Best Dreamcast A/V Cable? Also... Best Games?

Jimmy Bottlehead

Hey all.

Just picked up a cheap Dreamcast on eBay for a great price - well hopefully! Here it is:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/320784993471?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_500wt_1287

It's not coming with an A/V cable, so can you guys please advise on what's the best option?

Also, if you want to throw in recommendations for starting off a Dreamcast Games collection, fire ahead!

Cheers!

Mr.Saturn

In before the mandatory 'VGA is the only way to go'. I got the 3rd party Dreamcast AV that's offered on Amazon for like £4, been of fine service to me since.

Yeah, if you like fighters, anything with Capcom or SNK on the front is going guarantee a few years worth of fun times i.e King of Fighters, Garou, SFA 3, Marvel vs Capcom 1 and 2, the entire Street Fighter 3 series (it's fun seeing parrying going from an understated mechanic to entire draw), Capcom vs SNK Pro and 2.

K.O.Kiki

Of note, 3rd Strike on DC has reported issues with input lag, and it isn't "arcade-perfect" due to several "glitch" fixes (no unblockables), wrong music and damage reduction.

Some hackers have released a 3rd Strike: Arcade Edition [DC] so it's all good (well, better; input lag & damage reduction remains)


Garou IIRC was considered a bad port too (laggy sound effects, other minor issues).

MvC2 was THE tournament standard for over a decade.

Try get your hands on the Shenmue collection.

Retr0gamer

VGA cable if you have the set up.

Otherwise get an RGB scart cable.

Whatever you do don't get an AV composite cable (red white and yellow cables). The Dreamcast has some very colourful, chunky graphics that look absolutely gorgeous through RGB. Composite ruins this with washed out colours and horrible blur.

Jimmy Bottlehead

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Sega-Dreamcast-RGB-Scart-Cable-/220868842696?pt=UK_Video_Games_Cables_and_Adaptors&hash=item336ccf14c8#ht_1141wt_1270

Will that do the job?

Retr0gamer

Should be fine.

Mr.Saturn

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Of note, 3rd Strike on DC has reported issues with input lag, and it isn't "arcade-perfect" due to several "glitch" fixes (no unblockables), wrong music and damage reduction.

Some hackers have released a 3rd Strike: Arcade Edition [DC] so it's all good (well, better; input lag & damage reduction remains)


Garou IIRC was considered a bad port too (laggy sound effects, other minor issues).

MvC2 was THE tournament standard for over a decade.

The vast majority of this stuff only applies if you're ever hoping to be a tournament player, no?

Pyongyang

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

The vast majority of this stuff only applies if you're ever hoping to be a tournament player, no?

Retr0gamer

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

The vast majority of this stuff only applies if you're ever hoping to be a tournament player, no?

They're pretty major points if it's a fighting game.

I think the problem is that the Agetec ports of the US and EU Last Blade and Garou games were screwed up. I heard that the japanese versions on the other hand are pretty much arcade perfect. Maybe K.O.Kiki can clear that up?

K.O.Kiki

Going by Hardcore Gaming 101

Last Blade 2:

The Dreamcast port, sadly, isn't quite what it should be. The music is from the cart version, not the Neo Geo CD version. The American version, like the arcade version, was censored heavily - instead of just removing the blood, the red spurts have been turned white, giving you this silly milk explosion every time you hit someone. You also can't cut anyone in half anymore, which makes it impossible to get Hibiki's alternate ending. The Japanese version also has a hanafuda card game, and both have an unlockable art gallery. The PS2 version is the same deal as the NGCD version, except with no loading times and the same slowdown and sound issues that plagued the port of Last Blade 1.

Garou:

The Dreamcast version is almost perfect, but has lagging sounding effects and some minor issues that are all but unnoticeable unless you've been playing the Neo Geo versions for hours on end. It was brought to America by Agetec under the title Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, although the title screen still uses the original name. The Playstation 2 version, released in Japan in 2006 as part of the Neo Geo Online Collection, fixes these issues and adds online play, but only in Japan. Both versions feature an arranged soundtrack created specifically for the home releases, but the quality of these songs are somewhat questionable compared to other SNK soundtracks. Instead of using live instruments like many of their other CDs, it seems like they ran the original Neo Geo soundtrack through a cheesy MIDI sequencer, which makes it sound pretty cheap. It's definitely cleaner than the original music, but it's also lost a lot of its edge. Both versions also allow both bosses to be played without having to enter a cheat code, and the Dreamcast version has an art gallery.

In addition to what I've gleaned from forums.

Mr.Saturn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

They're pretty major points if it's a fighting game.

I think the problem is that the Agetec ports of the US and EU Last Blade and Garou games were screwed up. I heard that the japanese versions on the other hand are pretty much arcade perfect. Maybe K.O.Kiki can clear that up?

