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The Sega Dreamcast was a short-lived but beloved console that had a surprisingly rich library of horror games. Here are my picks for the top 5 horror games for the Sega Dreamcast, in descending order of awesomeness.
5. Blue Stinger
Blue Stinger is a survival horror game that takes place on a remote island where a meteor has crashed, unleashing a horde of mutated creatures. You play as either Eliot G. Ballade, a former special forces agent, or Dogs Bower, a beefy sailor, as you explore the island and fight off the monsters. The game has a cheesy B-movie vibe, with over-the-top voice acting, ridiculous dialogue, and absurd plot twists. The gameplay is a mix of action, puzzle-solving, and exploration, with a variety of weapons and items to use. Blue Stinger is a fun and campy game that doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's a big part of its charm.
4. Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare is a reboot of the classic horror series that started on the PC. The game follows Edward Carnby, a paranormal investigator, and Aline Cedrac, a university professor, as they travel to Shadow Island to investigate the death of a friend. The game is divided into two scenarios, one for each character, that offer different perspectives and paths through the island. The game features a dark and atmospheric setting, with creepy sound effects and music, and a dynamic lighting system that uses your flashlight as a key gameplay element. The game also has plenty of clever puzzles, as well as a healthy dose of combat against the island's ghastly inhabitants. Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare is a solid and spooky game that pays homage to the original series while updating it for a new generation.
3. D2
D2 is a sequel to the obscure D, a horror adventure game that was released on the 3DO, Sega Saturn, and PS1. The game stars Laura, a young woman who survives a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, only to find herself in a bizarre and dangerous situation. The game is a mix of genres, with elements of survival horror, RPG, and adventure. It also has some stunning (for their time) cinematic cutscenes, with impressive graphics and voice acting, and some very creepy moments. The game isn't terribly long, clocking in at a little over 10 hours, but it features a complex and surreal story that touches on themes of loss, identity, and drug abuse. D2 was a very unique and ambitious game that offers a surreal and somber experience, somewhat similar to the Silent Hill series.
2. Illbleed
Illbleed is a horror comedy game that parodies the genre and breaks the fourth wall. The game takes place in a twisted amusement park called Illbleed, where the attractions are designed to scare and kill the visitors. You play as Eriko Christy, a fearless girl who is challenged by her friends to enter Illbleed and survive. The game has 6 levels, each based on a different horror trope, such as a haunted house, killer doll, giant worms, and a Toy Story from hell. The game has a lot of humor and satire, with references to horror movies, games, and pop culture. It also has a very unique gameplay mechanic, where you have to use your senses to detect and avoid the traps and dangers in the park. The game also has a lot of secrets and surprises, such as multiple unlockable characters, alternate endings, and a bonus minigame. Illbleed is a hilarious and inventive game that simultaneously mocks and celebrates the horror genre.
1. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Resident Evil: Code Veronica is the fourth installment in the legendary survival horror series, and the first one to be released on the Dreamcast. The game follows Claire Redfield, a survivor of the Raccoon City incident, and Chris Redfield, her brother and a member of the anti-bioterrorism group S.T.A.R.S., as they uncover the secrets of the Umbrella Corporation and their bioweapons. The game is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 2, and features many returning characters and locations, as well as new ones. It also introduces a new 3D engine, with dynamic camera angles and improved graphics. Code Veronica features a long and epic story, with multiple scenarios and locations, and a lot of action and suspense. The game also has some puzzles and exploration, as well as a variety of enemies and bosses, including the iconic Tyrant. Resident Evil: Code Veronica is a masterpiece of the genre, and the best survival horror game on the Dreamcast, in my humble opinion.
While these 5 are my favorites, there are even more horror games on the Dreamcast. If you're a fan of the genre, Sega's final console definitely has a lot to offer!
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When springtime rolls around a wide variety of outdoor activities becomes much more alluring. Getting outside and getting some sun is important to even the most hardcore of gamers. Fishing is a great hobby that can be enjoyed year round, but the comfortable temperatures of spring bring out the biggest crowds. It's such a large and popular hobby that Sega decided to make a fishing arcade game, Sega Bass Fishing.
