fishsandwich
01-10-2005, 12:38 PM
Unbeknownst to some poeple, the European Dreamcast market got a fair amount of games that never came out in the US. Some of these games came out in Japan, but some didn't. I'd love to see some input from gamers from PAL countries and compare what we got that PAL didn't.
TOP 5 BEST PAL DREAMCAST GAMES (no United States release)
1. REZ. This game is phemonimal. I didn't realize its genius until I drank a lot of coffee and then started playing it, bouncing up and down on my couch to the music. You have GOT to play this game with a surround system to appreciate its majesty. This game also came out in Japan and is all in English, so I recommend the Japanese release over the PAL since the Japanese game appears to be cheaper. Or you can always just get the PS2 game that was recently re-released.
2. HEADHUNTER. While it's not the "Metal Gear Solid Killer" that it was hyped to be, this is still a damned deep and very impressive game by all accounts. There's tons of stuff to do, and the graphics are amazing for the Dreamcast... a testament to what the Dreamcast might have accomplished had its hardware been fully tapped. Too bad about the shitty motorcycle controls in the driving portions, though. It was ported to the PS2 and has since had a sequel for the PS2 and X-Box.
3. EVIL TWIN. I was SO disappointed that this deep, dark platformer didn't make it stateside! Developed by the same folks that did Rayman 2, this is a much darker tale involving orphans, altered states and realities, insanity, and some naughty language. It's all pretty typical platform fare, but the tone is so dark and the graphics so colorful that I didn't notice I was jumping so much and fighting the camera. I've heard rumors of bugs and glitches due to its rushed release, but I have yet to encounter any.This was slated for a US release, but it only made it out in Europe. No other console ports exist according to the web.
4. STUNT GP. This is one colorful game! It's a RC racer with a concentration on wild tracks, big stunts, and serious four-player mayhem. You can also earn money to upgrade your racer (this can be quite addictive.) It's not that great as a one-player game, but add in another three players and a big screen TV and it's a hell of a lot of fun. There's also a PS2 version as well, but I hear it isn't nearly as good as the Dreamcast game.
5. FIGHTING VIPERS 2. Some folks mistakedly believe this was released in the States. It wasn't. They may be getting it mixed up with Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, which wasn't released in the USA by Sega but was picked up by Activision after on odd delay and rumors that it wasn't going to get released at all. Anyway... this is a pretty fun little fighter that just wasn't appreciated for its positive points. No, it's not nearly as good as Soul Calibur or Dead or Alive 2 or even Virtua Fighter 3tb, but it's still loud, colorful, and fun. Plays FAST, and there's nothing like busting off all your opponet's body armor (leaving them to play in their underthings) and then blasting him out of the ring into a burning building.
TOP 5 WORST PAL DREAMCAST GAMES (no United States release)
1. WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? No, ths has NOTHING to do with "Who Wants To Beat Up A Millionaire?", another crap game. It's not hosted by that catty English lady... it's some dude, presumably from the British television version of the show. This game could run on an old 486 PC... they made NO effort to push the DC. I realize that game show games generally don't really stress the host hardware to any great degree, but this crap doesn't even try at all. Shitty options and few variations.
2. EXHIBITION OF SPEED. I understand this is the pseudo-sequel to "Roadsters." That's not much of a pedigree. The graphics and car selection and unlockables aren't bad, but you have to start with one of only two shitty cars, and EVERYTHING handles like a tank. You never feel like you're going above 30mph. Bad, bad game. I'm still waiting for this game to exhibit anything resembling speed.
3. TOY RACER. Damn this game is boring. It was really meant to be played online... you can't even race an opponent offline unless you drag a friend over, and even then it's just not any fun. This game might have been good online, but the servers were in Europe, and they are all turned off now, so who knows? The single-player game bites. I understand this game was super-cheap though (like 5 pounds) so I guess it had something going for it.
4. SHENMUE II. I know some people are going to flame me for this choice, but I don't care. Put it in your own personal "Top 5" list if you want... I have it and I can't stand it. Yeah, I know it looks fantastic and the attention to detail is striking, but come on folks, this game is just plain flat-out BORING. It's just as dull and droll as the first game, only the world you have to explore is 10x as big. I know it's supposed to be a "living, breathing world" and all that, but I can almost HEAR the code loading up for the next scheduled "random event." The way people pop into view is uncool, too.
5. AQUA GT. I had a hard time picking a fifth choice... there weren't THAT many UK exclusives, and a don't know much about all those soccer games ( haven't played them, but I hear many of them suck.) This game makes the list by default, but just barely. It's a different, more realistic take on "Hydro Thunder" with less interesting tracks, no cool short-cuts or power-ups, and a general lack of real fun. It's not BAD, but its certainly not the "Gran Turismo on water" touted by the developer. Also for PSone and PC.
So what do you think of my choices? Agree? Disagree? Indifferent? Most "hardcore" gamers know that many cool games are only available through import, but most of us forget PAL territories and go straight to Japan. PAL gamers got some cool stuff that we didn't, and it's all in English (and several other languages if you like.)
