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[BlackTron]

To me Dreamcast was a beautiful swan song not only of Sega, but for 90's gaming as a whole. I adored the hell out of mine and probably spent more hardcore gaming hours on DC than any other console. I spent massive hours on Sonic Adventure 1/2, Rayman 2, Phantasy Star Online, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2 and Soul Calibur. It had numerous fun games I didn't beat but would rotate to keep things fresh like Space Channel 5 and Jet Set Radio. Even well after the system died it was responsible for my finding incredible titles through disk burning like Ikaruga.

The official magazine was so good with the demo disc included with every issue.

The games truly looked and felt next-gen. This is the last time a new system truly wowed me with its capabilities.

The VMU was cool as hell, if a bit underutilized. (Wii U waves hi from the future.)

Nothing can ever come close to actually being there when Phantasy Star Online came out. I had the privilege of being on the front lines before people even started cheating and doing the dupe trick. This period, when it was truly fresh and new for everyone involved (even the company launching it) felt like a magical experience. I went on adventures that were in retrospect naive and dumb assed, like my friend and I hopping around servers and games tracking down the guy who stole my awesome Claymore. We ended up tricking him into death and retrieving the sword, only to shortly realize we were noobs and that was akin to committing murder because someone stole your pencil. But the thief was also in the dark -he thought he had some hot shit, and he was pissed!

When it was current, DC did most of my gaming heavy lifting. It was a great complement to the N64 and harkened back to the 16 bit console wars. Sega with it's "cool" factor, flashy visuals and amazing sound, Nintendo with its conservative classics. But sadly most of the really compelling reasons to turn on the Dreamcast have been ported elsewhere. PSO is way more practical on PC now -I revisited the game with a server called Ephinea and it's just too easy and convenient to use. It's also much better from a QOL standpoint with being able to assign actions to keyboard keys and the like. Xbox 360's button layout is even the same as Dreamcast's. It was good enough for me.

Regardless. You can pry my copy of the game, broken jewel case and SA2 demo disk and all, from my cold dead hands.

Best system of all time. When it died, a huge part of my love for gaming died along with it. It has never been close to that good since and I have no illusions that it will be.

 

[Lionel Richie]

I don't have many stories with the Dreamcast, but I really love this console. Growing up here in Brazil, nearly all of my friends had a Nintendo 64, which is what I also rocked. Then in comes an absolute chad of a friend of mine with a Dreamcast and I was blown away immediately. I'd bug him like mad to play some Sonic Adventure and we'd also play lots and lots of Power Stone. He was a great guy and I had to move away from where I lived at the time and we completely lost contact. To this day I never found him again on any social media, it's a shame. Really wish I could get back to that time, we would waste so many afternoons playing Power Stone and listening to some Megadeth or Judas Priest. That shit was legit.

Anyway, I always think about this friend when I think about the Dreamcast.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I always loved Dreamcast since 9-9-99. All those arcade games running in VGA resolution and 60 fps, bright and crisp and always so impressive.

On 9-9-99, I was kinda, sorta taking night classes at the University of Minnesota and working part time as a waiter at the Dinkytown Pizza Hut, which was a larger, sports bar-themed restaurant on the campus. I was working that night and decided to drive down to the nearest Target to buy a Dreamcast, a second controller, and a VMU. The games I picked up were Soul Calibur, Ready 2 Rumble, NFL 2K and Trickstyle. Trickstyle was quickly returned soon after and replaced with Sonic Adventure.

The Dreamcast was an instant hit at the Pizza Hut with the employees, all young 20-somethings who were also massive videogame and Star Wars fans (they loved the hell out of Phantom Menace, btw). NFL 2K/2K1 were easily the most played games, with endless matches and tournaments that lasted until dawn on most Saturday nights. Ready 2 Rumble also extremely popular, thanks to its easy controls and those funny taunts. Crazy Taxi was the most popular racing game by far, thanks to its freewheeling sense of destruction and short runs. Virtua Tennis was also a big hit with 4P doubles matches, and Chu Chu Rocket was terrific fun with 4P battle mode. The stunt mode in San Francisco Rush: 2049 was constantly getting played, even though everyone only really played the first obstacle course. And, of course, Tony Hawk Pro Skater was a big hit from the guys who played it to death on Sony Playstation.

