This motherfucker was revolutionary back in the day and is still fun as hell and worth a pick up at a flea market or major gaming store. Gosh, just look at that list and all of those great games. It's a shame this console died early - although it got some new titles long after it was discontinued. Seriously, it's awesome. It had jaw-dropping graphics, four controller ports, VGA support [1], internet capabilities (most US online capable games now work), and it doesn't even need modding to play burned games (see pic in the bottom of this page). It is also particularly notable for the amount of Sega arcade ports that it has.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since the release of GDEMU, playing DC games on the original hardware has never been so easy! This is basically a SD card slot that you shove into the console in place of the disc drive. Don't worry about installing, if you have a phillips drive and aren't a moron, you can put this shit into your console and enjoy a fuckton of games without worrying about burning or buying games anymore!
Sidenote: There's also a similar (and older) mod called 'Dreamshell', but that solution is mostly deprecated in favor of the more modern (and easier to install) GDEMU, BUT if you happen to find a console with this mod, there are plenty of support for it as of 2020. Just search for 'dreamshell compatibility list' and enjoy.
An asterisk * indicates the game uses the Windows CE libraries. Meaning it might have some issues running on most emulators.
The damn list[]
| Box Art | Title | Genre | Description |
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Airforce Delta / Deadly Skies | Flight simulator | You're part of a mercenary team, flying to protect a fledgling nation from rebels trying to force a reunification. It's a tad simpler and more arcade-like than more realistic sims like Ace Combat, but it's still a very good game. |
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Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare | Survival Horror | You play as the "detective of the paranormal" Edward Carnby or as Aline Cedrac, an Ethnology Professor. Your adventure takes place in a mansion located in Shadow Island. The setting is quite cliché, but if you like old school Survival Horror games with nice pre-rendered backgrounds you should try this one. Also available in PS1, PC and PS2. It's worth to mention that DC version is the best regarding the visuals and sound aspects. Avoid PS2 awfully ported version.
Anyways, blast shadow creatures with your TRIPLE BARREL SHOTGUN! |
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Atari Anniversary Edition * | Compilation | A compilation of the most old and retro shit around. It's got all of those famous arcade hits you know and love, and some movies n extras as well.
Games: Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Gravitar, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong, Super Breakout, Tempest, Tempest Tubes, and Warlords. |
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Bangai-O / Bakuretsu Muteki | Shoot 'em up | Super robot shooter made by Treasure. Known for its purposely nonsensical translation as well as the most framerate-killing special attacks ever. How can anyone not love a game in which a special attack can unleash four hundred bullets at once?!
Also on Nintendo 64, but a bit different (and Japan-only). There are sequels for the DS (Bangai-O Spirits) and XBLA (Bangai-O HD Missile Fury) that are pretty fucking awesome too. |
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Blue Stinger | Survival Horror | This game was strangely, of all things, released before the Dreamcast itself actually came out (by nine days!). You're a guy living by an island. The island is the location where the meteor crashed that killed the Dinosaurs. Now horrific Dino-things and zombies are resurrected, and you're out to see what the fucks up. Any questions? Sega's answer to Resident Evil, essentially. |
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Border Down | Shoot em' up | G.Rev’s first post-mortem Dreamcast shmup. Features the Bordering Down system (just a fancy name for alternate routes). Great tunes and sharp graphics. |
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Bust-A-Move / Puzzle Bobble 4 * | Puzzle | Fuck yeah bitch, pop those bubbles with your bubble blaster! Puzzlan goodness. |
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Cannon Spike / Gunspike | Shooter / Arcade | A short, tough and arcade-y overhead shooter. You can use one of several Capcom characters, including Cammy White (Street Fighter), Sir Arthur (Ghosts 'n' Goblins), B.B. Hood (Darkstalkers) and Mega Man. The character-specific endings are cute and include a bunch of cameos. |
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Capcom vs. SNK 2 - Millionaire Fighting 2001 | 2D Fighting | Fun fighting sequel that is Japan-only on Dreamcast but still playable like most fighting games made by Capcom, even without knowing Japanese. Also on XB/PS2/GC. |
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Capcom vs. SNK / Millennium Fight 2000 | 2D Fighting | As the title indicates a fighting game where Capcom characters duke it out against SNK characters, it has 4 buttons and 2 different grooves, SNK groove is akin to KoF 94-95 whereas Capcom groove is similar to A-ISM in SFA 3, Arcade perfect unlike the PS1 port that is butchered down due technical limitations (Has an extra track called Needle not present in arcades) |
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Capcom vs. SNK - Millennium Fight 2000 Pro | 2D Fighting | Updated version of the above, better for the following reasons. 1. Every hidden charcter from the above, Akuma, Evil Ryu, Shin Iori, is unlocked from the start. 2. MOTHERFUCKING JOE HIGASHI AND DAN MOTHERFUCKING HIBIKI. 3. More game modes with new features. 4. New moves for certain characters, case in point, get this if you want all that, or not if you still want a fully english Cap vs SNK 1 seeing how this is JP only.
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Carrier | Survival horror | Resident Evil on a warship. |
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Chaos Field | Shoot-em-up | Pretty decent shmup by Milestone inc. Port of the arcade game itself, like most dreamcast games, y'know? Play as 1 of 3 people and shoot shit the fuck up in space mufugga! Music is pretty cool as well as the atmosphere, I guess. Not the best shmup around, but one can only wonder.
