Man, the DC was the only system I ever bought the japanese version for cause I couldn't wait for the Americian version to come out.
Sadly though, that one died and I ended up getting an american system about a year later.
Then bought the Sega Sports version...cuz it was black, came with a crappy rubber basketball and...y'know, just in case.
Along the way I picked up several arcade sticks, light guns, finishing rod controllers, a pair of twinsticks and the Seaman bundle. Oh and maybe some games without funky controllers.
I'm getting a little weepy thinking about the dreamcast. My long trek to the game store to rent Berserk, Powerstone (my first game), Quake 3 and the fervor that I built up when it was being released early at some stores, and Shennmue, possibly the game I hyped the most. It is and forever will be the greatest system. I love my 360, but the Dreamcast just came at the perfect time.
Diggx on
0
SirUltimosDon't talk, Rusty. Just paint.Registered Userregular
edited September 2009
I have Sonic Adventure in now. It's been years since I've played this game. I can barely remember anything. Although I have discovered once again that for some reason I LOVE Tails' theme.
I also remember that I never really liked the game and was generally annoyed by it, but for some reason I could never put it down and played the shit out of it. Until I got to Big, anyway.
Power Stone and Chu Chu Rocket. Awesome games both.
Where is my chu chu rocket clone for XBLA!
tbloxham on
"That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
0
anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
edited September 2009
I remember going to a friend's house and playing Sonic Adventure and Power Stone, and thought they were awesome. I never actually had my own dreamcast, though. I was actually just looking at them on thinkgeek.com. I still want one. Also, does anyone think Sega could ever come out with a new console? Or are they done with consoles for good?
Oh Dreamcast, how I love you so. For me it was also the only system I pre-purchased, and on that fateful day me and a buddy arrived early and ended up being second and third in line. News crews were there and everything (Not much going on in FL) and I was excited as all hell. Once in we found out the entire library wasn't available, but it was fine since they had the holy grails...Sonic and Soul Calibur. Thankfully they had a DC set up outside the EB to play with...sadly it had Blue Stinger, but no matter! Once purchased we both quickly left to check things out and played a few games of my buds NFL 2k. Once he left however, me and Soul Cal had a date. The next day was already scheduled off and the wife knew I had my mistress well in hand, thus the night went for some odd 8 hours as I proceeded to unlock all I could out of Soul Cal before I couldn't keep my eyes open.
From then on I lived with the dream and I purchased every game I could get my hands on...I even joined up for SEGANet. I spread the word to the unwashed masses, those filthy sheep who awaited the craptastic launch of the PS2 so that they could play DVD's(!). Some of us with class already owned players, and had no interest in the player, nor the crappy games on their launch.
Game after game I played, from the Beauty of Ecco to the groundbreaking PSO (Until the hackers came!), to quirky and unique games like Seaman and Lodoss War. Some of the greatest RPG's (Skies of Arcadia!) were birthed on the system despite it's lack of Square support, and Capcom gave us it's greatest treasures (Powerstone!). Shenmue was heralded as a true masterpiece by many, and for those that understood it, it truly was. I did all I could, and fought for SEGA and it's dream with every breath I took.
Sadly, those were the last days of an Era...and as I played Alienfront Online and Heavy Metal: Geomatrix, I witnessed the slow death as games trickled out and corporate words carefully tried to sugar coat the end of all things. When it was all over and SEGA declared itself done, I shed a small tear and popped in the first game to grace it's white depths, Soul Calibur. I played for hours in my own version of a farewell firing salute, but for me the dream never died. The system is still played to this day, with it's birth date of 9/9/99 proudly stamped on it's form.
Out of all the systems I have owned, from the Odyssey and Atari through the current gen, the Dreamcast will always be my first and favorite. Happy Birthday and may you never rest in peace, for there are still plenty of us out there who still live the dream!
