Dreamcast & Sonic Adventure & Games of Today

[VIAN]

I put the whole article in 4 seperate posts to break it up for you guys. Hope you enjoy them.


Reunited

Remember at the end of each Sega Dreamcast TV commercial someone would say, ?It?s Thinking...? That phrase is kind of creepy given the content of the commercial. What is the machine thinking anyway?!

I know what it's thinking. It's thinking, "I'm sleeky, sexy, and aerodynamic. No one can touch my amazing shape and pioneering features. Pop in a disc and get ready to dive into action that's fast and colorful. The loud fan and CD-ROM drive are just sexy flaws that shout, 'Hey! I'm Dreamcast!'"

The Dreamcast is one of the most unique consoles ever, and I'm glad that I was able to have been a part of the experience, even though it was short lived. It was the first console I bought for myself with my own money. I think I saved for about a month to be able to purchase the Dreamcast for $150.

I sold my Dreamcast about 3 years ago because, with the influence of the computer upgrade cycle and the new digital connections popping up at the time, I didn't think the TVs of the future would support the video connection so didn?t think it was worth keeping the Dreamcast around just to be disappointed later. But I have been thinking about buying one again recently to replay the games I once had, but mostly so that I can keep a working and playable copy of both Shenmue and Shenmue II. Then a friend said how there are always crazy connections available to maintain compatibility with older hardware. After thinking about it, I said to myself, ?He?s right, I?m going to buy a Dreamcast!?

I decided to wait until after Christmas to get one, but I must?ve been talking about it often enough because that was my girlfriend?s Christmas present: a Dreamcast, Shenmue, S-Video Cable, and VMU. I was as happy as a pig in poo! It felt like its 2001 again! Shenmue was too long of a game, so I wanted to save it for after the demo that came with the Dreamcast. However, after playing the Sonic demo, I became obsessed with playing the entire Sonic Adventure game. I probably played the Sonic demo more than 15 times while I waited for Sonic Adventure to arrive.

At the moment, I?m still trying to buy all my favorite games. I?ve already own Shenmue, Shenmue II PAL, Test Drive Le Mans, Sonic Adventure, Space Channel 5, and Space Channel 5 Part 2 JPN. I?m still trying to get Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Sonic Adventure 2, Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio, Skies of Arcadia, and Grandia II. Maybe after all these, I?ll buy some Dreamcast games that I?ve never played.

 

[VIAN]

Renewed

But I got a little ahead of myself. The S-video cable that came with the system didn?t work. The screen displayed only black. This forced me to use the composite cables that came with the system. I didn?t think much of it since that?s how I used to play back in 2001, but because I was used to HD gaming, I became disappointed when I saw how dull and blurry the graphics were. I still had fun though, but I?d be looking for an S-video cable later.

In the search for S-video, I began to think that maybe the Dreamcast has an RGB cable. After trying for a few days, I finally came across something that game me great hope; something that I didn?t know existed ? VGA support! VGA support promised amazing picture clarity similar to what RGB provided over composite ? vibrant colors, improved contrast, and full detail. I bought one right away.

After waiting for days, I finally got the VGA cable and dropped whatever I was doing so that I could try it out. Everything that was said was true. I?ve never seen such beautiful colors on the Dreamcast and, not surprisingly, it surpasses the image quality that I recalled from the previous Dreamcast I owned. Pig in poo! Playing on the Dreamcast was fully enjoyable again!

 

[VIAN]

Adventure

I ordered Sonic Adventure soon after getting the VGA cable. I ordered a non-Sega All Star version, but one came anyway. The one I used to play back in the day was also a Sega All Star, but the original art looks better. The Sega All Star logo seems to cheapens the experience.

I beat the game today. It was also the first time that I looked at the back of the case to read the description and features. The description is exciting:

?Buckle up and we?re talking 5-point harness. Sonic the Hedgehog will propel your Dreamcast into warp-speed 3D adventure. Want Rings? We?ve got rings. Want Chaos Emeralds? We?ve got those too. You want insane graphics, huge levels, puzzles, hidden mini-games, multiple playable characters and more? Oh Yeah! We?ve got it all.?

In the features, it mentions that it has 50 massive levels, but that is an exaggeration that I?ll explain later.

