Father K's Dreamcast Round Up!


Well, dear readers!

What a great time it is for the Dreamcast Junkyard! Our esteemed leader, Tomleecee is back and posting again. The Gagaman(n) is coming out with some amazing posts including Fideo Friday, Dreamcast DIY furniture guides, and another bout of sublime Bleem analysis. Caleb (The American Dreamcaster) has made his first stunning post regarding Scumm Emulation, so I think its about time I chipped in my 'two penneth's worth' and updated you all on what's been happening in my Dreamcast recently.




First off, Caution Seaman. If you've never experienced this title, then its high time you did... Indeed, the first time I ever posted on this hallowed blog, it was to postulate on the virtues of this particular title. However, I only got approximately half way through the 'game' before I gave up. This summer, I decided to play the game through it's conclusion. Believe me, that's quite a commitment. It means being attentive on a daily basis, being careful about your care package and the order in which you do things.




The care and attention has reeped rewards however. My Seaman is now in the final stages of its evolution and become the frogman merely hinted at on the cover of the box. Like all good naturalists, I have taken photos of these rare and sought after creatures. So enjoy! There are loads of pictures on the Internet of Seaman in his fish stage of evolution, but until I'd raised the little tyke myself, I had never seen his amphibious persona... If you don't know about this game, have a look here... and here...



OK next up, Chef's Luv Shack. This game is somehing of a 'virtual game show', with South Park's Chef as your genial host. I love South Park, but having been extremely underwhelmed by South Park Rally, I wasn't expecting much. The game pits opponents against each other in a 'first to the buzzer' quiz, with crazy categories, and general knowledge questions. In between rounds, opponents have to play simple arcade mini games against each other. This is a perfect party game, something which non-gamers can pick up and play, and a title which actually delivered far more than I had hoped for. I played it at about four in the morning with a mate, after a few ales, and I would suggest the game is best appreciated in this manner. For a better review look here...







Third is Fighting Vipers 2. Originally a Saturn game, this fighter was given a second outing on the Dreamcast. Because I'd enjoyed it so much on the Saturn, I was very keen to accquire its Dreamcast incarnation. I ordered it for (I think) £6, from the wonderful Chips. However, like Daytona USA 2001, when I eventually got it, it didn't live up to my expectations.



First of all, it felt 'light'... a strange description I know, but it's the only way I can describe it. Punches and kicks didn't seem to connect in the way that other Dreamcast fighters like Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive or even Virtua Fighter 3tb did. One of the great and innovative features of this game is it's characters. Unlike the usual stereotypical fighters we see in the affore mentioned games, Fighting Vipers has a skater, buxom rollerblader, BMX rider, guitar axe-man and so on... And they'll use those attributes on you, whilst performing show boating tricks at the same time. Its also rather nice when you smash your opponent through the 'ring' thanks to a particular lethal combo. I re-evaluated my opinion, when playing it against my games nemesis Tay. Its much more fun in 'versus mode' than playing it on your own... For a much better review, look here...











Number 4. Ikaruga. No, I've not re-mortgaged my house to buy an original copy, but I have had a CDR of the game for years, which has never been played. My recent purchase of Last Hope has turned me into a bit of a 'shmup' fan, and finally popping into my Dreamcast left me very pleasantly surprised. This game is fan-fucking-tastic! The first thing you notice is the visual gourgeousness of the 3D backgrounds.





Depsite it's retro gameplay, the visuals look very current gen. A top down shooter, (based on the switching between black and white enemies and your response to them...) Ikaruga rocks... The trick is, using the L and R trigger to switch your absorbtion potential... If your enemy is white, then you become 'white' and you can absorb the white enemies attack. Geddit? I only found this out after several plays, where I died repeatedly... Literally translated as 'speckled dove', Ikaruga was released in 2002, and was heralded as the LAST Dreamcast game, ensuring it sold out almost instantly. It eventually got a release on the Gamecube, but still remains a much sort after title for the Dreamcast. Warning!





This game is fucking ROCK hard, but worth the perseverance... For a much better review, look here...


