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Dreamcast

Gattsu25

Banned
For all the shit that the rabid DC fans are...you'd never imagine that they defend a system that's actually worth being defended. In retrospect...the DC is a system that i've had a whole lot of fun on...and without any inane graphic whorism or petty system wars. When the DC came out...all previous systems died to me, and the anticipation of future systems seemed void. Gaming was at it's peak, with incredibly fun (but not AAA) titles being release almst every other week.

The games I enjoyed weren't all that compared to the games being released now from a graphic or audio point of view...but they were all gems on their own. Games that I would generally ignore if they where released now, whether it was because they weren't the AAA games that are constantly being over-hyped by internet users (that never fail to dissapoint) or because they don't meet up with the high graphical demand that is now expected of every damn game that's being released...expected graphical achievements that usually sap development time away from other areas that could have benefitted from some extra time. Games like Maken X could not be released now and be taken serious...but when they were released they amazed me, not with their graphics but with their unique gameplay and charm

Games such as Makken X, Record of Loddoss War, Sword of the Berserk, Phantasy Star Online, Alien Front, Soul Calibur, Toy Commander, Jet Set Radio, Power Stone 1&2 and so many more...it got to the point where i could go out to EB and buy a new DC release, and have a 8/10 chance that I would greatly enjoy it...the games where more unique back then...more adventurous...not tied to tired ass franchises or following the Fromulae To Game Design™ that is so fucking over-used

But the gaming scene is different now...

logo.gif


“We Will Never Forget”
 

jarrod

Banned
Gattsu25 said:
In retrospect...the DC is a system that i've had a whole lot of fun on...and without any inane graphic whorism or petty system wars.
Huh? If anything the current squabbles between XBox & GC fans are tame compared to the early DC Vs PS2 wars... I lurked around various boards back then, it wasn't pretty.


Gattsu25 said:
When the DC came out...all previous systems died to me, and the anticipation of future systems seemed void. Gaming was at it's peak, with incredibly fun (but not AAA) titles being release almst every other week.
Meanwhile everyone else was having AAA fun with stuff like Majora's Mask or Vagrant Story. If DC taught me anything in retrospect, it was not to jump on the bandwagon too quick and enjoy what I've got.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Well, you have to understand that I wasn't INTO console debates back then :) I'm sure the internet has had it's useless videogame arguments since the Genny days

And you know what...I still played MM and VS, just not at their launches...I'm not foolish enough to not keep track of other systems while I'm enjoying a current one...if a game ineterested me I purchased it and played it when I was done with what I was using. But during that time, the DC was my drug of choice--everything else was secondary.

Tre, agreed...the DC was a great system in that it produced a steady flow of unique and fun games at a rapid pace (mentioned that in original post)
 

Musashi Wins!

FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Word to yer mother. I love the DC. I still find some obscure imports for it and play old favorites. Sometimes when I get particularly burnt out by my own title-hunting, new game whoring, etc. I think about selling all my current gen games and just playing the DC and Saturn and f*ck following the current scene. haha.
 

Lazy8s

The ghost of Dreamcast past
SEGA was delivering one fresh experience after another for a while there. Got to:

ride a momentum-based platformer in 3D with Sonic Adventure

stunt drive through the streets of a free-roaming city with Crazy Taxi

out-puzzle other players online in Chu Chu Rocket's madness

reveal the predatory and intense side of fishing with Get Bass

have volleys that came down to Zen-like matches of strategy and will in Virtua Tennis

receive surreal psychoanalysis from a freakish aquatic pet with Seaman

build up a chorus and dance line while conforming to the rhythm of the Space Channel 5s, and then go on to make custom rhythms out of the shooter play of Rez

chain grinds across a 3D-comic-book city in Jet Set Radio

catch maracca insanity from an infected Samba monkey

quest and actually communicate well with players from across the world together in Phantasy Star Online

face down zombies and then spell out their doom in the very embodiment of camp humor with The Typing of the Dead

play a 3D beat-em-up with depth like a fighting game finally in the interactive towns and story of the Shenmue games

Some of their titles are unrelentingly playable, too: Virtua Fighter 3tb, SEGA Rally 2, Virtual On: OT, and F355 Challenge. And they took their top-notch set of sports games online with 2K1 starting back in 2000.
 

Ryu

Member
How can one overhype a AAA game? If it's AAA, chances are, it deserves all the hype it receives, no?
 