I?m sure when the game first came out the graphics were drop dead gorgeous. Even today they aren?t that bad at times due to the good texture work that we are able to see due to the 8MBs of VRAM in the Dreamcast. For comparison, the PS2 only had 4MB. To tell you the truth, I really enjoy these graphics. They have just enough polygons to create just about anything, great room for great looking textures, and vibrant colors. Games feel like games and not like they are trying to look realistic, which they fail at often, even today.

On the other hand, the game has terrible facial expressions and character animation during cutscenes. But I think it deserves some leniency for two reasons. First, this game was released in 1999. Think of what you were playing in 1999 and how it compares. Second, this is probably one of the first games to have real-time facial animations. However, even with some leniency, it is not difficult to admit that these things are very prominent and remind us how dated the game is, and how boring cutscenes can be. Of course, the bad voice acting lends a significant hand as well.

Sonic Adventure took a different approach at a Sonic game. Instead of just stage after stage, they created something called an Adventure Field which tries to be a big open space to that you can explore to find stages. This is the only Sonic game to do this as the sequel, Sonic Adventure 2, went back to just stages. The Adventure Field was made up of 3 areas: City, Jungle, and Egg Carrier (airship). Although they tried to have open environments, they all felt closed in. The City had about 4 blocks worth of exploration, and the Egg Carrier was even smaller. The Jungle was the only section that felt like an actual Adventure Field that you could explore.

While the idea of a Sonic game that was actually adventure due to the Adventure Field is a great idea, bad implementation made it boring. Every time I was dumped in the Adventure Field, I didn?t have a clue where to go. Thankfully, there are some little floating lights or fairies that give you clues otherwise I?d be stuck. It?s unfortunate that they got rid of it in Sonic Adventure 2, because if they had an open world similar to Ocarina of Time and there were people or identifiable clues that told you where to go, I?m sure it would have kicked ass just running from one area to another before being enclosed.

The real reason I enjoy this game, however, is because of three Sonic stages. Just as I remembered, Sonic is the only character out of 6 worth playing with and there are only three levels worth playing with him; or at least those are the only ones that have near infinite replay value. They are Emerald Coast, Windy Valley, and Speed Highway. The greatest assets these levels have are speed and simplicity. Well, they are both related. Because of the simplicity of each level, most of the time, all you need to do is hold forward, which in turn provides higher speeds. What this means to me is that I have more time to focus on speed, pretty graphics, and the feeling of a rollercoaster ride that comes with them. These three levels define the spirit of a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

Sonic actually has 10 levels. The three mentioned previously are the best, there are probably three more that are not bad, and the rest isn?t worth mentioning.

After playing with Sonic, you can play with Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, and Gamma. The problem with the boast of 50 massive levels is that you there are only 10 actual levels, which are those that you play with Sonic. Then you replay about 5 of those same levels with the other characters. Sonic Team tries to keep it fresh by having each character play differently, not only would I rather have more Sonic levels instead of playing with these guys, but playing with them is tedious. And some play so similar, but worse, to Sonic that I start to question why I?m playing. Tails tries to race against Sonic or Dr. Eggman. One of the disappointments with Tails is that he can only fly for a few seconds before becoming tired. If you?ve played previous games, you?d know that it isn?t true. He also controls worse than Sonic, even while running straight. Knuckles has to find hidden pieces of the Master Emerald, which is tedious. Amy has to run away from this robot that keeps chasing her, which is also tedious considering that?s so close to what you do with Sonic except she is slower and the levels have more obstacles in the way. With Big, you have to fish a frog out of the water for all 4 of his levels. Talk about repetition. I?d never think I?d be fishing in a Sonic game. Gamma is basically a crappy third person shooter. It?s not even challenging enough to be considered actual content added to the game.

If playing with the other characters wasn?t bad enough, you also have to deal with some of the worst camera controls I?ve ever used. Pressing the Left Trigger makes the camera go right and pressing Right Trigger makes the camera go Left. It?s backwards! I?m still not used to it. But that?s not the bad part. The camera acts like an object in the space that the character can move, which means that it can?t go through walls. If it somehow ends up going inside a box while you fall to a lower level, you?ll have to play with it for a bit before it comes loose. During that time, you only see a wall. It also loves to follow the characters at the worst position for making jumps. One of the reasons why the three levels I?ve mentioned are my favorite levels is because they have the least amount of camera issues.