Weirdly enough, Soul Calibur didn't really click with anyone, nor did any of the other fighting games. Ready 2 Rumble was the only big hit of the bunch, which kinda makes sense when you realize that most gamers back then (especially college students) were casual players who just wanted to mash buttons. They were the ones who'd play Tekken 3 just for Eddie Gorgo's breakdance combo.

When I was playing solo, Soul Calibur's epic mission mode kept me up late many nights, including at least one all-nighter (wow, you can't do those anymore after ya turn 40). Tony Hawk 1 & 2 was endlessly addictive, to the point where the joypad's shoulder buttons began hurting my fingers. I absolutely loved Third Strike and thought it was the greatest Street Fighter ever, and I'll probably stick to that claim today...if only I could find a good arcade joystick.

Much like the Saturn, Dreamcast was exciting but also very frustrating at times. The joypad was a mess. Simplifying the buttons was good, the VMU was a clever idea, but the d-pad just sucked eggs, the shoulder buttons were set too low (resting on your finger joints) and the back fins were far too thin. Saturn's 3D Controller was far better in every respect, and far more comfortable. Sega tried to trim that design down but they cut too much.

Software support in 1999 was fantastic, but once the year 2000 arrived, third parties suddenly got cold feet. Instead of new videogames that took advantage of the hardware, ala Soul Calibur, we were given a lot of PSX and N64 ports. The ports that improved upon the originals, such as Soul Reaver, Shadowman, Rayman 2, Tony Hawk and Star Wars Episode One Racer, were highly welcome, but too many games were just lazy dumps. You caught on pretty quickly that Dreamcast wasn't being taken seriously as anything more than a stopgap until the massively overhyped Playstation 2 arrived. Say what you will about Sony, those guys were masters of bullshit.

Of course, the videogame fans were also suddenly holding off, waiting for this massive "super computer" that could render "88 million polygons" and might not even be allowed in the United States because "it technically qualifies as a supercomputer" that Saddam Husseil might "steal the technology for use in his secret WMD programs."

The combination of media hype and lazy shovelware gave the impression that Dreamcast was only a little more powerful than PSX and N64. Many kids could rest easy and wait for the real next-gen consoles to arrive. Most kids were content to just keep playing Goldeneye and Spyro and Madden.

Another key factor for Dreamcast's demise that gets forgotten today: piracy. I remember one night in 2000 when one student told me about this hot new computer program called Napster, which allowed you to download literally anything off the internet for free. Music, videogames, computer software, everything. It swept through the campus like wildfire, and within weeks, the local used CD stores were overwhelmed with stacks and stacks of CDs. All the kids were turning their PCs into jukeboxes and packing the hard drives with MP3s. And guess which new videogame system didn't have any copy protection what-so-fucking-ever? That's right? Sega Dreamcast! So long, dental plan!

And, oh, yes, I almost forgot: E-Fucking-A. Those bastards probably did more damage to Dreamcast than anything. Years later, it was revealed that they were holding out because they demanded a monopoly on sports games, all but ordering Sega to cancel NFL and NBA 2K. If you're wondering why sports videogames took a massive flaming dive into the crash pit, here's where it all started. This is the moment where EA joins the dark side and becomes evil.

Meanwhile, the DC fans were enjoying some really terrific videogames and enjoying the exciting new frontier of online gaming. It's almost impossible to play Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament today due to the choppy frame rate (the Lobotomy Trilogy on Saturn looks better than any FPS on Saturn bar Outrigger), but it was a terrific thrill to play online matches with a 56K modem. Quake was probably my most-played game in the final months of 2000, second only to NFL 2K1, of course.

Thankfully, Dreamcast fans refused to let the legend die, keeping the console alive for many years, first with classic system emulators (this is where I first discovered emulation) and later with original software titles. We still see new Dreamcast games being made to this day, and while it's true that none of them are remotely close to pushing the hardware, it's also true that they're great fun, especially if you're a fan of arcade spaceship shooters.

Some quick pros and cons:

+ Sega's creative explosion from the Saturn era continued in full bloom. Sonic Team was especially on a tear, especially with Phantasy Star Online. Even playing offline, that game is magnificent. BTW, you can still play online.

+ Sega's policy of non-centralized online servers proved to be a masterstroke in the long run, allowing us to play DC games online today. Some of the old websites have also been preserved and resurrected.

+ The last stand for arcade games, especially fighting games, racers and shoot-em-ups. The gaming public just turned their back on 2D games and arcade games in the mid-90s, and they were completely, totally, absolutely wrong.

