The Sega Dreamcast was the last console to be released by the company, following over a decade of being the main competitor to Nintendo throughout the 1990s. But, in the end, they weren’t able to compete with both Nintendo and Sony and decided to bow out of the console market and focus solely on developing games. The Dreamcast was a great system to call their last, with it being the most powerful console at the time and it featured a very impressive library of games. Here are the top 10 best Sega Dreamcast games of all time.
10. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
The Dreamcast version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 was developed by Treyarch, the same company that would go on to be a main developer of the Call of Duty series with the Black Ops games. Because of the increased power of the Dreamcast, it features smoother textures and higher-quality animation than the PlayStation version. This version of the game scored an impressive 97/100 on Metacritic, although it was one point lower than the PS1 version which scored 98.
9. Sega GT
Sega has always been known for its impressive racing entries, and Sega GT was designed to be a competitor to Sony’s Gran Turismo series. Despite a positive reception from critics, sales of the game were fairly low and the game failed to gain the same traction as Gran Turismo. Following Sega leaving the console market they would go on to continue the series on the original Xbox with Sega GT 2002.
8. Phantasy Star Online
Phantasy Star Online was one of the first online MMORPGs on console, with the servers remaining active until 2010. Online gaming was gaining traction throughout the 90s in the west but had failed to take off in Japan due to high internet costs. To try and make the game a flagship title for Sega, the company’s CEO Isao Okawa personally paid for free internet access for Japanese Dreamcast consoles.
7. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
The pinnacle of competitive Street Fighter, Third Strike is the third and final game released under the Street Fighter 3 name. Third Strike features much smoother gameplay than Street Fighter 2 and includes more updated mechanics such as parrying moves, combos, and multiple super moves. While not the most popular game when it was released, largely due to being a 2D fighter in a 3D era, the game became the go-to game for eSports players and was the game that helped produce the iconic Evo Moment 37 which you can check out below.
6. The House Of The Dead 2
If you go to any arcade there is a good chance that you will still see a The House Of The Dead cabinet. The second entry in the series was the most popular, with it releasing on the Dreamcast in 1999 following a successful arcade release a year prior.
5. Jet Set Radio
Jet Set Radio is a fairly unique game, with players traversing the map using inline skates while spraying graffiti and evading law enforcement. It is one of those games that on paper doesn’t sound like the most exciting, but once you play it you understand why it is so great.
4. Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure saw Sega’s mascot receive his first 3D game in 1998, after being a 2D series up until that point. While not as good as Nintendo’s 3D offerings such as Super Mario 64, although that is entirely subjective, it is still a fantastic game and one of the highlights of the 3D Sonic series.
3. SoulCalibur
Released exclusively on the Dreamcast in 1999, SoulCalibur is one of the greatest fighting games of all time, with the game being the sequel to Soul Edge while also setting the new standard for the series’ naming. SoulCalibur is the fifth highest-scoring game of all time on Metacritic, which should give you an idea of how good the game is. The series has gone on to become one of the most popular fighting series, with new games still being released today.
2. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
Resident Evil: Code Veronica was originally released as a Dreamcast exclusive, but it did see a port to the PS2 and other platforms later on. The game is often seen as the true Resident Evil 3, with Capcom quickly putting together what we know as Resident Evil 3 in under a year so they could get out of their exclusivity deal with Sony. Code Veronica follows on from the events of Resident Evil 2, with Claire Redfield heading to Europe to search for her brother Chris. Both Redfield siblings are controlled in the game, and it also finally reveals the fate of Wesker following the events of the first game in the series.
1. Shenmue
Shenmue set a lot of standards in gaming and doesn’t often get the recognition it deserves. The game was one of the first to introduce Quick Time Events, as well as a day-and-night system, which was unprecedented for the time, variable weather effects, NPCs with daily schedules, and various minigames, something that wasn’t seen in video games at the time. Shenmue would ultimately flop despite widespread critical acclaim, with it failing to recoup development costs.
Follow Us
