April 25 2020

Best Dreamcast Games

‘The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long – and you have burned so very, very brightly’ – this famous line spoken by Joe Turkel’s character in Blade Runner impeccably describes the life and death of this legendary console and is worthy of being placed on its metaphorical tombstone.

The Sega Dreamcast was, in many aspects, a console that is way ahead of its time. When it launched in Japan back in late 1998, it was unlike anything the gaming world had ever seen. With graphical capabilities only matched by its competitors much later down the line, a great library of exclusives, sleek design, and a built-in modem (in 1999, mind you) to boot, things were looking bright for Sega’s sixth-generation console gaming powerhouse.

Sega Dreamcast on Orange Background

While these stats looked impressive on paper, console gamers just didn’t take the bait. Sega’s history of gaffes and errors preceding Dreamcast’s release made even its most devoted fans lose trust in the Japanese fallen giant. Things only went from bad to worse with the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 2, which pummeled its competition in every sense of the word.

PS2’s built-in DVD player, third party support, and backwards compatibility among other things made its release the final nail in Dreamcast’s coffin. Finally, Sega’s console was discontinued on March 31st 2001, barely 2 years after its Japanese launch date, having sold a little over 9 million units worldwide. Dreamcast’s discontinuation marked Sega’s exit from the console making business and the company has been focused on making software ever since.

But make no mistake – we’re not here to lament over Dreamcast’s untimely demise, but rather to celebrate the life that it has lived, as short as it may have been. Its slim but splendid game library containing 620 games in total is packed with noteworthy titles, not to mention Dreamcast’s homebrew scene which deserves an article of its own (keep you posted 😉).


Dreamcast Classics

The following list contains all the essential Dreamcast games that are considered to be undisputed classics in the eyes of the console’s cult followers. On top of that, we’ve included a few hidden and often overlooked gems that just might scratch that 90’s Sega nostalgia itch, as well as a few honorable mentions for those among you that are dying to uncover everything that this Sega oldtimer has to offer.

We’ve decided to include not only exclusives but also multi-platform games that were best played or best received on the Dreamcast, as well as games that stayed Dreamcast exclusives long enough to be considered staple games for the system. With that out of the way, put on your favourite Sonic T-shirt, grab your light gun, and get comfy!


#1 Shenmue

Genre: Action-adventure, life simulation, interactive movie

Year of release: 1999

We’re kicking off our list with one of Dreamcast’s launch exclusives that paved the way for 3D open-world games of today – Shenmue. Taking control of a young martial artist by the name of Ryo Kazuki, you set out on a quest to uncover the reasons behind his assassination and take revenge on your father’s mysterious murderer.

Dreamcast Game Shenmue Cover Art

What started its life as a Virtua Fighter RPG spin-off on the Sega Saturn gradually turned into one of the most influential games in the history of modern gaming. The level of detail Shenmue offered was simply jaw-dropping at the time.

Coupled with its excellent 3D fighting mechanics, a compelling story, and an interesting concoction of various genres, gaming pioneer Yu Suzuki’s idea turned into an experience that caught the late 90’s gamers off guard, to say the least.

Shenmue’s story takes Ryo through four different areas within the town of Yokosuka, urging him to roam the open world in search of clues that might lead to his father’s killer. Ryo can learn valuable information by talking to NPCs scattered around the game world, take part in minigames, earn money and generally interact with his surroundings in ways many at the time perceived to be impossible.

Forklift races, arcade games, throwing darts, and working a part-time job are just some of the ways Ryo can spend his time in between performing daily tasks such as going to bed, eating meals, and being frugal with his earned cash.

Shenmue can take pride in the fact that it’s among the first games to use quick-time events as a game mechanic. Its independently-functioning world came alive with scheduled bus routes, shops with varied working hours, and characters’ daily routines, all of which contributed to the game’s incredibly high immersion factor.

