Iggy's Wrekin' Balls
Kicking off the list we have this odd 2.5D racing game that has you racing a variety of balls around courses of loops and ramps. The only game I can think of to compare it to is the SNES title Uniracers, except here you have a grapple hook to use instead of a focus on doing tricks. The game is a lot of frantic fun on multiplayer with four friends, but the single player experience can be a little lacking at times.
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Mace: The Dark Age
This is a 3D fighting game from Midway, the creators of the Mortal Kombat franchise. Mace is a weapons-based fighter which plays like a mixture of Mortal Kombat, and Soul Edge. Its a general combo-based 3D fighter with some nice graphics, competent gameplay, and crowd-pleasing finishing moves.
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NHL 99'
Smooth Ice Hockey game with good controls, good multiplayer, and lots of fighting. NHL 99 is based on the foundation of the earlier Playstation game NHL 98, but with the gameplay tweaked, graphics improved, and a few of the programming issues ironed out.
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Dr Mario 64
N64 update of the popular NES puzzle game. The aim of Dr Mario is simply to eradicate virus', you do this by placing capsules of the same colour adjacent to them. This iteration is similar to the original, but includes a bunch of new modes. The game is to play fun alone, but the new 4-player mode is the addition that most stands out.
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V-Rally 99'
This is actually a belated port of the Playstation's first V-Rally game, which was an arcade style rally game in the vein of Sega Rally (rather than one focused on realism). V-Rally was a fun game which offered tons of content and longevity. This port has some alterations to the courses, and some minor tweaks here and there, but overall comes off as inferior to the original in the graphics and audio department. All in all its a valid choice for fans of driving games, but the tradeoffs with the Playstation original make it somewhat a mixed bag.
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Gauntlet Legends
Here we have another excellent 4-player title, this time its an arcade port of a hack n' slash dungeon crawler RPG, sequel to the 80s classic, Gauntlet. Gauntlet Legends has you moving through the levels killing monsters, using spells, and leveling up. The main gameplay draw here is the teamwork, and camaraderie of bringing your friends along for the adventure, Its a fun, but brainless title. The N64 version is a good port of the original, much better than the Playstation version (which only supports 2-players), but weaker than the later Dreamcast release, which included elements from the sequel.
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Nuclear Strike
This is another great release in the "Strike" series of games, a series which started out during the 16-bit era with the release of the popular Desert Strike. Nuclear Strike continues the gameplay style of its predecessors, with you flying around the stages trying to complete objectives and generally just blowing stuff up, its generally just a fun action focused game. This one also has you controlling a selection of other vehicles, such as Tanks and hovercrafts to give some variety.
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F1 World Grand Prix 2
Definitely one of the better formula 1 games on the market at the time, F1 World Grand Prix is a polished N64 exclusive. The game looks great, handles extremely well, and does a very good job of recreating the depth and precision of the racing sport.
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Command & Conquer
A very late port of one of the most important real time strategy games ever made, a title which created huge waves on its original release. C & C has you mining minerals, building up your base, and creating troops to fight against the enemy, its a system pioneered in the earlier game Dune II, but tweaked, and popularised here, which went on to inspire countless other games (Warcraft, Starcraft, KKND etc). To make up for the late arrival this version's graphics have been redone in full 3D, and there's some new N64 specific missions. Unfortunately the lack of mouse control hurts the game a little (as always for console strategy games), and there's no multiplayer support, but its still a fun, in-depth, and interesting game with some decent additions.
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Indiana Jones & the Infernal Machine
Here's a Tomb Raider-esque action adventure game from Lucasarts. The game has you playing as Indi as he jumps and climbs his way through the levels searching for artifacts, it looks good and plays pretty well too. When originally coming to the PC, Infernal Machine was a clunky, hard to control, and buggy game, luckily however when it came to porting the game to N64 Lucasarts decided to bring in genius German game developers Factor 5 (makers of the Rogue Squadron series) for the job. Factor 5 tightened up and overhauled the controls and pretty much added a new layer of polish to everything, even including some new graphical effects! Overall a very playable Tomb Raider alternative.
The New Tetris
I know, Tetris is Tetris no matter what system its come for, but credit where its due the game is a puzzle classic that pretty much has to be mentioned. The New Tetris keeps the gameplay of the series intact, whilst improving the presentation and adding a few new modes of its own (one notable addition being the new, extremely fun 4-player battle mode). All in all its a great version of one of the most elegantly designed games in the history of the industry.
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NFL Quarterback Club 99'
American Football game from the developers of the Turok series. The Quarterback Club series focuses on realism, depth (with a lot of work put into the AI) and graphical fidelity, with the hi resolution graphics of the series very much standing out at the time. This 99' addition of the game tightened up the gameplay over earlier releases.
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Extreme G
Futuristic racing game where you ride bikes through rollercoaster-esque tracks picking up weapons and firing off rockets and such. Extreme G is a little rough around the edges, starting off a bit overwhelming, but it has an exhilarating illusion of speed, a lot of atmosphere, and is a rewarding experience for anyone wanting to take the time to master it. The game is obviously inspired by the popular Wipeout series, but it has a very different dystopian-inspired feel to it, and the tracks have more of a vertical, topsy-turvy bent to their design.
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Duke Nukem 64
This is a good port of the classic first person corridor shooter. Duke built on the formula laid down by Doom by adding a lot of interactivity and humour to the genre, whilst also being a little more ambitious with the level design. This version of the game plays very well, but unfortunately is censored (the original could be pretty raunchy at times), and was a little dated by the time it was ported to N64 (GoldenEye was already out by this stage). On the plus side though is the excellent addition of a splitscreen co-op mode, and a very respectable 4-player deathmatch feature (neither of which made it into the other console versions). Other quirks worth mentioning are some new weapons, some layout changes, and some new 3D models for some elements.
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Top Gear Rally
Early rally game which might not look amazing, but has fun, well rounded gameplay, well designed tracks, and good arcade style handling. For its time Top Gear Rally had a notable amount of content and options, ranging from car colour customisation, to changing weather and a variety of different modes. The creators obviously put a lot of work into this, whilst still making sure to get it out on time, its a polished racer which entertains but doesn't astound.
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Doom 64
This is a cool N64 exclusive Doom game. Doom 64 plays very much like earlier games in the series, you basically search for keys to open up areas whilst shooting some nasty looking monsters, but here they've also added some puzzles to the levels to make it a little more interesting. The graphics of Doom 64 are very much improved, with new, more frightening monster designs, and a lot of spooky lighting effects to keep you at the edge of your seat. At the time reviewers criticised Doom 64 for its use of "dated" 2D sprite enemies, but honestly these days without the shadow of "progress" to worry about, the thing which is most noticeable is how smooth and fast the whole thing runs in comparison to a lot of other N64 first person shooters.
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Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
This is a quirky, fun boxing game that doesn't take itself too seriously. The controls here are well thought out, giving you all the necessary moves, it plays fluidly, and the inclusion of super moves help to make the game stand out against other boxing titles.
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Battle Tanx: Global Assault
Vehicular combat game which has you driving around in tanks. Another tremendous multiplayer experience for the N64, Global Assault has fantastic control, a good variety of weapons and different tanks, and a lot of different modes to play in, including a Co-Op campaign mode to go along with the usual Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes. The single player here is a little weak, and can get repetitive after a while, but is fun enough in short bursts, its all about the multiplayer where Battle Tanx is concerned. Note, the Playstation game is not really the same game, it has completely different maps and story, and is a much weaker game.
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Turok
This was an important early first person shooter for the N64, not only did it show up during the system's early game drought, it also showed that the console could cater to the more adult gamers out there. The game is a comic book adaptation that has you searching for artifacts and coming up against a variety of Dinosaurs. Turok is a little dated in comparison to some of the later first person shooters on N64, there's a lot of close fogging cutting down your viewing distance, and jumping sections can be tricky (make sure you get into a habit of staring down at the ground when you jump), but its big strengths are still as apparent as they were when the game arrived. Turok is a fast, smooth game. Running through the environments jumping and climbing has a great feel, its much more kinetic and lifelike than anything found in its console contemporaries. The extra work the developers did on the animation here also helped to make the world more immersive, and gave the weapons a bit more kick.
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Hybrid Heaven
One of the few worthwhile RPGs on the N64, Hybrid Heaven has you making your way through an alien base trying to thwart a conspiracy to take over the Earth. The game is a mixture of exploration, and the sort of simple puzzle solving you'd find in an action adventure game. The battle system here is an interesting, 360 degrees real-time affair which kind of plays like a prototype to the system in Vagrant Story. You shuffle around the areas in real time choosing different melee attacks, and defence options. Each limb actually gains experience independently. Overall its a competent RPG, the setting can be a little bland at times, but the game plays well, with a lot of unique elements, and the plot is fairly developed and entertaining.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6
Tactical strategy/shooter where you have to kit out a team of counter-terrorist operatives and then plan out and supply them with orders to complete your mission. The game is both an in-depth, realistic, stealthy action game, and complex strategy all in one, with you switching between first person shooter style action one moment, and giving orders the next. A tense and unique N64 experience.
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All Star Baseball 2000
Iguana Entertainment (the makers of the Turok series) really stepped up their game with the 2000 edition of their N64 Baseball series. Here Iguana tweaked the gameplay, included many more options, and improved the already impressive graphics to create an intuitive, highly polished Baseball game.
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Pokemon Puzzle League
Unfortunately there were never really any true Pokemon games made for the N64 (a fact made even more annoying when taking into account the RPG drought the console had). Out of the cash-in's this Pokemon themed sequel to the SNES classic Tetris Attack is by far the best, being built on the foundation of what was already a great game, just now with Pikachu's face plastered all over it. The Tetris Attack games are puzzlers where the aim is to arrange blocks into three of the same by swapping them with their neighbour, the gameplay here is as fun it ever was, and there's a bunch of new gameplay modes added here too.
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Snowboard Kids
Fun multiplayer orientated racer that plays like Mario Kart on ice (those wanting a serious snowborder should look to 1080 instead). Snowboard Kids has you sliding down mountains picking up colour-coded power-ups which are red (projectile weapons), or blue (various items such as shields). You can hold one of each at a time. The graphics are a little ropey, and single-player is nothing special, but the gameplay has a lot of its own nuances (most attacks can be evaded with skill for instance), and the balance and handicapping make for exciting competition, with the multiplayer mode often reaching sky high Mario Kart 64 levels of fun (in this one area I actually prefer it to Diddy Kong Racing). Definitely one to check out for party play with a bunch of good friends.
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Quake 64
After the huge success that was Doom, developers Id Software decided to go Medieval for their highly publicised successor, Quake. Quake is a corridor first person shooter where the aim is pretty simple, kill monsters and find keys to open doors. The game is just exciting, gory, brainless, fun. Monsters are grotesque and do their best to make you jump out of your seat in fear, and the atmosphere is thick, creepy, and feels almost Clive Barker inspired. The N64 port is good but not great, the texturing is simplified and indistinct (make sure you turn off filtering in the options), but the game is fast and smooth, and its water and sky effects were improved from the PC original.
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Duck Dodgers
This is an excellent 3D platformer from Paradigm, the developers of Pilotwings 64. Duck Dodgers is a very fun title that has you running through all the platform game staples in a search for Atoms. Level design is put together very well, there are a lot of very fun items to use and puzzles to solve throughout the game, and the style and humour of the original cartoons is very much recreated. So if its so great, why's it in #75? Well, there are a few elements that aren't that polished, the camera for instance can be a pain (I'd recommend putting it on manual), and the framerate can be choppy (it gets better as the game progresses though). All in all though its a great game that fans of 3D platformers should try out, and a must buy for any fans of the cartoon.
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Forsaken
Enjoyable, but tough first person shooter that's reminiscent of the old PC game Descent (kind of plays like Doom, but in a craft that flies instead of being on foot). When you get the hang of controlling the craft Its an engrossing game with a lot of smooth shooting action, and a good 4-player deathmatch mode. What some may not realise is this isn't strictly a port, as the N64 game actually has completely different levels to the PC original, and the Playstation port (which should be avoided).
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Top Gear Overdrive
This is a nice, fast, arcade style racer for the N64 with great atmosphere, a lot of style, and Grungy rock music that complements everything perfectly. The game gives you over-the-top crashes, blazing boost pick-ups, and loads of shortcuts to learn. Outside of that it looks great with the Expansion Pak, and has good 4-player support.
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International Superstar Soccer 98'
For me this was simply one of the best footy games of the time. ISS 98' is a fast, smooth, and responsive title with loads of moves and intuitive gameplay. The game dominated the competition until the appearance of ISS Pro Evolution on the Playstation.
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Fighter's Destiny
What a strange, unique 3D fighting game! This seems to have more in common with the karate games of old than it's peers of the time. There's not really a health bar here, you can win a round in one move just by completing a throw, or pulling off a special, but everything here revolves around gaining points. You need 7 points to win the match, and throwing will only give you 2 points, whilst dazing someone and then doing a finisher will give you 4 points, so all in all it balances out. Due to the nature of 1-hit-wins, matches between skilled opponents regularly turn into tense stand-offs between players each looking for an opening so they can decisively beat their opponent. The game is not for traditional fighting fans, but those looking for something different may find they appreciate it.
Yoshi's Story
Simple platforming sequel staring Yoshi as he navigates platforming stages searching for fruit. Yoshi's Story is a bit disappointing in comparison to its predecessor on SNES, but its still a game full of charm that contains the hallmarks of classic Mario platforming, with loads of fiendish jumps and memorable boss fights. Where the game falls down most is its longevity, its a little too easy overall, especially if you only play the preliminary levels (getting enough hearts in each stage opens up a load of optional, harder levels to play), but its still very fun while it lasts.
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Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
Take the futuristic racing game Wipeout and make it easier and more accessible and you get an idea of Episode 1 Racer. Ep1 goes with wide courses and low penalty for edge scraping, the game's main mechanic is a boost system whereby you have to charge (by pushing up) for a certain amount of time and then let go and accelerate, this allows you to move at higher speed until you touch an edge (or blow up from overheating!). The game starts off a little too easy, but things pick up quickly and reveal a challenging game with excellent presentation, good amounts of content, and great courses.
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Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
Exclusive Duke Nukem game made by ever reliable UK developer Eurocom. With this game Eurocom decided to go with a 3rd person view and an emphasis on straight-forward shooting action. The series went through the transition fairly well, with the new view allowing for some new jumping sections and a higher emphasis on taking cover and such. The game is a good length, and is packed with items and equipment to learn and use (the gas mask is especially useful). Overall one of the better Duke Nukem episodes.
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Mario Golf
A fun Golf game made by Camelot, a company known for their popular Hot Shots Golf series on Playstation (to be honest Mario Golf practically is a Hot Shots Golf game, just with Nintendo's famous characters in it). The game is accessible, and easy to get into, but still has the kind of depth required for a Golf game, with wind direction, and weather conditions playing an active part.
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Harvest Moon
This is a very addictive simulation game where you have to run a farm, make friends, get married and have children and such. The game is honestly a lot more fun than it sounds, its infused with a whole load of charm and is always giving you new things to keep you busy and thoroughly entertained.
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Rogue Squadron
This is the first game in the popular series of Star Wars-themed Mission-based shooters from Factor 5. The game has you piloting a variety of aircraft shooting down enemies, protecting allies, and tying up walkers. Most of the elements apparent in later games were already well established here, with the game offering a lot of fun and excitement, but I've dropped the game a few places in favour of its pseudo-sequel Battle For Naboo, which has aged a little better in my opinion.
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Space Station Silicon Valley
One of the more interesting puzzle games on the N64, Space Station has you playing as a computer chip which can attach itself to animals to solve puzzles and complete objectives (each animal has different abilities). Its a quirky game with a lot of charm but can be a little slow paced at times and has a somewhat flawed difficulty curve. Best suited to those who like to take their time and work their way through problems as opposed to those looking for quick action and excitement.
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Hydro Thunder
Watercraft racing game where you collect power-ups to fill up a boost gauge, and search for short-cuts. Hydro Thunder is a fun, attractive looking arcade port with excellent handling and controls. The game was available on most consoles of the time, with the PS1 version being slightly weaker and the Dreamcast version being better, but this was the only one with a 4-player split-screen option, and its a great example of what the N64 can accomplish when put in the right hands (ie Eurocom).
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Vigilante 8: 2nd Offence
Sequel to the original Vigilante 8 game (which was also on N64). This is essentially a Twisted Metal style game, with the aim being to drive a variety of vehicles around arena's dispatching your opponents. The game is a lot of brainless fun, with devastating weapons and big explosions being the order of the day, and a cool 70s vibe playing throughout. This is a good port of the game, the music isn't quite as good as the Playstation version, but the graphics and control have been tweaked and there's now some excellent 4-player split-screen support.
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Mortal Kombat 4
With Mortal Kombat 4 Midway attempted to bring the fighting series into the 3D era whilst also trying to take it back to its classic, mystical roots. The 3D here is more of a cosmetic addition overall, with the game mostly playing a lot like Mortal Kombat 3, but with some new dodge and weapon mechanics, as well as a more concerted attempt at character balancing for tournament play. Whilst the gameplay has more in common with the third Mortal Kombat game, the style of the first two Mortal Kombats makes a welcome return here, with the game filled with malevolent looking dungeons and arenas. Overall this has to be the best 3D fighting game on N64, its not top tier for its generation, but its still a worthy, fun play for fighting game fans.