Also on GC and PS2, and as part of the "Ultimate Shooting Collection" for the Wii. |
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Charge 'N Blast | Shooter / Arcade | Charge your weapon then...BLAST! Kill fake Godzilla before he blows up your oil rig god damn! Also has split-screen BRO-op! You move your character horizontally across the screen left or right along a fixed rail with the L and R trigger buttons (weird as hell, I know). Each character has three chargeable weapons, the longer you charge the more damage it will do. You aim the crosshair with the analog stick. There's also a time limit. Amazing fucking game. |
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ChuChu Rocket! | Puzzle | Get mice into rockets! Fucking amazing gen of a game Also on the GBA, Android and iOS platforms. Includes over 1,000+ puzzles made by users from the Dreamcast online. |
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Cool Cool Toon | Rhythm | Beautiful graphics! You press the buttons in tune with the circle thingy! Japan only and can link with the NGPC game Cool Cool Jam for bonus content. |
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Cosmic Smash | Sports | It's like an insane mix of Breakout and Virtua Tennis. But a very well made mix indeed. Short and very arcade-y. |
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Crazy Taxi | Racing | Fast paced driving game where time is everything. Arcade mode is a blast, and the banter is witty (but repetitive). Play as Sequels and ports are pretty much the same, but get this one because it's the one everybody talks about and has better music.
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Crazy Taxi 2 | Racing | Sequel to Crazy Taxi, pretty good. More "carazy" taxi! |
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Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram / Dennou Senki | 3D Fighter | A much improved version of the first game. More robots to chose from with a whole bunch of weapons at your arsenal and you fight some pretty awesome and HARD boss battles. Fast paced robot action that you don't want to miss. If you can't find it at the arcade, then this will do. Also on Xbox Live Arcade. |
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D2 / D no Shokutaku 2 | Horror/Mindfuck | Loose sequel to puzzle-horror oddity D (PS), once again designed by the idiosyncratic Kenji Eno. D2 begins with protagonist Laura surviving a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, where she sets out to find other survivors. Outdoors environments are traversed in third-person, while indoor settings are in first-person and battles are stationary FPS showdowns, interestingly. The game is clunky and ill-paced but the psychosexual tentacle body horror, off-beat story, amazing-looking bosses and survival elements (such as hunting) make this the definition of a cult game. Quite hard to find. |
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Daytona USA / 2001 | Racing | An impressive port of the top grossing arcade racer ever: graphics that surpass the original by far, excellent remixed music, several new cars and tracks, a career mode... what's not to love here? Well, the handling is not quite there as the Saturn's version (be sure to tune down the analog stick's sensitivity). Still, with all the extras, this may be the best version of Daytona USA.
Original home ports on the Saturn. Bare-Bones port of the arcade was ported over to XBLA (Xbone Compatible) and PSN. |
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Dead or Alive 2 | 3D Fighting | Tits fightan'. Very fun. Many versions of the game across 3 platforms (DC, PS2, Xbox). The US release has the least amount of content while the PAL version has a bit more. If you have to have everything, get the Japanese release since it was the final version released on the DC. If you like burned games, there is a comp of all the versions on One disc floating around.
Sequel is on the Xbox, along with an enhanced port of this game (Dead Or Alive Ultimate).
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Demolition Racer: No Exit | Racing | In this racer, you must find a balance between beating your rivals to a pulp (for points), finishing in a good position (for a point multiplier), and not being beaten to a pulp by your rivals (for, you know, finishing the race at all). Nice gameplay, sweet graphics, and a badass industrial / techno soundtrack. Also on the PS1, in a vastly inferior form. |
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Dino Crisis | Survival Horror | Capcom capitalized on the popularity of Resident Evil with another survival horror series, though this one is set in an island where dinosaurs have been brought back via genetic experiments. Faster-paced and more trigger-happy than Resident Evil, with multiple endings, less puzzles and some great set pieces and boss battles. Originally for PS, this port has nicer textures and graphics all-around, but is otherwise the same. |
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Dynamite Cop / Deka 2 | Beat-Em-Up | Sequel to Die Hard Arcade (aka Dynamite Deka). Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the presidents daughter from Old Solidus, the Kraken, and KRAB PEOPLE? Using a wide variety of wrestling moves(yes, suplexing is of course included), nuclear missile launchers, machine guns, and of course, your own fists, you must fight your way through baddies and monsters on a cruise ship big enough to house a small country, with the interesting ability to choose your routes of infiltration for multiple ways to play.
A direct port from the Arcade |
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Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future | Action-Adventure | The first Ecco game in 3D manages to translate the beauty of the previous titles to one of the most achingly gorgeous underwater worlds ever envisioned. The New Age-isms of the Ecco series, what with this being a franchise about magical psychic dolphins saving Mother Earth from aliens, continue to baffle and charm. Controls were surprisingly well-implemented, but are far from perfect. As expected from Ecco, it's tough as nails. Avoid the shoddy PS2 port. |
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Elemental Gimmick Gear | Action RPG | You play an egg-shaped robot recently dug out of a ruin and re-activated, now trying to uncover your past. A Zeldalike overhead action-RPG with impossibly pretty hand-drawn environments. Good luck getting past those gates, you'll see. Boss battles are 3D arena battles, by contrast. A great, underlooked DC title. |
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Evolution - The World of Sacred Device / Shinki Sekai | RPG/ Dungeon Crawler | Lighthearted JRPG that has you trying to get out of debt by exploring randomized dungeons filled with traps and finding artifacts and treasure. Typical JRPG turn based combat, now with 50% more status effects. Was joint to its sequel and ported to the GCN as a single package, but this, the first game, was substantially stripped down.
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F355 Challenge / Passione Rossa | Racing | Awwwwww yeah baby, time to get serious racin' on in here. Might be too serious for some but nonetheless an excellent driving simulation.
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Fatal Fury / Garou Mark Of The Wolves | 2D Fighting | SNK's answer to Street Fighter III. Considered by many to be the finest 2D fighting game of all time. While this game is worth looking into, be wary of this particular port. It' a good option if you don't have means to play it otherwise, but this version has issues with slowdown, which is a big no-no for fighting games.
