Review: Dreamcast

Hi all,
Ok so now i've had a bit of time to mess about with my DC and i thought i'd share with you my thoughts, may be handy to anyone thinking of getting one.

1st stop emulation.
it's a very heathy and active scene, and it's actually not bad at emulating quite a few systems here is a list of the best ones
EMULATORS

Arcade
Emulates CPS1, System16, etc.

* MAME4All by Chui & Fox68K
Official Website: http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/mame4all.html


Amiga 500

* UAE4All by Chui & Fox68K
Official Website: http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/uae4all.html


Apple 2

* Apple 2 SoulCaptor by DCGrendel
Downloads & Info: http://www.dcemulation.org/dcemu-apple2.htm
FAQ: http://dcevolution.net/cgi-bin/dckby...ard=soulcaptor
DISKS.XML Builder: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/vbullet...ad.php?t=12766


Armstrad CPC

* DreamCPC by JMD
Downloads & Info: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/dreamcpc.php
* CPCast by LTK
Official Website: http://ltk.dciberia.net/dreamcast/cpcast/cpcast.htm


Atari ST

* DCastaway Final by Chui & Ron
Official Website: http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/dcastaway.html


Atari VCS2600

* StellaDC v2f by Svolli
Official Website: http://our-arca.de/DCstella/


C64

* DreamFrodo 64 by Tolga Abaci
Official Website: http://frodo.boob.co.uk/


ColecoVision

* [D]Colem by Gonzo
Downloads & Info: http://www.dcemulation.org/dcemu-dcolem.htm
Official Website: http://dcolem.emuunlim.com/


Game Boy Color

* DCGNUboy by Takayama Fumihiko
DEP Download: http://www.dcevolution.net/goto.php?id=29
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/DCGNUboy
FAQ: http://dcevolution.net/cgi-bin/dckby...l?board=gnuboy
Official Website: http://ayame.tkym.org/~tekezo/dcgnuboy/


MSX

* MSXCast by LTK
Official Website: http://ltk.dciberia.net/dreamcast/msxcast/msxcast.htm


NeoGeo

* Neo4All/CD by Chui & Fox68K
Official Website: http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/neo4all.html
Info & Compatibility List: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/Neo4All
* Neo4All/AES by Chui & Fox68K
Starter Kit Download:
http://www.dcevolution.net/dsdevelop...ter-Kit-v1.zip
Official Website: http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/aes4all.html
Info, Tools, FAQ & Tutorial: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index...in/Neo4All-AES
DCEmu's Neo4All Thread: http://www.dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=74987
* NeoDC by Quzar
(Continuation of NeoCD/SDL by IMR, Fosters, Quzar and others)
Official Website: http://www.screamcast.net/
Mirror: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/neodc.shtml


Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) / Famicom

* NesterDC SE by Scherzo
Official Website: http://www.sch3rz0.com/nesterdcse/
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index...ain/NesterDCSE
* NesterDC v6.0 or v7.1+b by Takayama Fumihiko
DEP Download: http://www.dcevolution.net/goto.php?id=65
Downloads & Tools: http://www.dcemulation.org/dcemu-nesterdc.htm
FAQ: http://dcevolution.net/cgi-bin/dckby...l?board=nester
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/NesterDC
Official Website: http://ayame.tkym.org/~tekezo/nesterdc/


Sega Master System / Game Gear / SG1000

* SMSplusDC v02b & Dream-O-Rama by Pascal Bosquet (Team Spoutnik) & Heliophobe
DEP Download: http://www.dcevolution.net/goto.php?id=54
Official Website: http://www.pascalorama.com/dcsmsplus.htm
FAQ & Tools: http://dcevolution.net/DCHelp/index....&board=smsplus
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/SMSplusDC


Sega Mega Drive / Genesis

* GenesisPlusDC Beta Version ('gpwt') by BlackAura & Warmtoe
Plain Files Download: http://www.dcevolution.net/dsdevelop...6072006-BA.zip
SBI Download at DCHelp's SBI Repository:
http://www.dchelp.net/sbi (The file is called 'GenesisPlusDC-gpwt-260706-BlackAura.sbi')
Little Tools Set: http://www.dcevolution.net/dsdevelop...gpwt-tools.zip
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.../GenesisPlusDC


