Need Dreamcast suggestions

[starfox316]

I'm picking up a Dreamcast today through a trade and am clueless about games for it, mostly. I want to get maybe 5-8 games to start off with, mixing it up with the genres. I've read about a game called zombie revenge that I want to check out and I've been wanting Code Veronica and House of the dead 2 for 6 years, lol. Besides those two which Im gonna grab, can anyone recommend a good mix of games from several genres to get me started? Or... if zombie revenge sucks you guys need to tell me, otherwise thanks for the help.


Oh, and I'm on the cheap mostly for this DC splurge, so keep price in mind. But, hey if theres a game worth mentioning, fuck it and tell me about it. just let me know if its going to cost.

[p_b]

Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II immediately comes to my mind, a wonderful RPG, although not very cheap.
Metropolis Street Racer is a good racing game, it's very similar to the PGR series on the XBox (IIRC it's the predecessor...)
Bangai-Oh is a brilliant shoot-em-up, can't get any better than that. It's hectic, difficult and marvelous :)

Can't think of anything else right now, but other's sure will...

[heybtbm]

Excellent (and cheap)...

Virtua Tennis is still the best tennis game of all time. Damn cheap too (<$1.99)

Expendable is a lot of fun, cheap (<$5.00) and looks beautiful with a VGA box. It's a perfect example of why I love the DC. It's a game that I normally wouldn't have given the time of day, but ended up buying and spending many hours with. Think "Neo Contra", only good.

Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage is a fun hack n' slasher. Usually around $10.

Not so cheap, but essential...

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is my favorite Dreamcast fighter. I'd pick it up if you see it. Tends to be a little pricey, maybe $20-$30 now days.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Expensive (~$30.00), but still cheaper than the shit PS2 port.

Come to think of it, you really can't go wrong with most games on the DC.

[le geek]

A couple of great Cheapies...

Crazy Taxi and Jet Grind Radio...

Cheers,
Ben

[PentiumMMX]

Sonic Adventure is worth picking up.

[Pantechnicon]

Sonic Adventure can usually be had for cheap. Sonic Adventure 2...not so much.

Shenmue is usually inexpensive, but it's not a game that's easily appreciated (I loved it, though).

Sometimes now you can get lucky and find Soul Calibur at a reaonable price. The title seems to have lost some of its initial luster in the wake of its sequels.

Another vote for Crazy Tazi. That's a lot of fun on the DC.

Lastly, DC is a great system for classic console emulation: Lots of stable emulators out there for many systems and there's no need to do any mod work on the machine. Just burn discs and away you go :D.

[xfrumx]

Dreamcast is one of those systems I am trying not to fill with crap quite yet, since they get traded in a lot at local gaming stores around here some of the good games are readily available.


Space Channel 5 - REAL CHEAP! Really fun rhythm game lots of fun and you can always try to look up the main characters skirt hahah.
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 - Both superior to the GC versions IMO.
Sonic Shuffle - Pretty fun Mario Party like game still not as good as Mario Party and no fun 1 player
Chu Chu Rocket - Another cheap game that is super fun, try to lead the mice throuh the puzzzles dont let the cats get them. Point and click style.
Jet Grind Radio - Cheap and very very fun, I love rolling aroun spray painting.
Bangai-O - One of the best and most innovative shooters eer made!
Seaman - Raise your Seaman by talking to him in the mic, it is fun but make sure you get/have the dreamcast microphone. The Seaman always come out different!
Shenmue - I love it you might not

If you can Import get REZ seriously!

[CosmicMonkey]

Instead of my usual fighting / shmup recommendations, I'm gonna go for Propeller Arena. It's a wonderful game, and should have seen an official release. Download that and you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

But you really should get Marvel vs Capcom, SNK vs Capcom, Guilty Gear X, Trigger Heart Exelica...........

[RugalSizzler]

Generally just get anything and everything for the Dreamcast. Go crazy since it is really limited in titles. Consider it another Virtual Boy.

I would look for Adventure games like Berseker: Blood Guts and Rage, 3d shooters, and anything else that is for Dreamcast like Ecco and Shenmue.

[Lerxstnj]

Hydro Thunder is a must have!

[Snapple]

Nobody has yet mentioned TOY COMMANDER, which is one of the best games for the system. Loved that game.

