Machine Memories: Dreamcast

On 02/16/2023 at 07:57 AM by KnightDriver

I never got a Sega Saturn, but I was able to get a Sega Dreamcast for cheap just when my Gamestop was sending a whole bunch of them back to the warehouse after the system had failed and Sega stopped making them. A load of fun gaming resulted.

I think this is where my friend and I got back into playing Gauntlet with Gauntlet Legends. It was out on N64 but the Dreamcast version was the best because it had the additions made to Dark Legacy, the upgraded version on PC. It was a great co-op experience and led to other co-op action rpgs in the future.

NBA Showtime, NBA on NBC was almost as great as NBA Jam. We had a blast with this.

Quake III Arena continued the multiplayer gibbing madness. We played this a lot. Super-fast gameplay and fun as heck.

Chief among my Dreamcast memories though were the fishing games using the very realistic fishing controller. There were four fishing games and we had them all: Reel Fishing Wild, Sega Bass Fishing 1, 2, and Sega Marine Fishing. One day I’m going to get another Dreamcast to play these again. I still remember the somewhat ridiculous tunes used in the game.

Seaman was a strange life sim game using a microphone mounted on the controller. You would talk to the half human, half frog creature and it would parrot back anything you said to it. Naturally, we taught it every obscene word we could think of.

Skies of Arcadia was a great RPG we got into. It used the tiny game system mounted in the Dreamcast’s rather large controller. It was like a mini-Gameboy but even more limited. The main thing was the full game, and it was a really fun turn-based RPG. I never beat it though, and now it’s really expensive to own.

Toy Commander was a little like the Army Men games. You controlled the toys in a kid’s bedroom and around the house. I enjoyed it.

Typing of the Dead was a mashup of a typing tutor and House of the Dead light-gun shooter. What else are you going to use the Dreamcast’s keyboard with anyway? I played this and then soon got the Mavis Beacon Typing Tutor program for my PC. I can still touch type to this day. Thanks, Typing of the Dead! (but mostly Mavis Beacon).

TV Time! Commercial.

Cary Woodham

02/17/2023 at 07:48 AM

I got my Dreamcast not on launch day, but at the Christmas right after it. It was a surprise, too, because I didn't ask for it. But I'm glad I got it because I was still reviewing games for the newspaper at the time and it really helped. The Dreamcast was my first SEGA console and really upped my respect for the company.

Some of my favorites include Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Space Channel 5, Crazy Taxi, Samba de Amigo (still have the maraca controlellers under my bed), Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Cannon Spike, Soul Calibur, and many more!

KnightDriver

02/17/2023 at 10:48 AM

I remember getting my Dreamcast for $40. Stupid me, I gave it away a few years ago. I would love to revisit it.

SanAndreas

02/17/2023 at 08:37 AM

Soulcalibur and DOA 2 were very nice-looking games. On launch day, there were two lines at Software Etc. One line was for the Dreamcast, the other for Final Fantasy VIII for PS1. I was in the FFVIII line.

I got Skies of Arcadia Legends as my second Gamecube game. My original copy got lost, but I have since obtained another copy.. Grandia II, the Dreamcast's other notable RPG, I played on PS2 and now own for the Switch.

02/17/2023 at 10:52 AM

Interesting competing lines.

I always wanted Skies of Arcadia Legends. It would never come down in price enough for me though. I should've bit though. Darn thing is expensive as heck now.

I still have a PS2 copy of Grandia II I haven't played. I think it's just a loose disc too. I have to get to that.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/18/2023 at 09:34 PM

So ahead of its time ... Never owned one, but it was doing a lot of stuff later consoles would only hop on board with much later.

02/20/2023 at 02:58 PM

Only five years later, just one console generation. It was ahead of it's time but not by much. They should've hung in there, but then there would be four consoles I'd want. Maybe one too many?

PixlBit