Top 10 post-Dreamcast Sega games

Andrew Ryan Chang wrote:
> http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/272.html
>
> 'normalmode' has written his list. Whaddya think? I'm leery of
> putting Rez on there since it was a DC title in Japan and Europe, and

I wouldn't put Rez in there either

> besides if we did that then PSO and Skies of Arcadia and other DC retreads
> would also qualify in their remake forms.
>
> I think my own list would be PDO, JSRF, Gunvalkyrie, Shinobi,
> Super Monkey Ball, VF4Evo, and Puyo Pop Fever. Maybe Otogi qualifies as a
> Sega game too. It's a shame Crazy Taxi 3 lost the precise feel of CT1 and
> 2 on the DC, or I would have put it in my list too.

Otogi most certainly WON'T qualify since it's not a Sega developed
game. The list is decent, although there are others that deserve a
spot, eg: Sakura Taisen V, Shining Force Neo

Andrew Ryan Chang wrote:
> http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/272.html
>
> 'normalmode' has written his list. Whaddya think? I'm leery of
> putting Rez on there since it was a DC title in Japan and Europe, and

I wouldn't put Rez in there either

> besides if we did that then PSO and Skies of Arcadia and other DC retreads
> would also qualify in their remake forms.
>
> I think my own list would be PDO, JSRF, Gunvalkyrie, Shinobi,
> Super Monkey Ball, VF4Evo, and Puyo Pop Fever. Maybe Otogi qualifies as a
> Sega game too. It's a shame Crazy Taxi 3 lost the precise feel of CT1 and
> 2 on the DC, or I would have put it in my list too.

Otogi most certainly WON'T qualify since it's not a Sega developed
game. The list is decent, although there are others that deserve a
spot, eg: Sakura Taisen V, Shining Force Neo

Andrew Ryan Chang wrote:
> http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/272.html
>
> 'normalmode' has written his list. Whaddya think? I'm leery of
> putting Rez on there since it was a DC title in Japan and Europe, and

I wouldn't put Rez in there either

> besides if we did that then PSO and Skies of Arcadia and other DC retreads
> would also qualify in their remake forms.
>
> I think my own list would be PDO, JSRF, Gunvalkyrie, Shinobi,
> Super Monkey Ball, VF4Evo, and Puyo Pop Fever. Maybe Otogi qualifies as a
> Sega game too. It's a shame Crazy Taxi 3 lost the precise feel of CT1 and
> 2 on the DC, or I would have put it in my list too.

Otogi most certainly WON'T qualify since it's not a Sega developed
game. The list is decent, although there are others that deserve a
spot, eg: Sakura Taisen V, Shining Force Neo

Andrew Ryan Chang wrote:
>
> http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/272.html
>
> 'normalmode' has written his list. Whaddya think? I'm leery of
> putting Rez on there since it was a DC title in Japan and Europe, and
> besides if we did that then PSO and Skies of Arcadia and other DC retreads
> would also qualify in their remake forms.
>
> I think my own list would be PDO, JSRF, Gunvalkyrie, Shinobi,
> Super Monkey Ball, VF4Evo, and Puyo Pop Fever.
snip

PPF was on the DC; same problem as Rez. Super Monkey Ball also might be
suspect, as Monkey Ball was out in arcades before the kinda end of the DC...

Eiji Hayashi wrote:

More Google Groups issues?

Seriously though, it seems like a lot of people have this happening
when using it, I've yet to run into it myself though...

Bel

Andrew Ryan Chang wrote:
> http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/top10/272.html
>
> 'normalmode' has written his list. Whaddya think? I'm leery of
> putting Rez on there since it was a DC title in Japan and Europe, and
> besides if we did that then PSO and Skies of Arcadia and other DC retreads
> would also qualify in their remake forms.
>
> I think my own list would be PDO, JSRF, Gunvalkyrie, Shinobi,
> Super Monkey Ball, VF4Evo, and Puyo Pop Fever. Maybe Otogi qualifies as a
> Sega game too. It's a shame Crazy Taxi 3 lost the precise feel of CT1 and
> 2 on the DC, or I would have put it in my list too.

You know, I thought this would be a piece of cake to do, and it mostly
is, but Sega has released a few more games than generally come to mind
-- good games at that, too. Still , the quality and quantity is nowhere
near the Dreamcast or Genesis levels, but it's there if you look.

I still haven't played Otogi, Gunvalkyrie, PSO C.A.R.D. Revolution, or
Billy Hatcher, so those _could_ trump one of my listed games I suppose.
I also haven't played Pinball of the Dead, Altered Beast GBA, etc. I do
have Spikeout, but I honestly haven't sunk much time into it. I don't
think _anyone_ has actually played Virtua Cop 3, but I'd like to think
it _must_ be good.