+ Sega buying Visual Concepts was a genius move. They should also have purchased Radical Entertainment who created NHL Powerplay 96 & NHL All-Star Hockey 98. And that goes triple for Lobotomy!

- It must be said, the VMU did not work out. The batteries die in less than a week, leaving you with that annoying BEEEEEP sound everytime you turn on your DC. Also, the screen resolution was too low and the mini-games just weren't very good.

- The JP launch was a disaster. Hardly any RPGs, glitchy software, an over-reliance on Virtua Fighter to save things. That's probably what killed the system, as US sales weren't enough to balance things out.

- The US software library started out strong but quickly lost steam. Far too many sequels in too few genres. You know what Dreamcast really needed? Powerslave. Dragon Force. Panzer Dragoon Trilogy. Shining Force 3 Trilogy. Wachenroeder. Burning Rangers.

- What happened to the JP sports games? Worldwide Soccer, World Series Baseball, Decathlete, Winter Heat & Steep Slope Sliders were Saturn classics, but completely disappeared on Dreamcast. They were sorely missed. Once again, Sega forgot what made Genesis and Playstation succeed: sports games.

There, that's good enough for now. How's that?

 

[CD'S BAR]

Had a nice time reminiscing on DC last night. That boot up menu is an underrated masterpiece of sound design. Beautiful and dreamy to this day.

 

[Komatsu]

So, about three years ago, the user Esppiral from Shenmue Dojo extracted some of the character models from Shenmue and the Shenmue passport disc and it shows not only how the DC was an absolute powerhouse in the late 90s, but also how the game's art direction is incredible.

Whenever people mentioned that the DC's graphics were "chunky" or that the console was not a significant jump over the N64, I just bring up the fact that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Shenmue were developed roughly at the same time , with the bulk of the work for both titles taking place in 1997 and early 1998. And let's just put it out there: Shenmue was something else.

 

[Kazza]

So, about three years ago, the user Esppiral from Shenmue Dojo extracted some of the character models from Shenmue and the Shenmue passport disc and it shows how not only how the DC was an absolute powerhouse in the late 90s, but also how the game's art direction is incredible.

Whenever people mentioned that the DC's graphics were "chunky" or that the console was not a significant jump over the N64, I just bring up the fact that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Shenmue were developed roughly at the same time , with the bulk of the work for both titles taking place in 1997 and early 1998. And let's just put it out there: Shenmue was something else.

The Dreamcast only came out 2 years after the N64, what a difference! The PS4 will have been out 7 years by the time the PS5 drops, and the difference will be tiny in comparison, a technological step up rather than a true leap. Unfortunately, the days of technological leaps may have truly passed.

 

[Kazza]

- It must be said, the VMU did not work out. The batteries die in less than a week, leaving you with that annoying BEEEEEP sound everytime you turn on your DC. Also, the screen resolution was too low and the mini-games just weren't very good.

- The JP launch was a disaster. Hardly any RPGs, glitchy software, an over-reliance on Virtua Fighter to save things. That's probably what killed the system, as US sales weren't enough to balance things out.

- The US software library started out strong but quickly lost steam. Far too many sequels in too few genres. You know what Dreamcast really needed? Powerslave. Dragon Force. Panzer Dragoon Trilogy. Shining Force 3 Trilogy. Wachenroeder. Burning Rangers.

- What happened to the JP sports games? Worldwide Soccer, World Series Baseball, Decathlete, Winter Heat & Steep Slope Sliders were Saturn classics, but completely disappeared on Dreamcast. They were sorely missed. Once again, Sega forgot what made Genesis and Playstation succeed: sports games.

Good points, although I wouldn't criticise Sega too much when it comes to the Dreamcast sports titles - Visual Concepts was a very wise purchase and made some incredible games (plus we did get Virtua Striker from Japan). I wish Sega would rivive Sega Sports and take on EA again.

Some Saturn games could definitely have done with a Dreamcast port, especially stuff like Burning Rangers and Panzer Dragoon Saga. It would have been like how Nintendo ports Wii U games to the Switch nowadays.

It's a shame that the Japanese launch was so underwhelming. Why do you think they felt in such a rush, especially given the Saturn's relative success in Japan? It's a shame that Sega never managed to get success in all 3 major markets at the same time with any of their consoles.