(*sniff* I couldn't help myself)
Masume on
3DS Code - 5370-0463-9307
Wii U - 'Nocero'
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PS4 ID - realmasume
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Oh Dreamcast, how I love you so. For me it was also the only system I pre-purchased, and on that fateful day me and a buddy arrived early and ended up being second and third in line. News crews were there and everything (Not much going on in FL) and I was excited as all hell. Once in we found out the entire library wasn't available, but it was fine since they had the holy grails...Sonic and Soul Calibur. Thankfully they had a DC set up outside the EB to play with...sadly it had Blue Stinger, but no matter! Once purchased we both quickly left to check things out and played a few games of my buds NFL 2k. Once he left however, me and Soul Cal had a date. The next day was already scheduled off and the wife knew I had my mistress well in hand, thus the night went for some odd 8 hours as I proceeded to unlock all I could out of Soul Cal before I couldn't keep my eyes open.
From then on I lived with the dream and I purchased every game I could get my hands on...I even joined up for SEGANet. I spread the word to the unwashed masses, those filthy sheep who awaited the craptastic launch of the PS2 so that they could play DVD's(!). Some of us with class already owned players, and had no interest in the player, nor the crappy games on their launch.
Game after game I played, from the Beauty of Ecco to the groundbreaking PSO (Until the hackers came!), to quirky and unique games like Seaman and Lodoss War. Some of the greatest RPG's (Skies of Arcadia!) were birthed on the system despite it's lack of Square support, and Capcom gave us it's greatest treasures (Powerstone!). I did all I could, and fought for SEGA and it's dream with every breath I took.
Sadly, those were the last days of an Era...and as I played Alienfront Online and Heavy Metal: Geomatrix, I witnessed the slow death as games trickled out and corporate words carefully tried to sugar coat the end of all things. When it was all over and SEGA declared itself done, I shed a small tear and popped in the first game to grace it's white depths, Soul Calibur. I played for hours in my own version of a farewell firing salute, but for me the dream never died. The system is still played to this day, with it's birth date of 9/9/99 proudly stamped on it's form.
Out of all the systems I have owned, from the Odyssey and Atari through the current gen, the Dreamcast will always be my first and favorite. Happy Birthday and may you never rest in peace, for there are still plenty of us out there who still live the dream!
(*sniff* I couldn't help myself)
That was the most beautiful thing I've ever read. I seriously almost started crying.
Oh Dreamcast, how I love you so. For me it was also the only system I pre-purchased, and on that fateful day me and a buddy arrived early and ended up being second and third in line. News crews were there and everything (Not much going on in FL) and I was excited as all hell. Once in we found out the entire library wasn't available, but it was fine since they had the holy grails...Sonic and Soul Calibur. Thankfully they had a DC set up outside the EB to play with...sadly it had Blue Stinger, but no matter! Once purchased we both quickly left to check things out and played a few games of my buds NFL 2k. Once he left however, me and Soul Cal had a date. The next day was already scheduled off and the wife knew I had my mistress well in hand, thus the night went for some odd 8 hours as I proceeded to unlock all I could out of Soul Cal before I couldn't keep my eyes open.
From then on I lived with the dream and I purchased every game I could get my hands on...I even joined up for SEGANet. I spread the word to the unwashed masses, those filthy sheep who awaited the craptastic launch of the PS2 so that they could play DVD's(!). Some of us with class already owned players, and had no interest in the player, nor the crappy games on their launch.
Game after game I played, from the Beauty of Ecco to the groundbreaking PSO (Until the hackers came!), to quirky and unique games like Seaman and Lodoss War. Some of the greatest RPG's (Skies of Arcadia!) were birthed on the system despite it's lack of Square support, and Capcom gave us it's greatest treasures (Powerstone!). I did all I could, and fought for SEGA and it's dream with every breath I took.
Sadly, those were the last days of an Era...and as I played Alienfront Online and Heavy Metal: Geomatrix, I witnessed the slow death as games trickled out and corporate words carefully tried to sugar coat the end of all things. When it was all over and SEGA declared itself done, I shed a small tear and popped in the first game to grace it's white depths, Soul Calibur. I played for hours in my own version of a farewell firing salute, but for me the dream never died. The system is still played to this day, with it's birth date of 9/9/99 proudly stamped on it's form.
Out of all the systems I have owned, from the Odyssey and Atari through the current gen, the Dreamcast will always be my first and favorite. Happy Birthday and may you never rest in peace, for there are still plenty of us out there who still live the dream!
(*sniff* I couldn't help myself)
That was the most beautiful thing I've ever read. I seriously almost started crying.