My list o' Sega fun circa 2002-2006:

10) ESPN NFL 2K5

--- Amazing football game and the last before EA's license buyout.
Terrific gameplay, amazing on-line "living" season, and stellar
presentation including after the game action replays... none of which
has yet to be copied by Madden. Hooray for monopolies, I guess. :/

09) Gungrave

--- Red's Beyond the Grave character alone makes me love the game, but
the beat-based chain gameplay makes it so much more enjoyable than the
typical 3-D action game. I actually prefer the original to the sequel.

0 Outrun 2

--- Draw distance is amazing and the game is plenty fun. A great update
to a mostly shallow arcade racer.

07) Super Monkey Ball Deluxe

--- Best of the Monkey Ball games. I think the mini-games are possibly
more enjoyable than the game itself.

06) Sonic Rush

--- Lots of fun from the bit I've played with an amazing soundtrack by
the Jet Set Radio guy. As soon as I get my DS back, I'm getting this.

05) Sega Rally 2006 + Sega Rally Championship 1995

--- Am I the only one that's bought this? You not only get a great
conversion of the arcade original (though missing the great Saturn
music), but the update is fantastic with tons of tracks and great
gameplay and graphics (despite the pop-up).

04) Toejam & Earl 3

--- Great merging of the first two TJ&E games with great two-player
co-op action. Not quite as funny as the first two games and the "boss"
character really seems tacked on for the sake of starting a plot, but
still very enjoyable.

03) Feel the Magic XX/XY

--- Yeah, a lot of games nowadays are a collection of mini-games, but
Feel the Magic weaves them in into a fun story very well, plus the
games themselves really exploit the DS hardware well, including blowing
into the microphone port.

02) Panzer Dragoon Orta

--- An amazingly polished game with the usual great atmosphere and
soundtrack expected from the series. Still among the best looking Xbox
games out. The bonus of the enhanced first game is a great touch.

01) Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

--- There are no flaws. It's a brilliant fighter with incredible depth,
amazing graphics, and a neat tournament mode. The only fighter that
goes well beyond just slapping in a practice mode, it will _train_ you
to become an advanced player. Too bad the series is so unpopular
outside Japan. :^(

You know, I think Sega's output wouldn't seem so bad if it weren't
scattered about three systems.

Benjamin

> >I have. It's good and expensive, if nothing else... I encountered it at
> >a, uh, minigolf place, so it didn't have the virtue of a Gameworks where
> >you can play for however long with a card.
> >It was good.
> >There's no reason it shouldn't work on the Xbox with the existing guns.
>
> I have also played Virtua Cop 3. It is excellent and should be the thing
> that sets the gun game standard. The sub-goals, the bullet-time option,
> the immersive environments, all these things make VC3 what VC1 was to gun
> games in 1995.

They've got a couple of these machines, along with HotD 4(I think, the
one with the machine guns?), though I've yet to try it out. I thought
the bullet time thing was pretty hip for a shooter like VC. What kills
me: They've got Lethal Enforcers 3 right across from all the HotD
machines, and the VC 3 machine...it just helps that game look even
worse than it already does.

> -KKC, who is compelled now to hunt down the N-gage version of Virtua Cop.

I can't remember if that EB Games had it or not, but next time I stop
by I'll look for you.

Bel

> I have. It's good and expensive, if nothing else... I encountered it at
> a, uh, minigolf place, so it didn't have the virtue of a Gameworks where
> you can play for however long with a card.
> It was good.
> There's no reason it shouldn't work on the Xbox with the existing guns.

Is there a GameWorks in your area? That's the only place I've seen it
at. I've often times wondered where the other GameWorks were...I know
about the one, and have been to it, in Seattle, but that's about it.
Maybe it's time to hit the site...

Bel

> There's one that's in theory near to me, but due to the nature of metro
> Detroit, it's a solid hour away from me at a mall I've only been to
> twice (and the gameworks only once), both times with a friend of mine
> who I go out to see in his far northern suburb when he's back in the
> area for the holidays. And I've been to the Gameworks in Vegas, when the
> same friend was getting married.
> When I was trying to find an Fzero AX machine, I called the Gameworks,
> and they didn't understand the question. Not a good sign. (I eventually
> found one in the area, but it was broken when I went there...)

Our GameWorks has the F-Zero and the Mario Kart arcade setups. They've
done a halfway decent job of getting some new stuff in there lately,
I've been impressed.

Of course, they've also brought in stuff like Lethal Enforcers 3...
Good lord, it's like it's running off an N64 with more ram...

Bel

Benjamin wrote:
snip
I don't
> think _anyone_ has actually played Virtua Cop 3, but I'd like to think
> it _must_ be good.