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Fire Pro Wrestling D | Sports | A timing based grappling engine that takes some actual skill to use, misnamed versions of real wrestlers to avoid copy infringement, and a deep character and AI editor, this game is good even if you don't like wrestling. Seriously. Play it. |
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Fur Fighters | Third person shooter | Lighthearted action game about cute fluffy animals shooting the shit out of each other. Very fun and tough, vast environments, but goddamn it makes you backtrack a lot. Later also released on PS2, with cel-shaded graphics and actual voice acting (it's debatable if these are improvements). |
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Gauntlet Legends | Action RPG | An port of the arcade. Play up to 4 Players. Level your character up and fight back against Skorne. Also on N64 and PS1 (Dark Legacy: PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox). |
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GigaWing 2 | Shoot 'em up | An exact port of the arcade. Play up to 4 Players. Second installment of Takumi’s GigaWing series originally on Naomi released for home. |
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Grandia II | RPG | Though unrelated story-wise, Grandia II follows its PS predecessor in spirit. The protagonist is refreshingly sarcastic and distrustful of the various, colorful characters who join his party, all of which have their own charms. Once again, the character-driven story and battle system, which combines active-time battles with turn-based strategy, are the main draws. Gets sappy towards the end, but who cares.
Ported to PS2 (with bugs) and PC (bugs fixed).
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Guilty Gear X By Your Side | 2D Fighting | Sega Sammy's second installment in the popular Guilty Gear series. Combat is frantic and deeper than pretty much any other 2D fighter out there. Probably the only fighter on the Dreamcast on par with SFIII:Third Strike's gorgeous sprite work.
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Gunbird 2 | Shoot 'em up | Vertical shmup that features amusing cutscenes. Also homoerotic endings (dead serious). Although the second plays a better than the first, it isn't quite as funny.
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Half-Life | FPS | You may be thinking: "What's this bullshit, Half-Life for the Dreamcast was cancelled!" Yes, it was - but it's out there nonetheless. A great port, including the High Definition pack and the Blue Shift expansion (both in fact created for this version and later ported to the PC). Strangely, the save file's size changes as you progress, so be sure to devote a VMU completely to this game. Now, it won't run as well as on any modern computer, so why do it? For the best of all reasons: the heck of it!
A bunch of mods (and counter strike) have been ported over as well, if you're into that. |
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Headhunter | Stealth action | Take the Metal Gear Solid formula, streamline the action, drop the overwrought plot for something that might as well be taken from some 1980s B action/sci-fi movie, and what's the result? Awesome. Somewhat rare, as it was only released in Europe but works fine on american/japanese consoles; had a PS2 port and a PS2/Xbox sequel. |
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Heavy Metal: Geomatrix | Arena Shooter/Fighter | Based off the American comic/magazine of the same name, HM:G is a third person fighting game similar to Power Stone. The difference being the bigger emphasis on weapons and overall style. It also has a kickass soundtrack featuring Megadeath, Halford and W.A.S.P to name a few, Cheap as fuck also. (No relation to the 1981 film, unfortunately.) |
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House of the Dead 2, The | Light Gun | A series fan favorite, the sequel to the arcade classic takes the cast to Rome, where G has unleashed an army of zombies and mutants. As always the writing and voice acting are terrible, hilarious and essential to the experience. Gameplay has remained mostly the same, with more alternate paths to take. Included in the X360 port of HOTD3 has an extra, and ported along with HOTD3 to Wii. Also for arcades, obviously. DOGS OF THE A.M.S! |
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Hydro Thunder | Racing | One of the best Arcade Racers to be ported to the Dreamcast. 13 Boats, 13 Tracks. Boost like hell, race your boat to the finish, and find all the shortcuts.
Also on PS1 and N64, each with a unique feature (Career Mode and 4 Player Split-screen respectfully). DC version is the basis for the port featured on Midway Arcade Treasures 3 (on GC, Xbox, PS2). Sequel is exclusive to XBLA (Xbone Compatible) |
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Ikaruga | Shooter | A spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun. One of Treasure's most well known games. Involves shifting polarity between black and white to deal huge damage to the opposing element while absorbing bullets of the same color. Much more of a puzzler than a shmup as there is a strict method to its madness. Also on GameCube, XBLA, Steam, Arcade, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. |
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Illbleed | Survival horror | A group of horror fans are invited to a very exclusive horror theme park: if they get out of it alive, they'll get a boatload of cash. A very tongue-in-cheek parody of the horror B-movie clichés. Unlike Resident Evil and other such games, it's less about fighting monsters and more about detecting and defusing traps that can literally scare you to death. |
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Jet Grind / Set Radio | 3D Trick Platformer | Recruit stylish young people and rollerskate through sprawling, colorful urban environments pulling off tricks and tagging spots with graffiti to fight the creativity-repressing establishment! An incredibly cool-looking game with great cel-shaded graphics and an even better soundtrack. Fair level of challenge. Fun if you can get over the sluggish controls. Also have GBA edition.
Was ported to PSN/XBLA, PC and iOS/Android. |
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Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure / no Kimyou na Bouken - Mirai he no Isan | 2D Fightan | aka JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future.
/v/, I am disappoint. This game is awesome and you all know it. Based on Stardust Crusaders arc (you know, the one with Jotaro as the lead). Anyway, one of THE best manga based fighters of all time (that Capcom label helps too). Very fun and very arcade-like. A must have for the Dreamcast. Also on PS1 (with worse graphics) and PS3 |
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King Of Fighters, The 2002 | 2D Fighting | Awesome entry in the KOF series with a butt-ton of old chracters and even more newbies as well. This entry is extremely popular in some countries and its the most common arcade machine in some countries such as Mexico and Brazil.