Starcraft 64
Take Command and Conquer, then build on it with more options, better graphics, a higher emphasis on story, and more tactical polish, with three very different, very balanced factions to choose from and you get an idea of Starcraft. The game is a real time strategy where you have to mine minerals for cash and then use it to build up your base and army, with the ultimate goal of defeating your opponents. Starcraft was a highly respected, beloved title on the PC. This N64 port (the only console version the game received) is good, but like most RTS console ports suffers from the lack of mouse and keyboard controls, it does however include a pretty cool 2-player split screen mode, and the additional Brood War Expansion. If the game was cheaper I would wholeheartedly recommend it for all strategy fans, but unfortunately this sells for quite a bit on Ebay so to be honest its probably one for die-hard N64 fans only.
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NBA Courtside 2
This is a Nintendo published Basketball game that was known back at the time for its advanced computer AI and high resolution graphics. The game is fun, polished, has a lot of moves and options, and looks great. A worthy addition to any sports fan's library.
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Mario Party
Multiplayer focused collection of mini-games held together by a board-game styled map. The aim here is to navigate the map trying to collect stars, other stars are awarded at the end of the game for players who win the most mini-games, or fulfill other various objectives. With a bunch of friends joining in the Mario Party series is a lot of fun, and good for wasting inordinate amounts of time. The mini-games are varied and entertaining, and there are a lot of other quirks to keep the competition fierce and close. Single-player is a dire borefest so only grab the game if you think you can get multiple players together, each of the games in the series are barely any different to the last (even to this day) so pick up whichever you find that's cheapest.
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Quake II
Fast, action packed first person shooter sequel to the original Quake. Big guns, gore, and grotesque monsters are the order of the day here, with you blasting your way across alien worlds, bases, and space stations. Quake II on the N64 is not actually strictly a port of the PC game, like Forsaken 64 its more of a new game made by re-mixing stages of the original, so there's a lot of familiar content here but the area layouts are different (and are now distinct, separate levels), on top of that GoldenEye-style level objectives had been added in. Overall the game is admittedly a little dated, with the aiming feeling a little imprecise at times, but there's a lot of good stuff here, and the 4-player deathmatch is also of a high quality.
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Worms Armageddon
Turn-based strategy game where the aim is to use your team of worms to wipe out all the other teams on the map using a variety of wacky weapons. The game is on just about every system out there, and is quite rightly considered a multiplayer classic. This is a good version that's well worth picking up, but I can't really fully recommend the game to US fans unless its found cheap, as its simply not worth the ludicrous prices it sadly sells for these days.
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Top Gear Rally 2
This is only a sequel to the first game in name only, its actually made by a completely different company and has a very different gameplay style and atmosphere, focusing more on realistic graphics and effects, and damage & repair elements. Its an excellent sim(ish) rally racing game with good controls, a great feel, a lot of content, and some fun and fluid sliding action.
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Operation Winback
Operation Winback is a 3rd person shooting game similar in some respects to Syphon Filter, but with a lot of stealthy Metal Gear Solid style elements that give it more of an espionage feel (going out all guns blazing like you would in something like Syphon Filter will get you killed, fast). The game actually introduced some fundamental gameplay mechanics to the genre, such as the ability to take cover behind any object (which has become a staple of 3rd person shooters), and is somewhat un-appreciated, but its not without its flaws (mainly its difficulty curve). Still, it provides an excellent adventure, with an above average plot, lots of action, and some well-ahead-of-their-time controls.
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Mystical Ninja 64
An awesome 3D action adventure game starring one of Konami's fan favourite characters, Goemon. Mystical Ninja has you exploring Goemon's world, navigating its overworld, and beating its dungeons to pick up new abilities required to proceed in your quest. Its the sort of thing you expect from a 3D action adventure game really, except with tons of surreal, wacky humour (the main antagonist's evil plan is to turn everyone in Japan into dancers!), and the odd stage here and there where you jump into a huge mech (which has its own introductory song!). The gameplay here has a lot of focus on platforming and melee combat, so its a little more action oriented than, say, the Zelda games. Overall its a totally mad, fun, and accessible adventure outing, and those who love wacky nonsensical Japanese humour should definitely check the game out.
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Roadsters
This is a very nice arcade style racer with a well judged difficulty curve, and nice colourful environments with jaw-dropping visuals filled with lots of detail and small touches. The game gives you good, arcade style control, memorable courses, and other features such as differing weather conditions, pit stops, and tuning options. Its generally a sunny, lightweight, enjoyable game which looks great and is fun to play. This is by far the best version of the game out there, even the Dreamcast version managed to be inferior! with many bugs, graphical tradeoffs, and a general unfinished feeling bringing that particular version down a lot.
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Turok: Rage Wars
Rage Wars is basically a mixture of Turok 2 and the then popular arena based fps games of the time such as Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament. There's no real story mode involved here, the game is completely focused on deathmatch play whether its being experienced in singleplayer or multi, with the aim simply being to navigate the maps killing everything in sight. There are a lot of advantages to doing it this way, the main of which is the fact that the framerate and graphics here are polished to perfection on multiplayer mode, and that the developers were given the time to focus on crafting interesting levels filled with places to hide and take people by surprise. Outside of the two main modes there are some co-op options, and a nice variety of extra game types. As a multiplayer FPS this is easily the main competition for Rareware's incredible releases on the N64, with Rage Wars admirably managing to hold its own.
Rakuga Kids
One of the genre's the N64 struggled with was fighting games, luckily Konami's Rakuga Kids (unreleased in the US) just about fills the classic 2D fighter void. Rakuga Kids essentially plays like a Konami version of Capcom's X-men: Children of the Atom arcade game. The game has all the usual Street Fighter II quarter turn and combos', but with newer gameplay mechanics like high jumps and aerial raves bringing it more into line with its contemporaries. Its not quite up to the standards of Capcom's classic offerings but it has a few of its own gameplay mechanics that mix things up a little (such as the super moves being split into offense, defense, or combo's), and the game actually has an awful lot of charm too. I would recommend the game be played at 60hz (the PAL version doesn't seem to be optimised) as it plays a little too slow otherwise.
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Micro Machines 64
Updated 2.5D version of the Mega Drive classic that had you racing miniature cars through huge real world environments (such as breakfast, or Snooker tables, garden paths etc). This is actually a port of the Playstation game Micro Machines V3, which included huge numbers of tracks and a variety of different vehicles (including tanks and such), and updated the graphics to polygons. As a port this is a good one, they added a number of turbo settings to make the game faster, and a couple of extra modes, whilst there are very few noticeable tradeoffs.
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Glover
This is a very cool, and innovative (though a little rough around the edges) puzzle game that successfully brings back the ball rolling mechanics from the classic Marble Madness and combines it with 5th generation 3D platformer sensibilities. In the game you play as a glove that can walk around, jump, and ground pound, but also attach to, and manipulate a rubber ball which needs to be taken to the end of the stage through rolling, throwing, and bouncing. Its a smart game, and in many ways looks as though it influenced some of Sega's later games, such as Billy Hatcher, and Super Monkey Ball, causing a sort of short-lived renaissance of new Marble Madness descendents. Avoid the Playstation version, its an rushed port with inferior graphics, a lower framerate, simplified levels, and a slightly more frustrating camera.
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Puyo Puyo Sun 64
Always one of the better Tetris style games to come out, the Puyo Puyo series featured an excellent core system which ended up working very well for combo-ing and competitive play. The game has you matching coloured blobs to remove them from the field before they build up and kill you, if you set the blobs up to create chain reactions as they're removed you can send them to your opponent as garbage to get in their way. Puyo Puyo plays as well as any other game in the series, and features updated graphics and sound as its pros
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San Francisco Rush 2049
With the third game in the San Francisco series Atari eschewed any kind of pretence of realism and went straight for over the top futuristic action. This was a masterstroke and this change, coupled with a general honing of the gameplay provided a game that was a huge improvement over its predecessors. The racer has a big focus on elaborate short-cuts, and over-the-top crashes, expect loads of close calls and cork-screws through the air as you careen through the imaginative futuristic city courses.
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Goemon's Great Adventure
The second Goemon game on the N64 went back to the classic 2D formula of the earlier SNES games (except now with a new 2.5D look), and actually stands as one of the best of these action-packed Goemon games ever released. The game is a fast action-adventure title that has you slashing and jumping through fiendish stages avoiding hazards and dispatching the multitude of enemies blocking your way. The classic 2D action is well done, and challenging, there's a 2-player co-op feature (and a hidden 4-player one), and the music is catchy and memorable.
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Wetrix
Ingenious puzzle game from the Pickford brothers, whom some may remember for the SNES game Plok, or their earlier ZX Spectrum titles (Feud, Zub etc). The game has you building up a land mass in order to hold water, if the water leaks over the sides a meter builds up and you die when its full. It sounds simple, but as you progress more and more depth shows through as new elements show up which need to be carefully balanced, such as ice, and keeping the land mass' height low so as to avoid earthquakes (there are also a whole range of ways to multiply your points which I wont go into here). At first the game is a little unwieldy, but once you've gotten used to placing the pieces it becomes a very, very addictive, fun, and frenetic game.
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Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
With their first Castlevania game on N64 Konami had to make quite a few concessions to get it released on time, so whilst good it was still far from what they'd originally conceived, with some unpolished controls and camera implementation bringing it down a bit. Legacy of Darkness for all intents and purposes is a special edition of that first game, with improvements to the graphics, revisions to some of the levels, tightened camera and controls, and two entirely new character campaigns added to the two original ones. Overall this comes much closer to Konami's original goal, bringing Castlevania into a full 3D action adventure set-up of puzzles, combat, platforming, and memorable set-pieces. Writers of the time criticised Konami for rehashing the game at full price, saying this should've been the original release in the first place (a fair enough criticism), but these days it simply stands as the more complete version of the game for those who don't already own the good, but flawed original.
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WWF No Mercy
Aki did a great job transferring the sport of wrestling to gaming form here, creating an excellent, and fun fighting engine, and including a lot of cool features such as the ability to create your own wrestler (improved for this installment) and 4-player modes. Outside of the gameplay, the graphics here are very good, all in all they've done a great job of recreating the look and feel of the show. Even today No Mercy is still often touted as being one of the greatest Wrestling games ever created, and for good reason.
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Star Wars: Battle for Naboo
This plays like a pseudo-sequel to Factor 5's earlier game, Rogue Squadron, except this time using the prequel licence (making it a branch off of sorts I guess). Battle For Naboo, like its predecessor has you piloting a variety of craft trying to fulfill specific mission objectives whilst shooting down enemy vehicles along the way. The main change here is that unlike Rogue Squadron, which was primarily about flying dogfights, Battle for Naboo adds in a lot of new ground based missions. The graphics and sound here are phenomenal, and not only improve on the earlier game, but actually stand as some of the most impressive on N64, with an excellent draw distance, level of detail, and near CD quality music! Where the gameplay is concerned I'd say this is also a little more polished over Rogue Squadron, it feels easier to get into and less frustrating.
Donkey Kong 64
Praised at the time for its huge scope and technical prowess DK64 tends to garner a little more of a mixed reaction these days. Donkey Kong 64 is a work of pure excess, the idea that more is always better. The game includes many times the number of items to find than Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, pretty much everything that can be collected, has to be. Some say the game is simply too big, personally I think the problem is more one of pacing, there's just not enough levels here to fit all this stuff into, you end up getting bogged down searching the same levels over and over instead of moving forwards and seeing new things to keep you interested. On the other side though, there is a lot to like here, many of the challenges are as fun as you'd expect from Rare, the environments are cool and well designed, and its certainly technically excellent too (in fact DK64s greatest strength over its siblings Conker, and Banjo Tooie remains is graphics and smooth framerate). Overall its long and bloated, but for those who love these kinds of games and just have to collect every last thing this will probably be mana from heaven.
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Bust a Move 99/Puzzle Bobble 3
This is a revamped version of the 3rd Bust-A-Move game. The game is a puzzle classic which has you shooting coloured bubbles at clumps of same coloured bubbles to burst them and hopefully clear the screen. The gameplay here is as great as it was in earlier iterations of the series, with the added extra here of an excellent 4-player battle mode (which is a rare feature for the series). Overall its a very polished, and well-ported version of what was a classic arcade game.
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World Driver Championship
Whilst the N64 library is packed with many of the best racing games of its time, realism in the genre is not really the system's strong point. World Driver Championship is the main challenger representing this side of the genre, luckily its a good game, and manages to be one of the most graphically impressive titles of its generation. The game starts off a little slow, with some of the early cars not having the best handling, but give it some time and everything starts to fall into place revealing a very playable, challenging, in-depth, and enjoyable racing experience to get stuck into.
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Bangai-O
Treasure ended up making a total of three games in for the N64 and as can be expected of a company with such pedigree, all of then ended up pretty much being stone cold classics. Bangai-O is a very unique, frantic, and generally over-the-top shmup that has you piloting a hovering mech through a bunch of different stages shooting anything that moves. The game controls well, with you being able to fire in any direction and move independently, and it never stops being exciting and totally engrossing.
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Wipeout 64
It was a long time coming, but when the popular futuristic racing series did eventually make it to the N64 it was worth the wait. Wipeout 64 may not have been the greatest Wipeout of its generation, but its definitely the most under-appreciated one. Whilst rarely mentioned, this is actually very competitive with the Playstation classics, containing all of their rewarding gameplay, and stylish art design. Wipeout 64 is essentially a re-jigged amalgamation of the first Wipeout game, and Wipeout 2098, containing altered courses from both games that have been changed to emphasise speed, and have new environment artwork. The re jigged stages look fantastic, and very different to the originals, new analogue controls give you a glorious feeling of precision in movement, there's an excellent new challenge mode (great addition), and this is also the only game in the series to feature a 4-player split-screen mode.
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The World is Not Enough
GoldenEye was a hard game to follow, but it has to be said that Eurocom actually did a pretty good job here as TWINE is certainly one of the more criminally overlooked first person shooters of its generation (note that this game is an N64 exclusive, the PS1 game is completely different, and inferior). The game closely follows the gameplay mechanics of GoldenEye, giving you a load of mission based stages requiring shooting skills, stealth, and general espionage inspired gameplay gimmicks. In my opinion the single player experience of TWINE has actually dated much better than many other fps titles on N64, mainly due to Eurocom's focus on getting the game running smoothly with a good framerate and clean, detailed graphics. Levels tend to be more consistent here than in GoldenEye, but obviously its all very derivative, and the multiplayer is unfortunately inferior. Ironically many years later Eurocom actually went on to make the remake of GoldenEye on the Wii. Fans of Rare, and Free Radical's fps titles should definitely check this out.
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Beetle Adventure Racing
Easily one of the best arcade style racers on the N64, Beetle Adventure Racing focuses on uncomplicated fun, and colourful, imaginative courses filled with secrets to discover. The game is infused with a quirky, non-serious vibe, with you racing through courses populated with things like Dinosaurs & UFO's, and careening off ski jumps. There's a lot of content here to keep racing fans busy (including a 4-player battle mode), and due to its offbeat nature its actually aged quite well.
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Jet Force Gemini
Another memorable game from Rare, Jet Force Gemini is a 3rd person shooter reminiscent of games like MDK and Body Harvest, except with Rare's usual humour and cartoon styling apparent in spades. The game is mainly focused on gung-ho action, with you amassing loads of fun, overpowered weaponry to deal death and destruction to your enemies, but there's also ample adventuring elements, and other secondary mission objectives to keep you involved along the way.
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Pilot Wings
Pilotwings was a beautifully realised N64 launch title which has you flying different aircrafts (including Auto-Gyro's, hand-glider's, and jet packs) around islands fulfilling a range of mission objectives. This sequel to the SNES original was made by Paradigm, who had previously been a company specialising in designing commercial flight sims for the US department of defence (amongst others). Nintendo contracted them to develop the game, and they subsequently shifted their projects towards gaming, going on to develop some other interesting, and underrated titles, such as the aforementioned Beetle Adventure Racing, and Duck Dodgers. I'd say Pilotwings remains their greatest release though, a very singular, unique, and carefree experience.
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Mario Tennis
The best of Mario's sports outings, Mario Tennis has you playing some very fun, arcade focused Tennis with famous characters from the Mario franchise. The game has all the required elements you'd expect from a good Tennis game, with good controls, a variety of different shots, and multiple court types. It also has some Mario themed game modes which are a lot of fun, such as one which has you using items a la Mario Kart. All in all a very admirable, and fun Mario outing which is great to play both alone and with friends.
Mischief Makers
Treasure make another appearance here, this time to deliver what has to be the systems best 2D platformer. Mischief Makers is a unique, and interesting game that's full of ideas, humour, and some of the most memorable boss battles ever conceived. The game focuses on the mechanic of manipulating objects by shaking, throwing, and pulling, this, added to the sheer variety of levels really makes the title a breath of fresh air for the genre. All in all just the sort of fun you'd expect from Treasure.
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Rocket: Robot on Wheels
Here's another objective based 3D platformer a la Mario 64, this time from newly formed developer Sucker Punch (who went on to make the excellent Sly Cooper games). Unlike some of the other pretenders to the throne, the developers here really tried to think outside the box, creating a game filled to the brim with puzzles that are clever, and innovative, and a general design that is smart and imaginative. Definitely one of the lessor known "must plays" of the N64, Rocket even manages to give Banjo, and Mario a run for their money.
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Shadow Man
This is an excellent action adventure game throwing you into a fully formed world of grim horror, violence, and intrigue (think of the Ocarina of Time with blood, gore, chains, and axe wielding maniacs!). Like most action adventure games this is non-linear, with your character having to explore hell (the literal one) collecting lost souls to increase his health and open up areas, as well as accumulating new moves along the way. The game is fairly tough, with little hand-holding along the way (make sure you get a copy with a map), but its a well crafted game for those who like to fully explore, and get completely immersed in their games. A word of caution, avoid the horribly rushed Playstation port, its a bit of a mess unfortunately (the Dreamcast version on the other hand is excellent).
