128dreams]

Skies of Arcadia
Phantasy Star 1 and 2
Grandia 2
Jet Set Radio
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2

and finally SHEN MUE series which are the most demanding games for Dreamcast power.

My addiction to Sonic games made me buy the console.

[Trekster]

My Favs:

Hydro Thunder
Soul Calibur
Sonic Adventure
Zero Gunner 2

and piracy did not kill the dreamcast, piracy has been around since the advent of Video Games. It's a contributing factor but a small one overall.

[gelon]

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/reviews/sdc/TokyoBusGuide/01.jpg

Tokio Bus Driver

I just love it :)

[Baboon]

All the street fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom, Echo, Ikaruga, Crazy Taxi etc etc :)

Loads to choose from.

[tanukikun]

For me, my #1 pick is Tech Romancer. It was a Kick-ass Mecha fighting game by Capcom that had branching storylines and cool cut-scenes.

There were so many great games for the Dreamcast, though. I personally own a library of over 130 US and Jap Dreamcast games.

I have my original DC that I bought on 9/8/1999 at 11:56p. (Talked the sales clerk into selling it just before midnight so I could go home and play Sega Bass Fishing!) I also own two other Japanese Dreamcasts and two other US consoles. I periodically find them in Pawn shops and thrift stores, repair them and give them to friends that never got one. It's one of the cheapest and best gaming gifts around.

With the great pool of Homebrew out there for the DC, it still has my vote as the overall Greatest Console of all time!

Peace, Love and Dreamcast!!

(Still waiting for the day when Sega/Sammy releases the Home version of the AtomisWave as the Dreamcast2... Ah, a Fanboy can dream....)

[superflee]

I would have to say Skies of Arcadia was the best game for me on the dreamcast. It was the only RPG on the dreamcast I really enjoyed.

[ploom2]

coolcooltoon
samba da amigo
Rez

:)

[mike_jmg]

The only game that made me wanna buy a dreamcast was Power Stone, but I never got the console

Now I have Power Stone Collection for psp:p

[Bigmojoj27]

Shenmue FTW, GREATEST DREAMCAST GAME EVER

[Dull Blade]

the dreamcast is a prime example of sega's stupidity and arrogance

the company that has pretty much FAILED at its hardware attempts doesnt need to be pre-releasing a weak console, pissing off hardware manufacturers getting into lawsuits or leading the way with scary new technology

the year or so that this console lived it was amusing if it wernt for the homebrew (which was slow) this wouldnt be more than a speed bump like the master system and the 32x



Whats with the flamming? everyone who has posted in this topic knows what happened to the DC. If you dont like the DC so much, why did you even post in this topic? if it wasnt for the psp scene here, I'd ask why you were even on this forum.

That aside, Shenmue was deff the best, honorable mentions to Powerstone, MVC2, hotd, theres just too many...

[WhizzBang]

Shenmue 2 for me. I loved Shenmue 1 as well but 2 had a bit more action and was better paced.

Metropolis Street Racer, Soul Caliber and Sonic Adventure were probably the other 'must have' titles.

Wacky Racers, Mr Driller, Wetrix and Star Wars Episode 1 Racer were great games. RE: Code Veronica was great at the time but RE4 makes it look very old.

I think Rez and Bangaio are two of the most overrated games for the DC though. i am not saying they are bad, just that they are nowhere near as good as people would like you to believe. They are retro eye candy with very little substance.

[PoorKingz]

I was addicted to the Sonic Adventure series. Sonic Shuffle had very fun multiplayer. Sega GT was a great racing game at the time.

[hmong]

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes!!!!!!

Best fighting game of all time and still one of my favorites!!!

[wolfpack]

Resident Evil: Code Veronica FTW

[paul3100]

Had a few dreamcasts in my time but the one i have now only cost £5 with 2 joypads/1 vmu & 3 games!

I have managed to download 40+ titles for it since but can't say im overly impressed with any game tbh except REZ which is a totally unique game.

I personally love all of sega's hardware from the original master system 1 through to dreamcast and even the not so good saturn :-)

paul

[redsyrup]

Dreamcast was pretty much Sonic Team's golden years, My vote is for Samba De Amigo and Phantasy Star Online,

I still play both games to this day, Thanks Sonic Team!

[Vega]

Shenmue 1 and 2 (still own the orginial box sets!)
Crazy Taxi
Fire Pro Wrestling

[karloz]

Soul Calibur

... for sure.

[kojiro7]

Soul Calibur makes the difference.
Others are:Shen Mue,Dead or Alive 2,Grandia 2

[mekarena]

My favorites:

Soul Calibur
Marvel vs Capcom 2
GigaWing 2

And loads of other great shooters.