While its game mechanics, graphics and overall design are often seen as rudimentary and obsolete by today’s standards, Shenmue stands as an absolutely monumental breakthrough in gaming. Attesting to its cult following is the fact that, due to popular demand, Sega re-released both Shenmue and Shenmue II as HD ports for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, all of which were met with universal acclaim.

The series’ long-awaited third sequel holds the record of being the highest-funded video game Kickstarter with $6 million dollars raised, and the fastest crowdfunding campaign ever to reach $2 million.

Need we say more? That’s what we thought…


#2 Samba de Amigo

Genre: Rhythm game

Year of release: 2000

Samba de Amigo first saw the light of day on Sega’s NAOMI arcade system in late 1999, only to be ported to the Dreamcast the following year with widespread praise. It was Sega’s answer to Sony’s Dance Dance Revolution, PaRappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy that took a unique approach to rhythm games.

Samba de Amigo Cover

The creators of Samba de Amigo found their inspiration mainly in the world of Latin music and samba (hence the name). If the game’s maraca-shaped controllers weren’t a dead giveaway, its playlist featuring the likes of Las Ketchup, Gypsy Kings, J Lo, and Ricky Martin certainly made it obvious.

Samba de Amigo’s gameplay consists of the player using the maraca controllers to match their on-screen position, strike poses when prompted to, and thereby help his party monkey avatar Amigo gather a huge crowd to contribute to the party. Should you fail, Amigo will progressively get more lonelier as the characters around him start leaving their separate ways, eventually leaving poor Amigo completely alone and devastated. 😢

This simple, yet effective premise made for an amazing party game that served as an inspiration to iconic music game franchises such as Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

Even though the game was later ported to the Wii, the Dreamcast version still remains the one to go with 20 years later, mainly due to the Dreamcast maraca controllers having the unique functionality of detecting their height placement, whereas the Wii version utilizes the angle at which the Wiimote is held to detect high, medium, or low notes.

If you’re into music games, Samba de Amigo is an absolute must-have. Its charming and colorful presentation coupled with an amazing soundtrack will leave you feeling like a 90s teenage girl after seeing Ricky Martin in concert from the front row…

…hot and sweaty, basically.


#3 Sega Rally 2

Genre: Racing

Year of release: 2000

After its predecessor achieved legendary status in the arcades and on the Saturn, Sega Rally 2 took the helm, and with it came the thankless task of improving upon an already well-established rally racing game pioneer. Safe to say: job done!

Sega Rally 2 Game Screenshot

Lead designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi decided to play it safe by simply bumping up the game’s graphics, improving the racer AI, adding new cars, courses, and finishing off with various racing conditions to add further variety.

Sega Rally 2’s frustrating difficulty at times might be seen as an annoyance by some, but for others it represented one of the game’s biggest hooks that kept the players glued to their TV screens in hopes of beating their previous record. The ‘one more try’ syndrome is strong in the case of Sega Rally 2, trumping nearly all of its other flaws, which mostly boil down to sudden frame rate changes and some rare difficulty spikes sprinkled throughout arcade mode.

In terms of rally games and racing games overall, Sega Rally 2 holds its own even 20 years later, and it remains the go-to choice for rally enthusiasts and anyone with fuel coursing through their veins. The obligatory 2-player split-screen mode adds a whole new dimension of competitiveness, giving you an extra incentive to drive to the edge of your abilities.

In case you fail, there’s always that legendary 90s game over jingle that simply cannot leave you holding any grudges whatsoever.

See what we mean?


#4 Skies of Arcadia

Genre: RPG/J-RPG

Year of release: 2000

The mid-to-late 90s era was pretty much defined by the J-RPG genre reaching the peak of its popularity. Around Christmas time, console makers rushed to get their very own unique IP released in hopes of competing with the genre-defining giants such as Final Fantasy VII or The Legend of Zelda.