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King Of Fighters Evolution, The / 99 | 2D Fighting | A greatly upgraded port of arcade fightan megahit KOF '99. Just like in KOF Dream Match 1999 (actually a port of KOF '98, go figure), SNK took the fantastic 2D sprite work from the Neo Geo and laid it on top of 3D stages that replicate amazingly well the original's style. But this time they did not fuck up the audio, which makes this a far more enjoyable game.
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L.O.L.: Lack Of Love | Adventure, Simulator | Created by one of the pioneers of snythpop and electronic music in Japan, comes a very artistic and deep game about evolution and helping other creatures to do so. It is considered a very underrated gem by many people and even considered the best Dreamcast game by some. Fan Translation |
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Last Blade 2, The Heart Of The Samurai / Bakumatsu Roman Daini Maku | 2D Fighting | Possibly the pinnacle of SNK's fighters, an obscure weapons-based series set in the Bakumatsu period where Western culture has arrived and samurai have seen their final days. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful stage design and sprite work, balanced combat with parry system and a likeable cast.
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Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | Adventure | The next chapter in the Legacy of Kain saga. This time you play as Raziel, one of Kain's followers who is betrayed by his master. It's also in full 3D now. As usual, great storyline and voice acting. Defines the difference between goth and emo. |
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Le Mans 24 Hours / Test Drive | Racing | A pretty cool driving simulation-ish game, with some stunning graphics that make it look almost like an Xbox game. There is seriously an option to play the 24 Heures du Mans in real time, with realistic day-to-night transition. This version was also ported to PS2 without the Test Drive name (Le Mans 24 Hours) with slightly worse graphics.
Note: this is vastly different from the so-so PS1 game with the same name. |
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Maken X | Slasher | A slasher game made by FATLUS that has the whole "Atlus artstyle" to it. You control the blade rather than the person using it in a unique first-person perspective that involves neat ideas such as brainjacking. Panned in america due to the horrendous dub given to it. But the JP voice acting is like always pretty good.
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Mars Matrix | Shoot 'em up | Port from CPS-2 arcade system. Probably the most overlooked shooter on Dreamcast. Beautiful as hell and hard as nails but get past stage one and you will find this to be one of the best shmups on the system. Play through arcade mode and earn money to buy cool stuff like Pro-tip movies, extra lives for your ship, etc. Go play Mars Matrix. |
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Marvel vs. Capcom 2 / New Age of Heroes | 2D Fighting | Exactly what the title says. Notable for its large cast of characters (56 in the home versions) and tag-team gameplay. Notably arcade perfect. Ported to other consoles but only the PSN and XBLA versions are proper ports of this one, the Xbox and PS2 games have minor gameplay differences. |
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Marvel vs. Capcom / Clash of Super Heroes | 2D Fighting | Good fighting game featuring some cool characters and good controls. Some prefer MvC2 over this, but this is still good even compared to MvC2. Also on PS1 but that version lacks the 2 vs 2 system. Lame. |
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MDK2 | Shooter | 3rd person shooter/puzzle/awesome! Stupidly hard and stupidly fun.
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Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 1 * | Compilation | Midway decided we love them old school arcade games and gave us this. INCLUDE JOUST! SO NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO PLAY WHILE HIGH AS FUCK!
Games: Bubbles, Defender, Defender II, Joust, Robotron, and Sinistar. |
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Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 2 * | Compilation | More midway-ian goodness all in one pack.
Games: 720º, Gauntlet, Moon Patrol, Paperboy, Rampage, and Spy Hunter. |
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Mortal Kombat Gold | Fighting | Updated port of MK4 with actual voiced and animated endings and slightly updated graphics. One of the 1st Dreamcast games. Pick it up if you're an MK fan looking for a dreamcast entry. Make sure you get the copy marked "Hot! New!" on the cover, or indicated by a red disc instead of gold. The first release is a bit of a gltichy, buggy mess without VMU support. This reissue fixes all of it and has VMU support.
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Mr. Driller | Puzzle | Drill through colored blocks. If 4 or more colored block connect, they're automatically cleared. This creates and encourages crazy mad combos. Just don't run out of air or get squashed. Features a ton of different controller options, including the Samba de Amigo maracas. Ported to every console and handheld since this one. |
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MSR - Metropolis Street Racer | Racing | Predecessor to the Project Gotham series on the Xbox, it consists of slick arcade-style racing in the urban environments of Tokyo, London and San Francisco to the tunes of Sega's maestro Richard Jacques. While it is not a simulator, the environments are very detailed and faithful to reality. In fact, the game uses the console's internal clock and calculates the time zone, to set each race to the correct time of the day in each city. Brilliant stuff.
Important note: avoid the bug-ridden European version. |
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Namco Museum | Compilation | Basically a smaller version of the best early 1980s Namco games out there. Get it if you love arcade-y ness and whatnot. Quite bare, it lacks the "museum" from the Namco Museum titles for the Playstation.