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Spider-man
I don't think anyone really expected this licence game to turn out quite as good as it did, but the great platforming action (that included all of Spider-man's signature moves), and inclusion of cool stealth elements, all held together with high quality programming created a real winner in the sea of licensed dross (Superman 64 anyone?). The porters did a very good job here, with the graphics maybe looking a little better than in the PS1 version, and the only real omission being the lack of FMV (but to be totally honest that actually kind of sucked on the PS1 anyway).
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Body Harvest
One of the most ambitious games of its generation, Body Harvest was DMA's (the company who would go on to be Rockstar North) first foray into the 3D open world sandbox genre, and was the spiritual precursor to the famous Grand Theft Auto III. Body Harvest had a very tumultuous release. It was originally planned as a launch title, but the original publisher, Nintendo kept sending it back on the grounds of it being too violent. Eventually Nintendo dropped it entirely and DMA had to search for a new publisher, the game ended up getting released two years late! Body Harvest, at its heart is a 3rd person shoot-em-up that has you trying to stop an alien "harvest" of the human race, you go back and forth through time shooting the bug-like aliens and trying to shut down their human-mulching operations. The thing that makes it so original is the sheer freedom of choice involved, you get to explore the huge levels however you feel, procuring a multitude of cars, tanks, boats, and even aeroplanes to fulfil your objective. Outside of that though, the game is full of good puzzles, fun weapons to use, and whilst not that graphically great, has a lot of atmosphere, with a sinister, sometimes melancholy feel to it. Body Harvest takes time to get going, and is quite a tough game due to some very spread-out save points, as such its probably a game for adept players who want something challenging, casual players may find it frustrating.
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Turok 2
Another stand-out first person shooter for the N64, Iguana Entertainment (the spiritual predecessor to Nintendo's Retro Studios) made a lot of changes to this sequel from their earlier hit, with numerous changes to both gameplay, and general theme. Turok 2 was packed with big, non-linear levels to explore, some of the coolest weapons ever to grace an FPS, memorable set-pieces (such as riding on the back of an armoured Triceratops), impressive graphics, and loads of over-the-top gore. The game is slow to start, and has a high difficulty level, but perseverance pays off and reveals a meaty adventure with lots of serious FPS action. Turok 2 is a little dated by today's standards, with an unreliable framerate often causing problems (stick to Letterbox Mode), but even now it remains a unique and worthwhile gameplay experience on N64.
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Excite Bike 64
Coming very late in the N64s lifespan, Excite Bike shot out of nowhere and managed to be one of the finest dirt bike racing games of its time. The game carries on Nintendo's high pedigree of polished, in depth terrain- focused racers, competing very favourably with the likes of Wave Race and 1080. Like those two classics Excite Bike contains an excellent physics model, and intuitive controls that leave a lot of room for mastery, and finesse. Its a shame so few people got to play the game as sadly most had moved on to newer consoles by the time it was released.
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Ogre Battle 64
Unfortunately, unlike it predecessor the SNES, the N64 always struggled to provide RPG fans with enough games to play. Happily, when Ogre Battle 64 arrived it didn't disappoint the genre starved N64 fans, and the game serves as the system's primary serious RPG. Ogre Battle's gameplay is focused on tactics, it gives you large numbers of units and classes each with a variety of uses and strengths, and the main crux of the gameplay is in growing and managing these units into an effective army through careful formation positioning, general experience accumulation, and purchasing weaponry and armour. The game has a lot of content, is very long, and has an in-depth plot which branches off to provide multiple different endings.
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Tony Hawk's Skateboarding 2
This is a good port of the Playstation classic. The Tony Hawks games essentially have you placed in an environment with a set of objectives, such as reaching certain points thresholds by doing tricks, or collecting certain objects etc. The games are very rewarding to practice and learn, with tons of moves and opportunity for flair. This port is well done, the sound quality is slightly lower than the PS1 game, but the graphics are smoother, and there's a new additional area.
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Mario Kart 64
The Mario Kart series has to be one of the premier multiplayer game experiences ever devised, and the N64 iteration happens to be my favourite of them all. For anyone who's not familiar with the series, players race around courses vying for first place whilst picking up a variety of weapons to mess with their opponents. Mario Kart 64 has some of the most memorable courses of the series, with a well balanced selection of choices available, ranging from simpler courses such as Luigi's Raceway, all the way up to tricky ones like Banshee's Boardwalk, or the hectic mirror mode of Toad's Turnpike, there's even some out and out odd ones like the anonymous, multi-pathed Yoshi's Valley to add variety. MK64 also doesn't baby the player as much as subsequent releases, with each course promoting a plethora of tactical thinking, as well as many containing decisive shortcuts. It was a hard decision for me to leave this out of the top 20, but in the end I just can't overlook the poor single-player mode, which feels like an afterthought to the (admittedly) amazing, and timeless 4-player experience.
Ridge Racer 64
I'd have to say this is the system's best arcade style racer. Ridge Racer 64 isn't really a true port of any of the earlier games, Nintendo's NST division (also responsible for the later GameCube racers 1080 Avalanche and Wave Race: Blue Storm) pretty much created this game from the ground up themselves, merely taking the course layouts from Ridge Racer, and Ridge Racer Revolution. Ridge Racer 64 plays in a very different manner to those games, feeling a little more over-the-top and bombastic, with much more ludicrous (and fun) drift mechanics, and a more clean, almost bordering on cartoony art style, it sometimes feels like the love child of Ridge Racer and Sega's Daytona. On top of the old courses you get an excellent brand new area (Desert) with three more exclusive courses. In the battle of the Ridge Racers I'd have to say that the PS1s Type 4 is the better game, but honestly this is such a different experience that there's no reason to choose one over the other, Type 4 was focused on unlockables and content, whilst this is a more challenging game which aims at a more traditional difficulty curve.
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Blast Corps
What a genius concept for a puzzle game! a truck containing nuclear missiles is out of control and you have to clear a path for it using an assortment of vehicles (including giant robots) before it crashes. This game really manages to build up the tense action, and stands as one of the more original titles in the N64's library.
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1080 Snowboarding
1080 was one of the most important, if not the most important snowboarding game of the so called 5th generation. Most of the other snowboarding games of this period were very lightweight on physics, 1080 on the other hand went to town on making sure that the physics, handling, and general feel of the board were just right, really trying to recreate the feeling of traveling over different types of snow. Its a rewarding game that requires a lot of careful precision, having much more of a sim-ish feel than its later GameCube sequel.
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Resident Evil 2
Before this arrived I don't think anyone would've believed such an accurate port of Resident Evil 2 could be possible. The game was very much designed around the strengths of the PS1 and CD format, so fitting all that data onto a cartridge had to be a real feat of design. Resident Evil 2 was one of the premier survival horror games of its generation, it has you making your way though a city shooting at zombies and solving puzzles, making sure to conserve ammo and health along the way. The N64 port handles itself very well, the fmv quality is lower here than in the PS1 version, but some of the areas have had a resolution increase (expansion pak required), and the game now has surround sound, overall its around par with the PS1 version but with tradeoffs.
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Rayman 2
It's all well and good jumping around solving puzzles and collecting stars and such but sometimes you just want an uncomplicated, enjoyable platform romp, and that's exactly what Rayman 2 delivers. The game is just full to the brim with classic, straightforward 3D jumping action, and the new gameplay mechanics (such as the awesome grappling hook) really add to the experience and help to make sure you're never less than fully engrossed. This N64 version was one of the original releases (this and the PC version came out first), it holds up very well (much better than the PS1), and pushes the hardware, but the later Dreamcast version was admittedly a little better.
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Star Fox 64
This is an inspired update of the SNES classic. Star Fox is a rail shooter that has you piloting a variety of vehicles, from spaceships, to tanks and submarines along a set path blowing up everything that stands in your way. The game plays beautifully, with inspired, memorable boss battles, and level designs that never become repetitive. Replayability is also high due to the inclusion of an addictive combo-based medal system whereby you can acquire medals by hitting certain points thresholds for each level (points go up if you blow up multiple enemies with each shot), as reward for hitting these targets you unlock extra modes, such as the fun (but lightweight) 4-player battle mode included with the game.
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Banjo Kazooie
With Banjo Kazooie Rare took what was laid down in Mario 64 and built on that foundation, adding an interesting 2-in-1 character design (later used in the Ratchet and Clank series), more focus on proper characterisation, with Banjo and Kazooie really having personalities of their own, and a presentation that was well beyond that of that launch title classic. So why is it lower? the decisive factor for me is the lack of clues in BK, its a small point but I find you tend to get stuck a little more often here than in in Mario 64.
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F-Zero X
Whilst not looking like the most attractive of racers for its time, what F-Zero X lacks in the graphics department it more than makes up for in the adrenaline fueled white-knuckle speed department, and the lack of graphical detail helps to keep that speed running at a super smooth framerate. Track designs here are inspired, with loads of tubes and corkscrews to race on, and through, the music is great, and there's loads of content and modes to keep racing fans happy. Another first class racer from Nintendo.
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GoldenEye
Everybody knows about GoldenEye, probably the N64's biggest killer app of the time (the game was just so far ahead of every other console FPS out there that it ruled the roost for years!). This milestone release amazed gamers with it's stealthy gameplay and multitude of different weapons and features, not to mention the massive amount of replayability it had in the form of an addictive 4-player splitscreen deathmatch mode (a feature that had been previously nonexistent). These days however I find the game a little bit dated due to a few weak level designs, and some dodgy enemy AI, and its also my belief that its unofficial sequel, Perfect Dark, had a lot of major improvements made to what was pioneered here, I've dropped it a few places due to these reasons.
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Wave Race
Here's yet another racing classic for N64, cementing just how strong the system was for that particular genre. Wave Race was a truly amazing game when originally released, in no small part due to the undeniably brilliant (for the time) water effects, which added a new depth to the control and feel of the game, but also due to some extremely well-judged gameplay, and an enduring sunny, summer vibe that shines through. Definitely one of my personal favourites in the racing genre.
Super Smash Bros
I'm going to say it, Smash Bros was probably the most important fighting game to appear since Street Fighter 2. Coming completely out of the blue with a totally unique, amazingly fun and well judged battle system (kinda' based on sumo of all things), Nintendo crafted the supreme 4-player fighting game experience. Smash Bros has you choosing from a variety of Nintendo stalwarts, ranging from Mario and Donkey Kong, to Link and Samus, you bounce around the brilliant arenas fighting, wearing each opponent down until you can deliver a coup de grace knocking them out of bounds. The start of what has to be one of the greatest multiplayer gaming series' ever created, N64 didn't have many good fighters, but at least here it had one of the best.
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Diddy Kong Racing
With DKR Rare looked at Super Mario Kart, and Mario Kart 64 and went to town on trying to create a better game. Here we have a very different 1-player experience to the afterthought that was seen in MK64, there's more tracks, an overworld hub to explore, a variety of challenges, and even true boss fights against a bunch of memorable opponents. On top of the Kart racing Rare even added two other vehicles to use which really add to the game's variety, a plane to fly around in, and a hovercraft for water stages. Just as soon as you think you've got a handle on the game it throws you into Wave Race style courses with their own water physics! Honestly its almost like you get three different games in one here, and that's not even taking into account the variety of other multiplayer modes on offer. As mentioned earlier where it comes to multiplayer shenanigans MK64 definitely has this beaten, but in the single-player Kart racing stakes this is pretty much unbeatable.
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Banjo Tooie
This sequel to the beloved Banjo Kazooie built upon the foundation of the excellent original game by putting much more focus on well written dialogue and creating a more interesting plot, resulting in a humourous, and more engrossing overall experience. Tooie is packed with many more ideas and puzzles than the original, there are some excellent new boss fights, and a more ambitious, fully formed attempt at an overworld. Thankfully it doesn't get bogged down like Rare's other release from the same period, Donkey Kong 64, its just much pacier and better retains a sense of wonder throughout.
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Majora's Mask
Much darker and more downbeat than it's N64 sibling, Majora's Mask managed to squeeze even more out of the 64' with even better graphics this time around (with what is, in my opinion far superior art design), and also added in many cool new ideas of its own. Majora's Mask's gameplay revolves around a three day system. Time moves forward as you play and at the end of the third day the world ends, forcing you to return to the first day again (hopefully having achieved something concrete that will aid you in your quest), many puzzles also require you to do certain things on certain days, which adds to the complexity. In regards to atmosphere, and plot, this game is second to none, the game doesn't have as many dungeons as Ocarina, but the side quests are fun, and memorable, and the whole world, and the people living in it are very fleshed out. You really feel as though you're watching the final days of peoples lives play out before the end. Why is the game lower than Ocarina? personally, for me, in straight comparison this is the better game, but I can't overlook the fact that this blatantly re-uses a helluva lot from Ocarina, and Ocarina was the big originator, so for that reason I've put this lower, just by a hair's breadth.
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Paper Mario
Paper Mario takes pride and place as the best RPG on the N64. Though the N64 isn't really known for its RPGs, Paper Mario is a very high quality one, the battle system looks fairly simple on the outside, and is very easy for beginners to pick up, but its a lot of fun and there's a bunch of tactics for older gamers to discover here. The battle system is based on using the most effective moves, and timing your button presses to make attacks and defense more effective, badges can also be discovered and equipped which give a variety of different abilities and effects. The graphics are bright, and jolly, the story is fun, and unlike a lot of traditional RPGs you get to do loads of puzzles throughout the dungeons to keep your brain on its toes (think Zelda), this factor, as well as the lack of random encounters make the game very easy to pick up and play, making it a title that should definitely be checked out by both RPG fans, and non-fans alike.
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Perfect Dark
Rare built on their earlier FPS classic GoldenEye in virtually every respect here, and then threw in more options and extras than anyone could've ever imagined. Not only was the whole campaign mode that little bit more consistently brilliant, with well balanced, graphically superior stages containing tons of stealth and action, but the whole thing could now be played in co-op (make sure the screen's split vertically) and counter-op as well, and added to that was a co-op mission mode that was nearly another complete game on its own. On the multiplayer front there were tons of different modes, new levels, guns (as well as many of the old classics from GoldenEye making a welcome return) and AI bots to play with. The new Sci-Fi theme allowed for much more imagination, and resulted in guns and environments that were much more memorable and unique. Outside of that Rare threw it loads of stat counters, and extra game options as a bonus. Simply phenomenal.
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Sin and Punishment
Sin and Punishment has you controlling two rebel heroes as they plough through reams of monsters and soldiers. The game is a rail shooter, so you move along a set path, only really needing to focus on bullet dodging and aiming. Here you also get a close quarters melee attack, and can rebound powerful enemy shots to do more damage. The title is among the best action games of its generation, with excellent controls, a great, over-the-top plot, and some of the most memorable set-pieces ever to grace a game. The audio here is first rate, with brilliant voice acting (which is all in English I might add), and very high quality music. All these elements add up to make Sin and Punishment one of the best rail shooters ever created. Treasure at their very best.
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Super Mario 64
Who out there can say they weren't astounded when they first saw this game in action? Mario 64 brought new levels of control and immersion to the 3D platformer, here you were free to explore the fully realised world, you could creep, jog, or run through the stages (due to the well implemented analogue controls), and had at your disposal a myriad of different jumps and maneuvers crafted to fit every occasion. Levels here were well designed, fun to explore and see, and were filled with variety and ideas (Who can forget the first time they took to the skies with the flying cap?). Easily one of the most influential games ever made.
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Ocarina of Time
After Mario 64 set the bar for what you could do with a 3D environment, Ocarina managed to raise the bar even higher, bringing a much more cohesive experience. Gone were the thinly veiled teleporters of Peach's Castle, to be replaced with a full 3D overworld littered with dungeons and villages to explore. I'm not quite as enamoured with this game as many people are (I find some of the art design and plot to be lacking), but it can't be argued that Ocarina has some of the most carefully designed, and polished gameplay of its time. Each dungeon has been honed to perfection, and they all manage to be both consistently clever, and intuitive. The game's fighting system (whereby you can target enemies and maneuver around them) is elegant, and well thought out, allowing for dynamic and exciting battles. Overall Ocarina more than deserves its reputation as one of the best releases of its generation. In regards to later ports, the original gold cartridge N64 version is the only one that is uncensored, all subsequent releases had the red blood removed, as well as the Islamic chanting which took place in the Fire Temple stage.
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Conker's Bad Fur Day
A huge, enjoyable romp through pastiches of everyone's favourite movies, Conker's is my clear choice for best game on the N64. This game brought everything Rare had learnt about making platformers together to create a big, highly ambitious game filled with variety and fun. There's a memorable plot (which might not have been the most cohesive, but managed to be totally engrossing and consistently funny), some of the best graphics to be seen on the system, and a mass of excellent multiplayer modes thrown in for good measure. On a technical level Conker leaves most other N64 games in the dust, including voice acting with lip synching, amazing levels of textures (which was one of the 64's biggest technical limitations) and dynamic shadowing. Even now I struggle to think of any game out there quite like it.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Top 100 dreamcast games
Sword of the Berserk
Starting the list we have this hack n' slash brawler based on the violent Manga by Kentaro Miura. Its a simplistic action game where you hack your your way through the levels with your huge, oversized sword. The game is quite short, having a lot of emphasis on storyline and cut scenes (which are written by the Manga author himself). Probably best suited to fans of old-school beat-em-ups or of the Manga itself.
