Top Tens?



It's an endless exercise in naval gazing, and completely subjective to boot, but I've recently been hit with three different 'top ten' Dreamcast software lists and in my humble opinion none of them quite actually hit the spot....

I'll tell you about each of them, and then await your own personal input and fave lists. I actually can't give a comprehensive favourite list, because I actually haven't played all titles yet... Maybe Alone In The Dark, Silver, MDK II or Slave Zero could actually be fabulous... I wouldn't know.

OK: List one, perhaps the most controversial, came from Games TM Magazine (Issue 77.) You may remember I bigged up this particular publication (justifiably) as it gave massive column space to our lovely Dreamcast in the closing overs of 2008...

But here's the top ten from them... They actually sensibly put in a disclaimer, which reads thus:

"Games TM runs lists all the time, but this has been one of the most difficult to compile. Dreamcast has so many essential titles we could probably fill a top 20 with those published by Sega alone. As such, you will notice some inevitable omissions from this rundown. Please don't hate us. We haven't the space to fit them all in."

That's a great cop out, and the sort of thing I'd say whilst hot footing it from a situation where someone had just glassed Mrs. K and I was too weak/fat to fight.

So OK here's the list: (And it's in no particular order)

1.) Shenmue I/II
2.) PSO
3.) JSR
4.) Outtirgger (?????) Not bad, but in the TOP TEN????
5.) Samba De Amigo
6.) Space Channel 5
7.) Crazy Taxi
8.) Chu Chu Rocket (?????) I've always found it pants...
9.) Powerstone (Presumably 1 & 2) Again, I can see it as a good game, but I was always shit at it, so I'm saying hell no!!!
10.) Metropolis Street Racer... OK now I look at it it's actually not that bad... *Cough!*

But!? Ahem??? Exqueeze me??? Where is Soul Calibur? DOA2? Marvel Vs. Capcom? Headhunter? RE: Code Veronica?

OK, now, here's the Retro Gamer 'Dreamcast Special' Top Ten: (And this is in order...)

1.) Soul Calibur
2.) Samba De Amigo
3.) Resident Evil: Code Veronica
4.) Ikaruga
5.) MSR
6.) Shenmue I/II
7.) Caution Seaman
8.) PSO
9.) Skies Of Arcadia
10.) REZ

Apart from the order, and it's not THAT wrong, I'm not gonna grumble about this list... Obviously there's no Blue Stinger in there, no Sonic Adventure, no Headhunter, no House Of The Dead 2, Virtua Tennis or Crazy Taxi, but it seems a more... in keeping with Father K's list, so I'll let it go...

And now the list from Gagaman(n)'s fabulous video post, from G4TV... (and again it's closer to my list so I'm letting it go without a scathing comment...)

10.) Virtua Tennis
9.) HOTD2
8.) Powerstone 1 & 2
7.) Skies Of Arcadia
6.) JSR
5.) PSO Online
4.) Crazy Taxi 1 & 2
3.) Shenmue 1&2
2.) Sonic Adventure 1&2
1.) Soul Calibur

OK! It's there! And I'll sneak back to the first and most controversial list's disclaimer and state that it's virtually impossible to boil down that list to ten essential Dreamcast games.

For me it goes like this...

10.) Blue Stinger... Not 'cos it's great, but perhaps (or because) it's NOT that good, but along with Ecco 2, it was the game that I got bundled with my first Dreamcast... (This was in 2004 peeps, and ashamedly a good two years after I bought my kids a PS2.... But I fucking love Blue Stinger... It's a Dreamcast classic!!!)


9.) Headhunter. Have I ever completed it? NO... Is it a completely gratifying game? NO! But look at the gaming world it furnishes you with... Look at the graphics! Look at the fake advertisements that build the game up in it's alternative fascist America! I t's a master-piece! And it's always got me wondering about how great GTA could have been on the Dreamcast....


8.) Sword Of The Beserk: Gut's Rage. Well the graphics aren't that great, the story is somewhat erratic, but the sum of the experience puts it in at number 8... It was the last Dreamcast game I completed ( I think in Autumn 2008). I enjoyed it immensely! This was a period when I barred myself from current gen consoles, forced myself to bask in the glory of the Dreamcast and enjoyed completing a game that had languished in my DC collection for far too long.