Skies of Arcadia Sega Dreamcast Concept ArtThat’s right, we called The Legend of Zelda a J-RPG series, what are you going to do about it?

Sega’s very own racehorse came in the form of Skies of Arcadia, an intriguing mix of various J-RPG elements mixed together, culminating in a highly likable third-person role-playing experience that pays homage to some of Sega’s (and Nintendo’s) earlier 20th-century J-RPG hits. Phantasy Star anyone?

Skies of Arcadia never set out to reinvent the wheel by any means, but rather perfect and polish where necessary, which holds true in terms of both its story and gameplay mechanics. The intricate world of Arcadia resembles a combination of Final Fantasy storytelling with a dash of steampunk-pirate Treasure Planet-esque elements that add a distinct flavor to this J-RPG specialty.

Apart from its setting, Arcadia’s biggest strengths lie in a wide variety of unique quests that can easily keep you occupied for hours on end. Battling it out in various dungeons, sailing the skies (literally), hunting various treasures and whatnot all contribute to a role-playing spectacle that’s unmatched by any of its peers on the Dreamcast. A definite must-play that stood the test of time valiantly!


#5 Daytona USA 2001

Genre: Racing

Year of release: 2000

Simply known as Dayona USA in North America, this legend among arcade racers needs no introduction to any 90s gaming child worth his/her salt…

or its (#politicalcorrectness ❤︎).

Daytona USA 2001 Sega Dreamcast Cover

Following in the footsteps of its Saturn predecessor(s), Daytona USA 2001 is a rendition of both the original racing masterpiece that swept the arcades across all 7 continents and its revised version, Daytona USA: Champion Circuit Edition.

It includes the original 3 tracks contained in the original games while adding 3 new tracks and revitalizing its presentation with a fresh graphics engine and an expanded soundtrack. A surefire recipe for success, some would say!

Truth be told, Daytona USA 2001 comes across as a somewhat toned-down version of the original. AI drivers have certainly lost some of their characteristic aggressiveness that made overtaking them such an arduous task on the Saturn. Rest assured, winning races and progressing further in-game is no child’s play by any means, which is partly due to its often disparaged control system.

The thing is, while its predecessor based its control scheme on Saturn’s d-pad, Daytona USA 2001 was made solely with Dreamcast’s analog stick in mind, notorious for being too finicky and sensitive with games requiring utmost precision and quick reflexes. While the situation can be amended by adjusting control sensitivity in the options menu, it still fails at replicating the arcade version’s tight and responsive handling.

With all this criticism in mind, how do we feel about Daytona USA 2001? WE ADORE IT! Once you start your first race and are met with the ‘ladies and gentlemen, start your engines’ screen, once you hear the cacophony of revving engines coupled with the iconic ‘DAY-E-TOE-NAAAAH’ theme, things simply start falling into place in a way no man could rationally describe.

The exhilarating soundtrack simply compels you to push harder towards the first place, the adrenaline rush of watching your opponents become tiny blurs in your rear-view mirror excites your every sense, the feeling after making that perfect drift… AAARGH! There’s something special about these 90’s racers, I tell ya!

Daytona USA 2001 is like that mediocre-looking dude you know who’s constantly seen in public with bombshell beauties under his arm. You don’t know how he manages to do it, but the proof is in the pudding!


#6 Space Channel 5

Genre: Rhythm game

Release: 1999

Though later ported to PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance, the original Dreamcast version remains miles ahead of its rival console peers. Space Channel 5 was part of Sega’s attempt to dominate the rhythm games market, along with Puyo Puyo DA! and the aforementioned Samba de Amigo, with all 3 games coming out in December of 1999.

Space Channel 5 Concept Art

All 3 games were radically different from one another in terms of culture, style, and theme. While Samba de Amigo focused on the sounds of Latin America, Space Channel 5 adorned an interstellar 50s futuristic leitmotif, reminiscent of cartoons and shows in the same vein as The Jetsons.