[robman84]

Yay DC. If I had another room I'd buy a 3rd one. Just wish the VMU wouldn't eat batteries so quickly!

Anyway:

* Shenmue
* Crazy Taxi
* Samba de Amiga (now worth about 3 times what I bought it for new)
* Space Channel 5
* MSR (despite the bugs)
* Ferrari 355 (or whatever it is called)
* Virtua Tennis

[Cast128dreams]

to add to the above, Piracy is what killed the Dreamcast. The first batches were made, and they did not turn off a switch that allowed programs to be booted off of a CD, and not just the giga disk media type. hence, you could play backups/homebrew without a mod-chip.

I totally agree with you.Sega stoped the production of Dreamcast because the company was lossing mooney .Playing HACKED games without MODCHIPS installed in the system was so distructive.Just everything so easy.

If saturn did better in the market,Dreamcast 2 would be in shops..............Like the N64 then Gamecube and finally WII.

As for the games.
Well my opinion is.GAMES which left their MARK

Shen Mue series are the games that use the more Dreamcast graphic power than any other.The biggest Dreamcast game.
Sonic adventure for me is the most "SELLING" game for Dreamcast.First full 3D action for sonic.SEGA MASCOT.HIS NAME "SONIC"
Tomb Raider the last revelation. LARA return to SEGA after many many years to SONY.We all wanted to play tomb raider 2 in Sega saturn....
Phantasy star.First online experience.An older game now comes to Dreamcast.Game by SONIC TEAM...FANS!!!!!!!
Resident evil code veronica.Big success.Capcoms return to SEGA after many many years to SONY.We all wanted to play Resident evil to Sega saturn....This returning for some fans was the HOTTEST like the tomb raider.

[avatar81]

Nothing can beat Shenmue in my opinion

[turnerl]

Shenmue 1
Shenmue 2
Skies of Arcadia

Ryo your my HERO!!!!!!!!!!

[Omatic]

In my opinion, Skies of Arcadia was the best game for Dreamcast, followed by Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

[mmochel]

I think a point that has been neglected is arcades.
SEGA (short for service games) was an arcade game maker, much of their proffit came from arcade games.
The demise of arcades in the late '90s was a major factor in SEGA nearly going bankrupt.
As for the best games I tend to go back to:
Toy Commander
Sonic Adventure
Code Veronica

[ExcruciationX]

Probably Sonic Adventure, Unreal, or Quake Arena.

[beetroot bertie]

My favourite is Soul Calibur - it's total class. Still looks pretty good today with a VGA box on a nice CRT monitor.

There's a load of great games to mention but I think I'd also add Rayman 2 and Ikaruga. I really enjoyed Rayman 2 and found it a pleasure to play and Ikaruga was one of those games that made my jaw drop when I first saw it.

[BrookPT]

Shenmue, MSR and Soul Calibur!

[VampDude]

Shenmue II

[alanparker05]

crazy taxi, jet set radio, msr, shenmue, sonic adventure, to much goodness to choose from!!!

[dcdood]

Shenmue and Sonic Adventure were Graphicaly the best.
Jet Grind Radio was awesome with cel shading.
Crazy Taxi is a good game. i wish it had a story mode so i can have a sense of accomplishment. but it's good,

Sega would have still been here had they thought over saturn more :( i looked at Wikipedia and CPU Wise 32x and Saturn have 2 SH-2s at 2?MHz :( Dreamcast users would have had the Zip Drive, EA Games , and more...

I just got my Dreamcast, and i love it , both homebrew and GD Titles...

[user.r85]

Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Quake 3 Arena
Virtua Tennis
Sega Bass fishing
bomberman

they were all great

[Eviltaco64]

Sonic Adventure(s)
Whatever Street Fighters were on it
Quake III Arena

[dcdood]

To bring back an old topic...

Shenmue and Jet Grind Radio Were the most original.

Sonic Adventure is Cool and gets best when you beat it. (especially SADX - which might have better graphics)

SA2 was the one i have for both DC and GC. i can't tell a big diffrence in Graphics though.

What Made me buy dreamcast though, Since i've always wanted one, and now i'm into homebrew, last christmas i got it at a local "used Game" store. for DC Tonic, Cool Herders, and other sweet Homebrew!

Shenmue II is fun! I've played it on Xbox 360, but 360's Up conversion sucks :P,

Sadly Piracy was the shot between the eyes against SEGA. sadly i had to revert to it, when CD 1 of Shenmue that i bought was crap, and it later broke somehow, so i had to score a copy via the internet!..

[Triv1um]

Why do people like Shenmue? It is trash. Worst money I have ever spent in my life.

Sonic Adventure 2 is the best.