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SWWS: Euro Edition
There weren't many good Football games on the Dreamcast, but this one is pretty respectable. Confusingly SWWS is actually the successor to the World League Soccer (Michael Owen) series of games rebranded as a Worldwide Soccer title, so it has few similarities to the classic Sega Saturn titles, but its fun nevertheless. Avoid the earlier non "Euro Edition" version as its noticeably inferior.
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4 Wheel Thunder
This was an exclusive game made for Dreamcast in Midway's "Thunder" series of racers. Gameplay in the series revolves around you boosting by picking up capsules littered throughout the levels. The games also have a lot of emphasis on learning the best routes and shortcuts. This one has you driving Monster Trucks over a range of indoor and outdoor environments, its a solid, though challenging racer with a good number of tracks and options.
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Super Magnetic Neo
Here we have a tricky platform game similar in style to the earlier Crash Bandicoots games. You run and jump through the long, winding 3D stages, ride animals, and do the occasional 2D platforming section. The main thing which sets this game apart is its magnetism mechanic. In the game you can swap between two different colours, if you're the same colour as an object it attracts you (for rope swings for example), whilst if you're the opposite colour it repels you, allowing you to bounce around the stages. You need to change on the fly, and changing to the wrong colour usually results in death! its a fun game if you can get your head around it but may frustrate if you can't.
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Revolt
A good version of the 4-player remote-controlled racer from the PC. Revolt plays kind of like a Kart racer, with you picking up a selection of weapons to sabotage your opponents as you race through the oversized environments. Its a fun game with quite a bit to do and see (there's a pretty good Track Editor, a stunt mode where you collect stars etc). The game was downported to PS1 and N64 but this version is obviously a lot closer to the original PC game.
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Dino Crisis
The survival horror genre is very well represented on Dreamcast, in fact so well represented is it that I had to spend some time trying to work out which games I wanted to make the list and which I just had to cut. In the end I chose Dino Crisis to represent in the bottom ten, sure its a PS1 port, but with its cleaner visuals and more stable graphics its unarguably the best console version of the game available (unlike Resident Evil 3 for instance, which is arguably better on GameCube), and the gameplay and voice acting are a little more polished than the Dreamcast's own decent survival horror title, Carrier. The game itself is basically like Resident Evil with Dinosaurs (and at this stage that comparison is so overused its become a cliche), you explore a big facility solving puzzles and evading Dinosaurs whilst conserving ammo. The puzzles here are well done, and are actually a little different in execution to those of the Resident Evil games, and there's a lot of memorable set-pieces and events.
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Silver
A solid action RPG that has you searching the globe for magical Orbs that are necessary to triumph over evil and rescue your kidnapped wife. The story here isn't that inspired to be honest, but luckily the dialogue between characters is very well done and whoever produced the music did a real first rate job, helping to give the title a lot of atmosphere and mood. The gameplay here is fairly simple, but good, it would've strongly benefited from a co-op mode but unfortunately there isn't one.
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Stupid Invaders
Stupid Invaders is a humourous point and click adventure game ported from the PC. In the game you explore, pick up and merge items, and solve puzzles (usually rewarding you with cut scenes). The story of the game surrounds a group of aliens stranded on Earth who are being terrorised by a lunatic. The graphics and art design are nice and the game is quite funny, there's a lot of instant deaths but you can save at any time so save often.
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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
One of the lessor known Capcom fighters but don't let that dissuade you. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a 2D fighter based on the popular Manga of the same name. Other than the usual stuff the main gameplay mechanic here revolves around the "Stand" button. This button usually calls forth an Avatar of the player and changes your stance and move set, but requires Stand gauge energy to sustain. Like all Capcom fighters the game is well constructed, has excellent art design and graphics, and the stand gauge manages to add a little variety to the gameplay.
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D2
This cinematic survival horror game garnered mixed reviews at the time but in retrospect is one of the more memorable titles of the era, including some fairly surprising content. The game has you playing as Laura, a woman who's airliner has crashed in the Canadian wilderness. She and the other survivors find that the area they are in is infested with strange plant-like monsters that take the form of humans, Laura sets out to discover what's going on. The gameplay is varied, there's both 1st and 3rd person exploration sections, random battles where you gain experience points (these play kinda' like lightgun games), lots of simplistic puzzles to solve, an a lot of emphasis on cut scenes. Its a flawed game, and not all that long either, but is definitely an interesting title to check out.
Gundam Side Story
Strategic shooter based on the popular license. This has you giving orders to a team of mech's whilst you attempt to complete a range of mission objectives. Overall its a polished game with good presentation and lots of blasting action.
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Tokyo Extreme Racer 2
In this series of racing games you freely drive around a large city looking for other racers to compete against. Essentially you have a list of the local racing gangs and their members and have to find then, beat them and knock them off the checklist, opening up more of the city along the way. The game has a lot of customisation options for the car, with shops and money etc and has a good pickup-and-play vibe. This sequel represents a big improvement on the original.
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Worms World Party
Turn-based strategy game where your team of Worms need to wipe out the competition using a variety of wacky weapons. The game was originally online but I believe this has long since ceased. Worms World Party Is much like all the other Worms games really, except with better graphics and a few more options, being that the Worms series are multiplayer classics that's really not that much of a issue though.
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Wacky Races
A respectable Kart racer in the vein of the ultra popular Mario Kart series which uses the very apt Wacky Races cartoon license. Thankfully the game tries a lot of its own things, and as such deviates from Mario Kart enough to make it notable in its own right. Here at the start of each race you get to allocate three different moves, the moves range from homing attacks, to shields, boosts, and flight (as well as others), you collect coins along the route to pay to use these moves. This set-up lends some strategy to the game, as some courses may have shortcuts made easier by using the flight ability for instance, whilst others may benefit from boosting. The game is actually pretty good, there's tons of content and a very comprehensive single-player mode, it was made by the company that went on to produce the Sega Allstars Racing series.
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Bangai-O
Enhanced port of Treasure's Japan-only N64 shooter. The game has you flying around the stages blasting enemies with 360 degree aiming, you get to swap between and homing missiles and bouncing lasers, and there are some minor puzzle elements here and there along the way. The Dreamcast version has much better backgrounds, and less slowdown than the N64 game, as well as having some additional gameplay tweaks, and being that this version was released everywhere its also translated. The translation is kind of nonsensical for the most part, fans of Engrish will probably love it though.
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Sega Marine Fishing
An excellent Fishing game ported from Sega's arcade machine that uses the Dreamcast's dedicated Fishing controller for extra authenticity. Basically the game works like this, you place the bait, shake the controller to lure in the fish, pull up the controller to snag them, and use the reel to pull them in. It might not sound great on paper but in practice its good fun.
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Bust A Move 4
Long-running puzzle series where the aim is to shoot and match up balls of a same colour to clear the screen before it fills. This version has some extra modes and options, its not really much different to other Bust-A-Move games but is still a lot of fun.
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F1 World Gran Prix II
Comprehensive Formula 1 racing game with all the stuff you'd expect from the genre, such as various weather conditions, a good pit crew, and well done physics and handling (for the time) and all held together by some nice, detailed graphics. Overall a respectable and polished racer.
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King of Fighters 2002
One of the best King of Fighters games and a huge improvement over the previous year's effort. King of Fighters 2002 gives you a huge character roster of old and new favourites from the history of the series, and returns to the classic gameplay of old, ditching the "Striker" system and replacing it with some new Desperation moves.
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Armada
A 4-player RPG which plays kind of like Asteroids with experience points and shops, set in an explorable galaxy of planets and deep space. You start off on your home planet, and its here that you pick up mission objectives and plot points during the course of the game. The multiplayer is lots of fun, but less so the single-player.
GTA II
The second major release in the Grand Theft Auto series provided various improvements to graphics and gameplay whilst keeping the basic structure of the popular original. The game has you driving around the streets completing missions whilst avoiding cops and gaining respect from the local gangs. In comparison to later games in the series these earlier games feel very different, at this stage Its all a lot more straight-forward, arcadey and action-focused, with a lot more of a pick-up-and-play feel. The Dreamcast version is closer to the PC game in visuals and represents a big improvement over the PS1 port in regards to lighting and effects.
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Tech Romancer
This oddly titled game is a 3D fighter from genre stalwarts Capcom, one of their more under appreciated titles. The game has you playing as a variety of Gundam-style mechs each with their own selection of weapons and moves. On top of the usual staples you can pick up and use items found on the ground that have defensive and offensive applications, as well as having access to a finishing move which can outright kill an opponent who's on low health. Definitely worth checking out for fans of both fighters, and big destructive mech's
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Vanishing Point
Good looking arcade racer for the Dreamcast that starts off tricky with some of the earlier cars but soon pulls you in. The game is made up of a selection of championships set up for each car, completing races opens up new cars which in turn have their own championships to play through. This set-up forces you to get good with all the different cars, and keeps the game from becoming monotonous as you can't just pick one car for the whole game. Outside of the main modes the game also has some pretty cool extra's, such as the fun Stunt Mode that has you completing a variety of different challenges. Vanishing Point was originally designed for Dreamcast, but was later down ported to the PS1, avoid that version.
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Red Dog
This one pleasantly surprised me, its from Argonaut, the team who created the Super FX chip for the SNES. Red Dog is an action game which has you controlling a tank, the game gives you a machine gun shot, as well as rockets which work in a similar manner to rail shooters (you hold the button and sweep the cursor across multiple enemies, let go and it fires off a volley of homing missiles). The interesting element of the gameplay here though is a reflective shield, if you can bring it up in time it will reflect enemy shots back to their source, and mastering this move is crucial to progressing. Some respectable graphics and nice boss fights also help to make it worth checking out.
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NHL 2K2
Whilst the first NHL2K game on the Dreamcast was solid, it didn't quite live up to its siblings in quality, this however changed with the 2002 edition which represented a huge improvement. The AI here has been improved, the controls are deep, and the game is smooth and responsive. A great game for Ice Hockey fans.
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Castle Shikigami II
One of the later official games released for the system (2004), Castle Shikigami is an excellent vertically scrolling shooter and a must for fans of the genre. Here the main gameplay mechanic involves purposefully cutting it close when evading the bullets, as when you are close to touching a bullet your firepower is hugely increased and you can gain more points. Its a graphically impressive game with nice aesthetics and a lot of replayability when striving for score.
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Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Tactical first person shooter where you need to come up with a plan and direct a whole squad through the various missions. Unlike the first Rainbow Six on Dreamcast this supports the much-needed Mouse and Keyboard controls, creating a much more in-depth experience.
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Maken X
Under appreciated First Person Adventure from the Atlus team most known for creating the Shin Megami Tensei series (and it shows). The game has you sword fighting in a first person perspective, allowing you to both block and rebound shots back at enemies (if you get the timing right). During the course of the game you can choose to take control of different characters, each of which have different strength and weaknesses and each of which lead you down different branching pathways. Unfortunately the localisation team made rather a mess of the game for its western release, its poorly translated and dubbed, has a lot of censorship, and has even been made harder, with the localisers removing health packs and adding health penalties for using certain moves! The US/Euro version definitely loses something, but is still worth checking out. The Japanese version isn't too difficult to play through as the menu's include a lot of English, but you won't know what's going on in the story.
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NBA 2K2
Graphically impressive Basketball game from Sega and Visual Concepts which admirably lives up to the high pedigree of the the rest of their 2K series of sports games.
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Sega Rally 2
Sequel to Sega's beloved arcade racing game that adds a lot more tracks, options, and modes. Sega Rally 2 is very much an arcade game at heart so don't expect an ultra realistic experience here, this game is all about sliding around corners at high speed and racing against the clock. The port to Dreamcast is respectable but visually disappointing (which is why it dropped a lot of placing's), its an early release and it shows still manages to be a lot of fun
Lack of Love
A very strange import game from the people who would go on to make Chibi Robo for the GameCube. In the game you play as a life form that is trying to survive and evolve, you do this by helping other creatures with their problems by using four different actions (speak, attack, sleep, and urinate), pressing the start button shows you which animals to focus on. Its a high-concept game that requires patience as there's rarely any obvious clues to follow, you just need to observe these creatures to try to get an idea of what they need from you, as such getting stuck is quite common. Definitely one for diehard game fans who like to try something different.
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Demolition Racer: No Exit
This is a very enhanced update of the earlier PS1 game Demolition Racer. No Exit is a racing game built around destruction (its made by some of the same people who worked on the Destruction Derby series). Coming first here only gives you a points multiplier, its the points themselves that you need to win each race, and its smashing cars and causing pile-ups that afford you said points. So you essentially hang back gaining points off your opponents until the last lap, and then make a rush for 1st place. Its a novel idea that gives the game a nice level of originality and makes for some exhilarating races and action.
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Cool Cool Toon
Import-only rhythm action game from SNK where you hold the analogue stick in specific directions whilst pressing buttons in rhythm to the beat. Its a good game with a lot of catchy tunes and nice aesthetics and backgrounds and is also one of the few titles to support Samba De Amigo's Maraca controller (though its still a lot of fun with or without it).
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Record of Lodoss War
This is a great hack n' slash Diablo-style RPG based on the popular Anime. Whilst the story unfolds you essentially run through the dungeons hacking at the hordes of monsters and recruiting AI-controlled party members to help. The deeper part of the gameplay involves searching out and collecting runes, these runes can be combined with the equipment for various effects and stat boosts. Its a good RPG for fans of the more western-styled RPGs but may disappoint those looking for a more familiar, cinematic JRPG.
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Mr Driller
Puzzle game from Namco where you need to drill through the ground, being careful not to get crushed by falling rocks. The main element of the gameplay here is to not just survive, but to work out the best way to collect all of the air as you make your way down, maximising points, and its this element that adds longevity to the experience. The Dreamcast port is higher resolution, and slightly higher colour than the PS1 game, but unfortunately that's about it for extras.
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Shadowman
Creepy Action-Adventure game based on the comic book from Valiant. The game has you traveling through the underworld searching for Dark Souls, once collected these souls power-up the character and allow access to previously blocked areas. Its an atmospheric game with good puzzles and a memorable setting. Out of all the ports this is the best console version of the game available, better than the respectable N64 version (which has worse sound and framerate), and leagues ahead of the poor, rushed PS1 version.
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Cannon Spike
No-nonsense 2-player top-down shooter from Psikyo and Capcom that stars a variety of their characters, (Mega Man, Cammy, Arthur from Ghost's n' Goblins etc). You get 360 degree firing with a target-lock, a screen clearing move to get out of dangerous situations, melee moves and a powered up attack. For the most part its simply all about dodging bullets and destroying bosses. A polished and fun arcade game.
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Elemental Gimmick Gear
2D Action Adventure that's in the vein of earlier Zelda titles, except with 3D boss fights. In the game you play as a stranger who was found long ago in suspended animation inside a strange mech-suit, after a long period of sleep you suddenly wake up with total amnesia. As mentioned earlier the game plays like earlier Zelda games, you explore, you find health upgrades and new equipment and gain new abilities to progress. You get a punch move, as well as a very useful spin attack which uses up energy. Its a well made game that's a good example of its type, with good aesthetics, music and art design, unfortunately though the translation work here is poor, its not so bad that it detracts too much from the gameplay but it's noticeable.
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Outtrigger
A first person shooter from Sega that is similar to Deathmatch fps games like Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament (though really its very much its own thing). The game doesn't really focus on weaponry much and is mainly about power-ups, straight action, and collecting coins. In the game you get a point for each kill, but another can be gained by picking up a coin that's dropped after the kill. The cramped, layered design of the levels facilitates a lot of last minute coin steals from other players, thereby lending the game a slightly different feel to the other first person shooters out there. Outtrigger looks good, plays well in 4-player and runs extremely well, with the framerate staying consistent. There are a plethora of control options, with "D1" representing the standard Dreamcast FPS controls.
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NFL 2K2
Acclaimed series of American Football games that introduced on the Dreamcast to high praise. NFL2k games represented the high point of the time in the sport, with great gameplay, graphics, and impressive (for the time) AI. The game is full of excellent options including a lot for player customisation, and the Dreamcast version has support for VMU play calling, so you can choose tactics without your opponent knowing.
Resident Evil 2
Classic survival horror game where you explore a city overrun with Zombies whilst solving puzzles and trying to avoid a gruesome death. You get multiple characters to play this time around and the plot is more interesting, with voice-acting that's much improved since the first game (which was so bad it was funny a lot of the time). Sure this is just a PS1 port, but that game was one of the best on Playstation, and this is the best port, featuring higher quality FMV's over the later Game Cube release, as well as more options and a VMU health display, which was a nice touch.
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Soldier of Fortune
In the absence of a proper release of Half Life (near finished copies can be downloaded but the game was never officially released) I'd say this provides the best FPS campaign on Dreamcast. Soldier of Fortune is a no-nonsense shooter that was known at the time for its attempt at doing area-specific gore. The game has an emphasis on action, with you rushing through the levels dealing death and destruction. Soldier of Fortune isn't going to blow you away, but its polished, looks reasonable and plays well, and like all the best FPS games on Dreamcast benefits a lot from Mouse and Keyboard support.
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Hydro Thunder
Hydro Thunder is a water racing game in the vein of Wave Race ported from the arcades. Like 4 Wheel Thunder the game is part of the "thunder" series of racers, where you collect capsules which give you energy to boost for a short period of time. Hydro Thunder actually looks pretty nice for an earlier title and plays well, with many shortcuts to discover and a good amount of re playability.
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Guilty Gear X
Accessible 2D fighting game from Arc System Works that has some awesome graphics and art design. Guilty Gear X is a likeable, very combo-heavy fighter that's easy to pick up and play but isn't too shallow either. The Dreamcast version is pretty much arcade perfect.