The original arcade cabinet was developed by Sega AM 1 and released in 1997 as Get Bass in Japan. The game was successful enough in the arcade that Sega followed it up with Sega Marine Fishing in 1999. Both games would see console ports on the Sega Dreamcast, Sega Bass Fishing in 1999 and Sega Marine Fishing in 2000. Both games were among the more popular and successful Dreamcast games, as Sega released the Sega Fishing Controller to make the games feel more similar to both the arcade and real life, complete with motion controls.
Continue reading Sega Bass Fishing
[img width=531 height=466]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-061/bf/U-061-S-01430-A.jpg[/img]
Folks on this site likely know the feeling; You and three 'friends' are in a heated Super Smash Bros. Melee when someone cries out, "My "R" button isn't working! Hey guys, wait!" Or that heated Joust versus match with the controller that just doesn't 'flap' as fast, or the time you were excited to show off your rare Sega CD Snatcher on one of the four days of the week that the drive tray doesn't want to work...
If you are a retro gamer that plays as well as collects, you know the effort it takes to upkeep your library. Vintage video game collecting is like classic car collecting or pinball machine collecting; it's more than just having space for the stuff and the ability to find and pay for the games and hardware. If it is going to remain playable, there's some know-how and some elbow grease that will become part of the hobby. From notorious controller wear and faulty optical drives, to analog drift and bad capacitors, every retro player/collector has to get comfortable with just how far down the rabbit hole they are going to go. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have a passion for a console that seems immune to all but psyonic attacks (SNES, Game Boy Color) or maybe you've fallen for a glass snowflake (Famicom Disc System, a Turbo Duo with good sound), but either way there is always some basic maintenance needed.
Continue reading Thoughts On The Upkeep of Retro Game Collecting
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This could be me soon!
While I eagerly anticipate the arrival of October because of my trip down south to meet up with several rfgen members to once again attend the seminal Retro World Expo, I'm making sure I've got my wishlist in order and ready to rock. This trip gives me the opportunity to delve into the stock of dozens of stores and vendors that I'd normally never have access to while at home. My hope is to be able to find some of the more challenging games to obtain in different sets. Since completing my licensed NES and Turbografx 16 collections, I've been focusing on completing a few other full libraries. Some easier than others.....
Continue reading Travel Prepping for RWX
[img width=700 height=342]http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jetsetradio/jsrj.jpg[/img]
In the late 1990s, a great push was made by a formerly beloved underdog of video game hardware manufacturing, after bad decisions across a variety of fronts lead to gaming's greatest collapse since the fabled crash of '83. The only player that lost significant ground was Sega, which had always managed to have a bright market in some part of the globe at different points of its history. The Master System's greatest success was in Europe, with the Brazilian market pulling off a surprise punch as well. The Genesis managed to expand the hold to North America, and really tapped into the consumer mainstream, but both consoles lagged behind in Sega's homeland of Japan. All that flipped with the Saturn, when Japan took the spotlight at the expense of everybody else. The Dreamcast was Sega's last gasp, and despite a critically short life, it managed to grab hold of a chunk of North America once again.
Part of the reason for this collapse was the marketing. Sega was poised to grab a chunk of mainstream gamers after pushing their sports games boldly on cable advertisements. This failure in marketing was that it didn't show the true breadth of titles available for the Dreamcast. The commercials showcased more TV friendly and higher quality renderings of Dreamcast game assets, but only really named individual game titles in their commercials. Gone were the sort of list commercials from the Genesis days that showcased both in-game footage, and the actual title of the game on top of it. A prime example of this advertising misstep was with the main character of Jet Grind Radio, Beat. He was spotted in multiple Dreamcast commercials, even getting a solo shot in one, but not once was the name of the game ever dropped. Everything was spliced on top of live footage, and Jet Grind Radio did not get its own commercial to show off anything beyond the style of one character's design in a most inauthentic way.
