Yesterday (9/9/09) was not only the debut of Beatles: Rock Band, it was also the 10 year anniversary of the release of the Sega Dreamcast, which debuted back on 9/9/99. Many people wax nostalgic over the Dreamcast, and wish it hadn’t failed as it did, including some of my closest friends. Unfortunately, the Dreamcast’s hey-day was during a time that I took a break from gaming, namely, college. I really only spent time in college playing Frequency and Amplitude so unfortunately I can’t comment on how great the Dreamcast was.
All the buzz I’ve seen about the Dreamcast this past week made me think about which past console I miss the most. After some deliberation, I finally settled on the Super Nintendo. I think I’ve recounted elsewhere that I was so excited to get the console that I blew its power supply (American SNES used in HK), but after that the SNES brought me nothing but happiness. Final Fantasy IV, VI, Chrono Trigger, NHL 94, Super Mario World, Earthbound, Super Metroid, F-Zero, the original Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past….what a lineup.
The SNES was the console that took games to another level of depth, coinciding with my hitting adolescence and thus being able to appreciate that depth. At the same time, a lot of those games had that addictive gameplay that would keep my friends and me up until the sun rose racing in Kart, beating the crap out of each other in Street Fighter, and one-timing in NHL 94. One of my eternal regrets is getting rid of my Super Nintendo and not storing it in a box somewhere, which is why I gladly pay Nintendo money on the Virtual Console for the re-releases. Nothing will top all the memories I made with my friends way back when on that box.
So to end this post: Dreamcast lovers, my heart bleeds for you, but Super Nintendo, you’re my numba one!
you missed out on the Dreamcast? No wonder Super NES takes it by default for you! I started thinking which console I missed more myself. It’s definitely a tough call, but I think that I actually miss the Dreamcast more. Upon revisiting the Super NES release list, I pulled all the Super NES games that I remembered fondly playing:
ActRaiser 1 & 2
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Chrono Trigger
EarthBound
Final Fantasy IV & VI
Secret of Mana
Super Mario RPG
Killer Instinct
Mortal Kombat 1 & 2
Street Fighter II & Super Street Fighter II Turbo
NBA Jam
Super Mario Kart
Lots of enjoyable adventure and JRPG games on the Super NES, but I’m surprised that my list is that short considering the sheer number of games that came out on the system. The DC was an arcade gamer’s paradise since Capcom really supported it. Here’s what I miss from the DC age:
Jet Grind Radio
Samba De Amigo
Skies of Arcadia
Shenmue I & II
Phantasy Star Online
Typing of the Dead
ChuChu Rocket!
Resident Evil Code Veronica
Soul Calibur
Marvel vs Capcom 1 & 2
Power Stone & Power Stone 2
Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter III: Double Impact & Third Strike
Project Justice
Capcom vs SNK 1 & 2
Last Blade 2
Rez
Ikaruga
Mars Matrix
Aerowings 2
Cannon Spike
GigaWing 2
Sega actually did an amazing job with the various innovative games they developed for the DC: Jet Grind Radio, Samba De Amigo, Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Typing of the Dead and ChuChu rocket – what a variety of great titles. I also personally loved the number of fighting games that came out on the DC, as it coincided well with us being in college and always having a new fighting game to play…
The DC was amazing. I still have mine hooked up actually!
long live the dreamcast. it was the definitive platform for 2-D fighters, 3-D fighters, revolutionized RPGs, had smash brothers before smash brothers, and brought to the table the 2k sports series which gave EA a run for their money. oh and lets not forget pioneering music/rhythm games (space channel 5). and fishing games were never so fun either. i still have mine hooked up as well but only use it for 1 game – Street Fighter 3: Third Strike!!!!!!!
btw Rez on XBLA is a great version – highly recommend buying it.
So why did the DC die? I’m ignorant…
offhand, i can think of the following three primary reasons:
1. piracy – it got really out of hand since ppl could just download games and burn them right onto a CD-R and it would work on the system without any sort of hardware modification. so the barrier to entry to pirate on the system was tiny, resulting in reduced software sales.
2. no support from EA sports. i’m sure some ppl would argue that this was a good thing, since the 2K team got to really crank out some good sports titles because of it, but EA still has a huge following. for example, there was no FIFA soccer game on the DC and no 2K equivalent to that so soccer fans waited for the next system…
3. …which was the PS2. I think the PS2 released a year after DC’s release and had a built in DVD player – something the DC did not have. And unlike Blu-Ray, ppl were in fact holding out for the PS2/abandoning the DC in favor of the PS2 because they wanted the DVD player. If the DC was also a DVD player, who knows – things may have turned out differently.
Smash Bros was released for the N64 before the Dreamcast came out so, that part isn’t really true.
If I had to pick one, it would probably be the SNES as well, just because I have much fonder memories of playing it.
The Dreamcast was definitely an awesome system though, and definitely under-appreciated. It’s the first system in my mind where polygon based games still look good to this day. I bought mine for $25 off of a friend, and it came with the Japanese CvS2 and MvC2 disks, so basically I was all set. Best $25 I ever spent on video games ever.
Also, the VGA port on the dreamcast owns.