Andy787

Banned
jarrod said:
Meanwhile everyone else was having AAA fun with stuff like Majora's Mask or Vagrant Story. If DC taught me anything in retrospect, it was not to jump on the bandwagon too quick and enjoy what I've got.
LOL.
 
Son of Godzilla said:
The original DC Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is still the only one worth owning.

My God man, did you ever bother playing 2? It was the greatest, until I got 2x for the Xbox... OMG perfection.
 

evil ways

Member
I love my Dreamcast cause of 3 reasons, fighting games, wrestling games, and piracy heaven. It's one of the best gaming investments I've ever made.
 

cvxfreak

Member
I enjoyed the Dreamcast a lot. It was the first system I would be dedicated to to some degree. Resident Evil CODE: Veronica and Shenmue I were really the games which kept me hooked onto the system. Sonic Adventure also fueled my love for the system. But with Sonic DX and CODE: Veronica X on the GC, Shenmue I is practically the only gem left on it. And I hope it gets ported over to Xbox or something else some day, because both my Dreamcasts aren't working too well these days. =(
 

DECK'ARD

The Amiga Brotherhood
I know not everyone will see it like this. But to me, the effect the death of the Dreamcast had on the console industry and it's levels of creativity, is similar to what happened when the Amiga died.

Even though the Amiga lived on for a bit after Commodore went bankrupt, it's soul was dead. And the computer games industry, especially in the UK, was never quite the same again. Very similar to how the name Sega lives on, but the levels of creativity coming out of the company are not the same.

When any platform dies, a means of expression dies. And that is a bad thing. All these people who want a single platform should remember that alot of the times the greatest ideas come from the smallest people. The underdogs. Because the small people are the ones who have to do something big to stand out. And the Amiga and the Dreamcast were home to a lot of small people with big ideas.

Those machines were platforms for original ideas to get noticed. The games industry is a poorer place now for them not being around. I was having a similar talk with one of my mates today, who is equally as disillusioned with the whole thing as I am. We worked together on a very successful franchise, he was lead coder, I was lead designer. And we both think that what we did would never even get off the ground now.

He put it best like this, even Tetris would probably never come to market in the form that it did, let alone sell, if someone presented that idea to a company today. And that is very sad indeed.

But it doesn't have to stay like this. Watch this space ...
 

DECK'ARD

The Amiga Brotherhood
Thanks :)

It's odd actually that you made a post about the Dreamcast on the same day me, and the people I have assembled, have been discussing this very problem. I knew exactly the point you were making, because it's the same frustration me and a lot of people I know have been feeling for a long time now. I'm not just talking about Dreamcast, or even the games industry, I'm talking other areas as well like the music industry. Creative people are unhappy. Very unhappy actually. And you can see this in the lack of output, and especially the lack of success creative people are having in the current climate.

Something has to change, radically, or industries that rely on creativity will actually succeed in snuffing themselves out.
 

DCX

DCX
Dreamcast was a system made for gamers and devs alike. First console i ever imported and the last one, mind you. DC was a game system done right, but the masses ( drones ) killed it. No one wanted to give it a chance becuase PS2 was coming out. I heard comments like " yeah that looks ok...but i KNOW PS2 is going to blow it out of the water "
What ever happed to gaming is gaming...since when did people breed loyalists?

DCX
 

RiZ III

Member
Agree with DCX. The first year PS2 was out in the states there was hardly anything good on it while DC was coming out with one AAA title after another. Nevertheless people went ahead ignoring the DC while spending 300 dollars on a gameless system. The PS2 hype machine along with the ignorance of the masses gave a great system a very early death.
 

AniHawk

Member
Skies of Arcadia
Sonic Adventure (Sonic & Tails levels)
Sonic Adventure 2 (Sonic & Shadow levels)
Grandia II
Shenmue II
Crazy Taxi
Seaman
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

All reasons to own the system. I REALLY need to pick up MDK 2 and Soul Calibur some day.
 

Kuroyume

Banned
I'm going through Skies of Arcadia Legends at the moment (left Fina at Vyse's home, I'm at this flooded temple looking for a stone) and so far I am not impressed. The battle system right now is just ugh... boring. If you really want to make people respect the DC as far as RPGs are concerned, just mention PSO's first months and the incredible Grandia 2.