 

[Terrible_Majesty]

Dreamcast 2 when? Microsoft should collaborate with SEGA instead of releasing another XBOX

 

[kunonabi]

I'm loving that Shenmue/OoT comparison.

So my belated top 20. This going to be a bit more nostalgic and focused on games I played back in the day so don't take it too seriously.

Shenmue - What else can I really say at this point? The game completely took over my life for a couple months. The layered mechanics and the depth of the world was just something else. I remember the first time I saw it in action. Somebody was playing the Japanese version at our local anime club and it was the part where you're exploring the secret room in the Hazuki residence. Watching all the little details and seeing how that little investigation unfolded was just magic despite how quaint it seems now.

Shenmue II - Had to import the European version but I didn't get it as soon as I could. Not quite as momentous as the first time but still amazing. I remember being blown away by the handcuff QTE sequence in particular when I played it the first time. I also that 4th disc was just brilliant. It's game that gets better each time because it always seems like you experience something new.

Sonic Adventure - In all honesty I was never a huge Sonic fan. I wanted to blaze through levels but the constant water levels and other slower paced sections just got in the way of that. Seeing Sonic Adventure for the first time with those visuals and everything else made me an instant convert though. Kind of funny since so much of the game isn't fast and I spent so much time with the Chaos anyway. Go figure.

Jet Grind Radio - Cell shading was the coolest thing ever. This was just a fact back in the day. Beyond the fancy new visuals the game was just so slick in presentation and crazy fun to play. I even remember going through all the hassle to make custom graffiti which again seemed super futuristic at the time.

Space Channel 5 - A game that ticks all the boxes for me but sadly I've never been good at it. Had to let my friend beat it so I could see the whole thing. Still love it to pieces though.

Capcom vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 - I've already mentioned the unlock story so I'll explain how I got my copy. I was doing a film project for school that was basically going to use Capcom and SNK clips to do a kind of versus montage thing. Fairly soon into it I learned that the game actually existed and was going to be released shortly on the DC. I managed to convince my parents to buy me a copy as a school expense. It was also one of the games I entered when I went to the B4 tourney in California. Ended up changing my whole team after playing against this one girl's Balrog and Inkblot's Dhalsim. We eventually had an arcade release for it in my town which almost started a real fight between this guy I was beating on and a friend of mine.

D2 - Competely nutty. If you can get past all the rabbit hunting in the snow it really is something else. I had waited forever for the game back when it was just a couple of pics in magazines promoting the M2. The Dreamcast version was something completely different but it was still a dream fulfilled.

Giant Gram 2000 All-Japan Pro wrestling 3 - First exposure to this was my local anime club again. Basically this one guy would always bring his DC and a bunch of games and this was one of the ones he played religiously with his buddy. It's basically SEGA's take on an arcade wrestling fighting game and it's every bit as amazing as it sounds. Captures Japanese wrestling really well and the reversal system is stupendous. It's not very casual friendly but at high levels it is glorious to watch.

Illbleed - A release I didn't play until a few years ago. There are very few words that can accurately describe how crazy and hilarious this is. Watch a playthrough of the Toy Story level if you want to get an idea of how insane this game is.

The King of Fighters 99: Dream Match - Not an arcade perfect port by any stretch but this was still the game that all my group's 98 play was on at the time outside of the arcade. The animated intro was a crowd pleaser and ended up being the blueprint for a weird Kyo vs Iori performance my brother and I put on one Halloween.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - I skipped the first game but this and Shadow Man were my jam for 3D exploration games at the time. I even loved the block puzzles. The environment switching mechanic was one of my favorite features of any game at the time.

Moero! Justice Gakuen - I was always a huge RS fan and I particularly liked the new characters in this one and the board game was crazy fun.

Psychic Force 2012 - A severely underappreciated fighter that was a total time sink for my buddy and I. Presentation was barebones but the core combat was the star. Quite a bit forward thinking for a title from that era.

Virtua Fighter 3tb - most of my time was with the arcade version but that anime club would frequently host some excellent Wolf vs Jeffrey matches on the DC version. While VF4FT is still the best VF game I love what 3 was trying with the stages. Such a shame they got rid of them.

Power Stone - I enjoyed the game well enough when it came out but I wasn't gaga over it at the time. I always felt it would have made more sense as a 4 player game. I was stoked when the sequel went that direction but after actually playing it with 4 people it didn't actually turn out to be an improvement. I've learned to appreciate the original much more since then.

