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Dreamcast has ingredient X for me. I can't quite put my finger on why I like the console so much - there's something about it that says "indulgent".

The games, particularly Sega's own, are just so bright and sparkly and it really did bring the arcade home - it's just such a pity that that doesn't seem to be what people wanted - instead they seemed to want EA games, DVD playback, and to believe the crap Sony put out about emotion engines . Ho Hum.

I'm ashamed to say I did my usual vulture technique when I got into Dreamcast. I came in at the death - picked one up brand new in Argos for £50 packed with VF4tb, MSR and Ecco - what a deal. They even threw in an extra controller (albeit 3rd party). All I had to get was a VMU and I got a cheap GAME branded one round the corner. The wife wasn't all that impressed as we were in the middle of a house renovation (late 2001) but I haven't regretted it for one minute since.

My DC collection is something I'm quite proud of even though it's not huge - but its pure quality and I've got a full complement of 1st party controllers with rumble packs, extension cords and a pile of VMUs (some still boxed!) in various colours. I've got four (count 'em!) arcade sticks, 2 keyboards, 2 mice,  2 guns, 2 wheels, and a 3rd party VGA box to complement the VGA SCART lead.

I've even got a 2nd console - on the lookout for the linkup cable to try out the F355 linkup mode...

Yeah - the Merlin racing looks OK though I played Diddy Kong Racing a lot back in the day so it probably doesn't have anything over that.

I'm a sucker for Tetris and Space Invaders though so if I do get it sorted I'd probably get those and that marble puzzle game - Ballistic I think its called. Have that for Ps1 but its a nice game and would be worth adding to a small collection.

Iron soldier 3 seems to be in the daft rarity league and that's on Playstation anyway. T3K is the star attraction really.

Looks just like the PS1 Capcom Generations but I've no idea which version plays better - although the PS1 version doesn't have the little piece of artwork bottom right in the status area. I have the PAL version which has vols 1-4 in one pack but of course its the old 50Hz problem and I have no idea if they run full speed (something I am quite paranoid about). I have a Breaker Pro disk that lets me play imports but also lets me force PAL games to run at 60Hz. Not all work with this feature but the Capcom Gens discs seem to work OK - but I can't vouch for speed accuracy without doing a comparison.

The Capcom Classics for PS2 (and others) has 1942 as well - haven't ever compared that for speed (or the Wii's VC version for that matter!) Capcom Gens actually has something over the later collection as it offers TATE mode with the Classics disc don't do though that really only matters if you using an older TV I suppose.

Yeah - I'm only really interested in T3K - there's the kart game which might be interesting but that would be it really.

cool - will have a look around for one of those!!!

Nice find! It should be easy to add a couple controller ports. I'd recommend adding connectors instead of wiring controllers directly to the terminals. Connectors are cheap and it would be easier to swap a broken controller if you ever needed to.

The Nuon has a few interesting games... Tempest 3000 and Iron Soldier 3 are my favorites. Merlin Racing is a pseudo-sequel to Atari Karts from the Jaguar. It's a nuisance that the memory card was never released though so you can't save high scores or progress. Some Nuon games use password save, but not all of them.

The N505 is one of the models that supports homebrews. I like Yaroze Classics better than most of the retail releases. You can download homebrews here:
http://nuon-dome.com/download.html


The Nuon also has a great VLM. Play an audio CD and watch the trippy light show. I think the VLM of the N505 runs at a higher resolution than my N501 but the N505 has fewer video effects.

Didn't know you could get connectors - will have a look around for those. The article at the Nuon dome site states they are hard to find and that is what put me off proceeding with this. There is another site that has a guide to using mini DIN connectors that looks more feasible.

Was wondering about the whole PAL/NTSC thing with Nuon - does that matter? Would T3K run slower on a PAL machine? Doesn't seem to be PAL/NTSC setting in the menu.

I'm actually using the player as my 2nd DVD machine and I've played around with the VLM which is pretty good - I understand it has some interactivity too if a controller is connected. This has got me energised again in getting T3K up and running.

Type ins were legendary.

My first experience of those were Apple II game listing in early editions of C&VG...


Got Jet Set Willy for the 464 for 1.99 in the supermarket. Great times.

Anyone got the Nuon DVD player?

I'm a big Tenpest fan and loved the T2K and TX3 remakes (though I have to admit to not having played the original Jag version  - only the Saturn version).

I've always been intrigued by T3K and given its unlikely an emulator will come along (and really an emu is usually a poor 2nd choice for me) I've always kept an eye out for one.

Well - I saw one in Ca$h Converters a while back - £20 - I nearly crapped myself and impulse purchased it.

I am the owner of a Nuon DVD player - with no controller ports.

My heart sank when I got it home. Apparantly its the N505 - it is full Nuon spec and the motherboard has the required circuitry and terminal for controllers - but the ports are not there. I ask you - what arsehole made that decision?

Anyhow there is a guide to directly wiring Nuon controllers onto the terminals - so I'm toying with that. Got a brand new Nuon controller off eBay but  T3K still garners decent prices so I'll probably get someone handy with a soldering iron to do the job once I get the notion to sink the money and get a copy.