Thanks. I would lie, but I shed a few. It represented the pinnacle era of my gaming youth, and also the end of it. Now I raise my kids in a world being fought over by Sony's and Microsoft's, with a side of Wii waggle for kicks.
Masume on
3DS Code - 5370-0463-9307
Wii U - 'Nocero'
XBox ID - therealmasume
PS4 ID - realmasume
Sega was always my favorite. The first system I bought was the Sega Master System (grew up with the Atari 5200) then the Genesis then Saturn then the Dreamcast.
I agree with others that say Dreamcast was the most 'wow' console. Soul Calibur was just miles ahead of anything else I've seen at that time. It was a bigger jump than anything previous or since then IMO. There were just so many 'bests' on that system, too. For me:
Soul Calibur - My favorite fighter
Resident Evil Code: Veronica - My favorite RE game bar none (4 comes close in ways but story wise REC:V was perfect)
Skies of Arcadia - My favorite RPG ever
NFL2K Football - My favorite football game ever
Chu Chu Rocket - The most stressful 2 player game ever
Crazy Taxi / Hydro Thunder - The best racing arcade ports. Ever.
The other thing with Dreamcast and Sega is when they are at the top of their game, their love for games just shines through. They don't feel commercial (to a fault, unfortunately) they felt like games created by people who just loved games.
Space Channel 5, Shenmu, Ecco, Seaman, Virtua Fighter, Virtual On, Typing of the Dead, JGR, MSR, Tokyo Extreme Racer, etc.
There hasn't been a system since that has captivated me with pure fun-to-play games since (in fact, until Uncharted, there there wasn't a console game that put me in that pure joy mode as many Sega games did in their prime).
I also never owned a PS2 out of spite for Sony and the Dreamcast (and I never thought the PS2 looked as good -- always had a weird texture filtering look that the DC didn't have) -- now I'm a fan of the PS3 in ways but only because I don't want Microsoft to own the console space!
God the PS2 hype was so over the top, and just flat out wrong... I remember people comparing the damn thing to super computers. That is what motivated me to buy a DC in the end, and NFL 2k was worth the purchase price alone. I really think Sony played a dirty hand on the Dreamcast, however, it was Sega's fault they were in that position in the first place. It was sad that after they ran the good of the genisis in the ground, crapped out the saturn, they had to die when they finally got it right and released a real quality system. I honestly have never cared for Sega's style nor their games, so basically the thing did not get much attention, but to this day I don't regret my purchase. Too bad all the games that appeal to me were on the PS2.
oh man, I LOVED my dreamcast! There were so many FUN games and innovative ideas in this machine, too bad that SEGA dropped the ball and lost against the PS2.
I still wish there was a fun game like that futuristic "airskating" game (forgot name). It was bad, but had some good ideas.
gvandale on
Current Game(s) List: Disgaea 4 (PS3) & Dead Island (XBox 360)
PSN Id: gvandale
Xbox Live: Darth Vandale
I still have my DC. Once I get some extra money I'm going to hunt down a VGA cable so I can play Soul Calibur again. It's really the only fighting game I need.
LittleBoots on
Tofu wrote: Here be Littleboots, destroyer of threads and master of drunkposting.
Hardly ever hear of anyone else who had one of those.
I forgot they made a second one. I definitely had the SMS 1: black rectangle box
I loved it although I have to admit there were a lot of mediocre games on it. But it had the first RPG I really got into: Phantasy Star!
Timmer on
0
Sir CarcassI have been shown the end of my worldRound Rock, TXRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
I do have one complaint about the system, though. The cords are too short! Seriously, hooked up to the tv in my bedroom, I have to sit on the absolute edge of the bed (not comfortable since we have a footboard). Do they make an extension cord for the controller or something? Would something like that be easy to mod?
God the PS2 hype was so over the top, and just flat out wrong... I remember people comparing the damn thing to super computers.
My favorite was the rumor that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling imported PlayStation 2s to control nuclear weapons.
Or something to that effect.
And til this day, I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly what the emotion engine is supposed to do.
It's the nerve center of the gubmint's spying program, without it, I wouldn't have to cover the middle inch of my HDTV with playing cards in order to block the camera's view.
God the PS2 hype was so over the top, and just flat out wrong... I remember people comparing the damn thing to super computers.
