My DreamCast Adventure: I need your help!

Nope. Sega kept the servers up for about 6 months after the Dreamcast officially died, then closed all servers. Phantasy Star Online for GC is the only way to get that fix.

Setup is much like the XBox(actually, more like Microsoft ripped Sega off)....VMU(memory card) is supposed to go in front, screen facing through the hole in the controller, rumble pack in back. Depending on the game (Sonic Adventure, Seaman) there's also little games to play with th VMU on the go, if you're that interested.

Code Veronica's okay. I'll be honest, though, I haven't been able to play the old Resident Evils for more than 5 minutes after playing through RE4.

Soul Calibur hasn't aged a day.

Shenmue's great, but has ZERO replay value. Least there's an XBox sequel

I'd find House of the Dead 3 for XBox rather than the DC version, to be honest. All 3 HotD games are in it. (the gun's expensive as fuck, though)

Same goes for Crazy Taxi 3 (although the DC versions have exclusive features that might be worth a look)

Marvel vs Capcom 2, if you can find it for less than the price of your average first-born black market child.

Chu Chu Rocket is digital crack.

Project Justice. Rival Schools sequel. God help you if that doesn't raise a "Must Buy" alarm.

Jet Grind Radio. Beats the crap out of Jet Set Radio Future.

Samba De Amigo. One word: Maracas.

That's off the top of my head.

I bought the Dreamcast back in the day solely to play Soul Caliber. If you enjoy fighting games at all I highly reccomend it. I also remember the memory cards with the lcd screens were great for sports games, such as picking a play in football, or controlling pitches in baseball without your opponent sitting next to you knowing what you're doing. I wish i could remember how the rumble packs worked, but my gut is telling me they were a seperate plug-in, I could be wrong though. As was brought up in an earlier thread, you might want to check out Seaman. It's an odd pet simulator kind of thing that comes with a mic and uses voice recognition to raise a tadpole into a smart-talking frog. Odd.

Jesus, this brings back memories. I still have my DC, goddamnit, and I won't sell it. It's also the last console I will EVER pay full price on and buy during the launch window. I don't know how much we allow this kind of stuff on the website, but www.dcemulation.com is where I found my emulations for NES and SNES that still work pretty damn good. Or I didn't. Whichever keeps my ass covered. It is because of this http://www.dcemulation.com/dcemu-dreamsnes.htm that we spent many a time playing Tetris Attack, Secret of Mana, Mario Kart and Kirby's Avalance in college. Man, now I need to dig out some of my games...I still have Soul Calibur and that bigass arcade stick...mmmmmmmm...

Ikaruga!!!

Jet Grind Radio. The absolute best game on DC, one of my favorite ever, and the only reason my DC is still running.

Shenmue is a ton of fun, but expect to invest a lot of time every time you sit down.

Code Veronica is a lot of fun as well. The best of the classic style RE's.

Toy Commander

NFL 2k is still the best football game ever released.

Yes, you need to buy a VGA adaptor. It hooks the Dreamcast up to your monitor. It looks ten times better. Hell, I swear that Jet Grind Radio even seemed to run smoother using the VGA adaptor. It doesn't hook up to a TV unless the TV has a VGA input. If the TV has a DVI input, however, you could use a VGA to DVI transformer.

Jet Grind Radio is way better than the Xbox sequel. But yeah, the VGA adaptor is basically for progressive scan (I'm not sure if any games run in anything higher than 480p, but it looks better than normal component video what with the 15-pin output and all).

I couldn't agree more with either of these statements. I haven't played SC3, but the first one is still better than 2 in my opinion.

House of the Dead 1 isn't on there, sadly. Still, having 2 as an unlockable is great(especially considering how short the games are).

The main thing that sucks about the Xbox light gun is that there are only 3 games for it. HotD3, Silent Scope, and the awful Starsky and Hutch. And you're right, the guns are expensive as fuck(and the "official Silent Scope gun" is a pain in the ass for HotD). I wish they had brought over Virtua Cop or Time Crises, but oh well, too late now.

I have no idea about the DC's light gun library, so sorry to derail the thread slightly. I'd imagine there's a Virtua Cop game though.

Hopefully light gun games will have a comeback on the Revolution.

I'll echo Lead Salad: the XBox game doesn't even compare. The soundtrack was better (and, oddly enough, bigger. It still bugs the shit out of me JSRF didn't have a custom soundtrack feature), the game was far more challenging, thanks to the cops not being total pushovers, the level design, while it didn't allow for the rail insanity of JSRF, was more creative, and it was just an overall more satisfying experience.