Continue reading Jet Set Radio
I will be playing every game that I own for Sega systems I am doing this because I would like to be able to say I have played every game I own
Rules for my gameplay
- Playing the games in Release order, If no US date could be found I used JP dates
- Will Play until Game Over if possible, if no game over after 10 min will end playing
- Sports to end of first Quarter/Inning (orbored )
- Games will be recorded/Played off real hardware no Retrons or Emulators
- if game has an issue or new, I may use an Everdrive
Game list and day I will be playing them on Twitch http://www.twitch.tv/douglie007
If Preview doesnt Work https://docs.google.com/s...tml?gid=0&single=true
9/10/15 video stream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?4zMQP6kVICQ
9/17/15 video stream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?uGIOzv-h20U
I've been trying to get my brother to like "Old Games" but he'd rather call them "Crap" and play newer games like "CoD Ghosts" and basically all of the games made for xbox 360 from 2012 to present! So I might actualy give up  . let me know if I should give up.
Hello RF Gents and Jens,
A few new variants have been discovered recently. Variant collecting isn't as clear as we thought it was! Anyways, all game variants known to date are detailed here. The somewhat new ones are UPC stickers on Fighting Force 2 and Monaco Grand Prix, as well as misprints for Marvel vs Capcom and ChuChu Rocket.
Recently I made a few purchases on ebay, and they include some curious items that are poorly documented online. Much appreciation would be given to anyone who can clarify some of these mystery items. So, show-and-tell time!
First off are the Web Browser discs that we know and love.
a) Are any more browser discs out there besides the ones pictured?
b) Did Web Browser 2.62 ever have a case or sleeve?
I've seen a few copies of Web Browser 2.62 floating around recently, and it is always loose. Here's a pic for comparison with 2.0
Now here's a new find. I found what seems to be Web Browser 2.0 in a sleeve. The sleeve version (II) also has demos listed on it.
...and a back view.
Surprise! The disc in sleeve II isn't Web Browser 2.0, but is actually the Dreamcast Magazine vol. 6 GD-Rom demo. It makes sense, the demos printed on the sleeve are a perfect match.
Pictured here is a third version of the Web Browser 2.0 packaging. III is also in a sleeve.
... and a back view
I don't wish to reveal what is inside because I would like to confirm with other collectors if it is the correct disc. So here's another question concerning item III pictured above.
c) Does anyone else have the Sega/Net version of the Web Browser 2.0 sleeve? What is inside?
That's all for browser discs. It is time to move on to the next find. For reference our colorful buddies, the Generator demo discs, are pictured here.
These discs have an annoying tab that makes it difficult to get inside.
The exception is when that tab goes missing.
At first I thought someone cut it off. But then I examined it closer. The front is identical, and the back is all text.
When you see it...
...you'll do the Sega Swirl!
That's all for the picture show. I think I've found a new alternate sleeve for Dreamcast Magazine vol. 6 GD-Rom and Generator vol.1 demo disc. Once again, I would appreciate any help on my browser disc questions. Please comment below or on the DP forum thread.
a) Are any more browser discs out there besides the ones pictured?
b) Did Web Browser 2.62 ever have a case or sleeve?
c) Does anyone else have the Sega/Net version of the Web Browser 2.0 sleeve? What is inside?
A couple years back I started blogging heavily here about my experiences collecting (and playing) Dreamcast games. But over time my focus would shift back and forth from Dreamcast to other stuff. The shifting tended to dilute what I envisioned in my mind as the proper way to display my DC collecting. Which is why earlier this month I decided to launch my own site called appropriately enough "noiseredux vs. Dreamcast."
[img width=700 height=393]http://i.imgur.com/X8lCTTF.png[/img]
The main reason was that I didn't want to keep this NRvsDC thing going as a blog... I don't really like that format for such an endeavor. I like organization that can only be accomplished via an actual site rather than a blog.
You can head over to http://noiseredux.weebly.com to see what I'm talking about.