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Ill bleed
A quirky survival horror game that almost defies description! Ill bleed has all of the usual aspects you'd expect of the genre, puzzle solving, item management, and combat, but tries to do its own thing in other areas which results in a memorable experience. The game is set in an evil theme park that's broken up into levels, with each level being a pastiche of a horror film staple (crazed killers out for revenge after the death of a loved one, evil dolls, mannequins, Remorse worms etc etc its all here). In most levels is hidden something called a "Horror Monitor" this device warns you of danger spots, and can be used to mark them down thereby rendering them harmless. Where the title shines is in its offbeat nature, whether you're trying to help an evil cake find the perfect topping, of shooting at a ring-dropping demon version of Sonic the Hedgehog there's never a dull moment! Ill bleed is not for everyone though, there's certainly the odd misstep with the gameplay and some dodgy execution here and there, but personally I find it a flawed gem.
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Rush 2049
Futuristic racer from Atari and Midway ported from their popular coin-op. The game has you racing through cities at high speed searching for elaborate short-cuts and flying off ramps into huge jumps. Midway did a very good job with the Dreamcast conversion, it looks great and has contains a lot of modes and extras, including an excellent 4-player battle mode.
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Cosmic Smash
Import-only arcade port that plays kind of like a Tennis game mixed with Breakout. You hit the ball back and forth trying to destroy blocks, sometimes the blocks move, and sometimes they are obstructed by indestructible blocks, each stage has a time limit and when the time runs out its game over. The game is quite bare bones as an arcade port, but is fun, accessible, and has re playability.
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Mars Matrix
A bullet hell shooter from Capcom, Mars Matrix covers the screen with almost ornate patterns of bullets for you to navigate through. The game gives you a normal shot as well as a Shotgun short-range blast, and allows you to grab the enemy bullets and throw them back (the longer you hold the bullets for, the longer the time for the next charge up will take so its worth grabbing and throwing them quickly). As usual Capcom provide a polished and well-crafted game.
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Puzzle Fighter 2: Matching Service
Popular block-falling puzzle game with a Capcom Fighting game theme. Here you need to match the blocks up with the corresponding trigger to clear them, and as usual setting up combo's hurts your opponents even more. This is like the earlier release for Saturn and PS1, but with some nice additional modes that mix things up a bit, and an online feature that's unfortunately no longer functional.
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Virtual Fighter 3tb
Early Dreamcast 3D fighter (a launch title in Japan) from the popular series. Like earlier games in the series, Virtual Fighter 3 is a technical fighter that rewards mastery. New additions here include sloping, uneven ground for the arenas, as well as the option of a team battle. Its a good game, but does sometimes show its status as a launch title and is strongly superceded by later games like Soul Caliber.
Sega GT
Sega GT was Sega's big attempt at a Gran Turismo competitor, overall its certainly no Gran Turismo but i'd say its a mostly successful endeavor in the genre. The game gives you lots of cars, good handling, and a plethora of options. Its a very respectable release and doesn't look too shabby either.
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Confidential Mission
This is a great lightgun shooter with a very James Bond-esque theme. Its a balanced game, it looks pretty good, and it throws in enough other elements (such as objectives which lead to branching paths) to make it stand out as one of the better lightgun games of the time. On top of the main mode you get a lot of extra content here including a bunch of cool minigames and variants to try.
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Bomberman Online
Criminally overlooked, no-nonsense bomberman game with surprisingly high production values and lovely presentation. In these games you have to place bombs to blow up your opponents whilst being careful not to die yourself, a perfect, and timeless concept for multiplayer shenanigans. Bomberman Online focus' completely on this multiplayer element, there's no half-assed attempt at a campaign mode here, just a big tournament of rounds with boss fights (much like the 16-bit games). Thankfully The designers didn't completely rest on their laurels though, there's loads of new modes here each of which put a new spin on the classic gameplay and complement the range of older maps well. The game is no longer online, but still plays fantastically offline.
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Under Defeat
Polished vertical scrolling shooter where you can direct your fire to the right and left and lock your aim in place by holding the fire button down. Other than the aiming system the game gives you a helper that you can release by pressing the fire button when a bar to the side of the screen fills, this helper comes in a range of different types, and can be changed by picking up the relevant power-up. The game has very nice graphics and a huge amount of attention to detail, with very nice animation (watch as the trees on the ground react to the explosions around them for instance). A very good Dreamcast shooter.
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MDK2
A challenging 3rd person shooter and sequel to Shiny's popular earlier PC title. This time its Bioware doing the development duties and thankfully they don't disappoint. The gameplay here has a lot of different aspects to it, the main character, Kurt's levels consist of running, gunning, sniping and throwing grenades and such, Dr Hawkin's levels are mainly platforming and puzzle solving, and a robotic Dog with a jetpack named Max provides short range gunplay. Its a tough game with a lot of twitch gameplay that's aimed at hardcore shooter fans so expect to do levels multiple times before you get them right. A later PS2 version arrived with an easier difficulty curve, but had inferior controls and graphics (resolution, lighting, filtering).
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Zero Gunner 2
Another excellent Shoot-em-up from the arcades flawlessly ported to Dreamcast. Zero Gunner is an action-packed shooter that gives you full 360 degree rotation to deal with enemies that rush you from all directions. Great bosses, great graphics, and whilst hard at first the 360 degree movement works flawlessly with practice and is a very fun gameplay mechanic.
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Puyo Puyo Fever
Another excellent addition in the puzzle series, Puyo Puyo Fever keeps all classic gameplay of the earlier games whilst adding in some new gameplay elements here and there such as the frenetic "Fever" mode to increase the tension and keep the game fresh. The Puyo Puyo games are a series of block-falling puzzlers, you have to match up Puyo's of a similar colour to clear them from the screen before they pile up and kill you, setting up a domino effect dumps more junk on your opponent. Other than the gameplay changes this goes for a new 2.5D look, with nice animation and some pleasant revolving background effects.
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Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
Beautiful 2D fighter from SNK that is often considered to be amongst the greatest fighting games they've ever produced. The game looks fantastic and plays well, dumping the plane switching mechanic of its forebears and putting more focus on feint moves as well as a "Just Defend" move which is similar to the parry move in Street Fighter III (if you push back at the exact moment of contact here you do a block which gains you a little health). Avoid the western release of the game if possible as the localisation created issues with the game's sound.
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Tony Hawks 2
Enhanced port of the classic Playstation skateboarding game. Essentially you have to ride around exploring the environments completing objectives and racking up points by doing a variety of tricks, its a unique and addictive concept. This version has improved graphics for the Dreamcast but isn't exactly pushing the system so I dropped it a few places, make no mistake though its a phenomenal game and a lot of fun.
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Daytona 2001
Pseudo sequel/remake of the classic sega arcade game. Daytona 2001 contains graphically revamped versions of all the courses from both the original Daytona and CE, as well as three new race tracks designed specifically for this game and a bunch more modes and features. For those unfamiliar with the series, Daytona is a racer with an emphasis on speed and over-the-top powerslides (done by quickly changing gears), its a bombastic game which requires a helluva lot of practice to fully master but is very rewarding to learn. Excellent with a steering wheel.
Headhunter
Stealthy action-adventure game that was billed as an answer to Metal gear Solid but came out just a little too late, only just getting a Euro release for Dreamcast. The game is pretty impressive for its time, with nice graphics and a big open world for you to travel around to get from mission to mission. Gameplay has you solving puzzles, getting involved in gunfights, stealthing lackeys (admittedly sometimes doesn't work as well as it should), and riding around on a Motorbike. The storyline is pretty good, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek satire and fake adverts (similar to the original Robocop movie) and there's many memorable set-pieces too. A good PS2 port is available with only a few minor downgrades to shadow effects and control as its only real detriment.
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Ecco: Defender of the Future
After a long hiatus Ecco the Dolphin returned to gaming, and this time in full 3D. This is a challenging action-adventure game where you swim through the ocean exploring, solving puzzles and helping sea-creatures whilst traveling back and forth through time and to alternate future's in an effort to deal with "The Foe". The game has great graphics and is thick with atmosphere, its tricky to get a handle on at first but after some initial effort it grabs you in and you'll want to reach the next area to see what happens. There's actually a PS2 port also available which was made easier and more straightforward, those who tend to get lost in these types of games may be better off with that version to be totally honest.
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Ooga Booga
Underrated 4-player title that stands as easily one of the best party games on the system. The game has you collecting fruit which can be used as projectiles or to take control of Totem poles littered around the levels (they basically act as your own personal guard towers). You get a melee attack, and are also able to commandeer animals such as wild boars or birds to help you lay the smack-down on your enemies. Outside of the main mode you get others, such as the equally brilliant "Boar Polo" that has you knocking a boulder through the opponents goal. The game has a weak-ish single-player, but the multiplayer is great fun, and the game is packed full of humour and charm.
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Project Justice: Rival Schools 2
Capcom's manic and colourful sequel to their earlier 3D fighting game for Arcade and original Playstation, Rival Schools. The game plays a little like their "Vs" series, but in 3D, with you able to pull off aerial raves and call in back-up during the match from your two teammates in reserve. Its accessible, and over-the-top fun.
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Ferrari F355 Challenge
Here's a nice racing game from Sega which manages to aim for realism whilst still retaining that classic Sega Arcade game look and atmosphere. The game looks great and has an inordinate amount of attention to detail in the cars and the way they handle. A slightly graphically downgraded version is also available for the PS2.
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Starlancer
Good looking Spaceship game ported from the PC by the people who made the acclaimed Wing Commander series. Here you fly around following (and giving) orders, taking part in dogfights, and/or protecting defenseless ships from attack. The storyline changes as you progress and there are many branching pathways to see based on how well you do. The controls here are very complicated but work adequately well with practice and make for some exciting dogfights. Starlancer also has an online multiplayer component which plays well, and its actually one of the few titles which still works online today even after all these years!
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Rayman 2
Port of the classic 3D platformer that had you jumping and grappling your way through the levels with Rayman, solving minor puzzles and riding around on rockets. This Dreamcast version is often considered the best version of the game available, sporting a rock-solid framerate and some improved texturing and additional environments over the PC version. An excellent example of how to make a 3D sequel to a 2D game.
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Toy Commander
Quirky Mission-based game that has you controlling a huge variety of different toy vehicles, ranging from land-based tanks and jeeps to airplanes, bi-planes and helicopters amongst many others. You control these toys around a house completing a variety of novel missions such as dropping sugar into a cup or dealing with a rampaging monsters in Rabbit-costumes. The game also has a very good 4-player dogfight mode that gives you full choice of all the vehicles and a number of different modes.
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Typing of the Dead
Sega coming out with yet another madcap idea for the dreamcast, here they have converted their well-loved lightgun shooter House of the dead 2 into an entirely different game that makes full use of the keyboard peripheral. In the game the usual Zombies lumber towards you, but now they each have a sentence hovering over them, you need to type the sentence out before they reach you to dispatch the Zombie. The concept actually makes for a very fun, intense, and original experience, all whilst improving your typing ability!
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Soul Reaver
Another classic game from the PS1 generation that's been improved for Dreamcast. Soul Reaver is an imaginative and moody action adventure game which has you playing as the recently reincarnated vampire Raziel trying to get revenge on those who wronged him. The gameplay has you exploring the world gaining new abilities which allow you access to new areas, the combat is well done, with a lot of fun elements (you can throw the Vampire's into direct sunlight or carry them and impale them on spikes for instance), its full of well thought out puzzles and the storyline is interesting and well directed. This version sports improved graphics over the PC game, with slight improvements to texturing and polygon count, as such its the best version of the game available.
Border Down
This definitely has to be the best of the officially released horizontally scrolling shmups on Dreamcast, and by no small margin. Each level here has three slightly different versions (or borders), and every time you die you get booted down to a lower version of the level, drop off the bottom border and the game is over. As standard you get given a rapid fire shot (hold the button down) or a slower homing shot (press button) and its wise to swap between both moves regularly, outside of that you get the usual power-ups and some intense boss fights.
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Test Drive Le Mans
Precise, sim-ish racer from Melbourne House that's packed full of attention to detail (you can even do the full 24hour race in real-time!). Le Mans is a well crafted game with some of the best graphics on the Dreamcast, with clean visuals and excellent reflection effects and filtering (reportedly being the only game to use the hardware's Anisotropic Filtering). A later PS2 port was also made but had a few graphical downgrades so if you have both systems go for the Dreamcast.
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Capcom Vs SNK 2
Feature-rich 2D fighter from Capcom that has their main characters taking on those of rival fighting company SNK. The main gameplay inclusion here is the ability to choose from a large variety of "Grooves", you get different abilities depending on which groove you choose, so with one Groove you may be allowed to block in mid-air for instance, but not parry, whilst a different Groove will give you custom combos or a different type of Super. The game is one of the more impressive looking fighters on Dreamcast due to incorporating 3D backgrounds, and is pretty much arcade perfect due to the Dreamcast sharing hardware with the original arcade machine the game was from. Out of the ports the PS2 version is also very good, but less so the later GameCube and XBox versions.
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Space Channel 5
Quirky rhythm action game where you try to keep in time with the onscreen prompts. The game has you playing a space reporter Ooh La La as she tries to save the station from aliens by taking part in a dance-off!
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Unreal Tournament
An excellent first person shooter ported from the PC, and yet another excellent reason to invest in the Dreamcast's mouse and keyboard peripherals. The game is a very well balanced multiplayer deathmatch focused title, and its easy to see why it became so big on the PC. You get a lot of quirky weapons here, each with their own tricks and tactics, and a lot of balanced stage layouts (the Dreamcast port especially has stacks of maps). The online component of the game unfortunately no longer functions, but there's a good 4-player split-screen mode available and whilst some stages have lower-ish frame rates there are just so many stages that do run well (Damnation, Loathing, Paladin, Flux, Depot, Sector 9, Core etc, etc), that you're never short of smooth levels to choose from.
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House of the Dead 2
Classic lightgun game that's a stalwart in arcade parlours the world over. Basically a town is overrun with zombies and its your job to clean up the place. The gameplay is the usual light-gun fare, the Zombies lumber towards you while you desperately try to put them down with a headshot, civilians with death-wishes jump out in front of you at inopportune moments and spout mildly risque-sounding Engrish, and the bosses are big and exciting to battle. Definitely one of the most important and popular Lightgun games out there, and the Dreamcast port has some nice extras too.
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Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram
Dash around the environments shooting off volleys of shots, taking cover and charging into hand to hand melee's in this 2-player Mech combat "Vs" game from Sega. Its a complex, intense game that's best played with the elaborate "Twin Stick's" controller it was designed for, but can be played reasonably well on a pad. Supports split-screen and Link-Up
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Fur Fighters
Large and imaginative platforming and shooting game from Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing, Geometry Wars, the Club) that's in the vein of Rareware's N64 titles like Conker's Bad Fur Day and Jet Force Gemini. The game has you exploring the large environments searching for kidnapped babies. You get multiple different characters with different abilities and have to swap between them during the levels to progress (babies can also only be rescued by characters of the same species). Its just generally a smart, funny game that gives you lots to do and see. A later PS2 port is also available that had some added novelties (the most notable of which was voice acting), but was downgraded in pretty much all other areas (notably texturing, resolution, load times, controls, and draw distance), so I'd say its probably best to stick to the Dreamcast version.
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Street Fighter III
It was a long time coming but when Street Fighter III finally did turn up it did it with style and panache. The main addition here over the earlier games is a system of parrying which allows you to take no damage if you push forwards at the moment an attack connects (as opposed to just blocking which still causes you some damage). The art design here is phenomenal, with the game being full of great backgrounds and fitting music. The Dreamcast actually had all three of the major iterations of the game released on it, with "Double Impact" including the first two versions, and "Third Strike" getting a standalone release. Third Strike is the more popular version, but Double Impact has its own look and feel and is very well ported so its also worth checking out. Final note, the DC version of Third Strike is based on a later, less popular revision of the Arcade machine that is rarely played in tournaments, so if you're looking to go out and play the game competitively you may be better off with one of the other ports.
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Sonic Adventure
Whilst Sonic Adventure is probably one of the more dated of the games on the list (hence placing just outside the top 20), this launch title remains a very fun (though occasionally troublesome) experience full of hefty amounts of ideas, and some very imaginative level designs. The game gives you an overworld to explore, the platforming is dynamic and exciting and there's even a variety of different characters to use. The sheer scale and spectacle of this game running back in 1999 cannot be understated, it was mindblowing, there was nothing quite like it out there with this level of speed and exuberance.
Phantasy Star Online
Ambitious attempt by Sega at creating an online console RPG. The gameplay revolves around forming a party of characters to take on the various dungeons as a team, whilst gaining experience and discovering and buying new items. The battle system is active and real-time, you simply run around the levels hacking, shooting, and casting spells, each attack has multiple strength levels and timing is important for combos. There's a lot of optimisation options here with a character editor tool as well as a decent number of different classes and races to choose from each with different strengths. Unfortunately these days whilst possible to play the game online its a bit of a pain as all of the official servers have long since closed down, leaving you only unofficial options, the game can be played offline but without the social aspects it loses something.
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Dead or Alive 2
Fast-paced 3D fighting game from Tecmo with a system based around countering as its main gameplay mechanic. The game is fast, fluid, and well animated (ahem), it has the usual emphasis on combos and moves but does it all well and looks fantastic.
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Quake III
Here is a very nice port of the fast and furious PC classic. The game looks excellent, runs well, and has all the required features such as Mouse and Keyboard support (a must if you want to play the game properly), 4-player split screen support, and even online deathmatch (which happily, like Starlancer is actually still functioning!). The game is a violent and intense first person shooter that is focused mainly on deathmatch, the arena's are well designed and the imaginative weapons are an absolute joy to use.
