All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

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I am not Paul

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby I am not Paul » March 2nd, 2008, 2:40 pm

Hi, first time poster.  I've often read that Dave considers the Dreamcast to be his favorite system and in my life it's been just about the only major system I've never owned, so I figured I should pick it up.  Then it hit me that I already own all the best Dreamcast games.  Except on other consoles.  Check it out, these are among the best (A rank) one-time exclusive Dreamcast games and now they're all available on other systems, and I have them all without ever having owned a Dreamcast:

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2... on Gamecube
Skies of Arcadia... on Gamecube
Grandia 2... on Ps2
Crazy Taxi 3... on Xbox (which includes Crazy Taxi 1 and 2)
Marvel Vs Capcom 2... on Xbox
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike... on the Street Fighter Anniversary collection... on Xbox and Ps2.
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer... on N64 (actually this wasn't Dremcast exclusive, but it IS one of the best racing games ever and the better version is on n64)
Resident Evil Code Veronica... on PS2
Hydro Thunder and San Francisco Rush 2049... on the Midway Arcade Treasures 3 compilation for Xbox
House of the Dead 2... on Xbox (included as an extra on House of the Dead 3)
Dead or Alive 2... on Ps2, also Xbox (as Dead or Alive Ultimate)
Shenmue 2... on Xbox
You can't get Soul Calibur 1 on the other systems but PS2, has both Soul Calibur 2 and 3 and in a fighting game what's the point of going back to 1 after having played the sequels?

I looked at the critics list of Dreamcast games, and virtually all the games he gave A's or B+'s to are available on other systems.  So does this make the Dreamcast a worse system??  It's not like all the best Genesis games are on the Snes or all the best N64 games are on the Ps1 but it seems all the best Dreamcast games are on either the ps2, cube or xbox. 

Also, are there any great Dreamcast games I'm missing that I can't get anywhere else (maybe Powerstone)?  Any suggestions?


Sudz1
Posts: 816
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby Sudz1 » March 2nd, 2008, 7:49 pm

So in your opinion it's better to own 6 other systems in order to cobble together the best Dreamcast games than it is to simply own a Dreamcast?  I don't get the premise of your argument.  To me the fact that all these games ended up being ported to other systems only shows how awesome the Dreamcast library is (was), and underscores the argument that it was the best console ever.
Sudz



Cheesy

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby Cheesy » March 2nd, 2008, 9:08 pm

First, your Soul Calibur statement is completely wrong. The original on the Dreamcast was best of them all, and IS worth playing even if you've played the sequels. And the Dreamcast versions for these games are better than on any other console. And these games were ported over when Sega became a third party. Genesis games weren't ported to SNES because Sega was a first party at the time. Same thing with Nintendo an Sony. Sega became third party after the Dreamcast died, so they could port their games because they weren't first party anymore.


JasonhasRSI1
Posts: 712
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby JasonhasRSI1 » March 2nd, 2008, 9:39 pm

A few notable Dreamcast games not available on other consoles:

Bangai-O: Thought it is coming to the DS at some point, there's no way the handheld version will match the intensity of the Dreamcast version. Great gameplay-focused shootemup from Treasure.

Power Stone 1 and 2: So these are available for the PSP in a collection, but Power Stone is all about the local multiplayer. Nothing like hooking up four controllers and beating the crap out of your friends.

Virtua Tennnis: See above. The PSP has a port of some version (I think it's VT2) but the original on the DC is by far the best available due to the availability of a local four-player option.



I agree that it's ridiculous to say the Dreamcast is any worse a system now that it's top games are available elsewhere.


Sudz1
Posts: 816
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby Sudz1 » March 3rd, 2008, 8:40 am

I wanted to add Ooga Booga to the list of great Dreamcast-only titles... I'm sure there are a ton more when I have a chance to think about it.  Chu-Chu rocket and Samba De Amigo also leap to mind.
Sudz


bluemonkey1
Posts: 2444
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby bluemonkey1 » March 3rd, 2008, 1:11 pm

Soul Calibur 1 walks all over Soul Calibur 2 and 3.

The gameplay is much more refined and well balanced.



andrew

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby andrew » March 3rd, 2008, 1:34 pm

Want to point out that Hydro Thunder and Rush 2049 were also on the n64 and done quite well on top of that.

BigOldCar

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby BigOldCar » March 3rd, 2008, 6:23 pm

I think what he's getting at is that you don't have to own a Dreamcast to enjoy most of its best titles.  That's a good thing, because it's one less console to have to have around, and one less piece of rapidly aging equipment to fail on you.

I wish the DC had succeeded instead of sending up the white flag of surrender as soon as the PS2 appeared on the horizon.  But surrender it did, and now it's way easier to come by a used PS2 or GC than it is to track down a working DC.

As much as I've considered picking up a Dreamcast, I haven't really had to, and yet there's very little I feel I've missed out on.

I think that's what's at the heart of "I am not Paul"s post.


Not Paul

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby Not Paul » March 3rd, 2008, 7:33 pm

Look at the Gamecube, what are its A-rank exclusives?

Smash Bros Melee
Mario Kart Double Dash
Metroid Prime 1 and 2
Baten Kaitos 1 and 2
Tales of Symphonia
Star Fox Adventure (debatable)
Rouge Squadron 2 and 3

Now imagine if Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart DD and the Baten Kaitos games were later ported to the ps2.  Imagine if the Rogue Squadron games and the Metroid Primes were then ported to the Xbox.  There would  hardly be any reason to own a Gamecube anymore.  And so the Gamecube would get worse.  I think that's what happened to the Dreamcast.  Can it really be The Best System when most of it's better exclusives have made it to other consoles? 

Other points I'd like to make...
- Ikaruga, another "A" Dreamcast title was later ported to the Gamecube.
- Sorry Andrew, but Hydro Thunder was garbage on N64.  The graphics held up okay, but it moves about half speed when compared to the Dreamcast/Arcade versions.


Michael D

All the best Dreamcast games available on other systems.

Postby Michael D » March 3rd, 2008, 9:23 pm

[QUOTE=BigOldCar]I think what he's getting at is that you don't have to own a Dreamcast to enjoy most of its best titles.  That's a good thing, because it's one less console to have to have around, and one less piece of rapidly aging equipment to fail on you.
[/QUOTE]

True enough, but as someone who's played many of these titles on the Dreamcast originally, it really depresses me how too many of them are poorly emulated on the newer consoles.

Grandia 2 has a horrible framerate on PS2, which completely ruins it, Sonic Adventure 1 on GC suffers from the exact same problem, and Midway Arcade Treasures 3's ports of both Rush 2049 and Hydro Thunder are technically inferior to the Dreamcast ones (especially on the Xbox version, though I've heard the GC one runs better).  You'd think that even now outdated systems like the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox would be able to properly handle Dreamcast titles.

Yet, not every Dreamcast port suffers from inexcusible flaws.  Take, for example, Skies of Arcadia for GC, Sonic Adventure 2 for GC, and Space Channel 5 Special Edition for PS2.

As such, I'd generally recommend that despite being harder to track down, the Dreamcast is worth having, even for some of the games that have already been brought elsewhere (and especially for those that weren't, like the original Soul Calibur). 


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