The new NRvDC site offers up my write-ups (including ones I've migrated from my blog here) on Dreamcast and Neo Geo Pocket games as I explore my own collection. It's important to note that I don't really consider these "reviews." They're generally more anecdotal. Or rambling even. Consider it just a collector's journal. It also has its own blog that I'll use for chronicling my pick-ups.
As far as my blog here - I'll most likely use it for more scattered thoughts. It's not like I'm abandoning RFGen, but this noiseredux vs. Dreamcast site is just really the way I've always envisioned the presentation.
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Let's get one thing straight right now: The title of this entry is NOT a question. It's the actual name of the Demo Disc that I'm talking about today.
Now then...
What's Shenmue is essentially the Japanese Demo Disc of Shenmue for the Dreamcast. It allows you to walk around a portion of Dobuita (The main game's central hub area of sorts), but it actually has you following a goal: You have to find the Head Managing Director of Sega, Hidekazu Yukawa, and ask him what Shenmue is.
To track him down, you need to ask the people around town about him. Most people are clueless, or just don't have time to talk to you. That being said, you'll eventually hit a QTE (Quick Time Event, which is a series of timed button presses) that leads you to the local Arcade. Once you go there, you'll receive Yukawa's Business Card from the Arcade's Manager, which conveniently has the time and place that Yukawa will be written on the back of it.
Once the In-Game Clock rolls around to 4 PM, you have to go to one of the two travel agencies in town to find him. As you enter the building, Yukawa is leaving. He will freak out and run away from you, leading you into another, much longer, QTE. Once you finally catch up to him, he will explain just what Shenmue is. You are then treated to a Cutscene, which reveals that the whole thing was just a dream that Yukawa was having.
Despite being short (It's a Demo, damn it!), it features some NPCs and a few elements that didn't make it to the final game, which is pretty neat. The disc itself also comes with a card advertising a song that doesn't appear to be in the final product.
If you feel like trying something different, and getting a little more out of the small Shenmue Series, I recommend this. I also recommend a Walkthrough if you can't read Japanese, which can be found on GameFAQs.
Noriyuki Iwadare: Chapter 2
When we last left off with Iwadare's career we just stopped at Der Langrisser, and covered the big Lunar games and one remake, now its time for a new series to rise, and Lunar to continue with its remake train.
In 1996 Iwadare and Pack-In-Video worked together to make Monstania, a short tactical RPG for the Super Famicom that you guessed it, was never localized anywhere. It was quite late in the Super's lifecycle by then and Japan already had the Nintendo 64 to play with. Also, Pack-In-Video almost never localized their games anyway.
In the same year Iwadare and Game Arts released the Playstation remake of the first Lunar, adding Story to the end of the title for some reason. Anyway, this is more than just a simple remake, since the Playstation has more power than a Sega CD the developers were able to upgrade graphics, sound, music, everything, and with the upgrades came new songs.
A year later saw the Japanese exclusive release of Langrisser IV for the Sega Saturn, Iwadare worked with a couple of others to produce the music for the game. The aforementioned remake of Lunar Walking School, Magic School Lunar, also released for the Saturn and only for Japan in 1997.
What the rest of us got from the wonderful year of 1997 is another work from Iwadare and Game Arts, a new project, one that's not Lunar. Grandia. Grandia originally came out in 1997 for the Sega Saturn (for Japan only of course), but it was ported to the Playstation and released internationally in 1999 (2000 for the Euros out there). Because of its similarity to Xenogears in appearance and camera control it is the cause for some finger pointing ire amongst RPG fanboys, or did back when people cared.
1998 would see a couple more big projects from Iwadare. Langrisser V would release for the Saturn and Playstation (what geographical area do you think it was released in?) This is currently the latest game of the Langrisser series until Schwarz releases. Iwadare is credited as the composer for this upcoming game as well. But, the big news, at least internationally, was the remake of Lunar 2, getting the full Playstation treatment just like the first game got.