Seventh Cross Evolution - Another extremely late pick-up but damn do I love this one. I've always tried to get into these evolution games but this is the only one that clicked. Once you figure out the DNA system and stop getting eaten every 2 seconds it becomes wildly addictive.

Skies of Arcadia - Another game I'm sad to say I never played until a few years ago. Had I known there were actual ship battles I absolutely would have tried harder to get it earlier.

Sword of the Berserk: Guts Rage - I know it's considered one of the worst Berserk games now but for my money nothing will match how satisfying this one felt to play. It's basic but it gives you what you want.

Street Fighter III: Double Impact - I was a hardcore SFIII guy and I spent so much time learning parries with this one. I much prefer the presentation in the first two iterations to 3S and honestly I just outright prefer 2nd Impact now. Only major grip was I had to use the madcatz six-button controller which sadly ended up frying like 4 different Dreamcasts before we realized the controller was the problem. Never bought a Mad Catz product after that.

Dead or Alive 2 - I am not a huge DOA guy but at the time the game looked amazing and was just so fast. Those 4 player tag team matches were unprecedented and were like crack even if you didn't like the series or fighters in general.

These last couple days have been a real fun trip down memory lane. As I've said before the freshness and experimentation that system banked on has always stuck with me and I really must say no other console as really been able to match it for me. The Wii was close but it just didn't have that same sense of style.

Oh, and VMUs are still the coolest thing ever.

 

[Grand Theft Scratchy]

So, about three years ago, the user Esppiral from Shenmue Dojo extracted some of the character models from Shenmue and the Shenmue passport disc and it shows not only how the DC was an absolute powerhouse in the late 90s, but also how the game's art direction is incredible.

Whenever people mentioned that the DC's graphics were "chunky" or that the console was not a significant jump over the N64, I just bring up the fact that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Shenmue were developed roughly at the same time , with the bulk of the work for both titles taking place in 1997 and early 1998. And let's just put it out there: Shenmue was something else.

Damn, this is why I love NeoGAF. I would have never thought to compare Shenmue to Ocarina of Time but it is still interesting to see the visual comparison. Really great to read what people think of the Dreamcast after all of this time as well.

 

[CyberPanda]

<3 Sega.

 

[KingJ2002]

Still till this day the dreamcast is my favorite console ever released.

I bought the system day one and had sonic adventure and soul calibur to start things off. I subscribed to the official dreamcast magazine, started chatting on sega.com (which eventually led me to NeoGAF), played on seganet day one and was just a huge fan of everything this system offered. This system was the only way to get the "arcade perfect" experience as well which was great since arcades in my area started to close down.

Most of you have already touched on this but overall the games released on this system influenced most of the titles still kicking today and i'm glad I was able to experience the dreamcast era, even if it was shorter than expected.

 

[sonomamashine]

Street Fighter III: Double Impact - I was a hardcore SFIII guy and I spent so much time learning parries with this one. I much prefer the presentation in the first two iterations to 3S and honestly I just outright prefer 2nd Impact now. Only major grip was I had to use the madcatz six-button controller which sadly ended up frying like 4 different Dreamcasts before we realized the controller was the problem. Never bought a Mad Catz product after that.

sorry but Street Fighter III 3rd strike is the best, better gameplay, parry's where more advanced then previous sfIII games.

 

[KyoZz]

I got the Dreamcast for my 10th birthday, I wanted the PS2 but my dad buy me the Dreamcast with Jet Set Radio, Crazy Taxy, Virtua Tennis, San Francisco Rush 2049, Chu Chu Rocket and Power Stone. That was the best gift I haver have and I had so much fun with those games. Later followed Soulcalibur, Power Stone 2, Sonic Adventure, Ready To Rumble, Legacy Of Kain, Headhunter, Rayman 2 and more. So many great games

Now the console is in the hands of my niece and she is having fun like crazy

 

[kunonabi]

sorry but Street Fighter III 3rd strike is the best, better gameplay, parry's where more advanced then previous sfIII games.

Eh, 3S had major issues and parries in general hurt the game more than they help. I've been competing in 3S since before Evo was even Evo and I've just completely lost my taste for it as time went on.

 

[Breakage]

I thought this Dreamcast advert was cool. It really captured that late 90s pre-millennium futuristic look:

 

[blu]

The console that made me believe in consoles.

