Dreamcast games: Can I have some guidelines?

[Ivo]

Hi. I'm increasingly interested in getting a Dreamcast, and would like to have some more information regarding what games I should get to play on it.

Naturally Racketboy's own guides are a great start, but I'm interested in certain details that normally one wouldn't know unless one digs for it - and that's what I want to ask here.

I would like to know, for each recommended game, if I should get the original or if the copy might do perfectly e.g.:

Sonic Adventure 2 is not exclusive for DC (I think), hence it might still be in the commercial circuit, so I shouldn't just burn a copy of it (I try to only go for copying if it is "abandonware");

Some games like Shenmue II and Sonic Adventure 1 (I don't know if those were re-released in other consoles. Let's assume they weren't) were apparently too large for being "ripped" without compromises, so if I want the genuine experience (without missing music or other stuff) I should get some 2nd hand copies (from ebay perhaps).

Maybe I'm asking for too much information, but if you care to share what you know for, say, the top 5 games of the DC it would be great already.

Ivo.

[racketboy]

The Sonic games should be dirt cheap, so I would just buy them.
Shenmue II will be more expensive, but unless you have a PAL DC, you'll need something to boot the import. (I say DL a rip on Shenmue II)

JGR, SC5, Virtua Tennis, and Crazy Taxi are all mega-cheap as well.

And for the record, SA was re-released on the Cube and Shenmue II was on the XBox

Down the road, I plan on building a guide on "cheap games to start with"
For many systems, the best games are quite common, and thefore cheap. I plan to highlight those.

[ducktapevoodoo]

chu chu rocket can be had for less than 4 dollars shipped on ebay

[oizukitom]

Hi Ivo,

I don't know what you like but here goes

All the 2k and 2kx games are good if you like sports. Virtual Tennis is a blast

fighters - Street Fighter III Third Strike, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Guilty Gear X, Marvel vs. Capcom 1 and 2

Puzzle - can't go wrong with ChuChu Rocket - huge fun

Arcade - All the Sega arcade translations are great Bass 1 and 2, Marine Fishing, the Taxi games.

duh - Soul Calibur The DC slides nicely into an arcade machine

Racing - Sega GT is not bad.

Never into skateboard games but Tony Hawk 2 is really cool.

DC games are still inexpensive to buy yikes

Tom

[CurulleanCat]

DC games are still inexpensive to bye.

*stares*


Test Drive Le Mans is way better than GT.
Also:

jet Grind Radio
Guilty Gear/Street Fighter

[bawitback]

You might want to take a look at PlanetDreamcast's Article on Why Should I Buy a Dreamcast?. And for the games, check out The Best Dreamcast Games divided from genres. (btw, these are excluding PAL/JPN imports)

I would suggest;

Action/Adventure - Jet Grind Radio, Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi
Shooter - Giga Wing, Ikaruga, Bangai-O
Fighters - Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive, Virtual On

[racketboy]

Planet Dreamcast was good, but they quit updating their stuff as soon as it stopped sales in the US. So much has happened since then...

[grittykitty]

RPGs! the RPGs, man!

skies of arcadia - get the original. the cd-r decompresses data while you play and lags way too much
phantasy star online - cd-r was good, but on some copies it would freeze up during certain stages. original is pretty cheap on ebay i think
grandia 2 - had no problems with a cd-r

that's all i can remember for now...

[Saraph]

Wow... Get some Resident Evils in there. RE:2 and 3 were ported with higher resolution graphics, plus a few extra features. They should be in the $20 range. Burning them would be an ok choice as well as nothing was ripped. Well, maybe the video's were down sampled, I havent seen any quality loss. Code: Veronica! Great game, but if you have a PS2, C:VX is the same as the Complete japanese release.

My top 5:

Capcom Vs. SNK 2
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
Sonic Adventure 2
Street Fighter III Third Strike
Resident Evil Code: Veronica

Honorable mention: Ecco The Dolphin - Defender of the Future

[Knuckles-chaotix]

BURNING GAMES IS NOT RECOMMENDED AS THEY LITERALLY STUFF UP YOUR CONSOLE AFTER A SHRT WHILE.

PLUS PIRACY IS NOT A GOOD THING WHEN COMPANIES ARE STILL MAKING GAMES FOR THIS AWESOME MACHINE.

DEF GET RADIRGY AS ITS A CELL SHADED SHMUP THATS FUN FUN FUN!
TWINKLE STAR SPRITES IS ALSO VERY GOOD AND BORDERDOWN (IF YOU CAN FIND EM)