My favorite was the rumor that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling imported PlayStation 2s to control nuclear weapons.
Or something to that effect.
And til this day, I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly what the emotion engine is supposed to do.
Make fantastic games.
And consequently make them damn-near impossible to emulate on later systems ;-)
syndalis on
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
0
RandomHajileNot actually a SnatcherThe New KremlinRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
Ah, college...I miss those days. Let me tell you a story, sonny.
I guess 9/9/09 was the fall of my sophomore year, and I was poor. I mean, I was still living at home, mind you, but I was having to pay for the fees and books that weren't paid for by my supposedly full-ride scholarship. I had also really just started getting into PCs and the gaming therein, so I was throwing a good amount of money into that pit (but that's another story). AND, that was right around my first (dating) anniversary with my now-wife, who was and still is into jewelry, so I wasn't really focused on console gaming much...I mean, I had bought a PS1 the year before primarily to play FFVII, but I had to really meter out my time so I didn't lose my scholarship or my girlfriend. Studying (okay, I didn't really do much of that), spending time with her, working in the Math Lab, working tech support at a local ISP, going to class, etc. left little time for gaming, and the guys I hung out with played a lot of Quake, so that's what I did, too.
Anyway, where was I? (I tell ya, this old age, it's no good.) I remember thinking the Dreamcast was going to be pretty cool, but that maybe my girlfriend would get me one for Christmas, so I held off on buying it. And like I said, I was into PC gaming then. It was mid-October, and I was into playing games from older consoles (and arcades) on my PC (oh, no, avert your eyes, it's the dreaded "E" word), so I followed a certain popular site pretty heavily. I don't recall if they announced that they were going to give away something for their X-millionth visitor (hey, remember hit counters?), or if I just thought it would be cool if I was the X-millionth visitor because I was a big fan of the site. I snuck away to the computer lab, and kept refreshing the site around the time that it was going to happen. I hit the counter on X,000,000 and grabbed a screen shot, and sent it in to the site owner. For doing so, I WON A DREAMCAST AND THREE GAMES OF MY CHOICE HELL YEAH! (The post is still out there on the web in their archives; I'd link to it, but it has my real name shown.) I chose Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, and either Crazy Taxi or Chu Chu Rocket.
So many great memories. I loved SA, and even wasted a good amount of time on the Chao mini-game, since I could carry the VMU around. My wife loved Soul Calibur. She would always pick Sophitia, and occasionally destroy me with some cheap move that she just figured out......................I mean, um, I let her win sometimes? To this day, I am always allowed to buy the newest Soul Calibur on release day without question, and she generally won't play until I unlock Sophitia (even though Cassandra is basically the same character with basically the same moves), and she won't pick any other character for 20 matches in a row. And then Crazy Taxi...whew, there's another game we both really enjoyed, and would take turns playing for hours. Oh, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 AND 2...has anyone mentioned those yet? Great fun. Man, now I need to bust that thing out again. I actually have it stored away in a carrying case that I got for free with my PS1, ironically enough, with the old PS logo and everything. Still played it well into the PS2 era.
What other games did I have? MLB2K1 (the one with Pedro Martinez on the cover, I think). NFL2K, which really ushered in that next generation of sports games. Ready 2 Rumble, which I got for Christmas from my father-in-law that Christmas. Typing of the Dead! I had bought a keyboard but never really used it until that game came out. I also got Sonic Adventure 2 at some point, and I still liked it...and remember actually kinda liking Shadow. Yeah, before you say something, screw you. Man, I never finished Soul Reaver, and I remember really enjoying it for the first few hours. Also, Crazy Taxi 2 was awesome.
Okay, look, I'm going to level with you here...I was a young man of questionable morals, a lack of a major income stream, and access to two separate high-speed internet connections in a time when dialup reigned supreme. Like A-Rod said, it was a loosey-goosey time, and I was, on occasion, known to fly the Jolly Roger during this era...Once you did it a few times, it was so easy. I did actually own the games above, but I "tried" many more. Mostly it was more of a collection, instead of a list of games I was going to spend time on. 95% of the time I spent playing on the Dreamcast was spent playing games I had purchased (or won, as the case was). In my defense, I did buy a hell of a lot of peripherals, so a lot of my money went straight to Sega...I have a keyboard, a mouse, a fishing controller, three controllers, two VMUs (had to get a green one), four memory cards, two rumble packs, a light gun. Oh, and my uncle bought a Dreamcast solely to play Soul Calibur after seeing it at my house.
syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
edited September 2009
Lets put some perspective on some recent game companies who say that a ten year plan is what they are aiming for on the current generation.
