Dreamcast Collection Update - April 2011 (+ more)
By snake911 7 Comments
Five new games for the Dreamcast, plus other special sega purchases.
ChuChu Rocket!
This adorable puzzle game has you guiding ChuChus (space mice) to a rocket ship before they get captured by KapuKapus (space cats). I love this game because it follows the rule of simplicity. Simple interface, gameplay, graphics, and controls. In addition, the game included an online mode, which at the time, was still new to consoles. I also purchased the iOS version for the iPhone. Which is also great because it’s redesigned for a touch screen interface and includes a crap ton more levels than the original Dreamcast version.
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
Arcade boxing that gives a solid feeling of happiness when you finally knock your opponent out.
Dead or Alive 2
I don’t need to add much here because of its popularity, but I saw it for 5 bucks, clean and near mint condition.
Virtua Tennis
Before playing this game for the first time on the Dreamcast, my first and only tennis game that I played was Mario Tennis for the Virtual Boy. That game was fun, but it lost its crown when I played Virtua Tennis on the DC.
Mars Matrix
I always heard a lot about this game and how it’s a great shooter. I saw it the other day at a local used game store for nearly half of what it normally goes for on eBay, so I snatched it up.
Now, for the (+). In addition to these Dreamcast purchases, I also bought some other Sega items. Without further ado, I present to you...
BOOM! Yeah, that’s right. I did it. I got the Sega CD and the 32X and then slammed them together on my Genesis to form the Sega Voltron / tower of power / or whatever the kids call it these days.
First off, yes, I’ve seen the AVGN videos about the Sega CD and 32X, so I don’t need anyone replying back with those videos. But yeah, this thing is a beast! Just to give it power, I needed to buy a special surge protector that has the outlets facing to the side of the device because the Genesis and its two add-ons have those transformer plugs. On top of that, there are a ton of cables coming out of the back of this thing once you got everything connected together. But all the woes of this beast goes away once you start playing games for it.
The Sega CD. I wanted this as a kid, but I knew I could never get it because of its price. It also was a bit odd because it wasn’t a full console, but an add-on to one. The Sega CD was the original reason why I decided to bring my Genesis out of storage and bring it back to life. I mean “back to life” because it was stored in a room that was not insulated very well and was exposed to the outside environment. For years it dealt with cold and wet winters and hot and dry summers. After all of this punishment, the only thing that needed maintenance was the connection slot where the cartridge inserts into. After that, it’s been working great which allowed me to get a Sega CD from eBay. There is a specific reason why I bought a SCD and that is because of a little unknown game called Snatcher.
I became obsessed with playing this game once I’ve heard it as a topic of discussion during an episode of the Retronauts podcast. I paid a premium to get this game, but the purchase was made over a year ago, so the initial pain of this highly priced game has already come and gone. I’ve only played about the first twenty minutes or so, and it’s next on my play list after I am finished playing with 999 for the DS.
In addition to Snatcher, I got a few more SCD games. They’re mentioned below.
Sewer Shark
I don’t understand why most people like to poop all over this game. I love its cast of silly characters and its simplistic gameplay. Catfish is a big plus because of its personality and its southern accent.
Road Rash
Yeah! I love Road Rash! But not on the SCD! This version of a great franchise is not good. The only positive thing I can give this game is its licensed soundtrack. This game came out in 1995, so it includes a soundtrack of grunge and metal bands like, Soundgarden, Paw, Therapy?, and swervedriver.
The Adventures of Batman and Robin
The gameplay consists only of driving either the Batmobile or the Batplane. It’s cool because it uses the pseudo-3D gaming that was all the rage before the 32-bit systems started to use polygons for 3D gaming. The cutscenes have the same hand drawn animated style like the television series had, so the cutscenes are sometimes considered to be the “lost episode.”
Finally we have the Sega 32X. The poor man’s entry into 32-bit gaming and would be the final add-on to the Genesis. I have something to note about the 32X. Did it have bad hardware? No. Was it a console that needed to come out? No. The games for the 32X were not bad, but the console should have never came out in the first place. Check this link out for a great article on the history for the 32X. In the end, the 32X is okay in my book and deserves a place in my gaming library. Below is a game I got for it.
Virtua Racing Deluxe
This.game.is.great! I loved Virtua Racing as a kid in the arcades and this is a near perfect port for it to the home console. Not only does it contain all of the original tracks and cars, but it has more of them! If you want a game that has just the core rules of racing that only last a few minutes at a time, then this is the one to get.
And there you have it! I guess my “Dreamcast Collection Update” blog entries will soon turn into a “Sega Collection Update.”
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