The next year was fairly quiet for the international Iwadare fan. None of the games would release outside of Japan but one did start a brand new series. Well, it is a new game in a way. Growlanser released in Japan only in 1999, but we would get some of the later games in the series.
In 2000 the world of role playing would be shaken to its core, or it should have been if it didn't, because Game Arts and Iwadare came out with an all new Grandia for the new at the time Sega Dreamcast! I consider this game to be in the Holy Trinity of Dreamcast RPGs alongside Skies of Arcadia and Phantasy Star Online. Just ignore the PS2 port and get the DC version!
Let us start the 21st century by saying that the next couple games had no chance of releasing outside of Japan. Mercurius Pretty is a remake of an old Japanese PC-98 game, there was no exposure when it was originally released and most likely not going to attract even a niche fanbase at the time. True Love Story 3 is a dating sim, that's about it for that one.
So the next music the international crowd was introduced to is a Grandia spin off, Grandia Xtreme. I have not played this game yet as I have never owned it and did not rent it back in the day, it is on my hunting list though as I have been digging the music.
Another True Love Story would come out along with an... 'adult' visual novel called Wind: A Breath of Heart. All the good stuff is in the PC version as it was cut for the console market. 2003 would see Iwadare work on that timeless PS2 classic Mega Man X7 with an entire music crew. Counting him, there are 9 credited composers for that game. Yikes!
Anyway I'll skip the Mega Man X7 for now and move onto something else completely awesome. Lawyers. Namely, Capcom's resident lawyer Nick Wright and crew. Yes, Iwadare started in the Ace Attorney series with the 3rd game, which we know as Trials and Tribulations. These games originally released as Game Boy Advance games. They were later remade for the Nintendo DS and released internationally a few years later, when I got in on the series.
Iwadare finally got to work for the big name in console RPGs, Square Enix, to compose the soundtrack to Radiata Stories before going back to compose the music for the Grandia I wish I could forget, Grandia III. After this he went back to making music for some Japanese exclusive sims primarily he made a return to the Ace Attorney series with Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth in 2009, and its UNLOCALIZED sequel Gyakuten Kenji 2 in 2011.
Alongside the new Ace Attorney spin off Game Arts and Iwadare made ANOTHER Lunar remake for the Playstation Portable. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony came out in 2009. The awesome Limited Edition has some sexy Lunar girl cards and a sweet CD soundtrack of all the music in the game! This is more of a slight enhancement to the PS1 remake than a different overhaul of the Sega CD original.
Grandia Online released in 2010 with Iwadare composing the entire soundtrack. Yes, this MMO is exclusive to Japan. I think its getting quite clear why Noriyuki Iwadare might not be as well known as he should be. Half his music never made it across any body of water!
The most recent games that Iwadare has worked on are the aforementioned Grandia Online, Gyakuten Kenji 2, and Kid Icarus: Uprising. Upcoming games with his music are the newest Ace Attorney game and Nick's return; Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, as well as Langrisser Schwarz.
Composer Compendium LP - Stewart Copeland
Introducing the Composer Compendium Limited Play, or LP for short. The idea behind the LP is to highlight a short career in video games. Perhaps a life was tragically cut short, or an artist made music for a handful of games and moved on, or, and this is the most common one, they exist as a popular entity outside of video games already. They have a made name with clout behind it, whether the person was in a famous band, does Broadway music, movie and TV soundtracks, whatever else they were doing beforehand does not matter.
As an extra to the conclusion of Noriyuki Iwadare here is the Limited Play of The Police's drummer Stewart Copeland's work in the video game industry.
Sadly, he only worked on one series of games and one other random game, but the best games in that series. Mr. Copeland composed the music for the first four Spyro games. He started work on the very first one for the Playstation, and finished with Enter the Dragonfly on PS2.
This time coincided with many musicians outside of the realm of video games entering the medium in the West. They no longer needed in depth knowledge of a system's sound capabilities with the rise of CD gaming. The CD brought incredibly high quality music with it since NEC first introduced the Turbo CD as an add-on to the Turbografx-16. You did not need to be Yuzo Koshiro and create your own music coding language just to create high quality music. This brought many new audio styles to the world of mid-late 90's gaming.