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Yeah, never added Sturmwind as i have not played it yet.

You and me both!!! Hear delivery could be imminent though - actually excited about a game which I haven't been in a long time.

Gunbird 2 is probably my favourite but one thing really gets my on nerves about it. I have a VGA box for the DC and of course its one of the few that doesn't support it.

The DC-X disc can force some games into VGA - and it does with Gunbird 2 - but it glitches a bit - great shame - especially since I got hold of a rotatable monitor recently to try out its TATE mode!!!!

Still a great game though - can't be bothered hooking up the old RGB SCART so (shock horror) I play it through the s-video signal the VGA box has. PLay it with the DC stick too.

I love shmups but I'm quite crap at them - I can 1CC Gunbird 2 but only on the lower difficulty levels - I'm gradually working my way up to easy!!!

Gameplay-wise I really like it. Love the chaining coins mechanic and the different characters really play differently and add loads to the replay value.

I have a couple of those Namco twisty gcon controllers for the PS1 - haven't really put a lot of time in on them though - should really.

I read recently that Tempest X3 is compatible with them which is interesting - must try that.

Yeah - think we got the better deal look wise.


Didn't know it was region free either - are the colours OK on NTSC games?

Cool - thanks for that - nice to know I'm getting a close to full speed experience.

Strange what you mention re Pacman Collection - maybe its my 7800's hookup isn't great. I can see the ghost OK and its perfectly playable - just I have to look a bit harder than I would expect to (then again at my age - my eyes aren't what they were!!)

Added a pic of my console - no box unfortunately - it fell apart once it was opened - should have chucked it up into the loft with the other boxes I keep but for reason I binned it

Quite like Planet Smashers despite the abysmal sound and the RSI - I think it would make a great little shmup if it were remade - like the crystal warp idea.

Don't really like the ports of Galaga and Dig Dug - Dig Dug looks a bit ugly and Galaga takes too long to get challenging and then it seems to stutter a bit (and the sound is horrible!!)

Had heard of the French models but thought they were composite - RGB? Wow - would love to get my hands on one of those....

I quite like the 7800 but I have 2 issues with it. Firstly its the PAL version so I'm always thinking what the NTSC games would be like - its unlikely PAL games got any speed optimisation (can someone here shed any light on that?).

Secondly the video out really is its achilles heel in this day and age. I run mine through a VCR which helps a bit but the image still suffers from the RF output. I hear you can get mods done but they seem very fiddly and there's variable results.

Not really an issue for me but the lack of POKEY onboard hurts it too - weird decision that.

Really like the lineup - I have a small but enjoyable collection. My favourites are the oldies - the built-in Asteroids game is excellent and its rock hard too. Centipede, Joust and Food Fight would be my other favourites and I got the Pacman Collection homebrew cart from Atari Age which is the business though the PAL version's colour conversion means one of the ghosts is a bit hard to see but from looking at other games like Donkey Kong it seems to be an issue with some official PAL games too - some reds look like a bit washed out.

It being the PAL version it means I have the better NES style controllers so that's a plus though I don't use the little screw in joysticks - a mate broke one during a frenetic Demon Attack session anyhow...which brings me to the final plus - 2600 compatibility - hard to knock though I'm convinced 2600 games look better on the woody.


One more thing - the weird power adaptor connector? Bit of a worry that if it came to the point where I would need a replacement given the relative low numbers of 7800s.

Looks brilliant - I love the gameplay of the original but even I find the square balloons a bit ugly - if the gameplay remains intact I'll be interested.....

I got the controller - it's been bettered of course since but I still find it perfectly serviceable. Given the pathetic attempt Sony made of a controller at the start (remember version 1 had no analogue sticks) I think people do the N64 controller a disservice when they slag it off.

Mario 64 was/is great and can't see how it or Zelda OOT could have been done as well if they hadn't been cartridge based - the media at the time just wouldn't have been up to it - the seamless transition that cartridge loading gives you made those games.

F-Zero X is a favourite - I dodged Waverace as I read the PAL version is abysmal. Mario Kart was a bit of let down for me - but I've since seen it as a pretty good multi-player game - a lonely experience in 1 player though.

I had a lot fun with the console and some games still look pretty good provided you don't use composite hook up. Rayman 2, Virtual Pool64, Doom64 and Res Evil 2 still look excellent today as far as I'm concerned.

Mischief Makers, Mystical Ninja 2, Mario Tennis, Pokemon Puzzle League, 1080, Wetrix, Banjo Kazooie - all great stuff still well worth a look.

It was four player out of the box too - Bust-a-move 3 and New Tetris takes full advantage of that (great Neil Voss tunes in New Tetris) - as does Mario Tennis and plenty of others.

Lot of junk for it too and I'm glad I never paid full price for any turkeys. The blurry graphics mean its aged pretty badly but use RGB or s-video and it clears up quite a bit and the better games have aged quite well.

A few real odd-ball games to look out for too - Pokemon Snap, Fighters Destiny, Spacestation Siicon Valley and Blast Corps all have something a bit different though some look a bit rough now.

The zero loading meant games like Worms Armageddon played a lot better on it too.