Dreamcast recommendations

[nat]

I'm buying a Dreamcast for the first time. Looks like a pretty awesome console and has a much bigger game library than I'd thought.

So.... what game recommendations can you guys make on what to pick up first? I'm more of a 2D kinda guy, a lot of 3D games don't get me going. Any 2D shooter-types? Good RPGs? Fighters? I'm not interested in FPS games, though.

I have a question about the SEGA compilation (can't recall the name offhand)... Are the games included arcade ports/emulations or are they the Genesis versions?

My friend bought a Dreamcast back when it came out but the only two games he ever got was Bass Fishing and Crazy Taxi.

Also, are there any third-party controller solutions? The standard controller looks like a f*cking behemoth, and it's been seven or so years since I actually held one so my memory is a bit foggy as to how comfortable to hold it is. But I might want something more.... ergonomic?

[runinruder]

Gunbird 2 is an excellent manic shooter.

Avoid Grandia II at all costs. 

If you're talking about the Sega compilation with PS2, SOR2, etc., then yeah, they're the Genesis versions, but they screwed up the audio BIG TIME. 

[Joe Redifer]

Shenmue 1 and 2 are awesome, and there are a few other games that are great like Daytona USA 2000, but overall the Dreamcast is very underwhelming and by far Sega's worst console.  The controller is one of the worst ever conceived.  Fortunately if you buy the Total Control 3 you can use your Saturn pads.

[runinruder]

but overall the Dreamcast is very underwhelming ...  The controller is one of the worst ever conceived. 

I agree with both points. 

[FM-77]

Get Grandia II. The best RPG for the system, and unfortunately one of the very few good ones. Climax Landers is pretty good too, but not as good as Grandia. I totally agree with Joe. Definitely Sega's worst system. Well, okay, the 32X is worse.

[Keranu]

I think the Dreamcast is awesome, especially when it first came out with it's active online servers and neat features for the time. It featured lots of interesting and original games, but not quite as many or as good as other classics on previous Sega consoles. However I think it's better than the 32x and just a little better than Sega CD.

Also, despite it's looks, I think the controller is great. My main problem with it is that it has the annoying "diamond shaped" button layout which proved to be annoying for it's large library of 2D fighting games, but other than that it was comfortable, the d-pad felt really nice, as did the joystick, and I liked the trigger buttons, not to mention the cool (but rather useless) VMU slot and battery free rumble pack (I recommend the Performance brand jump packs; it shakes harder and louder than any other rumble pack I've seen).

My recommended list of DC games:

Jet Grind Radio - Fantastic and unique game, incredibly fun.

KoF'99 Dream Match (or something) - This is just a port of KoF'98, so don't let the '99 tag confuse you. This version adds some 3D objects in the background, but I think it just made the backgrounds look even worse. Overall, basically the same as the original.

Skies of Arcadia - Arrr, a fun and original RPG!

Chu Chu Rocket - Entertaining, fast paced puzzle game. It kind of reminds me of Flicky. Multiplayer is insane, but I mostly like it for the single player.

Phantasy Star Online - I only recommend this is you are actually able to play it online somehow today. Offline it's pretty damn dull.

Zero Gunner II - I'm not into modern shmups, but this game is awesome. You take control of a helicopter that can rotate 360 degrees, making the gameplay a lot of fun. Fun boss fights too.

Typing of the Dead - Hilarious and genius. This game takes House of the Dead, but swaps the guns with your Dreamcast keyboard! Instead of firing at zombies, you instead have to type sentences! One of the neatest games ever made!

Rez - Really cool rail shooter with gameplay very similar to Panzer Dragoon, except it's hacker computer themed with your virtual body inside a computer world. Your shots add musical beats to music and result in an extremely unique experience. Keep in mind that this didn't have an American release though, so you'll have to import the European or Japanese version.

Sonic Adventure - This game starts off wonderful with a fast-paced first level that resembles the original Sonic games, but beyond that it's quite boring, but a lot of people like the whole game. It's dirt cheap so may as well get it.

Capcom vs SNK - Despite suffering many game mechanic problems for the hardcore fighting game fan, I still seem to enjoy this game. It's quite fun to play for awhile after playing some other multiplayer games.

Capcom vs SNK 2 - This game fixes a lot of gameplay problems of the first one, but I just haven't been able to get into this game very much. On a graphical and musical basis, I think it's terrible, but the gameplay is decent but still not as good as I was hoping for. Maybe it feels too slow for me, but something just doesn't feel right about it. This is another import game, by the way.

