22 replies to this topic

[DiGi Valentine]

On 9/9/99 it will be 10 years to do the day that the Dreamcast was launched. I know quite a few of us here owned a Dreamcast at some point so let us share our memories of the console here in this topic.

I remember the UK TV commercials being really high budget but didn't actually show off the console or what it could do. As poor as this was, it got a lot of people talking about the console. A lot of my sony fanboy friends at school actually bought Dreamcasts because of games like Sonic Adventure, Shenmue and especially PSO.

I remember sitting on Dream Arena until 6am in the morning talking to people who probably weren't who they said they were, lol.
I remember browsing the internet for the first time and not knowing what the '@' symbol meant or how you were supposed to pronounce it.
I remember using the 'zoom' function to preview images before i clicked on them to open them, because lord knows to wait for the images to load on Dreamcast took forever XD
I remember playing Metropolis Street Racer and being wowed by the fact that they had actually recreated London city almost perfectly in the game.
I remember Soul Calibur becoming one of my favourite fighting game series of all time and i'd play the first game on Dreamcast hours upon end to get all the artwork.

I also remember looking at my Dreamcast when SEGA announced that they won't be making anymore consoles and thinking that is was the end of an era for SEGA.

Share some of your memories of the console in this topic

[Nemoide]

I first heard of the Dreamcast not long after I first got the internet in my household. I was in middle school at the time and the Saturn had finally been laid to rest. I would go to sega.com and download "Windows themes" of games like NiGHTS and Last Bronx but one day the site changed. Apparently something was coming. It was the Dreamcast! I ordered a promotional t-shirt from sega.com. I hung out in "The Sonic Foundation" chat room and geeked out about how awesome Sega's new console would be. I even role-played a furry for a while (because that's just what you do when you are in middle school and obsessed with Sega I guess). A Sonic game that would BLOW PSX AWAY! The graphics in Sonic 1 would as good as the CGI in Toy Story! To make matters MORE exciting, ADV was releasing "Sonic the Hedgehog: the Movie" on or about the same day as the Dreamcast was to be released! Oh man!
I downloaded (on 56k, it took a WHILE) commercials for Sonic Adventure from Japan and Sega's weird "it's thinking" ads. I was psyched.

I remember that on September 9, I wore my Dreamcast t-shirt to school, as soon as I got out of school, I had my mom drive me to the nearest Toys-R-Us and I was soon holding in my hand a brand new NEXT GENERATION console, Sonic Adventure, and ANOTHER promotional t-shirt I apparently got from pre-ordering it.
I remember watching the intro for Sonic Adventure and it blowing my mind. The cut-scenes were WAY better than anything on Saturn; the in game graphics where even more intense than Panzer Dragoon Saga! And most importantly, it was non-stop fun! I loved the spectacle of running away from the killer whale but I also loved being able to play as other characters, especially Gamma. AND THE STORY! I was a huge fan of Sonic comics and cartoons, so in my mind Sonic had always had a story element (which isn't really true for the games) but here was a game with an actual PLOT and things HAPPENED! It was great.
I think SA 1 pretty easily remains my favorite post-Sonic & Knuckles Sonic game.
I think my second DC game was Trickstyle which I thought was awesome because you where on FLYING SKATEBOARDS and what could be cooler than that? Although it really wasn't THAT good of a game.

I subscribed to the Official Dreamcast Magazine which I think was the first game magazine I actually got a subscription to (instead of asking my mom to buy it for me in the supermarket). I loved hearing about the awesome things Japanese fans got.

I think my favorite Dreamcast game is probably Skies of Arcadia. A really great RPG that never got the fame it deserved.
I loved the music in Jet Grind Radio (which really should have been left as "Jet Set Radio") and I loved the "experience" that was Shenmue. Plus the DC got releases of Playstation games that I had been previously unable to play like Dino Crisis and Resident Evil 2.
Oh and Seaman is probably the weirdest game I've ever played.

And it had the INTERNET and late at night I could look up dirty pictures on it and there would be NO HISTORY for my parents to find! Every pervy adolescent's dream! (Made even better when my family got a 13" TV that I ended up bringing to my bedroom.) I know I downloaded some "extra content" (like a 'race contest' for Sonic Adventure) online but I don't think I actually played too much online. Maybe just Chu-Chu Rocket. I got Phantasy Star Online but then the phone jack I was using stopped working and I became unable to play online. By the time it was fixed finally, Sega pulled support for it.

Almost everyone seemed to own a Dreamcast. Sadly, most people pirated the games, which I think it what led to the Dreamcast's demise. I didn't have a CD burner so I couldn't do it if I wanted to but I felt Sega deserved my money if I was going to be playing the games.

I remember reading that Sega was dropping out of the hardware business but I didn't really believe it. I thought they might go dormant for a year or two but would be back with a new console before long.

I kind of want to get a broadband adapter and play PSO FOR REAL on someone's homebrew sever (because I sure as hell don't have dial-up anymore). I played Blue Burst for a while but it isn't the same, I don't like keyboard controls.

