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Do you remember 9/9/99? The launch of the console that was going to start a new chapter in the console wars? No? Well, here's a little bit about the Dreamcast, or the little white box that kind of could be never really did. Launched in 1999 in the US (and like a year earlier in Japan or something, back in those days the most accurate source of information for video games was still print media) the Dreamcast was a revolutionary new console that promised to put Sega back on top and show those upstarts at Sony that it was time to get out of the console biz and leave it to the experts. The controller  Sega knocked it out of the loving park with this. The position of the analog stick and D-pad was perfect compared to that monstrosity that was the N64 controller. Next up you see the basic 4 buttons arranged in a diamond shape like all controllers do nowadays, but the best was the spring loaded trigger buttons on the back shoulders. Basically everything good about this controller became industry standard for the most part. The VMU(virtual memory unit)  Tamagotchis and Gigapets were the biggest thing ever in the mid-late 90s so Sega knew they needed a piece of that. This memory store device came with buttons and a LCD screen and the promise that you could play mini-games on the unit, and then transfer the bonuses into the console game. Short battery life though. The games  At the time there was nothing like the Dreamcast library. It was a mix of crazy and inventive titles that no other console could match. Here are just some of the greats Tech Romancer: Anime-mechs Streetfighter with interesting story modes for each characters and tons of nods to classic mecha anime Power Stone: Anime Smash Bros with crazy elaborate changing stages, hundreds of unique items for combat, and a super cool "power-up" feature like the Smash Ball Crazy Taxi: Start of the franchise, you're a taxi driver and you have to get crazy to pick up and drop people off in time. Great iconic soundtrack with tracks by Bad Religion and Offspring. Evolution: Unique take on the JRPG genre of the time that played as more of a randomized dungeon crawler. Grandia 2: One of the era's JRPG greats with a fantastic battle system that has never been topped. Jet Grind Radio: Rollerblading and street-tagging in a weird almost dystopian Japan The Dreamcast barely lasted 2 years, signaled the end of Sega as a console company, and is fondly remembered by millions who either bought the hype and then bought the console or who's parents bought them one instead of a PS2 because it was cheaper.
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Jul 19, 2016 02:46
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 23:48 |
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Trolling people in Online Football Game using the name "assmaster" provided many a great drunken night for my friend and I. RIP best system ever. RIP Skies of Arcadia. RIP people burning every NES and SNES game onto a single disc with emulators and playing them easy peasy. 
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Jul 19, 2016 02:49
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And you could play Soul Calibur with a fishing rod.
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Jul 19, 2016 02:50
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God's own console. Resident Evil: Code Veronica was good.
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Jul 19, 2016 02:50
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Megadyptes posted:And you could play Soul Calibur with a fishing rod. It's amazing how fast that franchise poo poo the bed after the DC failed. Used to be the best fighting game ever, last like 4 entries were garbage tier.
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Jul 19, 2016 02:53
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Not having EA's support really hurt. Also piracy going from impossible because of the GDR discs to stupidly easy didn't help either.
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Jul 19, 2016 02:55
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precision posted:It's amazing how fast that franchise poo poo the bed after the DC failed. Used to be the best fighting game ever, last like 4 entries were garbage tier. Culling the characters people liked for more youthful clones aside, SC5 was pretty good. 4 sucked and that F2P single player game was just..bleh, though.
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Jul 19, 2016 02:56
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Favorite console byfar. Reminder that Shenmue 3 is happening.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:00
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man nurse posted:Favorite console byfar. My local Gamestop at the time actually had one of those "totally legal we swear copy of Shenmue 2 with a boot disk" packages. Too bad I lost it in a move, game was super sweet. 3 gonna be awesome.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:02
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I wasn't trying to say in the Steam thread that the Dreamcast was a piece of poo poo with no good games, just that nothing about it was good enough. Sega, as a business and a developer and everything else, only excelled as second place to Nintendo, and as soon as the Nintendo dropped down a spot when the PS1 hit the scene, Sega was pushed off the edge, not even able to carry a decent third place. Now, I'd pick up an SNES over a Genesis any day, but even so, afterwards between the PS1, the N64, the GameCube, the Xbox, and the PS2, there was never much good reason to pick up a Sega console instead, even when compared to the generation before. That doesn't mean the Dreamcast was bad per say but it all depends on how you look at it. Jet Grind Radio loving sucked though. But I could just be saying that because JSRF is one of my all time favorite games and I feel like JGR is worse in every aspect. pentyne posted:The VMU(virtual memory unit) I had one of these, and when used with Shadowman it displayed a really creepy teddy bear that I think was the hero's brother's or something.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:05
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WickedHate posted:Jet Grind Radio loving sucked though. Actually it's fuckin rad.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:06
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WickedHate posted:I had one of these, and when used with Shadowman it displayed a really creepy teddy bear that I think was the hero's brother's or something. You could download "hacks" from websites that let you play lovely animated gifs on it.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:08
