Just got a Dreamcast, what games should I look for? (1 Viewer)

[Brian E]

Ok, I know Dreamcasts are "old", but I got one in exchange for Obi-Wan (X-Box) so it was cheap. The only game I've got is Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Other than that I've got one controller and the unit. I figure I'll get another controller and pick up a few sports games since they're so cheap. What else should I look for? What's the deal with the different memory units?

TIA!

 

[Chris Rock]

Here's some suggestions (from my own experience):

Sports:
Virtua Tennis 1&2
NHL, NBA, and NFL 2K2
Tony Hawk 2

Fighting:
Soul Calibur
DOA2

RPG:
Skies of Arcadia
Grandia 2 (awesome on DC)

Platform:
Sonic Adventure 2

Racing / Driving:
Metropolis Street Racer
Sega GT
SanFranciso Rush 2049

Miscellaneous:
PSO 1&2 - Anyone know if the servers are still up?
Toy Commander (I loved this game, for some reason)

PS - I played all my online game using NetZero to get online. I don't think this will work anymore. (I did this because I have broadband and no broadband adapter was available. I'll be darned if I'm gonna pay for 2 ISP's!)

There are others, but these are games I played and had fun with.

 

[BrianB]

Memory card - aka VMUs - the standard size is "200 blocks" or 2MB, go with Sega brand for reliability. The standard ones are grey, but official 'coloured' ones are available. They work identically to the regular VMU. There are larger ones available from Sega & from third parties, but I tend to stick to the 'regular' one. You can get easily get them for $9.99 new, cheaper if you dig about.

What sort of games do you like? There's a bunch of good games on the DC, most of which you can get for cheap to reasonable prices...

If you like sports, the Virtua Tennis, NBA2K1/2 & NFL2K1/2 series are WELL worth getting. Tennis2K2 is available from Best Buy stores for around $10 right now. I haven't played the NHL2K hockey series much, but it's got a generally good rep. The WSB2K baseball games aren't as well regarded - someone else can tell you more, I'm not into them at all.

If you like Japanese style RPGs, then Grandia 2 or Skies of Arcadia are worth getting.

If you like fun arcadey games - games you'll pick up & play for a little while at a time - games like Crazy Taxi 1 or 2, Powerstone, Rush2049, Soul Calibur, Mars Matrix, Demolition Racer:No Exit, House of the Dead2, 18 Wheeler.

A lot of it's down to what style of games you like... There's about 250 US releases, most of which are available for good prices on the 'net or in the likes of EB/Gamestop. And there's a LOT of bargains on eBay.

 

[Joseph Young]

Just some of my favorites:
Fighting:
Soul Caliber (must own)
Guilty Gear X (import only, highly recommended)
Capcom vs. SNK (1 and 2)
Marvel vs Capcom (1 and 2)
Street Fighter 3 (various incarnations)
King of Fighters series
FPS:
Unreal Tournament
Quake 3
Capcom Brawlers:
Cannon Spike (play as Cammie, Megaman, etc)
Power Stone (1 and 2) (highly recommended)
Surival Horror:
Dino Crisis
Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Adventure/Puzzle:
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Frogger 2 (puzzle/platform)
Ms. Pac Man: Maze Madness (puzzle/platoform, highly recommended)
Jet Grind Radio (must have)
MDK 2 (looks better than PS2 version)
Mr. Driller
Super Magnetic Neo (difficult but fun)
Shooters:
Bangai-O (must have)
Giga Wing 2
Mars Matrix
Racing:
Hydro Thunder (too hard but worth the $10 you'll pay for it)
4 Wheel Thunder (too hard but worth the $10)
Metropolis Street Racer (highly recommended)
Vanishing Point
SF Rush 2049 (highly recommended, amazing replay value)
Tokyo Xtreme Racer (quirky but charming unconventional racer
Other:
Samba de Amigo (only if you can find maracas)
Space Channel 5
Typing of the Dead (w/keyboard accessorie, highly recommended)

 

[Graeme Clark]

Ok, I know Dreamcasts are "old", but I got one in exchange for Obi-Wan (X-Box) so it was cheap

Good deal!

Chris and Brian's lists is pretty good. I would also add Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, and Resident Evil Code: Veronica.

 

[Romier S]

Some recommendations in addition to whats been mentioned:
Racing:
Ferrari F355 Challenge
Daytone USA
Sega Rally 2
Action/Adventure:
Draconus (Underrated game that is actually quite fun despite some issues)
Zombie Revenge
Rainbow Six (Long load times and finger twisting controls but a damn good conversion of the PC game!)
Fighting:
Marvel Vs Capcom 1&2
Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
All the other recommendations above this post are top notch. Good deal on the Dreamcast by the way! The system is well worth it (It's worth the original price it retailed for...)
EDIT:
Import:
Headhunter (better than the PS2 version IMO)
Shenmue 2 (I couldn't wait for the X-box version though Ill be buying that one as well)
Rez (Still haven't received this one but I'm dying to the see the game in VGA and I recommend it on the sole fact that the PS2 game is one of the best released on that system)

 

[BrianB]

Draconus (Underrated game that is actually quite fund despite some issues)

Just started playing that in fact. A couple of mates in the UK regard it as one of the best DC games.

