Top 10 Dreamcast Games

A spin-off of The House of the Dead 2, The Typing of the Dead was originally designed to improve typing and practice how fast you can type, but its quirky gameplay and humor make it so much more . Instead of a light weapon, use a computer keyboard and the power of correct spelling and grammar to fend off hordes of undead.

9. Grandia 2

The Dreamcast didn’t have many RPGs, but the ones it did have were good. Alongside Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2 is widely regarded as one of the two best RPGs on the platform, praised for its excellent soundtrack and even better combat system. While Grandia itself has faded, its mechanics have appeared in a variety of RPGs over the years, from Ubisoft’s Child of Light to Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness.

Grandia 2 was also one of the best looking games on the Dreamcast. Filled with high-quality spells, special attacks, and other details, it was a marked improvement over what was available on PlayStation at the time, especially during the most elaborate attack sequences. Its visual luster has faded in the years since, but it’s still fun to play, as the recent remaster has shown. It stays worthy of the Dreamcast’s legacy.

8. Fantasy star online

Dreamcast’s Phantasy Star Online was a rebirth for the brand. A hit on debut, Phantasy Star Online transitioned from the original first-person dungeon-crawling and overworld-exploring model to a new 3D real-time action RPG. PSO added online play with friends, character creation, and more to the franchise that differed from the narratives of the previous games.

Combat was fun and varied depending on your character’s customization. Different races and classes excelled in close, long-range, or technical combat. The four quest areas varied in style and encouraged replayability by allowing you to level up and acquire materials to feed your pet Mag, which would provide special abilities like buffs, stat boosts, and powerful photon blasts. These features increased replayability by allowing players to create new characters and experiment with alternate race and class combinations.

After its initial release, Phantasy Star featured additional missions, increased level caps, new difficulties, and more, all of which were downloadable, which was unusual at the time. Phantasy Star Online just seemed to keep going, and for those of us who picked it up again on later systems like the Gamecube or the Xbox, it had a second life, capturing our attention and time with improvements.

7. Sonic Adventure 2

Released just 3 years after the first Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 improved on the original formula in every way. The levels have been adapted to the personalities of the characters. Sonic and Shadow were all about speed and platforming, Tails and Dr. Robotnik was all about smashing your way to the finish line with their mechs, and Knuckles and Rouge were all about exploration and treasure hunting. Alternate targets were included in each level, increasing replay value. The Chao Garden improved upon his return and was a fun diversion where you could wreak havoc and train to compete in races and karate. A 3D version of Green Hill Zone was available as a reward for those who collected all 180 emblems by earning an A in every mission.

There were also plenty of two-player head-to-head modes where you could race on foot, fight in mechs, go on treasure hunts, or go-kart races. Sonic Adventure 2 also featured some of the best music tracks in franchise history. There’s a reason for songs like “Escape from the City” and “Live and Learn”. were saved for the finale and encore in the Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony. Sonic Adventure 2 was everything we expected from a 3D sonic game for its time.

6. Rec

Produced in part by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who later became known for his work on games like Lumines and Tetris Effect, Rez wasn’t just unique, it was cool. It managed to combine rave culture and rail shooters, powered by the unlimited creativity of the Dreamcast.

The Rez development team is still emotional about this project to this day, as it came in the midst of the Dreamcast’s sudden demise. It would eventually come to PlayStation 2 and is now available on a variety of platforms, including Meta Quest 2. But as the last vestige of the “cool Sega” and pioneer of the rhythm game, Rez will always be a Dreamcast game first.

5. Jet Set Radio

An action game that has players skate through Tokyo, spray graffiti and dodge the authorities, with fun, addictive gameplay and an excellent soundtrack? Jet Set Radio is something special. While the Jet Set Future sequel’s gameplay is a little more polished, the original’s cel-shaded, vibrant art direction, music and distinctive gameplay make it a true gem that has influenced spiritual successors like Hover and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.

4. Marvel vs. Capcom: New Age of Heroes

Marvel vs Capcom 2 on Dreamcast was a game changer in the world of fighting games. Not only was it a near arcade-perfect port, meaning the developer didn’t have to make any sacrifices or tweaks to make it perform as well as it did in the arcades, but Marvel vs Capcom 2 was easily one of the best fighting games of its time. Being able to play it at home without having to spend your pocket money at the arcade undoubtedly spawned a whole generation of fighting game fans.

3. Power Stone 2

There’s a reason people keep asking for more Power Stones; Despite the plethora of arena and party fighters that have come out since Power Stone 2, there’s still nothing quite like it. Part of the appeal was that there were just so many different ways to take the fight to your opponent: you could just yell at them with your character’s unique list of moves and special moves, you could run away and jump into a tower, or whatever Using a different kind of interaction with the environment, you could pick up one of the seemingly hundreds of items, or hunt down the three Power Stones and transform into your super powerful alter ego and finally turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Power Stone 2’s multiplayer battles were just incredibly dynamic, and the Dreamcast is still the only place to experience them.

2. Heaven of Arcadia

There’s a lot that makes Skies of Arcadia one of the best RPGs of the Dreamcast era, but the main reason is its spirit of discovery and adventure. Skies of Arcadia is about being an adventurous sky pirate, exploring new lands, recruiting new crew members for your ship and, as you know, stopping an evil empire from destroying the world with ancient weapons.

Skies of Arcadia is charming, its world intriguing, and while many may have experienced it on the Gamecube as Skies of Arcadia Legends, the original Dreamcast version will forever have a place in the pantheon of fantastical JRPGs.

The original Soul Calibur is still one of the best fighters ever made. When it came to Dreamcast, people all over the world were still pumping quarters into machines to play, but somehow you got a better version at home with new features and better graphics than the original.

Getting such an amazing release on a home console was really something, and to this day, the Dreamcast version of Soul Calibur stands as one of the best things about the console. If you’ve never tried this tale of souls and swords, you’re missing out on something special.