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man nurse posted:Actually it's fuckin rad. Yeah what the hell, that game was the bee's tits.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:11
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WickedHate posted:I wasn't trying to say in the Steam thread that the Dreamcast was a piece of poo poo with no good games, just that nothing about it was good enough. Sega, as a business and a developer and everything else, only excelled as second place to Nintendo, and as soon as the Nintendo dropped down a spot when the PS1 hit the scene, Sega was pushed off the edge, not even able to carry a decent third place. you know, you should have just left your poo poo posting in the Steam thread. You are wrong. dead wrong. There is no "place" for good.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:20
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precision posted:My local Gamestop at the time actually had one of those "totally legal we swear copy of Shenmue 2 with a boot disk" packages. During the system's final days, the Software Etc. I went to had a shelf of regular North American DC games at clearance prices with a European Shenmue 2 in the middle priced at sixty bucks. I don't know if they included a shady boot disc with it or not.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:29
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The new Berserk game coming out made me think of Sword of the Berserk: Guts Rage for like two seconds, insanely enough that title was much shorter than the Japanese version it, Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Flowers of Oblivion. As someone who played the hell out the Genesis during the 16-bit days, it's comforting to know that Sega left the console game with a truly dope system instead of the disappointment that was the CD/32x/Saturn clusterfuck. rip, mourn you till i join you, dreamcast Sivek fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Jul 19, 2016 |
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Jul 19, 2016 03:34
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I'll always remember the dreamcast for Phantasy Star Online.
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Jul 19, 2016 03:50
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CowboyAndy posted:I'll always remember the dreamcast for Phantasy Star Online. I've never gotten into any kind of MMO but fuuuuuuuuuuck the 300 hours I clocked in that game. Especially since those 300 hours were only over the course of less than 60 days. RIP Mina the HuNewearl, and also Isis the Human Mage that I used an absurd level companion devil thing and that one giant fuckoff Scythe weapon to make her a better Hunter than actual Hunters 
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Jul 19, 2016 03:55
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I snatched some of my favorite games out of the bargain bin at Funcoland at the end of the Dreamcast lifespan. Fatal Fury: MOTW, Wetrix, Gigawing 2 gently caress Gigawing was awesome
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Jul 19, 2016 03:58
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What the hell was that weird heist/sneaking JRPG that came out for the Dreamcast? Industrial Spy: Operation Espionage? I never figured out how to play that poo poo. Also I always wished Time Stalkers or Evolution had kickstarter/legitimate remakes. I enjoyed the prior's weird everything in time thrown together plot and latter's archeology to save yourself from debt/build up a reputation play I've rarely seen since.
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Jul 19, 2016 04:08
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My favorite system, hands down. I still have it, as well as that huge arcade joystick. Played a lot of fighting games using that beast. Soul Calibur, KoF.... 4 player mode in Marvel vs Capcom rocked. Toy Commander was fun as hell, too. Not a game you'd imagine a group of marines having deathmatches on.
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Jul 19, 2016 04:13
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I still have my Dreamcast in storage somewhere - I should dig it out... I keep telling myself that someday, someday, I'll do a Lets Play of Tech Romancer. Tech Romancer was the entire reason I bought a Dreamcast after playing it in an arcade in Montreal ages ago. I never did get good at the game - I just got good at rushing down the AI and abusing knockdown moves, which is basically the best/safest way to take down both of Goldibus's forms at the end.
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Jul 19, 2016 04:14
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So what game series of note that started on the Dreamcast and are still continuing in some fashion? Like Phantasy Star Online is still kicking around, and Shenmue is going to be the Bartolo Colon of Dremcast era games and never go away, but what others are there? I'm sure something like chu chu rocket has a mobile game of some sort. Skies of Arcadia seems like one of those games ripe for a kickstarter. I can't remember if the main director on it is still doing games, but do know that he was the main lead on the first Valkyria Chronicles, which was really good. Looks like he most recently served as a senior director on PSO2, so I guess he still works for Sega.
Sivek fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Jul 19, 2016 |
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Jul 19, 2016 04:19
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Powerstone sort of?
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Jul 19, 2016 04:22
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Sega bass fishing was rad as f. I could never beat the third level of Ecco as a kid. gently caress that turtle. I also played the poo poo out of Space Channel 5. Good times.
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Jul 19, 2016 04:30
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Sivek posted:So what game series of note that started on the Dreamcast and are still continuing in some fashion? Like Phantasy Star Online is still kicking around, and Shenmue is going to be the Bartolo Colon of Dremcast era games and never go away, but what others are there? I'm sure something like chu chu rocket has a mobile game of some sort. Skies of Arcadia seems like one of those games ripe for a kickstarter. I can't remember if the main director on it is still doing games, but do know that he was the main lead on the first Valkyria Chronicles, which was really good. Looks like he most recently served as a senior director on PSO2, so I guess he still works for Sega.