It’s the year 2499, and interplanetary journalism is all the rage, or so it seems. The game follows Ulala, a space news reporter in search of a good scoop who stumbles upon an alien invasion. Seeing as a galactic armada could definitely make for a groundbreaking story, she fearlessly ventures forth, while simultaneously fending off any rival reporters, and saving the galaxy from the aforesaid invasion. Do I smell a raise, Ms. Ulala?

As Ulala encounters the evil aliens known as the Morolians, she engages in dance-offs where the player must mimic the aliens’ dance moves by using six buttons in order to help Ulala defeat the aliens and progress to the next stage. While the game is split into three different ‘areas’ – dance, shooting, and boss areas, these offer no substantial differences in gameplay, which helps smoothen the game flow.

Naturally, the space environments don’t offer as much in terms of color palettes, but Space Channel 5’s lead artist Yumiko Miyabo did a great job at finding the right balance between sleek space architecture and vivid character models.

Its jazzy, upbeat soundtrack composed by Naofumi Hataya and Kenichi Tokoi, and a guest appearance by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson (RIP) further take the game’s overall presentation to a next level, making Space Channel 5 an irreplaceable part of any party game night.

Chamon!


#7 Phantasy Star Online

Genre: RPG

Year of release: 2000

Online gaming during the late 90’s and the early 2000’s was a unique privilege enjoyed only by PC gamers in Western countries. At the time, online console gaming was nothing more than an ambition belonging to a distant future, a dream to strive towards and hope that the next generation would dare to realize it once the conditions are met.

But for some, that dream seemed to already be within one’s grasp. Game programmer and designer Yuji Naka had received news from the chairman of Sega, Isao Okawa himself: create a Dreamcast online RPG that will make use of the console’s built-in modem and show that online console gaming experience is a dream turned reality.

Phantasy Star Online Concept ArtEnter Phantasy Star Online

Sure, ChuChu Rocket! Walked so that Phantasy Star Online could run, and the first online console RPG can thank the online puzzle game for creating the spark that brought the dream to life. With all due respect to ChuChu Rocket!, however, Phantasy Star Online represents a far bigger leap in online gaming history and gaming history in general.

For the first time ever in the history of console gaming, players from all around the globe could experience the thrill of adventure in unison, as if their playmates were all sitting on the same sofa, in front of the same TV, eating the same snacks and greasing up their gamepads.

Fighting enemy minions in real-time, collecting legendary magical items, casting spells, communicating via virtual or the Dreamcast keyboard… Phantasy Star Online had it all.

Revolutionary graphics for the time in conjunction with an impressive soundtrack courtesy of Hideaki Kobayashi and Fumie Kumatani made the experience of 4-player online quests feel that much more surreal.

Even today, 20 years after its initial release, and 12 years after Sega killed its official servers, Phantasy Star Online is still going strong thanks to its fanmade and fan-maintained private servers. Being able to visit the Pioneer II and witness an impressive number of players roaming the renowned starcruiser, chatting around and creating bonds for years to come, remains a true testament to the game’s undying legacy.

In short, Phantasy Star Online laid the foundation for many of the best MMOs and RPGs we know and love today. Its sequel, Phantasy Star Online 2 is officially out on Xbox One, and its servers are teeming with life as we speak. Use the quarantine wisely, fellas!


#8 Outtrigger

Genre: FPS/TPS

Year of release: 2001

Ever since one of the best FPS games of all time, Quake III Arena, was introduced to gamers worldwide, numerous game developers have attempted to recapture the same lightning in a bottle, with various degrees of success.

Naturally, the majority of Quake knock-offs simply faded into obscurity due to their severe lack of originality and blatant plagiarism, while the failure of others can be blamed on a simple lack of proper advertising or poor sales numbers of their respective platforms. The latter especially holds true for our choice number 8, Outtrigger.