[TRiPPY]

I could look up dirty pictures on it and there would be NO HISTORY for my parents to find

LOL you too? XD Let us not forget the zoom function!

[viperxmns]

I remember going with kurosen on launch day to pick up our Dreamcasts from EB. We got bonus t-shirts, which awesomely shrunk just so it manages to fit me.

We both ended up with defective copies of Sonic Adventure. Ha. I exchanged mine promptly.

[Noctourne Wonderland]

I feel left out. I just got my Dreamcast last Christmas.

BUT WAIT! I have memories of Dreamcast games! So, yeah.

Sonic Adventure is just too cool. Seeing Chaos look all watery, the flashbacks to the Mystic Not-Yet-Ruins where you could run around, and the final battle against Perfect Chaos are all some of my favourite video game moments. Zipping through the submerged ruins of Station Square is probably the most incredibly epic boss level I have ever seen. SA2 continued the awsomeness with more elaborate chao! I was sad to see the Adventure Fields done away with, though.

Right! Left! Chu! Chu! Chu! You've got it, Cosmic Kitties- I love Space Channel 5. The music is faboo, the gameplay is easy to learn, and the graphics are great! It's definately one of the quirkier games to come out in recent history, mainly becaue of the bosses (Coco Tapioca? Jaguar? Alien Televisions?) and SPACE MICHAEL! I laughed so hard at that.

ChuChu Rocket is fun, even though I have yet t access the internet with it. Does it still work?

[Dex la Cabra]

pfft, jet set radio, enough said! although i've had my dreamcast for quite a few years now, i'm only really buying the good games for it recently. same with my saturn aka burning rangers! but yeah, i remember holding the controller for the first time, and noticing how comfy it was to hold, and how, on hindsight, how unyellow it was back then. that plastic ages somethin fierce! and sonic adventure was the first game i played aswell, spending many a time in the NiGHTS pinball machine going "what is this treasure trove of wonders!"

[infractus]

"It's thinking.."

I remember happening to randomly show up at my friend Mitch's house on a dreary California evening.. he'd just gotten his Dreamcast, an early Christmas present from his folks. I'd forgotten that watching other people play video games makes me a bit queasy sometimes, and sat there just kinda wow-ing about Sonic Adventure with his mom. The following summer, anytime I'd randomly show up.. he was completing the game as a different character. I don't know as he had any other games..

Later in 2000, I made friends with someone who didn't live too far away from me when I moved down here.. he had a Dreamcast and we'd play from time to time.
One Sunday morning when I was browsing the advertisements for Circuit City, I noticed they had Sword of the Berserk on sale for $9.99. We both kinda peed ourselves a little about it.. (lol, don't ask). So, as a random act of kindness, I asked my dad if we could go buy it for him - and reasonably enough, it was fairly close to my friend's birthday. It worked out, we got together, setup the Dreamcast and played the living daylights out of it.
And, because I rocked the most difficult mode so hard, he said he'd owe me a favor. Wonder if he remembers that part, lol.

I'm glad to have a couple of Dreamcasts of my own now, building my own collection of games.
Sigh, memories..

[TRiPPY]

Just remembered I had 4 or 5 Dreamcasts under my bed. They were cheaper to buy than to have repaired. My first one lasted years. The ones after had a shelf life of around 9 months each.

[Jof]

I remember the first time I seen a Dreamcast. We had this little independant games shop in town called Solid Gold Games. I was walking through town with my dad, and out of the corner of my eye I seen something white in one of the demo kiosks. I had read about the Dreamcast, but it wasn´t due to be released in the UK till way later on. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a Dreamcast, the shop had imported one from Japan and were showing it off. My dad must have hated me that day, because I spent about 3 solid hours there playing Sonic Adventure in Japanese. The guy even let me have my own save on his VMU lol!

Anyway, I went back almost every weekend until it finally was released. We put down a deposit for the launch day, but unfortunately my family decided to go up north that week, so I was waay far away from it. Luckily though, and this is the good thing about having a dad that understands games lol, My Dad decided to drive us 2 hours down south that morning to go pick it up. Got to Solid gold games, and what what what. They had no Dremacasts. Cue giant sadface. Apparently they were round back. In a lorry. And the lorry doors wouldnt open lol.

So we got out deposit back and went to Woolworths. Got my dreamcast, Sonic Adventure, Blue Stinger and a free copy of the ingle Mambo number 5. Lol XD. We then drove the 2 hours back up north, set it up, and I played that machine alllll day.


Before I realised I forgot to get a VMU, and I couldn´t save I didn´t care, it was Dreamcast time!!

[Nemoide]

Apparently I lucked out because my first and only Dreamcast is still working fine and is not even yellowed. Maybe SLIGHTLY beige but nothing obviously noticeable. It's loud and needs good ventilation but I still love it!