Games: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Galaxian, Dig Dug, and Pole Position. |
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NBA 2K1 | Sports | Basketball done right. |
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NFL 2K1 | Sports | Handegg done right. |
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Ooga Booga | Brawl | An extremely fun party game where you and up to 4 other people control witch doctors fighting on an island with melee attacks, spells and ridable animals. Bot support makes for an enjoyable experience, but with 2 or more humans it becomes a blast. Also features Boar Polo, possibly the best idea ever conceived. (Note: As of Oct. 2010 it does not appear to work on NullDC. If you are playing a burnt copy, press start at the pirate screen without doing anything else or the game will freeze during play.) |
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Phantasy Star Online | MMORPG | The game that revolutionized online gaming on consoles. It is one of the best games in Sega's Phantasy Star series and was kickass playing a game like this on the Dreamcast until the official servers were shut down in 2006. Fan servers are currently available and have a decent following. Updated port of Ver. 2 on Dreamcast and PC. Updated with a new Ep. on GameCube, Xbox, and PC. |
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Plasma Sword / Star Gladiator 2 Nightmare of Bilstein | 3D Fighting | Sequel to Star Gladiator on the PS1. Good game, it's fun like most Capcom fighters. |
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Power Stone | 3D Fighting | A mostly forgotten Capcom game with a colorful, multicultural cast of cartoons who seek out the legendary Power Stones. Close to Super Smash Bros. in spirit, with isometric-view 3D fighting in hazard-filled stages, items and super-powered forms for everyone. Buckets of fun. Was also ported to PSP with its sequel (Power Stone Collection), but get ready to squint if you want to make anything out. |
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Power Stone 2 | 3D Fighting | Like any other fighting game sequel, Power Stone 2 adds more of everything, spruces up the graphics, vaguely develops the story and brings more of the original game's four-player party antics. There was a short-lived anime series based on the franchise.
Was also ported to PSP with its sequel (Power Stone Collection), but get ready to squint if you want to make anything out. |
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Project Justice / Rival Schools 2 / Moero! Justice Gakuen | 3D Fighting | Sequel to hot-blooded, shounen-inspired, high school tag-team anime fighter Rival Schools (PS), Project Justice has a surprisingly developed story and actually great voice acting. The characters are all wildly exaggerated anime and manga archetypes and combat is a blast, as it feels more 2D than 3D. Assemble three-man teams with ridiculous team-up attacks. Drab-looking stages aside, the graphics and soundtrack stand the test of time. A nostalgic, fun, Saturday-morning-cartoon romp. |
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Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship | Air combat | Cancelled when it was pretty much completed, eventually leaked on teh interwebs; and the fanboys rejoiced, for Propeller Arena is among the finest titles in the Dreamcast's library. This game is sheer arcade-style multiplayer air combat fun with a mean punk rock soundtrack. |
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Psychic Force 2012 | 3D Fighting | The much improved sequel to the already wicked cool flight fighter. PF2012 speeds up the game pace by adding a new type of dash that allows you to close the distance while simultaneously avoiding projectiles, a much needed barrier crush attack, and two different tech options, one of which being an early example of the burst system featured in many modern fighters. There was also a port to the PSX with downgraded graphics and a few characters you may or may not haved missed from the first game included. |
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Psyvariar 2 - The Will to Fabricate | Shoot 'em up | Second installment of Success Corporation’s vertically scrolling shooter originally on Naomi and released in Japan for DC in 04. The first can be found on PS2. |
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Puyo Puyo Fever | Puzzle | The final Sega released game on the DC (from 2004!!!) A crazy fun and fast-paced puzzle game with delicious cartoon graphics and upbeat music. JP-only, but with an English option. Also ported to nearly every platform around the time of release. |
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Quake III Arena | FPS | The definitive classic online multiplayer FPS. Quake III Arena has no story, just get some fucking friends or get online and start blastin' buddy. The official servers were closed down a long time ago, but there are fan servers to connect to. The graphics are pretty close to the PC version, with a solid framerate, while the soundtrack is excellent - and completely different from the original! |
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Rayman 2 / Kaizokusen kara no Dasshutsu! | Platformer | One of the best platformers of the PS1/N64 era, ported to the DC with a faster framerate and cleaner graphics and downloadable stuff! Also on DS as a half-assed port and 3DS as a better, though still not perfect, port with minor fixes, as well as tons of other systems. The Dreamcast version is actually the best version out there for some, as the expanded PS2 version (Rayman 2: Revolution) has a hub world and voice acting, but muddier graphics and subpar framerate, as well as the hub world being a slog to get through. |
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Resident Evil / Biohazard 2 * | Survival Horror | Good game its got enhanced graphics and all that shit.
It's worth to mention that this versions is the one with most unlockables and extra stuff, so if that matters to you, |
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Resident Evil / Biohazard 3 Nemesis | Survival Horror / STAAAAARS | Look out, STARS because fucking NEMESIS is out for your ass! This game is awesome and truly can scare the shit out of you. WHAT A CLASSIC! Regardless, some would consider this more of a Resident Evil 2: Episode 2 rather than an actual RE3. It has some minor differences with the original release for PSX. The mini-game "The Mercenaries", Epilogue, and all extra costumes are available since the beginning of the game. And visuals are nicer: better resolution, better 3D poly models, etc. |
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Resident Evil / Biohazard: Code Veronica | Survival Horror | In some ways, this is the real Resident Evil 3. Classic RE at its finest, Code Veronica follows Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside uncovering the mysteries on Rockfort Island, an island lab in the Arctic owned by the Umbrella Corporation. A "Complete Edition" was released exclusively in Japan that featured eleven minutes worth of extra cutscenes and a new hairstyle for Steve. This was the version ported to later consoles as Resident Evil: Code Veronica X |
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Re-Volt | Racing | Fuckawesome racer! Better than N64 and PC versions. Racing as remote controlled cars, you must kick ass throughout the neighborhood. |
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Rez | Shooter | A psychedelic, rhythm-based rail shooter where you traverse trippy cyber-worlds as your avatar evolves and changes with your score and the music. Make sure you unlock the hidden level, it's completely worth it. One of the most original and exciting games of its kind. Also on PS2 (with better framerate but more jaggies) and later ported in hi-def to XBLA. See also Child of Eden for the PS3 and X360, it is a spiritual sequel by the same producer. |
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Samba de Amigo | Rhythm | Shake your maracas to the songs in order to become the king of the Rumba beat and make everything go chick chicky boom, chick chicky boom. Pretty fun, though a bit tough get right at times. Sequel is Japan only and okay; Wii version is broken. Version 2000 is more of an upgrade than a sequel. |
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San Fransisco Rush 2049 | Racing | 1-4 player, 60fps, loaded with plenty to do. Race, Stunt, Battle. Great arcade racer. Sure, it's not a full port of the arcade, but its the closest we're going to get.