7.) Crazy Taxi 1&2! Well, whilst I love this game and have played it many times on the Dreamcast and indeed in the arcades, the simple and crushing truth is that I'm not that good at it. My desire to hold a class 'A' license and make pots of money have never been realised...
I now whore it out to the kids at my school as this Check it out and enjoy!!!
  • 6.) Caution Seaman! Although many websites will advise you that this is not a 'game', I'd defy you not to know and love this as one of the most essential Dreamcast experiences out there...
Apart from anything else, you get to plug in the Dreamcast microphone into your controller and talk to your human/fish like progenyBulleted List for weeks at a time... What other console would furnish you with the opportunity to raise a anthropomorphic amphibian, from birth till death, and have him remember your vocation, birthday and gaming preferences???? It's a man-fish, that talks back to you... Come on!!!




5.) Sega Rally 2.... OK, maybe I stand alone in thinking this was one of the most essential driving games on the Dreamcast, but after spending years (right up until this one) playing Sega Rally on the Saturn, it might come as no surprise that I loved it's successor. Not as good as it's Saturn dad, and far inferior to it's 360 son, it's still a great driving game that deserves it's place in my top ten...

And now we get down to the big Dreamcast faves...


4.) Sonic Adventure 1&2 : OK, let's be honest! I never completed either of these two titles, but I spent many happy hours titting around with my Chaos on my VMU! And let's face it, Sonic never looked so good as he did running away from the whale that he was determined to escape in the eary stages of SA1...


3.) Resident Evil: Code Veronica: If I had to sum up this game, I'd say it made me beam and cry in equal measure. Beam with joy at the story-line, graphics and game-play and cry at the... erm... story-line, graphics and gameplay. Having picked this up, just after playing RE4 on the PS2, I found this title both enthralling and frustrating. I could wax lyrical on the subject for hours, but as anyone who's been around here for a while will know, I never finished it, watched the closing sequences on Youtube and have been bitter about it until this day.... *COUGH!*



2.) Soul Calibur: Surely the best ever fighting game on any console ever!!! Soul Calibur brought home the magnificence of the Dreamcast to me, not only in how great it looked, but how easy it was to kick the ass of any 'pro' who dared to step up to the plate... I'm still aroused by Ivy's assets to this day and the 'Mission Mode' kept me hooked and collecting art cards and collectibles' for weeks....

1.) No surprises here for anyone that knows me. It's Shenmue I and II. Surely the greatest videogame of all time. I've spent weeks and months in Ryo's world, and hanker for it to this day.
When I first got the 360, this was the second game I played. Having sadly never owned an Xbox, I had even sadlier bought the Xbox version. (BTW I made the word 'sadlier' up to describe how sad I am/was...) It had been sitting there with it's lovely Shenmue 'catch up' DVD.

I could not resist re-living my Dreamcast glory days through on my new 'next gen' console. I'm even thinking of resetting my Dreamcast's date and time so I can wander into Dobuita and bump into Father Christmas....

Anyway, the long forgotten purpose of this post was to invite you all to name your favoutite Dreamcast top ten... I'm intrigued to know your answers!!!

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well FK, I'll write up my top tens.
10-Street fighter 3: third strike
9-Project justice
8-Ikaruga
7-Capcom vs snk 2
6-dynamite cop
5-Street fighter 2 x:the grandmaster challenge: for matching service
4-REZ
3-Guilty gear x
2-Marvel vs Capcom 2
1-SOUL CALIBUR(I HAD to have this on my list considering the record I hold. It would make me look like an ass if I broke a record and said "Meh the game sucks"

So That's my list, too predictable, huh?

Badbrains said...

Cool! top tens for me:

10. Daytona 2001
9. Hydro Thunder
8. Sonic Adventure
7. Ecco: DOTF
6. Sega Rally 2
5. Rush 2049
4. Soul Calibur
3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater- DC version is perfection!
2. Shenmue
1. Metropolis Street Racer

Heavy on racing games but the DC was great for that genre.