I have. It's good and expensive, if nothing else... I encountered it at
a, uh, minigolf place, so it didn't have the virtue of a Gameworks where
you can play for however long with a card.
It was good.
There's no reason it shouldn't work on the Xbox with the existing guns.

snip
> 01) Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
>
> --- There are no flaws.
snip

VF Anniversary is a pain to access in the US version. Kumite was better
in non-Evo. Greatest Hits packaging in the US is ugly. Japanese version
didn't get VF Anniversary with the game.

In article <43F51AB5.2EC2FF62.DeleteThis@nospam.com>,
Ted <nospamforted.DeleteThis@nospam.com> wrote:
>Benjamin wrote:
>snip
> I don't
>> think _anyone_ has actually played Virtua Cop 3, but I'd like to think
>> it _must_ be good.
>
>I have. It's good and expensive, if nothing else... I encountered it at
>a, uh, minigolf place, so it didn't have the virtue of a Gameworks where
>you can play for however long with a card.
>It was good.
>There's no reason it shouldn't work on the Xbox with the existing guns.

I have also played Virtua Cop 3. It is excellent and should be the thing
that sets the gun game standard. The sub-goals, the bullet-time option,
the immersive environments, all these things make VC3 what VC1 was to gun
games in 1995.

But we've had this discussion about the light gun before... HDTV monitors
and many non-tube televisions don't work with conventional light guns due
to the timing issues. For a home version that is an exact conversion of
the arcade game, you have to buy a Virtua Cop gun as well as a Virtua Cop
TV. And aside from the technology, you have opportunistic lawyers preying
on societal fears that gamers can't tell right from wrong, and will
therefore equate the sale of a gun game with the espousing of violence. So
I completely understand why there's no home version, even as I disagree
with every motivation.

-KKC, who is compelled now to hunt down the N-gage version of Virtua Cop.
--
-- "I bought a house, it's a two bedroom house. But - kendrick
I think it's up to me how many bedrooms there are, - @io.com
dont you? F*** you, real estate lady, this bedroom -
has an oven in it!" - Mitch Hedberg, 1968-2005 -

BelPowerslave wrote:
>
> > I have. It's good and expensive, if nothing else... I encountered it at
> > a, uh, minigolf place, so it didn't have the virtue of a Gameworks where
> > you can play for however long with a card.
> > It was good.
> > There's no reason it shouldn't work on the Xbox with the existing guns.
>
> Is there a GameWorks in your area? That's the only place I've seen it
> at. I've often times wondered where the other GameWorks were...I know
> about the one, and have been to it, in Seattle, but that's about it.
> Maybe it's time to hit the site...

There's one that's in theory near to me, but due to the nature of metro
Detroit, it's a solid hour away from me at a mall I've only been to
twice (and the gameworks only once), both times with a friend of mine
who I go out to see in his far northern suburb when he's back in the
area for the holidays. And I've been to the Gameworks in Vegas, when the
same friend was getting married.
When I was trying to find an Fzero AX machine, I called the Gameworks,
and they didn't understand the question. Not a good sign. (I eventually
found one in the area, but it was broken when I went there...)

Andrew Ryan Chang wrote:

<snerp>

> Gungrave was very good. For me, though, the chain gameplay _in an
> action genre_ made the game feel too restrictive. I can totally get
> behind it in, say, Guitar Hero, but in Gungrave I always felt that
> achieving long combos was done by carefully adjusting my gameplay into the
> very narrow optimal path the level designers came up with.

Yeah, it's hardly as open as, say, a Tony Hawk game, but I really
enjoyed it. The chain paths reminded me very much of NiGHTS, even in
the sense that the games play so much better if you focus on them and
night just play to the minimal requirements of beating a stage. Rushing
through a level amid a frenzy of explosions is quite a thrill, and it
adds an interesting gameplay element sorely missing from most cookie
cutter action games.

> I'm not a big Sonic fan myself, but you're not the first person to
> rave about the soundtrack. I might cave, if I could hear some samples
> first.

I've uploaded a few of my favorite samples here:

http://jamesfreyfootballhero.com/sonic/

I can't describe What U Need other than it sounds very much like an
excellent Jet Set Radio track. Bomber Barbara sounds like a more
agressive Michael Jackson song (well, the vocals at least), and Wrapped
In Black to me is goth hip-hop.

<snerp>

> Ahh, VF4 sold well enough that Evo was released as a Greatest
> Hit title.

Did VF4 really sell that well outside Japan? I always attributed Evo
launching as a Greatest Hits release was just Sega's attempt to
cultivate a larger fanbase with the cheap price.

<snerp>

Benjamin