Would you be happy if your new release games looked as good as Shenmue 2 does? Cause that was the pinnacle of the DC, and it has been 10 years.
Graphically, with RARE exception almost every title on the Wii could be handled on the DC with very minor sacrifices... and I would certainly have my DC hooked up to my TV to this day if new content kept rolling out. Shit, by now they would have made a super quiet, slim model.
And Shenmue 3... possibly a Panzer Dragoon RPG sequel... man, it sucks thinking about what could have been.
syndalis on
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
It doesn't look like the best game evar or anything, but it reveals how much of a classic arcade feel the Dreamcast has a tendency to retain. This game could have been torn from a 1989 arcade and given a graphical update. It's very simple, but it looks pretty fun anyway.
And here's Inecom's gushing 10th anniversary hardware review. He actually does a lot of good Dreamcast reviews.
Hardly ever hear of anyone else who had one of those.
I forgot they made a second one. I definitely had the SMS 1: black rectangle box
I loved it although I have to admit there were a lot of mediocre games on it. But it had the first RPG I really got into: Phantasy Star!
I had a 2. It had the flip down cartridge slot cover but it didn't have a built in game which disappointed me. I only got it because my friend had one. To be honest if I could I would have changed it to an NES.
Master Systems were a lot more popular here in the UK. I don't think Sega were a big deal in the states until the Genesis.
I still have my Master System 2 and it does indeed have a built-in game -- Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Although it's NA version, so maybe that's why yours didn't.
Posts
Sadly though, that one died and I ended up getting an american system about a year later.
Then bought the Sega Sports version...cuz it was black, came with a crappy rubber basketball and...y'know, just in case.
Along the way I picked up several arcade sticks, light guns, finishing rod controllers, a pair of twinsticks and the Seaman bundle. Oh and maybe some games without funky controllers.
FFBE: 898,311,440
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/dElementalor
I also remember that I never really liked the game and was generally annoyed by it, but for some reason I could never put it down and played the shit out of it. Until I got to Big, anyway.
Where is my chu chu rocket clone for XBLA!
Doubt its true. Haven't been able to confirm this anywhere else. Anyone know?
Because it's fake. Sega are happy being a publisher and letting all their old rivals have their way with their old mascot.
Like I said I doubt it's true but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask. We can dream can't we? :P
Seeing Sonic and Mario on a cover together still feels surreal.
From then on I lived with the dream and I purchased every game I could get my hands on...I even joined up for SEGANet. I spread the word to the unwashed masses, those filthy sheep who awaited the craptastic launch of the PS2 so that they could play DVD's(!). Some of us with class already owned players, and had no interest in the player, nor the crappy games on their launch.
Game after game I played, from the Beauty of Ecco to the groundbreaking PSO (Until the hackers came!), to quirky and unique games like Seaman and Lodoss War. Some of the greatest RPG's (Skies of Arcadia!) were birthed on the system despite it's lack of Square support, and Capcom gave us it's greatest treasures (Powerstone!). Shenmue was heralded as a true masterpiece by many, and for those that understood it, it truly was. I did all I could, and fought for SEGA and it's dream with every breath I took.
Sadly, those were the last days of an Era...and as I played Alienfront Online and Heavy Metal: Geomatrix, I witnessed the slow death as games trickled out and corporate words carefully tried to sugar coat the end of all things. When it was all over and SEGA declared itself done, I shed a small tear and popped in the first game to grace it's white depths, Soul Calibur. I played for hours in my own version of a farewell firing salute, but for me the dream never died. The system is still played to this day, with it's birth date of 9/9/99 proudly stamped on it's form.
Out of all the systems I have owned, from the Odyssey and Atari through the current gen, the Dreamcast will always be my first and favorite. Happy Birthday and may you never rest in peace, for there are still plenty of us out there who still live the dream!