Sega Dreamcast Outtrigger Logo

Credit where credit is due, Outtrigger’s arcade version beat Quake III Arena’s release date by about a month, therefore labeling it a Quake III clone would be disrespectful towards Outtrigger’s developers, Sega AM2. However, the resemblance is nearly uncanny: fast-paced gameplay, power-ups and weapons scattered across the map are all features shared between the Dreamcast exclusive and Id Software’s baby.

Outtrigger stands out from the rest of its competition thanks to a unique feature that became a standard for multiplayer games to come. Each of the 4 characters available had his/her own unique set of attributes, for instance running speed and jump height, and a weapon specialty that added depth to the game.

The game virtually has no single-player story campaign, apart from a forgettable mission mode and a set of training courses whose real purpose is to kill time until 3 of your friends cover for some split-screen fun. Ludicrously fun 4-player local deathmatches and 6-player online clashes are where Outtrigger really shines and flexes its multiplayer muscles.

Each character is outfitted with 3 different weapons: your run-of-the-mill assault rifle, an explosive device such as a bomb or a grenade, and a heavy weapon of choice (i.e. rocket and grenade launchers). Each time an opponent is fragged, he leaves behind a coin granting one extra point to whoever manages to collect it first, which encourages close-quarter firefights and disheartens campers from… well, camping.

If there’s anything Outtrigger has going against it, it would surely be its problematic control scheme. Dreamcast controllers’ lack of a second analog stick is very much felt in this otherwise awesome shooter, being that it takes a while to master and it never really gives you that sensation of control.

Luckily, cheap deaths due to stiff controls are dime a dozen since most of your opponents will share your dread, unless any online enthusiasts drop into a match sporting a Dreamcast keyboard and mouse set. In that case, you can just log off immediately and save yourself the trouble of throwing your TV, game console, children and nearby furniture out of the window.

Keep it local, and you’re all set!


#9 Crazy Taxi 1 & 2

Genre: Driving/racing

Years of release: 1999, 2001

Both of these wacky driving games deserve to equally share a spot on our list, on account of both of them sharing the same game engine (to our knowledge), similarly awesome rock soundtracks, comparable minigame modes, and challenges, and the core chaotic gameplay we all know and love.

Sega Dreamcast Crazy Taxi Characters

Dreamcast was basically a home arcade haven for a bunch of mainly Capcom and Sega ports that do their original counterparts justice. One such port that gained its cult status on the Dreamcast is Crazy Taxi, along with its direct sequel, Crazy Taxi 2.

The name of the game is simple: you’re a taxi driver, and your mission is to pick up as many customers as possible, drive them to their respective destinations on time, and earn as much cash as a real-life taxi driver earns in a month (no Uber rants in the comments, please!).

The passengers hailing cabs appear at random and are distinguishable by their differently-coloured markers, the colors of which vary depending on the passenger’s destination of choice and the time limit they impose.

The passengers marked by a red marker will yield more dough, but their time limit and distance are much more challenging. The passengers marked by a yellow marker present a medium challenge and medium profits, while the green… you got the picture.

While driving your passengers to their destinations of choice, you’ll be grooving out to one of the best soundtracks ever made, and enjoying some radical 90s rock bands such as The Offspring, Bad Religion, and methods of mayhem.

Totally gnarly, bro!

The passenger will encourage you to perform some sick stunts and tricks such as drifting, jumping from platforms, and narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. The more successful tricks you manage to streak together, the bigger your cash bonus will be. Crash into an unsuspecting bus, however, and kiss those Benjamins goodbye.

Total bummer, dude!

Both Crazy Taxi games offer a different number of taxi drivers and their respective taxi vehicles to choose from. Though their stats do differ, their choice makes next to no difference in the long run, so feel free to base your choice on whether you want a sleeveless shirt-wearing 90s dude, a spiky-haired 90s dude, or a Converse-wearing 90s dude. Spoiler alert: they’re all the same dude!