There is. Virtua Cop 1 is in the otherwise deplorable Sega Smash Pack.

Give JGR a chance. Just the spray paint mechanic change from the Xbox to DC makes the game about 200 times funner. The Xbox one is too simple, and basically removed all challenge.

Power Stone 2 for Dreamcast kept my roommates and I entertained for DAYS. Poor man's Smash Brothers.

Yes, that is a great game.

I'll third that recommendation. I've many fond memories of my roommates and I getting totally stoned and playing this game for hours. My original copy was acquired via illegal channels, but I managed to find a legitimate copy on eBay for a reasonable price. Best DC purchase I've made yet (and I spent $40 importing Shenmue 2, which I have yet to play).

get SHADOWMAN.

Other good games:

Sword of the Berserk - cool little action game based off of the anime Berserk.

Record of Lodoss War - Diablo-style hack 'n' slash game.

Ikaruga - already mentioned, but I agree completely. Awesome shooter.

Bangai-O - insane shooting game.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike - a slight departure from the usual Street Fighter games, but still a great entry. Awesome animation, I thought.

Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves - great fighting game.

Mars Matrix - another great shooting game.

Also, check out this site, it should help you out quite a bit: http://www.planetdreamcast.com/games/best/

Shadow Man's frustrating as hell at times, but it's got its positives. The storyline, the narration, the voice-overs, the art design are all great.

And up until Ravenholm, the Mordant Street level in that game was one of the creepiest things EVER.

Beside the Virtua Cop port that Crow mentioned there a re a couple of other lightgun games for the dreamcast that I can think of. Another one that Sega put out was called Confidential Mission. It might as well be a Virtua Cop sequel without a Virtua Cop name, but I think you're more some kind of agent or something like that, and not a straight up cop. It's actually pretty good.

And there's another game called Death Crimson OX put out by a third party. It's really not that great, but if you can find it for a couple bucks it's ok for some mindless blasting. House of the Dead 2 and Confidential Mission are awesome though.

For the Xbox House of the Dead III, I actually think EB is having a sale on some Mad Catz accesories, buy one het one 50% off, so I think you can get 2 light guns for $30 bucks. Seems liek they're selling them for $20 now. I need to check it out myself, but I'm more likely to just hook up my Dreamcast again.

I haven't had any luck with SNES emulation (also I haven't tried in a long time).

Is there one that runs at full speed now?

I think the best one runs at 99% no sound, 97-98 with. It was damn good for most anything. There were a few games where you noticed the sluggishness, but a good 95% of the stuff was fine. Like fucking Metal Warriors. God, I love that game.

mediumdave: DreamSNES, then?

I haven't made a DC emu disc in a while, and now I'm sudden smitten with the idea...

The last one I had was DreamSNES, and it didn't run well enough for me to play, Adventures of Batman & Robin, for instance, but I'm not sure which version I had off the top of my head.

Ok here's what I should've said:

I've never been able to make a working emu for my DC. Ever. Even using the automated tools. Which is a real bummer cause NesterDC SE sounds really cool. But I got home from the gf's parents, popped in the emu discs I spent all evening compiling roms for ... and nothing. I don't even know where to start figuring out what the hell I'm doing wrong.

The Sega Smash Pack has the absolute shittiest music and sound ports known to man.

For fuck's sake Streets of Rage 2 has one of the best soundtracks ever made, and it sounds like it was filtered through Calecovision. That's shameful.

Glad Half-Life turned out OK, though. Might have to invest in that at some point.

NFL2K is still a great football game today IMO, in fact we still play this game at my house. One of the coolest things about the title is that if you have the VMU's you can pick and call your plays via the screens on the VMU's themselves instead of trusting your opponent to not peak at your play selections when they are displayed on the TV instead. This feature is priceless IMO and I was shocked when Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft didn't implement their own versions of this idea.

NHL2K is also great. I have never been able to find NHL2K2, but if they didn't screw with the gameplay too much from the first version, then I can only expect it kicks ass as well.

RE Code:Veronica is an excellent game, it shows signs of age only when it's compared to RE4, but honestly almost any game compares unfavorably to RE4.

Soul Calibur for DC plays every bit as well as SCII for GC, it just looks dated when you compare the graphical quality of the backgrounds, but honestly, who looks at the backgrounds in fighting games anyway.

Worms Armageddon is one of my favorite 2 player games ever and the version available for DC is every bit as good as the PC version. Unfortunately this title is just about as hard to find as Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for the PS1, and just as costly. I payed $50 for SPF2T about 2 months ago!

