Sega Dreamcast review

The Sega Dreamcast what a memory! What a magnificent but also sad adventure! Here is my review of the Sega Dreamcast!

Without knowing it, I bought the ultimate Sega console! As it was aptly named, it truly was a dream machine! The best console for me since the Sega Mega Drive! Here is my complete review of the Sega Dreamcast!

The Sega Dreamcast was, first of all, the very first 128-bit home console of its generation! Graphically it was impressive at the time compared to the competition (Playstation 1 Nintendo 64 and PC)! It was very beautiful, colorful, fluid and its atypical controller was pleasant to use!  It was even possible to compete online, chat on a Dream Arena social network, go on the internet, and send emails! Even its memory card, the VMU (virtual Memory Unit), was a very small portable console! And yes the Dreamcast was clearly (too) ahead of its time (release date in France October 1999)!

This Sega Dreamcast is really my favorite video game console. My mother gave it to me in college when my grandfather died. This Console was a wonderful surprise for me but above all a visual shock. I went from the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive to this supercharged 128-bit Sega Dreamcast! It was completely crazy! I had Sonic Adventure, but especially Soul Calibur! How crazy! I fought back and forth with my friends and we had fun in the different areas of the Sonic video game!

Presentation of the Dreamcast

The Sega Dreamcast is presented as a small, box-shaped console with a square look. It consists of 4 controller ports (like the Nintendo 64 in its time), an RGB video output, a modem socket (36K lol), a power button and an eject button (clamshell opening). It is equipped with a GD Rom disc reader, which are neither more nor less than CD Roms with slightly larger storage capacities. The initial goal was to have bigger games but also to fight against CD piracy of games. Unfortunately the Sega Dreamcast will quickly be pirated.

The Sega Dreamcast has cooling similar to water cooling with the addition of a small ventilation system. The GD Rom reader makes a little atypical noise, but you quickly get used to it.

Technically, the Sega Dreamcast has set the bar very high by offering visually impressive games. The console transposed games from arcade rooms without any difficulty (I am thinking in particular of Virtua Tennis, Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur). the exclusive 3D games for the Sega Dreamcast knocked out the competition (Shenmue, Ecco the Dolphin, Jet Set Radio, Virtua Tennis, Ready 2 Rumble, Dead Or Alive 2). Gone are the pixelated games of the Playstation 1 but also the technical fog of the Nintendo 64. The Sega Dreamcast even had the luxury of having certain games more beautiful than on PC (The Nomad Soul). This console was a visual and technical festival. The games were in 60fps for the most part, they offered a super sharp image without aliasing, lanceflare, cell shading, in short it was a treat!

Its atypical controller was not unpleasant, and the official memory card (VMU) with a small screen even transformed into a very small portable console! It was a bit like our tamagotchi and this VMU sometimes offered mini-games in addition to the official video game. We could also add various accessories to the controller such as a Vibration Kit! The Sega Dreamcast interface was simple and intuitive.

As noted above, the Sega Dreamcast could even connect to the Internet. Obviously in 1999 internet in France wasn't really that, but with a simple telephone line and its 36k modem it worked. Needless to say, the phone bill exploded when I went to the Dream Arena (Dreamcast social network) and played Quake 3 Arena and ChuChu Rocket online :p). Surprisingly, despite the ridiculous speed of the modem era, online games worked really well! With its Dream Arena on Dreamcast, Sega probably inspired Xbox Live, just as the VMU must have inspired the Wii U tablet. Clearly this Sega Dreamcast offered new features far too ahead of its time, particularly with its online game and its social network. The Internet was still in its infancy.

The Dreamcast catalog

The Sega Dreamcast's Day One games were incredible for their time. Soul Calibur visually and technically knocked out other fighting games, Ready 2 Rumble was crazy and Sonic Adventure was the Sonic game I dreamed of as a kid. Sega was releasing hits at a crazy pace and we were getting a good video game slap each time!  Sega Rally 2, Virtua Fighter 3 TB, Vitua Striker, Toy commander, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing, Jet Set Radio, The House Of The Dead 2! Virtua Tennis, Crazy Taxi, the sexy Dead Or Alive 2, Daytona Usa, the NBA 2k sports saga, NHL 2K, Power Stone. We could also play the very good Nomad Soul, Metropolis Street racer, Ecco the Dolphin,  Phantasy Star Online, Sega GT, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Phantasy Star Online, Ikaruga; Cray Taxi 2, Jet Set Radio, Guilty Gear This video game saga will forever mark my gaming memory! I urgently recommend that you play Shenmue, you are going to have a blast and a great pleasure discovering this incredible, extraordinary adventure! Clearly Sega offered numerous and varied video game hits for the Sega Dreamcast.

The Fall on the Sega Dreamcast

Despite its exceptional catalog of video games, the Dreamcast will not last long because of Sega's abysmal financial debt. The Mega CD, the 32X and the Sega Saturn unfortunately weakened Sega financially. Ironically, the Sega Dreamcast sold very well (especially in the USA) but Sega ran out of money and had to stop costs.

The development of Shenmue was also extremely expensive for Sega at the time, and unfortunately it did not achieve the commercial success hoped for.

In addition, Sega paid a high price for the unfair boycott of Electronic Arts which did not want to see games like NBA 2K which harmed its sports catalog. There is no doubt that if EA had supported the Dreamcast by offering FIFA in particular, the console would have had a much better destiny.

Playstation also had formidable marketing and had a “one more thing” for its Playstation 2, namely a DVD player! This may seem silly today, but at the time a DVD player was very expensive. Sony therefore offered a Playstation 2 which also played films on DVD! Many gamers, but especially technophiles, have all equipped themselves with PS2 just because of this DVD movie player argument! In addition, the Playstation 2 was fully retro compatible with the PS1's titanic game catalog! Old games were even smoothed!

The absence of a DVD player for the Sega Dreamcast but also and above all the piracy of the console will not help Sega's business.

In short, these different parameters but especially the Playstation 2 will spell the end of the Sega Dreamcast to my greatest regret! Sega announced in January 2001 the end of these Dreamcast video game consoles.

The Sega Dreamcast today

And yes we can still play the Sega Dreamcast today! Even in 2023! Surprisingly unlike other retrogaming consoles, it adapts perfectly well to Full HD and 4k TVs. The image is great and the games have not aged badly! Ingenious hackers even offerVGA to HDMI cablesso that the console works on modern televisions!

Clearly if you don't know the Sega Dreamcast, here is my recommendation of games if you want to get started with this console.

1 Shenmue

2 Shenmue 2

3 Soul Calibur

4 Crazy Taxi / Crazy Taxi 2

5 Virtua Tennis

6 Jet Set Radio

7 Sonic Adventure / Sonic Adventure 2

8 Nba 2K

9 Dead or Alive 2

10 Ready 2 Rumble

11 Power Stone / Power Stone 2

12 F355 Challenge

13 The Nomad Soul

14 Metropolis Street Racer

15 Sega GT

16 Ikaruga

17 Resident Evil Code Veronica

18 Ecco the Dolphin

19 House Of The Dead 2

20 Toy ORDER

 

Well if Sega wants to offer a Sega Dreamcast Mini I wouldn't say no and I would probably be one of the first customers, this video game console made me dream so much!

It lived up to its name, the Sega Dreamcast! Streaming dreams!

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