Sinclair Spectrum

* DC Speccyal K by Tyrrell
Official Website: http://www.speccyal.be/
Mirror: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/dcspeccyalk.shtml
FAQ: http://dcevolution.net/cgi-bin/dckby...board=speccyal


Super Nintendo Entertainment System / Super Famicom

* DreamSNES v098 by Marcus Comstedt, Peter Bortas and Per Hedbor
Tutorial: http://www.dcemulation.org/help/dreamsnestutorial.htm
Official Website: http://mc.pp.se/dc/dreamsnes/
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/DreamSNES (includes hints about how to gain 100% speed on 90% of all existing SNES games with DreamSNES)
* Super Famicast by Scherzo
Downloads: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/superfamicast.shtml
General Info & Links: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.../SuperFamicast


-

Check out DCHelp's SBI Repository and download the SBIs for each emu to try them all out on one disc!

or

Use BootDreams by Lying Wake to burn the plain files: http://consolevision.net/members/dchelp/

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INTERPRETERS

SIERRA GAMES

* FreeSCI (Dreamcast port by Walter van Niftrik aka Phantom)
Mirror: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/freesci.shtml
Official Website: http://freesci.linuxgames.com/
Daily Builds: http://freesci.linuxgames.com/?page=dreamcast
* SarienDC (Dreamcast port by Ganksoft)
Info & Downloads: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/sariendc.shtml
Official Website of Sarien: http://sarien.sourceforge.net/
Official Website of SarienDC: http://www.ganksoft.com/products/doc...od_id=sariendc


LUCAS ARTS GAMES

* SCUMMVM (Dreamcast port by Marcus Comstedt)
Official Website: http://www.scummvm.com/
Mirrors: http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/scummvm.shtml
Unofficial v8.0 Download: http://dreamon.cyberdogcastle.com/Main/ScummVM
Info, Links & Downloads: http://www.dreamcast-scene.com/index.php/Main/ScummVM


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COMMERCIAL EMULATORS

* Bleem!cast
This fantastic commercial PlayStation One emulator offers perfect high resolution PlayStation1 emulation with VMU and RumblePack support, still available at http://www.play-asia.com I hope. Otherwise I'd suggest ebay.
There were three releases: Tekken 3, Gran Turismo 2 & Metal Gear Solid
FAQ: http://dcevolution.net/cgi-bin/dckby...pl?board=bleem

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Note that only the *best* emulators are listed.

Games.
there are some classic and fun Sega games on this system and the fact that "most" DC's can read CDR (not CD-RW) is also a bonus if you know what i mean :wink:

The console it's self is actually really small and compact, lid feels a little flimsy but all in all a nice little console.

Multiplayer.
the DC is great for multiplayer, 4 controller ports on the front so it really is plug and go ;o) great fun playing Worms, Bomberman, and Sydney 2000 (the latter is a real button masher)

Conclusion.
for £25-£30 with controllers and a few games you can't go wrong with this nifty little console, the graphics are bright and cheerful (you do need a scart lead at least with this the RF just isn't up to it). you can play a few games online still but not many the homebrew scene is still pretty active and there is some good stuff out there.

Summary.
BUY ONE NOW!

cheers, JuvUK

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

Have you only just discovered the Dreamcast then?

The Dreamcast has been one of my favourite systems since its release. I've owned one since then and still play it often. Also have originals of nearly every game released for the system (130+) plus the US and JAP only releases (which are mainly 2D SNK fighters and Shoot 'em ups) which I ordered from various places abroad back in the day.

I've also got all the extra hardware for the system including a couple of keyboards, mouse, lightgun (house of the dead 2 pack), a few controllers and rumble packs, and loads of VMU memory cards (they eat through batteries though). The only thing I never managed to get was the rare network card. Mine still has the standard dial up modem.