High five? Tech Romancer... This is a 'mech' game from Capcom. If you don't know what a mech game is, its a giant robot game. Think Transformers or Ed 209... Beautiful anime graphics, Japanese dialogue with English sub-titles and lots of weapon based combat. Each character comes with its own story mode. You can also play in 'vs. mode' against a pal... I've only dipped my toe in the water of this title, but I like what I see so far... To find out more look here...


So there you have it! That's my recent Dreamcast activity in a nutshell. I've recently scored Ill Bleed, and am about to receive Zombie Revenge and Godzilla Generations (plus the Space Channel 5 soundtrack CD) , so I should have something else to talk about soon... Incidentally, my Wii really hasn't seen much action... I did think it was gonna rock my world, and so far it hasn't. The Dreamcast still holds my attention and the lion's share of my console love. However, for my musings so far on Nintendo's run away success, please check out Father Krishna's Wii-kly Sermons. If I may also shamelessly plug another couple of sites, for all Saturn related nonsense, please check out mine and Caleb's, Saturn Junkyard. For anything Master System (the Dreamcast's great grand father) related, please check out a collaboration between me and Gnome... The Master System Junkyard!



This is FK, for News At Ten, signing out! Good Night dear children, wherever you are...

6 comments:

Animated AF said...

Heh, you must of been still writing this when I posted my topic, as it's appeared below mine! XD

Chef's Luv Shack should of been a free internet game and not a (at the time of release) full price Dreamcast release. The questions are also kinda difficult if your not American!

Same here with the Wii, sad to say. All too many of the games just don't grab me quite how I hoped they would, although I did enjoy Eledees/bits when I rented it, though. Once these games are done, like Money ball and Rayman, I don't seem to go back to them, and I've barely touched Sonic and Zelda.

NebachadnezzaR said...

Did you know that Ikaruga is the spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun, one of the most rare games on the Saturn and considered the best shmup ever? "The moar you know..." (no, the moar is not misspelled, if you visit encyclopediadramatica.com you'll understand :D)

Ikaruga is a damn fine shmup on his own, though it's almost as hard as RS. The duality between black and white is the core of the gameplay, really, and it does a fine job innovating a rather stagnant genre.

Now, about the other games, i've only played Tech Romancer for a bit and i quite liked, although i prefer a more serious approach to the mechs theme, like the mechwarrior series for the pc (i know that's not a beat em up).

As for Fighting Vipers 2, since i read a review a long time ago saying that it sucked ass i never wanted to try it. But in that magazine they talked trash about some games i like, so i think i'm going to try it anyway.

Now, "III Bleed"? It's called Illbleed, Father :)
And it's a rather nice survival horror. Crazy stuff, but good if you're into that kind of thing.

About Zombie Revenge, i've played it to the very end and it's a nice arcade "beat em all", but don't expect much. Has an interesting 2 player mode, by the way.

gnome said...

Quite an excellent write up. Seaman is something I must absolutely try apparently... A huge DC Tamagotchi? Oh, yes, please...

As for South Park, it was indeed enjoyable, but the loading times were irritating as hell.

Tom Charnock said...

Hey FK, nice post mate. Was never really a fan of the first Fighting Vipers to be honest, and FV2 never appealed either. The characters just look a little 'identi-kit.' Same with Last Bronx on the Saturn. Now Figher's Megamix on the otherhand...

Which leads me to postulate as to why we never got a DC sequel. Hmmm.

fatherkrishna said...

Gagaman(n), I don't think there's a problem with the Wii, I think we're just Dreamcast addicts!

When the Re 4 Wii edition and Umbrella Chronicles come out, my Wii might get a bit more love...

Nebacha, thanks for the RS info, I didn't know they were related!
I wouldn't rule out Fighting Vipers 2, it's not bad against a friend...

Cheers Gnome, thanks for the support as always... Yeah Seaman is one of the best things I have experienced on the Dreamcast (or any console really...)

Hey Tom! Great to see you here! Yeah there was an article in Games TM magazine asking the same thing about Fighters Megamix... It suggested it was about time we had a new edition for Ps3, 360 or Wii, featuring (dare I whisper his name), Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue...

Unknown said...

I never finished Seaman either, and after many years I finally get to see him as fully developed!
Those are pretty cool pics, thanks for posting those!