Also on N64. Like Hydro Thunder, this version was the source for the port on Midway Arcade Treasures 3 (Xbox, GC, PS2) |
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Seaman / Kindan no Pet | Virtual Pet | Raise a fish/tadpole/frog/man thing while occasionally talking to it for some often hilarious dialogue (make sure you say Seaman correctly). At times, horrifying. Narrated by Leonard motherfucking Nemoy. You need the Dreamcast Microphone to play this! If you know and speak moonspeak, there's an updated version on the DC and sequel on the PS2. |
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Sega Bass Fishing / Get Bass | Sim / Fishing | Fuck yeah, Sega Fishan games! Fun fishing game that really shined through if you had the Sega Fishing Controller. This shit was seriously fun as fuck. Also on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Has Move support, but strangely no Kinect support. |
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Sega Bass Fishing 2 / Get Bass 2 | Sim / Fishing | Sequel to the above, said to be overall improved and more difficult but no 2 player. |
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Sega GT / Homologation Special | Racing | Despite the similar name, this is not related to arcade-only Sega Super GT a.k.a. Scud Race. Instead, this may be the closest to Gran Turismo that the Dreamcast ever got. Excellent graphics, a lot of depth, but the floaty controls may mar the experience for some. The European release has extra cars. Also for PC, and two Xbox sequels. |
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Sega Marine Fishing | Sim / Fishing | Couldn't get enough out of your Sega Fishing Controller with Sega Bass Fishing? Well here's the next game to itch your reelin' scratch. This game is considered much better by many due to the addition of collecting elements, which include things to customize your playable character with. |
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Sega Rally 2 * | Racing | GAME OVER YEEEAAAHHH!! Awesome arcade racing, although this port has some framerate issues. |
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Sega Swirl | Puzzle | You may already have this game and not even know it, since it never got a standalone release, but it was included with several demo discs, the web browser disc, and the Smash Pack compilation. Be sure to look for it, because it is one neat little puzzle game. Also for Windows and Palm [2], but the Dreamcast version has the best graphics by far. |
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SGGG - Segagaga | JRPG | SEGA's absurdist self-parody in which you play a boy recruited off the street to get the company back in shape before it collapses. First you'll have to insult and compliment the game developers into submission via RPG-style shout-offs, then put them to work developing games under a strict schedule. Lots of Japanese visual gags, SEGA references, jabs at other games and companies and the like. JP-only, no translation as of yet. |
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Shadow Man | Platformer / Action | Notable as Acclaim's GOTYAY and for good reason. The game is fun as hell, story is kind of like spawn if you think about it. This version is probably the best version. All other versions are good too EXCEPT the horrible PS1 version. |
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Shenmue | Adventure | Shenmue was a highly ambitious game that wanted to be a Hollywood martial arts movie/Japanese soap opera in video game form, and sort of succeeded. The game's portrayal of a romanticized, working-class urban Tokyo is unmatched by anything, but the Yakuza games (PS2/3 spiritual successors of sorts to Shenmue) come close. The fully-voiced cutscenes, minigames, QTEs, endless collectibles, and fetch quests are part of the game's charm, but the real-time format makes for a slow pace and a lot of downtime. Combat is basically if Virtua Fighter was a beat-em-up and is exactly as awesome as that sounds. Very atmospheric and lovingly crafted. Ends on a shameless cliffhanger. You will dream of working the forklift at the docks. Undub (Japanese Voice Acting with English Subtitles) exists to better match the sequel.
PROTIP: Switch "Run" to RT, and use that to move forward (a half-pull will cause him to walk). Way less clunky than pressing up on the D-pad. |
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Shenmue II | Adventure | Directly continues the story of the first game; gameplay and presentation are pretty much the same, with equally amazing production values for the time, and the same DC version (with Japanese voice acting) was released in JP and PAL territories only thanks to Microsoft dickbaggery; Xbox port was released in NA with full English voice acting. Hacks exists to port the English voice acting to the DC. A sequel, Shenmue III, was finally announced on E3 2015 as a highly successful Kickstarter project written and directed by series creator Yu Suzuki. Available for PS4 and PC. |
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Shikigami no Shiro II | Shooter | Shmup that plays like Gunbird 2 in which the people count as the ships. Dialogue heavy- and JP only, but playable. Also on GC/PS2, GC version is JP only as well, while PS2 version (called "Castle Shikigami 2" in US) is in full ENGURISH. |
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Skies of Arcadia / Eternal Arcadia | RPG | One of the best JRPGs of its generation, which follows the exploits of womanizing, skyfaring steampunk pirate Vyse, who explores airborne islands and engages in large-scale airship battles with his crew, along with standard JRPG combat. Everything about this game is immensely enjoyable and a treat for fans of the adventure anime-inspired JRPG. The rare GCN port (Legends) is the definitive version thanks to better graphics and extra content (including a whole new character arc), despite having inferior music quality. Play this however you can. |
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Soldier of Fortune | FPS | Neo-Nazi terrorists stole four Russian nukes, it's up to a mercenary group to get them back. Incredibly violent, with realistic dismemberment effects. Despite absurd loading times, it's still pretty good.