 

[sonomamashine]

Eh, 3S had major issues and parries in general hurt the game more than they help. I've been competing in 3S since before Evo was even Evo and I've just completely lost my taste for it as time went on.

sorry but no.

 

[deriks]

I can't describe how much I love this machine

 

[Komatsu]

Alright, GAF! Time to talk about some of the recent peripherals, add-ons and mods that have come out for the little white wonder in the last 20 years.

We have the many HDMI boxes... My favorite is the beharbros' AKURA, which is the one I use:

We also have the GDEMU and its many clones, allowing us to play games out of SD cards:

And recently we got the DCHDMI board which can output HDMI straight from the DC:

 

[ZombieFred]

This is a great-fucking-thread. Man so many memories pouring in.

Sega to me have always been Crème de la crème when it come to original creativity and music. They were far more bold on taking risks and trying new ground that gave us so many great experiences today. Crazy Taxi, Skies of Arcadia, PSO, Ecco, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, and Shenmue are just few examples to add out of their catalogu that gave me such a terrific child hood. There was nothing else like it for me and still remember playing Sonic Adventure 2 on the dreamcast Christmas Day after getting the console. I grew up and was aspired by Sega's cool style attitude that will forever be a part of my gaming DNA imprint through and through.

 

[Come On Tars]

Replaying Code Veronica and ohhh man is Steve Burnside the cringiest thing lmao. Amazing how my young self didn't care or laugh at him at all.

 

[kassj0peja]

Komatsu just recently I saw a USB DIY coders cable so I hope there will be even more homebrew games in the future. I am mostly looking forward to Duranik's new game Midsummer. Sturmwind was graphically the most impressive homebrew game.

 

[Max_Po]

Woot!!

 

[Kazza]

With the upcoming anniversary of the European launch (October 14, 1999 - not quite as catchy as 9.9.99), it looks like we're in for a new spate of articles, retrospectives and small events.




This was a nice article from the then editor of DC-UK:

Mizuguchi in Tokyo: When Sega made art from the arcade spirit

I waited for him on a street corner in Shibuya. It was the spring of 2000 - my first time in Japan. I was attending the…

www.eurogamer.net

When you look at Jet Set Radio and Rez now, it's clear Sega's studios were really thinking about the future of video game design - they were channelling the music, imagery and dynamism of Tokyo into fresh interactive experiences. With each new console generation, manufacturers often talk about photographic realism as the ultimate aim, but with the Dreamcast and its Naomi arcade offshoot, the instinct seemed to be more transgressive - it was about using the technology to explore different visual ideas and possibilities. Rez treated sound as a material, as a physical realm, its graphics providing a kind of three-dimensional score to the thumping beats. Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio both created cities that were weird and loud and primary-coloured rather than cities that resembled the real world. Sometimes, I wonder if Sega knew the end of was coming when it began to support the Dreamcast with games such as these, and with Seaman, SegaGagaga and ChuChuRocket - if it thought there was a future, how could it have been so brave, so reckless?

The Dreamcast wasn't built to beat PlayStation 2 at its own game, it was built to play something entirely different. The Sega games of that era drew on everything we understood about Tokyo and Japan, and a hell of a lot we didn't, and expressed those things in a vital new way. I will always remember how I felt when I played Jet Set Radio and Rez, and Shenmue and Typing of the Dead and Seaman. They were taking us somewhere new and I wanted to go so badly.

 

[Alexios]

Can someone help me make Dreamcast 2D games look nice on RetroArch? By all means the games should look rad most of them being arcade perfect but I always end up preferring how the Saturn iterations of each game or series looks. For example here is Dreamcast Street Fighter Alpha 3 and then Saturn Night Warriors. The image looks so much nicer to me on the Saturn game. It's with the same exact (mostly plain/native) retroarch settings and shader config (just a simple one from the presets, nothing fancy) in both cases so all I can think of messing it up is native Dreamcast rendering resolution? Does it seem like Dreamcast does a 2x upscale of its own for all pixels as it had higher resolution output which means the crt shader passes each line of Dreamcast pixels which separates each actual game line of pixels to two lines each so that the game pixels don't get nicely smoothed but instead they look plain and sharp despite the shader? If I'm explaining this well enough.

