With the anniversary of the Dreamcast coming up, we are going to have a special Dreamcast episode. A Dream"cast" perhaps? Anyway, we're going to talk about all things Dreamcast. From favorite features of the system to how much you had to work to buy one.

So what are you guy's most memorable moments during the golden years of the Dreamcast? Most favorite? Worst? Favorite game? Peripheral? Segata Sanshiro? Favorite developer? Whatever you can think of. We'll discuss everyone's posts during our special Dreamcast show next month.

I know that for me, the DC was really the beginning of me being... I don't know if "hardcore" is the right word for the situation... "passionate" is more appropriate. It was a turning point in how I viewed, played, and felt about gaming. A religious experience? Hahahah.

I didn't start using the internet seriously until late 1998 or so, so throughout the whole 5th-gen console era I was largely oblivious to jaded gamer hype, tell-all pre- and reviews, and console wars outside of the microcosm of my circle of friends. Now that I was "on-line" I was able to suckle at the teat of internet discussion groups (repping the newsgroups rec.games.video.sega, nintendo, sony, and other smaller boards) and feed off the hype machine.

DC was the first console I pre-ordered, before this I wasn't so hyped that I NEEDED to have a console at launch. (Ok so maybe N64 was like that, but only for Mario 64.) I picked up Sonic Adventure and House of the Dead 2 (and a light gun of course!) with it, and kind of got into my current game-consumption habits, rolling through about 2-3 games a month. Between the PSX reaching its apogee and DC's release I was buying like 5 games a month at this point, haha. Within the launch months I eventually got Soul Calibur, Sega Bass Fishing, Sega Rally 2, Marvel vs Capcom, AeroWings, Armada (I was WAY too hyped for this game), Evolution ... damn now that I look back didn't the DC have one of the best launches/opening months ever?

In addition to all those that I owned, through friends and renting I remember playing Slave Zero, Mortal Kombat Gold, Hydro Thunder, Toy Commander, and way more I probably can't even remember. All in those first few months!

I have some more to reminisce about, but I think thats a good starting point, haha.

I remember walking down to the Game Crazy down the street, and buying a refurbed DC for a hundred bucks. Got Quake III Arena with it. I thought I was just buying another game console, but boy was I wrong.

We couldn't afford a computer in those days, so when I found out my DC came bundled with a web browser disc, I was pretty excited. I actually used that more than most of the games I played when I think about it. Even used it for IRC a lot of times. Had no idea how much the internet (before it's 4chan infected state) would influence me in a lot of things in years to come.

Hell, even some of my posts here from when the site was first established, have that strange margin after every sentence, like I was typing a haiku or something.

Game wise, my personal favorites were Jet Grind Radio, Alien Front Online, and Quake III (played that at school most of the time though.) And I think PSO goes without saying pretty much, you can only praise that game so much. Honorable mentions are MDK 2, Unreal Tournament (another I played at school mostly), and Illbleed (WEIRD game, and annoying controls, but it was like a Japanese B horror movie, so it had it's charm.)

So yeah, pretty innovative little machine. Who knew it'd lead to so much more for me. Too bad I don't know where the got dang thing is right now. I let a friend borrow it, and he just disappeared. <_<

My current Dreamcast collection, you can smell the nostalgia!





In addition to this I also have the import of Super Robot Wars Alpha (I'm not sure why), and the Sega Dreamcast browser disc in the jewel case.

I actually have PSOv2, but no jewel case for it, long story. And I lent my friend Jeff AeroWings 2 some 6 years ago and haven't gotten it back since .

Just looking over my meager collection its staggering at the sheer quality of the DC's library. So many new interesting IP's and unique games; titles like Chuchu Rocket, Ecco, Bangai-O, Seaman, Tech Romancer, Typing of the Dead, Wetrix, Power Stone 2, etc. still have no peer on current-gen consoles.

A lot of the games or frachises have been updated/surpassed like Crazy Taxi (though i'd argue that the original is better than 2 or 3), Jet Set Radio, House of the Dead, Sonic (), but the DC editions are still quite playable today.