PROTIP: Using a GD-EMU or USB-GDROM will help cut down on the load times |
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Sonic Adventure | Platformer | Sonic? In 3D? And it doesn't suck? Sign me up! Voice acting is terrible, but the gameplay is fun enough to make up for that. Cutscenes are hilarious as for some reason everyone talks with their eyebrows. Ported with minor graphical updates to GameCube, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, albeit with more glitches. The Dreamcast version looks better overall. |
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Sonic Adventure 2 | Platformer | Follows the formula of the first Adventure as far as making 3D Sonic not suck is concerned, and mostly succeeds. The story is divided into Sonic and brooding newcomer Shadow's story, with three types of missions: the standard (Sonic/Shadow), annoying scavenging/treasure hunts (Knuckles/Rouge) and action-shooting romps (Tails/Eggman). Both plotlines come together for the climactic finale. The Chao-raising side-game is very robust and, if you're a monster-raising sim fan, might be the best part of the game. A mostly great game whose characters would later star in a lot of crap. Ported to GCN with loads of extra content. Again, this version looks better visually. |
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SoulCalibur | 3D Fighting | The original Dreamcast killer app. Arcade-perfect is not enough, this version blows the arcade out of the water, with graphics better than any other fighting game at the time, along with extra modes and characters.
Also for XBLA, in higher def but lacking the mission mode, so the Dreamcast version still wins. |
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Space Channel 5 | Rhythm | Groovy space-age reporter Ulala follows the development of an alien invasion putting Earth's population under mind control. The solution? Dance the invaders away in increasingly challenging rhythm sequences interspersed with cutscenes. Features Space Michael Jackson and a hilarious, campy seventies-in-space vibe. Sequel is JP-only, but both were ported in English to PS2. However, this game has serious sync issues in that port, making it kind of infuriating to play. Try to track down the original. |
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Space Channel 5: Part 2 | Rhythm | This is the Japan only Sequel. Same as the first but features Michael Jackson as "SPACE MICHAEL". There is a full English release made from PS2 game version, now replacing X and O buttons from DS controller to match actual buttons on Dreamcast controller. Get it here.Available on the PS2, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. |
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Spawn: In the Demon's Hand | Action / Beat 'em Up | WTF? A Spawn that's actually good? When Capcom makes it.. YES! Supports up to 4 players. |
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Spider-Man | Action / Beat 'em Up | A visually improved port of the PSX/N64 title, one of the coolest Spider-Man games. It is inspired by the '94 cartoon, so it's far more colorful and lighthearted than the later, movie-based Spidey games. Too bad the sequel, Enter Electro, is only on the PSX. |
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Starlancer * | Shooter / simulator | It's like the Cold War in space, if the Cold War had escalated into World War III. And had happened in space. Plays so much like Wing Commander that you'd be tempted to call it a Wing Commander rip-off before finding that it was produced by the guys who had created Wing Commander in the first place. Also on PC. |
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Street Fighter Alpha / Zero 3 | 2D Fighting | Street Fighter in its pre-years. Pretty good arcade port like most Dreamcast games. On a fuckton of other consoles (Sat, PS1, GBA, PS2, PSP), some with additional features, so this one might be easier to come by. |
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Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike / Fight For The Future | 2D Fighting | One of the most respected fighting games ever made. Known for its excellent fighting system, its quirky cast, and its crisp, clean sprites.
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Street Fighter III: Double Impact / W | 2D Fighting | A compilation of Street Fighter III: New Generation and its follow-up, Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. A must-have for Street Fighter completionists, as it was the only console version of both games (only 3rd Strike was ported to later consoles). |
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Super Magnetic Neo / Niuniu | 3D platform game | The main character of the game, NiuNiu/Neo, has the ability to generate a magnetic field which emanates from his head. Along with running and jumping similar to other 3D platformers such as Crash Bandicoot, using the North or South fields can attract (i.e. stick to) or repel (e.g. bounce off) various objects to maneuver through levels. |
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Super Puzzle Fighter II X For Matching Service | 2D PAZURU FAIGHTING | Seriously, Puzzle Fighting, that IS the fucking title. Capcom made a genious idea with this shit and it works out well. Best version of Puzzle Fighter II. Well, maybe the HD remix is better, but I wouldn't know. If you want to acquire this, Capcom Fighter Collection Disc exist online. Matching service version has online versus! |
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Super Street Fighter II X For Matching Service | 2D Fighting | Probably the most complete port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo ever due to its extensive customization options. Japan only and very rare, as it was a mail order release.
The HD Remix version later released for the PS3/Xbox 360 was based on this version. |
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Suzuki Alstare Racing / Redline Racer | Motor Bike Racing | Yes, Alstare, not Allstar. With that out of the way, it's a fun racing game with suzuki motorbikes. Made by the same guys who would later create the Burnout series. Known as Redline Racer outside the US. |
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Tech Romancer / Choukou Senki Kikaioh | 3D Robot Fighting | Over-the-top, mecha anime-inspired giant robot fighter by Capcom, with destructible environments and amazing mecha designs. Each pilot has their own backstory and personality, within the constraints of the usual fighting game narrative. Loosely related to Cyberbots (PS), whose protagonist, Jin Saotome, is unlockable. Though far from a technical fighter, a total blast to play solo or with friends. |
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Test Drive 6 | Racing | HERE IN MY CAR, YOU'RE THE SAFEST OF ALL! I CAN LOCK ALL MY DOORS! IN CARS! Very fun and arcade-y game with so-so graphics, but has that feel that's just fun as fuck even for a race or two. |
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Tokyo Xtreme Racer / Shutokou Battle | Racing | Pretty good game about one thing and one thing only, Tokyo highway racing. The game feature a plethora of cars and customization options. Extremely grindy but fun. Soundtrack is pretty good 'n arcadey. |
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Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 / Shutokou Battle 2 | Racing | More of the same but better. Car customization got deeper and the graphics got a slight touch-up. Highly recommended if you enjoy racing games. 2 player got stripped out though. Sequel and psudo-remake (Zero) are on the PS2. |
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Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation / IV* | Adventure / 3D Platformer | This is probably the best Tomb Raider from the original series, despite what you read on many reviews. It's set on Egypt, which makes a great atmosphere for this kind of game. It's the same formula since the first Tomb Raider with all the good things (great level designs, clever puzzles, good orchestral music, etc) and bad things (stiffy controls, bad camera, etc), but with new moves, new weapons, and a great improvement in graphics in comparison with the Playstation version. Also available on Playstation, PC, Mac and PSN. |
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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Extremeier Sports | Awesome sequel that improved upon the 1st one. This game is so fucking good nobody at metacritic scored it below a 90. This time around you've got even more of the shit that made the 1st awesome. Spideys got a skateboard now.