Like if you look at an obvious pixel object like the character shadows, you can tell that the scanlines are between each pixel line on Saturn, but actually divide each pixel line in half so there's double the amount on DC? Also from googling it seems people hated this even on original hardware, at least with high quality VGA cables...

 

[Alexios]

Saturn Street Fighter Alpha (Zero) 3 for better comparison...

Edit: I've exhausted google, I guess there's no solution, further cementing the Saturn as the king of 2D with both quality, quantity, and proper game rendering, even if Dreamcast has a handful of absolute top tier titles (yet ruins their visuals so I'd rather play previous or Japan only iterations such as this on Saturn instead). Damn it.

 

[SpongebobSquaredance]

...wait.. the was an add with Limp Bizkit promoting the Dreamcast?

 

[Benjamin_MFF]

Yes, at the time, Limp Bizkit was a headlining act and Sega of America was tapping into counter culture to promote the Dreamcast. Another example of this type of advertising is when they held a showcase for graffiti artists in San Francisco and the city denounced the event.

 

[FeldMonster]

Anyone purchase and try a DreamConn (wireless Dreamcast controller)?

DreamConn - Dreamcast Wireless Controller

Dreamcast Wireless Controller

www.dreammods.net

I would like to get one when my funds are in order.

 

[RAIDEN1]

The Dreamcast- Everything the Saturn SHOULD have been and then some...

 

[SpiceRacz]

The Dreamcast- Everything the Saturn SHOULD have been and then some...

As much as I love the Dreamcast, Saturn has a much better library.

 

[cireza]

The Dreamcast- Everything the Saturn SHOULD have been and then some...

The Dreamcast - Everything other consoles from its gen SHOULD have been.

Obviously, the Saturn could not have been the Dreamcast when it was an experimental hardware transitioning from 2D to 3D, nobody had the knowledge and experience back then to make all the right decisions. This only happened on Dreamcast, which actually nailed it on pretty much all topics, including online gaming.

 

[SirTerry-T]

Recently received my copy of Read Only Memory's companion volume to their fantastic MegaDrive book, Haven't dived into it properly yet buts it's a good looking book. Well worth getting hold of if your a Dreamcast or Sega fan.

 

[kunonabi]

Can someone help me make Dreamcast 2D games look nice on RetroArch? By all means the games should look rad most of them being arcade perfect but I always end up preferring how the Saturn iterations of each game or series looks. For example here is Dreamcast Street Fighter Alpha 3 and then Saturn Night Warriors. The image looks so much nicer to me on the Saturn game. It's with the same exact (mostly plain/native) retroarch settings and shader config (just a simple one from the presets, nothing fancy) in both cases so all I can think of messing it up is native Dreamcast rendering resolution? Does it seem like Dreamcast does a 2x upscale of its own for all pixels as it had higher resolution output which means the crt shader passes each line of Dreamcast pixels which separates each actual game line of pixels to two lines each so that the game pixels don't get nicely smoothed but instead they look plain and sharp despite the shader? If I'm explaining this well enough.

Like if you look at an obvious pixel object like the character shadows, you can tell that the scanlines are between each pixel line on Saturn, but actually divide each pixel line in half so there's double the amount on DC? Also from googling it seems people hated this even on original hardware, at least with high quality VGA cables...

Most 2D fighters on the Dreamcast aren't actually arcade perfect.

 

[Alexios]

Most 2D fighters on the Saturn aren't actually arcade perfect.

Where did I say they are? They got close, especially when they started using the 4MB RAM cartridge (though I also like ports that use no cartridge like Night Warriors) . Several are though and there's next to no overlap with Dreamcast so, Dreamcast does have a few top tier titles as I already said, but Saturn has more great 2D games even if a theoretical Dreamcast port that never happened could be better (so could Saturn ports with more effort/skill/experience as the pinnacle of Zero 3 proves). Couple that with the display issue I discussed and it's easy to prefer Saturn's output. Though I prefer it regardless, as much as I love Garou and Last Blade II.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Sub_Level]

Just dropping in to say Death Crimson Ox is a weird ass game. Even by japanese standards.

 

[Nymphae]

Guys I spent all Saturday and Sunday playing shit on Redream, it's fucking awesome. I've never even played CvS 1 before, I'm loving that shit.

 

[memphisba]

dreamcast is good while it lasted

PSO, HOTD (heck i even got the games for this) , Powerstone etc.

I even pick up 1 spare set from japan. But it still looks like shit on current HDTVS. I miss the old crt tvs displays.