Seaman - Oh man, talk about a weird game. You raise these creatures called "Seaman" (not "semen") in an aquarium and guide them by talking into a microphone peripheral on your controller. It gets really spooky once your Seaman has evolved enough that it can talk with you and remembers crap you've told him in the past. This game is definitely up my alley for it's originality and weird creepiness, not to mention it's excellent narration by Lenord Nemoy.

[Michael Helgeson]

Well,I have a list ,but not everyone will agree they are great games. You will need a import boot disc like the Gameshark demo disc to boot the imports I will list.
Both Giant Grams import
Guilty Gear X import
Capcom vs SNK 2 import
Power stone 1 and 2
D2,import version
Resident Evil: CV
Illbleed
Ikaruga import
Zero Gunner 2 import
Borderdown import
Sword of the Berserk
Rival Schools 2
DOA 2
Grandia 2
Skies of Arcadia
House of the dead 2
Zombies Revenge
KOF 2000
SF Alpha 3 import
Jo Jo Bizarre Venture import version
SF 3 Third Strike
Frame Gride import
Fire pro wrestling D import
There are others,but I'm sure others here will list them.

[guyjin]

Games every dreamcast owner should have:

Jet grind radio
Crazy taxi/2
Sonic adventure/2
Shenmue
Seaman
Chu Chu rocket
Skies of arcadia
Bomberman online*
Space channel 5
Virtua tennis
Soul Calibur

Games to avoid:
Soul fighter
Time stalkers
elemental gimmick gear
any game with a year in the title

*not anymore. Also, back in the day, I would have reccomended PSO, but nowadays I would not.

[nat]

Thanks for the response, guys. I have a few questions as follows...

The controller is one of the worst ever conceived.  Fortunately if you buy the Total Control 3 you can use your Saturn pads.

This confirms my fears based on what I've seen of it. Question: what is the Total Control 3? Some kind of adapter?

Nevermind... I found it. That looks like it's gonna be a must.

Avoid Grandia II at all costs. 

...

Get Grandia II.

I've found my tastes tend to be similar to runinruder's, but you've piqued my interest.... Now I might have to get the game!

but overall the Dreamcast is very underwhelming ...  The controller is one of the worst ever conceived. 

I agree with both points. 

Bad system in what way? Not many quality games? Shitty design? Ugly case? All of the above?

Sonic Adventure - This game starts off wonderful with a fast-paced first level that resembles the original Sonic games, but beyond that it's quite boring, but a lot of people like the whole game. It's dirt cheap so may as well get it.

What's the difference between this game and Sonic Adventure DX on the GameCube?

Seaman - Oh man, talk about a weird game. You raise these creatures called "Seaman" (not "semen") in an aquarium and guide them by talking into a microphone peripheral on your controller. It gets really spooky once your Seaman has evolved enough that it can talk with you and remembers crap you've told him in the past. This game is definitely up my alley for it's originality and weird creepiness, not to mention it's excellent narration by Lenord Nemoy.

Leonard Nimoy is awesome. This game sounds awesome.

Well,I have a list ,but not everyone will agree they are great games. You will need a import boot disc like the Gameshark demo disc to boot the imports I will list.

Is that all I need to play imports? Is that Gameshark demo disc hard to find? Import games are a must, you know.

Bomberman online*

I was planning on getting this anyway. Can't you still play it in regular battle mode, like say, Bomberman '94?

[Joe Redifer]

Well, okay, the 32X is worse.

32X is a peripheral, not a system.

[Kitsunexus]

Hey btw, this month is the LAST month Sega Of Japan will service Dreamcasts and Saturns, so if you have a broken system and want to play it again, grab about 600 stamps. 

[Michael Helgeson]

yea,the Gameshark demo disk will work fine for booting imports. Basically it was a disk released in a jewel case that had about 20 games on it with cheats. It was useless for the cheats,but it will boot any import title I think. Any I ever owned worked fine with it.

[Turbo D]

Dreamcast is a great system. The controller isn't bad at all, its actually a tad small for my big hands, haha. I was actually even browsing this forum from my dreamcast last week! Pretty cool, huh? Anyways, the games I think are a must are the Sonic adventure 1 & 2, House of the Dead, Get Grind Radio, and Snk vs Capcom. Definitely make yourself a bootable emulator disk and you'll be really happy. I've been running nes on my dreamcast for years with no problems.

[SignOfZeta]

Shenmue 1 and 2 are awesome, and there are a few other games that are great like Daytona USA 2000, but overall the Dreamcast is very underwhelming and by far Sega's worst console.  The controller is one of the worst ever conceived.  Fortunately if you buy the Total Control 3 you can use your Saturn pads.