If you get tired of being a rebellious Kurt Cobain-look-alike menace to society on wheels, there’s a bunch of mini-games available to cater to your any Friday night needs. Drift bowling, golf, ski jumps – you name it, Crazy Taxi has it all!

Dumb 90’s jokes aside, it’s baffling to see a franchise as fun and exciting as Crazy Taxi being reduced to an idiotic pay-to-win idle-clicker on the iOS. Such a crazy (get it?) and timeless premise oozes potential for a next-gen sequel/remaster. Seems like Sega would rather keep giving Sonic shot after shot at redemption, despite the obvious fact that the blue hedgehog’s glory days are long behind him. Just our two cents…


#10 Jet Set Radio

Genre: Action/Sports

Year of release: 2000

Think we’re done with the 90’s scene? Hah, well… we don’t know what you thought since we’re not mind-readers, but the answer is no nonetheless, so sit back, open that soda pop and watch it fizz and pop, ‘cause the clock is tickin’ and we can’t stop!

Seaga Dreamcast Jet Set Radio

Okay, we’ll stop, promise!

Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio, as it was named in North America), is one of the console-defining games for the Dreamcast. From its cell-shaded graphics to its urban underground art direction, the game’s design was impeccable at the time and still holds up fairly well.

Jet Set Radio’s gameplay can easily be described as an amalgamation of Tony Hawk’s trick-based gameplay and Crazy Taxi’s hectic fast-paced racing pedigree.

The main mode, Street, revolves around marking your gang’s territory by spraying graffiti and tagging rival gangs’ graffiti marked by floating arrows. The graffiti is often placed in locations that are tricky to reach, which will require your vast arsenal of tricks and stunts to reach said locations and tag rivals’ graffiti. The timer is a very big factor in Street mode, requiring speed and precision to execute tricks as quickly and as precisely possible

The Street mode graffiti hunting sessions are interrupted by Rival Showdowns, serving as boss chase sequences during which your goal is to catch up to the rival gang members and spray them with graffiti. The third mode, called Trial, is similar to Street mode, in that your goal varies from reaching a high score to tagging all rival graffiti and the rival gang members.

The police will be a constant nuisance on your tail, and as they get progressively more aggressive during gameplay, the annoyance factor will follow suit. Fortunately, law enforcement never becomes stressfully difficult to handle and presents a healthy challenge throughout most of the playthrough.

Jet Set Radio’s HD remaster released for PS4, Xbox 360, PC, PS Vita, and mobile devices is the best way to go if you’re keen on giving this urbanized rollerskate extravaganza a try. It might just be right down your alley!


#11 Toy Commander

Genre: Action

Year of release: 1999

Toy Commander is the most accurate depiction of how rampant a single child’s imagination can truly get. A child’s emotional attachment to its toys can sometimes grow to rather unhealthy levels, to the point of it trying to pay enough attention to them in order to satisfy their imaginary emotional needs.

Toy Commander Cover Art

But enough entry-level pedagogics, let’s get down to business. In Toy Commander, you take control of a number of army toys owned by Andy, a.k.a. The Toy Commander. Andy’s old toys have gotten a little jealous of all the attention the new toys have been getting, and they sought to take revenge, led by their ruthless commander – a teddy bear called Huggy Bear!

The simplistic story of Toy Commander serves as a mere catalyst of missions to follow, during which you’ll take control of race cars, helicopters, planes, tanks, trucks and many other vehicles, depending on their necessity.

The game starts off by giving you a series of remedial tasks, such as dropping sugar cubes into a coffee cup via helicopter, using your airplane’s machine gun power to turn on the oven, or pushing eggs into a boiling pot of water. As your progress throughout the levels and into different parts of the house, the challenges get more and more… challenging.