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Virtua Tennis 2
Fun and accessible arcade Tennis game from Sega with an emphasis on being pick-up-and-play. The Virtua Tennis series are pretty much the most beloved series of Tennis games out there, perfectly straddling the line between realism and fun, whilst providing a lot of options longevity.
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Grandia II
Sequel to the classic Saturn and Playstation RPG. Grandia II puts the game in full 3D and gives you a new cast of Geohounds (mercs) and Priestesses to meet. The RPG has a unique and clever combat system that's turn-based, but has the characters moving about in real-time by themselves, which leads to a focus on timing in addition to the usual RPG tactics. In comparison to the DC's other famous RPG, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia feels a little linear and straightforward, with Skies being the better game to explore, but I'd say Grandia is the one with the better battle system. The game was later ported to PS2 but avoid this version, unfortunately it was a buggy rush-job.
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Powerstone 2
Awesome, underrated 4-player fighting game from Capcom. In Powerstone 2, players run around 3D environments fighting, and picking up and using weapons or vehicles whilst searching for the titular Power Stones. When three Power Stones are collected you are transformed into a more powerful form for a short period and given devastating moves. The game makes for an excellent party game, with its changing, evolving Smash Bros-esque stages keeping the gameplay tense and exciting while the Power Stones keep things interesting.
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Samba De Amigo
Samba De Amigo is a bright and fun rhythm action game with good music and visuals that oozes with charm. The game comes with some special Maraca controllers which you have to wave and shake about at specified points to the rhythm of the music.
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Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Frenetic 2D fighting game that pits the most popular characters of the two companies against each other. Marvel Vs Capcom follows the basic mold of most Capcom fighters such as Street Fighter, but is generally much more loose and over-the-top. The game pits two teams of three against each other, with the player being allowed to switch characters mid-fight, as well as call for help. MvC fights are anarchic, with huge screen-filling tag-team attacks, big combos, and aerial raves. The amount of content here is good, with lots to do and many characters to unlock. Many ports exist, but the Dreamcast version is the best of its time because (like Capcom Vs SNK 2) the game is from the same arcade machine that has similar hardware.
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Crazy Taxi
Another weird and well-executed concept from Sega. Crazy Taxi has you playing a Taxi Driver trying to ferry passengers around a big city, as soon as you pick them up you're racing against the clock to get them to their destination as fast as possible and refill the timer. The game gives you a variety of different techniques to master, such as boosts and skids, and is very addictive, like many Sega games it just has that pick-up-and-play feel down to a tee. Out of the versions I'd say this is the best, with the GameCube coming very close, later ports lose licensed elements.
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Shenmue
Hugely ambitious game for its era, Shenmue reportedly had one of the largest development budgets of all time at release, and by no small margin! The game is about Ryo Hazuki's search for his father's killer, and is essentially like a sand-box game, giving you full reign to explore your home town at your leisure. Gameplay mainly revolves around information gathering, 3D fighting, completing mini-games, and taking part in quick-time events. The game is very cinematic, and attempts to really immerse the player in its world, allowing you to work, buy trivial items, or even hang out at the local arcades playing full version's of Sega classics like Space Harrier and Hang-On. Out of the two Shenmue games on Dreamcast I decided to rate this one lower, but they are very different games with different strengths, the first Shenmue being more homely & personal in comparison to its louder and more bombastic sequel.
Sonic Adventure 2
Excellent sequel that was a lot more polished than its predecessor. Like the original this has you playing with multiple characters, with the main campaign being split between three different game types; Sonic's high speed platform stages, Knuckles' exploration stages, and Tails' shooting and platforming levels. All three modes are fun (though there are certainly a couple of duds), with Sonic's twisty, turning paths, gravity changes, set-pieces and rail grinding creating a lot of exhilaration, and Knuckles' big open, atmospheric levels being memorable to explore (meteor herd and the Mario Galaxy-reminiscent Mad Space being the standouts here). The game has lots of replay value as you're graded on your competence and given nice extras for full A-Ranks, and there's also a plethora of fun multiplayer options and even a "Virtual Pet" mode that has you raising and leveling up the game's cute "Chaos" creatures. A good GameCube port of the game is also available, but there's some tradeoffs between the two versions (GameCube has higher polygon counts but worse lighting, more multiplayer race maps but downgraded Chao gardens etc).
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Metropolis Street Racer
Brilliant racing game that is pretty much the prequel to the highly rated Project Gotham Racing series. The game has you racing around tracks based on London, Tokyo and San Francisco, but the big difference here is its incorporation of a system based around "kudos". Essentially you not only have to win races, but you have to win them with style by taking risks, skidding around corners, and avoiding collisions. Whilst very similar to the later PGR titles MSR still retains some personality of its own, its a harder game for one, and its soundtrack from Sega Stalwart Richard Jacques gives it a very different, bright and breezy atmosphere. Other features such as a real time clock that changes the time of day in the game based on what the actual real-world time is are also welcome, and likeable ideas.
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Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Getting the eagerly anticipated "next gen" Resident Evil game was a real coup for Sega at the time, with the game creating its fair share of hype. Happily it didn't disappoint, Code Veronica was the longest and most ambitious of the older Resident Evil games. It was a huge undertaking, with lots of emphasis on storyline and tons to do, cinematics were impressive for the time and the game represented the series' first foray into true 3D backgrounds as opposed to the earlier 2D backgrounds. For anyone searching for a meaty adventure to sink their teeth into.
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Ikaruga
Very clever vertical shmup from Treasure where your ship can swap between two different colours at the press of a button; you can absorb enemy bullets of the matching colour whilst the opposite colour will kill you. This leads to some nifty navigation and colour swapping to make it through the tougher sections of the game and is a cool idea that breaths some new life into the genre. Outside of the gameplay mechanics we have the usual hallmarks of the genre, lots of action, lots of dodging, lots of set-pieces, and memorable boss fights, all complimented with great art design that creates an epic feel.
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Chu Chu Rocket
This definitely has to be one of the best, and most elegantly designed puzzle games of its era. The key to a good puzzle game is in creating a simple and accessible concept with layers, and Chu Chu Rocket achieves this effortlessly. The game has you leading mice to your base by placing three arrows on the ground at a time (during the puzzles there are often other limitations), whilst making sure to lead cats away from your base (and preferably into your opponents bases). Every now and then a rule change will occur forcing you to adapt to the new status quo. The 4-player here makes for an excellent party game, with friends vying for top place, re-routing each others careful planning, and disposing of cats in enemy bases.
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Skies of Arcadia
The Dreamcast didn't have a hell of a lot of RPGs during its short lifespan, but luckily this excellent steampunk RPG from Sega's Overworks team (the makers of the Phantasy Star games) was a real standout in its day. Skies has you playing as a band of pirates who fly airships to and from floating islands. The game's battle system is respectable, giving you both on-foot battles and memorable, large-scale ship to ship battles, but its the exploration elements and excellent dungeon designs and clever puzzles that are the real success story. As usual presentation and storyline are also top notch, with likeable characters and well done music.
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Jet Set Radio
This is a very stylish platform game which has you forming your own gang of graffiti artists and then competing with rival gangs in tagging the city. At the beginning of each area you are given a map showing various points, the aim is to reach these points and spray out some art whilst avoiding police and keeping stocked up on spray cans. The game is a ton of fun, is a unique experience, and helped to popularise Cell-Shading with its superb art design and presentation.
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Rez
Yet another Dreamcast game with beautiful art design where you can really feel the love and attention to detail that the developers have heaped onto it. I'm not going to try to ramble on about "synesthesia" here, so I'll just say that this is a brilliantly artistic rail shooter that combines audio and video perfectly to create an exciting, imaginative, and unique experience. Every true fan of gaming should try this game out at some point.
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Soul Calibur
One of the most stunning games of its time, Namco went the extra mile with this critically acclaimed arcade port from their Soul Blade fighting series. The game has you fighting 1 on 1 with melee weapons in a 3D arena, like all such games you need to learn each character's specific combo's and work out the best tactics. Not only did Namco improve the graphics here from the arcade version, but they really packed this with content and extras, there's an astonishing amount of modes available, characters to unlock, and things to do here.
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Shenmue II
After the groundbreaking Shenmue Sega came back with this, an even more big and ambitious game. Shenmue II eschews the more laid back hometown of the first game and throws you into a huge, bustling city full of crime and intrigue, with gangs and opportunistic individuals around every corner. The main gameplay here is similar to the original, being largely about information gathering, mini-games, 3D fighting and quick-time events, but it feels more focused, and does a better job of pushing you in the direction you need to go (which could be considered a good or bad thing depending on the player I guess). Like its predecessor the game really excels at immersing the player in its world, and characters.
Starting the list we have this hack n' slash brawler based on the violent Manga by Kentaro Miura. Its a simplistic action game where you hack your your way through the levels with your huge, oversized sword. The game is quite short, having a lot of emphasis on storyline and cut scenes (which are written by the Manga author himself). Probably best suited to fans of old-school beat-em-ups or of the Manga itself.
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SWWS: Euro Edition
There weren't many good Football games on the Dreamcast, but this one is pretty respectable. Confusingly SWWS is actually the successor to the World League Soccer (Michael Owen) series of games rebranded as a Worldwide Soccer title, so it has few similarities to the classic Sega Saturn titles, but its fun nevertheless. Avoid the earlier non "Euro Edition" version as its noticeably inferior.
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4 Wheel Thunder
This was an exclusive game made for Dreamcast in Midway's "Thunder" series of racers. Gameplay in the series revolves around you boosting by picking up capsules littered throughout the levels. The games also have a lot of emphasis on learning the best routes and shortcuts. This one has you driving Monster Trucks over a range of indoor and outdoor environments, its a solid, though challenging racer with a good number of tracks and options.
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Super Magnetic Neo
Here we have a tricky platform game similar in style to the earlier Crash Bandicoots games. You run and jump through the long, winding 3D stages, ride animals, and do the occasional 2D platforming section. The main thing which sets this game apart is its magnetism mechanic. In the game you can swap between two different colours, if you're the same colour as an object it attracts you (for rope swings for example), whilst if you're the opposite colour it repels you, allowing you to bounce around the stages. You need to change on the fly, and changing to the wrong colour usually results in death! its a fun game if you can get your head around it but may frustrate if you can't.
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Revolt
A good version of the 4-player remote-controlled racer from the PC. Revolt plays kind of like a Kart racer, with you picking up a selection of weapons to sabotage your opponents as you race through the oversized environments. Its a fun game with quite a bit to do and see (there's a pretty good Track Editor, a stunt mode where you collect stars etc). The game was downported to PS1 and N64 but this version is obviously a lot closer to the original PC game.
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Dino Crisis
The survival horror genre is very well represented on Dreamcast, in fact so well represented is it that I had to spend some time trying to work out which games I wanted to make the list and which I just had to cut. In the end I chose Dino Crisis to represent in the bottom ten, sure its a PS1 port, but with its cleaner visuals and more stable graphics its unarguably the best console version of the game available (unlike Resident Evil 3 for instance, which is arguably better on GameCube), and the gameplay and voice acting are a little more polished than the Dreamcast's own decent survival horror title, Carrier. The game itself is basically like Resident Evil with Dinosaurs (and at this stage that comparison is so overused its become a cliche), you explore a big facility solving puzzles and evading Dinosaurs whilst conserving ammo. The puzzles here are well done, and are actually a little different in execution to those of the Resident Evil games, and there's a lot of memorable set-pieces and events.
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Silver
A solid action RPG that has you searching the globe for magical Orbs that are necessary to triumph over evil and rescue your kidnapped wife. The story here isn't that inspired to be honest, but luckily the dialogue between characters is very well done and whoever produced the music did a real first rate job, helping to give the title a lot of atmosphere and mood. The gameplay here is fairly simple, but good, it would've strongly benefited from a co-op mode but unfortunately there isn't one.
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Stupid Invaders
Stupid Invaders is a humourous point and click adventure game ported from the PC. In the game you explore, pick up and merge items, and solve puzzles (usually rewarding you with cut scenes). The story of the game surrounds a group of aliens stranded on Earth who are being terrorised by a lunatic. The graphics and art design are nice and the game is quite funny, there's a lot of instant deaths but you can save at any time so save often.
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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
One of the lessor known Capcom fighters but don't let that dissuade you. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a 2D fighter based on the popular Manga of the same name. Other than the usual stuff the main gameplay mechanic here revolves around the "Stand" button. This button usually calls forth an Avatar of the player and changes your stance and move set, but requires Stand gauge energy to sustain. Like all Capcom fighters the game is well constructed, has excellent art design and graphics, and the stand gauge manages to add a little variety to the gameplay.
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D2
This cinematic survival horror game garnered mixed reviews at the time but in retrospect is one of the more memorable titles of the era, including some fairly surprising content. The game has you playing as Laura, a woman who's airliner has crashed in the Canadian wilderness. She and the other survivors find that the area they are in is infested with strange plant-like monsters that take the form of humans, Laura sets out to discover what's going on. The gameplay is varied, there's both 1st and 3rd person exploration sections, random battles where you gain experience points (these play kinda' like lightgun games), lots of simplistic puzzles to solve, an a lot of emphasis on cut scenes. Its a flawed game, and not all that long either, but is definitely an interesting title to check out.
Gundam Side Story
Strategic shooter based on the popular license. This has you giving orders to a team of mech's whilst you attempt to complete a range of mission objectives. Overall its a polished game with good presentation and lots of blasting action.
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Tokyo Extreme Racer 2
In this series of racing games you freely drive around a large city looking for other racers to compete against. Essentially you have a list of the local racing gangs and their members and have to find then, beat them and knock them off the checklist, opening up more of the city along the way. The game has a lot of customisation options for the car, with shops and money etc and has a good pickup-and-play vibe. This sequel represents a big improvement on the original.
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Worms World Party
Turn-based strategy game where your team of Worms need to wipe out the competition using a variety of wacky weapons. The game was originally online but I believe this has long since ceased. Worms World Party Is much like all the other Worms games really, except with better graphics and a few more options, being that the Worms series are multiplayer classics that's really not that much of a issue though.
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Wacky Races
A respectable Kart racer in the vein of the ultra popular Mario Kart series which uses the very apt Wacky Races cartoon license. Thankfully the game tries a lot of its own things, and as such deviates from Mario Kart enough to make it notable in its own right. Here at the start of each race you get to allocate three different moves, the moves range from homing attacks, to shields, boosts, and flight (as well as others), you collect coins along the route to pay to use these moves. This set-up lends some strategy to the game, as some courses may have shortcuts made easier by using the flight ability for instance, whilst others may benefit from boosting. The game is actually pretty good, there's tons of content and a very comprehensive single-player mode, it was made by the company that went on to produce the Sega Allstars Racing series.
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Bangai-O
Enhanced port of Treasure's Japan-only N64 shooter. The game has you flying around the stages blasting enemies with 360 degree aiming, you get to swap between and homing missiles and bouncing lasers, and there are some minor puzzle elements here and there along the way. The Dreamcast version has much better backgrounds, and less slowdown than the N64 game, as well as having some additional gameplay tweaks, and being that this version was released everywhere its also translated. The translation is kind of nonsensical for the most part, fans of Engrish will probably love it though.
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Sega Marine Fishing
An excellent Fishing game ported from Sega's arcade machine that uses the Dreamcast's dedicated Fishing controller for extra authenticity. Basically the game works like this, you place the bait, shake the controller to lure in the fish, pull up the controller to snag them, and use the reel to pull them in. It might not sound great on paper but in practice its good fun.
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Bust A Move 4
Long-running puzzle series where the aim is to shoot and match up balls of a same colour to clear the screen before it fills. This version has some extra modes and options, its not really much different to other Bust-A-Move games but is still a lot of fun.
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F1 World Gran Prix II
Comprehensive Formula 1 racing game with all the stuff you'd expect from the genre, such as various weather conditions, a good pit crew, and well done physics and handling (for the time) and all held together by some nice, detailed graphics. Overall a respectable and polished racer.
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King of Fighters 2002
One of the best King of Fighters games and a huge improvement over the previous year's effort. King of Fighters 2002 gives you a huge character roster of old and new favourites from the history of the series, and returns to the classic gameplay of old, ditching the "Striker" system and replacing it with some new Desperation moves.
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Armada
A 4-player RPG which plays kind of like Asteroids with experience points and shops, set in an explorable galaxy of planets and deep space. You start off on your home planet, and its here that you pick up mission objectives and plot points during the course of the game. The multiplayer is lots of fun, but less so the single-player.
GTA II
The second major release in the Grand Theft Auto series provided various improvements to graphics and gameplay whilst keeping the basic structure of the popular original. The game has you driving around the streets completing missions whilst avoiding cops and gaining respect from the local gangs. In comparison to later games in the series these earlier games feel very different, at this stage Its all a lot more straight-forward, arcadey and action-focused, with a lot more of a pick-up-and-play feel. The Dreamcast version is closer to the PC game in visuals and represents a big improvement over the PS1 port in regards to lighting and effects.
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Tech Romancer
This oddly titled game is a 3D fighter from genre stalwarts Capcom, one of their more under appreciated titles. The game has you playing as a variety of Gundam-style mechs each with their own selection of weapons and moves. On top of the usual staples you can pick up and use items found on the ground that have defensive and offensive applications, as well as having access to a finishing move which can outright kill an opponent who's on low health. Definitely worth checking out for fans of both fighters, and big destructive mech's
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Vanishing Point
Good looking arcade racer for the Dreamcast that starts off tricky with some of the earlier cars but soon pulls you in. The game is made up of a selection of championships set up for each car, completing races opens up new cars which in turn have their own championships to play through. This set-up forces you to get good with all the different cars, and keeps the game from becoming monotonous as you can't just pick one car for the whole game. Outside of the main modes the game also has some pretty cool extra's, such as the fun Stunt Mode that has you completing a variety of different challenges. Vanishing Point was originally designed for Dreamcast, but was later down ported to the PS1, avoid that version.
