Proper hardcore stuff, this one. It was doing Hotline Miami when Hotline Miami was still swimming around in its old man’s baws. Like many of the best Dreamcast games on the console, the Power Stone series started life as an arcade game. Fans of Castlevania will love jumping into this dark and tense 3D adventure. Ooga Booga had a stunning single player mode too. Like all the best racing games, 2049 had an epic soundtrack. Tech Romancer also had a section where you could win points by playing minigames on the VMU! Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, 2K Games has killed the NBA 2K14 servers. A kid named Andy (even more Toy Story-esque) receives new ‘Army’ toys for Christmas and forgets all about the other toys that he has played with while growing up. exaggerated) manner when they moved. The storyline is compelling, and the developers have done a really good job of drawing you into the character’s world. No Grandia 2? The game is primarily 2.5D, though there’s a 3D hub that the player can explore just like in Sonic Adventure. There’s a bloody reason for that. Why it was chosen: There’s a tendency in modern tennis games to complicate things with loads of different shot types, timing gimmicks, spin features and the like. The controls and gameplay are all very similar to other versions that have come both before and after it. It’s a fun and addictive platformer, with all of the usual ways to jump on enemies that we’ve seen in Mario games since time began. As an added bonus though, its cutscenes all came in at under five hours long. You can find Dreamcasts fairly cheaply on eBay and the like so if you fancy catching up on a system with one of the greatest ‘good game – bad game’ ratios of all time, here are the 30 games I adored most of all and recommend above all else. You’re thinking while you’re fighting, which is unusual in a game like this. To those cynical people, I say… well, you’re probably right. And the creepy enemies in Soul reaver will leave you wanting to get back in the game and destroy them as soon as possible once you turn off the console, which means that it’s a title that you’ll hardly ever put down! More characters can be unlocked as Eriko completes the various tasks and challenges that are lurking around every corner. Why it was chosen: The great thing about the Dreamcast was that most of Sega’s arcade output at the time ended up on its console before any other (or indeed at all in many cases). Many agreed the NFL 2K games were far superior to Madden, to the extent that to this day some hardcore fans still play NFL 2K2 rather than EA’s modern annual instalments. If you weren’t aware of it before, you’re welcome. This is exhibit B. The graphics are superb, far outshining what you might expect from a Dreamcast game. Releasing in 1998 in Japan (and 1999 in the west), Sega’s console was the first of its generation by a clear year and a half (PS2 came in 2000, followed by Xbox and GameCube in 2001). Unfazed, Sega bought Visual Concepts and not only made a game that rivalled Madden in every way, shape and form, but also made a gaming franchise that is still battling EA to this day. Code: Veronica is set three months after Resident Evil 2 and follows on from the destruction of Racoon City that occurs in Resident Evil 3. This was one of the games of the generation, let alone platform. Not only is it one of the best Dreamcast games, but it’s also a collectors item! Now, for anyone new to the site we follow a set of guidelines for all our lists. Playing in real-time with people who weren’t sat right next to you was huge back in the day and is pretty much the only way that people play multiplayer games today! Fans of the manga series ‘Beserk’ will no doubt know Gut and the associated characters. At the time of its release, Shenmue was properly ground-breaking. Some of you might be thinking that this game should have been a bit further back up towards the top of the list, but I loved this cartoon as a kid, and getting to control Buzz in his very own adventure was so cool! Sega sure knew how to make some weird games as well as groundbreaking ones. So, here are 15 more Dreamcast games that I don’t quite recommend as highly as the other 30 (otherwise they’d be in there), but would still gladly defend to the death, even if I had to punch a baby holding a flick-knife in order to protect them. While the game is great, the Dreamcast port could have been so much better if the pre-rendered graphics had been updated. RetroDodo is an online magazine dedicated to showcasing the world's best retro products. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Close your eyes. This next fast-paced racer was made exclusively for the Dreamcast and was officially intended to be a launch title. Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram And for me, it’s the best fighting game there is. Why it was chosen: Blatantly inspired by Toy Story, Toy Commander tells the story of a group of toys pissed off that the boy who owns them is now obsessed with army stuff. Why it was chosen: Someone at Sega clearly had a car boner for Ferrari. Resident Evil 2, 3 and Code: Veronica Hydro Thunder was a perfect launch title for the Dreamcast back in the day, and I strongly recommend that you give it a try (if your nerves can take the speed, that is). Unfortunately, the Bomberman Online servers have now closed down, but there’s plenty of offline action that you can enjoy to get your blast-battle fill! What it is: Still the best tennis games ever. The levels take the form of ‘movie theatres’, and enemies lock on in an RPG fight-style. Next up on our list of the best Dreamcast games is Ooga Booga, a magical multiplayer title that was also one of the last online games to be made for the console. As for the games, Sega was riding high in the arcades with numerous brilliant coin-op titles, and the powerful Dreamcast quickly became the home of countless arcade-perfect home ports, all exclusive to Sega’s console. Headhunter was Sega’s answer to Konami’s game, with similar stealth ’em up sections. This next title in the list of the best Dreamcast games is like a bad-ass version of Rock-’em-sock-’em-Robots, only set in the future. What it is: The second in Tecmo’s fighting series, from a time when jiggly boobs in video games were a gigglesome novelty and not the slightly creepy central focus of the game. I can happily state I bought (and continue to own) one of those 10.1 million Dreamcasts, and still play it regularly to this day, such was the timeless quality of many of Sega’s arcade ports. Details like that really make a lasting connection with a player. Samba De Amigo is a shining example of this. The storyline revolves around protagonist Ryo Hazuki setting out on a quest to avenge the death of his father. …and FINALLY, take a peek at our list of the. Thankfully, it also committed to continue making games, instead releasing them on once-rival platforms (including Nintendo’s, leading to the bizarre ‘Sonic games on Nintendo’ situation that gamers from the late 80s and early 90s could never have seen happening). Keep your curtains closed for this one – the neighbours might think that you’ve gone mad! The controls were easier to manage, and the ‘Battle’ variation on the GC added more exciting features that sadly trumped the Dreamcast version. Neo is a robot that has a special ability that allows him to positively or negatively charge himself. The number of hours I spent playing Virtua Tennis with my flatmates at university is nothing short of terrifying. It loosely follows the same game-mechanic as Street Fighter and other similar titles, though the storyline in Project Justice is pretty special in it’s own right! NFL most definitely deserves this spot in our list of the best Dreamcast games! Grandia II is an RPG title filled with more fantasy elements than a game of D&D. If you like any of the other fantasy titles that I’ve referred to throughout this article, then I urge you to give Skies Of Arcadia a try – you’ll be lost in another universe before you know it! Yep, Skies of Arcadia had it all and was described by critics as being one of the best games for the console. If only the Dreamcast could have got into one of those rockets and escaped its own terrible fate too! You’ll panic, you’ll shout with joy at being able to spell the most simple words under pressure, and you’ll laugh when the word ‘daffodil’ appears under a bloodthirsty zombie. General Viggo, a sinister male cat with a pet human (oh yeah, it’s weird alright) has captured the Fur Fighters babies across a series of open levels. Look how many of the games above had positive reviews from critics or were hailed as being ‘the Dreamcast’s saviour, and the console still didn’t manage to take off. Ikaruga follows a rebel space pilot by the name of Shinra. Illbleed is a survival/horror title that feels a little like a cheesy ‘B-Movie’ title. Metal Gear BOLLOCKS, more like. Fans of the King of Fighters series, one of the best NEO GEO games of all time, will love having the chance to pit their favourite characters up against Ryu, Chun-Li, and the Street Fighter gang. Some levels have sub-areas and interactive scenery that might change or disappear entirely at a moments notice, forcing you and your mates to battle while skydiving or literally jumping ship! They each have their own special skills and abilities for certain tasks which adds a nice extra element to the story.