I love me some Insomniac, and part of that reason is that I grew up with the PS1 trilogy of games and this music. I still like to try and play through them every other summer for some fun and nostalgia. Even back then I thought the music was much different from anything I had played on the Super Nintendo and PS1 beforehand. This may have to do with Copeland's lack of experience with the overall gaming market. He wasn't listening to the soundtracks of other games to get a style of what a game should sound like, he just made great music to fit the style of the one game he was working on at the time.
The one non-Spyro game soundtrack Copeland did is Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare. I have not played this game so I don't know how it holds up, but I know its supposed to at least be creepy and mildly scary at times. I'll leave you with this nice, pleasant, limited little Spyro sample and this interview footage of the man himself.
So April turned out to be a crazy good month for adding to my collection. Let's take a look!
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/6XnVc1ol.jpg[/img]
First up was a couple of guides that I got using Barnes & Noble gift cards. I love Capcom Vs. SNK, so this was exciting.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/E3c6JpUl.jpg[/img]
A trade on Racketboy.com landed me these 3 Saturn titles. Always nice to get a fancy Working Design game.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/Dj7PjaNl.jpg[/img]
Fellow RFGen-er GrayGhost81 traded me this nice handful of Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine demo discs. By the end of April I was only now missing 2 of them.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/E518agAl.jpg[/img]
This giant lot came from a good buddy of mine. It started out as me taking just those two Saturn sports games which he had doubles of. Eventually the deal grew into what you see above, but he also surprised me with that sealed copy of Floigan Brothers which was really awesome of him!
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/PXg0H97l.jpg[/img]
Evolution I found locally for $7, and although that's pretty much the going price I like being able to buy Dreamcast games in person when I see them in such great shape.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/sD7bwsCl.jpg[/img]
Another trade through Racketboy got me these. That's a Dreamcast TopMax stick... it's not that great - especially compared to the excellent Agetec stick, but it was a great bargain so I was glad to add it to my shelves.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/ROBvvNCl.jpg[/img]
Yet another Racketboy trade got me Panzer Dragoon - a classic I've yet to play!
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/z9fpIoCl.jpg[/img]
My wife and I hit up a flea market while out furniture shopping and I came across these. Tetris Plus is in great condition and that Saturn Eclipse Pad is sealed. It was $15 for the both. But the real gem here is NBA 2K2, which is actually the hardest to find of the three 2K games on Dreamcast. I got mine for $2 which made me really happy.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/2OwxGIul.jpg[/img]
Another local game shop resulted in this awesome Saturn pick-up. That's right, an official racing wheel which is great for Daytona. The wheel was $20, which isn't spectacular, but buying one online would be a lot more once shipping is accounted for. Each of the three games were $10, which I felt pretty good about.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/2x8U0Snl.jpg[/img]
Here's one lot of games I got from my good buddy Mike. We went in together on a bigger purchase and split up what we each needed for our collections. I'm definitely really pleased with the items I got.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/iTcQeoQl.jpg[/img]
And another lot I got from the same friend - Sakura Wars 3 & 4 box sets complete my collection of the boxes. The third box is the best as it comes with a really classy and fully functional music box! The Saturn stick is a Hori V7 which is insanely comfortable and a purchase I'm very happy with.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/GVaHcDTl.jpg[/img]
And also from same friend - this is an official Dreamcast-branded DDR dance pad. This is really cool as there were no DC dance mats released in the US, so it's more common to see DC fans using a PlayStation 2 pad with a DC adapter instead.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/eeQci35l.jpg[/img]
And finally via another Racketboy trade I got a second Dreamcast - this is one of the black ones (sadly, the Sega Sports logo has been removed). This lot was really cool, and I'm especially fond of the Alien Front Online box set as well as the Double Impact release of Street Fighter III.
So yeah... pretty awesome month!