(*sniff* I couldn't help myself)
Wii U - 'Nocero'
XBox ID - therealmasume
PS4 ID - realmasume
Surprisingly essential reading. The whole article is great, but it lays out the Dreamcast breakdown pretty well.
(1st best: Shenmue 3)
That was the most beautiful thing I've ever read. I seriously almost started crying.
Phantasy Star Online, JSR, Power Stone, Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, and the coolest fucking memory card ever.
Thanks. I would lie, but I shed a few. It represented the pinnacle era of my gaming youth, and also the end of it. Now I raise my kids in a world being fought over by Sony's and Microsoft's, with a side of Wii waggle for kicks.
Wii U - 'Nocero'
XBox ID - therealmasume
PS4 ID - realmasume
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9OxAwvED8
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
I agree with others that say Dreamcast was the most 'wow' console. Soul Calibur was just miles ahead of anything else I've seen at that time. It was a bigger jump than anything previous or since then IMO. There were just so many 'bests' on that system, too. For me:
Soul Calibur - My favorite fighter
Resident Evil Code: Veronica - My favorite RE game bar none (4 comes close in ways but story wise REC:V was perfect)
Skies of Arcadia - My favorite RPG ever
NFL2K Football - My favorite football game ever
Chu Chu Rocket - The most stressful 2 player game ever
Crazy Taxi / Hydro Thunder - The best racing arcade ports. Ever.
The other thing with Dreamcast and Sega is when they are at the top of their game, their love for games just shines through. They don't feel commercial (to a fault, unfortunately) they felt like games created by people who just loved games.
Space Channel 5, Shenmu, Ecco, Seaman, Virtua Fighter, Virtual On, Typing of the Dead, JGR, MSR, Tokyo Extreme Racer, etc.
There hasn't been a system since that has captivated me with pure fun-to-play games since (in fact, until Uncharted, there there wasn't a console game that put me in that pure joy mode as many Sega games did in their prime).
I also never owned a PS2 out of spite for Sony and the Dreamcast (and I never thought the PS2 looked as good -- always had a weird texture filtering look that the DC didn't have) -- now I'm a fan of the PS3 in ways but only because I don't want Microsoft to own the console space!
Hardly ever hear of anyone else who had one of those.
I still wish there was a fun game like that futuristic "airskating" game (forgot name). It was bad, but had some good ideas.
PSN Id: gvandale
Xbox Live: Darth Vandale
Tofu wrote: Here be Littleboots, destroyer of threads and master of drunkposting.
Trickstyle?
I forgot they made a second one. I definitely had the SMS 1: black rectangle box
I loved it although I have to admit there were a lot of mediocre games on it. But it had the first RPG I really got into: Phantasy Star!
Steam Support is the worst. Seriously, the worst
I also thought the menus for transferring data between VMUs was quite slick, too.
My favorite was the rumor that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling imported PlayStation 2s to control nuclear weapons.
Or something to that effect.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
And til this day, I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly what the emotion engine is supposed to do.
It's the nerve center of the gubmint's spying program, without it, I wouldn't have to cover the middle inch of my HDTV with playing cards in order to block the camera's view.
Make fantastic games.
I had one.
I was all about Wonderboy and Rampage back then.
And consequently make them damn-near impossible to emulate on later systems ;-)
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I guess 9/9/09 was the fall of my sophomore year, and I was poor. I mean, I was still living at home, mind you, but I was having to pay for the fees and books that weren't paid for by my supposedly full-ride scholarship. I had also really just started getting into PCs and the gaming therein, so I was throwing a good amount of money into that pit (but that's another story). AND, that was right around my first (dating) anniversary with my now-wife, who was and still is into jewelry, so I wasn't really focused on console gaming much...I mean, I had bought a PS1 the year before primarily to play FFVII, but I had to really meter out my time so I didn't lose my scholarship or my girlfriend. Studying (okay, I didn't really do much of that), spending time with her, working in the Math Lab, working tech support at a local ISP, going to class, etc. left little time for gaming, and the guys I hung out with played a lot of Quake, so that's what I did, too.