Scart cable is definitely the lowest option for good visuals and sound. However a VGA adaptor is even better as many games have VGA mode built in, giving even higher resolution graphics. I've not used my VGA DC adaptor for some time. Must test it out again. Got me thinking. How hard would a VGA to HDMI adaptor be? Could then run DC games in VGA mode on HDTVs! Although many HDTVs do have direct VGA and DVI inputs so that would work.

The homebrew scene didn't take off on the system initially until the Utopia boot disc appeared all that changed and loads of emulators and homebrew games appeared. Some very good ones too. Although sometimes they can hit the limits of the DC's processing power and create some slowdown.

I didn't see the Bleem! Playstation emulator mentioned in your list. It was released on the DC for specific Playstation games. You had to buy the emulation disc for each specific game it supported. Only a few different game discs were released until Sony sued the company and got them shut down, but the ones that did appear worked well. The best being Gran Turismo as it ran perfectly and the DC emulation adding some texture smoothing and resolution improvements to the game.

It is a shame you didn't have a DC back when they were active because Phantasy Star Online v2 was a great online game.

It's a bit of a strange way that I got into the Dreamcast too. Originally I had not intention of buying one. I owned a Playstation and was looking forward to the release of the PS2, with a long standing preorder already in place. However a friend entered an online competition and kept winning games for various platforms. One day a parcel arrived on my doormat and it contained a copy of the Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure, which had just been released. He rang me the same day and said he had won it, but as he had already won the same game 3 times he was giving different people's names and addresses each time. Nice!

So having a good DC game but no DC wasn't on, so I ordered one the same day, plus all the extras available and that started my Dreamcast experience.

The Dreamcast is a very overlooked system. In my view the best Sega ever created and the graphics were quite something at the time, and still look pretty good even today. Its textures were always quite vibrant in games and had a unique look to them, making PS2 games look a bit muted. There were many DC vs PS2 arguments at the time, but looking at what developers managed to squeeze out of the PS2 towards the end of its life, I don't think the DC was quite as powerful a system. It was better however when developers coded directly for the hardware, rather than going through the Windows CE OS that was built in. Sega Rally 2 is a good example of why it was best to avoid that.

I also still have all of the Official Dreamcast Magazines too.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

great, thanks for the input Harrison, but Bleem! is there at the end of the list m8, there is another PS1 emulator out there as well that is a genuine emulator i.e doesn't need specific discs

JuvUK

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

Nice reviews there guys, I never realised the Dreamcast was so flexible! May have to keep an eye out for one now.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

Ah cool. I hadn't spotted you had Bleem in there.

There were also some games towards the end of the DC's life that never got an official release, but then found their way to download sites. Worth checking out. Propeller Arena was one of the best of these.

As for commercial Dreamcast games, there were more than many people realise. And it is amazing to think most of them are now between 8 - 10 years old!

To show off the DCs capabilities there are a few games that are especially good. Metropolis Street Racing, Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure 2, Shenmue 1 and 2, and Phantasy Star Online v2

And while the DC didn't have that many RPGs, one of my favourites on any system is Skies of Arcadia, which was later ported to the PS2 and enhanced.

Among the best overall for the system, on offer are:

Crazy Taxi 2
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2
Soul Calibur
Shenmue 1 and 2
Power Stome 2
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Capcom vs SNK 2
Fatal Fury
The Last Blade 2
Fighting Vipers 2 (rare title worth money even at the time thanks to only getting a UK release).
King of Fighter 2000, 2001 and 2002
Phantasy Star Online v2
Skies of Arcadia
Grandia 2
Daytona USA
Ikaruga (great port of the famous Japanese arcade machine)
Bangai-O
Giga Wing 2
Bomberman Online
Confidential Mission (great lightgun game - good reason to keep a CRT about)
House of the Dead II (see above)
Dino Crisis
Elemental Gimmick Gear
Record of Lodoss War
Evolution 1 and 2
Headhunter (great MGS style game)
Jet Grind Radio
MDK2
Metropolis Street Racer (first game in the Project Gotham Racing series and still great. Really showed what the DC could do).
Mr. Driller
Outtrigger (brilliant arean based multiplayer shooter, with great graphics)
Quake III Arena (one of the best FPS console ports to date).
Resident Evil Code: Veronica (best in the series IMO)
RE2
RE3
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Tech Romancer
Unreal Tournament (another great FPS port)
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Virtua Tennis
Worms World Party