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Jul 19, 2016 04:31
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The Android port of Chu Chu Rocket is great and you should buy it.
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Jul 19, 2016 05:57
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I am constantly on the fence whether or not I should rebuy a Dreamcast solely due to the perfect port of Marvel vs Capcom 2.
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Jul 19, 2016 06:04
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punk rebel ecks posted:I am constantly on the fence whether or not I should rebuy a Dreamcast solely due to the perfect port of Marvel vs Capcom 2. Also Rival Schools, the best 2D fighting game ever. edit: Rival Schools 2 that is, Project Justice. My memory ain't for poo poo 
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Jul 19, 2016 06:07
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precision posted:Also Rival Schools, the best 2D fighting game ever. you mean 3D eh? The Japanese version came with a boardgame mode which I used to p[lay the gently caress out of.
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Jul 19, 2016 06:09
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punk rebel ecks posted:I am constantly on the fence whether or not I should rebuy a Dreamcast solely due to the perfect port of Marvel vs Capcom 2.
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Jul 19, 2016 06:24
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eric posted:Not having EA's support really hurt. Also piracy going from impossible because of the GDR discs to stupidly easy didn't help either. i really want to know more about the dreamcast exploit like in depth but i cant find anything on the internet besides 'hackers found a way to get past the copy protection in the bios! oh wow!'
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Jul 19, 2016 06:52
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Accordion Man posted:Good luck finding a copy that won't cost you an arm and a leg. "Find"?
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Jul 19, 2016 06:52
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nigga crab pollock posted:i really want to know more about the dreamcast exploit like in depth but i cant find anything on the internet besides 'hackers found a way to get past the copy protection in the bios! oh wow!' You always had to buy a chip to mod your PS1 to play copied games, so it always took some effort to become a console pirate. With the Dreamcast you did not need to hard mod anything, as long as the game was copied right you could copy any game you wanted. While Sega certainly didn't do everything right with the Dreamcast, piracy really helped to kill it fast. The ease of piracy meant that developers started flocking to the upcoming Xbox and PS2. These guys go into the technical side http://wololo.net/2012/11/12/sega-dreamcast-how-its-security-works-and-how-it-was-hacked/ https://medium.com/@michaelgapper/land-of-the-free-467f0eb2f395#.tzz1ket4l WickedHate posted:Jet Grind Radio loving sucked though. But I could just be saying that because JSRF is one of my all time favorite games and I feel like JGR is worse in every aspect. Do you know how games and sequels evolve or are you just trolling.
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Jul 19, 2016 07:31
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Sivek posted:Saturn clusterfuck. I respectfully disagree, the Saturn had a crazy good library if you count imports. Still pretty decent even if you don't.
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Jul 19, 2016 08:27
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I hadn't played console games for basically all of middle and high school and got back into it with the Dreamcast. Also, I played some of my first games in Japanese on it, especially Shenmue (which has a useful kids' mode with simplified text) and Sakura Taisen 3, with timed responses that forced me to read and understand fast. For those and other reasons, the Dreamcast has a special place in my heart. Also my brother borrowed the shirt I got with it at launch and then lost it and I will never forgive him.
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Jul 19, 2016 08:34
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precision posted:The Android port of Chu Chu Rocket is great and you should buy it. I don't think it's available anymore, but maybe that only applies to the iOS version.
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Jul 19, 2016 08:49
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About six month after the Dreamcast died, there was an enormous bin in a local games shop where everything was £2. I got about 30 games in one haul. A lot of it was a bit crap: Hidden & Dangerous, 4x4 Evolution, Toy Story 2, Toy Racers, Fur Fighters, GTA2 and so on... But mixed in with those were Bangai-O, Capcom vs SNK, Giga Wing, Grandia II, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. The weekend after that me and a bunch of friends got in a load of booze and spent the weekend playing through any random game we'd pick out of the pile. Happy days. Then I went on holiday to New York and managed to grab Cosmic Smash, Seaman, Cool Cool Toon and EGG for a song. Best console ever imho - the graphics were so impressive for the time. You constantly felt like it was punching above its weight.
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Jul 19, 2016 10:17
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Guilty Gear X on a VGA box was loving mind-blowing.
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Jul 19, 2016 10:28
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The Dreamcast owns. Since I didn't have a PC that could run Diablo 2 at the time, PSO was really my first introduction to the amazingly addictive world of ARPGs, the finest of all game genres. I put maybe 500 hours onto my little HUnewearl between the base game, Ver. 2 and the later GCN rereleases. I ran a MAG leveling service for trades and had an impossibly good Twin Brand with something like 55% hit, which at the time was the most important thing for HUnies because of their poor ATA. Of course it was hard to play legit back in the day because PSO was so easy to hack and every public game became a Spread Needle fest within weeks. My fondest memory was when our family moved halfway across the country but I was still accidentally using the same local number to connect to the internet. So in July of 2001 I ran up a $500 phone bill. Mom was very understanding.
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Jul 19, 2016 10:32
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