Ah, I'm playing a Japanese version of Garou, probably why I've not noticed an issue. Though that doesn't account for the SFIII: 3S port, though, which I think is a hoot.

Retr0gamer

Thanks K.O.Kiki, knew I read something about it recently and it was this post here, not exactly definitive either:

http://hg101.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=games&thread=1454&page=333#199062

Jimmy Bottlehead

Fighting games aren't a huge passion of mine, thankfully - too much skill involved!

K.O.Kiki

Mind you, not a SINGLE review I've seen mentioned the flaws in the 360/PS3 release of 3rd Strike Online Edition that I found with just 1-2hrs of playing it.

Stuff like EX moves not coming out consistently, reversals being hard as hell, and combos that should not be possible (though that I only have as others' video evidence).
Plus all the other glitches and bugs people have found.

Honestly, playing on CPS III emulator has been the best compromise so far.

Retr0gamer

Pity the PS2 and emulated versions are still the definitive ones. Don't know how Capcom managed to mess it up if what you say is true unless they were meddling to try make it playable online.

K.O.Kiki

They promised us "arcade-perfect with GGPO".

We ended up with a game that is a HACK JOB of the DC port, with netcode that is somehow worse than the old GGPO port (which has also been REMOVED, ffs) :mad:

And they have the gall to add poorly-implemented "new" art by Stanley Lau (very obviously phoning it in), broken training mode (bugs too numerous to list), DLC colours that make my eyes bleed (just look up how bad they are on youtube) *AND* a "remixed" OST that is so horrid, it inspired this epic rant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR3-hkuUH_w

Sieghardt

ooh lucky you, you've got a lot to look forward to. here's what I consider the dreamcast games worth owning:

Must Have

Grandia 2
Shenmue 1 & 2
Skies of Arcadia
Soul Calibur
Toy Commander

Worth a look
Bust a Move 4
Ecco the Dolphin
Hydro Thunder
Illbleed
Jet Set Radio
Power Stone 1 & 2
Project Justice
Sega Rally 2
Sega Swirl
Sega GT
Silver
Space Channel 5 & Part two
Sword of the Berserk
Trickstyle
Zombies Revenge

Retr0gamer

Maken X is a great game. Cheap enough, great soundtrack and a frist person beat em up that actually works.

Pyongyang

I like Le Mans. Prefer that to F355. Both good though.

If like me you have a serious shooting game addiction, you'll be spoilt for choice with a Dreamcast.

Mr Vengeance

There are many, many great games for the Dreamcast, a lot of which are fairly obvious. Its home to some of the greatest video games of all time, titles like Ikaruga, Soul Calibur and Skies of Arcadia.

I'd like to discuss one relatively hidden gem though - Grandia II. Its been mentioned above, but as its one of my all time favourites games on any format, I'd like to single it out for special praise. In my view its one of the best traditional role playing games ever made....


I love RPGs, but they do drag on a bit at times. As such, a great story and an addictive battle system are usually required to keep me playing for forty-odd hours. Thankfully, Grandia II's story is pretty damn good for a spikey-haired, angsty teenager-style affair, plus the combat system is perhaps one of the best in the genre's history. Its is easy to grasp, but has lots of depth to it. Its genius in the way it makes you tactically change up your moves on the fly so as to prevent your opponent from attacking, or to at least reduce his or her or its effectiveness - its not just about reducing HP - its about more than that. You can add loads of buffs to your character's stats too outside of the fighting, which helps strengthen your team in combat. Its all easy to grasp as the game goes on, and the interesting characters will keep you engaged as you play. Basically, both combat and story will compell you to keep playing. If the story takes a dip the fighting system will keep you at it. When you are learning the ropes the story will keep you engaged. It really is a brilliantly paced title. No random battles either - bonus!

The music and graphics are also excellent. Some of the visuals have dated, unsurprisingly, but some of the locations still look frickin' amazing even today, such as the towns. The save system is fine and the difficulty is perfectly pitched.

The only issues in the game are the lack of side quests and the slight anti-climax of the end game - just my opinion there anyway.

Over all its easily one of my favourite RPGs of all time. Its up there with great role players such as Knights of the Old Republic, Disgaea and Final Fantasy VII in my view.

Its not the cheapest RPG on the system, but its well worth it as each of its 40 hours of gameplay are brilliant.

Retr0gamer

Grandia 2 is fantastic. Not as good as the original but a great game as well and much better on DC than the piss poor PS2 port. Also extra bonus points for a protagonist voiced by Cam Clarke.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Thanks a million guys

Once I've some spare cash again, I'll get cracking on the DC collection!

Mr Vengeance

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Thanks a million guys

Once I've some spare cash again, I'll get cracking on the DC collection!

In my view, collecting for Dreamcast is the easiest and cheapest format to collect for that has a lot of good games available for it. Enjoy!