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Dreamcast Recommendations
mtxblau - Sep 11, 2003
  mtxblau Sep 11, 2003
In the little free time I have I've been looking to get some DC games. Here are the criteria.

The first game - arcade racer. More specifically, driving cars w/ some semblance of reality. A similar game would be need for speed 2 for the PC (or hydro thunder). Games for consideration: Sega GT, Vanishing Point, Speed Devils (1 or 2).

Second game - RPG. Specifically, either 1) a turn based game like Shining Force or 2) something similar to magic knight rayearth. For the latter, I'm considering Elemental Gimmick Gear.

As you can imagine Gamefaqs and other sources haven't given me specifics on arcade v. simulation (everyone has some kind of opinion on the subject) so personal experience is very important. Even moreso since the Gamestops around here stopped carrying DC (except Newtown Square, and I'm not driving that far for the 10 games they have in stock). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 racketboy Sep 12, 2003
I don't recommend Vanishing Point at all.

Very unrealistic and not very fun.

Sega GT is more like Gran Turisimo and not very arcady.

Daytona USA or SF Rush 2049 would be a better fit. Maybe even Metropolis Street Racer.

As for RPGs, the big two on the DC are Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II. If you haven't played them, they are HUGE recommendations. All the rest of the DC RPGs are supposedly sub-par

 mtxblau Sep 12, 2003
Thanks for the suggestions. I do have MSR, and unlocked everything in it... need a new challenge. =)

What's the difference between speed devils 2 and speed devils online? Are they the same game? Or different? Gamefaqs lists them as the same game, but other places don't...

 it290 Sep 13, 2003
Well, IMHO the best arcade racers on the DC are Sega Rally 2 (not the greatest port though) and Daytona USA. Tokyo Xtreme Racer series are really good as well.

As for turn based RPGs, the closest thing to the Shining Force series on DC are the Sakura games, I haven't played them personally but from what I've seen the battle system is very Shining Force-like.

Speed Devils 2/Online are the same thing I think. IMHO the first Speed Devils is more fun for its offline play anyway.

 Ammut Sep 13, 2003
I second San Francisco Rush 2049 being a great game, though it doesn't fit your criteria of being realistic. But it is hella fun (especially 4 player battle mode)

If you're looking for something more realistic though I'd have to say Tokyo Extreme Racer 1/2 or Test Drive Lemans. Never have played Speed devils though...

On a semi-racer note, I've always wanted to try Red Dog, anyone ever played that?

---Ammut

 racketboy Sep 13, 2003
I've heard decent stuff about Red Dog and am tryinf to track it down.

BTW, I would have recommended Tokyo Extreme Racer 'cept he asked for arcade racers. There aren't too many racers that are both arcade AND real. It's either one or the other. One excellent hybryd is F355 Challenge. Great arcade Ferrari simulator

 mtxblau Sep 13, 2003

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by racketboy@Sep 13, 2003 @ 05:40 AM



 There aren't too many racers that are both arcade AND real. It's either one or the other.


What I meant by real was 'real cars', not realistic driving. For instance, Need for Speed 2 (I'm thinking now that it might be a game that I'm the only playing, at this point) or Midtown Madness.

Basically, I wanted a game that 1 or 2 people could sit in front of, and not have a huge learning curve, unlike MSR (people who pick it up just get irritated with constantly crashing into walls). I guess the Test Drive series is also a decent example (although those games, ahem, stink).

I noted the recommendation of Daytona USA - that was brought to the DC? That could be the ticket.

And RPGs... Ugh. The DC got the short end of the stick. How fantastic would it have been if Square were making games for the DC? Not that FF on the DC would've been fantastic, but it would've brough more companies focusing RPGs on the system as well (rather than have Sega make all of them). Elemental Gimmick Gear seems kind of neat, from what I've read (re: old school 2D RPG), but I will be pursuing Grandia II and Skies of Arcadia as well.

If NFS2 wasn't so testy with 2 gamepads under XP, I wouldn't be looking so hard. Ugh...

 IceDigger Sep 13, 2003
Record of the Lodoss War is a very good Diablo-esque RPG.

 NR Pickle Sep 14, 2003
I would recommend that you avoid sega gt. The handling is ridiculous, it feels like your car is driving on 4 flat tires. Sega should've avoided the whole "sim" racing scene imo. But a lot of people do like it I guess...

Daytona on the other hand is hella fun. The handling was also modified for the dreamcast version. It has a different feel to it but it's still an arcadey game. I actually prefer the feel of the dc version. It also has new cars and tracks.

 Pearl Jammzz Sep 15, 2003
might wanan check out the shenmue games....a lil adventure/rpgish feel.

 gerbils1000 Sep 16, 2003
Tokyo Extreme Racer 1 is a pretty good 2 player racer (the sequel was 1 player only) but the races were a bit short, especially if the other player was really bad and their energy bar disappeared really quick. San Fransisco rush has better courses, but doesnt have realistic cars. I think vanishing point was only ever fun in the stunt challenge mode. The handling in actual races was pretty bad.

I dont think Hydro Thunder was very good in 2 player mode, frame rate was a bit dodgy, as far a i can remember it was a lot more fun (and faster) in single player. 4 wheel thunder was more polished tho and ran pretty fast at like 60fps in split screen mode. Hard game tho.

RPG-wise, Elemental Gimmick Gear is quite similar to Magic Knight Rayearth in terms of graphics and gameplay but it didnt keep my interest for very long as it doesnt have any schoolgirls in it. Not a bad game tho Definitely check out Skies of Arcadia and Grandia 2 as theyre classics. Ive never been much for Skies' Final Fantasy style turn based random battles so i prefer Grandia 2 where you can see the enemy before engaging and the combat system is more action-y, if thats a real word. I dont like Shining Force's combat system either

 it290 Sep 22, 2003
Actually Test Drive Le Mans is a really good game, and I hear Test Drive V-Rally isn't bad either. Test Drive 2 was pretty cool when it came out too.

Sega Rally 2 has real cars, as does TXR (although the cars in TXR don't have their real names, they're referred to by chassis number or something). Both of those games are very arcadey and easy to control. In fact, I rarely run into anything when playing TXR, and I'm not known for using brakes.

Sega GT has a slight learning curve, but the controls are pretty easy when you get used to them. Similar to GT3, only a little less forgiving. It has the best 2-player mode out of all of those games in my opinion. Just make sure that you use the digital pad.

 REDFLELD Jan 3, 2004
off topic and a newbie question.

What does IMHO stands for?

 racketboy Jan 3, 2004
in my humble opinion

IMO is just "in my opinion"