I'd show off my collection, but unfortunately, I traded off a lot of my games off back then, before knowing of the consoles imminent demise.

Worst decision ever. :(

Much like Crush's experience, the DC was where I first got my feet wet with the internet. Some of my uncle and aunts had AOL but it wasn't until the Dreamcast that things took off. One of my clearest memories our experience with pirated games. Our first experience was with the PSone where you had to use a spring or something and do a whole bunch of other shit like insert a chip, but with the dreamcast all we needed was DC burner the boot disc and we where playing a whole gang of Japanese games. Street Fighter 3rd Strike in Japanese. Powerstones 2 in Japanese. Some crazy mech battle game in Japanese. The most memorables titles for me though where Shenmue, PSO, Sword of Berserk Guts Rage, Soul Calibur, and Resident Evil Code Veronica. Those games held a special place in my heart, Shenmue in particular. I must have spent DAYS playing that game trying to do everything and get everything. I was sad that part 2 was on Xbox cause when it came out I didn't have an Xbox and by the time I finally got one, I had long forgotten about it. RE: Code Veronica was another game where I got the OCD twitch to completely dominate the game. Including the Mercenaries esque mode with Wesker where your armed with only a knife. Talk about intense.

As the anniversary approaches, I dig out my Dreamcast (the working one) & the SegaNet keyboard, hook them up to play some Typing of the Dead. It's pretty sad that they don't really make games like these anymore. Sure, there are some gems here and there but back then it was good to know that SEGA wasn't afraid to experiment with different things (even if it meant their ultimate demise in the hardware market).

The Dreamcast was the first console I ever bought with my very own, hard-earned money. I pre-ordered mine from Babbages (which is a GameStop now). I remember the day pretty clearly. My friend took me to the mall to go pick it up. I came out of there all smiles with a Dreamcast console, extra controller, Sonic Adventure, and a VMU. I was a huge Sonic fan back then so I was happy to see a real 3D Sonic game since they didn't have a proper Sonic game on the Saturn. Shortly after, I got Soul Calibur and honestly after that, it was just non-stop gaming.

The Dreamcast was also the first to introduce to me online gaming with Phantasy Star Online. I will probably go on forever about PSO but to make it short, it was an awesome ride and there haven't been a game that matched it in terms of gameplay. I love it so much that my Dreamcast kicked the bucket while "bursting" into a game. I immediately bought another one and switched out the GD-ROM drive.

There were a handful of other games that I really enjoyed but I guess I can save that for the show. All in all, the Dreamcast was a great system and it was sad to see SEGA abandon it in the midst of everything.

Time to bust out the original PSO and see how much things really haven't changed in gaming.

Happy Birthday, Dreamcast.

My first encounter with the Dreamcast was actually in '98. There used to be (closed down a couple years back) a video game store that specialized in imports. It was here that they had a running Dreamcast. I saw Sonic Adventure, in motion that is. I was like "omgdudeamazing" it looked so unbelievable then, and actually having just played it, doesn't look that bad even now haha. I'm not sure how much longer it was after, but eventually my brother saved some cash and bought a Japanese Dreamcast. As a result of this, in our Dreamcast collection we have a bunch of Japanese and English games, sometimes both versions of one game haha. For instance we have both Jet Set Radio and Jet Grind Radio, and there's actually several differences between the various cover arts. That is to say, the Japanese cover arts tended to be more stylish. Haha good times.

Come Christmas of '99, I managed to annoy convince my parents into getting me a Dreamcast for Christmas, so we were at this point two Dreamcasts in the house, I think we maxed up to 3 haha. I got Soul Calibur (which we had in Japanese before that) and Powerstone with my Dreamcast, and the English version of Sonic Adventure shortly after. Then of course, I think most of us know what game came out shortly after 2001 started. PSO was a game I remember being super hyped for, and it blew my expectations out of the water. Like several others, it was my first online game, and I ever so loved it. Well until all the BS with cheats and PKs and whatnot started. =/

Overall though, thanks for the GGs, Dreamcast!