[diskoboy]

You cant have a Dreamcast wihtout the following games:

Jet Grind Radio (still my all time fave game)
Crazy Taxi 1 & 2
Chu Chu Rocket
Samba De Amigo (Even more fun if you can find a pair of maracas)
Armada (this game is like crack)
Ferrari F355 Challenge (a more realistic driving simulator, not as deep as Forza or Gran Turismo)
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
Phantasy Star Online either version.
Metropolis Street Racer (It's basically the predecessor to Project Gotham Racing, and the best aracde racer on the DC)
I also recommend Bangai-o! if it wasn't for the fact, it's hard as hell to find.


And if you search the web hard enough, you can find some complete abandonware games, that you can burn to a blank CD-R too! (Half-Life 1 and Propeller Arena)

[schnuth]

Generally just get anything and everything for the Dreamcast. Go crazy since it is really limited in titles. Consider it another Virtual Boy.

I would hardly call it a Virtual Boy. After all the DC had over 700 games released for it in both the US and Japanese market. Sure it didn't do as well as most of us hoped, but it wasn't a colossal failure like the VB.

As for game suggestions so far everyone has suggested really good ones. If you get your hands on a light gun I'd also suggest House Of The Dead 2, Confidential Mission, and Virtua Cop on the Sega Genesis compilation disc. These are all fantastic light gun games.

Aaron

[Sailorneorune]

There's a 25% off Dreamcast sale going on at a local store, probably until the end of time since I am their only regular Dreamcast patron.

Some of the notables previously mentioned by others in this thread are reasonable after the 25% markdown, such as Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II ($15 each, may be cheaper from someone on DP). I have Street Fighter III Double Impact available.

Let me know if there is anything you want me to check for.

-sailorneorune

[Dire 51]

I loved Zombie Revenge. In fact, I may hunt myself down another copy soon.

[Steve W]

Demolition Racer: No Exit is a great racing game with loads of unlockable options and fantastic music. You can come in first in the race, but still lose the game because you didn't cause enough destruction on the opposing vehicles. Lots of tracks (also can play them in reverse), power-ups, arcade style handling, and a real feeling of speed. Nuttin' like a good T-bone... :)

Phantasy Star Online comes in 2 versions, but either of them are good. It's a great RPG that I have put in a couple hundred hours into over the years. You can't get online with it anymore, but the offline mode is great, so you don't need to bother with the online portion (I never have).

Alien Front Online should be fairly cheap. Without the online modes, it can be kind of limited, just repeating the same three levels over and over, but it's still fun to play the alien forces conquering the humans.

[KillerCheese]

You can't get online with it anymore

actually you can but not on the official severs but its still worth it in my opinion.

[Steve W]

Well, true, but all I ever hear is that people can still go online, but not very easily. I also don't know where any of these PSO servers are and how to connect to them. And you'd have to use a broadband adapter (expensive) to tunnel through a PC to a server. Or you could just pick up an Xbox version of PSO and avoid all the struggle. Or just do what I do and play the offline mode.

[Hawksmoor]

Wow, I'm shocked to see Demolition Racer mentioned. I loved that game and figured I was one of the few that actually played it. I'm also surprised no one mentioned Power Stone 1 and 2. Great, great fighters both - somewhat like Smash Bros. Also, I'd strongly recommend Mars Matrix. It's a shmup, still fairly cheap, and is a truly awesome game. One of my all time favorites.

[KillerCheese]

Well, true, but all I ever hear is that people can still go online, but not very easily. I also don't know where any of these PSO servers are and how to connect to them. And you'd have to use a broadband adapter (expensive) to tunnel through a PC to a server. Or you could just pick up an Xbox version of PSO and avoid all the struggle. Or just do what I do and play the offline mode.

actually it isnt as hard as you think, all you do is get software to fool your pc into dialing your dream cast or you could just plug your dream cast into the phone socket and use one of those free dial up services. Also i would rather play on the dream cast for free than the xbox.

[heybtbm]

I have Street Fighter III Double Impact available.

Double Impact is nice, but it's no 3rd Strike.

[exit]

D2 - It has some of the best character development around and it's atmosphere is wonderful.

Record of Lodoss Wars - A very well made hack and slash game, I spent many days playing this one.