[img width=512 height=450]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-071/bf/U-071-S-00250-A.jpg[/img]
I think it's maybe an understatement to say that I'm a fan of Capcom fighting games. Pretty much my entire adoration for the genre comes from my first time playing Street Fighter II back in the day. As such, I've always identified most with that style of gameplay, character design, move-sets and so on. Which is not to say that I don't like other fighting game franchises or developers. It's not even to say I was ignorant of them 'back in the day.' Interestingly enough, I remember playing Art of Fighting (or was it World Heroes?) on a Neo Geo cab in a convenience store not far from my house around the same time. And I also had the SNES port of Fatal Fury in my collection right alongside Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
So then it's probably appropriate that in recent years I've also explored -- and gotten a lot more into SNK fighting games as well. As I mentioned I had certainly been exposed to SNK in the past, but to really tackle these games is daunting considering the sheer number of characters featured in the various games, spin-off's, sequels and crossovers. And while I've found a good handful of SNK games that I can continually come back to (and at least one solid masterpiece in Garou: Mark of the Wolves), I would still say that the six-button Capcom setup is preferred for me over the four-button SNK style.
[img width=561 height=463]http://i.imgur.com/sSkN4or.jpg[/img]
But what if you're the opposite of me? What if you grew up playing King of Fighters annually with only a passing respect for the various Street Fighter games? What if you're parents really spoiled you and got you an AES instead of a SNES? Well for any of us that fall into either camp, we have this wonderful game to help us meet in the middle.
Capcom Vs. SNK is a perfect balance of both developers' franchises. If you were to look at screens of Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Garou: Mark of the Wolves side-by-side, you could be excused for thinking they were from the same game. Here, that's sort of the philosophy. Surely competition can be good -- and over the years both companies have benefited from competition by pushing each other to constantly attempt to get the one-up on the other. It's only fitting that the combining of both sides would be so great.
[img width=561 height=463]http://i.imgur.com/1wzjEqA.jpg[/img]
Now it's important to note that at its heart, this is still a Capcom game (with SNK's answer being their SNK Vs. Capcom, sadly never ported to the Dreamcast). However for those of you Neo Geo fans thinking this means you'll have to get used to the six-button layout that most Capcom games utilize, fear not! You are actually given the option to choose which play-style (or 'groove') suits you best. Likewise the game can also be played in both regular and Turbo speed settings.
Graphically the game is top-notch, genuinely finding itself rubbing elbows with many of the system's finest examples of 2D fighting visions (the aforementioned Third Strike and Garou come to mind once again). The animations are fast and smooth, the backgrounds are ridiculously detailed, and each match begins with an impressive animation that leads right into the stage setting.
[img width=560 height=468]http://i.imgur.com/c8uvgGh.jpg[/img]
Now I hate to sound like a broken record but running this game through VGA is just astounding. Prior to the Dreamcast port I had played Capcom Vs SNK on the PlayStation and can honestly say they look like completely different games when they're running. This version looks and feels like you're playing an arcade game where the PlayStation port looks quite obviously like a PlayStation port. Though I suppose it's not really fair to compare the handling of such a game on such different hardware.
The music is just as compliment-worthy here, although that should probably be expected considering Capcom's fighter output at that time. Certainly folks would be likely to mention Third Strike and Marvel Vs. Capcom as favorite soundtracks from the genre.
And speaking of Marvel Vs. Capcom, I'm going to go ahead and make a statement here that could ruffle a few feathers: I personally think that the Capcom Vs. SNK games are better than the Marvel Vs. Capcom games. Seriously. Though in fairness I suppose it's true that I'm really not as big a comic book fan as some of you may be. In that regard there's probably way more SNK characters that I'm interested in playing with than their are Marvel characters.
And speaking of Roster, that is of course how many fighting games are measured. Including all the hidden characters, Capcom Vs. SNK sports a total of 35 characters to choose from across three different ratios. The ratios are an interesting tier system included to promote balance. Basically this means that it's possible to see matches where one player might have four characters from Ratio 1 against a single character from Ratio 3. This system certainly makes for interesting match-ups and breath-taking victories.
