Does anyone else think the dreamcast had a certain something to it?

does anyone else think the dreamcast had a certain something to it?
it was so surreal, and it still is now even though newer graphics are so much better
it has some certain feeling that, well, i don't think spiritual is the right word to describe it but it certainly feels like something that a soulless person wouldn't feel… though for all I know I wouldn't feel it if i were born 7 years ago either
its not just the console itself that felt surreal, but some of its games really added to the feeling of the console
it wasn't just a console with good games, but strange ones that really made the console feel surreal too and imo, still does to this day
games like the ecco the dolphin title, penpen triicelon, seaman, and SA 1 and 2 really I think added to the feeling of the console, as did maybe evolution 2: far off promise as well

what are some other games that add to that surreal feeling that you got when you hear the startup sequence? and no i dont mean nostalgic

The whole 90's thing made me feel surreal, honestly. I was just talking about this in the BOTW. OP, you and me are alike.

I don't follow tbh OP. I think it's just the kind of games Sega made as they experimented with more console centric titles. Panzer Dragoon Saga has an absolutely mystifying aura to it and was released the same year as the dreamcast. The world is rich and interesting, but everything about the people in it is bizarre. Might have just been Sega's style.

The Dreamcast's library was definitely more arcade-centric than newer systems. Look at all the shmups and fightans it got (it helps that it was almost identical to the Naomi). Gaming after the Dreamcast never felt as "pure gaming" again.

Video games started in the counter culture and the amusement industry. The devs were "whoa far out man" types who did a lot of drugs or PT Barnum carnival barkers who wanted to show you the fat guy or the bearded lady for a nickel.

The suits were at the mercy of the creatives because they came from the last generation and didn't "get" computers or this "video game thing" at all, so they pretty much just had to fork over money and hope for the best.

I really recommend reading all the behind-the-scenes history of games you can. It is really quite magical.

It wasn't a console but this seeing this game now reminds me that we can no longer have a simple good vs evil jrpg story in this world anymore. What a shame.

I want to get a dreamcast fight stick and all the arcade ports for it.

It was certainly an odd system as far as color scheme until the 360, since it mostly used bright whites and blues for it's user interface and first party games.

It was refreshing.

Build your own stick with a PS360+ board and you can swap out cables to use it with your dreamcast and everything after it.

Could save yourself the dosh and get a Saturn adapter and use a proper fightan controller.

Well, you can, but you might live in fear of having your residence firebombed by a blue-haired klismaphile.

I think the word overrated comes to mind when I think of the Dreamcast, I will never understand sega fan delusion.

Just off the top of my head.

Well, to each his own… but damn.

It had its flaws but using cards on the VMU, so other players couldn't see them, was awesome. Made the board sections way better than Mario Party.

When I look back on it, I start to think it doesn't really deserve the following it gets. It only really had a few good games and barely any 3rd party support.

i liked fur fighters and ooga booga as a kid but it was the only stuff left in the bargain bin at EB games i was allowed to get
also frogger, frogger was fucking bomb

That's one of the reasons I love dreamcast. At the time I was amazed I could play crazy taxi and hotd at home, for free. Still have mt dreamcast I got 17 years ago for my b-day. Still collect games for it as well.

I just like Sega consoles in general.

Bomberman online, PSO, Spawn and Star wars demolition were pretty great on the DC if you like animu Record of lodoss was not bad but berserk was very bad.

And the laser still works?

The use of water sounds and echoes makes it have a totally unreal feel. A very similar vibe comes from the PS2, XBOX and Gamecube menus.
PS2 had rolling waves.
XBOX had that alien interface with bizarre, NASA transmissions.
Gamecube had that near silence.
We haven't had anything like it since. We moved to more user friendly interfaces and lost what made each system so unique and strange. It's a real shame. That generation had such character as a result of those aesthetics. Really pressed on the digital vibe that these consoles were unlike anything seen before.

6th gen consoles were made to last

It has a decent video output with the vga adapter compared to the ps2 and it had a pretty unique game library at the time. To bad all the games you would want to play on it have been ported to tons of other systems and the controller is complete ass.