On the flipside, here's a bunch of DC games to avoid regardless of the price:

Kao the Kangaroo - rubbish, bland, derivative 3D platform. Get Donald Duck ($5 from EB new now!) & Rayman instead.

WWF Attitude - both WWF & the ECW games are bad from what I've heard. Get UFC instead - very underappreciated fighter with a LOT of depth to it.

Walt Disney Magical Quest - bad Mario Kart ripoff. Get Wacky Races instead, which isn't quite Mario Kart, but it's a lot of fun in 2 player.

TrickStyle - loved it when it came out, but time hasn't been good to it.

POD Speedzone, Speed Racers, Flag to Flag, F1 World Challenge, Ducati - there are MUCH better racers out for the DC. Get MSR, Rush2049, SegaGT or Test Drive: Le Mans instead.

DeathCrimsonOX - atrocious lightgun game. Get HOTD2 + Confidential Mission instead.

Nightmare Creatures II - it has its fans, but they're all nuts. Get Resident Evil: Code Veronica or Illbleed instead.

 

[Joseph Young]

Also avoid Fighting Force 2 at all costs. You will see 7+ copies of it in every store (along with Illbleed, Kiss: Psycho Circus and Alien Front Online). If you want to get the most out of your Dreamcast, don't focus on these games. Focus on the harder-to-find titles first.
Another title that I heartily recommend for the Dreamcast, unless you either have a PC or played the PC version to death: GTA2. It comes in a nifty red shiny cover and I've been having a blast with it.
Is Draconus an import? I gravitate towards the 'overall good with slight problems' games because they are never overhyped and retain a certain charm consequently.
Joseph

 

[BrianB]

Is Draconus an import? I gravitate towards the 'overall good with slight problems' games because they are never overhyped and retain a certain charm consequently.

No, it's a US release. The European release was retitled "Dragon's Blood". You should be able to pick it up s/h for around $10 easily.

As for AFO, I like it - certainly got $10 worth of entertainment out of it. VERY tough game in later stages. But certainly not everyone's cup of tea.

 

[Dave F]

Heh, I just bought AFO for the second time. I returned the first one when I found out it didn't support the broadband adapter. For $10 though, it was worth the 2nd purchase.
-Dave

 

[Brian E]

Thanks for the suggestions gang. I like most types of games. I'll have to look for those RPG's right away. Is Jet Gring Radio still considered a must buy if I already have Jet Set Radio Future for my XBox?

 

[Brian E]

How's the Record of Lodoss War game? I'm a fan of the anime.

 

[Romier S]

How's the Record of Lodoss War game? I'm a fan of the anime.

Damn good hack and slash in the vien of Diablo and Gauntlet. Good bit of depth too, you can create your own weapon combinations and other neat things with a "rune" system they use in the game. Well worth the 10-15 bucks you can get it for these days.

Man, now I gotta go break out my Dreamcast after talking about all of these games!

 

[BrianB]

How's the Record of Lodoss War game? I'm a fan of the anime.

It's one of my most played DC games. It's a pure hack & slasher - think of it as a Japanese take on Diablo. Purely single player though. It's a lot of fun if you get into it - the magic rune system makes it highly configurable & fun. It's not /everyone's/ cup of tea - I think a few folk wanted a traditional Japanese RPG & it's not close to that at all.

I believe it's more of a 'side story' to the anime - there are a few characters from it that pop up along the journey etc. Someone else will know more than me on that aspect.

 

[Jason Borchers]

I'll second these recommendations:

MDK 2 (though I can't even beat the second level!)
Rayman 2
San Francisco Rush 2049
Soul Calibur
The Typing of the Dead

Plus one that hasn't been mentioned yet:

ChuChu Rocket

(I have a ton of cheaply-acquired DC games I haven't even gotten around to trying yet...)

 

[James_A]

Honestly liked the anime, so I got Lodoss... now, I'm a bit biases, because I'm not a big "Diablo" fan of that type, but I really have to say that after giving it an open mind, that games bites (again, just my opinion). I kid you not, In the opening scene, I got stuck in a wall (bad collision?) and snipered (just restarted, and one bullet, or magic missle or whatever, came and killed me again. Also, the camera is kinda not that good....
Hope that helps!
As for games that I really like on my DC
Grandia 2 (just started playing FFX on my PS2 and almost like Grandia better - NO RANDOM #%^#%^^&# Pop-up battles)
Skies of Arcadia (buy a rumble pack for this one - retieve Chams to level up one weapon)
Soul Caliber (THE BEST fighting game ever.... Just great graphics, steller gameplay, only a few cheat moves, and a smidge of luck -- hehe)
Also - Powerstone 2, Crazy Taxi, Phantasy Star Online, and many more....
Jim
PS - Just my opinion here..... nothing to get rialed up about

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If you can find Power Stone, get it. I much preferred PS 1 over PS 2.

 

[Dave E H]

also, use a real VMU for Skies of Arcadia - 2 reasons: lost my save from a cheap memory card and the mini game on the CMU game me lots of useful things.

 

[BrianB]

also, use a real VMU for Skies of Arcadia - 2 reasons: lost my save from a cheap memory card and the mini game on the CMU game me lots of useful things.

I find the official VMU is always a good idea with any game.

 

[Jason Borchers]

[smacks head]

How could I forget Daytona USA?