 

[cireza]

dreamcast is good while it lasted

PSO, HOTD (heck i even got the games for this) , Powerstone etc.

I even pick up 1 spare set from japan. But it still looks like shit on current HDTVS. I miss the old crt tvs displays.

Dreamcast via VGA looks pretty good on current TVs. Better than many consoles released after it, and that you have to modify to get a good picture.

 

[RAIDEN1]

Just what would Metal Gear Solid 2, would have looked like on the Dreamcast, how inferior would it have looked compared to the PS2 title? We will never know....

 

[Soleil rouge]

Anyone purchase and try a DreamConn (wireless Dreamcast controller)?

DreamConn - Dreamcast Wireless Controller

Dreamcast Wireless Controller

www.dreammods.net

I would like to get one when my funds are in order.

If they were to add bumpers, select, and a second thumbstick, I'd main it tbh.

 

[Evil Calvin]

I have the Sega Dreamcast I bought back in 1999. Still works too. When the console went under all those great games hit the bargain bin, brand new. I picked up a lot of games, good games, for cheap. I haven't counted them, but there must be 10 or a dozen games for it. Shemnue, Crazy Taxi, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2, Phantasy Star Online, Quake 3, Echo the Dolphin, Jet Grind Radio, Sonic, Hidden and Dangerous, Toy Commander and others. I only sold one game and I regret doing it. It was called Mr. Mosquito. The game was so bazaar. You play as this mosquito buzzing around trying to bite someone in their house. I stuck it out for about 20 minutes. Then I thought to myself, I'll never play this game. So I took it to Electronics Boutique and sold it.

Problem is now I have no TV to hook it up to. I have a Sony CRT, but the over scan is real bad. Maybe getting into the service menu would fix it. I've been in there, but everything is pretty complex, so I backed out without monkeying around. There are adapters or mods for the console, allowing it to plug in to a modern HDTV, but I haven't made the investment.

I think Mr. Mosquito was PS2 only!

 

[Cravis]

Dreamconn looks cool but there is just one problem, it’s the Dreamcast controller lol.

Retro fighters striker pad is set to start shipping in April. I can’t wait. Would love to get a wireless version of that on down the line.

 

[Evil Calvin]

The first online game I ever played was Phantasy Star Online and got a keyboard for it. used that for Typing of the Dead.
Got Metropolis Street Racer and a official steering wheel and pedal
Got Samba De Amigo with the maracas
Shenmue with microphone (used with Alien Front Online as well

Loved:

Sonic Adventure
PSO
Crazy Taxi
Toy Commander (and christmas game as well)
Ecco
Jet Set Radio
Skies of Arcadia
Resident Evil Code Veronica
Soul Reaver
Sword of the Beserk
Blue Stinger
NFK2K
Space Channel 5
Chu Chu Rocket
Illbleed
D2
Grandia 2
Typing of the Dead
MSR
Armada
NHL2K
Rayman 2
Samba De Amigo
Seaman
Shenmue
Sega Swirl
Shadowman
Virtua Tennis

 

[SaturnSaturn]

During the weekend i put my Dreamcast collection up for sale, so far i have gotten about 600$ sold of quite a few games, gunbird 2, tokyo highway challenge 2, skies of arcadia, dino crisis, tech romancer, and a bunch of more.

Still keeping the console.

 

[kunonabi]

Where did I say they are? They got close, especially when they started using the 4MB RAM cartridge (though I also like ports that use no cartridge like Night Warriors) . Several are though and there's next to no overlap with Dreamcast so, Dreamcast does have a few top tier titles as I already said, but Saturn has more great 2D games even if a theoretical Dreamcast port that never happened could be better (so could Saturn ports with more effort/skill/experience as the pinnacle of Zero 3 proves). Couple that with the display issue I discussed and it's easy to prefer Saturn's output. Though I prefer it regardless, as much as I love Garou and Last Blade II.

I actually meant to say Dreamcast.

 

[cireza]

I have started a new character in PSO v2 last week. I still play this game a lot, solo only. I love this game to death

Actually dropped a BOOK OF KATANA2 in Normal Mine or Ruins lol, it looks like it serves no purpose, but it is the first time I drop it.

 

[Poordevil]

I think Mr. Mosquito was PS2 only!

Oh, that could be! I may be misremembering the console that game was on.