マーティン said...

How interesting - I was scouring the net yesterday for top tens to complete my "must-have" collection and see if there's anything I don't own that needs to be there. Mine are:
10) Sega Rally 2
9) Space Channel 5
8) Rez
7) San Francisco Rush 2049
6) Soul Calibur
5) HeadHunter
4) Marvel vs Capcom 2
3) Resident Evil Code: Veronica
2) Powerstone 2
1) Shenmue

and each game has a reason behind its worth.

fatherkrishna said...

I kind of knew this would happen. immediately I find games omitted from my top ten that are indeed essential Dreamcast games. The whoppingly obvious game being Badbrain's # "3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater- DC version is perfection!"

Damn straight it is!!!

Then there's the lovely Dreamakuma's # "6-dynamite cop"

And マーティン's # "9. Space Channel 5..."

OK, maybe top ten is a little bit of a tall order... But hey! Keep posting 'em anyway!!!

マーティン said...

Well, I thought of doing an import top ten and a PAL top ten. Might post them at some point in the new year. It's very, very easy for me to compile a Saturn top ten, a Mega Drive top ten etc etc... but The Dreamcast, in it's short life, managed to produce some of the best games of the last ten years. Fucking love the DC.

Unknown said...

Hey there, merry christmas to all of you !
May I join you for this lil' list-party?

Here are my 10 favorite DC games, without a classification, 'cause I don't want to make any of those sad.

Cosmic Smash
Rez
Typing of the Dead
Sonic Adventure 1&2
Shenmue
Jet Set Radio
Virtual On
Ikaruga
Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike
Seaman


I notice that none has talked about Cosmic Smash. Martin should be able to find it in Japan (I bought mine in a tiny Kyoto shop last year with my DC, and I'm sure they still have some more - btw Martin, you might have told it already but where are you in Japan?), for those of you outside Japan, just go and burn it, dammit, it'll never come to you otherwise (except if those trademarks revivals Sega Nerds told about are some kind of annoucement...).
This game deserves a CD-R and a flirt with illegality, for gaming's sake !

Merry Christmas, folks ! Merry Christmas !

Anonymous said...

1. sonic adventure
2. sega rally
3. virtua tennis
4. Web browser (not really a game but It was fun chatting with people, looking for codes, downloading VMU stuff, the list goes on...)
5. Reel fishing | wild
6. skies of arcadia
7. powerstone 1
8. NHL 2k2
9. Ecco the dolphin (frustrating as hell but I have fond memories of playing this game with my friends)
10. Soul caliber, my first DC game.


Ok, My list may not get the father krishna seal of approval, but I think favorite dreamcast games come down to what you yourself liked and the fun you had playing them.

Awsome Idea for a post DCJY!

-erik-

Animated AF said...

I'll jump in too, why not?

10) Dynamite Cop
9) Seaman
8) Sonic Adventure 1+2
7) Virtua Tennis
6) Marvel vs Capcom 2
5) Shenmue
4) Crazy Taxi
3) Samba De Amigo
2) REZ
1) Soul Calibur

These are roughly based on how much I've played them. Capcom Vs SNK 2 and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike could easily tie with Marvel vs Capcom 2.

Tom Charnock said...

10) Toy Commander
9) Wacky Races
8) Stunt GP
7) V-Rally 2
6) Half-Life
5) LeMans 24Hrs
4) Ikaruga
3) MSR
2) Hydro Thunder
1) Soul Calibur

Great post FK - and merry xmas to one and all. Now excuse me whilst I go and vomit up the metric ton of mash, turkey and sprouts I just wolfed down.

Anonymous said...

10.PSO (I'm not a fan of MMOs, but I love playing with a couple other people online on the dreamcast)
9.Quake III (online)
8.Sonic Adventure
7.Skies of Arcadia
6.Karous
5.Space Channel 5
4.Rez
3.JSR
2.Test Drive Lemans (no other racing game can top this)
1.Shenmue 1&2

GC said...

Lists, Lists we all love 'em...

Nice site, FK. Come here frequently, haven't posted yet. No, it took the power of lists to get me to post...