Before you can say ‘clean your room’, it’s an all-out micro war! The old toys will eventually engage you in combat, meaning you’ll have to find various creative ways to strike back. The added 4-player split-screen mode ups the ante in every way imaginable and is by far one of the best local multiplayer experiences one can have on the Dreamcast. Alas, ‘tis a shame that Toy Commander never got its fabled Windows port.

Oh well, all the more reason to get a Dreamcast!


#12 Soulcalibur

Genre: Fighting

Year of release: 1998

Making a list of the best games on the Dreamcast and not including this illustrious fighter should be a criminal offense in our books. Soulcalibur was a launch title for the Dreamcast that perfectly fluttered its technical capabilities with jaw-dropping visuals for the time. Even 2 decades later, it still holds up better than many early, or even late PS2 exclusives.

Soulcalibur Sega Dreamcast Game Cover

Don’t be fooled by its shiny graphics, though, as this game is more than just a glorified tech demo. What we got in 1998 was a highly methodical weapon-based fighter that forces players to approach each and every battle with a tactical mindset.

Every character hones a set of unique abilities, combos, and most importantly – weapons. The weapons vary from character to character: from long-ranged spears and halberds to swords, katanas, shields, daggers, battle axes, and many other forms of cold-blooded arms.

Being developed by Namco, it’s no wonder that many Tekken fans find themselves right at home with Soulcalibur, as both series share similar mechanics and gameplay pace, not to mention a couple of characters making guest appearances in both franchises (looking at you, Yoshimitzu).

There is only so much that words can portray, and that statement holds true in the case of Soulcalibur. It’s a prime example of the ‘easy to learn, difficult to master’ principle that many fighting games of its era incorporated to further add to their longevity. An absolute must-have for any fan of Sega, the Dreamcast, or video games in general for that matter!


#13 The House of the Dead 2

Genre: Light gun rail shooter

Year of release: 1999

There was a time when everyone felt as if light gun shooters would never cease to be an essential part of every console owners’ humble abode. From Duck Hunt and Operation Wolf to Virtua Cop and Lethal Enforcers, the people couldn’t get enough of this unique shooter genre that offered hours of virtual homicide fun.

The House of the Dead 2 Dreamcast Game

The market’s oversaturation ran its course and sadly, light gun shooters are a rarity among the games of today. There is one game series, however, that managed to stand the test of time and still hold its ground in the ever so competitive modern gaming market, and that is The House of the Dead!

The sequel to the original arcade is sadly the only entry from the series to ever see the light of day on the Dreamcast, but it packs enough punch to keep anyone entertained for months on end. The name of the game is simple: aim and shoot zombies, avoid civilians, keep an eye out on your magazine, and you’re good to go!

Thanks to an updated auto-reload feature that lets you reload by simply pointing the gun off-screen, and an all-new branching paths feature, the game felt much fresher, and an absolute step forward compared to its predecessor.

When solo zombie shoot-up sessions become too monotonous, there’s always the multiplayer! A two-player mode is an ideal way of bonding with a friend (or that special someone 😉) during these long and arduous quarantine nights, thus creating memories of slaying the undead that will last an eternity.


Dreamcast Honorable Mentions

Dreamcast’s library has a plethora of amazing games, many of which simply didn’t make the cut due to time constraints, family obligations, virus epidemics, and other mundane circumstances. With that said, leaving out a huge chunk of Dreamcast’s library without giving those games a proper shout-out would be most disrespectful to both the developers and to you, our precious reader ❤︎.

Sega Dreamcast Game Collection

In no particular order, here are some other Dreamcast games that deserve your attention:

  • Ikaruga
  • Power Stone 1 & 2
  • Star Wars: Episode I Racer
  • Virtua Tennis
  • Seaman
  • Dead or Alive 2
  • Metropolis Street Racer
  • Sonic Adventure 1 & 2
  • Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
  • The Typing of the Dead
  • Giga Wing 2
  • Slave Zero
  • Zombie Revenge

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Author

Jovan Krstić