Project Justice needs more love...
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
RiZ III said:
Agree with DCX. The first year PS2 was out in the states there was hardly anything good on it while DC was coming out with one AAA title after another. Nevertheless people went ahead ignoring the DC while spending 300 dollars on a gameless system. The PS2 hype machine along with the ignorance of the masses gave a great system a very early death.

That's untrue...to a degree.

I sure as hell was no PS2 fan when it was released and feared for the life of Dreamcast...but the PS2 had a lot of title released within a year of the US launch (and a little beyond). In 2001, PS2 had classics such as ICO, Silent Hill 2, MGS2, Twisted Metal Black, GT3, and Klonoa 2. After PS2 launched, DC was strong up through the beginning of the year...and they proceeded to fall apart until Sonic Adventure 2 (which I LOVED). That was the last DC game I truly loved...and how fitting that it was the sequel to the FIRST DC game I truly loved. :p NOW, if you are talking about the PS2's first year when looking at the Japanese launch...I'd agree with you, it was crap (outside of a few titles). HOWEVER, DC's first year wasn't THAT hot either (looking at the JP launch). It had a few major classics (Soul Calibur being the major one), but the line-up was very sparse overall.

I agree with the first post, however, as the DC was something very special. I really feel that current systems have FAR outdone the Dreamcast in terms of quality software...but none of them seem to be able to quite capture the feelings that the DC gave.
 

AniHawk

Member
Kuroyume said:
I'm going through Skies of Arcadia Legends at the moment (left Fina at Vyse's home, I'm at this flooded temple looking for a stone) and so far I am not impressed. The battle system right now is just ugh... boring. If you really want to make people respect the DC as far as RPGs are concerned, just mention PSO's first months and the incredible Grandia 2.

Project Justice needs more love...

I didn't like SoA much until just after the third level. It's an average game, but it's very captivating, and that's what makes it great.
 

DCX

DCX
Are you kidding? Dreamcast has arguably the best launch of any game system in history! In the US of course. I mean, Power Stone ( one of the best fighters ever! ), Soul Calibur, SA, arcade perfect Marvel VS Capcom, VF3:TB, Trick Style ( good game at the time ) and the very funny and addicting Ready 2 Rumble. I mean come on something for everyone, out of the gate. Over the course of the system's life it has produced more of a gaming atmoshere than PS2 has. I had tons of fun with Dreamcast, than i do with PS2, i mean i bought all the accessories too like steering wheels, the fishing rod ( i hate fishing!! ), light guns, twin sticks...i mean i got into it....now i can't even bother with gaming like i did with DC....my passion with videogames lies with the Dreamcast and it will always lie with it. XBOX is close.

DCX
 

DCX

DCX
I miss SOA and Grandia II...i tried to play them both at once...not a good thing to do...and guess what? Didin't finish either :p

DCX
 

belgurdo

Banned
I to this day will never understand why people ignored the DC so that they could play glorified tech demos on the PS2...
 

AniHawk

Member
DCX said:
I miss SOA and Grandia II...i tried to play them both at once...not a good thing to do...and guess what? Didin't finish either :p

DCX

That sucks... I played SoA first, in January of 2001 (finished it DAYS before the big, sad announcement). Played Grandia II later in March while I was away in Arizona.

I'm glad I played SoA first though. Disgaea:FFT :: Grandia II:SoA. GII's got the faster gameplay which makes it so much more fun, like Disgaea, but SoA was really captivating, like FFT.
 

DCX

DCX
Zombies...drones....slaves...whatever you want to call them...but it's the masses, the " casual " PS2 sold like hotcakes becuase at 299, it played " next-gen " games, PSone games and it played DVDs, an easy sell to the " casual " parent becuase they heard about this DVD thing :p Pretty sad...come for the DVDs stay for the games.

DCX
 

AniHawk

Member
belgurdo said:
I to this day will never understand why people ignored the DC so that they could play glorified tech demos on the PS2...

Me neither. Right now, the PS2 is a great system. At the time though, the DC had a much superior lineup of games.
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
>>>I'm going through Skies of Arcadia Legends at the moment (left Fina at Vyse's home, I'm at this flooded temple looking for a stone) and so far I am not impressed. The battle system right now is just ugh... boring. If you really want to make people respect the DC as far as RPGs are concerned, just mention PSO's first months and the incredible Grandia 2.<<<

From a writing standpoint, SoA>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Grandia 2.
 