I'm sure I've missed quite a few out... LOL

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

Oh yep, the dreamcast it's one of my favorites console, there were produced so many exellent titles in just few years of life, no wonder it could had fight on pair with the PS2.
It's still an usable machine, especially if you equip it with the broadband modem as Linux and Freebsd (am I forgetting some other OS?) can run on it.
Just few weeks ago a new unlicensed game (a shout em-up "R-type" like...) has been released for the Dreamcast, his name is Dux which from what I have seen look quite good for having been produced by 3 amateurs guys.
I already ordered 4 copies we'll see how it is.

@Harrison
Your list it's quite complete (actually I have to say that I really don't like some games, as "Fighting Vipers 2" , "RE2", "RE3"), you have missed "REZ", "Space Channel 5", "Samba de Amigo", "Seaman", "Napple's tale", "eldorado gate" (actually it's a useless game if you don't understand japanese...), "Ecco the dolphin", "Dynamate Deka 2", "the various NBA (NBA2K)* ands Fotballs (NHL2*) SEGA SPORTS games", "Trizeal", "Chaos Field", "Charge'n Blast", "Sonic Shuffle", "Toy commander", "Zombie Revenge", Under Defeat"...
...and many others (not to mention various sega unrealeased games which can be found in the net...).

@JuvUK
I'm working on a dreamcast site with the goal to animate the dreamcast scene a bit more , hoping I will be able to released it at the end of this year...

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

excellent reading, cant wait to give it a whirl now

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

I'd reccommend it to everyone, as it's a very fun and modular system, as far as emulation goes. An SD adapter is in development and may be implemented in NetBSD DC. There is a strong dev scene I encourage anyone to get into, as the only thing hard to program for the DC is the 3d acceleration, the rest is pretty straightforward for most seasoned developers.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

silverf0x0 said:

@Harrison
...you have missed "REZ", "Space Channel 5", "Samba de Amigo", "Seaman", "Napple's tale", "eldorado gate" (actually it's a useless game if you don't understand japanese...), "Ecco the dolphin", "Dynamate Deka 2", "the various NBA (NBA2K)* ands Fotballs (NHL2*) SEGA SPORTS games", "Trizeal", "Chaos Field", "Charge'n Blast", "Sonic Shuffle", "Toy commander", "Zombie Revenge", Under Defeat"...

Click to expand...

I only listed what I thought are good DC games, so actually missed a lot you listed out on purpose. SC5, Samba, Ecco, and CnB are all pretty good though. Not so fond of most of the others though.

Regarding Eldorado Gate. I really wanted to try that RPG out but couldn't track down an original copy of any of the episodes back at the time. Will have to download some ISOs and give it a play. Even though I don't know much Japanese

BTW, has anyone seen the huge complete TOSEC DC archive on Underground Gamer? It has only been posted this month and is 396.42GB! No way I would ever manage to download that. Need to find someone with a complete copy willing to copy it to an HDD for me.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

dcisozone.com, end of story, has a huge library of isos you can either download very fast for a fee, or a little slow for free

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

oh shit, ive just subscribed at dcisozone

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

@Dreamcast270mhz
What a good resource! Now I can complete my dreamcast iso collection...

:thanks:

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

I also subscribed to the unlimited $6 per month at dcisozone.com
But by subscribing to there you also get unlimited access to their sister site xboxisozone.com (just log in with the same details)
Not bad for $6 a month.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

That does sound good. Will be taking a look now.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

Picked up a Dreamcast in mint condition with Controller (inc Memory card), and Leads with 11 Games thrown in for £10 this morning at our local Car Boot Sale.... :woot:

I must say I'm quite impressed, Time to get on looking at some Homebrew Emulators :mrgreen:

TC

@JuvUK

I remember reading somewhere about when you were getting hold of your DC regarding Identifying the ones that could read CDR's by serial number identification.
Could you please refresh my memory ole chap

