Reasons Why The DC Kicks Ass!

June 8, 2003

So your layin' in your pad, surrounded by gorgeous babes playin' a little DC. Your laughin' at the poor assholes who got rid of it for a little extra cash for that PS2, Cube or X-Box. Yes the DC still rules ass and here's a few reasons why. Sent from God himself. Written on two tablets of solid rock and handed down to yours truly, I present you with the rare knowledge that shall keep peace, love and honesty in the world.

Reasons In No Particular Order -

Online Gaming - Holy Shit. With your DC as of June 8th, 2003 you can still go online and play Phantasy Star Online, Quake III, Chu Chu Rocket and a host of other games for free. Note this system died over a year ago and we're still going online to kick some ass. Head over to Dreamcast Online Gaming for details. Plus, head over to the message boards at SEGA and join. Take a look at the DC Online Gaming section were a nice community of online gamers are posting times when they'll be heading online with their favorite game. Put that in your pipe and smoke that Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony!

Web Surfing - When this baby shipped in North America, it came with some lovely internet surfing software, curtiousy of Sega and PlanetWeb. The software was updated on an issue basis with the official DC mag. The final free release was 2.62 which included javascript, flash and mp3 support. To get ahold of a copy or to find out more details, head on over to DC Emulation. Here's a nice sloppy kiss for Sega. They were always ahead of the time. The first to use CD-Rom storge technology. The first with a modem shipped with a console. And of course the first with online gaming and web surfing right out of the box. No extra bullshit or extra cash to spend to use these abilities. Shame on you Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. You are greedy.

Emulation - Click on that little link I just mentioned above and you'll enter a world were classic gamers' dreams come true. A next-gen system busting out some Genesis and Master System action. Now that just rocks! Even after death, the DC has become a hobbiests dream as MP3 and VCD players have been written by simple folk like us just to keep the dream alive. Find out how to get an NES emulator working on your DC or any number of cool projects being developed.

VMU - The revolutionary idea of the visual memory unit is of course Sega's. Today, Nintendo connects its Gameboy Advance to the Gamecube for extras and data transfer between games. The VMU saved your games, kept time for ya and was host to a variety of mini-games. From Namco, Capcom and of course Sega, we got to play tiny versions of Soul Calibur, Power Stone and took a Chao on an adventure. The tiny videogame machine is also home to dozens of homebrewed games and animations from hobbists. Give VMU Pac-Man(best VMU game ever!) a try. Check it out within The Sonic The Hedgehog Info Page VMU DOWNLOADS section. Alessandro also has several other VMU programs written such as a Chao editor for Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, allowing the user to create CHAOS in their VMU anyway they like. Wanna NIGHTS CHAO, then walla create it in these beauty programs! Give Alessandro a big sloppy kiss. His site also has links to additional VMU sites.

Soul Calibur - This launch title in Canada and U.S. on Sept 9, 1999 is still considered one of the greatest fighters ever made. Not only beautiful to play but to see and hear. Running at a smooth 60fps in hi-res, Namco schooled developers right from the start. DC owners laughed in disbelief when the much touted Teken Tounament PS2 launch game was released more than a year later suffered from slowdown and crappy gameplay thanks to the superior PS2 hardware. I hear SC is catching a nice price on E-Bay and is the one title that makes the fools who got rid of their DC cry in agony over their foolish mistake. If you got a DC and you own this, consider yourself a King among men. And yes I know the sequel is coming out sometime this millinium. Seriously I couldn't give a rats ass about it too. You see while all of you were playin' your low-res PS1 and your muddy graphical N64 at 20 fps, I was playing the fuckin' future in fall 1999. Christ, it's 4 years later and I look at screen shots of the sequel and I'm not impressed. Seriously folks I don't think I've been graphicly impressed with any of the titles on the new consoles as I was when the DC was launched. Ah, joyous memories. I hi-five my brothers who share the same memories.

Chu Chu Rocket - A fantastic party and online game! The sleeper hit title developed by Sonic Team and Yuji Naka was the first online game released in North America. Spring 2000 was a special time for players as they went online and battled gamers across North America and Japan. The online capabilities were givin' their first test in an addictive and challenging action puzzler. Get 3 buddies over now with alot of beer and go ape shit in the multi-player battle mode. You'll thank me that you did.