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Red Dog
This one pleasantly surprised me, its from Argonaut, the team who created the Super FX chip for the SNES. Red Dog is an action game which has you controlling a tank, the game gives you a machine gun shot, as well as rockets which work in a similar manner to rail shooters (you hold the button and sweep the cursor across multiple enemies, let go and it fires off a volley of homing missiles). The interesting element of the gameplay here though is a reflective shield, if you can bring it up in time it will reflect enemy shots back to their source, and mastering this move is crucial to progressing. Some respectable graphics and nice boss fights also help to make it worth checking out.
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NHL 2K2
Whilst the first NHL2K game on the Dreamcast was solid, it didn't quite live up to its siblings in quality, this however changed with the 2002 edition which represented a huge improvement. The AI here has been improved, the controls are deep, and the game is smooth and responsive. A great game for Ice Hockey fans.
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Castle Shikigami II
One of the later official games released for the system (2004), Castle Shikigami is an excellent vertically scrolling shooter and a must for fans of the genre. Here the main gameplay mechanic involves purposefully cutting it close when evading the bullets, as when you are close to touching a bullet your firepower is hugely increased and you can gain more points. Its a graphically impressive game with nice aesthetics and a lot of replayability when striving for score.
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Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Tactical first person shooter where you need to come up with a plan and direct a whole squad through the various missions. Unlike the first Rainbow Six on Dreamcast this supports the much-needed Mouse and Keyboard controls, creating a much more in-depth experience.
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Maken X
Under appreciated First Person Adventure from the Atlus team most known for creating the Shin Megami Tensei series (and it shows). The game has you sword fighting in a first person perspective, allowing you to both block and rebound shots back at enemies (if you get the timing right). During the course of the game you can choose to take control of different characters, each of which have different strength and weaknesses and each of which lead you down different branching pathways. Unfortunately the localisation team made rather a mess of the game for its western release, its poorly translated and dubbed, has a lot of censorship, and has even been made harder, with the localisers removing health packs and adding health penalties for using certain moves! The US/Euro version definitely loses something, but is still worth checking out. The Japanese version isn't too difficult to play through as the menu's include a lot of English, but you won't know what's going on in the story.
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NBA 2K2
Graphically impressive Basketball game from Sega and Visual Concepts which admirably lives up to the high pedigree of the the rest of their 2K series of sports games.
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Sega Rally 2
Sequel to Sega's beloved arcade racing game that adds a lot more tracks, options, and modes. Sega Rally 2 is very much an arcade game at heart so don't expect an ultra realistic experience here, this game is all about sliding around corners at high speed and racing against the clock. The port to Dreamcast is respectable but visually disappointing (which is why it dropped a lot of placing's), its an early release and it shows still manages to be a lot of fun
Lack of Love
A very strange import game from the people who would go on to make Chibi Robo for the GameCube. In the game you play as a life form that is trying to survive and evolve, you do this by helping other creatures with their problems by using four different actions (speak, attack, sleep, and urinate), pressing the start button shows you which animals to focus on. Its a high-concept game that requires patience as there's rarely any obvious clues to follow, you just need to observe these creatures to try to get an idea of what they need from you, as such getting stuck is quite common. Definitely one for diehard game fans who like to try something different.
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Demolition Racer: No Exit
This is a very enhanced update of the earlier PS1 game Demolition Racer. No Exit is a racing game built around destruction (its made by some of the same people who worked on the Destruction Derby series). Coming first here only gives you a points multiplier, its the points themselves that you need to win each race, and its smashing cars and causing pile-ups that afford you said points. So you essentially hang back gaining points off your opponents until the last lap, and then make a rush for 1st place. Its a novel idea that gives the game a nice level of originality and makes for some exhilarating races and action.
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Cool Cool Toon
Import-only rhythm action game from SNK where you hold the analogue stick in specific directions whilst pressing buttons in rhythm to the beat. Its a good game with a lot of catchy tunes and nice aesthetics and backgrounds and is also one of the few titles to support Samba De Amigo's Maraca controller (though its still a lot of fun with or without it).
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Record of Lodoss War
This is a great hack n' slash Diablo-style RPG based on the popular Anime. Whilst the story unfolds you essentially run through the dungeons hacking at the hordes of monsters and recruiting AI-controlled party members to help. The deeper part of the gameplay involves searching out and collecting runes, these runes can be combined with the equipment for various effects and stat boosts. Its a good RPG for fans of the more western-styled RPGs but may disappoint those looking for a more familiar, cinematic JRPG.
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Mr Driller
Puzzle game from Namco where you need to drill through the ground, being careful not to get crushed by falling rocks. The main element of the gameplay here is to not just survive, but to work out the best way to collect all of the air as you make your way down, maximising points, and its this element that adds longevity to the experience. The Dreamcast port is higher resolution, and slightly higher colour than the PS1 game, but unfortunately that's about it for extras.
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Shadowman
Creepy Action-Adventure game based on the comic book from Valiant. The game has you traveling through the underworld searching for Dark Souls, once collected these souls power-up the character and allow access to previously blocked areas. Its an atmospheric game with good puzzles and a memorable setting. Out of all the ports this is the best console version of the game available, better than the respectable N64 version (which has worse sound and framerate), and leagues ahead of the poor, rushed PS1 version.
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Cannon Spike
No-nonsense 2-player top-down shooter from Psikyo and Capcom that stars a variety of their characters, (Mega Man, Cammy, Arthur from Ghost's n' Goblins etc). You get 360 degree firing with a target-lock, a screen clearing move to get out of dangerous situations, melee moves and a powered up attack. For the most part its simply all about dodging bullets and destroying bosses. A polished and fun arcade game.
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Elemental Gimmick Gear
2D Action Adventure that's in the vein of earlier Zelda titles, except with 3D boss fights. In the game you play as a stranger who was found long ago in suspended animation inside a strange mech-suit, after a long period of sleep you suddenly wake up with total amnesia. As mentioned earlier the game plays like earlier Zelda games, you explore, you find health upgrades and new equipment and gain new abilities to progress. You get a punch move, as well as a very useful spin attack which uses up energy. Its a well made game that's a good example of its type, with good aesthetics, music and art design, unfortunately though the translation work here is poor, its not so bad that it detracts too much from the gameplay but it's noticeable.
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Outtrigger
A first person shooter from Sega that is similar to Deathmatch fps games like Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament (though really its very much its own thing). The game doesn't really focus on weaponry much and is mainly about power-ups, straight action, and collecting coins. In the game you get a point for each kill, but another can be gained by picking up a coin that's dropped after the kill. The cramped, layered design of the levels facilitates a lot of last minute coin steals from other players, thereby lending the game a slightly different feel to the other first person shooters out there. Outtrigger looks good, plays well in 4-player and runs extremely well, with the framerate staying consistent. There are a plethora of control options, with "D1" representing the standard Dreamcast FPS controls.
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NFL 2K2
Acclaimed series of American Football games that introduced on the Dreamcast to high praise. NFL2k games represented the high point of the time in the sport, with great gameplay, graphics, and impressive (for the time) AI. The game is full of excellent options including a lot for player customisation, and the Dreamcast version has support for VMU play calling, so you can choose tactics without your opponent knowing.
Resident Evil 2
Classic survival horror game where you explore a city overrun with Zombies whilst solving puzzles and trying to avoid a gruesome death. You get multiple characters to play this time around and the plot is more interesting, with voice-acting that's much improved since the first game (which was so bad it was funny a lot of the time). Sure this is just a PS1 port, but that game was one of the best on Playstation, and this is the best port, featuring higher quality FMV's over the later Game Cube release, as well as more options and a VMU health display, which was a nice touch.
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Soldier of Fortune
In the absence of a proper release of Half Life (near finished copies can be downloaded but the game was never officially released) I'd say this provides the best FPS campaign on Dreamcast. Soldier of Fortune is a no-nonsense shooter that was known at the time for its attempt at doing area-specific gore. The game has an emphasis on action, with you rushing through the levels dealing death and destruction. Soldier of Fortune isn't going to blow you away, but its polished, looks reasonable and plays well, and like all the best FPS games on Dreamcast benefits a lot from Mouse and Keyboard support.
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Hydro Thunder
Hydro Thunder is a water racing game in the vein of Wave Race ported from the arcades. Like 4 Wheel Thunder the game is part of the "thunder" series of racers, where you collect capsules which give you energy to boost for a short period of time. Hydro Thunder actually looks pretty nice for an earlier title and plays well, with many shortcuts to discover and a good amount of re playability.
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Guilty Gear X
Accessible 2D fighting game from Arc System Works that has some awesome graphics and art design. Guilty Gear X is a likeable, very combo-heavy fighter that's easy to pick up and play but isn't too shallow either. The Dreamcast version is pretty much arcade perfect.
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Ill bleed
A quirky survival horror game that almost defies description! Ill bleed has all of the usual aspects you'd expect of the genre, puzzle solving, item management, and combat, but tries to do its own thing in other areas which results in a memorable experience. The game is set in an evil theme park that's broken up into levels, with each level being a pastiche of a horror film staple (crazed killers out for revenge after the death of a loved one, evil dolls, mannequins, Remorse worms etc etc its all here). In most levels is hidden something called a "Horror Monitor" this device warns you of danger spots, and can be used to mark them down thereby rendering them harmless. Where the title shines is in its offbeat nature, whether you're trying to help an evil cake find the perfect topping, of shooting at a ring-dropping demon version of Sonic the Hedgehog there's never a dull moment! Ill bleed is not for everyone though, there's certainly the odd misstep with the gameplay and some dodgy execution here and there, but personally I find it a flawed gem.
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Rush 2049
Futuristic racer from Atari and Midway ported from their popular coin-op. The game has you racing through cities at high speed searching for elaborate short-cuts and flying off ramps into huge jumps. Midway did a very good job with the Dreamcast conversion, it looks great and has contains a lot of modes and extras, including an excellent 4-player battle mode.
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Cosmic Smash
Import-only arcade port that plays kind of like a Tennis game mixed with Breakout. You hit the ball back and forth trying to destroy blocks, sometimes the blocks move, and sometimes they are obstructed by indestructible blocks, each stage has a time limit and when the time runs out its game over. The game is quite bare bones as an arcade port, but is fun, accessible, and has re playability.
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Mars Matrix
A bullet hell shooter from Capcom, Mars Matrix covers the screen with almost ornate patterns of bullets for you to navigate through. The game gives you a normal shot as well as a Shotgun short-range blast, and allows you to grab the enemy bullets and throw them back (the longer you hold the bullets for, the longer the time for the next charge up will take so its worth grabbing and throwing them quickly). As usual Capcom provide a polished and well-crafted game.
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Puzzle Fighter 2: Matching Service
Popular block-falling puzzle game with a Capcom Fighting game theme. Here you need to match the blocks up with the corresponding trigger to clear them, and as usual setting up combo's hurts your opponents even more. This is like the earlier release for Saturn and PS1, but with some nice additional modes that mix things up a bit, and an online feature that's unfortunately no longer functional.
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Virtual Fighter 3tb
Early Dreamcast 3D fighter (a launch title in Japan) from the popular series. Like earlier games in the series, Virtual Fighter 3 is a technical fighter that rewards mastery. New additions here include sloping, uneven ground for the arenas, as well as the option of a team battle. Its a good game, but does sometimes show its status as a launch title and is strongly superceded by later games like Soul Caliber.
Sega GT
Sega GT was Sega's big attempt at a Gran Turismo competitor, overall its certainly no Gran Turismo but i'd say its a mostly successful endeavor in the genre. The game gives you lots of cars, good handling, and a plethora of options. Its a very respectable release and doesn't look too shabby either.
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Confidential Mission
This is a great lightgun shooter with a very James Bond-esque theme. Its a balanced game, it looks pretty good, and it throws in enough other elements (such as objectives which lead to branching paths) to make it stand out as one of the better lightgun games of the time. On top of the main mode you get a lot of extra content here including a bunch of cool minigames and variants to try.
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Bomberman Online
Criminally overlooked, no-nonsense bomberman game with surprisingly high production values and lovely presentation. In these games you have to place bombs to blow up your opponents whilst being careful not to die yourself, a perfect, and timeless concept for multiplayer shenanigans. Bomberman Online focus' completely on this multiplayer element, there's no half-assed attempt at a campaign mode here, just a big tournament of rounds with boss fights (much like the 16-bit games). Thankfully The designers didn't completely rest on their laurels though, there's loads of new modes here each of which put a new spin on the classic gameplay and complement the range of older maps well. The game is no longer online, but still plays fantastically offline.
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Under Defeat
Polished vertical scrolling shooter where you can direct your fire to the right and left and lock your aim in place by holding the fire button down. Other than the aiming system the game gives you a helper that you can release by pressing the fire button when a bar to the side of the screen fills, this helper comes in a range of different types, and can be changed by picking up the relevant power-up. The game has very nice graphics and a huge amount of attention to detail, with very nice animation (watch as the trees on the ground react to the explosions around them for instance). A very good Dreamcast shooter.
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MDK2
A challenging 3rd person shooter and sequel to Shiny's popular earlier PC title. This time its Bioware doing the development duties and thankfully they don't disappoint. The gameplay here has a lot of different aspects to it, the main character, Kurt's levels consist of running, gunning, sniping and throwing grenades and such, Dr Hawkin's levels are mainly platforming and puzzle solving, and a robotic Dog with a jetpack named Max provides short range gunplay. Its a tough game with a lot of twitch gameplay that's aimed at hardcore shooter fans so expect to do levels multiple times before you get them right. A later PS2 version arrived with an easier difficulty curve, but had inferior controls and graphics (resolution, lighting, filtering).
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Zero Gunner 2
Another excellent Shoot-em-up from the arcades flawlessly ported to Dreamcast. Zero Gunner is an action-packed shooter that gives you full 360 degree rotation to deal with enemies that rush you from all directions. Great bosses, great graphics, and whilst hard at first the 360 degree movement works flawlessly with practice and is a very fun gameplay mechanic.
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Puyo Puyo Fever
Another excellent addition in the puzzle series, Puyo Puyo Fever keeps all classic gameplay of the earlier games whilst adding in some new gameplay elements here and there such as the frenetic "Fever" mode to increase the tension and keep the game fresh. The Puyo Puyo games are a series of block-falling puzzlers, you have to match up Puyo's of a similar colour to clear them from the screen before they pile up and kill you, setting up a domino effect dumps more junk on your opponent. Other than the gameplay changes this goes for a new 2.5D look, with nice animation and some pleasant revolving background effects.
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Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
Beautiful 2D fighter from SNK that is often considered to be amongst the greatest fighting games they've ever produced. The game looks fantastic and plays well, dumping the plane switching mechanic of its forebears and putting more focus on feint moves as well as a "Just Defend" move which is similar to the parry move in Street Fighter III (if you push back at the exact moment of contact here you do a block which gains you a little health). Avoid the western release of the game if possible as the localisation created issues with the game's sound.
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Tony Hawks 2
Enhanced port of the classic Playstation skateboarding game. Essentially you have to ride around exploring the environments completing objectives and racking up points by doing a variety of tricks, its a unique and addictive concept. This version has improved graphics for the Dreamcast but isn't exactly pushing the system so I dropped it a few places, make no mistake though its a phenomenal game and a lot of fun.
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Daytona 2001
Pseudo sequel/remake of the classic sega arcade game. Daytona 2001 contains graphically revamped versions of all the courses from both the original Daytona and CE, as well as three new race tracks designed specifically for this game and a bunch more modes and features. For those unfamiliar with the series, Daytona is a racer with an emphasis on speed and over-the-top powerslides (done by quickly changing gears), its a bombastic game which requires a helluva lot of practice to fully master but is very rewarding to learn. Excellent with a steering wheel.
Headhunter
Stealthy action-adventure game that was billed as an answer to Metal gear Solid but came out just a little too late, only just getting a Euro release for Dreamcast. The game is pretty impressive for its time, with nice graphics and a big open world for you to travel around to get from mission to mission. Gameplay has you solving puzzles, getting involved in gunfights, stealthing lackeys (admittedly sometimes doesn't work as well as it should), and riding around on a Motorbike. The storyline is pretty good, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek satire and fake adverts (similar to the original Robocop movie) and there's many memorable set-pieces too. A good PS2 port is available with only a few minor downgrades to shadow effects and control as its only real detriment.
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Ecco: Defender of the Future
After a long hiatus Ecco the Dolphin returned to gaming, and this time in full 3D. This is a challenging action-adventure game where you swim through the ocean exploring, solving puzzles and helping sea-creatures whilst traveling back and forth through time and to alternate future's in an effort to deal with "The Foe". The game has great graphics and is thick with atmosphere, its tricky to get a handle on at first but after some initial effort it grabs you in and you'll want to reach the next area to see what happens. There's actually a PS2 port also available which was made easier and more straightforward, those who tend to get lost in these types of games may be better off with that version to be totally honest.
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Ooga Booga
Underrated 4-player title that stands as easily one of the best party games on the system. The game has you collecting fruit which can be used as projectiles or to take control of Totem poles littered around the levels (they basically act as your own personal guard towers). You get a melee attack, and are also able to commandeer animals such as wild boars or birds to help you lay the smack-down on your enemies. Outside of the main mode you get others, such as the equally brilliant "Boar Polo" that has you knocking a boulder through the opponents goal. The game has a weak-ish single-player, but the multiplayer is great fun, and the game is packed full of humour and charm.