Also on PS1/N64, with an xbox port, 2X. |
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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater / Skateboarding | Extreme Sports | Pretty neato game about tony hawk and all that jazz. Features a fair amount of chracters and awesome music.
Also on PS1/N64. |
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Toy Commander / Totsugeki! Teketeke! Toy Ranger | Action / Sandbox | Grand Theft Auto set in a toybox. Flying, shooting, racing all around some dude's house. A house... with a lot of toys... to command. Designed by Frédérick Raynal who's responsible for every underrated game ever from Little Big Adventure to Fade to Black and Soul Bubbles. |
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Trickstyle | Hoverboard Racing | Hoverboard racing game by the rascals AKKLAIM. Reminds you of Sonic Riders, except this came first, so yeah. Made by Criterion as well, so that's pretty cool. Try it out if you want a good hoverboard racer game. |
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Triggerheart Exelica | Shoot em' up | A flying anime girl robot shmup with a twist: other than shooting the enemies, you can also use a tractor beam to capture them, spin them around, and slam them against other enemies. Also on PS2 and XBLA. |
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Trizeal | Shoot em' up | A damn sweet shooter from a tiny developer, with a very strong old-school feel; challenging and intense, good graphics, nice soundtrack. Also for PS2 (lotsa slowdowns), and part of the Shooting Love 200X compilation for Xbox 360. |
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Twinkle Star Sprites | Cute 'em up / Puzzle | A unique shoot 'em up for Dreamcast that can best be described as a 2 player competitive puzzle/shooter. Get chains to put enemies on your opponents screen. CRAZY fun with another player to compete against! |
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Typing of the Dead, The | Edutainment / Horror | In order to help you with your typing skills, SEGA tweaked House of the Dead 2 so that you now kill zombies by typing words that appear on the screen as fast as possible, instead of, well, shooting them. Hilariously, the characters are actually seen wielding typewriters instead of firearms in the cutscenes. Most everything else is the same. A premise that makes for a ridiculous and fun one-off game. Requires the (now very rare) DC-compatible keyboard, though. Also available for PC. |
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Under Defeat | Shoot em' up | G.Rev’s second shmup for Sega's deceased wonderbox. This time its a Vert set in WWII. Awesome graphics and some unusual gameplay: rather than just shoot upwards, you can turn your helicopter to an angle. Widely considered one of the finest Dreamcast shooters. |
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Unreal Tournament | FPS | The best FPS for Dreamcast, and a great play, but takes time to master. Multiplayer is a blast. |
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Vampire Chronicle: For Matching Service | 2D Fighting | Just when you though there was no Darkstalkers games on the Dreamcast! Capcom literally had EVERY fighting series on this console alright. Vampire, A.K.A. Darkstalkers, in 2 of thier best literations from the JP circuit. Now with online and other shit. |
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Virtua Fighter 3tb | Fightan...IN 3D! | Same ol' Virtua Fighter, but better. With more characters, better graphics and stages and shit. If you're sick of playing Capcom, Namco and SNK fighters, well, then I guess this is the best alternative. |
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Virtua Tennis 2 / 2k2 / Power Smash 2 | Sports | Sequel of the well-known Virtua Tennis, a great arcade-y tennis game. This is the kind of game that will keep you playing because it's simply fun, specially playing with friends since support 4 players, even if you aren't a tennis fan. Improves over it's predecessor with a tighter gameplay, cleaner graphics, wider roster (including female players now), more courts, better AI, etc. Also available on PC, PS2 and Arcades. ' |
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Wacky Races | Racing | A Mario Kart-esque racer using the license for the Hannah Barbara cartoon Wacky Races. Lots of fun. |
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World Series Baseball 2K1 | Sports | |
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Yu Suzuki Game Works | Compilation | A quite rare Japan-only bundle of a book covering Yu Suzuki's remarkable game development career, and a compilation of five of his early arcade hits. All but one were playable in Shenmue 1 and 2, but it's convenient to have them all promptly available on a single disc.
Games: Space Harrier, Hang On, After Burner II, Out Run, and Power Drift. |
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Zero Gunner 2 | Shoot em' up | Another helicopter shmup thi
s time from Psikyo. Feature massive bosses all with multiple forms. Bit of a cake walk up until the last stage but still awsome. |
Recommendation copypasta[]
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CD-R compatible and not
| Sixth Generation | ||
| Consoles | Sega Dreamcast - Nintendo Gamecube - VM Labs Nuon - Sony PlayStation 2 - VTech V.Smile - Microsoft Xbox | |
| Handhelds | Nintendo Game Boy Advance - Game Park GP32 - Nokia N-Gage - Nintendo Pokémon Mini - Bandai WonderSwan - Tapwave Zodiac | |