I could swear that I once saw Half Life for DC for sale in an EB but didn't buy it. I later found out that, even though it was finished, the game was canceled and never released. Did I really see it for sale? Was it just for preorders? Was I looking at something else (like the PC version thrown in with DC games for some reason) and just THOUGHT it was Half Life for DC? I don't know. But it's an odd memory.

Also I remember getting really excited for Shenmue II to be released only for it to be canceled RIGHT BEFORE it was going to hit the shelves. I eventually got it for Xbox but I would have liked to use my save file and start with my sizable figure collection.

[TRiPPY]

Shenmue 2 wasn't canceled. I have it on the D.C. Damn site better than the xbox version too lol

[Dex la Cabra]

the scottish populace: yellowing dreamcasts since 1999!
shenmue is still on my list of games to buy, but i've watched various walkthroughs, being the supa cool person i am! i will buy it and jet set radio future next, once i've bought 358/2 days for the ds, i'm afraid the dreamcast must be shunted well, it's ten years old, it had it's glory years long ago....oh wait, no it didn't!

[Nemoide]

Shenmue 2 wasn't canceled. I have it on the D.C. Damn site better than the xbox version too lol

Yeah, well you live on a different continent than me!

[TRiPPY]

o_O it didn't come out in America? I thought it came out everywhere, albiet with english subtitles. Why did they cancel it?

[Nemoide]

Wikipedia says its because Microsoft bought the distribution rights so guess that's the reason. Either that or Sega just gave up hope of being able to make money by releasing it.

[TRiPPY]

You know in all these years I honestly didn't know that o_o

[iLLViLLAiN]

I didn’t really have much time with the Dreamcast like I did with the PlayStation and the N64 but I’ll share what little I can.

A few months back I found an old journal I had from school. In it I found an entry that I wrote back in 99 talking about what I wanted for Christmas. I wanted a Nintendo 64, a Dreamcast, and a PlayStation. I ended up with some toy set though. Had fun with that toy until I lost all the pieces. The next year I believe I got a PlayStation.

In 2001 I looked at a Best Buy magazine and wondered why the Dreamcast was $30.00. I should have begged my mom to buy me one but I didn't because I used to worry about bills and stuff. Kids shouldn't be thinking about things like that.

First time I think I played the DC was when I went over my cousin’s house, both me and my sis, and we played Space Channel 5. At the time it was the funniest game I had ever played. I really wish rhythm games today had the amount of depth that SC5 had.

Second time I think was over my bro’s house and he was playing Legacy of Kain. I don’t think I played anything though.

Third time was back over my cousin’s house again and this time we played Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 along with Powerstone and probably some other game that I forgot.

I never owned a Dreamcast sadly but I do want to get one this year because I’ve really taken a heavy interest in Jet Grind/Set Radio.

[viperxmns]

http://retro.ign.com.../1021947p1.html
http://games.ign.com.../1021451p1.html

[DiENE]

I came here to CREATE this thread XD oh well. I lurv DC, favorite system along with Saturn.

I got mine the following Christmas of its North American birth along with SA. I spent alot of time on Shenmue, Fur Fighters, Rayman 2, Jet Grind Radio, Sonic Adventure 1 + 2, Ecco the Dolphin, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Quake 3, Unreal Tournament, Soul Reaver, MDK 2, Power Stone 1 + 2 and MOAR

I didn't get to play Samba Di Amigo, Shenmue 2, Skies of Arcadia, REZ, Pop n n' music and alot of others I want to get to, if my controller ports worked, FFFFFFF. My DC is piss yellow and its not like I can pull it out and start raising Chao without risking the data corrupting ;_;

I actually found a 1 dollar copy of MDK 2 at an electronics shop in Boston a few months ago, the clerk replied with "Oh...you found our Dreamcast shelf? I forgot it was there" XD

[Musashi_HUmar]

Oh man... I remember being just a wee little kid of about 8 years old at the time. At the time, my parents never let me get any new games or consoles. But I still went to stores fairly often and played lots of Dreamcast demos. It was loads of fun. I remember playing Sonic Adventure at some store and I had a blast. Back then, my older cousin talked about Dreamcast non-stop. It was intriguing. One time, my whole family was at this really fancy hotel and my cousin had brought his Dreamcast and played Samba de Amigo out in the lobby for everyone to see. I don't know how he got the permission, but he did and I was glad. I miss seeing new Dreamcast games being advertised on TV and at the stores. It was a great system and I'm happy I finally managed to get my hands on one a couple years ago. The only game for it that I actually own is the first Soul Calibur, which I've nearly completed 100%. I've played other games like Sonic Adventure and Shenmue at a friend's house more recently too.

[phosphorus]

Mega64 did a funny thing

Screw Attack actually made a pretty good list. They did pick the wrong Adventure game, though.

[DiENE]

Mega64 did a funny thing

Screw Attack actually made a pretty good list. They did pick the wrong Adventure game, though.

Haha nice, so nostalgic to watch those. But Fur Fighters...Damn what a game

[viperxmns]

http://bitmob.com/in...his-ouster.html