The story is so laughably bad and boring that I?m not even going to bother repeating it for you. If you?re able, just look at any cutscene in the game. It?s as boring and confusing as what is shown.

The game has to be one of the biggest blunders I?ve ever seen. Sonic Team has their name all over it literally; and of course, they?ve continued their tradition of making crap to this day. Even though there is so much to dislike, I?d probably give it a C rating just because those I would still buy it just for those three levels alone.

One of the things that bugs me is how many great ideas went to waste with the game. I wish they?d make a real Sonic Adventure as I?ve described before with reference to Zelda. They could reintroduce Sonic, Sonic and Tails, Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman all in one shot. But, like Shenmue III, I have a dream that shall never come.

 

[VIAN]

Specialty

I haven?t been having much fun with current games lately. There are a few here and there, but not enough for me to be interested in gaming as a pastime. I think it started back when my original XBOX died. But more importantly, when I made the realization when my XBOX 360 died sometime in 2007. I noticed that most of the games that I bought disappointed me. I guess that it makes sense considering that I?ve played so many games. If I see a bad camera or bad controls, I am instantly reminded of how much better it could?ve been because this other game with similar gameplay had a better camera or control.

Take my disappointment for games, add wasted time and money, and a growing love for movies. Movies are an easier form of entertainment for me. It takes up much less time than a game, costs less, and if I don?t like it, I only wasted about 2 hours. Games consume more time and therefore set me up for a greater disappointment when they don?t meet my expectations. Games can also be frustrating, which is not relaxing and, for me, defeats the purpose of playing in the first place.

When the Dreamcast entered my life again, something clicked. Games made more sense. Like I said, pig in poo! For the first time in my life, I am starting to agree with people like Valve and Nintendo. Both have people want smaller games that are fun, which sounds like arcade games. I think what is special about the Dreamcast is that it was the last of the great arcade consoles. That?s the reason why those games were so much fun. They were small, divided up in stages, but still tons of fun. A great example of this is Space Channel 5. I can beat the game in under an hour, but I return to it now and then. That is a big change in attitude for me. Before getting the Dreamcast again, I was never comfortable with the idea of playing a game more than once. I haven?t been that comfortable since playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault back in 2002, which I beat about 5 times. I feel comfortable with the Dreamcast.

Who knows if I?ll ever return to it, but for now I?m satisfied with my decision and with occasionally playing the Dreamcast. My PS3 has officially become a Blu-ray player. I also find that I have extra time that I can use to improve my lifestyle.

 

[Fox5]

I'm hooking up my dreamcast again to play Seaman and both Shenmues. Maybe Powerstone as well.

 

[nakedfrog]

Yes, I still have my VGA box too, it was beautiful hooked up to a monitor.
If you've never played Virtua Tennis with four people, you don't know what you're missing. I know, I was skeptical too.
What? A tennis game? Come on...

/me still has his black Sports Edition DC

 

[digiram]

My DC drowned in the basement from the first flood I had in my new home about 2 yrs. ago . Sonic Adventure 2 was my fav. game on it. Never got to finish Shen Mue

 

[Slick5150]

I never did play Shenmue 2. Didn't that come out on Xbox as well after the DC died? Maybe I can pick that up at some point.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: Slick5150
I never did play Shenmue 2. Didn't that come out on Xbox as well after the DC died? Maybe I can pick that up at some point.

Ugh, and deal with the awful voice acting!


Actually, I didn't mind the English voice acting in Shenmue, it added to the camp kung-fu flick feel. Then again, I was in 8th grade or so, I probably didn't mind as much.
Shenmue 2's English voice acting is supposed to be worse though. I actually picked up some Japanese (for a little while) by playing the Euro import of Shenmue 2. Well, at least when I got stuck on the dock worker part of the game (yes, they did that again! different mini game though) and got to hear the same lines every day.

 

[Howard]

The DC is still the only console that has arcade-perfect Marvel vs Capcom 2 gameplay.