RiZ III

Member
Both Grandia 2 and SoA came out at pretty much the same time. I've found that people who played one before the other end up loving the first one and not finding the other of much interest. This happened to me and 3 other people I know. I played SoA, loved it. Tried playing Grandia 2 soon afterwards and really couldnt get into it.
 

crumbs

Member
Loved the DC, the only thing that left me flat was the controller, but that's more of a personal thing.
 

Ryu

Member
DCX said:
Are you kidding? Dreamcast has arguably the best launch of any game system in history! In the US of course. I mean, Power Stone ( one of the best fighters ever! ), Soul Calibur, SA, arcade perfect Marvel VS Capcom, VF3:TB, Trick Style ( good game at the time ) and the very funny and addicting Ready 2 Rumble. I mean come on something for everyone, out of the gate. Over the course of the system's life it has produced more of a gaming atmoshere than PS2 has. I had tons of fun with Dreamcast, than i do with PS2, i mean i bought all the accessories too like steering wheels, the fishing rod ( i hate fishing!! ), light guns, twin sticks...i mean i got into it....now i can't even bother with gaming like i did with DC....my passion with videogames lies with the Dreamcast and it will always lie with it. XBOX is close.

DCX

Mentioning the DC's launch lineup and its highlights WITHOUT mentioning NFL2K is sacrilidge. That game was the fucking bomb at that time.
 

retardboy

Member
jarrod said:
Huh? If anything the current squabbles between XBox & GC fans are tame compared to the early DC Vs PS2 wars... I lurked around various boards back then, it wasn't pretty.



Meanwhile everyone else was having AAA fun with stuff like Majora's Mask or Vagrant Story. If DC taught me anything in retrospect, it was not to jump on the bandwagon too quick and enjoy what I've got.


Haha no doubt... THIS board was a warzone... The original UBB and EZboards haha... The memories... Those were some fun times.
 

XS+

Banned
Never played the PS2 version (although it's reportedly PC > DC > PS2). But I do know that MDK2 is the best action game on DC period. A must-play.
 

Asbel

Member
Kuroyume said:
I'm going through Skies of Arcadia Legends at the moment (left Fina at Vyse's home, I'm at this flooded temple looking for a stone) and so far I am not impressed. The battle system right now is just ugh... boring. If you really want to make people respect the DC as far as RPGs are concerned, just mention PSO's first months and the incredible Grandia 2.

Project Justice needs more love...

Granted everyone knows SoA's battle system is simple but the only rpg battle system I had fun with right away was the great Panzer Dragoon Saga. Sorry, but even Grandia 2's battles were boring until you could get enough specials and magic. Now if you bought into the SoA hype, you will hear it's about the charm that has people like it despite the rest of it's flaws. I find it similar to Grandia 1 and Lunar 2 (haven't played 1).

As far as people's respect goes, think about the fact that there are more vocal (if not simply more) SoA fans than G2. So if you want people to respect DC rpgs, I would mention both SoA and Grandia 2.

And yes, every fighting game fan should own Project Justice given that it was released for just $20.
 

mj1108

Member
I remember for quite a fucking while there were AAA titles being released on the Dreamcast monthly, while as someone mentioned above the casuals didn't seem to care because of the PS2 hype train. I got my DC at launch and in less than 2 years time I ended up purchasing nearly 60 Dreamcast titles and don't regret a single purchase.

The DC launch was, without a doubt the best launch ever. I had never bought so many games on launch day in my life -- 8 games.

RIP DC. :(
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
belgurdo said:
I to this day will never understand why people ignored the DC so that they could play glorified tech demos on the PS2...

No idea...

Especially when the DC was pumping out such incredible titles when the PS2 launched. It really felt as if the DC was finally taking off...but stalled at the last minute. :( I don't think it's entirely fair to blame the PS2, though...but it was certainly a part of it.

I still love the DC, but my love is no where near as strong as it once was. The PS2 started out as a terrible system but has recovered and is now a much BETTER system than the DC ever was. However, it still has never been quite as exciting as the DC was...

I'm curious how one could own 180 DC games. I mean, I have around 45 DC games and outside of a few imports, there is NOTHING else I could possibly want on the system. I mean, when looking at US titles, there isn't a single title that I want which I do not already own. :\
 
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