Anyway, where was I? (I tell ya, this old age, it's no good.) I remember thinking the Dreamcast was going to be pretty cool, but that maybe my girlfriend would get me one for Christmas, so I held off on buying it. And like I said, I was into PC gaming then. It was mid-October, and I was into playing games from older consoles (and arcades) on my PC (oh, no, avert your eyes, it's the dreaded "E" word), so I followed a certain popular site pretty heavily. I don't recall if they announced that they were going to give away something for their X-millionth visitor (hey, remember hit counters?), or if I just thought it would be cool if I was the X-millionth visitor because I was a big fan of the site. I snuck away to the computer lab, and kept refreshing the site around the time that it was going to happen. I hit the counter on X,000,000 and grabbed a screen shot, and sent it in to the site owner. For doing so, I WON A DREAMCAST AND THREE GAMES OF MY CHOICE HELL YEAH! (The post is still out there on the web in their archives; I'd link to it, but it has my real name shown.) I chose Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, and either Crazy Taxi or Chu Chu Rocket.
So many great memories. I loved SA, and even wasted a good amount of time on the Chao mini-game, since I could carry the VMU around. My wife loved Soul Calibur. She would always pick Sophitia, and occasionally destroy me with some cheap move that she just figured out......................I mean, um, I let her win sometimes? To this day, I am always allowed to buy the newest Soul Calibur on release day without question, and she generally won't play until I unlock Sophitia (even though Cassandra is basically the same character with basically the same moves), and she won't pick any other character for 20 matches in a row. And then Crazy Taxi...whew, there's another game we both really enjoyed, and would take turns playing for hours. Oh, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 AND 2...has anyone mentioned those yet? Great fun. Man, now I need to bust that thing out again. I actually have it stored away in a carrying case that I got for free with my PS1, ironically enough, with the old PS logo and everything. Still played it well into the PS2 era.
What other games did I have? MLB2K1 (the one with Pedro Martinez on the cover, I think). NFL2K, which really ushered in that next generation of sports games. Ready 2 Rumble, which I got for Christmas from my father-in-law that Christmas. Typing of the Dead! I had bought a keyboard but never really used it until that game came out. I also got Sonic Adventure 2 at some point, and I still liked it...and remember actually kinda liking Shadow. Yeah, before you say something, screw you. Man, I never finished Soul Reaver, and I remember really enjoying it for the first few hours. Also, Crazy Taxi 2 was awesome.
Okay, look, I'm going to level with you here...I was a young man of questionable morals, a lack of a major income stream, and access to two separate high-speed internet connections in a time when dialup reigned supreme. Like A-Rod said, it was a loosey-goosey time, and I was, on occasion, known to fly the Jolly Roger during this era...Once you did it a few times, it was so easy. I did actually own the games above, but I "tried" many more. Mostly it was more of a collection, instead of a list of games I was going to spend time on. 95% of the time I spent playing on the Dreamcast was spent playing games I had purchased (or won, as the case was). In my defense, I did buy a hell of a lot of peripherals, so a lot of my money went straight to Sega...I have a keyboard, a mouse, a fishing controller, three controllers, two VMUs (had to get a green one), four memory cards, two rumble packs, a light gun. Oh, and my uncle bought a Dreamcast solely to play Soul Calibur after seeing it at my house.
Ah, nostalgia...
This is a clickable link to my Steam Profile.
Would you be happy if your new release games looked as good as Shenmue 2 does? Cause that was the pinnacle of the DC, and it has been 10 years.
Graphically, with RARE exception almost every title on the Wii could be handled on the DC with very minor sacrifices... and I would certainly have my DC hooked up to my TV to this day if new content kept rolling out. Shit, by now they would have made a super quiet, slim model.
And Shenmue 3... possibly a Panzer Dragoon RPG sequel... man, it sucks thinking about what could have been.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIydQ5W5M2U
It doesn't look like the best game evar or anything, but it reveals how much of a classic arcade feel the Dreamcast has a tendency to retain. This game could have been torn from a 1989 arcade and given a graphical update. It's very simple, but it looks pretty fun anyway.
And here's Inecom's gushing 10th anniversary hardware review. He actually does a lot of good Dreamcast reviews.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBweijbvR_4
I had a 2. It had the flip down cartridge slot cover but it didn't have a built in game which disappointed me. I only got it because my friend had one. To be honest if I could I would have changed it to an NES.
Master Systems were a lot more popular here in the UK. I don't think Sega were a big deal in the states until the Genesis.