Virtua Tennis is still to this day the best tennis game I've ever played, and is much more fun than you would ever expect a tennis game could be.

Sega GT is basically their own version of Gran Turismo, and while not as in depth as the GT series with it's driving tests and such, it's just as difficult and realistic in regards to it's physics modeling/handling characteristics for the numerous cars represented in the game.

Tomb Raider:The Last Revelation was the last game of the series released for the PS1, and the DC version is far superior to Sony's due to the graphical advantages, and the faster load times. This entry was also the best of the series IMO.

EA is primarily responsible for the short life span of the DC. Those bastards refused to publish/develop for the system, and sports titles have always been the bread and butter games that determine the longevity of a console. I have long suspected Sony, or Nintendo to have "assisted" EA in arriving at this decision. I can't rule out Bill Gates either as it would have been a rather shrewd and imperceptable move in making room for his XBOX's debut into an already crowded gaming console market. At any rate, I'm just glad I have my beloved little DC, even if it's the most underappreciated piece of hardware in the history of gaming consoles. Damn you EA.

I know I'm a bit late to the party here, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway.

SoulCalibur -- it still looks better than most PS2 games.

Power Stone 1 & 2

Jet Grind Radio

Sega Marine Fishing -- I know, it sounds horrible, but it's fun, and there's a TON of collectibles in it

Crazy Taxi 1 & 2 -- someone mentioned 3 above, but I don't think that ever made it to DC

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2 -- you've probably played them to death, but they are still great fun

NCAA Football 2K2 -- I'm more of a college football guy, and I think this one is better than the current EA offering

Marvel vs Capcom 2 -- probably my second favorite 2D fighter



I love my DC, but I rarely play it anymore, since now I'm on the 360. Still, I don't think I could part with it. It's a terrific console. Congrats.

Because the US release is a rare find. I got mine off eBay, but not before paying around $30. It was worth it, though.

Sega Bass Fishing is fun too, especially if you can track down a fishing controller for it which are extremely hard to find nowadays. I have both the Bass, and Marine fishing games, and even though the Marine fishing game is the sequel to the former, I find the Bass fishing title is still more fun to me.

Haven't played either of the Bass games, but I do have that fishing controller.

It's a pretty relaxing, kick-back sort of game, even though the cheesy metal guitar kicks in when you hook one, but there is so much collectible stuff it's incredible.

Just wait until you hook a hammerhead ....






And VirtuaTennis is a gem. Grab it if you can.

In all honesty I think I didn't give Marine Fishing enough of a chance, but hearing about the Hammerhead definitely piques my curiosity. I'll be poppin' my MF disc in the DC here shortly due to your comments, folks. Thanks!

If you can find one somewhere it shouldn't cost you much, I'd say anywhere from 10-20 bucks max. It definitely enhances the experience in my opinion, as you can control the speed far more accurately than with the standard controller, thus you break your line less often.

SBF has more than bass to catch, but the bass is the fish you want to catch. It's a laid back affair certainly, but that's fishing in general.

Fuckin' a, Overlord. I love the DC. I just played VirtuaTennis for a couple hours the other night (Tip: if you go through the one player "arcade" game on the hardest level without losing a game, you play against a secret player and you can open up different things for use during the world circuit mode)

The only game I love that I haven't seen mentioned yet is Need for Speed: V Rally, a sweet off-road racing game. There was a version for PS1 but it was clunkier.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up Sonic Adventure for $1.00 and Rainbow Six (new) for $1.50. Sonic adventure was fun and I wouldn't min checking out the first Rainbow Six game. I haven't tried them yet because my dreamcast stuff is at my dad's place and I don't have a tv there anymore but I have my last computer there so I ordered a VGA cable off of Ebay so I shouldbe able to check it out soon.

Can't wait to try the VGA cable. I remember hearing it's supposed to look pretty nice. anybody on here have any experience with one?

Where are you guys picking up these cheap games? Internet? EB?

I forgot to mention where I got them. I was going to, but I forgot... Got them at a Gamestop.

I never played Sonic on the DC. Love to have the chance.

I've got a VGA cable that I snagged off eBay. There's plenty more for the having.

The cable is hooked up to a Dell 2405FPW (that's a 24" widescreen LCD) and it looks nice, as long as you realize that its resolution is 640x480. With LCDs, that means you'll get some pixellation when you stretch the image to fill the screen. Nice, vivid colors though.

Along with point-and-click games(which are coming back on the Wii, kind of), I don't know why flight/space sims aren't making a comeback.