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Project Justice: Rival Schools 2
Capcom's manic and colourful sequel to their earlier 3D fighting game for Arcade and original Playstation, Rival Schools. The game plays a little like their "Vs" series, but in 3D, with you able to pull off aerial raves and call in back-up during the match from your two teammates in reserve. Its accessible, and over-the-top fun.
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Ferrari F355 Challenge
Here's a nice racing game from Sega which manages to aim for realism whilst still retaining that classic Sega Arcade game look and atmosphere. The game looks great and has an inordinate amount of attention to detail in the cars and the way they handle. A slightly graphically downgraded version is also available for the PS2.
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Starlancer
Good looking Spaceship game ported from the PC by the people who made the acclaimed Wing Commander series. Here you fly around following (and giving) orders, taking part in dogfights, and/or protecting defenseless ships from attack. The storyline changes as you progress and there are many branching pathways to see based on how well you do. The controls here are very complicated but work adequately well with practice and make for some exciting dogfights. Starlancer also has an online multiplayer component which plays well, and its actually one of the few titles which still works online today even after all these years!
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Rayman 2
Port of the classic 3D platformer that had you jumping and grappling your way through the levels with Rayman, solving minor puzzles and riding around on rockets. This Dreamcast version is often considered the best version of the game available, sporting a rock-solid framerate and some improved texturing and additional environments over the PC version. An excellent example of how to make a 3D sequel to a 2D game.
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Toy Commander
Quirky Mission-based game that has you controlling a huge variety of different toy vehicles, ranging from land-based tanks and jeeps to airplanes, bi-planes and helicopters amongst many others. You control these toys around a house completing a variety of novel missions such as dropping sugar into a cup or dealing with a rampaging monsters in Rabbit-costumes. The game also has a very good 4-player dogfight mode that gives you full choice of all the vehicles and a number of different modes.
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Typing of the Dead
Sega coming out with yet another madcap idea for the dreamcast, here they have converted their well-loved lightgun shooter House of the dead 2 into an entirely different game that makes full use of the keyboard peripheral. In the game the usual Zombies lumber towards you, but now they each have a sentence hovering over them, you need to type the sentence out before they reach you to dispatch the Zombie. The concept actually makes for a very fun, intense, and original experience, all whilst improving your typing ability!
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Soul Reaver
Another classic game from the PS1 generation that's been improved for Dreamcast. Soul Reaver is an imaginative and moody action adventure game which has you playing as the recently reincarnated vampire Raziel trying to get revenge on those who wronged him. The gameplay has you exploring the world gaining new abilities which allow you access to new areas, the combat is well done, with a lot of fun elements (you can throw the Vampire's into direct sunlight or carry them and impale them on spikes for instance), its full of well thought out puzzles and the storyline is interesting and well directed. This version sports improved graphics over the PC game, with slight improvements to texturing and polygon count, as such its the best version of the game available.
Border Down
This definitely has to be the best of the officially released horizontally scrolling shmups on Dreamcast, and by no small margin. Each level here has three slightly different versions (or borders), and every time you die you get booted down to a lower version of the level, drop off the bottom border and the game is over. As standard you get given a rapid fire shot (hold the button down) or a slower homing shot (press button) and its wise to swap between both moves regularly, outside of that you get the usual power-ups and some intense boss fights.
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Test Drive Le Mans
Precise, sim-ish racer from Melbourne House that's packed full of attention to detail (you can even do the full 24hour race in real-time!). Le Mans is a well crafted game with some of the best graphics on the Dreamcast, with clean visuals and excellent reflection effects and filtering (reportedly being the only game to use the hardware's Anisotropic Filtering). A later PS2 port was also made but had a few graphical downgrades so if you have both systems go for the Dreamcast.
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Capcom Vs SNK 2
Feature-rich 2D fighter from Capcom that has their main characters taking on those of rival fighting company SNK. The main gameplay inclusion here is the ability to choose from a large variety of "Grooves", you get different abilities depending on which groove you choose, so with one Groove you may be allowed to block in mid-air for instance, but not parry, whilst a different Groove will give you custom combos or a different type of Super. The game is one of the more impressive looking fighters on Dreamcast due to incorporating 3D backgrounds, and is pretty much arcade perfect due to the Dreamcast sharing hardware with the original arcade machine the game was from. Out of the ports the PS2 version is also very good, but less so the later GameCube and XBox versions.
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Space Channel 5
Quirky rhythm action game where you try to keep in time with the onscreen prompts. The game has you playing a space reporter Ooh La La as she tries to save the station from aliens by taking part in a dance-off!
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Unreal Tournament
An excellent first person shooter ported from the PC, and yet another excellent reason to invest in the Dreamcast's mouse and keyboard peripherals. The game is a very well balanced multiplayer deathmatch focused title, and its easy to see why it became so big on the PC. You get a lot of quirky weapons here, each with their own tricks and tactics, and a lot of balanced stage layouts (the Dreamcast port especially has stacks of maps). The online component of the game unfortunately no longer functions, but there's a good 4-player split-screen mode available and whilst some stages have lower-ish frame rates there are just so many stages that do run well (Damnation, Loathing, Paladin, Flux, Depot, Sector 9, Core etc, etc), that you're never short of smooth levels to choose from.
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House of the Dead 2
Classic lightgun game that's a stalwart in arcade parlours the world over. Basically a town is overrun with zombies and its your job to clean up the place. The gameplay is the usual light-gun fare, the Zombies lumber towards you while you desperately try to put them down with a headshot, civilians with death-wishes jump out in front of you at inopportune moments and spout mildly risque-sounding Engrish, and the bosses are big and exciting to battle. Definitely one of the most important and popular Lightgun games out there, and the Dreamcast port has some nice extras too.
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Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram
Dash around the environments shooting off volleys of shots, taking cover and charging into hand to hand melee's in this 2-player Mech combat "Vs" game from Sega. Its a complex, intense game that's best played with the elaborate "Twin Stick's" controller it was designed for, but can be played reasonably well on a pad. Supports split-screen and Link-Up
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Fur Fighters
Large and imaginative platforming and shooting game from Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing, Geometry Wars, the Club) that's in the vein of Rareware's N64 titles like Conker's Bad Fur Day and Jet Force Gemini. The game has you exploring the large environments searching for kidnapped babies. You get multiple different characters with different abilities and have to swap between them during the levels to progress (babies can also only be rescued by characters of the same species). Its just generally a smart, funny game that gives you lots to do and see. A later PS2 port is also available that had some added novelties (the most notable of which was voice acting), but was downgraded in pretty much all other areas (notably texturing, resolution, load times, controls, and draw distance), so I'd say its probably best to stick to the Dreamcast version.
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Street Fighter III
It was a long time coming but when Street Fighter III finally did turn up it did it with style and panache. The main addition here over the earlier games is a system of parrying which allows you to take no damage if you push forwards at the moment an attack connects (as opposed to just blocking which still causes you some damage). The art design here is phenomenal, with the game being full of great backgrounds and fitting music. The Dreamcast actually had all three of the major iterations of the game released on it, with "Double Impact" including the first two versions, and "Third Strike" getting a standalone release. Third Strike is the more popular version, but Double Impact has its own look and feel and is very well ported so its also worth checking out. Final note, the DC version of Third Strike is based on a later, less popular revision of the Arcade machine that is rarely played in tournaments, so if you're looking to go out and play the game competitively you may be better off with one of the other ports.
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Sonic Adventure
Whilst Sonic Adventure is probably one of the more dated of the games on the list (hence placing just outside the top 20), this launch title remains a very fun (though occasionally troublesome) experience full of hefty amounts of ideas, and some very imaginative level designs. The game gives you an overworld to explore, the platforming is dynamic and exciting and there's even a variety of different characters to use. The sheer scale and spectacle of this game running back in 1999 cannot be understated, it was mindblowing, there was nothing quite like it out there with this level of speed and exuberance.
Phantasy Star Online
Ambitious attempt by Sega at creating an online console RPG. The gameplay revolves around forming a party of characters to take on the various dungeons as a team, whilst gaining experience and discovering and buying new items. The battle system is active and real-time, you simply run around the levels hacking, shooting, and casting spells, each attack has multiple strength levels and timing is important for combos. There's a lot of optimisation options here with a character editor tool as well as a decent number of different classes and races to choose from each with different strengths. Unfortunately these days whilst possible to play the game online its a bit of a pain as all of the official servers have long since closed down, leaving you only unofficial options, the game can be played offline but without the social aspects it loses something.
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Dead or Alive 2
Fast-paced 3D fighting game from Tecmo with a system based around countering as its main gameplay mechanic. The game is fast, fluid, and well animated (ahem), it has the usual emphasis on combos and moves but does it all well and looks fantastic.
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Quake III
Here is a very nice port of the fast and furious PC classic. The game looks excellent, runs well, and has all the required features such as Mouse and Keyboard support (a must if you want to play the game properly), 4-player split screen support, and even online deathmatch (which happily, like Starlancer is actually still functioning!). The game is a violent and intense first person shooter that is focused mainly on deathmatch, the arena's are well designed and the imaginative weapons are an absolute joy to use.
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Virtua Tennis 2
Fun and accessible arcade Tennis game from Sega with an emphasis on being pick-up-and-play. The Virtua Tennis series are pretty much the most beloved series of Tennis games out there, perfectly straddling the line between realism and fun, whilst providing a lot of options longevity.
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Grandia II
Sequel to the classic Saturn and Playstation RPG. Grandia II puts the game in full 3D and gives you a new cast of Geohounds (mercs) and Priestesses to meet. The RPG has a unique and clever combat system that's turn-based, but has the characters moving about in real-time by themselves, which leads to a focus on timing in addition to the usual RPG tactics. In comparison to the DC's other famous RPG, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia feels a little linear and straightforward, with Skies being the better game to explore, but I'd say Grandia is the one with the better battle system. The game was later ported to PS2 but avoid this version, unfortunately it was a buggy rush-job.
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Powerstone 2
Awesome, underrated 4-player fighting game from Capcom. In Powerstone 2, players run around 3D environments fighting, and picking up and using weapons or vehicles whilst searching for the titular Power Stones. When three Power Stones are collected you are transformed into a more powerful form for a short period and given devastating moves. The game makes for an excellent party game, with its changing, evolving Smash Bros-esque stages keeping the gameplay tense and exciting while the Power Stones keep things interesting.
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Samba De Amigo
Samba De Amigo is a bright and fun rhythm action game with good music and visuals that oozes with charm. The game comes with some special Maraca controllers which you have to wave and shake about at specified points to the rhythm of the music.
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Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Frenetic 2D fighting game that pits the most popular characters of the two companies against each other. Marvel Vs Capcom follows the basic mold of most Capcom fighters such as Street Fighter, but is generally much more loose and over-the-top. The game pits two teams of three against each other, with the player being allowed to switch characters mid-fight, as well as call for help. MvC fights are anarchic, with huge screen-filling tag-team attacks, big combos, and aerial raves. The amount of content here is good, with lots to do and many characters to unlock. Many ports exist, but the Dreamcast version is the best of its time because (like Capcom Vs SNK 2) the game is from the same arcade machine that has similar hardware.
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Crazy Taxi
Another weird and well-executed concept from Sega. Crazy Taxi has you playing a Taxi Driver trying to ferry passengers around a big city, as soon as you pick them up you're racing against the clock to get them to their destination as fast as possible and refill the timer. The game gives you a variety of different techniques to master, such as boosts and skids, and is very addictive, like many Sega games it just has that pick-up-and-play feel down to a tee. Out of the versions I'd say this is the best, with the GameCube coming very close, later ports lose licensed elements.
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Shenmue
Hugely ambitious game for its era, Shenmue reportedly had one of the largest development budgets of all time at release, and by no small margin! The game is about Ryo Hazuki's search for his father's killer, and is essentially like a sand-box game, giving you full reign to explore your home town at your leisure. Gameplay mainly revolves around information gathering, 3D fighting, completing mini-games, and taking part in quick-time events. The game is very cinematic, and attempts to really immerse the player in its world, allowing you to work, buy trivial items, or even hang out at the local arcades playing full version's of Sega classics like Space Harrier and Hang-On. Out of the two Shenmue games on Dreamcast I decided to rate this one lower, but they are very different games with different strengths, the first Shenmue being more homely & personal in comparison to its louder and more bombastic sequel.
Sonic Adventure 2
Excellent sequel that was a lot more polished than its predecessor. Like the original this has you playing with multiple characters, with the main campaign being split between three different game types; Sonic's high speed platform stages, Knuckles' exploration stages, and Tails' shooting and platforming levels. All three modes are fun (though there are certainly a couple of duds), with Sonic's twisty, turning paths, gravity changes, set-pieces and rail grinding creating a lot of exhilaration, and Knuckles' big open, atmospheric levels being memorable to explore (meteor herd and the Mario Galaxy-reminiscent Mad Space being the standouts here). The game has lots of replay value as you're graded on your competence and given nice extras for full A-Ranks, and there's also a plethora of fun multiplayer options and even a "Virtual Pet" mode that has you raising and leveling up the game's cute "Chaos" creatures. A good GameCube port of the game is also available, but there's some tradeoffs between the two versions (GameCube has higher polygon counts but worse lighting, more multiplayer race maps but downgraded Chao gardens etc).
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Metropolis Street Racer
Brilliant racing game that is pretty much the prequel to the highly rated Project Gotham Racing series. The game has you racing around tracks based on London, Tokyo and San Francisco, but the big difference here is its incorporation of a system based around "kudos". Essentially you not only have to win races, but you have to win them with style by taking risks, skidding around corners, and avoiding collisions. Whilst very similar to the later PGR titles MSR still retains some personality of its own, its a harder game for one, and its soundtrack from Sega Stalwart Richard Jacques gives it a very different, bright and breezy atmosphere. Other features such as a real time clock that changes the time of day in the game based on what the actual real-world time is are also welcome, and likeable ideas.
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Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Getting the eagerly anticipated "next gen" Resident Evil game was a real coup for Sega at the time, with the game creating its fair share of hype. Happily it didn't disappoint, Code Veronica was the longest and most ambitious of the older Resident Evil games. It was a huge undertaking, with lots of emphasis on storyline and tons to do, cinematics were impressive for the time and the game represented the series' first foray into true 3D backgrounds as opposed to the earlier 2D backgrounds. For anyone searching for a meaty adventure to sink their teeth into.
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Ikaruga
Very clever vertical shmup from Treasure where your ship can swap between two different colours at the press of a button; you can absorb enemy bullets of the matching colour whilst the opposite colour will kill you. This leads to some nifty navigation and colour swapping to make it through the tougher sections of the game and is a cool idea that breaths some new life into the genre. Outside of the gameplay mechanics we have the usual hallmarks of the genre, lots of action, lots of dodging, lots of set-pieces, and memorable boss fights, all complimented with great art design that creates an epic feel.
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Chu Chu Rocket
This definitely has to be one of the best, and most elegantly designed puzzle games of its era. The key to a good puzzle game is in creating a simple and accessible concept with layers, and Chu Chu Rocket achieves this effortlessly. The game has you leading mice to your base by placing three arrows on the ground at a time (during the puzzles there are often other limitations), whilst making sure to lead cats away from your base (and preferably into your opponents bases). Every now and then a rule change will occur forcing you to adapt to the new status quo. The 4-player here makes for an excellent party game, with friends vying for top place, re-routing each others careful planning, and disposing of cats in enemy bases.
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Skies of Arcadia
The Dreamcast didn't have a hell of a lot of RPGs during its short lifespan, but luckily this excellent steampunk RPG from Sega's Overworks team (the makers of the Phantasy Star games) was a real standout in its day. Skies has you playing as a band of pirates who fly airships to and from floating islands. The game's battle system is respectable, giving you both on-foot battles and memorable, large-scale ship to ship battles, but its the exploration elements and excellent dungeon designs and clever puzzles that are the real success story. As usual presentation and storyline are also top notch, with likeable characters and well done music.
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Jet Set Radio
This is a very stylish platform game which has you forming your own gang of graffiti artists and then competing with rival gangs in tagging the city. At the beginning of each area you are given a map showing various points, the aim is to reach these points and spray out some art whilst avoiding police and keeping stocked up on spray cans. The game is a ton of fun, is a unique experience, and helped to popularise Cell-Shading with its superb art design and presentation.
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Rez
Yet another Dreamcast game with beautiful art design where you can really feel the love and attention to detail that the developers have heaped onto it. I'm not going to try to ramble on about "synesthesia" here, so I'll just say that this is a brilliantly artistic rail shooter that combines audio and video perfectly to create an exciting, imaginative, and unique experience. Every true fan of gaming should try this game out at some point.
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Soul Calibur
One of the most stunning games of its time, Namco went the extra mile with this critically acclaimed arcade port from their Soul Blade fighting series. The game has you fighting 1 on 1 with melee weapons in a 3D arena, like all such games you need to learn each character's specific combo's and work out the best tactics. Not only did Namco improve the graphics here from the arcade version, but they really packed this with content and extras, there's an astonishing amount of modes available, characters to unlock, and things to do here.
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Shenmue II
After the groundbreaking Shenmue Sega came back with this, an even more big and ambitious game. Shenmue II eschews the more laid back hometown of the first game and throws you into a huge, bustling city full of crime and intrigue, with gangs and opportunistic individuals around every corner. The main gameplay here is similar to the original, being largely about information gathering, mini-games, 3D fighting and quick-time events, but it feels more focused, and does a better job of pushing you in the direction you need to go (which could be considered a good or bad thing depending on the player I guess). Like its predecessor the game really excels at immersing the player in its world, and characters.
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