What's Your Favorite Dreamcast Game?
COMMUNITY QUESTION | With the Dreamcast turning 20 this week, let's talk about our favorite Dreamcast games.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Happy Dreamcast week... sorta! Originally, we were planning on doing a whole week of Dreamcast-related coverage, and then rolled it back to just one day for its 20th anniversary coming to North America. So Monday ended up being packed with features looking back on the legacy of Sega's last console, so in a way, it was almost-Dreamcast week over at USgamer.
Anywho, Kat wrote up a retrospective on why the Dreamcast is an important console in gaming history, despite its short lifespan. Nadia angled her Starting Screen essay on why she missed the Dreamcast—and let's be real, most people did. And all year long at conventions, at press events, and even over random emails, we asked game developers all across the industry what their favorite Dreamcast game is and why. Three huge articles, and somehow barely a mention of Seaman. How dare we!
So now we're turning the question around on you: What's your favorite Dreamcast game? Let us know in the comments!
Mathew Olson, Reporter
With some shame, I've got to admit that I've only ever played a Dreamcast once or twice, and one of those times was using a sticky controller at an electronics store kiosk. The best answer I have is a giant technicality: Blue Shift, my favorite expansion for the original Half-Life, was originally intended to be the exclusive single player content for the eventually canceled Dreamcast port. It still got a PC release and I loved the heck out of it—so thanks, Dreamcast.
Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer
I didn't play a whole lot of Dreamcast, so the only answer I have for you is Sonic Adventure. No, Sonic's first full 3D adventure hasn't aged very well, but I'll keep it real here: I still have fond memories of playing through it. Its soundtrack turned me into a Crush 40 fan, and I'll probably remain a fan until the day I die.
Also, the game's bad localization is still a source of amusement for me. If you read the in-game instructions on how to make the characters move, you're instructed to let E-103 Omega fire at enemies "while runninging." To this day, "runninging" is my favorite nonsense verb. I start laughing whenever I remember it.
Caty McCarthy, Features Editor
I never owned a Dreamcast, but my dad that I'd visit on the weekends when I was a kid had one. All my experiences were through that, and friends who weirdly had it. I played a lot of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 (much love to my Chao Garden), but my favorite game was always Jet Grind Radio. Or rather, Jet Set Radio, its better name.
Jet Set Radio just oozes cool, and I still think it's one of the most stylish games ever made. Jet Set Radio Future has the better soundtrack—shouts out to Cibo Matto, one of my favorite artists ever—but Jet Set Radio still holds up today. Now to hope that Future eventually gets an HD remaster too!