Conventional Japanese cultural paradigms like "Wa (social harmony)" and "honne and tatemae (public and private face)" tend to bring into sharp relief the reality of separate individual subjectivity and the secret world of the personal, and aesthetic ideals like "wabi sabi" and "mono no aware" tend toward the subtle and melancholic.

This is in high contrast to the American West which is almost insensate to the subjective and prefers to "get the fact and get r' done" and "go big or go home" and why Japan is so good with surreal subtlety and western devs fuck up games like Silent Hill by thinking they're just like "WHOA DICKMONSTER DUDE!!!"

I think Sega gave it their all with the Dreamcast because they knew that if they didn't, they would get fucked by how much debt they were in at the time, and if they didn't churn out quality or interesting games they'd have no chance of survival. Kinda like how the best period of Germany was from 1932 to 1945. Desperation brings out the best in humans.

I played it ONCE, when I was young, and it was an amazing experience. I had a N64 at the time and the dreamcast was out of this world.

The memory I have of it is just a great feeling, I don't know how to explain. So I agree with you, OP, it felt different from the other consoles, even when I had later ones, like the PS2, I still had a longing to get my hands on a dreamcast.

You should still get one user, though I'll warn you, the optimal time to do so has set sail. The price spiked about 3-4 years ago
Can you guess why though?

I've lost interest in having consoles, user. Maybe one day, when I have some leeway with my money spending, I'll get one.

Because it failed, I guess. It's now a "cult" product to have, with the increasing """geek""" culture on the internet.

Ah, that's too bad. It's rather comfy and the controller's nice once you learn how to press the cord into the back

Surprisingly no. It was actually rather cheap for years until a certain kikestarter popped up
I regret not picking one up for $25 when I had the chance
Source: Guy I know who owns a game store and saw the average console price jump from $20 to $70-$80 literally over night

Got any good places to start with? And checked.

How much is it costing now?

Console Wars
The Ultimate History of Video Games
Stay Awhile and Listen : How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo
Masters of Doom
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

I believe it's about steady at $50-$60 now since the hype has died down, though if you browse your local classifieds a few times a week you should easily be able to find one

I know exactly kind of feel what you're talking about. It just feels like something died after Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

There's still good games in the 7th gen, but it's fucking soulless.

Was it the living room?

Yup. Helps I take care of my stuff as well. I hated lending stuff to friends because it would always comeback broken or some shit.

Thanks for the info, user.

Why are we speaking in spoilers anymore?

Don't forget about Power Stone my nigga

The dreamcast really was ahead of it's time imo. A lot of it is nostalgia too I'm sure but the current state of video games feels so soulless and corporate compared to the older generations. Controller definitely was a shit though.

I didn't take care of mine at all, my ps2 was in a box covered by other boxes in the dirtiest place in my house for nearly a decade.

Still works perfectly as the day I bought it

The controllers didn't but that was my mom's fault for wrapping the cables around the controllers

You're welcome, just spreading the word of Dreamcast who died for our sins
Because then people can ignore the blog posting

6th gen will always be best gen in my heart.

call me crazy but I bought Sega Bass Fishing on release and more than got my money's worth. Arcade perfect port and, while the fishing controller wasn't as sturdy as the one in the arcade, it worked just fine.
Then again, I'm probably the only one in this thead who was playing Sega Bass Fishing drunk in a bar in the 90s.
sadly there's no point in emulating it without the controller.

You can use the fishing controller to play Soul Calibur. It's the best use of motion controls in a game yet. Better than the shitty spinoff Soul Calibur on Wii.

The Dreamcast always had this very alien vibe to me because I never knew anyone who had one. It's like a console from a parallel universe.

I feel the same when I look at all those European home computers. They come from this surreal alternate reality where IBM didn't annihilate all the competition.

Holy shit user, that's pretty apt.

Shenmue and jet set radio have a similar effect for me.

It was the last gen you can up boot and play with no start menu.

That sounds like a damn good time, user. I'm impressed that even fishing games by Sega are absolute classics.