You are out of your f*cking mind. The Dreamcast is amazing. The controler...I can't hate on it enough though. It sucks terribly. The worst Sega controller ever? No question. Worst system, not even close. Probably the best if not for the Saturn, and even that is a tough call.

Great DC games (too many to list, seriously).

A slew of fighter ports, usually with zero load time. Jojo, Alpha 3, All three versions of Street Fighter III, Marvel vs Capcom 2, and Capcom versus SNK. Skip CvS1, and CvS Pro. They suck miserably. Also, Tech Romancer, Powerstone 1, and 2, Project Justice. Damn, such a great fighter system. Then there are some SNK ports as well, although they didn't turn out as well. KOF 98-2002 were nice. If you love Sega AM-style cheese, don't skip Fighting Vipers 2. If you like Firepro, Firepro D is still one of the best versions, and its *insanely* user hackable.

Shooters galore: Twinke Star Sprites (an awesome sort of versus shooter/puzzle thing. Very unique), Ikaruga, Mars Matrix, Boarder Down, Under Defeat (wonderful!), and my personal favorite Rez. There are about three dozen more, but these are the good ones.

Sega GT is still better than any version of Gran Turismo, and the third best Turismo clone out there. Other racing games were f*cking great as well. Test Drive LeMans (with true 24 hour mode, and 1/16 the load time of the PS2 version), Test Drive V-Rally, Runabout, Shoutoku Battle (I forget what US name they used for this), and then of course there is Crazy Taxi, which is really awesome despite it being something we are all sick of, and it costing $0.49 most places now. Ferrari F355 is the most hardcore racing game ever made...except maybe Grand Prix Legends. Daytona 2 is RAD!!! but requires, seriously, *requires* that you have a racing wheel or the car tends to smack a wall the second you even touch the control stick. This is actually the programmers fault, and not the sucky controller fault because other racing games play great with the DC pad, they will just cramp you hands big-time.

Other stuff: Sakura Wars 1-4. 1, and 2 are just ports of the SS games, but SW 3 is one of my favorite games ever. A truly beautiful and huge creation. Shenmue 1 and 2 (1 is rough, but 2 fixed virtually everything and blows my mind). Any true Sega fan knows the total uniqueness of SeGaGaGa. I get misty-eyed just thinking of it.

Oh yeah, VIRTUAL ON: ORATORIO TANGRAM. My Dog this is the best f*cking thing ever. It basically cannot be played on an actual DC pad though, so get a Total Control and use a Saturn Twinstick. There are Twinstick controllers for DC, but they are more expensive, less durable, and not as cool looking. Until you have linked two DCs each fitted with VGA displays, Twinsticks, and VOOT, you just haven't played a video game. I'm sorry, you lose.

Then you have your rather weird shit, one of my favorite genres: Roomania, Cool Cool Toon, Seaman, and Lack of Love (which I confess to having never played, but it looks cool, and no its not a chick sim)

Check it out:


Odds and ends: Sports Jam, Samba de Amigo (requires expensive maraca controllers), Gundam 0079, Stupid Invaders, and Skies of Arcadia (a very great RPG). If you have good Japanese skills, Ghirens Greed is one of the greatest strategy games ever. Its based on Mobile Suit Gundam. Its basically the same as the Saturn version but with near-DVD-quality videos this time. Check out the NES, 2600, and SMS emulators. They are *really* good.

Things to avoid: American shit. Any US published wrestling title, although there are several OK JP ones, and one great one (Firepro), Anything with Sonic in it. Sorry, but I litterally get sick trying to play any Sonic game in 3D. Confusing as shit, and twice as frustrating. Staring at a wall+desperatly trying to fix a permanently broken camera=you missed the point of Sonic. Avoid the chick sims, also Chaos Field. That thing sucks.

You NEED: a controller adapter so you can use Saturn pads, or shit, even PS1 pads. Yeah, the DC is so bad that PS pads are a dream by comparison. Sadly stuff like Shenmue, and Rez require an actual DC controller, but most of the fighters and shooters will work with an arcade stick, which means they will work with a SS pad if an adapter is used. If you want to get into the racers, and wheel isn't %100 required unless you want to play Daytona 2, but its nice for F355, and Le Mans.

You WANT: A VGA box and shitloads of memory cards at least one of which is a real Sega VMU/VMS with the LCD.

I know I missed a bunch of stuff.

[GUTS]

Dreamcast completely rules, anyone who says otherwise is a poofter.  There are too many good titles to list, but if you like shooters and fighting games then it's your system.  Plus there are tons of great adventure & action games like Jet Set, D2, L.O.L., Draconus, Red Dog, and shitloads more.