As if the game itself weren't enough, you've got two different end-bosses to make it through in Arcade Mode, as well as an insane amount of unlockables that will keep you busy for quite some time. I know I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with different characters while unlocking various pallet-swaps. Though sadly, I've yet to figure out how to unlock Morrigan. If it isn't quite obvious from my long-winded post, this is a fighting game well worth your time. Highly, highly recommended!
[img width=606 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-071/bf/U-071-S-02460-A.jpg[/img]
I know I've talked on this blog more than once about how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was my first introduction to the Dreamcast more than a decade ago. In fact I was so enamored with that game that when my college roommate moved out (and took his Dreamcast with him) I had to get my own copy along with its prequel. Though at the time I had a PlayStation 2 rather than a Dreamcast of my own, so although I was more than familiar with the original Pro Skater, it would be quite a few years before I got to play this particular version. And just recently I decided I was due for another race to the end-credits.
[img width=575 height=465]http://i.imgur.com/JHuaJLH.jpg[/img]
There's a lot to love about Pro Skater. It's got an excellent soundtrack (I really wish an official soundtrack had been released), it's got a pick-up-and-play quality to it, and plays great. That said, it's always slightly tough to go back to the original game because it's easy to forget that manuals weren't introduced until the second game. This means that chaining combos together was actually a far more difficult affair back then. But once you get over this small snag, it's easy to see that the first game was already pretty close to perfection.
[img width=575 height=465]http://i.imgur.com/SclmdA0.jpg[/img]
The original Pro Skater is also the hardest game of the series, at least as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps it's because there are actually less goals per level, and they can often be tough ones. Take for instance the Downhill Jam. This level is probably the one I'd consider the hardest of the entire series. But of course some of that could be my own personal play style. But what was fun about my recent playthrough of the game was that I purposely forced myself to patiently complete every single goal in the Downhill Jam. That definitely made it feel like a bigger accomplishment than just coasting to the final tournament by completing goals in other levels instead.
Alright so this past month my wife and I moved into our first home. As you might guess this means that March was super-busy, and I really didn't have much time (or disposable income) for collecting. But I did manage to pick up some stuff actually. Let's take a look...
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/hxB7diNl.jpg[/img]
First up was a couple of found surprises. The Sonic comic my wife found while packing. I guess she got it free a few years ago when we went to a video game store on Comic Book day. The Game Gear was mine from childhood and my parents happened to find it in their basement. It works and even has Sonic 2 inside it, though the speaker no longer works. Oh well.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/5CPG2khl.jpg[/img]
I finally decided to use some Barnes & Noble gift cards I received for Christmas. These are two of the items I purchased. The PSO guide was huge for me as I've been so absorbed in that game lately. Sadly the poster wasn't included in it. The Sega Dreamcast Official Games Guide is a cool book that has tips and tricks for various games.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/udR2flFl.jpg[/img]
I also used up some eStarland credit I had been sitting on since before the move. Capcom Vs. SNK has been one of my go-to games this month, and I'm so excited to finally have Grandia II.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/DAwmwsTl.jpg[/img]
Also from eStarland credit was these two complete Neo Geo Pocket Color games. I know NGPC isn't technically Sega, but I consider it the Dreamcast's little sister seeing as how it had connectivity with the console.
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/3gVeAvcl.jpg[/img]
While moving I also boxed up a lot of random video game junk I didn't need and finally brought it to my local shop to trade in for credit. So I scored some common Dreamcast games along with Virtua-On which I've actually never seen in the wild before.
[img width=480 height=640]http://i.imgur.com/eYjH2ypl.jpg[/img]
...and also got this CIB Make My Video: Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch.
[img width=480 height=640]http://i.imgur.com/n75iGGvl.jpg[/img]
...plus an awesome Blue Mary figurine!
So yeah, all in all a pretty good month and not a dollar of my own money spent on any of it. And really the best addition to my collection this month was that I finally have my own dedicated game room!
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