[DOL_001]

Most of these are inexpensive and great:

Shenmue (martial arts rpg/action adventure)
Sonic Adventure (it's sonic)
Jet Grind Radio (skating and graphitti spraying)
Crazy Taxi (recklessly drive people to their destinations)
Metropolis Street Racer (street racing)
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 (highway racing)
Sega Rally 2 (hard but it's fun sliding through the courses)
Toy Commander (you're in the world of toys)
Confidential Mission (a lightgun game, i like it better than HotD2)
Airforce Delta (an arcady flight sim)
MDK2 (a challenging 3rd person shooter)
Fur Fighters (a comedic shooter where everyone are animals)
Marvel vs Capcom 2 (a crazy 2d fighter, can be expensive but it's the best version)
Tech Romancer (an anime-like 3d fighter with ripoffs of mechs like Gundam and Macross, can also be expensive)
Project Justice (an anime-like 3d fighter that is centered around high schools, can also be expensive)
Power Stone 2 (a 3d fighter where you can run around the stages and pick up/use weapons, the stages also keep changing, can also be expensive)
Unreal Tournament (a 1st person shooter, awesome when used with the keyboard and mouse)
Skies of Arcadia (one of the best rpgs on DC but not inexpensive, get it if you don't have a Gamecube)

Zombie Revenge is great and very underrated.
Street Fighter 3 Third Strike is best played on PS2/Xbox

As for the light gun, you should get the Madcatz Dream Blaster. It's the official gun in the US and is very accurate and made of good quality.

There are alot more that I would recommend but it would take too long. It's one of the last great systems, I've finished collecting all 247 US titles and they're worth every penny spent.

[diskoboy]

http://dreamcast.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/content_gameslist.php

This link is to a place that tells you which Dreamcast games are still playable, online. It also has access to a PSO server, but there are strict rules.

[Sosage]

Agree with most recs. Here's three more:

Mars Matrix: Obvious choice from me. Probably my favorite shmup.

SF Rush 2049: Before Burnout 3 hit, this was my benchmark for good arcade style racers.

Vanishing Point: Another cool arcade style racer with floaty as hell controls (which is actually what makes it entertaining as hell). In fact, I need to get around to finding a copy for myself! ;)

[RJ]

Sega Marine Fishing, even better w/ a fishing controller (~$15 on Ebay/used.)

[DigitalSpace]

I would look for Adventure games like Berseker: Blood Guts and Rage, 3d shooters, and anything else that is for Dreamcast

Thanks for the heads up, now nobody on DP has to worry about accidentally buying an SNES or 2600 game for the Dreamcast.

Anyways, I highly recommend 4x4 Evolution. It's one of the best off-road racers I've ever played, with huge courses to race and drive around in, and lots of licensed vehicles. And according to the link Diskoboy posted, you can still play it online.

[Hwj_Chim]

Under Defeat is a good shooter (it is an import)
The last blade 2 and Garou Mark of the Wolves are excellent fighters
If you are looking for a different experience the game Seman fits that bill
Happy gaming with your caster

[starfox316]

Can dreamcast discs be relied upon if/when they are resurfaced from a resurfacing machine? I'm finding alot of games for cheap around here (3 for 10$ at a local store) but I know my ps2 was picky about resurfaced games. most all of the games have extensive scratches and I wouldn't buy them unless I could resurface them and have them load every time.

[PallarAndersVisa]

my faves

Soul Calibur
Sonic Adventure 2
Phantasy Star Online
Crazy Taxi
Shenmue
NFL 2k1

[RJ]

Oh yeah, Q*Bert's a great arcade port. Didnt get much into the "adventure/story" feature, but the arcade vers. is good.

[DOL_001]

Can dreamcast discs be relied upon if/when they are resurfaced from a resurfacing machine? I'm finding alot of games for cheap around here (3 for 10$ at a local store) but I know my ps2 was picky about resurfaced games. most all of the games have extensive scratches and I wouldn't buy them unless I could resurface them and have them load every time.

It depends on the game. Some of the used ones I bought look like they've been resurfaced but they play fine. I also have some with alot of scratches that play fine. However I've had 2-3 that refused to load up.

[vegi-saurus]

Most games for the Dreamcast are gold. I hardly find any disappointing DC games to be frank.

I would recommend:
Shenmue I and II
Space Channel 5 I and II
Samba de Amigo
Seaman
Canon Spike
Power Stone I and II
RE: Code Veronica
Illbleed