10-Dynamite Cop
9-JSR
8-Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
7-Last Blade 2(is this a port?)
6-Virtua Tennis
5-Ikaruga
4-Demolition Racer: No Exit
3-House of the Dead
2-Shenmue 1&2
1- Soul Calibur

It's a shifting, changing list, depending on what I've played lately and what I can remember at anyy given moment. I love Demolition Racer: No Exit, Chu Chu Rocket, Sega Bass Fishing, Zombie Revenge, and many more. I've yet to complete classics like Skies of Arcadia, Grandia, Cosmic Smash, Samba de Amigo, Seaman and others.

NebachadnezzaR said...

In no particular order (and I'm certainly going to miss some games):

-Jet Set Radio (my 1st DC game, made of WIN and GOD)
-Phantasy Star Online
-Metropolis Street Racer
-Soul Calibur
-Shenmue 1&2 (although I've yet to beat 2)
-Sonic Adventure 2
-Headhunter
-Under Defeat
-Shikigami no Shiro II (I would so love to understand what they're saying...)
-Virtua Athlete 2K (best 4-player game EVER!)

Caleb said...

Shikigami no Shiro II -

An excellent shooting game!

Anonymous said...

I've been planning on getting Shikigami no Shiro II. just got Castle of Shikigami III for the wii, love it!

Animated AF said...

Holy shit how did I forget Jet Set Radio? Stick that in 5, push everything below that down, cutting Dynamite cop just into 11th.

Unknown said...

Damn, it is hard to narrow it down to ten.

Here's my list of favourite games I own copies of;

10. Metropolis Street Racer
9. REZ
8. Capcom vs SNK
7. Sonic Adventure 2
6. Seaman
5. Samba de Amigo
4. Jet Set Radio
3. Skies of Arcadia
2. NBA 2k2
1. Shenmue 2

Other close contenders for the top ten:

Crazy Taxi
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Soul Calibur
Ecco
Powerstone
House of the Dead 2
Chu Chu Rocket

Anonymous said...

I think what we need is a good top 20 or 30 list.

1. Shenmue
2. Shenmue 2
3. Sonic Adventure
4. Sonic Adventure 2
5. Space Channel 5
6. Crazy Taxi
7. Grandia II
8. Skies of Arcadia
9. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
10. Test Drive: Le Mans

Of course, those are the only games I own.

iMadrid said...

Oh Shenmue... my favorite video game ever. Its just so sad SEGA went had financial troubles and today... Ryu cant avenge his father's death from Lan Di. Its all but forgotten now. SEGA may have laid all the plot down but its never gonna publish the announced 2 shortened sequels (instead of 7 chapters). We would never know what happened to Ryu Hazuki forever. Microsoft didn't help when they bought Shenmue 2 on the Xbox and did nothing to it.

BTW there was even an announced game "Shemue Nights" with screenshots and all, that was never ever released. Its like Grand Theft Auto - in Shenmue style city. You can google it, its there. =(

9.9.09 said...

1) Rez
2) Cool Cool Toon
3) Soul Calibur
4) Ikaruga
5) Shenmue I&II
6) Virtual-On
7) Resident Evil Code: Veronica
8) F355 Challenge
9) Sonic Adventure 2
10) Zero Gunner 2

Not Anonymous said...

10. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
9. Sega Marine Fishing
8. Project Justice
7. F1 World Grand Prix II
6. Sonic Adventure 2
5. Rez
4. Capcom Vs. SNK 2
3. Le Mans 24 Hours
2. Shenmue I/II
1. Soul Calibur

Carlos said...

10) Last Hope Pink Bullets
9) 4 Wheel Thunder
8) Under Defeat
7) Samba de Amigo
6) Sonic Adventure 2
5) Shenmue II
4) Street Fighter Alpha 3
3) Soul Calibur
2) Hydro Thunder
1) NFL 2K1

Jay said...

10.F1 World Grand Prix II
9. Space Channel 5 Part 2
8. Cool Cool Toon
7. NFL Blitz 2001
6. Rez
5. Capcom Vs. SNK 2
4. Soul Calibur
3. Le Mans 24 Hours
2. Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram
1. Shenmue II (a masterpiece!)