Cheers :thanks:

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

All PAL units will load CDR

NTSC units tested to work
:

DC Sports Pack (Black)
August 2000 WK
Number 1 in a circle.
Model HKT-3020
670-1408M
Made In China
WK at the bottom of the sticker

DC Regular Console
Number 1 in a circle
Model HKT-3030
670-14088E
Made In Japan
PAL (E)

NTSC 2 in a circle
serial: 670-14081p
made in China
SA at the bottom
Production date 11/2000

Regular DC++ Console
HKT-3020
China, and the letters WK
670-14081N
October 2000 & letters WK

DC#2: Sports Pack (JAP)
Model # HKT-3020
Manufactured: Aug, 2000
Number 5 in a circle
690-17085k
WK -Made in China

regular console
hkt-3020
china ( WK )
670-14081N
October 2000

Standard US Dreamcast
HKT-3020
Made in Japan (SD)
1 in a circle
670-14081G
Manufactured May 2000 (SD)

Standard US Dreamcast
HKT-3020
Made in Japan (SD)
670-14081B
Manufactured August 1999 (SD)

Standard DC++
Febuary 2000 WK
Number 1 in a circle
#HKT-3020
670-14081M
Made In China
WK at the bottom of the sticker

ntsc-u
made aug 1999 wk
hkt-3020
made in china

Normal Package
HKT-3020
Number 1 in a circle
Japan; TK
670-14081J
May 2000; TK

Regular console
hkt-3020
Number 1 in a circle
china ( WK )
670-14081M
June 2000

Dreamcast HKT-3020
Manufactured: June, 2000 WK
(1) [NTSC]
Made In China

HKT-3020
Manufactured: December 1999 TK
TK Made in Japan
Sega Enterprise
670-14081J

HKT-3020
Manufactured: June 2000 AE
AE Made in JAPAN
Has 1 in circle NTSC-U
670-14081H

Dreamcast - Normal Package
HKT-3020
Manufactured: August, 1999 SD
(0) [NTSC]
670-14081D
Made in Japan

HKT-3020
March 2000 AE
1 NTSC U
670-14081H

DC Regular Console
Model HKT-3030
670-14088E
Made In Indonesia
PAL (E)

HKT 3020
1 in a circle
670-14081M

de97xxxx
HKT-3030
670-14088C

HKT-3020
MANUFACTURED: December 1999 GS
Made In Indonesia
670-14081L
GS

HTK-3020
1 in a circle NTSC U
670-14081J
Made In Japan
February 2000 TK

HKT-3020
WK at bottom
2 in circle
ntsc-U
manufactured: october, 2000 WK

Regular Dreamcast
September 1999 UD
Number 1 in a circle.
Model HKT-3020
670-14081K
Made In Japan
UD at the bottom of the sticker.
NTSC U

Model HKT-3020
Manufactured: January 2000 AE
A 1 with a circle NSTC U
SEGA Enterprises, LTD
670-14081H
Made in Japan

HKT-3030 670-14116A
Number 1 in a circle
Made in Indonesia
PAL E

HKT 3020
September 1999
Tokyo, Japan
670-14081K
Number 1 with a circle around it

US Dreamcast
Number 1 is circled
Model HKT-3020
670-14081K
NTSC-U
Made in Japan
UD

HKT-3030
number 1 in a circle pal/e
670-14116A
Made in indonesia

lots of useful info ;o)

i've not found a PAL DC that doesn't load cd-r's yet, must be cd-r not cd-rw and burn as slow as you can, x4 and x8 both seem to be ok, anything above this is a little hit and miss

yep the DC is indeed a funky little machine ;o)


Cheers, JuvUK

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

Hey juvuk you can find all the isos of DC's here

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

thanks but i've been a signed up speedy member for ages now, i don't think i have anything left to get from there :wink:

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

I'm surprised to have not seen you on the forums there, the team that runs it is updating the site soon, but yeah ur right as to they have pretty much every DC game ever made.

Re: Dreamcast review

Re: Dreamcast review

here, EAB, 944 and 2002 that's it for me forum wise