What Dreamcast is notably remembered for is how it was one of the first consoles to include a (56k) modem (33.6k in Japan). Upon its release, mainstream broadband internet was still in its infancy, and 56k was still considered the best way to go. Through the internet service, Sonic Adventure players could enjoy special Dreamcast launch editions to the city. Fans could also enjoy online play through Quake, Chu Chu Rocket, and helped kickstart Phantasy Star Online. If you thought browsing on the internet with a Dreamcast controller was inconvenient, thankfully, you could get a keyboard and mouse and enjoy some novelty games with it, most notably Typing of the Dead, a typing version to to House of the Dead 2. As broadband became the norm, Sega released a broadband modem for the Dreamcast, which you have to purchase separately.

In addition to its modem and keyboard, it had many fun peripherals. Of course, it had controllers that were common then, which are still common to this day. Dreamcast had many arcade racers so if you wanted to play with a steering wheel, you had the option to play with one. If you wanted to enjoy House of the Dead 2 with a light gun, you also had that option (however, Sega’s official light gun for the Dreamcast was never released outside of Japan, but 3rd party ones were still available in North America). With all of its arcade fighters, hell, you’ll love the arcade stick you could get for it since many fighting game fans didn’t think the controller was suitable for the genre. Beyond such controllers, players could also buy a special dual stick controller for Virtual On, a fishing controller for Sega Bass Fishing, and a microphone for Seaman.

Though all present day consoles are HDMI compatible upon the uploading of this article, Dreamcast was also ahead of the curve by having VGA support. Many computer monitors up until mid-way to the 2000s were all VGA supported and if you wanted to enjoy your Dreamcast games on a PC monitor for better visual quality (480p), you could purchase an official Dreamcast VGA cord! Though some present day TVs and monitors still have VGA support, when you hook up your VGA cord to an HDTV, or use a VGA/HDMI converter, you’ll be surprised to see how much its library holds up (which we’ll get into later) graphically, most notably with Shenmue and Jet Set Radio.

Another reason why people still love the Dreamcast is how it was one of the first consoles to truly bring the arcade home. Up until the end of the 1990s, if gamers wanted the best gaming experience in terms of presentation, graphics, and sound, they had to go to the arcade to enjoy that. However, during the period of the Dreamcast’s release, the arcade was progressively starting to die in the US, and Dreamcast was one of those consoles that had arcade perfect ports, or surpassed them. Yes, the consoles between the 8-bit and 32/64-bit era all had home ports of arcade releases but never really 100% lived up to them in both graphics and sound.

Thanks to Sega’s NAOMI arcade hardware, which shared common qualities with Dreamcast, they were practically one and the same such as Powerstone, Capcom Vs SNK, Virtua Tennis, Crazy Taxi and so on. However, one notable game we’d like to share is Soul Calibur. When you compare the original arcade game and the Dreamcast release, you’ll be surprised how the Dreamcast version is far superior. In addition, Sega’s VMU was quite a novelty in Japan for both home and the arcade. For the Japanese version to Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, you need to use your VMU in arcade versions in Japan in order to unlock certain characters for the Japanese Dreamcast release. Also, if you still enjoy the first Marvel Vs. Capcom game, forget the PS1 version which is a joke compared to the Dreamcast (which has tag team play and quick load times).