I'd LOVE for someone to give a list of the best & worst USA Dreamcast games that never got a PAL release. Seaman, anyone?
Cheers
:D
TOP 5 BEST PAL DREAMCAST GAMES (no United States release)
1. REZ. This game is phemonimal. I didn't realize its genius until I drank a lot of coffee and then started playing it, bouncing up and down on my couch to the music. You have GOT to play this game with a surround system to appreciate its majesty. This game also came out in Japan and is all in English, so I recommend the Japanese release over the PAL since the Japanese game appears to be cheaper. Or you can always just get the PS2 game that was recently re-released.
2. HEADHUNTER. While it's not the "Metal Gear Solid Killer" that it was hyped to be, this is still a damned deep and very impressive game by all accounts. There's tons of stuff to do, and the graphics are amazing for the Dreamcast... a testament to what the Dreamcast might have accomplished had its hardware been fully tapped. Too bad about the shitty motorcycle controls in the driving portions, though. It was ported to the PS2 and has since had a sequel for the PS2 and X-Box.
3. EVIL TWIN. I was SO disappointed that this deep, dark platformer didn't make it stateside! Developed by the same folks that did Rayman 2, this is a much darker tale involving orphans, altered states and realities, insanity, and some naughty language. It's all pretty typical platform fare, but the tone is so dark and the graphics so colorful that I didn't notice I was jumping so much and fighting the camera. I've heard rumors of bugs and glitches due to its rushed release, but I have yet to encounter any.This was slated for a US release, but it only made it out in Europe. No other console ports exist according to the web.
4. STUNT GP. This is one colorful game! It's a RC racer with a concentration on wild tracks, big stunts, and serious four-player mayhem. You can also earn money to upgrade your racer (this can be quite addictive.) It's not that great as a one-player game, but add in another three players and a big screen TV and it's a hell of a lot of fun. There's also a PS2 version as well, but I hear it isn't nearly as good as the Dreamcast game.
5. FIGHTING VIPERS 2. Some folks mistakedly believe this was released in the States. It wasn't. They may be getting it mixed up with Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, which wasn't released in the USA by Sega but was picked up by Activision after on odd delay and rumors that it wasn't going to get released at all. Anyway... this is a pretty fun little fighter that just wasn't appreciated for its positive points. No, it's not nearly as good as Soul Calibur or Dead or Alive 2 or even Virtua Fighter 3tb, but it's still loud, colorful, and fun. Plays FAST, and there's nothing like busting off all your opponet's body armor (leaving them to play in their underthings) and then blasting him out of the ring into a burning building.
TOP 5 WORST PAL DREAMCAST GAMES (no United States release)
1. WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? No, ths has NOTHING to do with "Who Wants To Beat Up A Millionaire?", another crap game. It's not hosted by that catty English lady... it's some dude, presumably from the British television version of the show. This game could run on an old 486 PC... they made NO effort to push the DC. I realize that game show games generally don't really stress the host hardware to any great degree, but this crap doesn't even try at all. Shitty options and few variations.
2. EXHIBITION OF SPEED. I understand this is the pseudo-sequel to "Roadsters." That's not much of a pedigree. The graphics and car selection and unlockables aren't bad, but you have to start with one of only two shitty cars, and EVERYTHING handles like a tank. You never feel like you're going above 30mph. Bad, bad game. I'm still waiting for this game to exhibit anything resembling speed.
3. TOY RACER. Damn this game is boring. It was really meant to be played online... you can't even race an opponent offline unless you drag a friend over, and even then it's just not any fun. This game might have been good online, but the servers were in Europe, and they are all turned off now, so who knows? The single-player game bites. I understand this game was super-cheap though (like 5 pounds) so I guess it had something going for it.
4. SHENMUE II. I know some people are going to flame me for this choice, but I don't care. Put it in your own personal "Top 5" list if you want... I have it and I can't stand it. Yeah, I know it looks fantastic and the attention to detail is striking, but come on folks, this game is just plain flat-out BORING. It's just as dull and droll as the first game, only the world you have to explore is 10x as big. I know it's supposed to be a "living, breathing world" and all that, but I can almost HEAR the code loading up for the next scheduled "random event." The way people pop into view is uncool, too.
5. AQUA GT. I had a hard time picking a fifth choice... there weren't THAT many UK exclusives, and a don't know much about all those soccer games ( haven't played them, but I hear many of them suck.) This game makes the list by default, but just barely. It's a different, more realistic take on "Hydro Thunder" with less interesting tracks, no cool short-cuts or power-ups, and a general lack of real fun. It's not BAD, but its certainly not the "Gran Turismo on water" touted by the developer. Also for PSone and PC.
So what do you think of my choices? Agree? Disagree? Indifferent? Most "hardcore" gamers know that many cool games are only available through import, but most of us forget PAL territories and go straight to Japan. PAL gamers got some cool stuff that we didn't, and it's all in English (and several other languages if you like.)
I'd LOVE for someone to give a list of the best & worst USA Dreamcast games that never got a PAL release. Seaman, anyone?
Cheers
:D