Power Stone Series - A series souly developed for the DC. You know it's kinda sad the rest of the gaming community will never get to play these fast-paced fighters which inspired a very entertaining anime series. Fast, fast and fast! Capcom makes'em fast and good. With Power Stone I & II, they made an entertaining 3-D fighter not restrcited to your fighters moves. Instead you could interact with the enviroment, pick up shit and throw it against your opponents. A perfect conversion of the arcade hits and a great game to pass an evening with.

Seaman - Yes we know Nintendo released the very limited Hey, You Pikachu game for the N64 with a mic. Alowing the player to "interact" with Pikachu as he responds with PIKA! Infact you could tell him off very easily and he'd just smile. Hell, Seaman tells you off. A much more developed Tamagaotchi/Chao Raising type of adventure which worked damned hard to have you communicate with the virtua fish. A huge hit in Japan and a mediocore selling title in N.A. this is one hell of a great treasure to own.

Shenmue - Yep, the X-Box got the very cool Shenmue: The Movie which recaped the events of the first chapter. What is much cooler is actualy playing the original title that started it all. Yu Suzuki spent 6 years and the biggest friggin' budget in gaming history to develop this title and it shows. A perfect mix of adventure exploration and lightnening fast action, Shenmue had you in control of young Ryu Hyazuki on a quest to avenge his father's death. You live in Yokosuka, Japan and when I say you live... you live there. Collecting toys, playing arcade games as you witness the weather change day to day, season to season as the city folk busily go about their buisness. A game that suits the indvidual by allowing you to play it at your own pace and yes, you don't die. You can but it's very, very difficult to get and I'm not telling you. A masterpiece.

Jet Grind Radio - The original that launched the cel shading mania into the gaming world is still one of the DC's finest moments. Featuring an exciting soundtrack and intense gameplay, you and your band of graphiti gangsters paint the town with cool shit. Head over to The Jet Set Radio Graffiti Site for information on how to paint the town with beautiful ladies. Word.

Sega Rally 2 / Daytona USA - The kings of the arcade, heavily beefed up for your DC. The rough road of Sega Rally 2 featured more vehicles and courses than its arcade cousin. The same with Daytona USA which also included ONLINE PLAY which *sniff* dosen't exist anymore *sniff*. Oh, well atleast you can still battle your buddy in a split screen mode with both titles. For people who love to go full throttle without having to be resticted by real world physics(ala Gan Turismo) these titles are for you.

Quake III - Yep, you go run out and get your shitty little PS2 copy and enjoy it with that crap ass pad. I'll play it via DC with a mouse and keyboard. Oh yeah and I'll go online and play the fuckin' game the way it was intended. Christ... I'm going to take a break right now and play a few rounds online(for free mind you - no subscription fee - no extra hardware to buy to get online - Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony you are all greedy). Kiss my ass Sony. What can I say. This is the best damn frag match of all time. Unlimited playability thanks to online gameplay and hey, I got the mouse and keyboard. Ah, heaven.

Samba De Amgio - If you got maracas or not, this title shines. Too my knowledge, this was Yuji Naka's/Sonic Teams' first arcade game. Ported by the brillant team themselves, you are in control of a maraca shaking monkey as he busts jams with fellow animal critters to kick ass music. Another fantastic innovative title from Sega and one that you can realy show to your buddies and laugh at them for getting rid of their DC.

Crazy Taxi 2 - The sequel to the instant classic, CT2 takes place in the crowded streets of the big apple as you now rush multiple passingers to different locals. I admit, I still prefer the original. However, if you ever wanted to experience the sequel you gotta break out that DC. The nice thing is that the sequel atleast dosen't feel like a friggin' expansion pack of the original. Uh, ah. This is all new baby.

From God's hand transcribed to your computer screen via me, I hope you enjoyed this little run down. Just a few reasons why you should feel proud for not getting rid of your treasure. The article will probably be updated once and awhile as more messages from the Lord are communicated to me. Word.

- Kelley