[Eviltaco64]

I liked Sonic Adventure 1 better than SA2 to be honest. SA2 introduced a lot of those newer characters I don't care too much about (even though SA1 had Big the Cat); I think SA2 is a new generation of Sonic since it was ported to Gamecube for a bunch of Nintendo fanboys and little kids to play.

[jango1]

Skies of Arcadia will always be my favorite Dreamcast game, hell its one of my favorite games period.
Jet Grind Radio is also up there and I'll never forget the multiplayer with Marvel vs. Capcom, Star Wars Demolition, Soul Calibur, and the whole 2K sports series.Me and my friends had a blast playing those!

[kojiro7]

shenmue 2
soul calibur
dead or alive 2
and mobile suit gundam!!!!!!!!!

[Yupa]

Over 100 worthwhile Dreamcast games:

4 Wheel Thunder
Alien Front Online
Bangai-o
Bomberman Online
Border Down
Bust-A-Move 4
Capcom Vs. SNK 2
ChuChu Rocket!
Cool Cool Toon
Cosmic Smash
Crazy Taxi 1/2
Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix
Daytona USA (Daytona USA 2001)
Dead or Alive 2
Demolition Racer: No Exit
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
EGG: Elemental Gimmick Gear
F1 World Grand Prix II
F355 Challenge
Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
Fire Pro Wrestling D
Fur Fighters
Giant Gram 2000
Grandia II
Guilty Gear X
Half-Life / Blue Shift [stand-alone release]
Headhunter
House of the Dead 2
Hydro Thunder
Ikaruga
Jet Grind Radio (Jet Set Radio)
King of Fighters Dream Match / '99 Evolution / 2002
Last Blade 2
Last Hope: Pink Bullets
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Looney Tunes Space Race
Mars Matrix
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
MDK2
Metropolis Street Racer
Mr. Driller
NBA 2K2
NFL 2K1
NFL Blitz 2001
NHL 2K2
Ooga Booga
Outtrigger
Phantasy Star Online Ver.2
Power Stone 1/2
Pro-Pinball Trilogy
Project Justice: Rival Schools 2
Propeller Arena
Psyvariar 2
Puyo Puyo Fever
Quake III Arena
Railroad Tycoon II
Rayman 2
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Record of Lodoss War
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Resident Evil - Code: Veronica
Rez
Samba de Amigo / ver.2000
San Francisco Rush 2049
Seaman
Sega Marine Fishing
Sega Rally Championship 2
Sega Swirl
Shenmue I/II
Shikigami no Shiro II ('Castle Shikigami II')
Skies of Arcadia
Sonic Adventure 1/2
Soul Calibur
Space Channel 5 / Part 2
Speed Devils
Spider-Man
StarLancer
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Super Puzzle Fighter II X
Super Street Fighter II X
Tech Romancer
Tennis 2K2 (Virtua Tennis 2)
Test Drive Le Mans (Le Mans 24 Hours)
Test Drive V-Rally (V-Rally 2: Expert Edition)
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 (Tokyo Highway Challenge 2)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Toy Commander
Triggerheart Exelica
Typing of the Dead
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Under Defeat
Unreal Tournament
Vampire Chronicle
Vanishing Point
Virtua Fighter 3tb
Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram
Wacky Races
Wetrix+
Worms World Party
Zero Gunner 2

All of these titles have received positive reviews and constitute the very best of the Dreamcast's entire catalog.

[Yupa]

Best 2D Fighters:

1. Capcom Vs. SNK 2 (Accurate Mix)
2. Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
3. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Accurate Mix)
4. King of Fighters 2002
5. Guilty Gear X
6. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
7. The Last Blade 2: Final Edition
8. Street Fighter Alpha 3
9. Vampire Chronicle
10. King of Fighters '99: Evolution


Best Shmups (Shoot 'em ups):

1. Ikaruga
2. Zero Gunner 2
3. Mars Matrix
4. Bangai-o
5. Under Defeat
6. Border Down
7. Triggerheart Exelica
8. Psyvariar 2
9. Castle Shikigami II
10. GigaWing 2

[JGreen7]

Whats going on like! One guy wrote about a hundred games and neglected to mention the mighty Shenmue.

It's not (just) the best game on the DC, its only the best game in the World. Ever.

If Ryu was here... Sheeeeeeeeeeeenmmmmue!

[turnerl]

Whats going on like! One guy wrote about a hundred games and neglected to mention the mighty Shenmue.

It's not (just) the best game on the DC, its only the best game in the World. Ever.

If Ryu was here... Sheeeeeeeeeeeenmmmmue!

offcourse shenmue 1 & 2 is all i would need to be able to play if stuck on a island for the rest of my life !!!!!!!!!!!