The 10 Best Sega Dreamcast Games

The Sega Dreamcast was an underrated gaming console with a library filled with absolute gems. The Dreamcast was a commercial failure due to competition from the Sony PlayStation and limited third party support, but it was still great. To honor this, let’s take a look at the top 10 games in its library and see how they rank against each other.

10) Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Resident Evil: Code Veronica is the fourth main installment in the Resident Evil horror video game series and the first to debut on a console other than the PlayStation. It may not be the strongest entry in the series, but it’s still an extremely good one that served as an important stepping stone for the series to progress in terms of visuals and gameplay. Code Veronica being the first in the franchise to use real-time 3D environments and dynamic camera movement make it stand out. It’s also successfully scary and extremely action-packed.

9) Pen Pen Triicelon

Pen Pen Triicelon is one of the most underrated games in the Dreamcast’s library. It also happens to be one of the wackiest. Bizarre animal creatures racing by running, swimming, and sliding through whimsical lands manages to create a shockingly fun multiplayer experience. It’s a creative and unique game, and it’s honestly shocking that there’s been nothing like it since the days of the Sega Dreamcast.

8) Skies of Arcadia

Skies of Arcadia is an RPG made by Sega to compete with the likes of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The turn-based battles are exhilarating and the world exploration is done while riding in flying airships from area to area. Many fans have gone on to say that Skies of Arcadia is one of the greatest RPGs of all time. This is thanks to the fantastic gameplay and the unforgettable story that follows a young air pirate and his friends as they attempt to stop an evil empire from destroying the world. It’s honestly quite tragic that this didn’t grow into more of a series.

7) Floigan Bros.

Floigan Bros. may be a video game about two Italian brothers, but it proves to be an entity unlike anything else in the gaming world. It’s a 3D action-adventure puzzle game in which Moigle and Hoigle Floigan must battle cats sent by Baron Maldorous, solve puzzles, and explore the areas around their junkyard to find enough parts to build a machine. It’s a short game, but it’s a fun one. It’s also impressively made for its time, as almost everything in the open 3D environment  is interactable, and the computer-controlled Moigle behaves differently depending on how he’s treated. This was meant to be the start of a series, but that sadly never came to fruition.

6) Power Stone

Power Stone was a 3D fighting game that allowed four players to duke it out at the same time. If a player collected three Power Stones during a match, their character transformed into a more powerful version of themselves. This adrenaline rush of a game was perfect for parties, and the unique and fleshed out world and lore of the game only made it that much more entertaining to play. It’s rare to see this type of party fighting game without it being another platform fighter, which makes Power Stone stand out even to this day.

5) Nightmare Creatures II

What could be better than a character-action survival horror game with a theme song from Rob Zombie? That’s exactly what Nightmare Creatures II is and it’s every bit suspenseful, scary, and riveting as one would hope. One of the coolest elements of the game is that each monster makes a unique noise which can be heard before you ever actually see the monster itself. Chopping up horrifying creatures with an ax is oddly satisfying in this ghoulish game.

4) Jet Set Radio

Jet Set Radio is like a stylized Tony Hawk game where you also take on rival gangs and evade authorities. The zany, colorful aesthetic draws you in, but it’s the exhilarating gameplay that keeps you playing. A youth gang on roller skates taking control of an area by graffiti-tagging enough targets and even rival gang members and pulling off sick tricks in the process makes for such a unique gameplay formula. The soundtrack is also tremendous. It’s one of the most entertaining and stylistically pleasing games on the whole console.

3) Crazy Taxi

For some truly exhilarating gameplay, look no further than Crazy Taxi. It’s a simple concept: drive a taxi and take folks where they need to go. However, there’s a time limit and you must get them there by any means necessary, including ramming other vehicles off the road, destroying city property, and taking routes that would be especially illegal if replicated in real life. It’s a wacky, fast-paced game that will get your heart racing faster than your taxi.

2) Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure was one of the most revolutionary games for one of the biggest gaming franchises ever. It’s the first main Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature fully 3D gameplay. It also features six playable characters, all with their own abilities and all starring in their own storylines that intertwine with everyone else’s to make one epic tale. It had much more of a storytelling focus than any Sonic game that was released prior and kicked off much of the ongoing story that future games would have for years to come. The fast-paced platforming, the hunting for pieces of the Master Emerald, and the adorable Chao races were all fantastic.

1) Sonic Adventure 2

Sonic Adventure 2 took everything that the first Sonic Adventure set up and fine-tuned it in almost every way. The story went darker and more mature, the gameplay felt more fluid, and the Chao Garden minigame was so in-depth that it felt like its own standalone game. The more awkward gameplay segments, like the fishing or using Tails to race Sonic, were replaced by things that were much better, like shooting enemies from mech suits. The controls and level design were both a little better, and the now-staple characters of Shadow and Rouge were introduced. Not only is Sonic Adventure 2 the best game in the Sega Dreamcast’s library, but it’s often considered to be one of the best games in the Sonic franchise.

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