The Energon Pub

Well guys, it's 9/9/09, ten years after 9/9/99, the launch of the Dreamcast! So let's reminisce about Sega's final foray into the realm consoles.

For me, I didn't get a Dreamcast until after announced it was ending, but I've still collected quite a few games for it, and there are certain games that still haven't been released anywhere else, like Tech Romancer(not that great), and Gundam 0079: Rise from Ashes(probably one of the best Gundam games).

Toy Commander was another good game for the system. Large selection of vehicles, and vs. mode was good fun. You could also use the bosses you've beaten in the last level, though I've never beaten the game. I'd say this is a lost gem.

Power Stone 1 and 2 are good games, though my friend is a larger fan of it than I am. Part 2 didn't add that many great characters in my opinion.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is my most played DC games, though I've upgraded to the 360 Arcade now. Good thing cause my DC is old and it's sometimes a hassle to get it to play games!

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2. Good games, the last Sonic games I really played and got into. I played Heroes, but not as much as Adventure 1 and 2.

Gosh, it has been that long already?

I personally had Sonic Adventure, Powerstone 2, and Toy Commander. There was also this shooter I can't quite remember the name of. Trigger-something?

I played more of Powerstone than the other games, because it was very reminiscent of the heavily popular DBZ rage at the time. Most if not all of us back then were into it.

My Dreamcast still works. The memory card things which plugged into the controller should still work too.

I grew up Sega, with Genesis back in the early '90s. When they ended system development, and focused only on software, that was a sad day.

Ah yes, the VMU. Now there's an idea that never took off. Of course, the X-Box and it's hardrive has all but eliminated the need for memory cards. Of course there's still the option to use memory sticks and whatnot, but those are multi-purpose cards. Basically what I'm saying is the day of the system dedicated memory card has come to an end.

*Considers something*. What came first, the Playstation Pocket(a playabe memory card very similar to the VMU), or the VMU itself? The Dreamcast came out in late '98 over in Japan, but I have PSM's from around that time talking about the Playstation Pocket. Maybe it's a Swamp Thing/Man-Thing kinda deal, where two guys had an idea at the same time and they coincidently came out very close to each other.

Not really a loss though, as there were very few things the VMU actually did, and the Playstation Pocket never came out in the U.S.. A few games had some neat animations or gameplay features(seeing your cards in Sonic Shuffle, calling plays in the NFL 2K games I belive), and some had mini-games, but the thing had poor battery life, so you were better off leaving it in the controller. Actually, if I remember right, one of the Evolution games(they were RPG's with randomly generated dungeons) had a VMU feature that was basically just one of the characters faces with a clock beside it, possibly with a settable timer. That feature took up roughly half the storage space on the VMU. While neat, it was pretty dumb.

I have to say I never had that console but I do want one.
The DC was the first console that had a proper internet access thing and online play.
I also remember the graphics for LOK Soul Reaver being pretty effing good (further enhancing that brilliant game), better than what the Plastation version had or what the PC version could offer.

I too think it's sad that SEGA just stopped making consoles and went back to making just (mostly bad) software.

I find it funny you mentioned Toy Commander. I also didn't think it was well known. Blowing up little bases and army men was funny.

Ah that's right, VMU. I dont think I ever used it except maybe a couple times to play the original Sonic Adventure. You could hatch those little eggs on them like a Tamagotchi I think.

I also find it funny that two of the biggest titles for Dreamcast were just under the radar for me; MVC2 and Soul Calibur. I know for a fact I never knew or played them until after Dreamcast was done.

As for online, I never used it and I wonder how well it handled.

Shame it died out really because if I'm being honest I prefer my DC over the PS2/Xbox. It didn't have the same library of games as the latter two, but alot of the games it did have were damn good. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were the last good Sonic games in my opinion, Toy Commander was an awesome idea and pretty well executed.

My absolute favourites had to be Soul Calibur, Skies of Arcadia and an obscure platformer/3rd person shooter called Fur Fighters. Wasted many an hour on all 3 of those games, and Skies of Arcadia remains one of my favourite RPGs to this day

You know I think I'm gonna go dust off my DC now

I remember getting this for $49.99 during Christmas sale.